From conserving water to winning science competitions to journalistic accolades, Harker made the news several times last month. Find out more below!
Los Altos Online – Nov. 30, 2016: Senior Manan Shah is featured in a story about his success in this year’s Siemens Competition, as well as his upcoming trip to Washington, D.C., for the final stage of the competition.
DyeStat Cal – Nov. 23, 2016: Harker track phenom Niki Iyer, grade 12, is mentioned in a preview of the CIF State Championships.
Science News for Students – Nov. 22, 2016: Cynthia Chen, grade 9 is featured in a story that details her Broadcom MASTERS project, a method of saving water by storing seeds in pods.
The Indian Panorama – Nov. 18, 2016: Manan Shah, grade 12, is hailed for his regional win in the 2016 Siemens Competition, which granted him entry to the finals.
San Jose Mercury News – Nov. 11, 2016: Journalism teacher Ellen Austin and upper school head Butch Keller are featured in a story about the awards they received from the Journalism Education Association.
India West – Nov. 10, 2016: Manan Shah, grade 12, is the subject of a story about his regional win in this year’s Siemens Competition.
San Jose Mercury News – Nov. 10, 2016: Elizabeth Schick, grade 11, and Gina Partridge, grade 9, are mentioned in a Mercury News community sports roundup.
SiliconValley.com – Nov. 5, 2016: Cynthia Chen, grade 9, is mentioned in a story about Silicon Valley students in the Broadcom MASTERS science competition.
Niki Iyer, grade 12, was recently named an Athlete of the Week by The Mercury News for her amazing performance at the second WBAL meet held last week. Iyer set the fastest girls time of the season among CCS runners at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, finishing the 3.1 mile course in 18 minutes, 9 seconds. Her time was also the fifth-fastest ever on the course. Next up for Iyer and the cross country team is the WBAL Championships on Nov. 4 at Crystal Springs Cross Country Park.
Los Altos Town Crier – Oct. 5, 2016: Maya Shukla and Aarzu Gupta, both grade 9, are featured in a story about their science project making the semifinals of the Broadcom MASTERS competition.
East Bay Times – Oct. 4, 2016: Aditya Dhar, grade 12, is featured in a story about being selected for the U.S. national debate team, as well as his future plans.
San Francisco Classical Voice – Sept. 30, 2016: Zina Jawadi ’14 is quoted in a story about hearing loss in musicians.
San Jose Mercury News – Sept. 25, 2016: Junior Alan Hughes offers advice to presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on the eve of their first debate.
San Jose Mercury News – Sept. 23, 2016: Cynthia Chen, grade 9, is one of five South Bay students mentioned in a story about local finalists in the Broadcom MASTERS competition.
The Independent – Sept. 22, 2016: Harker is briefly mentioned in a story about Priscilla Chan, who taught science at Harker for one year and was the commencement speaker at the 2016 Harker graduation ceremony.
Harvard-Westlake Chronicle – Aug. 30, 2016: Harker debate teacher Greg Achten is mentioned in a story about a summer debate camp he co-directed with the debate director at Los Angeles’ Harvard-Westlake School.
Cynthia Chen, grade 9, earned the second place prize in the Broadcom MASTERS Competition in the science division! She will receive a $2,500 award for her efforts. Nice article in the Mercury: http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/05/school-scene-students-win-science-honors/. Congratulations Cynthia!
Update: Another great article on Chen’s project! https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/eureka-lab/teen-develops-water-saving-pods-seeds
UPDATE: Oct. 7, 2016
The Los Altos Town Crier recently published a story about the project that earned freshmen Aarzu Gupta and Maya Shukla semifinalist recognition in this year’s Broadcom MASTERS competition.
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UPDATE: Sept. 23, 2016
Earlier this week, Cynthia Chen, now grade 9, was named one of 30 national finalists in this year’s Broadcom MASTERS competition. The second finalist in Harker’s history, Chen has received a $500 cash prize and will head to Washington, D.C. in late October for the to compete for $100,000 in awards.
Chen’s project aimed to alleviate the problems caused by California’s ongoing drought by creating a capsule that housed seeds surrounded by water crystals, allowing them to grow with just a third of the water usage.
Good luck to Cynthia this October!
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Last week, the Society for Science & the Public announced that Harker freshmen Cynthia Chen, Aarzu Gupta and Maya Shukla were among 300 students nationwide named semifinalists in this year’s Broadcom MASTERS competition. Chen, Gupta and Shukla entered the competition last year while in eight grade. A total of 2,434 applicants entered this year’s competition.
The Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering Rising Stars) competition highlights the work of middle school scientists from across the country. The top 10 percent of middle school participants at society-affiliated science fairs are nominated to participate, and must then submit an application to enter the competition. Each application is rigorously reviewed by professionals in science, engineering and education.
Finalists are scheduled to be announced next week. Stay tuned!
Shay Lari-Hosain ’16 is taking a gap year before starting college and, not one to let the grass grow under his feet, already has been published in The Mercury News. Lari-Hosain was very active in Harker’s Journalism program and, as assistant editor in chief and designer, was instrumental in founding Wingspan, the student longform magazine. Here’s his interview with The Daily Show’s Hasan Minhaj.
Harker senior Aditya Dhar was named to Debate Team USA! He is one of only nine students selected nationwide to represent the U.S. in World Schools Debate. The team, selected from applications submitted to the National Speech & Debate Association, will compete in a series of global debate competitions with teams from six continents, and will finish up at the World Championship in August.
The application process began in May and took several months, said Cindi Timmons, team manager and coach. The selection process was rigorous. “From hundreds of applicants that began with an online application, a series of essays, a teacher and administrator recommendation, and a video speech, we moved to a semifinal round that involved another video of a debate speech and then to the final 20 that participated in an online interview process with a nationwide panel,” she noted.
The team has an extensive travel schedule, including trips to the EurOpen in Hamburg, Germany, the PanAm Tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and domestic trips. The year will culminate at the World Championship in Bali, Indonesia, in August. Go Aditya!
San Jose Mercury News – July 27, 2016: Kailash Ranganathan, who starts seventh grade this year, is the subject of a profile focusing on his interest in the sitar.
Business Insider – July 10, 2016: Harker is included in a series of summer reading lists provided by private schools from all over the country.
Greenwich Time – July 9, 2016: Harker recommends “The Catcher in the Rye” in this story about recommended summer reading by top private schools.
Piedmont Patch – July 7, 2016: Ameek Singh ’16 is mentioned as one of five Bay Area youths selected to participate in paid summer internships at local nonprofits.
The San Jose Mercury News published a story yesterday on Gargeya’s achievement, noting that he “appears to have already swayed Google judges.” Read the full story.
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Rishab Gargeya, rising senior and Saratoga resident, was recently named a regional finalist in the international Google Science Fair 2016! Thousands of participants from more than 100 countries entered their projects in the competition. Gargeya’s project is one of only 100 finalists selected from around the globe. It is currently one of the top 50 projects in the 16-18 age category identified as having the potential to change the world.
The project summary notes, “This study develops a novel smartphone-based diagnostic tool that can automatically detect any retinal abnormality within seconds. Through the use of a low-cost external ophthalmic lens attachment, individuals can diagnose themselves with their smartphones at any time, allowing them to seek medical attention accordingly to prevent any potential vision complications.”
San Jose Mercury News – June 22, 2016: Harker volleyball coach Mike Aitken, rising seniors Andrew Gu and Ray Song, and rising sophomores Charlie Molin and Chris Gong are noted for winning Coach of the Year, Juniors of the Year and Freshmen of the Year, respectively, in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s El Camino Division.
San Jose Mercury News – June 22, 2016: 2016 graduate Vineet Kosaraju is mentioned in this story about MathAndCoding, an organization he co-founded with his friend, Nikhil Cheerla, a rising senior at Monta Vista High School.
San Jose Councilman Chappie Jones’ Blog: The councilman’s blog details how Harker helped with the resurfacing of Rebecca Way, which is located near the middle school campus.
San Jose Mercury News – June 9, 2016: Rising senior Niki Iyer’s third-place finish at the CIF state track and field meet is featured in this roundup of the event.
San Jose Mercury News – June 7, 2016: Model United Nations coach Carol Green is mentioned for being awarded a Diamond Coach Award from the National Speech & Debate Association’s Honor Society.
San Jose Mercury News – June 1, 2016: Rising sophomore Rithvik Panchapakesan is featured in a story about being one of the country’s 66 winners in the H&R Block Budget Challenge.