Last weekend, a team of Harker students won the K-12 Championship at the CalChess State Scholastic Championship at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The team – senior Vignesh Panchanatham, junior Michael Wang, sophomore Michael Tang, fifth grader Vyom Vidyarthi, and fourth graders Anika Rajaram and Mihir Kotbagi – scored a total of 16 points to secure victory. In the K-6 Beginner team competition, fifth grader Anderson Chung, fourth graders James Lai and Alejandro Cheline, third grader Ian Cheline and second graders Jacob Chung and Jeffery Xu took first place.
In individual events, Panchanatham won first in the K-12 Championship, where Wang and Tang both placed in the top 10 and Vidyarthi among the top 15 in a 66-person event. Other standout performances were seen from Nathan Yan, grade 1, who finished in the top five in the K-6 Junior Varsity category, K-3 Championship competitors Rohan Rajaram, grade 1, and Omya Vidyarthi, grade 2, who both placed in the top 15, and third grader Lucas Lum, who reached the top 10 in K-3 Junior Varsity.
Harker has been sending fourth graders to the Coloma Outdoor Discovery School (CODS) to learn about the California Gold Rush for more than 20 years. This year, 17 Harker faculty members attended as chaperones, while students spent several adventurous days experiencing what it was like to be a gold miner.
The annual spring sojourn to Coloma is a highlight of the school year for grade 4 students. Located on the south fork of the American River, Coloma is where gold was first discovered in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. Today, Coloma is a designated National Historic Landmark District and tourist attraction best known for its ghost town and Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.
On the first day of the trip, the students had a fun time settling in and creating a Gold Rush encampment, recalled Kristin Giammona, elementary school head. “They built a shelter, washed laundry, baked cornbread and panned for gold. They finished the day with a hoedown and campfire,” she said.
On day two, the students ventured into the town of Coloma and visited the state park. There students learned about the plants and animals of the Sierra foothills. The evening was capped off by a Native American storyteller who brought native life and local lore alive for the students.
“On the last day, students talked about the 49ers of today – themselves! They learned that what they need to survive hasn’t changed very much … or has it?” said Giammona.
Throughout the school year, lower school students participated in an engaging global education exchange program with their peers at the Bayan Gardens School (BGS) in Saudi Arabia. As part of that effort, students in Sejal Mehta’s grade 2 class held an informal Skype session with the BGS students in April.
Prior to the Skype session, the Harker students had watched videos created by the BGS students about their culture and school, as well as read a book about BGS (also created by the Saudi Arabian students). During the Skype session, students from both schools gave tours of their classrooms and participated in a fun and informative question and answer exchange.
“The global education department looks forward to hosting more of these Skype sessions in the lower school during the coming school year!” said Jennifer Walrod, director of global education.
Each year, as a special send-off to students in grades K-3, Harker’s BEST department hosts a Kiddie Carnival. Held onsite on the last day of school, the celebration is the student’s final school-sponsored activity of the year.
The 36th annual event, which took place on June 3, was called “Down on the Farm.” Students and faculty came dressed in farm-related attire for the carnival, which included a petting zoo, snow cones, games, prizes and more.
The day ended with a noon dismissal, with teachers wishing students a fond farewell and a fabulous summer.
“It has been another incredible year … and this event was a great opportunity to show our appreciation to the students!” said Kim Cali, BEST director for the lower school, speaking on behalf of the entire BEST team.
Grade 2 students had the honor of creating the table centerpiece art for the recent 2016 Silicon Valley Go Red for Women Luncheon, a fundraiser benefiting the American Heart Association. The centerpieces consisted of clay hearts on long sticks, which were inserted into beautiful flower arrangements.
Go Red for Women is the American Heart Association’s national movement to end heart disease and stroke in women. Harker is an annual sponsor of the local luncheon, held this year on May 5 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. Harker regularly donates a basket of summer goodies, which includes a coupon for $500 off a summer camp at the school, to the event.
Attendees, who were all clad in red, enjoyed an engaging talk by keynote speaker Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women’s Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Dr. Steinbaum is a national spokesperson for the Go Red for Women campaign and chairperson of Go Red for Women in New York City.
Steinbaum informed the audience that heart disease and stroke cause one in three deaths among women each year – more than all cancers combined. Fortunately, 80 percent of cardiac events can be prevented with education and lifestyle changes, she noted.
Go Red For Women inspires women to make lifestyle changes, mobilize communities and shape policies to save lives. For more information about the cause: https://www.goredforwomen.org/.
On the morning of June 2, the day before school let out for the summer, grade 3 students enjoyed a special visit from Colonel Patrick Shea, a general practice physician who served in the U.S. Air Force for 18 years. He is also the younger brother of lower school chef Matt Shea.
The colonel’s visit stemmed from a Veterans Day card-making project run by third grade homeroom and language arts teacher Elise Robichaud in November. After receiving cards made by the third graders, Colonel Shea contacted his brother, Chef Shea, to express his appreciation.
Robichaud then invited the colonel to come and speak with the students before the start of the lower school’s “Freedom of Choice Day,” during which students choose from variety of class sessions for a bit of fun on the last full day of school.
“Colonel Shea shared with the children just how valuable the cards they created were to military personnel, especially when they are deployed away from home. He even brought the cards with him, read the contents, and personally thanked each child for writing them. He wanted the children to understand that their cards are very valuable and help build morale,” recalled Robichaud.
Colonel Shea also answered questions from the students about his full dress uniform and all the ribbons he was wearing. He shared where he was deployed, how he has served and how wonderful advancements in medicine have increased survival rates for those in combat.
Following his talk, the students went on scavenger hunt created by lower school math and language arts teacher Kathy Ferretti. Afterward students headed to classrooms of their choosing, where they could select from a variety of activities. They also spent time watching the Movie Makers’ latest creation, a compilation of student-made three-minute video shorts, and enjoyed an end of the year party.
“It was a fun-filled, busy day for teachers and students alike on the last day of their third grade year. Another of the many grand adventures set forth for students as they wind their way through the halls of Harker!” said Heidi Gough, grade 3 history teacher.
Grade 3 student Vyom Vidyarthi has been a chess enthusiast for some time, and now his younger sister, Omya, who started kindergarten this year, has gotten in on the action! Both siblings have been showing exceptional chess prowess.
In May, Vyom was ranked No. 80 among players ages 9 and under by the United States Chess Federation, and won second place in the Best of the West Kids Chess Championship for his age group. He also won first place in the K-3 Blitz section of the CalChess Super State Scholastic Championship.
Meanwhile, Omya was ranked No. 26 among girls ages 7 and under by the United States Chess Federation, and won first place in the Best of the West Kids Chess Championship’s kindergarten section. Omya also won third place in CalChess Super State Scholastic Championship and second place in the Little Champs Championship in April. Both Vyom and Omya will be participating the National Open Chess Tournament in Las Vegas and the World Open Chess Tournament in Philadelphia this summer.
Also competing and playing well in the Best of the West Kids Chess Championship were fellow Harker students Rohan Rajaram, K (in the kindergarten section), and Mihir Kotbagi and Aidan Okyar, both grade 2 (in the grades 1-2 section).
Mother’s Day came a little early for the moms of 22 first graders in teacher Larissa Weaver’s class.
On April 29 the students hosted a late-afternoon spa day celebration for their mothers in their classroom, which they had decorated with beautiful handmade paper flowers. During the special event, the children made their moms feel like queens for a day.
They delighted in pampering them and serving delicious treats as well as presenting them with gorgeous thumbprint necklaces they had earlier created. The students also were trained by a massage therapist on how to give simple back and arm massages. After giving their mothers massages, they then showed them heartwarming video messages they had previously filmed in their honor.
“The whole concept was for kids to learn to celebrate their moms by taking care of them. Over the last couple of weeks, the students had been preparing excitedly for the event!” said Weaver.
It was all smiles on the afternoon of April 8 as happy kindergartners donned homemade hats during the annual Spring Hat Parade. Gray skies did not deter the youngsters from proudly parading around campus, visiting classrooms and displaying their fabulous creations. Students wound their way through the lower school campus, stopping in various classrooms to model their unique and colorful headwear to the delight of onlookers. After the parade there was an egg hunt on the kindergarten playground, followed by festive homeroom parties.
Students in grades K-2 had a great time at the second annual Spring Fling Math Extravaganza, held outside on the morning of March 23 on the main Bucknall playground and adjoining field. Students enjoyed math related hands-on activities, including crafts and games, which covered a range of skills. Each K-2 math teacher was in charge of one math activity, which consisted of measurement, geometry, and number sense geared toward various math abilities. Go Math Eagles!