The Harker Innovation Team has submitted a video to the LEAF ECOmmercial contest and they need your help to win! The competition has a variety of prizes including Most Viewed and Most Liked, so please help the team promote their video to the Harker community by viewing the video and liking it on Facebook by April 12.
“The goal of our video is to promote lower electricity consumption by encouraging people to take action – particularly to turn off lights whenever possible,” said Isaac Madan, grade 12. “We chose to focus on this because electricity is often assumed to be an unlimited resource that can be consumed without qualms. Yet, energy conservation is necessary to protect our environment and limit fossil fuel use.
“We figured that reminding people to turn off the lights is a great way for people to begin limiting their electricity use and begin thinking more about their electricity demand. Moreover, we emphasized that often the talk about the environment by scientists, politicians, etc., can be overwhelming, but taking action to protect the environment individually can be quite simple,” Madan noted.
The Harker Innovation Team works on a variety of competitive engineering and environmental projects throughout the school year and hopes their message will resonate with viewers of all ages who are aware of issues around global warming and environmentalism.
The team consists of Madan as captain and founder; Ambrish Amaranathan, grade 12; Sachin Jain, Prag Batra, Arihant Jain, all grade 11; Ram Menon and Shantanu Joshi, both grade 10.
The goal of the competition is to develop a public service commercial that encourages environmental awareness and/or conservation. There are various prizes in the competition, including Most Viewed and Most Liked (via Facebook). “We hope to do well in the award categories, but primarily our goal is to promote the idea of limiting electricity consumption to protect the environment,” added Madan.
History teacher Cyrus Merrill’s grade 6 advisory recently made a series of loans to help fund entrepreneurs in poor countries. Utilizing a service offered by the Kiva organization, Merrill and the students provided money to help a beekeeping business in Kyrgyzstan, a maize farming operation in Mali, a grocery store and a general store in Peru, a clothing vendor in the Philippines and a teacher in Israel.
Kiva is a service that allows users to connect with and financially assist entrepreneurs to combat poverty in various parts of the world through the use of microloans. Matt Flannery, Kiva’s co-founder and CEO, spoke as a guest of the Harker Speaker Series in May of last year.
A group of ninth graders spent two days in early February helping out at InnVision’s Georgia Travis Center, a shelter for homeless women and children in San Jose. Donations to the center of clothing, linen, toys, games and food must be sorted and organized before use, and over two days about 90 students spent nearly 600 hours pitching in.
Students sorted hundreds of pieces of clothing by age and gender and arranged them in the shelter’s store. They organized boxes of toys and games before shelving them, served food to the homeless and helped out in the office as well. “The work was hard, but they did it all with a smile on their faces and a glint in their eyes,” noted Naren Nayak, father of participant Avinash.
A handful of Harker parents helped supervise and arranged for lunch and snacks, but even that turned into a donation as the unspent lunch money, $131, went to InnVision as well.
“On behalf of InnVision, I would like to share our deepest gratitude for the amazing work during the Harker Service Days at GTC!” said David Tran, InnVision’s volunteer and program coordinator. “It was a definite success in terms of the amount of work that was done. I enjoyed the energy and charisma that the Harker students brought, especially their keen interest in learning more about homelessness and our agency. Overall, it was a great success and definitely a great start to a wonderful partnership between InnVision and Harker.”
Jaynie Neveras, community relations manager for the Georgia Travis Center, was equally appreciative. “We are most grateful for these days of service, as the Harker students truly did make a difference,” she said. “Their volunteer efforts in all areas, whether making over a classroom supply area, sorting donations, organizing a toy warehouse or helping with paper work for case managers, made lives better. No child should ever know homelessness – a lesson brought to life for these compassionate Harker volunteers.”
More information about donating to or volunteering at InnVision can be found at www.innvision.org.
Pat White’s grade 6 advisory did a bang-up job collecting toiletries for the Georgia Travis Center for Women and Children. The students sorted and bagged two boxes of donated travel toiletries including shampoo, toothpaste and soap, and came up with 112 mini collections to be handed out to those who need them at the center. “We have been collecting hotel and sample toiletries since the beginning of the school year,” said White. “We will have another sorting and bagging later in the spring. The Georgia Travis Center has been very busy because of the general economy and its impact on families, so we hope our contribution will be helpful.”
The Harker Programming Club is hosting a programming competition March 19 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the upper school campus.
“While searching for more competition opportunities for the club, we were disappointed by the scarcity of local tournaments and thus decided to hold one of our own,” said Christine Chien, grade 12, club spokesperson. “In the long run, hopefully, our contest will help programmers at other schools pursue their interests and encourage schools that do not have a computer science program to start one.”
The event will be held in Nichols Hall, Harker’s new science and technology building, and registration and lunch are both free. Details of the actual competition and how to register are online.
Chien noted the contest will prepare students for the AP Computer Science exam as well as the Stanford ProCo Contest since problems have been written by the ProCo team. Accepted languages are Java, C++, C and Python, and each team must bring a laptop with Wi-Fi capability. Teams of up to three students will compete in a two-and-a-half hour round to score as many points possible by submitting problems online. Prizes will be awarded to non-Harker teams!
All teams must be chaperoned, so each school must bring a teacher or parent. Chaperones will have access to a lounge area with outlets, Wi-Fi, and of course, coffee.
Schedule: Registration check-in 9-10 a.m.; Contest 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; Lunch 12:30–1:30 p.m.; Keynote speaker 1:30-2:30 p.m.; Awards 2:30–3 p.m.. For more information, contact the Harker Programming Club at harkerprogramming@gmail.com.
As always, the 2010 holidays were a time of celebration and giving at Harker, with special events, performances and service projects going into full swing.
During the second week of December, performing arts groups from all three campuses, including Downbeat, the Upper School Orchestra, Dance Fusion and Harmonics, gathered for the annual holiday tour, which was provided fun holiday entertainment to audiences at Saratoga, Blackford and Bucknall.
At the lower school, grades 4 and 5 celebrated with holiday parties, where gifts were exchanged, and each class had a special assembly of its own. Grade 4 students had fun with karaoke, a snowball game and playing “Santa Says.” Grade 5 kids were entertained by a troupe of actors and enjoyed hot chocolate and other treats, as well as a special visit from Santa Claus.
The lower school also celebrated with a pair of December concerts. The grade 1 Holiday Show, directed by Louis Hoffman and choreographed by Gail Palmer, brought the entire first grade class together to sing perennial favorites such as “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” as well as lesser-known songs such as “Candy Candy,” “Shine Little Candle” and a medley of Hanukkah songs.
Grades 2 and 3 had a concert of their own, also directed and choreographed by Hoffman and Palmer, respectively. During the show, both grades alternated between sharing the stage as a group and singing as individual classes. Songs performed included “Jingle Bells,” “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Over the River and Through the Woods” and the finale, “Jingle Bell Rock.” Several teachers and guest student musicians also appeared at various points throughout the show.
The lower school’s yearly toy drive saw 925 toys delivered to Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose. Donated items included “sports equipment, board games, stuffed animals and all the popular toys of the season,” said Joe Connolly, lower school dean of students. Harker tech support manager Jesse Lara generously gave more than 125 toys from his own personal collection. “I continue to be touched by the incredible generosity of our parents and students,” Connolly said.
Just before the holiday break, Harker kindergartners got to meet Santa Claus (actually Chris Nikoloff, head of school, in full Santa garb) to share their holiday wishes and enjoy breakfast at this year’s Breakfast With Santa event. All the kindergartners had their photos taken to commemorate their meeting with Saint Nikoloff.
Middle school students and advisories conducted several service projects during the season. The Service Club collected and donated more than 250 pounds of canned and dried food items to the Second Harvest Food Bank. The annual used coat drive, also sponsored by the Service Club, donated 175 coats to InnVision, which provides housing and services to homeless and at-risk families.
In addition, 15 advisories brought holiday cheer to more than 120 preschoolers by purchasing and delivering special gifts to the Kidango Child Center in San Jose. Six other advisories worked with faculty and staff from the lower and middle schools to brighten the holidays for more than 100 children, seniors and mentally challenged adults through Family Giving Tree, for which Harker was a host company this year. Gifts donated included toys, games and clothing that were given according to each person’s preferences.
At the upper school, a massive effort was coordinated to generate food donations to the Second Harvest Food Bank, collecting nearly 850 pounds of food items to offer relief to hungry families in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Upper school advisories made donations to Scott Lane Elementary School, sending two carloads of school supplies, toys and other gifts for elementary school-aged children. They also helped families in need by donating to Sunday Friends, providing everyday items such as binder paper, pencils, diapers and toiletries.
Continuing a yearly holiday tradition, upper school students lent their hands to decoration of the popular Christmas in the Park attraction in downtown San Jose and also carried the massive Elmo float through heavy winds during the San Jose Holiday Parade.
The yearly gingerbread house contest, during which each upper school class, as well as faculty and staff, constructs a gingerbread house, was another annual favorite. The juniors’ gingerbread house was judged the best by voters. In another annual holiday tradition, students painted the windows of Manzanita Hall with colorful, detailed scenes, each based on a different animated character. The seniors’ scene based on the movie “Nightmare Before Christmas” was the winning painting.
Written for Harker News [Online] by Ramya Rangan, grade 11, WiSTEM Publicity Officer
This January many Harker upper school students found a new way to help the global community by raising funds to improve female education in sub-Saharan Africa.
Harker’s WiSTEM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) led a weeklong effort the first week of the new year to raise awareness about the disparity between female and male education rates in the developing world.
Throughout the week, WiSTEM members emphasized that giving a girl an education leads to better health and lifestyles for her entire family. Since female education rates are the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, the club raised funds for CAMFED, an organization that transfers donations to Africa to send children to school.
To accomplish their goal WiSTEM members sold goods at almost every opportunity, including after school and at lunch. Unlike previous years, the goods were personalized by the club to match the week’s theme. Wristbands featured the slogan “A Chance to Advance,” and freshly-baked cupcakes were decorated with statistics about girls’ education around the world.
In the end, Harker students proved to be more than willing to support this cause. The club raised about $3,000, enough for CAMFED to “help 10 girls stay in high school in the Samfya district of Zambia. That’s 40 years of education,” said senior Josephine Chen, president of WiSTEM.
WiSTEM’s focus during their week was not just to raise money, however; the club primarily sought to increase awareness on the issue of girls’ education. As Chen explained, “While fundraising enables us to provide an immediate, direct impact on many girls’ lives, becoming educated about the cause can allow each and every one of us to continue to support the cause beyond this one week.”
To spread key statistics about girls’ education, WiSTEM gave an interactive and informative presentation during an assembly. The club also posted fliers and posters around the school.
According to Anita Chetty, science department chair and WiSTEM’s advisor, “WiSTEM used a unique way to deliver its message this year,” setting up a trivia game as a spirit competition to promote science literacy and reinforce information on [WiSTEM’s] posters.
The game was modeled after the High School Science Bowl (often called the Quiz Bowl) competition. Each class assembled a team of 10 or more student who were prepared to answer general science trivia questions and questions specific to girls’ education. With the incentive of spirit points and the need to defend class pride, approximately 50 people joined in the event in some way, either by competing or by supporting their friends.
Chetty said she “was very impressed with the number of students who came out to support WiSTEM and their classes.” Chen agreed, noting she “loved that people actually studied the various facts we posted around school” to prepare for the event. The competition served its purpose to educate the student body about the lack of girls’ education around the world.
WiSTEM members intend to continue to support increased education through the year and the club hopes to include the rest of the school in their efforts. Although the club’s week in January focused on education in the developing world, WiSTEM recognizes that education-related issues plague us locally as well.
Therefore, according to Chen, “WiSTEM is hoping to plan various activities at Scott Lane,” a school that educates underprivileged students in the Bay Area. These activities could include “tutoring, creating educational games or staging a mini-science fair.” As January fades into history, Harker students will continue to increase their impact on education levels around the world, thanks to WiSTEM’s ongoing efforts.
Approximately 130 parents attended the forums, which were held Jan. 19 at the lower school, Jan. 24 at the middle school and Jan. 25 at the upper school. Participating administrators included Christopher Nikoloff, head of school and Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, as well as deans, division heads and counselors from each campus.
Nikoloff opened each event by highlighting where Harker is, has been, and is going with respect to some of the issues raised in the film. By way of background, he referenced the 1981 book “The Hurried Child.” “Over the last 30 years, there have been a lot of hurrying dynamics in our children’s lives,” he said. “Now there is something of a backlash. It’s important not to get caught up in either end of the pendulum swing.”
With that in mind, Harker is continually evaluating its own programs from the perspective of its core values. “Our guiding star is love of learning, or intellectual curiosity,” Nikoloff said. “So when we ask questions … our goal is always deeper learning.” He then outlined some concrete steps Harker has taken over time in accordance with this philosophy, including the following:
Quarterly grading periods were changed to trimesters for K-5 and semesters for grades 6-12 to allow more time between assessments. Characterizing this as “a good start,” Nikoloff observed that there is still room for changes in pedagogy at all levels to decrease reliance on tests and incorporate more kinds of assessments.
The number of awards and awards ceremonies has been scaled back in favor of more cumulative annual recognitions. Almost every Harker student is among the top 10-15 percent of students nationwide, Nikoloff said, so comparisons must be undertaken with that in mind.
The requirements for summer courses and challenge tests have been increased in an effort to allow truly advanced students to work above grade level while avoiding artificial acceleration. Experience has shown that some accelerated students, particularly in math, do not develop the conceptual foundations they need for continued success.
Recent initiatives to improve the student experience include holding final exams before the holiday vacation so students can enjoy a real break, as well as adjusting the middle school bell schedule to eliminate conflicts between performing arts and athletics.
The upper school wellness program deepens in scope each year, and deals with such topics as sleep, stress, drugs, relationships and preparation for college. In 2010, student input was institutionalized by the creation of the Wellness Board, which includes representatives from each grade as well as Butch Keller, upper school head, along with faculty, counselors and the school nurse.
Advisories were established in grades 6-12 to build community and provide a scheduled opportunity to “take the pulse of the students’ lives and check in with them,” said Nikoloff, who went on to acknowledge an upper school parent’s perception that, yes, “sometimes community hinges on food.”
Teacher meeting time in grades 1-8 formerly spent arriving at consensus citizenship grades is now used to discuss students proactively and collaborate about how to best serve the needs of each.
A new dean of studies position was established last year, in part to help educate upper school students and families about how to choose an appropriate courseload and a balance of activities.
The dean of studies will meet with each grade 8 family this year to help them outline a suitable plan for high school, one customized to accommodate individual interests. Nikoloff recommended Ken Livingston’s book “The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything,” as a good read and a tool that helps inform these discussions.
Harker is exploring the possibility of becoming a Challenge Success school, which would formalize its ties with that organization, based in Stanford’s School of Education. Challenge Success schools work closely with such experts as Denise Clark-Pope and Madeline Levine, who have both spoken at Harker, as well as other member schools to explore best practices in support of student well-being and engagement with learning. “They work with you to help you do what you do better,” said Nikoloff. “Our goal is: How can we deepening the learning?”
Harker has been cultivating dialogue among parents, students, faculty and the public in a variety of ways, including through a homework survey, the Common Ground Speaker Series, and the “Race to Nowhere” screening and its ensuing conversation. Other examples of Harker’s expanding community outreach include The Harker Speaker Series, Harker Research Symposium, Harker Arts Series and ongoing parent education programs.
Harker wants above all to hear what its own students have to say about the “Race to Nowhere,” and has scheduled round table discussions to solicit their feedback.
After outlining these initiatives at each event, Nikoloff moved to address some common questions, including about homework. “We are doing a deep homework audit and we do think we can accomplish more with a little bit less,” said Nikoloff. But he also cautioned, “you probably will not feel that tonight. It’s a reflective process that will slowly yield results.”
That sat well with Julie Moncton (Michael, grade 7), who said she appreciated the opportunity for parents to weigh in. “It’s nice to see that change is in the works and yet it won’t be changing so radically that we end up with something that won’t work out,” she said.
Other questions focused on math and language arts grouping and whether it contributes to competition. Nikoloff urged parents to see grouping as part of the process of learning, not as a goal to be achieved. The idea behind grouping is to match each student with “the pace that is within their zone of proximal development,” he said. “That means children are being challenged without being stressed.”
Seeking Balance in Parenting
As Nikoloff opened the discussion to attendees, specific questions naturally evolved into lively parent discussions. Parents in each division raised the twin issues of 1) how to provide opportunities and encouragement for children without exerting unwitting pressure, and 2) how to preserve those opportunities for activities they are truly passionate about, especially when schoolwork encroaches.
One question hung over all the others: How will colleges ultimately view them? On this as on other points, Nikoloff urged parents not to compare their children with anyone else’s, but to evaluate their activities by whether they are happy and meaningfully engaged. “That will translate into getting into the college that is right for them,” he said.
His message resonated with Trish Tobin (Sheridan, grade 8; Brendan, grade 6; Ryan, grade 2), who said, “I really appreciate how much time this school invests in learning how children learn and what’s best for them as a whole – not just their academic selves.” Parent Jennifer Hargreaves (Sydney, K) agreed. She particularly valued the “variety of perspectives from parents” at the forum, she said, and the fact that “the school is leading the conversation in the best interests of our children.”
Dodging Trouble in the Teen Years
Discussion at the upper school event focused heavily on the specifics of right now, with many parents wanting to know warning signs of stress to watch for in their teens. Among the recommendations offered by Nikoloff and upper school counselors Lori Kohan and Chris Colletti were to find some unscheduled time with children in which to gauge their stress levels, and to take notice of an extreme response to a bad grade.
At school, teachers and advisors make sure to work as a team to solicit one another’s observations if something seems amiss, the counselors said, and parents should always feel free to contact them with concerns as well.
At all three forums, parents were encouraged to communicate their own values, for example by asking kids more questions about the “process” of learning than about their grades.
Alumna Casey Near ’06 offered valuable perspective based on her own experience. The Harker students who thrive are “the ones who really take the Harker message to heart — that it’s about the process, and it’s about the ability to think critically,” she said. “So it’s the parents’ role to make sure that’s the focus – and not that test, that quiz or that homework assignment.”
On Jan. 12, Harker’s upper school boys and girls soccer teams held their annual Kicks Against Cancer event at Davis Field, raising nearly $8,000. The goal for this year’s fundraiser was to send four child cancer survivors to Camp Okizu, a camp program that specializes in activities and care for young cancer patients and survivors and their families.
Funds were raised by selling tickets (which came with a commemorative T-shirt) and bracelets during lunch on the days leading up to the event. A special fund for faculty and staff was also set up so they could have the option of donating an amount of their choosing. Michael Anthony’s Salon in Saratoga also helped fund the effort, graciously donating proceeds from all transactions made on Jan. 9, in addition to offering a 50 percent discount on haircuts and treatments and a 30 percent discount on all hair care products.
During the halftimes of both games, several teachers and coaches volunteered to be targets in the classic soccer-based game of “Butts Up,” during which they bent over in front of the goal while audience members took turns making penalty kicks at them.
The varsity girls soccer team lost to Pinewood 0-3, and the boys team defeated Eastside College Prep 3-0.
Harker upper school students donated 846 pounds of food to the Second Harvest Food Bank last month. The effort, spearheaded by parent Nina Yeats (Robert, grade 10) and avidly supported by sophomore Lori Berenberg, helped feed the hungry in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, where as many as one in four goes to bed undernourished, according to Second Harvest.
Yeats says the idea to sponsor the drive grew out of a family dinner conversation. “Our family was bouncing around ideas — why donations peak during the holidays, what motivates,” she said. “I made a few inquiries, found interest and registered Harker for the Holiday Food Drive.” Working with Second Harvest and librarian Lauri Vaughan, Yeats arranged for 10 barrels to be dropped off on campus shortly after Thanksgiving.
Not satisfied with a low-key collection effort, Berenberg really got things rolling. “When I realized the can drive was beginning at Harker, I could not just stand by,” said Berenberg, who approached her class dean, Jeffrey Draper. She and Draper came up with the idea to turn the collection into an informal competition between classes. “I put the plan into action. I made posters, labeled the barrels, moved them to convenient locations, spoke at school and class meetings, and posted it on the daily bulletin,” she said.
The barrels were available at morning drop-off curbs, in the library, plus Dobbins and Manzanita halls. Every napkin bin in the Edge was also labeled with a reminder to encourage participation. In the end, the barrels were filled and nearly 700 pounds of food were donated to Second Harvest, the single largest nonprofit provider of food to low-income households in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and the second largest food bank in the country.