In December, upper school students Daniela Lapidous and Shreya Indukuri, both grade 11, were featured in a segment on the Comcast Sports Net Bay Area program “49ers Total Access for Kids,” which is hosted by kids and geared toward young San Francisco 49ers fans.
Lapidous and Indukuri appeared on the show to talk about the green initiatives they were instrumental in enacting after receiving a grant from the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) in 2009. The green projects featured included the organic garden and the smart meters that were installed at the Saratoga campus to monitor energy usage. The show also briefly touched on the green roof at Nichols Hall.
The entire episode can be viewed at the 49ers Total Access for Kids website. The segment featuring the girls begins 11 minutes into the program.
In keeping with the giving spirit of the holiday season, the lower school’s annual holiday toy drive delivered 925 toys to Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose on the afternoon of Dec. 16. Grade 4 students loaded up a Harker delivery truck, which transported the toys from the Bucknall campus to Sacred Heart. There, members of the grade 4 student council helped unload the toys and received a tour of Sacred Heart’s facilities.
Toys donated included “sports equipment, board games, stuffed animals and all the popular toys of the season,” said Joe Connolly, lower school dean of students. “We even had toys that were purchased at FAO Schwarz.” Harker tech support manager Jesse Lara donated more than 125 toys from his personal collection to help the cause. “He originally collected them as an investment, but decided that boys and girls should play with them,” Connolly said. He later thanked the Harker community for its generosity, saying that Sacred Heart was “thrilled” with amount of toys they received. The donations will play a big part in assisting the 5,000 families that Sacred Heart will serve this holiday season.
“I continue to be touched by the incredible generosity of our parents and students,” Connolly said. “We organize these service projects so the children may realize the wonderful feeling of giving to others. It is uplifting to be able to partner with our parents in this worthy cause.”
This story first appeared in the Winter edition of the Harker Quarterly.
In late September, 50 members of the Harker community, including students, parents and teachers, got involved with California Coastal Cleanup Day by picking up litter scattered about Pillar Point and Pilarcitos Creek in Half Moon Bay. The effort was kick-started by parent Kelly Lewis Brezoczky (Emma, grade 5; Charlotte, grade 3; Katherine, grade 1), who believed it to be a good fit for the lower school’s theme of compassion. Brezoczky received help from service and Spirit Club advisor Katie Molin and Redwood City’s Marine Science Institute to coordinate the event.
“The students were excited to be helping the environment by collecting candy wrappers and other paper trash, as well as by finding an old tent and two shopping carts in the creek,” Molin said. Her daughter, Naomi, grade 7, received a T-shirt as a reward for discovering the most bizarre item of debris, a plastic net.
Dancers, singers and musicians will again help celebrate “Light Up the Night” at Santana Row, a long-time Harker Fashion Show sponsor. Performers will gather Tues., Nov. 16 from 6-6:30 p.m. for the annual tree lighting, which this year is being directed by our own Laura Lang-Ree, director of performing arts. Harker groups Dance Fusion, US Jazz Band and Downbeat will all be performing prior to the tree lighting on the green outside Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant. The entire event runs from 3-9 p.m. More details are available at http://www.santanarow.com/events/calendar/2010/11/ (yes, the photo on their site is Harker’s Dance Fusion at last year’s performance!).
Rohan Chandra, grade 10, is one of 10 first place national winners of the Scholastic BE BIG in Your Community contest, in which people submitted ideas to help improve their communities. Chandra will receive a $2,500 grant to help his idea come to life. His plan is to make and distribute “Earthquake Kits” to the senior citizens in his area, which runs an especially high risk of experiencing a major earthquake.
These kits would contain essentials such as water, a flashlight, first-aid supplies, medicine and non-perishable foods. Because Chandra’s community is very ethnically diverse, the kits would also come with instructions in various languages such as Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, Urdu and Tagalog, so that more people will be able to clearly and quickly understand important information in the event of an earthquake-related emergency. The contest organizers provide the structure for winners to complete their proposals. Chandra’s was one of nearly 1,000 entries; more than 25,000 community members of all ages submitted for the contest: one top-10 winner was 55.
The Harker School has long supported the YWCA of Silicon Valley’s annual luncheon each year hosting a table of Harker students who have a special passion for that year’s topic.
This year some of Harker’s budding historians will hear keynote speaker Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, talk about leaders who have shaped the United States. Goodwin wrote what reportedly is one of President Obama’s favorite books, “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.” She won the Pulitzer Prize for “No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II.”
The 20th annual luncheon will be held Tues., Nov. 16 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Event proceeds will support the programs and services of the YWCA of Silicon Valley. The networking social will begin at 11 a.m., with the luncheon following from noon to 1:30 p.m.
“Our guests have expressed a great deal of excitement around having Goodwin speak,” said Sharon Winston, 2010 event chair, “and the YWCA is delighted to have so many new and returning guests at the luncheon providing support for vital programs and services.” Winston added that this year, more than 1,500 guests are expected.
Each year, more than 40 companies and hundreds of individuals sponsor the YWCA’s luncheon. Past speakers have included Isabelle Allende, Gloria Steinem, Sally Ride, Janet Reno and Mary Lou Retton.
This is a non-ticketed fundraiser; guests attend as an individual or sponsored guest. An appeal will be made during the event, requesting a minimum donation of $150. To reserve a seat, please contact LaDonna Curteman at 408.295.4011, ext. 216 or events@ywca-sv.org. More information can be found at www.ywca-sv.org.
The mission of the YWCA Silicon Valley is to empower women, children and families, and to eliminate racism, hatred and prejudice. They provide programs in the areas of sexual assault intervention and prevention, counseling services, domestic violence, child care, youth programs, family services, and social and racial justice. The YWCA of Silicon Valley serves nearly 18,000 Santa Clara County residents each year, and has provided services in the county for more than 100 years.
In support of the 2010-11 Bucknall theme of compassion, grade 1 teachers, including Cindy Proctor and Diann Chung, led a contingent of about 15 Harker families and teachers from several grades on the Oct. 2 Humane Society of Silicon Valley Walk ‘n Wag fundraiser.
“Most families and teachers brought their dogs, or borrowed a dog for the event,” said Proctor. “One child was dog-sitting and brought that dog. Some children came without a dog and just enjoyed everyone else’s dogs,” she said.
“I loved doing the walk,” said Lauren Beede, grade 3. “My small dog was very tired at the end, and once we got home she drank LOTS of water. I think my dog liked it, too.” Shannon Li, grade 1, added, “I liked meeting my teachers’ dogs,” while classmate Emily Tan encapsulated the event perfectly: “I liked playing with my friends, and I got to pet a dog, too.”
“I thought the event was a wonderful success,” said Proctor. “It brought together teachers, parents, students and dogs! It was a special opportunity to be able to have the Harker community reach out for a good cause.”
The walk supports the Humane Society of Silicon Valley and the many animals they save and care for every day. The group walked the 1.5 mile route, and later in the year, first graders will be doing a community service project with the Humane Society.
As summer drew to a close, Craig Pasqua, Harker tennis director, traveled to Flushing, N.Y., to volunteer at Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day 2010, held Aug. 28 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. According to Pasqua, who was attending the event for the third straight year, more than 30,000 children and adults used the 18 available tennis courts, which included Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Pasqua was busy giving lessons for the United States Tennis Association Serves Foundation, a charitable corporation that offers support to programs that serve at-risk children and people with disabilities.
While in New York, Pasqua also attended the USTA Tennis Teachers Conference, which took place during the U.S. Open. He attended speaking engagements with several well-known tennis coaches, including Tom Gullikson, Jose Higueras, Oscar Wegner, Mary Joe Fernandez, Tracy Austin, Cliff Drysdale and Billie Jean King. In addition, he was able to meet a number of young rising stars, such as Melanie Oudin and Coco Vandeweghe. He even had a chance meeting with alumna and former varsity tennis player Brittany Chu ’10, who was preparing for her first year at Columbia University.
Pasqua announced during the conference that he would be stepping down as the chairman of the USTA diversity committee in November, but said he looked forward “to joining the USTA’s community tennis committee, as my own nonprofit, Standing Tall Tennis, will begin serving the San Jose American Indian community this fall.”
Finally, besides getting to view the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Pasqua was also able to attend a taping of “Late Night With David Letterman.”
Students Shreya Indukuri and Daniela Lapidous, both grade 11, appear in a video (beginning at 2 minutes and 12 seconds) produced by the organization Unite for Climate in collaboration with the UNICEF Education for Development network. The video covers the grant the students won to install smart meters on the lower and upper school campuses, and how the meters have been used to monitor the school’s energy usage. It tells of how the pair helped discover previously unknown sources of consumption and reduce the overall amount of energy used by the school.
In mid-August, inmates transformed San Mateo Women’s Correctional Center’s kitchen into a bustling culinary scene reminiscent of Iron Chef.
In the timed cooking contest, four teams of former and current inmates, JobTrain students and celebrity chefs whipped up delectable dishes for a panel of judges, including Harker’s very own chef Danae McLaughlin.
To give back to the community and provide skills that can aid offenders after release, chef Elihu Kittell, who runs the kitchen at the jail, started the program in 2006 with chef Adam Weiner. Weiner works for JobTrain, a nonprofit educational and training institution that helps communities break out of poverty, crime and drugs by providing courses, job training and additional assistance for all ages.
McLaughlin, who has competed and received medals from the American Culinary Federation, initially became involved with JobTrain after meeting Weiner at a competition geared towards youth leadership and career development. Impressed by JobTrain’s mission and various programs, McLaughlin and Steve Martin, Harker’s executive chef, judged one of JobTrain’s competitions and then began hiring JobTrain students as interns in the Harker kitchen.
McLaughlin served as a kitchen judge and tasting judge, commenting on the teamwork and also on the salads, salmon, jambalaya and pecan pie placed before her. She also had the opportunity to chat with the inmates about her experiences as a woman in a kitchen and becoming a Certified Executive Chef.
McLaughlin joined a galaxy of public officials including judges Sheriff Greg Munks, Supervisor Adrienne Tissier and Assistant Sheriff Trisha Sanchez, in congratulating everyone for their effort and awarding Team No. 4 – Amilia Otis, Laura Engman and Captain Quinlan – for winning the competition.
“It was really a great feeling that I could actually be a role model for them!” McLaughlin said. “This event gave all these women something to look forward to and something to work towards. In the end, it was the look of accomplishment and empowerment that I saw on all their faces that was the best thing about being involved.”
To view broadcasts of the event, visit KTVU, CBS5 or ABC7.