MAY 2004 (VOL. 10, NO. 8)
A
M O N T H L Y
est. 1893 • K-12 college prep
N E W S L E T T E R
F R O M
T H E
eCybermission contest, winning them each a $2,000 savings bond and a framed cer tificate of achievement.
S P E C I A L Alumni/Volunteer Edition
Annual Volunteer Thanks ... 20
Terry Walsh
Special Alumni Update ...... 27
In writing, fourth grader (pg. 9) makes top ten in state, sophomore wins national award ................................... pg. 16
S C H O O L
7th Grade Team Tops in Region with Antitheft Device
inside
Five Harker teams qualify for FPS state finals .............. pg. 7
H A R K E R
A Harker team of 7th graders and their Auto Antitheft device project recently placed 1st in the Southwest/Pacific Region of the annual
Visiting engineers share knowledge with students ..................................... pg. 6
Students Sean Mandell, Andrew Chin, Ryan Tam and Kevin Hou have worked as a team since September designing a gadget that uses fingerprint and retinal scanner technology. The contest, sponsored by the U. S. Army, uses four criteria
to grade projects, which this year totaled 833 nationwide: Science, Math and Technology; Innovation, Originality and Creativity; Benefit to the Community; Team Collaboration and Communication. The Harker team received the highest grade – and earned their award – for the Science, Math, and Technology criteria. “This is an excellent criteria to win since it shows how our students can apply the sciences that they learn to creative problemsolving,” said MS science teacher Raji Swaminathan. “The Army officer who called me regarding the award was ver y appreciative of Harker’s commitment to the study of science, math, and technology,” she added. For more information go to http://www.ecybermission.com.
Thumbs Up for Smack Down
hot tix Lee Trotter
Lee Trotter
Schoolhouse Rock, Live!
Quach beat out a favorite, John Tepperman, Gr. 12, to win the first round and forced Hailey Lam, Gr. 10, to take second place in the finals with game scores of 7-0 and 11-7. Third and fourth place in the singles’ tournament went to Ilya Arbatman, Gr. 11, and Neil Bhalerao, Gr. 12, respectively. The Mehta/Micek combination triumphed over Lucas Motro, Gr. 9, and math teacher Evan Barth in
BKN Dance Concert
Fri. and Sat., May 28 and 29 7 p.m., BKN Gym Details - pg. 10
US rec activities got a bit more interesting the last few days before spring break as a pingpong tournament dubbed “The Smack Down” took place during US lunches and breaks. Four rounds of play concluded with Alan Quach, Gr. 9, winning the singles’ division and Nayan Mehta, Gr. 12, and computer science teacher Mark Micek taking the title in the doubles’ division. Nick Gassman
Fri. and Sat., May 14 and 15 7:30 p.m., STG Gym Details - pg. 12
the third game 12-10. Third place in the doubles’ bracket went to Nima Taheri, Gr. 11, and math teacher Le Nguyen. The final match of freshman Lucas Motro and teacher Evan Barth vs. senior Nayan Mehta and teacher Mark Micek drew a standing room only crowd. Roars of “oohs” and “aahs” filled the crowd as the match swung from an 11-6 freshman lead in the first game to an 11-6 win for the senior team. “The final game brought the crowd to the edge of their seats as the players went into extra points, and the senior team ended the drama with a 12-10 victor y,” said Chris Yamashita, rec director, who organized the tournament and added that it will now be an annual event.