FEBRUARY 2005 (VOL. 11, NO. 5)
est. 1893 • K-12 college prep
needs N E W S L E T T E R
The day the news broke, Harker students began taking action to raise money in aid of the victims of the terrible tsunami that struck Southeast Asia on Dec. 26. The student councils from all three divisions are currently planning and developing various long-term relief efforts that you’ll hear about in the coming weeks.
Mid-year report from Diana Nichols ........................ 6 & 7 New Library column ............ 3 MS teacher returns from Tamagawa exchange ......... 11 Some US classrooms go paper-less ........................ 13
Meanwhile, activities aimed at yielding immediate donations are already underway. At the MS, first period teachers are asking students to donate their allowances, extra money they earned by doing chores, or even monetary gifts they received over the holidays to the relief fund. On the LS campus, parents have been asked to help their child pick a chore or task that can earn them a few dollars. Students will turn in their
online ■ Blackford update given at recent Gr. 5, 6 and 7 Q & A’s now posted on division Parent Home Pages ■ Summer@Harker offerings now posted - register today for best selection!
H A R K E R
S C H O O L
donations and receive a Bucknall Buck on which they can write how they earned the donation, and then hang their Bucknall Bucks on their grade level bulletin board. “We believe it is valuable for the students to actually do something to earn the money they will donate,” said LS dean Kelly Espinosa. At press time, the US student council was still busily working out details of their longterm support plan, while finishing up with finals.
donations from member schools to go directly to the Red Cross. While students organize their long-term efforts within academic divisions, the entire community is welcome to further support relief efforts already underway by contributing directly through their site, which is linked on the Parent Home Page.
American
Red Cross
Harker will join independent schools across the nation in supporting relief efforts through the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), which has established an account for
In a letter recently sent to parents by division heads, Harker administrators noted, “This crisis has served as a lesson in what global citizenship really means, and your children have eagerly and willingly stepped forward to help.” We commend the entire Harker student body for their compassion and resourcefulness in response to this tragedy.
Robotics Club Attends Live National Kick-off
events
Tired but excited members of Harker’s Robotics Club hopped on an early morning bus from the campus on Sat., Jan. 8 to attend the live national 7 a.m. telecast at San Jose State University and learn the details about this year’s robotics challenge.
SEE YOU THERE! See pgs. 4 & 5
T H E
Tsunami Relief Efforts Underway School-wide
inside
Fri., Feb. 4
F R O M
Robotics advisor Eric Nelson explained, “The international telecast can be seen on NASA TV, however there are a number of sites (such as SJSU) where a large number of teams gather together to see the presentation on a big
screen and then pick up the initial parts kit which weighs in at some 80 pounds. It’s basically a large tech rally,” he laughed. Up to this rally, the only information given to the teams was a list of parts to buy.
Now, the nearly 50-member Robotics team will spend countless hours building their robot to the specifications laid out at the kickoff. “After the kick-off we have six weeks to the day to have our robot built, tested, packed and shipped to the Sacramento Regional event. If we miss the deadline by even five minutes we are disqualified,” said Nelson. If you’d like to see the Kick-Off, go to http:// robotics.nasa.gov/first/2005/ kickoff.htm, and watch the next newsletter for an update on this exciting project.
This Month's Tribute to the Nichols
Harker Archives
M O N T H L Y
Mark Tantrum
A
Howard Nichols: Sets Standard with Superb Leadership, Family Atmosphere. See story back page.