2006 May Harker News

may 2006 (VOL. 12, NO. 8)

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M O N T H L Y

inside

MS wrestlers earn 10 medals; other sports news .............. 8 LS 10th Annual Ogre Awards: a celebration of folk tales .... 11 MS Destination Imagination team heads to nationals ... 13 US raises 12K for Darfur relief program ........................... 17

harker.org Lots of photos now online!

■ More Fashion Show ■ LS Ogres ■ MS Dance Show: Dance Jamz

N E W S L E T T E R

est. 1893 • K-12 college prep

F R O M

T H E

H A R K E R

S C H O O L

First MS Dance Show – Dance Jamz 2006 – a Hit! The MS dance department presented its inaugural dance show, “Dance Jamz 2006,” to excited families and friends on March 30 and 31 in the MS cafetorium.

This fast-paced show moved from one dance to the next in a blur of colorful costumes and genres.

Jazz, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, salsa and disco dancers burst across the stage, impressing the audience with their precision and energy. Staff choreographers Gail

Palmer, Kristin Maurer, Laura Rae and Adrian Bermudez created 17 top-notch numbers, and were joined by student choreographers Alison Axelrad, Gr. 8, and Sasha Stepanenko, Gr. 12, on two of the dances.

Many thanks to directors Palmer and Rae, the entire dance faculty, and MS technical director Paul Vallerga for bringing such fun and talent to the new Blackford performance space.

■ US Conservatory ■ Harker News photos - we post each month!

events The Middle School Performing Arts Department presents

Oliver!

Fri., May 12 & Sat., May 13 7:30 p.m. • MS Cafetorium Tickets $5

Lower School Dance Concert

Books, Wonderful Books!

Fri., May 26 & Sat., May 27 7 p.m. • LS Gym $3/students & seniors $5/adults Harker News — May 06

Eight Students Honored at Synopsys Science Fair An astounding eight Harker students were among the honorees at the recent Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Engineering Fair. HannShuin Yew, Gr. 12, earned the grand prize in biological science, earning her an invitation to the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair in Indianapolis in May (see Kudos pg. 19). In addition, Shruthi Bhuma, Swathi Bhuma and Karen Chiu, all Gr. 12, won the grand prize in the environmental science category, which grants them an invitation to the California State Science Fair (CSSF) in Los Angeles in May. Jocelyn Ko, Gr. 11, earned the top prize in the medicine, health and gerontology category, and will also attend the CSSF. Jaya Iyer, Gr. 12,

and Sushant Sundaresh, Gr. 10, earned honorable mention awards in the chemistry and engineering categories, respectively.

Several Harker students also won special awards given by specific sponsors: Iyer, first place, American Chemical Society Award ($300 prize); Vijay Swamy, Gr. 11, first place, California Water Environment Award, superior achievement, Water Environment Federation Water Prize, honorable mention, American Society of Civil Engineers Award; Sundaresh, second place, ASM International Award. Also, Yew earned the Genecor International Individual Award for Biotech, and the NASA Ames Research Center Achievement Award.

In the technical paper awards,

Iyer, Swamy and Diana Lai, Gr. 9, earned first place in the Medimmune Advancing Science for Better Health Award, and Ko earned second place in the same category.

In addition, Yew earned the Morgan Lewis Most Innovative Idea Award, winning her $1,000.

In addition to the individual prizes, the Harker science department received the $1,000 grand prize from the Whitney Education Foundation for earning so many high scores in the competition.

Exclaimed US Science Department Chair Anita Chetty, “Not bad for our first year promoting science research!” Congratulations to all the students who participated, and to Harker’s outstanding science faculty.

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We know we’ll see many of you at the exciting events ahead - it’s a busy month!

The Vacations & Holidays calendar for the coming school year is now posted on the Web site. You can find a link to it from each of the Division Home Pages. We’ll be posting the more detailed calendars for next year in mid-summer.

Our next edition will arrive later than usual – mailed in midJune – and will include a recap of all of the exciting end-of-theyear events. Watch for it!

—Pam Dickinson, Director Office of Communications pamd@harker.org

quote “We competed with kids that had been wrestling for years, and that’s what is so

may dates ■ Mon., May 29 — Memorial Day – no classes, K-11 ■ Wed., June 7 — Last day of school, K-11

May Student Performances & Shows ■ LS & US ART SHOW Mon., May 1 - Fri., May 26 ■ MS ART SHOW Mon., May 22 - Fri., May 26

■ LOWER SCHOOL DANCE CONCERT Fri., May 26 and Sat., May 27, 7 p.m. • Lower School Gym $5/adult • $3/students & seniors “Books, Wonderful Books!” Our Gr. 1-5 dancers will entertain you with their moves and style as they dance about books that inspire us!

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Now on MS Campus

The next Common Ground lecture will take place at Hillbrook School on Thurs., May 4 at 7 p.m., on the topic “Helping Your Child Thrive in the Social Jungle.” The guest speaker will be Dr. Michelle Borba, author of “Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me.”

■ Thurs., May 18, 8-10 a.m., FDR, US Campus — 2007 Fashion Show Meeting ■ Sat., June 3, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. — Harker Alumni Day, US Campus

Questions? Contact Randall Dukes at 408.553.0362.

biz office

Parent Education Event

■ Fri., May 5, 1 - 3:30 p.m. — Grandparents’ Day for K - Gr. 5

The Harker School P.O. Box 15546 Sacramento, CA 95852-1546

Simply go to the Harker home page and click on “Giving@Harker.” If you have any questions, please contact Melinda Gonzales at melindag@harker.org or 408.345.0111.

■ SPRING SING Fri., May 26, 3 p.m. • Middle School Cafetorium • Free admission The sixth grade and the Gr. 6 Choir present an afternoon of song in this first-ever Spring Sing, with a special guest appearance by the Harmonics!

Special Events

Just a reminder that the 2006–’07 tuition, which will be noted in your June statements, is due no later than July 1, 2006. Please include your student’s account number with your remittance and mail to:

There’s still time to make your participation count in this year’s Annual Giving Campaign – you have until May 31 to make your gift.

■ “OLIVER!” Fri., May 12 and Sat., May 13, 7:30 p.m. • Middle School Cafetorium All tickets $5 The MS performing arts department is proud to present “Oliver!” This Broadway favorite takes the audience to Victorian London, where they meet Oliver Twist and the unique characters he encounters while trying to find a loving home.

—Karriem Stinson, MS wrestling coach (pg. 8)

Tuition Due

It’s Not Too Late!

■ CANTILENA & GUYS’ GIG IN CONCERT Sat., May 6, 7 p.m. • FDR • Free admission Hear the US Conservatory’s fine women’s classical and men’s a cappella groups in their spring concert event.

impressive.”

reminder

annual giving

Donations Needed ■ The US Key Club is collecting donations of over 15 prom dresses to contribute to The Princess Project, a service that provides free prom dresses for Bay Area girls who could otherwise not afford them. If you are interested in donating, contact advisers Kerry Enzensperger at kerrye@harker. org or Carol Zink at carolz@harker.org. The Harker Princess Project will continue to collect donations through May 5.

■ Harker teacher Diana Moss, who is currently spending a year teaching in Quillota, Chile, as a U.S. State Department Fulbright Scholar, has helped establish a burgeoning baseball program as part of the P.E. offerings at her school in Chile, El Colegio de Ssalle.

Moss is gathering some donated baseball mitts from the Harker community to supply the program. Donations will be accepted through May 5. Anyone who is interested in donating should bring the equipment to the front desk of any of the three Harker campuses.

Photo supplied by Janet Smith

editor’s note

After eight years off-site, the finance and human resource offices are excited to be once again on-site with the students. The Harker Business Office is now officially located in Building J on the MS campus, just east of the campus’ front entrance. “Being around the students’ exuberance and enthusiasm day-to-day is one of the most enjoyable aspects about working for Harker,” said Janet Smith, assistant to facilities manager Mike Bassoni. “Getting to know some of the students reminds us in clear terms that supporting their needs are, after all, the focus of every employee at Harker whether or not we work in academic departments.”

All phases of the remodel and move were completed on time thanks to the coordination of our internal and external construction teams, Bassoni and his crew. Many thanks to them all!

Harker News — May 06

education

events

Taylor Explains “Positive Pushing” at Packed – and Popular – Parent Event Hundreds of Harker parents packed into the MS multipurpose room on March 30 for the latest Harker Education Event, titled “Positive Pushing: How to Raise a Successful and Happy Child.” Psychologist Jim Taylor engaged the audience by sharing what he calls the “three pillars” of a successful and happy child.

The first pillar is self-esteem.

Taylor was quick to point out that self-esteem involves more than feeling loved, valued and secure.

Kids also must learn competence and responsibility, he explained.

“You need to prepare your kids for real life,” he said. “They need to know their actions matter and have consequences.” Taylor encouraged parents to set high expectations for their kids. But rather than setting

“ability” or “outcome” expectations, he encouraged parents to set “effort” and “value” expectations.

That is, kids can’t change their ability (aka their “genes”) or control the outcome. So, instead, parents should reward their effort and values (i.e. compassion, responsibility, integrity and kindness).

The second pillar is ownership.

Taylor encouraged parents to help their kids find their passions in life – and then step aside and let them own their successes and failures.

“Parents should not live vicariously through their kids,” he cautioned. If you are, “Get a life!” he said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

The third pillar is emotional mastery. It’s vital that kids learn to feel emotions and express them in a healthy way. To this end, parents

must allow their kids to fail, he said unequivocally. “Your children need to feel bad,” he said. “If you don’t allow your kids to experience emotions, they will never learn how to deal with them.” The important thing is that you talk to your kids about how they feel.

After the talk, attendees lined up to meet Taylor and purchase his books. Parent reaction to the event was overwhelmingly positive.

“I thought it was wonderful. It was informative and I loved his sense of humor. I’m going to go home and tell my son to ‘suck it up,’” laughed “If you don’t allow your kids to Harker parent Elizabeth Iso (Justin, experience emotions, they will Gr. 9).

never learn how to deal with them.”

Not one to beat around the bush, Taylor closed by saying, “One of the most important messages your kids need to learn is that sometimes in life, you just gotta suck it up and do it! When they become adults, they are going to have to do a lot of things they don’t like.”

Harker parent Jenny Wang (Jonathan Liu, Gr. 9), said Taylor’s comments were a reminder of what is important.

“I know we shouldn’t always have such high (outcome) expectations for our kids, and that their effort is more important, but sometimes we parents just can’t help it,” she smiled.

Common Ground Speaker Shares Tips on Talking About Sex with Children Witty, warm and at ease with the subject matter, Dr. Deborah Roffman was a big hit at the latest Common Ground Speaker Series presentation, “Talking Sex With Your Child.” This daunting subject causes insecurity and embarrassment among many parents, but Roffman gave her audience plenty of tips on how to handle these very personal questions with kids of all ages.

Roffman emphasized that parents need to be more open and communicative with their children in an age-appropriate way on the topic of sex, gender and reproduction, right from the start. This, according to research, delays risk-taking

behaviors in kids.

One of the most common questions asked by a 3- or 4-year-old is, “Where did I come from?” or “Where do babies come from?”

Roffman’s response to that is, “You were inside mommy in a special place called a uterus, or womb.”

A 5-year-old, whose world revolves around cars, trucks and transportation and thinks he has always existed, questions differently, “How did I get out of there?” A 6-year-old, on the other hand, would ask, “How did I get there in the first place?”

Roffman’s easy, age-appropriate explanations to these questions were truly interesting! Her main message is that sexuality is a fun-

damentally serious subject and that it is therefore important to act, look and sound serious when speaking about it to one’s children. Otherwise, embarrassment may continue indefinitely as an unnecessary and potentially dangerous communication and learning barrier.

The reviews from the 60-plus Harker parents who attended this event were excellent. Trish Tobin (Sheridan, Gr. 3, and Brendan, Gr. 1) said, “I really appreciate Harker’s participation in the Common Ground lecture series because it helps foster proactive parenting. Roffman’s lecture was especially useful because it showed how to address a potentially awk-

ward topic by turning it into a series of age-appropriate discussions that also reinforce family values.”

Roffman has written a book on this topic, titled “The Thinking Parent’s Guide to Talking Sense About Sex.” The Common Ground series pools the resources of its 17 member schools to bring parent education to a new level in the Bay Area.

Created in 2002 by a coalition of Bay Area schools, it seeks to enrich our communities by bringing together parents and educators to listen, connect and share ideas at presentations addressing a wide array of issues.

— Vidya Lakshmi, parent (Vikram, Gr. 3 and Siddharth, Gr. K)

Teachers Unite to Share Best Practices in New Critical Friends Group About 20 Harker teachers recently joined forces to share their best practices via a newly formed professional development initiative called a Critical Friends Group (CFG). US physics teacher Flo Turkenkopf, who joined the faculty this year, said she learned so much as part of a CFG at her previous school that she eagerly started one at Harker.

“Rather than going to a conference to learn about how to improve practices, we can learn from each other,” Turkenkopf said. “We are all experts in our fields, and we could all be better at what we do.”

Harker News — May 06

Turkenkopf also hopes the group will help unite Harker’s teachers, who are spread out among three different campuses. Harker’s CFG met for the first time in March and plans to meet monthly during the school year. The first goal of the group is to build trust among the participants.

“Once we have a strong group dynamic, then we begin to look at our practices,” Turkenkopf explained.

“People in the group identify things they need to work on or topics they want to discuss and then I work with them to figure out a way in

which the group can help them.”

So far, feedback from participants has been unanimously positive.

Although the group is just getting off the ground, participants are confident that they can learn a lot from each other. “Harker’s faculty is uniformly strong, talented and thoughtful,” said CFG member Daniel Hudkins, K-12 Director of Instructional Technology. “What better place could I go to continue to improve as a teacher than my peers at Harker?” MS history teacher and CFG member Pat White added, “For all of our intense

interaction with other human beings all day long, teachers are actually very isolated. Many of the people we deal with are elbow or shoulder high. Teachers need professional feedback as do all professionals.

They need this feedback from peers who understand their challenges and puzzles.”

The CFG program was started by the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), a network of more than 5,000 teachers and administrators nationwide devoted to improving classroom practice and rethinking school leadership.

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schoolwide

news

staff update Teacher Publishes Kids’ Book Gr. 3 teacher Tammy Coia can now add another title to her resume: published author. Coia’s first book, titled “Fig on a Stick,” was released in April. The book, which is geared toward third through fifth graders, is a compilation of stories about Coia’s adventures – and misadventures – during the summer when she turned 10 years old.

Coia, who has been sharing the tales with her students for years, dedicated the book to her Gr. 3 language arts class and plans to donate $1 from the sale of each book to Harker.

The title of the book comes from a game Coia played as a child. It was like tag, except that whoever was “it” tried to fling a fig on someone else. “I think the message that I portray in my book is that I was kind of a female Dennis the Menace,” Coia laughs. “I always tried to stay out of trouble, but didn’t always make the right decisions.” For example, the night before summer ended, Coia was told she had to be “it” in a game of Fig on a Stick. “I was always ‘it’ because I was the smallest and could never hit anyone,” she explains. Rather than a fig, Coia put a pile of dog doo on her stick, figuring it wouldn’t matter because she never hit anyone anyway. “Well, I scooped it up and started to run and wouldn’t you know it – my first hit. It went all over the back of the shirt of the prissiest girl in my neighborhood.”

The humorous book also has a heartfelt message for kids. “It is about finding yourself and who you are in your family,” says Coia, explaining that she was the middle child and never quite fit in at home or at school. Coia credits her fourth-grade teacher for giving her a love of writing. “On my report card, (she) wrote that I should keep writing because someday I would be famous,” she recalls. Coia, who is already working on a second book, seems to be well on her way!

Coia and her publisher are working to get “Fig on a Stick” into local bookstores. Until then, it can be purchased directly from the publisher by calling 888.280.7715 or ordered online at www.barnesandnoble. com.

Harker Katrina Relief Passes $10K! Schoolwide fundraising activities to aid Hurricane Katrina relief efforts have had tremendous results. More than $10,000 has already been raised by students on the three campuses.

Through numerous activities – sponsored by organizations including the classes of 2006, 2007 and 2009, the Key Club, the Harker Improv Troupe, the International Club and the Harker chapter of the Red Cross – the US has raised more than $6,500 for Katrina relief!

In addition to its successful “Adopt-a-Tent” program to aid victims of last year’s devastating earthquake in Pakistan, MS students used profits from the sale of special “relief bracelets,” admission fees to school dances and raffle tickets to raise nearly $1,700 toward Katrina relief.

Meanwhile at the Lower School, students raised an impressive $1,600 by holding a bake sale – then collected an additional $1,300 by continuing to sell Krispy Kreme gift cards for several weeks.

Harker students exceeded the initial goal set by the US student council of raising $10,000 toward the hurricane relief efforts! Congratulations to the students, staff and faculty at all three divisions who lent their time and assistance to this worthy cause.

‘Gift of Music’ to Benefit Red Cross Six Harker students per formed as part of the Gift of Music Foundation’s recent benefit concert at the West Valley College Theatre in Saratoga.

The concert raised $12,500 for the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Among the 50 student musicians from 14 Bay Area schools were Harker students Daniel Paik, Gr. 11, Kyu Bok Lee, Gr. 10, Kevin Kim, Gr. 9, Janet Jun, Gr. 9, Elaine Song, Gr. 8, and Julia Shim, Gr. 8. The goal of the event was to raise funds to meet the Bay Area’s disaster response needs. Thanks to all the participants for lending their talents to help their community.

summer @ harker new!

2-week project zoom

Campers choose an area of interest for a full two weeks of ultra hands-on classes, field trips and outside adventures.

Visit our Web site for more information on all of our K-8 summer programs. Check out just some of the choices!

DYNAMITE DIGITAL STORYTELLING • DINOSAUR DIGS SUPERMARKET MATH • DETECTIVE CAMP

Student Reviews

DOWN ON THE FARM • SHAKESPEARE ON STAGE

Coia’s Gr. 3 students sent in some reviews of her book to us - enjoy!

MYTHS, LEGENDS & LORE • OUT AND ABOUT ART

“Ms. Coia is a great teacher and her book is funny and cool. Her dog is also neat. If you read this book you’re in for a real treat!”

—Pranav Bheda

DYNAMITE DIGITAL FILMMAKING

“The book was amazingly put together. I really liked the chapter about the bleach.” —Aneesha Chona “Hilarious!” —Sean Nierat “Without doubt she has a gift for turning her childhood memories into written words full of happines and joy.” —David Grossman “I love her book. I especially love when she does the things I do.”

—Sammi Schlernitzer

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408.871.4600 campinfo@harker.org www.harker.org Harker News — May 06

Latin MS and US Students Score Big at Annual JCL Convention A contingent of 33 US and MS Latin students ended vacation early and spent April 7 and 8 at the State Latin Convention at Miramonte High School in Orinda. They participated in workshops, activities and competitions ranging from academics to art to sports. Here is the impressive list of their placements - including placing first in the state in the US size category - reported by Latin teachers Lisa Masoni (MS), and John Hawley and Trudy Stevenson (US):

marin, Gr. 8, honorable mention in Ancient Geography and Mythology.

The MS delegation, with the help of their US counterparts, was awarded 2nd place for Spirit in the small school division.

naswamy, Gr. 9, 1st in Impromptu Art; Nafeesa Laiwalla, Gr. 9, 2nd in Sight Latin Reading; Prachi Sharma, Gr. 9, 2nd in English Oratory.

Middle School Advanced Level: Kelsey Chung, Gr. 8, 1st in Ancient Geography, 1st in Acrylic/Oil Painting, 3rd in Mythology; Chris Gui-

The HS1 Certamen (Quiz Bowl) Team (freshmen Alex Hu, Winny Huang, Justin Iso and Thumma) placed 3rd in the state.

High School Level 3: Sophia Gilman, Gr. 9, 1st in Sight Latin Read-

The HS3 Certamen (Quiz Bowl) Team (Kritika Kailash, Gr. 10, Preeta Reddy, Gr. 11, and Srivastava) placed 2nd in the state.

The HS Advanced Certamen (Quiz Bowl) Team (Jenq, Kwant, Minisandram and Sharma) defeated perennial rival Woodbridge in a nail-biting final round which went to a tie-breaker question to end up 1st in the state.

John Hawley - all photos

Middle School Level 1: Kaitlin Halloran, Gr. 6, 2nd in Reading Comprehension; Derek Huang, Gr. 6, 3rd in Chess, 2nd in Open Certamen; Jessica Lin, Gr. 6, 3rd in Daily Life, 3rd in Vocabulary, 3rd in Essay; Amritha Minisandram, Gr. 7, 2nd in Sight Latin Reading, 2nd in Watercolor, 3rd in Dramatic Interpretation; Emily Moore, Gr. 6, 2nd in Daily Life; Ramya Rangan, Gr. 6, 1st in Grammar, 1st in Piano, 1st in Strings, 1st in Reading Comprehension, 1st in Dramatic Interpretation, 2nd in Essay.

The MS1 Certamen (Quiz Bowl) Team (Halloran, Lin, Minisandram, Moore, and Rangan) ) placed 1st in the state. In addition, Rangan won the Individual Academic, Individual Arts and Individual Combined Sweepstakes for MS1, placing her 1st in the state for her level.

Sharma, Gr. 10, honorable mention in Mythology.

High School Level 1: Priya Thumma, Gr. 9, 1st in Vocabulary, 3rd in Sight Latin Reading High School Level 2: Melissa Chen, Gr. 10, 3rd in Chess; Pratusha Erraballi, Gr. 9, 1st in Sight Latin Reading, 3rd in Mottoes; David Kastelman, Gr. 9, 2nd in Reading Comprehension; Avanika Krish-

ing (Prose), 2nd in Latin Oratory, 2nd in Chess; Yuanyuan Pao, Gr. 11, honorable mention in Vocabulary; Ruchi Srivastava, Gr. 10, 2nd in Mythology.

High School Advanced: Jonny Jenq, Gr. 12, 3rd in Mythology; Michael Kim, Gr. 12, 2nd in Mythology, 1st in Pentathlon; Richard Kwant, Gr. 11, 1st in Vocabulary, 2nd in Grammar; Aarathi Minisandram, Gr. 10, 2nd in Sight Latin Reading (Poetry), 3rd in Pentathlon; Ankur

Michael Kim and Sarah Fingerhood, Gr. 12, ran the Open Certamen competition at the event. Harker’s t-shirt, designed by Tonia Sun, Gr. 10, and Amy Huang, Gr. 12, placed 1st in the state. The digital scrapbook, created by historians Lauren Ammatuna, Gr. 10, and Erraballi, also placed 1st.

The US, under the able leadership of Srivastava, was awarded 1st place in the Spirit competition among medium schools. When all the points were tallied, Harker, despite being one of the smaller delegations in the medium school division, placed first in the state.

Preeta Reddy was elected secretary of the state California Junior Classical League board and Ruchi Srivastava was appointed editor of the “Nuntius,” the state online newsletter.

Harker Dominates Future Problem Solving Competition, Heads to Finals Harker’s Future Problem Solving (FPS) teams earned an amazing six of the eight state finalists positions in the Middle Division (Gr. 7-9). Harker’s lone High School Division team also qualified for the state finals. As a result, all 32 of Harker’s Future Problem Solvers, ranging from Gr. 7-12, will participate in the state finals.

“I received the news in late March that, in an unprecedented event, Harker ended up dominating the state finals and qualifying threefourths of the teams in the Middle Division,” said team adviser Cyrus Merrill.

Harker News — May 06

The FPS topic of the fall 2005 competition was “Freedom of Speech,” while the topic of the spring 2006 state qualifying round was “Nutrition,” demonstrating the breadth of issues that students must tackle. The teams completed the state qualifier in early-March, after a long weekend of discussing research material and practicing brainstorming techniques.

“I am amazed at how well the kids came together in their teams,” Merrill said. “Working together for two hours to generate a 12-page document of 16 challenges, an underlying problem, 16 solutions

Merrill specifically wanted to recognize the team of Amira Valliani, Sean Turner, Jonathan Chien and Sameer Chopra, all Gr. 12, for qualifying for the FPS state finals for seven straight years – each year since they were seventh graders together!

Tsung-Ju Lu, Gr. 9, Mark Roh, Gr. 8, Kapil Kolhatkar, Gr. 8, and Elaine Song, Gr. 8; Andrew Zhou, Alex Han, Andy Fang and Tamara Kawadri, all Gr. 8; Carmen DasGrande, Guillaume Delepine, Olivia Zhu, Chris Watkins, all Gr. 7; and alternates Monisha Appalaraju, Andrew Cutler, Malika Mehrotra and Kevin Kai, all Gr. 7

The Middle Division teams were: Sachin Rangarajan, Vikram Nathan, Christopher Berglund and Nikhil Raghuram, all Gr. 9; Dominique Dabija, Boris Brenerman, Ananya Anand and Chetan Vakkalagadda, all Gr. 9;

Congratulations to Merrill and all the FPS students for their astounding success! The teams will be traveling to Burbank in late April for the state finals. Check future issues for updates on the outstanding Harker FPS program!

and a working action plan is not easy.”

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HARKER

picnic

Mark Your Calendars for a Harker “Walkabout” Not to be Missed!

Rumor has it that we’re heading to the land of koala and kangaroos for some authentic “Down Under” fun.

Picnic Coordinators Kelly Espinosa and Lynette Stapleton and the entire Picnic Committee are moving ahead by “leaps and bounds” with plans for games, food, enter tainment, the silent auction, picnic baskets, drawings, prizes and so much more!

Be sure to check out our next newsletter for exciting Picnic updates and a first look at our 2006 logo!

“No worries, mates!”

There will be plenty of fun for our entire family at the annual Harker Picnic!

Talk About a “Walkabout”!

Nancy Claunch, (longtime Picnic pal and MS alumni mom) LOVES Australia. A world traveler and frequent visitor to the land “Down Under,” Nancy couldn’t wait to go back again! So when she heard about the plans for Picnic

2006, she urged her good friends Lynette Stapleton (that’s me!) and Melody Moyer (friendliest person on the planet!) to take Picnic theme development to new heights. “We have to go! And, no worries – my hubby, Carl, and I will plan the whole thing!”

With Nancy as our guide, we didn’t miss a beat. In fact, I think we walked every inch of Sydney, and then some.

From beautiful Sydney Harbour and the Sydney Opera House to the Taronga Zoo, from the Royal Botanic Gardens to Harry’s Cafe on Wheels, from the boutique wineries of Hunter Valley to the unforgettable Blue Mountains, we saw it all (well

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at least enough to make us want to plan a return trip). We rode a Circular Quay ferry and the Bondi Beach Explorer bus, tried our hand at a restaurant barbeque, took some notes, and lots of

pictures, and then, of course, we literally “shopped ‘til we dropped.”

(Paddy’s Market will never be the same!) And as much as we walked, we talked to EVERYONE – in large part thanks to Melody who can strike up a conversation with anyone, anytime -- and she did! And I have to say that the Aussies were the most gracious group of people we’ve ever

met: kind and generous, laid back, so friendly and fun. And, by the way, that’s exactly the way we all plan to feel at the Family Picnic.

This was definitely a trip we’ll never forget, and one we highly recommend.

But (here’s the plug!), if you don’t have time to travel halfway around the world to experience such joy, just come to Harker’s 56th Annual Family & Alumni Picnic next fall. We’re bringing it all home “mates!” So let’s all say “G’Day!” -Lynette Stapleton, Picnic Coordinator

Harker News — May 06

They Just Keep Coming Back!

Candy and Fred Carr (nine-year veterans, and our mainstays of Picnic set-up) “enjoy giving to the school any way we can.” They first became involved in the Family Picnic in order to get to know fellow parents (especially Nancy Claunch and Melody).

What do boomerangs and Picnic committee members have in common? That’s easy! They keep coming back time after time.

Really...it’s true!

And that’s why we’ve decided to call ourselves “The Boomerang Gang.”

At our recent March meeting, we all went around the table and talked about our involvement with the Picnic -- how long we’ve volunteered, what jobs we’ve done, what we love about the event, why we keep coming back. Not being a quiet group, all had plenty to say. It’s amazing how many cumulative years were in the room. But whether we’ve helped for two years or 20, the recurring themes remained “lifelong friends” and “fun for all!”

Melody Moyer (14-year Picnic veteran) and her good friend Alice Schwartz (12-year volunteer), our

artists extraordinaire, say that they love “the joy of creating a fantasy world for our families each year” and working with “friends that they will have forever.”

Chidori Okubo, who has worked on and masterfully co-chaired the Picnic raffle committee for the last ten years, loves to see the children’s faces light up when they earn incentive prizes. “They are so happy! What fun!”

Harker News — May 06

Kathy Polzin (valuable committee volunteer for over 12 years) calls it a family affair. “Working on the Picnic has been a fantastic experience for my whole family. My children have grown up as ‘Picnic kids,’ and they have a blast working in the gym the week before.

I have made lifelong friends from among my Picnic buddies.”

Jeannine Hammersley (current auction cochair and our resident native Australian) has been a dedicated Picnic volunteer for the past four years.

She keeps coming back “because the people are so wonderful!”

Kim Pellissier has “done it all” when it comes to the Family Picnic!

Kim says that, “The Picnic has been a wonderful experience for me for the past six years. The Committee works really hard, but Lynette provides guidance and leadership that ensures we always have fun.

It’s amazing to see the camaraderie develop between volunteers.

I cherish these memories as the ‘Picnic folks’ can be counted on as wonderful and caring friends.”

And the list goes on. We are so fortunate to have so many supportive volunteer families who help sustain this event year after year. Each new theme presents a new set of challenges, but our dedicated team is always ready, willing and more than able. So get ready to travel “down under” – it’ll be the best one yet!

Would you like to join in the fun?

Contact Committee Manager Roopal Mayor (roopal@best.com) or Volunteer Coordinator Lisa Blickenstaff (lisabl@harker.org) to find out how!

picnic committee chairs

Sherry Ammatuna Ken Azebu Candy Carr Fred Carr Becky Cox Kelly Delepine Janie Fung Jeannine Hammersley

Dave Heslop Sandhya Jagadeesh Roopal Mayor Sangeeta Mehrotra Melody Moyer Chidori Okubo Robyn Peetz Kim Pellissier

Kathy Polzin Sue Prutton Alice Schwartz Janet Smith Judy Stapleton Shankari Sundar Carol Underwood Jane Villadsen

Dedicated Advancement Team: Lisa Blickenstaff, Melinda Gonzales, Maria Nguyen, Emilie Robb, Joe Rosenthal, Joey Tyndal, and Terry Walsh

LS Sleepover Party: Not Much Sleep, But Tons of Fun! Fond memories of the Polar Picnic danced through the heads of everyone at the LS Sleepover Party, one of the most popular items at last October’s Harker Family & Alumni Picnic. The party was held in the gym on Fri., March 24 and despite the rain, fun was had by all with 130 K-5 children playing games, making crafts, performing skits and watching movies. The Gr. 4 and 5 revelers enjoyed a special treat: the Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt had them running all over the campus looking for clues and racing to be the big winners. According to Amy Wardenburg, Gr. 5, “The scavenger hunt was the most fun because even if you didn’t win first place, everyone got s’mores and hot chocolate with marshmallows!” After late-night movies and a few hours sleep, the party concluded with a delicious breakfast of eggs and bacon and famous Harker donuts.

“The kids really enjoy being on the campus late at night, and doing things that aren’t allowed at school, like eating in the gym and not raising your hand before you eat your dessert,” laughed Kelly Espinosa, dean of non-academic affairs, K-5. “Best of all, we raised almost $15,000 for the school with this one event.”

“The sleepover party is a great way to interact with the students and staff outside of the classroom. The students’ enthusiasm is contagious, and everyone always has a great time!” added Lisa Hirata, K-5 assistant director of instructional technology and one of the evening’s chaperones.

A special thanks to our cheery and enthusiastic chaperones – without them the party would not have been possible! Vanessa Bullman, Tom Carroll, Joe Chung, Shannon Hickey, Lisa Hirata, Keith Hirota, Eric Leonard, Mike Leonard, Mo Olson, Tristan Perks, Heather Perotta, Melanie Robinson, Grace Sabeh, Ashley Scheibli, Kelle Sloan and Kelly Espinosa.

-Laura van den Dries, parent reporter

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LS and MS Sports ■ Girls Softball The Gr. 4 girls softball team is coming along nicely. They are learning the basics and have even begun to play intramural games with the Gr. 5 team. We look forward to seeing their progress through the end of the season.

—Coach Rebecca Esquival ■ Girls Volleyball The 2006 girls volleyball season has gotten off to a wonderful start.

Over 60 girls from Gr. 6-8 tried out for the Varsity A, B and C teams.

Soon after tryouts, the A team played in three straight matches and is currently 3-0, beating Valley Christian, Chaboya and Ocala.

The B team also played their first match of the young season, beating Chaboya in two games, 25-6 and 25-4! Coaches Theresa Smith and Mike Leonard are thrilled with the level of talent. Without so much as a single practice the girls have managed to play cohesively in their first few matches. This is due to their high level of prior volleyball skill and their excitement about playing together as a team. Players have been particularly outstanding are Colby Rapson, Gr. 8, Alysia Patel, Gr. 8, and Kristina Little, Gr. 7, of the A team and Erica Woolsey, Henna Mishra and Leeza Arbatman, all Gr. 7, of the B team.

The girls A and B teams face tough challenges ahead with schools such as St. Joseph’s of Atherton and Menlo School on the schedule.

US Sports We hope you take an opportunity to come out and enjoy the MS girls volleyball teams. They are very fun to watch!

—Coach Theresa Smith The tryouts for the MS C volleyball team were very competitive, with 22 girls working hard and hustling on the court. We will have a strong team, as several of the girls already have good basic volleyball skills. We are looking forward to an exciting and prosperous season.

—Coach Vonda Reid ■ Boys Soccer Boys MS “A” soccer has been pushing to get its first win of the season.

(Team members) have their sights set on Rolling Hills as their next opponent.

Patrick Smith, Gr. 8, has been an outstanding player on defense, and Stefan Eckhardt, Gr. 8, has been a stand-out player as well.

—Coach Justin Sullivan ■ Boys Volleyball Boys “A” volleyball is currently 2-0, with impressive wins at Valley Christian and Ocala. Led by setter Eugene Huang and middle hitter Lung-Ying Yu, both Gr. 8, the team

has high expectations for a very successful season.

—Coach Pete Anderson ■ Boys Baseball Harker will be playing its first full MS baseball season this year. We have a young and motivated team.

The coaches have seen a lot of enthusiasm from the players. The team will look for leadership from Patrick Smith, Gr. 8, and coaches Mike Delfino, Nick Gassmann and Coach Carson.

—Coach Richard Amarillas ■ Tennis The MS tennis tryouts were fantastic, and a record 72 students signed up.

At least 14 of them were already playing USTA (United States Tennis Association) tournaments, which means a lot to these budding superstars.

Some prominent players at this year’s tryouts included our MVP from last season, Arthi Padmanabhan, Gr. 8, as well as Gr. 8 players Shizuka Tiernan and Brittany Chu, and Gr. 7 players Kyle Sum, Adarsh Ranganathan and Thomas Tierney.

Our team is getting stronger every year.

—Coach Ganesh Vaidya

MS Wrestling Program Earns Ten Medals

Photo supplied by Karriem Stinson

The MS wrestling team gave an astounding performance at their first-ever competition, the New Brighton Classic held at Soquel High School in Santa Cruz. The team of 12 Harker wrestlers brought home an impressive ten medals at the competition. Cole Davis, Gr. 8, won his weight class to become Harker’s first middle school wrestling champion. Earlier in the competition, Brennan Kee, Gr. 7, became Harker’s first-ever division finalist, before finishing in second place. Bogdan Spitters, Gr. 8, also reached the finals in his weight class, where he eventually lost a hotly contested match in overtime. Other Harker medal winners were – Gr. 8: Julian Gill, Kyle Drummer, Stephen Wang, Mark Roh and Rohan Prakash; Gr. 7: Chris McCallaCreary and Samir Asthana. “This was our team’s first action ever, and we won,” said coach Karriem Stinson. “We competed with kids that had been wrestling for years, and that’s what is so impressive.”

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■ Boys Volleyball The US varsity boys’ volleyball team has prepared very well for league competition by challenging themselves with an extremely competitive non-league schedule.

Close losses to non-league teams Mt. Madonna, Leigh and Saratoga, as well as fine performances in three tough major tournaments helped prep the boys for their current undefeated record in league play. Thus far, seniors Wilson Haung and Bernie Lee have been solid leaders for this young group.

The boys have been led statistically

by Matt Wong, Gr. 11, Eric Tsai, Gr. 11, Brian McEuen, Gr. 10, and Joey Shapiro, Gr. 10. The team has a good chance to win the PSAL (Private School Athletic League).

—Coach Dan Molin

Steven Wong

sports

■ Girls Lacrosse Girl’s lacrosse won their first game against Mercy High School in Burlingame on March 21. Senior captain Eunice Lee scored 4 points in the Mercy match-up. Freshman captain Alyssa Boyle scored 2 goals in the defeat against Sacred Heart Prep.

This inaugural Harker team has three games left against Leland, Menlo-Atherton and Gunn.

—Coach Denae Moore

Thanks to their showing at this tournament, the Harker program has quickly made a name for itself. “When we got to the tourney, everyone asked where we were from and ‘Who is Harker?’” said Stinson. “When it was over, everyone knew who Harker was and how hard we competed. (Coach) James (Arballo) and myself were so proud of our kids and our program.” Congratulations to the coaches and wrestlers for putting Harker wrestling on the map!

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Kindergartners Throw Birthday Bash for Dr. Seuss Harker parents also got in on the fun. Kelly McHaffie (Justin, Kindergarten) dressed up as a Dr. Seuss character and read to the children. To finish off the festivities, Bob Benge (Jocelyn, Kindergarten, and Caitlin, Gr. 2) brought in a specially decorated cake for the class to enjoy.

Students Rank Among Top Schools in International Math Competition Gr. 3 students represented Harker splendidly in the recent Continental Math League (CML) contest, in which they competed against third graders from around the world. Harker’s total team score was 99 out of a possible 108.

Harker competitors Diba Massihpour, Corey Gonzales, Srivingy Irrinki, Madhuri Nori, Glenn Reddy, Allen Huang, Eric Roxlo, Neil Sadhu and Helen Wu each earned a perfect score of six on at least one of the CML’s three competitions. Reddy earned Harker’s highest overall score of 16, and received a CML medal for his achievement. Ethan Ma, Caleb Parikh, Jeremy Binkley and Irrinki, and second grader Maya Jeyendran earned CML certificates of distinction by scoring a 15 overall.

The CML brings together competitors from schools in all 50 states, as well as Canada, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the U.K. Third-grade math teacher Stephanie Woolsey said, “This international competition is a great chance for the students to attempt to solve some challenging problems and to compete with schools around the world while doing so.” As of this most recent CML competition, Harker ranked in the top 6 percent of 547 participating schools. Check future issues for the final results.

Postcards From Around the Globe Cindy Proctor’s Gr. 1 homeroom class has been collecting postcards from all over the world as part of its “Postcard Pals” project.

Said Proctor, “We finally got a postcard from all seven continents!”

As postcards arrive from friends and relatives of Proctor’s Gr. 1 students, the class reads the card (which usually contains interesting facts about the card’s place of origin), observes the picture, then marks the location on their world map.

To date, the class has collected more than 175 postcards.

Harker News — May 06

“It was a great celebration to honor a man who has given so much to young readers,” Curran said. She also thanked the selfless parent volunteers for making the event so enjoyable for the students. “I am amazed and grateful for the generous support that the parents give to these occasions of enrichment for the children,” Curran said. “Without the planning and participation of the parents, these events would not be possible.”

Art Project Created for Tamagawa Grade 2 Harker students created a 15-foot carp fish out of muslin to be delivered to Harker’s sister school in Tokyo, the Tamagawa Gakuen School, to be part of Tamagawa’s annual Children’s Day celebration.

Under the direction of LS art teacher Eric Hoffman, students created a carp that includes photographs of each Gr. 2 student ironed onto one of the scales. Harker parent Laura van den Dries (Nikka, Gr. 5, and Chloe, Gr. 2) ironed on the students’ photos, and the students colored the rest of the carp. Harker parent Praveena Tumu (Shreya, Gr. 2) sewed the two halves of the carp together to complete the project.

The carp will be delivered to the Tamagawa students when the delegation of Gr. 6 Harker students travels to Tamagawa in May for an exchange visit.

Many thanks to the parent volunteers, and congratulations to the students for continuing to strengthen Harker’s partnership with Tamagawa.

Teacher Paula Bither reported that Dr. Gina Chann (Alexander Lam, Gr. 1) came to Harker to discuss oral hygiene with the Gr. 1 and 2 students last month. “The students especially enjoyed looking at X-rays of teeth and the instruments the dentist uses to clean teeth,” she said. All students were given the special treat of a new toothbrush and toothpaste so they can continue to take care of their teeth. Many thanks to Chann for sharing her knowledge with our students!

Paula Bither

replicas of the famous hat from Dr. Seuss’ most-popular book, “The Cat in the Hat.”

Eric Hoffman

Nancy Curran - all photos

Nancy Curran’s kindergarten class recently celebrated the 100th birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss. The party included a special Dr. Seuss board game and an activity in which students made

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Kathy Ferretti - all photos

Annual Engineering Event Brings Knowledge and Fun to LS

In what has become an annual event, a number of professional engineers recently visited the LS campus to introduce elements of engineering to students. Kathy Ferretti’s Gr. 3 math class enjoyed a visit from Allison Sue of IBM, who taught the class a lesson on sound and vibration. The lesson culminated with a hands-on project in

which the children made harmonicas using rubber bands and tongue depressors. “The children were fascinated and enjoyed humming tunes into their own instruments,” Ferretti said.

Pat Walsh’s Gr. 5 class hosted two IBM software engineers, both of whom have visited Walsh’s class each of the past five years.

Harker alumnus Eric Butler (’81) and Harker parent Diane Reese (Phillip Perkins, Gr. 11) provided the students with an overview of different careers and disciplines in the field of engineering. They also taught several interactive lessons, including how a “Google search” functions, an examination of bandwidth and data transfer, and how

students can use their computers and the Worldwide Grid to help address some of today’s pressing issues. “The kids always love it,” Walsh said of the annual event.

Gr. 3 math teacher Stephanie Woolsey also had two engineers visit her class. The guests began their presentation by explaining what engineers do. They then focused on the problem solving and teamwork required in engineering. Harker parent Jose Camara (Barbara, Gr. 3) also fascinated students by demonstrating how to figure out the combination to a padlock by observing the rotation of the disks within the lock. He hooked up his camera to the classroom television so the students could get a good view. “The students then worked in small groups, just like real engineers, to discover the combinations to their locks,” Woolsey said.

Linda Eaton of Lockheed Martin also visited Woolsey’s class. She

helped the children perform an experiment about water and wind power that simulated a foghorn on a buoy using plastic bottles, a bucket of water and plastic whistles.

Many thanks to all the parent, alumni and community volunteers who helped teach LS students about the world of engineering!

DI Team Awarded Special Prize

Jason Pergament’s first-period Gr. 5 history class is participating in a pilot program through iEARN (International Education and Resource Network), the world’s largest nonprofit global network enabling teachers and students around the world to use technology to collaborate on projects.

Pergament learned of the special opportunity while utilizing his Harker Tech Grant last summer. “We have begun the long process of collaboration with partner schools in Colombia, Russia, Romania, Iran, Australia, India, New York and Washington state,” Pergament said.

One of Harker’s Gr. 3 teams in the Destination Imagination (DI) competition came away from the recent state finals with a special award.

While they did not advance to the global tournament, the “Creative Meisters” – Allison Kiang, Diane Le, Eric Yu, Hiro Kozu, Vamsi Gadiraju, Victoria Wong and Zoe Woehrmann – were presented with the Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award. This coveted award is given to the team that sets the standard for positive team interaction and collaboration, exemplifies the spirit of the DI competition, and demonstrates outstanding levels of sportsmanship, volunteerism and spirit.

The first step was introducing the Harker class and culture to the new partners. For this purpose, students each brought in an item that they thought represented Harker or California. The items included a Giants baseball, a Raiders keychain, a California Redwood pinecone, Milano cookies and an issue of The Harker News. “The next step is to start participating in other schools’ projects,” Pergament explained. “Our project, ‘Re-Writing History,’ is just getting started. The kids are very excited, and so am I!”

Learning Math in ‘Harker Town’

Cindy Proctor

Gr. 1 students in Cindy Proctor’s, Diann Chung’s and Mary Holaday’s math classes recently enjoyed a day of shopping in “Harker Town.” A pet store, candy shop, antique store and a “Play-Doh” bakery were set up in the three classrooms. Students were then given a wallet of money (from the “Harker Bank”) and a shopping bag to purchase items.

The students made posters, set prices and signed up to serve shifts as store merchants. Amit Tal, Gr. 1, said, “I did some serious shopping in Harker Town!”

The activity was used to strengthen important math skills, such as counting money, giving change, estimating and budgeting.

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Marcos Woehrmann. parent

Class Explores Global Partnerships

Team advisers Jill Finlayson (Zoe Woehrmann) and Dominic Wong (Victoria) reported that the DI judges commented that the “Creative Meisters” presented their information in a manner consistent with seasoned college lecturers, and that the team demonstrated the strength of their friendship and camaraderie. Congratulations to the team members and advisers for representing the attitude and philosophy of Harker so brilliantly!

Students Explore Kindness, Caring As part of the LS Character Development program, the Rec Department recently organized a week of fun activities relating to this quarter’s theme of “Kindness.” Students had multiple opportunities to explore and display what kindness means to them. For example, students created a “four-leaf clover bush” out of hand-made paper clovers, on which they placed writings about kindness. In addition, students had the opportunity to write about kindness on one of three banners posted in the LS lunch areas. Students also participated in the hilarious “Untwist the Kindness” activity, in which they arranged large plastic balls with the letters of the word “kindness” written on them in the correct order.

Harker News — May 06

The Ogre Awards – A Celebration of Folk Tales Davis, the entire library staff and all of the student performers for bringing to life the magic of their favorite stories and characters.

To view more photos of this event, or to order a DVD of the show, visit the Web site and click on Photo Galleries.

The 10th anniversar y of Harker’s beloved Ogre Awards, presented each year by the Ogre Academy (second grade students) under the creative guidance of Librar y Director Enid Davis and the librar y staff, played to a packed - and delighted - house of students, parents and fans in the “Bucknall Palace Ballroom” (LS gym) on March 23.

Davis explained that the purpose of the Ogre Awards, which is a culmination of the Gr. 2 library curriculum, is to involve children in the celebration of folk tales from around the world and to heed the advice given in so many of these tales: Be kind and you will succeed. “Discussing these tales with second graders often gives me new insights, both into the story and their world,” she added. The children read and discuss stories, compare and contrast characters in certain categories – such as tricksters – and then the children vote for their favorite characters, based on their own feelings. After the voting, children select parts they feel comfortable with. “Since all the voting is completed before roles are distributed, the children understand that the winners announced at the show will be based purely on the characters’ appeal, not on the popularity of classmates,” Davis explained.

The show is presented much like the Academy Awards, and includes Harker News — May 06

a professional pianist accompanying the children, and all students having parts and costumes.

Davis and librarian Kathy Clark, in glorious costumes themselves, host the event. “It’s a really grand show,” Davis laughed. For the 10th anniversary year the event’s move from the library to the Bucknall “Ballroom” seemed fitting. A special acting out of the folk tale “Lazy Jack” also took place as an added bonus before the Ogre Awards portion of the event that included guest appearances by Dan Hudkins (our guitar-playing director of instructional technology) and Brian “The Giant” Larsen (our singing and acting technical theater director). All in all, students sparkled in their parts, cheered on their fellow characters and ultimately chose this year’s Ogre winners (listed at bottom right).

The Ogre Academy also annually presents a Special Ogre Award to “real” school heroes. Davis and Clark presented this year’s award to Gary Hinrich and Brian Wimsett of Harker’s Tech Department for their “outstanding service to the computer-needy.”

After the show the winners of the Ogre Awards return them to the librarians, and all students receive a small Ogre Award in honor of their performance and their characters.

Our warmest appreciation goes to

Historical Note: The Ogre Awards was first presented in the evening on March 20, 1997 in the Saratoga campus gym. Sixty-eight fairy tale characters entertained their families after a picnic supper. Davis created the concept and produced and directed the play, getting the idea for the Ogre Awards after creating and directing the kindergarten play for two years. Some of her helpers then are still part of today’s production: librarian Kathy Clark, pianist Lindy Barnes, prop designer Alice Schwartz, and performing arts teacher Brian Larsen.

Hall of Fame Past recipients of the Special Ogre Award to real Harker heroes – administrators, faculty, technicians, students, maintenance and parents: 1996-97: Howard Nichols 1997-98: Diana Nichols 1998-99: Marge Santos, Fumiko Kimura, Beverly Wainwright, Chidori Okubo, Nancy Claunch 1999-00: Pam Gelineau, Georgene Ferrera, Dottie Hickey, Anitra Sudderth 2000-01: Jackie Grant, Nicole Lindars, Claire Bredenoord, Troy Townzen, Christina Vail 2001-02: Dan Gelineau, Jerry Pickett, Jennifer Gargano 2002-03: James Hamilton, Judi Beil, Lisa Hirata 2003-04: Brian Larsen, Richard Hartzell 2004-05: Kathy Clark

2006 BEST PERFORMANCES In the following categories in a folk or fairy tale: • • • • • • •

Enchanted Prince or Princess: “The Frog Princess” by Grimm (Germany) Fools: Lazy Jack (England) Tricksters: Jackal from “The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal” (India) Unpleasant Characters: Witch from “Rapunzel” by Grimm Wolves: Grey Wolf from “Tzarovich Ivan and Grey Wolf” (Russia) Heroines: Girl from “The Waters of Life” (Native America, China and India) Magical Objects: Tablecloth from “The Lad Who Went to the North Wind” (Norway) • Song: “Dear Jack” (England) • Story: “The Waters of Life” (Native America, China and India)

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Lisa Hirata - both photos

Interactive Whiteboard a Hit with LS MS to Launch One-to-One Students, Teachers Laptop Program in Several LS teachers recently began using an interactive, electronic Fall of 2007 whiteboard, known as a Smartboard, in their classrooms. Lisa Hirata, K-5 assistant director of instructional technology, gave a brief demonstration of the Smartboard’s features at the monthly K-3 meetings, then assisted Gr. 1 teachers Cindy Proctor, Diann Chung and Nina Anand, Gr. 2 teachers Dottie Hickey and Anitra Sudderth, and Gr. 3 teacher Janice Snyder in using the technology in their classrooms.

The Smartboard is essentially an interactive whiteboard that is connected to a computer and a data projector. Once the image is projected on the board, the Smartboard can be used like a computer. Thus far, it has been used for Gr. 1 math, science and social studies lessons.

“Although it takes some getting used to for both students and their teachers, the SmartBoard provides many wonderful learning opportunities,” Proctor said. “Children get to interact with the material being presented, so they remain very engaged and enjoy learning.”

Anand’s students told her that they liked the Smartboard more than their traditional PowerPoint lessons, because they are able to come up to the board to write answers, draw on the board, move objects on the screen with their fingers, change slides and play sounds.

Nikolas Weisbloom, Gr. 1, said, “When I was using the SmartBoard, it was the best thing I had ever done in my whole life. When I used it in math, we had very cool questions.”

Books Inspire May Dance Concert It’s hard to believe that this month will mark the fifth-annual LS Dance Concert, to be held May 26 and 27 on the Bucknall Gym Stage!

The theme this year is, “Books, Wonderful Books,” and the dance routines have been created and based on favorite books suggested by the LS faculty and staff. “Dr. Seuss will be on the loose, the latest dance craze, the Hippogriff is sure to be a hit, while Cinderella, Curious George and the Wild Things will glide, bounce and boogie their way across the stage,” laughed LS dance teacher, Gail Palmer. Audience members will be entertained by tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, modern and hip-hop dances featuring our Gr. 1 through 5 dancers and guest faculty/staff members. “Be sure to get your tickets and don’t miss our fun-loving, energetic, and dedicated lower school dancers!” she added. “You’ll leave with that great feeling of community.”

So get out your library card, put on your reading glasses and help the 200 young dancers turn the pages of your favorite book and bring it to life!

DETAILS: Show dates are Fri., May 26 and Sat., May 27, 7 p.m. Tickets are available starting Mon., May 15, from Carol Sosnowski on the Bucknall campus and Bob Benge on the Blackford and Saratoga campuses or by e-mailing tickets@harker.org.

New LS Yearbook in Production!

At press time, Gr. 4 English teacher Rebecca Williams was coordinating the publication of the first-ever Harker LS yearbook. While Harker had traditionally produced a softback K-8 yearbook in past years, the LS will be producing an independent, 64-page color hardback publication that will be published in May.

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As part of ongoing efforts to enhance the educational experience at Harker, the MS will begin a “one-to-one” laptop program for students in Gr. 7 and 8 in November 2007, with Gr. 6 joining the program in November 2008. Under this program, each student in these grade levels will have his/ her own laptop, similar to the successful program instituted at the US in 2005.

The details and final structure of the laptop program are still in the works.

All options are being considered to ensure that the cost to Harker families will be as low as possible, and that the overall framework of the program is the best fit for Harker students.

Head of School Chris Nikoloff said, “There is no substitute for a good teacher and inspired teaching, both of which will always be our measure for excellence in education. However, technology today increases the range of pedagogical options for our teachers and expands the communication, information-sharing and learning tools for our students. Most schools we speak with that have started a recent laptop program cite only one regret: not having started their programs earlier.”

Nikoloff emphasized in a letter sent home to Harker families that the school will continue to stress the importance of developing attention span, analytical literacy and sophisticated, logical powers of exposition and composition, all centered around the written word. He further stated that as technologically advanced methods become more widespread on the MS campus, Harker will continue to provide guidance to students and families regarding the ethical and responsible use of technology.

“We can never lose sight of the need for human interaction and its importance in our children’s growth. Therefore, the laptops will be for academic use during academic time only,” said Nikoloff. “Technology is not meant to be a conduit for mass media into the classroom, but rather an extension of the tools available to teachers and students to teach and learn more effectively.”

Check future issues for further updates on this exciting and innovative new program!

MS Designing, Producing First-Ever Independent Yearbook Now that it has its own campus, the MS also will have its ver y own yearbook. A staff of 36 students representing all three MS grade levels is working diligently to produce a beautiful 72-page, full-color, hardback yearbook to be published in May. The staff members on this inaugural project are – Gr. 8: Allison Chen, Eileen Cho, Madeline Clark, Natasha Dandia, Marissa Gale, Chad Gordon, Kacie Kaneyuki, Madeline Lucas, Tiffany Mo, Supna Saxena, Taryn Spiller, Kristin Wong and Kelly Yu; Gr. 7: Anisha Agarwal, Christine Chien, Daniel Cho, Jennifer Dai, Lydia Demissachew, Rachel Fang, Peter Gao, Molly Mandell, Malika Mehrotra, Amritha Minisandram, Henna Mishra, Daisy Mohrman, Riya Parikh, Swetha Repakula, Cynthia Schwe and Sonika Suri; Gr. 6: Sanjana Baldwa, Helen Char, Frederic Enea, Kirsten Herr, Neha Kumar, Alisha Mayor and Sean Pagnon.

Harker News — May 06

Jacob Ho, parent

Parent adviser Pam Araki (Brandon, Gr. 8) reported that the Gr. 8 Destination Imagination team, “Whif-Whaf”, earned second place at the recent state-level Destination Imagination tournament in Sacramento. Based on its performance, the team has been invited to represent California at the Global Finals in Tennessee in late May! The team members are Brandon Araki, Vishesh Jain, Nathaniel Edwards, Jackie Ho, Adrienne Wong, Jeremy Chou, and Haran Sivakumar.

This year’s Destination Imagination challenge was to design and construct a delivery device that sends tennis and/or ping pong balls from a departure zone to an opening in a receiver, and design and construct a ball return device that sends balls from the receiver back to the departure zone. The challenge also required the team to integrate the process of sending and returning the balls into a story about someone or something that has gone away and comes back. The focus of the challenge is technical design and construction, innovation and design process, mathematics, experimentation, theater arts and teamwork.

Pam Araki said, “(Harker parent) Maneesha Jain (Vivesh) and I are the team coaches, but the kids really deserve all the credit. All Maneesha and I did was watch them in awe!” Congratulations to the team and their outstanding coaches. Check the June edition for a recap of this global event.

Eighth Graders Explore San Jose Grade 8 students recently enjoyed a multifaceted field trip to downtown San Jose. The trip began with a tour of the San Jose Museum of Art, including a new exhibit, titled “Tales from the Kiln: Contemporary Ceramics.” The students observed and discussed ceramic pieces by Stephen DeStaebler and Peter VandenBerge, among other artists.

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After enjoying a picnic lunch in Plaza de César Chavez, the students watched an innovative new documentary film, “Wired to Win,” at the nearby IMAX theater. The film uses state-of-the-art computer animation of the human brain to explore the inner-workings of athletes competing in the Tour de France, a grueling three-week cycling competition that is perhaps the world’s most challenging sporting event, and a true test of the human brain and body. The film also featured the first-ever giant-screen film footage of the legendary race.

An error was made in the MS math contest story that ran in the April edition of The Harker News. Prior to naming the Gr. 6 participants, the text of the story inadvertently wrote, “In addition to the Gr. 8 team,” when it should have read, “In addition to the Gr. 7 team.” We apologize for the error.

Harker News — May 06

Students Shine in State Math Competitions at UC Davis Harker students competed very well at the recent MathCounts state competition at UC Davis. Harker’s team comprised Jeanette Chin, Andrew Zhou, Kevin Zhang, all Gr. 8, and Albert Wu, Gr. 6. Ian Wolfe, Gr. 7, qualified and participated in the event as an independent contestant. Harker placed fourth (narrowly missing the thirdplace trophy) among the 28 competing teams, each of which had advanced to the competition by winning a regional championship. Wu, w ho placed ninth in the competition, was awarded the top ranking for any Gr. 6 student in the entire state! Zhang also ranked in the top 10 for his grade level. Congratulations to the Harker competitors for their great performance.

Vandana Kadam

DI Team Earns Invitation to Global Finals in Tennessee

Harker Well-Represented in Annual eCybermission Competition Eight MS teams recently participated in the regional contest of the eCybermission competition, a Web-based math, science and technology project. As part of the competition, the teams were asked to select a problem affecting their community and try to find a reasonable solution. The problems could come from the areas of health and safety, arts and entertainment, sports and recreation, or the environment. The majority of Harker teams chose issues dealing with health and the environment.

Gr. 8 adviser Vandana Kadam said, “By being a part of the eCybermission project, students learn to address problems using a scientific approach.

They develop research skills, and learn excellent time management and team work.”

More than 1,100 teams nationwide submitted eCybermission projects. The Harker teams were – Gr. 8: The Golden Flamingos, The Silver Fireflies, The Goofygoobers and The Flying Geese; Gr. 7: Team Styros, The Metric Team, The Earthquake Team and The Pedestrian Safety Team.

Four of the Harker teams earned special distinctions in the competition. The Silver Fireflies team, comprised of Gr. 8 students Namrata Anand, Victor Chen, Jeanette Chin and Connie Lu, placed first in the Southwest Pacific region for their work on Earthquake Safety at school campuses. Each student received a $3,000 savings bond. The Silver Fireflies have also been invited to compete at the national eCybermission competition in June.

The Golden Flamingos, comprised of Gr. 8 students Katherine Harris, Nalini Jain, Carissa Jansen and Jane Thomas, also earned $3,000 savings bonds after placing second in the region for their work on Controlling Hypertension and Cholesterol.

The Gr. 7 Metric Team, comprised of Tiffany Chien, Amanda Kim, Justine Liu and Supraja Swamy, placed second overall in the Gr. 7 grade Southwest Pacific region for their work on metric conversion, and each team member also received a $3,000 savings bond.

Team Styros, comprised of Gr. 7 students Appu Bhaskar, Guillaume Delepine, Shreya Nathan and Santosh Swaminathan were recognized with the “Team Collaboration and Communications” award for their work on eliminating Styrofoam from our campus. Each student received a $2,000 savings bond.

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Students Learn to Test for Diseases

Lorna Claerbout - both photos

After completing a recent research unit on sexually transmitted diseases, MS science teacher Lorna Claerbout’s Gr. 8 students tracked the spread of a simulated sexually transmitted pathogen through their classroom,

demonstrating how a real infectious agent can spread through a population. Beginning with one “infected” individual, students exchanged simulated “body fluids” contained in test tubes with three other students.

Then students performed an ELISA test (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) to find out who became “infected” and to track the progress of the “disease” through the class.

Claerbout learned about the assay during a workshop at the National Association of Biology Teachers’ Conference, which she attended in Wisconsin last October. She wanted to pioneer it with her classes this year and was highly impressed with her students’ success in performing the sophisticated laboratory procedure.

“The experience of finding out how scientists figure out whether an individual is HIV positive is fascinating. This is one of the best labs we have done this year,” said Nishadh Raghupathy, Gr. 8.

“The lab was rewarding because we experienced first-hand a test that is used in real life to test for pregnancy, marijuana, HIV, West Nile virus, illegal drug use, and much more. Now we know how Barry Bonds was tested,” joked Katherine Harris and Elaine Song, both Gr. 8.

ACE Club Sends Friendship Package to Thai School The MS ACE (Academic Cultural Exchange) Club recently sent a “friend package” to a school in a rural region of northern Thailand in attempts to start up

Pat White & Mark Gelineau - both photos

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a friendship with the students at that school.

This project is being conducted in cooperation with the Barnick Educational Foundation (BEF), an organization founded to help Thai students further their educations and increase their options in life. The package included traditional American items such as popcorn and barbeque sauce, and also included graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate squares, so that the Thai students can make S’mores.

Representatives from the BEF will shoot video footage and photos of the Thai students receiving their package to share with Harker students. The ACE Club plans to continue their relationship with the Thai students by sending more packages this school year.

All Dressed Up for School Spirit

Raji Swaminathan’s Gr. 7 science classes recently baked cakes as a means of studying chemistry. During the baking process, the class discussed the physical and chemical changes that occur during baking. “We talked about why bread dough rises when you add yeast to it, the reaction of yeast with maltose in the dough, and also about how baking powder is chemically different from baking soda, and how it works in relation to yeast,” Swaminathan said.

The students baked a total of 12 vegan cakes, which they thoroughly enjoyed eating. “It was chemistry, it was baking, it was cake and it was fun!” said Swaminathan, adding that her students already are asking for another chemistry baking lab. What a tasty experiment!

Doug Knight - all photos

‘Cake Lab’ Teaches Students About Chemical Reactions

As part of the annual exhibition game between MS female faculty members and the A1 girls basketball team, the two sides agreed that the losing team would have to wear ties to school on March 20. Although the faculty team prevailed in the game, the entire MS campus wore ties that day in a show of solidarity with the A1 girls. MS students, faculty and staff donned an eclectic combination of hilarious, outrageous and elegant ties. As a bonus, students who wore ties that day received a free dress day for their participation.

Just a Little Off the Top

Raji Swaminathan

After losing a bet with a friend regarding who would win The Masters golf tournament, John Zetterquist, MS history department chair, had to let his first period class shave his head during a recent extra help period.

The students definitely enjoyed assisting Zetterquist’s friend in collecting on the friendly wager!

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Harker News — May 06

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Robotics Team Sharpens Key Skills at Regional Competition ramp and onto the platform proved to be very important for earning points in the alliance competition,” Nelson said. “Our robot did not do that very well. But our team has

The Harker Robotics team showed tremendous improvement toward the end of its season, which concluded at the recent FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Regional Championships in Sacramento. The team jumped from a 30th place finish at the Silicon Valley Regional robotics competition to 15th place at the FIRST regionals a week later. Team adviser Eric Nelson said, “We learned a lot between the competitions, and we improved what we were doing quite a bit.”

At both competitions, robotics teams from different schools were placed into random three-team alliances, which then competed against other alliances. The eight teams with the highest scores after a series of alliance contests earned spots in the quarterfinal round.

Those eight teams then selected alliance teammates for the next round. While Harker’s team was selected to participate in the quarterfinal round at the Silicon Valley competition, it was not chosen at the Sacramento event.

“Being able to get your robot up the

already begun examining what will make our robot strong in the alliance competition next year, focusing on key teamwork components.”

Nelson praised the Harker team for its efforts and organization, particularly since it ballooned from 20 members last year to 35 members this year. He noted the

impressive source code written by Harker’s software developers, the success of the electrical squad and the hardware team, and the ability of the management team to

successfully delegate the numerous responsibilities and keep the large group on task.

“The students walked away with a huge experience, similar to running a small-scale engineering firm or a startup company,” Nelson said. “They had to deal with issues like budget, management and delegating to different departments and, overall, they handled it

ver y well.”

The Harker team recently acquired a Bridgeport mill – an extremely high-precision tool used to make holes, slots and complex curved cuts – that will be used to develop more precisely refined components for next year’s competition. Team member Tatsu Hashimoto, Gr. 11, found an ad for a used Bridgeport mill in good condition for $4,000 on the Web site craigslist.com. Tatsu’s father, Yashuhiro, generously purchased the mill and donated it to Harker Robotics.

The mill will be housed on the MS campus, where its operation will be overseen by Harker maintenance staff member Jim Gavron, who will use his 20 years of machining experience to train students how to use the mill properly.

Although the nature of next year’s competition is unknown, the Harker team has already begun designing and building a prototype of its next robot. Many thanks to Yashuhiro Hashimoto for his generous donation. We’re all looking forward to a great effort next year!

Popular Annual East Coast College Tour Expands in Second Year

Two years ago, Grant approached then-Head of School Howard Nichols about the need for this type of college tour program at Harker.

“I thought that, since almost 50 percent of Harker students enroll Harker News — May 06

Chris Daren

This innovative program is unique to Harker, according to Grant.

“Some other private schools have somewhat similar programs, but they usually involve hiring an outside firm and spending huge amounts of money,” Grant said. Given Harker’s connections to the admissions departments at several schools on the tour, as well as the vast community of Harker alumni on prestigious East Coast campuses, Grant felt that it

students could visit several of these campuses,” Grant explained.

“The students tend to romanticize the East Coast, and this trip allows them to gain a more accurate sense of the culture and atmosphere of East Coast campuses and East Coast living.” The tour helps students decide whether an East Coast college would be a good fit for them.

made more sense that the tour be organized through the school.

Furthermore, “by us forming a structured tour through the school, we’re providing a service where the kids can visit these schools without their parents having to take several days off of work to take them across country,” Grant added.

The tour received rave reviews during its first year, prompting student participation to nearly double this year.

Rupan Bose, student

in East Coast universities, it made sense to create a program where

Rupan Bose, student

Harker college counselor Alistair Grant recently led a huge delegation of juniors on a six-day, 13-school exploration of East Coast universities. Following the success and popularity of last year’s inaugural East Coast college tour, this year’s delegation reached the maximum of 48 students. This year’s trip included tours of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Johns Hopkins and MIT, among others.

The college counseling department also has received fantastic feedback from parents. “We had one mother tell us that her son came back from the trip with a much greater initiative and a more proactive attitude toward preparing himself for college.”

Kudos to the students and the entire Harker college counseling department for making the tour a great success.

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Harker Welcomes Second Delegation From Swiss Sister School A delegation of 13 students and two chaperones from Harker’s sister school in Fribourg, Switzerland, the College de Gambach, arrived at Harker in early-April for a 10-day exchange visit. During their stay, the Swiss students visited a number of historic Bay Area attractions, including Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz, Chinatown and the Golden Gate Bridge. However, it was the unique structure of the city’s buildings that most struck one of the Swiss students. “The houses in San Francisco were my favorite part,” said College de Gambach student Monica Mendez. “They were very beautiful, and very different than the homes you see in Switzerland.”

The visitors experienced several academic programs as well, participating in a U.S. history workshop

with US history teacher Ramsay Westgate, and shadowing their Harker partners through their class schedules. The Swiss students also spent a day teaching US French classes.

As always, the homestay aspect of the exchange was one of the most fulfilling elements. Swiss student Anna Korewa, who stayed with the family of Harker student Ankita Shah, Gr. 11, said, “My favorite part of the visit is my host family.”

Cultural attractions were also part of the visit, including trips to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Jose Tech Museum, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and a private tour of the de Young Art Museum. A special Mexican fiesta dinner was also held in honor of the Swiss visitors, displaying the

cultural diversity of California and the Bay Area.

The Harker hosts will complete the exchange by traveling to Fribourg for a two-week visit in June.

Check the fall edition for a recap of the Harker delegation’s trip to Switzerland.

“We were nervous about hosting her, because I’m not a French student, and no one in my family speaks French,” said Shah. “But Anna’s English is really good, and it’s been a great experience for all of us. Last night, she and I stayed up really late just talking about life.”

Record Number of Biology Olympians Six Compete in ‘Japan Bowl’ Two Harker teams recently participated in the annual Japan Bowl in WashQualify for Semifinals

This year’s Harker semifinalists are – Gr. 12: Shivani Bhargava, Jonathan Chien, Adam Creasman, Ayumi Funaki, Sharon Her, Jaya Iyer, Michael Kim, Eric Liu, Jasper Shau, Jayasree Sundaram, Hann-Shuin Yew and Lunghao Yu; Gr. 11: Siddarth Chandrasekhar, Ashley Dang, Andrew Fandrianto, Jay Han, James Hsi, Lucille Hu, Sandeep Karipineni, Jocelyn Ko, Simren Kohli, Rahul Komati, Jessie Li, Carolyn Wang, Winston Wey, Allison Wong, Kimberly Wong and Christopher Xiao.

Club Encourages Intramural Sports The new US Intramural Sports Club recently began providing students with the opportunity to play sports during the long lunch period on Wednesdays.

More than 25 students participated in the first event, which featured some friendly games of volleyball. “Everyone had a good time.

There was lots of laughing and cheering and friendly competition,” said adviser Naomi Schatz. Students initially divided themselves into coed teams, then later played a “boys vs. girls” game.

The club was created by Harish Venkatesan and Teddy Lee, both Gr. 12, as a way for students to have fun, exercise and release some energy during the long lunch period. The group plans to continue this weekly activity and add other sports like basketball and soccer.

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ington, D.C. The Japan Bowl is a competition that tests the achievement and aptitude of U.S. high school students studying Japanese. Students must demonstrate not only mastery of the Japanese language, but also of Japanese culture and history.

Harker’s Level 2 team – comprising team captain Mai Nguyen, Gr. 9, Erika Lee, Gr. 10, and Alyssa Donovan, Gr. 9 – performed excellently at their first Japan Bowl competition. The team finished the first round tied with two other teams for the highest score, and advanced to the semifinal round as one of the top eight teams out of the 26 schools in the competition.

Masako Onakado

Twenty-nine Harker juniors and seniors recently qualified as semifinalists for the USA Biology Olympiad, the highest number of semifinalists of any school in the country. More than 5,100 students nationwide took the initial exam, with 500 advancing to the semifinal round. Harker’s semifinalists took the round two exam in March, from which 20 finalists nationwide will be selected and invited to participate in a one-week summer training program at George Mason University. US science department chair Anita Chetty said, “This is a great achievement!” Only two Harker students qualified for last year’s USABO.

The Level 3 Harker team – comprising team captain Emily Chow, Whitney Huang and Jessica Hsueh, all Gr. 10 – performed very well in the preliminary rounds but did not reach the semifinals.

Team adviser Masako Onakado said, “All of our teams were very motivated and well-prepared. They worked very hard in preparation for this competition, and competed well among such tough opponents.” Congratulations to all the Japan Bowl participants for their dedication and skill.

Annual US Talent Show The annual US talent show was held on Fri., April 14, and was a fantastic event. Ten acts graced the stage, with a mostly musical theme. However, the show also included a gymnastics demonstration by Matt Holmes, Gr. 11, and a karate exhibition by Daniel Nguyen, Gr. 10. The show was emceed by ASB president Amit Mukherjee and vice president Sriram Prakash, both Gr. 12.

Harker News — May 06

Unique World History Lesson Tickles Students’ Taste Buds US world history teacher Ruth Meyer spiced up a recent unit on ancient Mexican civilizations with some fun – and tasty – hands-on activities.

As part of the lesson, Meyer engaged her students’ senses by having them sample mole, a traditional Mexican sauce often made with chocolate. “We often engage the senses of listening, speaking and seeing in history – listening to the teacher, speaking about the past, seeing different

images and videos about ancient peoples – but smell and taste are often left out,” Meyer explained.

“To experience the past as fully as possible, we should aim to use all of the senses.”

Students tasted three different mole sauces: one made with cilantro, one made with red peppers and, of course, one made with chocolate. “The chocolate sauce was the most popular,” Meyer said. “By the end of the day, we had gone through a whole tray

US Hosts Spanish Poetry Contest

Joan Havard, parent

Harker played host in March to the 23rd annual Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Spanish Poetry Contest. The event was a great success, thanks in large part to the efforts of US Spanish teacher Susana Hartzell and the rest of

of chicken and two huge bags of pita bread. I had no idea it would be so popular.”

As part of the lesson, students also designed small-scale murals containing symbols, illustrations, maps, quotes, words and phrases representing the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs. George Gonzalez, Gr. 9, a student whose family emigrated from Mexico, shared his oral history, which he had written for a previous unit on African “griots” (oral historians). “It just happened

that George’s family histor y tied in really well with the unit, as his ancestors came from Mexico,” Meyer explained. “(The griot) project allows us all to get to know each other better. It builds our community. If we can understand something of the dreams and struggles of our ancestors, I think we can appreciate how lucky we are to be in this community of learning where we can study freely without fear of persecution or war inter fering with our dreams of college.”

Three Students Honored at National History Contest Based on their outstanding showing at the recent National History Day contest, three Harker students have been invited to have their exhibits displayed at one of the many museums in downtown Sacramento. If they choose to have their projects displayed publicly, the students will then become docents for their exhibits, explaining their projects to interested museum patrons and the press. The students given this honor were Ariane Vartanian, Gr. 12, Caitlin Contag, Gr. 11, and Ananya Anand, Gr. 9. Congratulations to these students and all of the History Day participants!

Thousands Raised to Aid Darfur

Level 5: Aseem Shukla, Gr. 11, first place; Julia Havard, Gr. 11, second place Level 4: Arjun Banerjee, Gr. 12, second place Level 3: Neil Shah, Gr. 10, first place; Nina Duong, Gr. 10, third place Level 2: Sushant Sundaresh, Gr. 10, second place Native Speaker Category: Joshua Pinzás, Gr. 10, first place Congratulations to all the Harker participants and muchas gracias to everyone who helped make this event a success!

Four Qualify For USA Math Olympiad Four Harker students were invited to take the prestigious USA Math Olympiad (USAMO) exam in April. The students were Paul Christiano, Charlie Fang and Kyu Lee, all Gr. 10, and Yi Sun, Gr. 12. Students qualify for the USAMO based on their performance on the American Invitational Math Exam. Only 370 students nationwide qualify for the nine-hour USAMO. “The greatest number of students that Harker has had qualifying in one year was two, last year, when both Yi Sun and Charlie Fang qualified,” said Joanne Mason, chair of Harker’s US math department. “While it is not that unusual for a single school to have as many as four qualifiers in a year, it is most unusual for a school of Harker’s size.”

The top 12 scorers on the USAMO receive awards in Washington, D.C. From this group, a team is chosen to compete for the U.S. in the International Math Olympiad, which this year will be held in Slovenia. Congratulations to the Harker qualifiers. Check the June edition for a recap on the USAMO results.

Harker News — May 06

The activities of the US World Awareness Committee (WAC) during its World Awareness Month festivities in March paid huge dividends in aid of those suffering from the effects of the genocide in Dar fur. At press time, WAC had raised more than $12,000 from their World Awareness Month activities.

The activities included the Green Ribbon Project, in which WAC sold $1 ribbons on the US campus to help purchase live chickens for impoverished families in Darfur.

Also, WAC sponsored the creation of “Art With a Heart,” a CD of original music created by Harker students and faculty, with all proceeds going to Oxfam, the U.S.’s Darfur relief program.

Ali Abdollahi

the Spanish department. In addition, US performing arts teacher Jeffrey Draper coached Harker’s participants on their presentation skills. The following Harker students earned distinctions at the poetry contest:

Most poignant, however, was the “Lunch in Darfur” event, where over 400 students volunteered to give up their lunches for the day, and instead ate rice and beans on the floor of the US gym to simulate the conditions in refugee camps.

The money Harker saved by not providing lunch for the volunteering students allowed the school to donate over $600 to Darfur relief.

In addition, WAC is attempting to earn a $500 grant from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Check future editions for further updates on this amazing service project.

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Sixth-Annual Conservatory Concert Presents Musical Talents of Students On March 24, the Harker Conservatory presented its sixth-annual “An Evening at the Conservatory,” the only US event that brings the entire music department together in one glorious evening. In a gym transformed by stage lights and jewel-toned draperies, all US instrumental and vocal groups presented the best of their repertoires to 350 teachers, family members and friends.

The women’s classical ensemble, Cantilena, directed by Susan Nace, showed off its beautiful sound with two Italian pieces. Nace’s other group, Guys’ Gig, provided major comic relief with a cappella pieces from the current Broadway hit “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” arranged by Nace especially for the group. Catherine Snider’s choir, Bel Canto, moved from a African-American spiritual with spirited percussion to a Mozart piece, and also featured Grace Hudkins, Gr. 10, as guest conductor. Downbeat, the jazz vocal group directed by Snider and Laura Lang-Ree, impressed all with the standard “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” and two beautiful a cappella numbers showcasing their versatility.

Instrumental director Chris Florio had several ensembles performing, each with poise and technical prowess. The Orchestra played a beautiful medley from “The Phantom of the Opera,” and followed it up with the sprightly “Hoe Down” from Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo.” The Jazz Ensemble got toes tapping with two numbers, one featuring senior Tara Chandra on vocals. A string quartet playing Dvorák added to the interesting mix of musical styles.

were pianist Kristie Cu, Gr. 11; violinist Jason Han, Gr. 12, with his accompanist Daniel Hsu, Gr. 9; vocalist Amulya Mandava, Gr. 12; vocalist Samantha Jagannathan, Gr. 11, with her accompanist Shannon Tan, Gr. 11; classical guitarist Roger Kim, Gr. 11; and vocalist Anjali Menon, Gr. 11. Composer Kat Hudkins, Gr. 12, debuted her piece for voice and oboe, singing herself and accompanied by Caitlin Contag, Gr. 11. To close the show, vocal candidate Chandra and musical theater candidate Siobhan Stevenson, Gr. 11, brought the crowd to its feet with a duet from the Broadway show “Wicked.”

concessions table with mouthwatering desserts!”

Snider also pointed out a record number of teachers who attended,

which “always makes the students really happy.”

Many thanks to Snider, Nace, Florio and the great crews who reminded us that the music department at Harker is vibrant and thriving!

Nina Vyedin, Gr. 11, led the decoration team, and Tommy Holford, Gr. 12, stage managed, keeping the groups coming and going with nary a pause. Snider, the event’s director, said, “The evening was a huge success, due in large part to parent Madelyn Isaacs and her amazing crew of parents, who provided and managed a beautiful

Conservatory certificate candidates also had a chance to shine on this night. Soloists

Performing Arts Students Shine at Ohlone Theater Festival A group of Conservatory students spent the first part of spring break acting, singing and dancing at the Ohlone Theater Festival. They all did a fantastic job and quite a few brought home awards from the competition.

Lauren Ammatuna, Gr. 10, and Nina Vyedin, Gr. 11, went to the final round with a scene and song from Harker’s upcoming spring musical, “Guys and Dolls.” Julia Havard, Gr. 11, went to the final round with a monologue from “Agnes of God.” Well-known campus improvisers Robert LougheedLowe, Gr. 11, Michael Hammersley, Gr. 12, Steve Boyle, Gr. 12, and Cooper Sivara, Gr. 11, took the third place trophy for Improvisation.

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Lauren Harries, Gr. 12, took the second place award for a monologue from Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline.” Laura Holford, Gr. 10 and her brother Tommy Holford, Gr. 12, took the first place trophy for another round of their incredible, incomparable Irish dancing. Aseem Shukla, Gr. 11, took the first place trophy for a monologue from Neil Simon’s “ Prisoner of 2nd Avenue,” and Havard and Shukla took home the first place award for their scene from Tony Kushner’s masterpiece, “Angels in America.”

Congratulations to all, and thanks to the students’ supervisor, drama teacher Jeff Draper, for giving the students another opportunity to watch and enjoy their peers in action.

Harker News — May 06

kudos

Well done, ladies!

■ Hann-Shuin Yew, Gr. 12, was selected by the judges of the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Engineering Fair to be a U.S. representative at the 2006 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The ISEF, which will be held in Indianapolis in May, is the world’s largest science competition for high school students.

The competition will attract 1,400 top science and technology high school students representing 46 U.S. states, as well as 40 countries, territories and regions worldwide. The event also will attract 1,200 expert judges and a panel of Nobel Laureates to celebrate the recent discoveries of tomorrow’s science leaders.

Musicians Excel, Impress Judges at Annual CMEA Festival

Anita Chetty, US science department chair, said, “In (Harker’s) first year of promoting research, we have been successful at all three prestigious competitions: the Siemens, the Intel Talent Search and the ISEF. You can’t ask for much more!” Congratulations to Yew on her amazing accomplishment.

Cantilena, Harker’s classical women’s vocal ensemble directed by Susan Nace, brought their beautiful blend to the California Music Educators’ Association Choral Festival on March 31. Choirs from the San Jose region converged on San Jose State University to sing for each other, and be evaluated by a judge on their repertoire and sight-reading. Cantilena earned the highest rank judges can award for singing – a “superior” rating. Nace said, “The festival’s director commended them on their diction, repertoire, energy and ‘selling’ their songs, as well as being impressed that the group did the sight-reading portion without the aid of a piano.”

On hearing the news, Assistant Head of School Jennifer Gargano agreed with the judges comments. “Ms. Gargano used to sing in a choir - we’re trying to encourage her to start singing again,” laughed Nace.

Thirty-one singers and instrumentalists participated in the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) Festival on March 18 at San Jose State University. Students were evaluated by a judge and given constructive criticism, making the event more of a master class than a competition. The judges gave each student a mark of “superior,” “excellent,” “good,” “fair” or “needs improvement.” If the judges were particularly impressed, they had the option of adding a “command performance” to a “superior” rating, giving the student the option of performing again in an ongoing concert for festival attendees. Eight Harker students were chosen for “superior/command performances” and 13 more were cited for “superior” performances.

Those receiving command performance commendations were vocalist Gail Nakano, Gr. 12; violinists Audrey Kwong, Gr. 11, Kyu Bok (Paul) Lee, Gr. 10, and Jonathan Wang, Gr. 10; cellists Scott Liao, Gr. 10, Denaly Chen, Gr. 10, and Janet Jun, Gr. 9; and clarinetist Diana Lai, Gr. 9.

Harker singers garnered a sweep of “superiors.” Seniors Avanti Deshpande and Katherin Hudkins, juniors Jessica Dickinson Goodman

(accompanied by Chetan Vakkalagadda, Gr. 9), Emily Isaacs, Vani Pyda, Anjali Menon and Samantha Jagannathan (accompanied by Shannon Tan, Gr. 11), and sophomore Ariel Gaknoki were commended not only for their beautiful singing but also for their excellent preparation and exceptional poise.

US music teacher Susan Nace attended the festival with the students and provided piano accompaniment for most of the singers.

Nace said, “All of our instrumentalists impressed judge Colleen Snyder, who made a special point of asking those students receiving ‘superior’ ratings to audition not only for the California Orchestra Director’s Association All-State Orchestra, but also for the elite CMEA State Orchestra.” Participating instrumentalists were flutists Patricia Chang, Gr. 8, Kevin Hou, Gr. 9, Jessica Hseuh, Gr. 10, Robert Oh, Gr. 10, and Dhruv Parthasarathy, Gr. 9; oboist Caitlin Contag, Gr. 11; cellists Tracy Chou, Gr. 11 (accompanied by pianist Annie Zhou, Gr. 11), Daniel Hsu, Gr. 9, Whitney Huang, Gr. 10, and Nikhil Raghuram, Gr. 9; and violinists Jason Han, Gr. 12, and Stephanie Kim, Gr. 10.

Congratulations to all!

Harker Summer Institute 2006 for US and MS Students Offerings this summer include: ■ Computing Across the Curriculum ■ Video Game Production

■ Debate Camp ■ PSAT/SAT Course

Visit Web site for more information and online forms - www.harker.org Harker News — May 06

■ Proclaiming the Internet to be his Superman, David Linder, Gr. 11, wowed the judges at the regional level of the California-Nevada Lion’s Club Student Speakers contest. Linder, who had previously won both the club and zone levels, will now move on to compete at the district level where the winner will receive a $4,000 college scholarship.

■ Lenka Pelakova, Harker’s exchange student from Slovakia last year, won first place in the National English Olympiad in Bratislava, Slovakia in March!

Harker sends its congratulations to Pelakova for this wonderful accomplishment! “Huge thanks go out to John Near (U.S. history teacher), Pam Dickinson (Communications Director) and daughter Casey (Gr. 12), who were Lenka’s host family during her stay. And a super huge thanks to Brigid Flanagan, who taught Lenka English during her time with us,” said Bill Bost, international programs director.

■ Teddy Lee, Gr. 12, was recently selected as a finalist by the Santa Clara Elks Lodge in the Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Scholarship Contest. Lee went on to earn third place in the district competition, and was named as a semifinalist in the state contest. For his achievements, Lee qualified for a $1,000 college scholarship from the California-Hawaii Elks Association, which he was invited to receive at a special ceremony in May. Congratulations to Lee for his impressive accomplishment.

Quiz Bowl Team Edged Out After earning the No. 1 seed in the televised Quiz Kids competition for the third-consecutive year, the Harker Quiz Bowl team was finally defeated in the semifinal round against Mission San Jose. The team of Hann-Shuin Yew, Gr. 12, Siddarth Chandrasekhar, Gr. 11, Arkajit Dey, Gr. 11, and alternate Jesse Li, Gr. 11, battled valiantly, but fell by a score of 220-150. “We put up a great fight,” said team adviser Bradley Stoll, “but we just came out on the short end.” Though the Quiz Kids competition is over, the Harker Quiz Bowl team will continue to participate in Bay Area Academic League events. Check back for future updates, and congratulations to the Quiz Bowl team for another fabulous campaign.

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Bradley Stoll

Cantilena Earns Superior Results

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Harker Legend Phyllis Carley Still a Vital Part of School Community

What she does – and has been doing for the past four years – is picks up weekly and monthly newspapers in numerous communities, reads each from front to back, types a report (on a typewriter!) citing articles of interest about education and tracks stories about Harker. Then she pays a visit to Harker, dropping off a pile of papers and the recap to the O of C, sports clippings to our athletic director and any items she feels would be of interest to administrators.

“This footwork and research is incredibly helpful,” noted Dickinson. “But I also look forward to her visits because she is a true legend at Harker, and it’s a great excuse to see her every week.”

Carley calls herself a “news freak” (and a “rodeo freak,” see Winged Post story, right). Her late husband was a typesetter in the production rooms of a number of newspapers, and wrote a hunting and fishing

thing,” she says, adding that while she’s researching the newspapers for the O of C, she often clips out articles she believes will be of interest to her other friends at Harker.

“I enjoy keeping in contact with the people at school,” she says. “(And) it keeps the old lady busy.”

-------------------------------------------------The following excerpts are from an article written by Rohini Venkatraman, Gr. 12, student reporter with the US newspaper, The Winged Post.

Once a week, Mrs. Phyllis Carley can be found looking through stacks of newspapers for the names of Harker alumni. Of course, because she has been involved with Harker for the past 52 years, the process is not as difficult as it would be for you or me.

The Harker News is published nine times per year by the Harker Office of Communications. Current and archived issues are also available on the Division Home Pages on the Harker Web site at www.harker.org.

Editor: Pam Dickinson; Asst. Editor: Catherine Snider; Copy Editor: Jennifer Maragoni; Lead Writer: Ali Abdollahi; Production: Crystal Boyd, Jaja Hsuan, Blue Heron Design Group; Photos: Mark Tantrum, unless noted; Printing: Carol Sosnowski, Harker Copy Shop; Mailing Coordinator: Maria Nguyen.

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and faculty, who she calls a “wonderful group of friends.”

Way back when The Harker School was the Harker Day School, Stanford students drove station wagons around Palo Alto picking students up in the morning and dropping them off in the afternoon.

The school was short of drivers, so Mrs. Carley’s cousin, who was a

When asked what makes her want to be in a school environment, she is quick to answer. “I want to see you children happy and safe,” she asserted. She then added, “Well, I guess I should be saying ‘young adult,’ but you are all still children to me. You have long enough to be adults.”

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column for the Palo Alto Times. He also worked in the print shop “in the old days, before computers,” she says with a chuckle. But the bottom line is, Carley cares about Harker. “I’ve always watched for news about the children and the school. That was just a natural

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Phyllis Carley has been a part of the Harker family for more than half a century. The lively and energetic 85-year-old currently serves as secretary of the Board of Trustees and helps the Harker Office of Communications (O of C) by reading local newspapers for relevant articles. “She’s a real watchdog of good local news coverage, and we got to talking about this many years ago when I first started in this job,” explains O of C Director Pam Dickinson. “So one thing led to another, and she agreed to help us research and track the news coverage of the local weeklies.”

bookkeeper at Harker, offered Mrs. Carley the job. Being new to the area did not deter Mrs. Carley from taking the job; she simply loves to be around children. Before she knew it, she was driving [actress] Shirley Temple’s children to school.

“It all just happened,” she said with a smile.

Soon, driving the students became something “on the side.” Mrs. Carley became secretary to Donald Nichols, then to Howard Nichols, and is now secretary of the Board of Trustees. She enjoys every moment of her time with the students The Harker School is a K-12 independent, co-ed, college-prep school.

Being involved with Harker allows Mrs. Carley to relive her childhood.

As a student, Mrs. Carley played polo, basketball and softball. Now, she is one of Harker athletics’ biggest fans. “I love watching students of all ages coming together and having fun.” Along with sports, Mrs. Carley enjoys western music, quality time with her dog and the rodeo.

In fact, she was a hostess for the Salinas rodeo and still goes to the rodeo every year. After listing her many pastimes, she confirms, “My real interest, of course, is in the students.”

Harker has changed a lot since Mrs. Carley arrived on the scene, but she insists that its mission has never changed. “The student body is definitely larger…and having three campuses is a big change as well. The biggest focus, however, is still the children.” While the biggest change came this year when Howard Nichols retired, Mrs. Carley is comforted knowing that “Mr. Nikoloff is so interested and involved, and he and Ms. Gargano are so focused on the children and their welfare.” To Mrs. Carley, that is what Harker is all about.

If there’s anything Mrs. Carley hopes to inspire in high school students, it’s “to enjoy life and consider your friends. Academics are important, but so are our attitudes.

Your attitude will stay with you throughout your life.” It is clear that this light-hearted and friendly member of the Harker community has always stood by her own advice.

Grades K-5: 4600 Bucknall Rd., San Jose CA 95130 Grades 6-8: 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose CA 95117 Grades 9-12: 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose CA 95129

Harker believes that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate against its employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, age (over 40), marital status, political affiliations, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by state or federal laws, local law or ordinance.

Harker News — May 06