TRADITIONS
Harker Lifers Dinner By Zach Jones
O
n the day before graduation and immediately following the baccalaureate ceremony, 35 “lifers” – students who attended Harker from kindergarten through their senior year – gathered at the home of Head of School Chris Nikoloff for the annual Lifer Dinner. Upon arriving at the home by bus, the students enjoyed a sumptuous dinner and dessert, the latter of which came in the form of a cake with an edible photo of the lifers on it. The seniors had a lively discussion about their Harker experiences and even broke into an impromptu rendition of “The Harker School Song” to cap things off.
Parents Celebrate
Graduating Students in Two Separate Events By Debbie Cohen
This year’s lifers are: Aashika Balaji, Akshay Battu, Caitlin Benge, Rishabh Chandra, Jonathan Dai, Marita Del Alto, Alexandra Dellar, Emma Doherty, Kaitlyn Gee, Eliot Gruzman, Grace Guan, Suraj Jagadeesh, John Nicolas Jerney, Maya Jeyendran, Kevin Ke, Abhinav Ketineni, Janet Lee, Natasha Mayor, Mary Najibi, Rishi Narain, Selin Ozcelik, Kristen Park, Nikita Ramoji, Shannon Richardson, Kurt Schwartz, Ankita Sharma, Elisabeth Siegel, Natalie Simonian, Gurutam Thockchom, Madison Tomihiro, Allison Wang, Kevin Wang, Helen Woodruff, Aparna Yellapragada and Jonathan Yiu.
Class of 2016 Enjoys Sun, Sand and Disneyland onSenior Trip By Zach Jones
H
arker seniors and their advisors spent a memorable three days in Laguna Beach for this year’s senior trip, held May 14-17. The advisors spent the first evening of the trip at a special dinner, reflecting on the Photo provided by Gabriele Stahl four years they had spent seeing the students grow into seniors. The next day, the entire group invaded Disneyland and California Adventure, where they played a game of tag in which each student was given another student as a target. Upper school math teacher and chaperone Anthony Silk called the game “a huge success, with students running all over both parks looking for each other.” The following day, the students enjoyed leisure time on the beach, including volleyball, sand castle building and just plain relaxation. Before leaving home, the students enjoyed an evening of live comedy, games, magic and karaoke.
At the annual Harker Senior Moms’ Luncheon, held in the gym, mothers of graduating seniors enjoyed a delicious meal served by the moms of juniors, while surrounded by collages commemorating the students’ academic journeys. During the event, mothers took to the podium to share memories of their children’s Harker experiences.
Photos by Mark Kocina
Photo by Mark Kocina
T
he mood was bittersweet as parents of seniors gathered to mark their students’ final days at Harker, during a pair of celebrations for moms and dads held on the afternoon and evening of May 16.
“Drink in this [graduation] week … it is a beautiful and special time,” Chris Nikoloff, head of school, advised the moms in attendance. Later in the day, fathers enjoyed a new event of their own: Dads of Grads. The evening gathering, held on the quad, was a casual barbecue for all upper school fathers, with fathers of freshman, sophomores and juniors hosting the senior dads.
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