Winged Post Volume 16, Issue 3

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Winged Post friday, november 21, 2014

the

THE HARKER UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, VOL. 16, NO. 3

harkeraquila.com harkeraquila.com

A2 BLOOD DRIVE A5 PALESTINE RECOGNITION A6-7 VETERANS DAY A8 EDITORIAL A10 GOOGLE FLU A12 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

VARUN BALDWA - TALON

CCS SEMIFINALS

POST SEASON VOLLEYBALL AND CROSS COUNTRY COVERAGE

Students light up Santana Row vasudha rengarajan Aquila editor in chief

Upper School Conservatory groups Downbeat, Varsity Dance and JV Dance performed at the annual Santana Row Tree Lighting Ceremony on Tuesday. The show also featured Middle and Lower School groups High Voltage, Showstoppers, Vivace, and Dance Fusion. The Harker portion of the show began with an introduction from senior Downbeat members Madi Lang-Ree and Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari followed by Varsity Dance. The student performers’ next show will be the annual holiday tour of all three campuses on Friday, Dec. 12.

Class of 2014 gi s orchard to late English teacher kavya ramakrishnan copy editor

PAM GELINEAU’S FUNERAL alyssa amick

anokhi saklecha & raveena kapatkar

global editor & Aquila copy editor Computer Science teacher Richard Page recently announced his retirement from the Upper School. Page began his Upper School career in the fall of 2004. In addition to teaching AP Computer Science with Data Structures and Compilers and Interpreters, he also founded the Computer Architecture class, a popular semester-long course for post-AP students. Page plans on retiring at the end of this school year. “I think we’re all pretty sad that Mr. Page is leaving,” Srivatsav Pyda (10) said. “He’s a great computer science teacher. He’s very accommodating of all his students, so I think we’ll miss him dearly.”

CINDY LIU - TALON

Aquila editor in chief

PAGE’S RETIREMENT

REMEMBERING Students, faculty, and staff honored Jason Berry on Wednesday afternoon at the unveiling of the “Berry Orchard.” The orchard consists of a memorial statue, fruit trees, and two benches to commemorate Berry, who passed away last August. (INSET) Chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine addresses the crowd at the dedication ceremony, reflecting on his time coaching Girls’ Lacrosse with Berry.

Community dedicates statue in Jason Berry’s honor

Ria Gandhi (10) and Lindsey Trinh (10) high-five before their CCS semifinal match against Soquel High School. As of press time, the game had not yet started. Check page B11 and Harker Aquila for full coverage of the girls’ season.

Long-time member of the Harker community Pam Gelineau passed away Nov. 15 after battling cancer. She started at the school 24 years ago teaching first grade before moving to second grade, and ultimately to her position as lower school admissions director. “Pam understood the younger students and their families. She had an intuitive grasp of their viewpoint, giving her a strong and wonderful way of interacting with them,” Head of School, Chris Nikoloff, said in an email to the community. The funeral will be held today at 11 a.m. at the Chapel of the Flowers in San Jose. A vigil and service will be held the day before starting at 5:30 p.m.. If you wish to extend condolences to the family, email nicoleh@ harker.org.

JONATHAN DAI - TALON

WHAT’S INSIDE

500 SARATOGA AVE. SAN JOSE, CA 95129

SANTA BABY (TOP) Darby Millard (12) and Erika Olsen (12) perform with Varsity Dance at the Santana Row tree lighting ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 18. (BOTTOM) Downbeat performs “Deck the Halls” during the show.

Head of School Christopher Nikoloff led the dedication ceremony of an orchard and a bronze statue, a memorial to the late English teacher Jason Berry on Wednesday. Nikoloff began the ceremony by stating the purpose of the 2014 senior class’ gift in remembering Berry, nicknamed “Bear,” who “represented for Harker everything we would want in a great teacher”. “Bear represents our best standards with humor, warmth and connection,” Nikoloff said. Alumna Sonya Chalaka (‘12) followed, remembering Berry’s impact on Harker and his humor and wisdom. Berry “left a deep and permanent mark on this community,”

she said. English teacher Brigid Miller spoke next, describing her and Berry’s shared passion for literature, reading the last paragraph of James Joyce’s short story “The Dead.” Head Varsity girls’ lacrosse coach and chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine described his relationship with Berry, the assistant coach, as the “Harker odd couple.” He stated that Berry’s halftime speeches often could “double as presidential inaugurations.” Head of Upper School Butch Keller, former Director of Alumni Relations MaryEllis Deacon, and math teacher Jane Keller unveiled the bronze statue of a bear, which was designed by art teacher Jaap Bongers, Deacon, and Jane Keller. Nikoloff concluded the cer-

emony by urging members of the community to appreciate one another every day. “The Berry Orchard,” donated by the Class of 2014 as its senior gift, consists of three citrus trees, two apple trees, two apricot trees, two benches and a bronze statue of a teddy bear with a tie. Berry’s good friend, class of 2014 dean and Upper School mathematics teacher Dr. Victor Adler, remembered Berry’s impact on the Harker community. “For me, he was a great resource to the students, he was a great advisor, and a great teacher, and a great coach,” Adler said. “The students really loved him dearly, and he loved the students, so that is what we remember him by.”

Honor Council releases expanded survey results Out of 60 responses to the optional questions, “What tenets would you like to see revised or added to the Honor Code?”:

36 16 8

The principles of the Honor Code help prepare you for life beyond Harker.

were suggestions. “I would like to see ‘tolerance’ removed. It should be about respect only.” contained criticism. “There is a cheating problem in the community and I think the Honor Code is too complicated at this point for everyone to be clear.” said the Honor Code was fine as is.

kacey fang & elisabeth siegel managing editor & news editor

The 2014 Honor Council survey results have been released in full today, including minority percentages and free response answers. After the survey was sent out on Oct. 7, 514 participants gave their opinions on the Honor Code. 60 individuals, or 11.6 percent, responded to optional questions. Of those responses, 36 were suggestions, 16 were complaints, and eight said that the Honor Code was fine as is. “One response that we saw a lot on the survey was the call for more transparency. We’re going to release a survey to find out more about what people are

“AD AMORE”, A3

thinking about the cheating problem,” Honor Council representative Sahana Rangarajan (12) said. To increase transparency, Honor Council also provides the option to submit questions via the student portal and has a bulletin board in Main. Representatives announced their efforts for transparency during class meeting last week. As of now, the Honor Council has not made changes to the Honor Code based on the survey responses. “The responses we saw were so across the board that it was hard to get concrete changes from them,” Sahana said. A second survey will be sent out by the Honor Council before finals. Check Harker Aquila for the full survey results.

Harker faculty and staff emulate the Honor Code in their actions.

This document as it currently stands meets the community’s needs.

EDITORIAL, A8

SHAY LARI-HOSAIN - WINGED POST

SIEMENS REGIONAL FINALISTS, A11


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Winged Post Volume 16, Issue 3 by Harker Aquila - Issuu