DECEMBER 2001 (VOL. 8, NO. 3)
N E W S L E T T E R
F R O M
student
T H E
H A R K E R
■ The Bucknall campus held a contest to design a t-shirt that would then be sold as a fundraiser to raise money for the Relief Fund. The winning designs were created by 6th grader Tonia Sun and 3rd grader Brianna Tran. Congratulations to both of these talented
day long to donate blood. A special thanks to US student Shalini Lal who arranged for the Stanford
event
students! Tonia’s design includes an American Eagle holding a flag, a peace dove holding an olive branch, and a Harker eagle holding ribbons that say, “Harker Cares.” Brianna’s design says “Harker School Cares” and features three children holding hands on one side of the ocean and three children holding hands on the other side of the ocean. Both designs are wonderful, and the t-shirts are currently in production. ■ Language Arts teacher Jason Oncay and the 5th Grade Spirit Committee reported that the “Candy Gram” fundraiser on the Bucknall campus was a huge success. Over 532 candygrams were sold, and the proceeds were sent to the Relief Fund. ■ The Blood Drive on the Saratoga campus in November was another wonder ful success. Students, faculty, staff and parents demonstrated their commitment—and their courage—as they filed in all
S C H O O L
outreach Design by Brianna Tran
M O N T H L Y
Design by Tonia Sun
A
BUCKNALL CAMPUS
Blood Bank to come to our campus, and to all the US students who assisted throughout the day. Also, special thanks to Debra Nott, Harker’s Head Nurse, for managing the schedule. Congratulations and thanks to all of you who braved the needle, especially you first timers. Your gift means ever ything to someone in need. Everyone helped make it a huge success—a total of 68 pints of blood!
news
Yosemite Highlights Since 1976, Harker has been sending students to the Yosemite Institute for a week of hiking, exploration and education. One hundred thirty seven Harker 6th graders and 16 staff went on this year's trip in October. Thanks to Justin Gadbois, 5th & 6th grade Science teacher, and Melanie Robinson, PE teacher, for sharing some of their photos with us!
AROUND ■ Teacher Jeff Gatlin announced that a story by 5th grader Lexie Ross was chosen as a winning entry in October by Candlelight Stories. This story was selected from hundreds of online entries, including 40 from Mr. Gatlin's creative writing students. Mr. Gatlin reported that her entry will remain as published material online for over a year, and Lexie will receive three mystery books as a prize. You can read her story by going to Candlelight Stories, www.candlelightstories.com/D001/ Mystery.asp and clicking on the link for October’s winning entry. Congratulations, Lexie! ■ The Kindergarten students in Eric Hoffman’s art classes are making Holiday Pins to send as
campus ■ PE Teacher Melanie McKenna said that the Physical Education Department “got into the spirit of Halloween” by creating a Carn-OWeen in the gym. According to McKenna, there were Topple the Haunted Castle and Ring the Witches Hat. But the unanimous favorite was the coach ride through the Haunted Tunnel where the students provided muscle power to propel themselves through a cave filled with bats, ghosts and a few sixth grade creatures in costume.
Kindergarten students modeling their holiday pins (and their smiles!) before they send the gifts to their friends at our sister school in Tamagawa, Japan. gifts to our Kindergarten friends at Tamagawa School in Japan. A few of the children are pictured above with their handiwork! ■ Miss Proctor, Mrs. Chung and Mrs. Alexander took the 1st graders on a trip to Coyote Point Museum in November where they learned about mammals and insects. According to Cindy Proctor, among the most memorable activities were “seeing a live bat, watching an opossum eat a meal worm and seeing a millipede over 6 inches long!” They also witnessed “snail painting,” where a drop of food coloring was put on a piece of paper and the snail passed through it and painted. Also, check out Miss Proctor’s web page for pictures and details about Pumpkin Math and Turkey Math, two seasonal competitions she and Mrs. Chung did in their classes.
■ Harker's Annual Book Fair was a huge success this year. With over $20,000 in sales, the lower school library earned 25% of the profits to use on library materials.
■ Congratulations to Harker faculty Giresh Ghooray, Jacob Hazard and Pat Walsh who successfully completed an eight-week Summer Fellowship with Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Intel Corporation and Micro Metallics, respectively.
Mr. Anderson and Mrs. McKenna would like to thank the sixth grade students for running the games and providing the “howls and whoooos”! A fun and festive time was had by all. ■ The librarians announced the following winners of the Halloween Haunted House “Hauntest” drawing who won $5 gift certificates to use at the recent Harker Book Fair for reading a book in October. Kindergarten - Nathan Villanueva, Myka Martin and Kevin Moss; 1st Grade - Randall Riedel, Isha Patnaik, Wilbur Yang and Ragaini Bhattacharya; 2nd Grade: Leo Kheyn-Khefets; 3rd Grade - Sarah Normoyle, Brianna Tran and Nirjhar Mundkar; 4th Grade - Vishesh Jain and Jyoti Narayanswami; 5th Grade - Luna Dai and Babak Haghighi; 6th Grade (no winners). ■ Mrs. Giammona's and Mr. Qua's 5th grade Social Studies classes
“It’s events like these that reinforce my feelings of good for tune to head a librar y program consisting of such dedicated staff, book-loving parents, and enthusiastic young readers,” said Enid Davis, Librar y Director for Harker. The entire Bucknall librar y staff would like to thank the parent volunteers.
Selling Massachusetts!
had an opportunity to work on their advertising and sales skills and learn some American history at the same time last month. Students worked in small groups to create an According to librar y assistant ad campaign to lure colonists to Kathy Polzin, “There were some settle in their particular colony. fantastic parent volunteers!” Many Each student had a role in the thanks to the following parents who group, such as historian, graphic really helped make this year’s designer, advertiser or salesperevent the best ever: Sylvia Beals, son. After researching its colony, Sue Prutton, Ernie Porter, Melody each group had to create a 3Moyer, Deana Knight, Jane minute sales presentation, as well Villadsen, Mary Kay Guevel, Susan as an attractive billboard. While the Mandell, Fred and Candy Carr, students became “experts” on one Nancy Claunch, Fumiko Kimura colony, they also learned a great and Kim Pellisier. deal about the other colonies when hearing the “sales pitches” of the other teams. Joe Hospodor, an advertiser for the colony of Massachusetts, said he liked this kind of activity because, “I was able to be creative. It was fun coming up with slogans.” Throughout the year, Mr. Qua and Mrs. Giammona do activities like this to provide students with more hands-on experience with history and to Harker Book Fair, 2001 liven up the curriculum.
news
you need
Attn: Parents of Sixth Graders The state of California requires all students entering seventh grade to have completed all 3 shots for Hepatitis B and to have received 2 Measles, Mumps, and Rubella shots (MMR). At the time your sixth grader entered Kindergarten, Hepatitis B and a second MMR were not required. Many of your students have already had the required immunizations since then. If that is the case, please photocopy your most recent immunization record and
send it to the Nurse’s Office on the Bucknall campus. Please retain the original in your medical file at home. If your child has not received these immunizations, you should begin as soon as possible. The Hepatitis B series takes 6 months to complete (Shot 1, then Shot 2 a month later, followed by Shot 3 six months after Shot 1.) If your student has medical or religious reasons for not being immunized, you will need to sign a waiver, available in the Nurse’s Office.
event
news, cont.
Grandparents’ Day A Huge Success Over 400 guests attended this year’s annual Grandparents’ Day, exceeding last year’s attendance of 325! The grandparents and special friends who had been invited seemed to thoroughly enjoy the quality time with their children. “There’s really nothing like the joyous voices and fresh faces of kids to put life into some perspective, especially in difficult times like today,” noted Nancy Reiley, Director of Community Relations for Harker. “As one looked through the crowd of grandparents, arrayed in everything from turbans to festive saris, one recognized that peace and harmony shouldn't be such a hard goal for this old world to achieve ... we do it daily here at Harker!” Grandparents and other family relatives who had enrolled in the
Harker
they do with our children. Grandparents’ Association were eligible for a special drawing that day. Sixth grader Alissa Kawahara’s aunt and uncle, Shiz and Paul Eagan, were the winners, and their niece will enjoy being “Principal for the Day” some time this year for being the winning entry. Entertainment at this year’s event included rousing choral performances by the Kindergarten and 6th grade classes, a “grandparent participation” dance by the Bucknall Dance Ensemble, an
Halloween
inspiring performance by the Harker Orchestra, and a closing number by the middle school Harmonics. Many thanks to Gail Palmer, Len Allen, Brian O'Sullivan, Robert Scannell, Maureen Driggs and Danny Dunn of the Harker Performing Arts Department for the wonderful job
Harker would also like to thank the many parent volunteers who made this event possible and who insured that it flowed so smoothly. Our outstanding Grandparents’ Day Chairs this year were Kim Pellissier, Janie Fung and Debbie Gray, assisted by a legion of volunteers too numerous to mention. However, many, many thanks to all who were on hand during the days leading up to the event, preparing name tags, centerpieces and more to help ensure this event’s success.
Over 700 Bucknall students took part in the annual Halloween Parade, with approximately 500 parents, friends and fans cheering them on. This has been a big event for many years here at Harker and is the 4th annual event at the Bucknall campus. As always, the festivities were led by the wacky Recreation Staff. “Fun was had by all,” said Kim Coulter, Recreation Director at the Bucknall campus. “We had ghosts and goblins, Mickey and Minnie, and I think I even saw ‘Captain Underpants!’ The Rec Dept had a great time planning for the festivities, and it’s always a pleasure to see how much fun the children and parents have at the parade!” And we appreciate all the great things the Rec. Dept. does for all of our children, too!
parent
dates
Mon., Dec. 3, Faculty Meeting No after school activities or athletics, except paid activities Mon., Dec. 3, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Library Gr. 1 Parent Coffee Wed., Dec. 5, 5:30-7 p.m., STG Gym Gr. 7 & 8 Choir & Orchestra Show Wed., Dec. 5, 8:30 a.m. Gr. 5 Marin Headlands Trip departs from Harker Bookstore Wed., Dec. 5, 5-6:30 p.m., Library Drug Education Workshop for K-6th grade parents, $10 per person Limited child care available. RSVP to kellys@harker.org Wed., Dec. 5, 8:15-9:30 a.m., Harker Bookstore “Picnic in Paris” Volunteer Meeting—all are welcome! (94 N. San Tomas Aquino Rd.) Thurs., Dec. 6, 5-6 p.m., Library Gr. 4 Parent Coffee Fri., Dec. 7, 5:30 p.m. (apprx.) Gr. 5 Marin Headlands Trip returns to Harker Bookstore Sun., Dec. 9, 10 a.m.-Noon K-6th Open House (for the general public)
Winter Holiday parties for K-8 will be held Tues. afternoon, Dec. 18, the final day of classes before the Winter Break. Like Santa’s industrious elves, grade level coordinators and room parents will be putting the finishing touches to their party plans in the coming weeks. Parents who are interested in lending assistance or in contributing special goodies, please contact the room parent contact for your child’s homeroom. Thanks to the careful tallying of recorded service hours by Parent Volunteer Leadership Council member Leslie Nielsen, we are thrilled to repor t that we have logged well over 1000 volunteer hours to date, including our Grandparents’ Day and Book Fair volunteers this past month, performed by 143 parents. Be sure that your hard work gets recognized regularly by signing in and out of our Logbooks at the front desk at Bucknall, in Shah Hall and at the front desk in the Administrative building on Saratoga. Or for your convenience, try our new monthly volunteer cards which you can mail in to record your service to the school. For more news about our Parent Volunteer Programs, visit the Parent Home Page!
spirit
alive
Spirit is Alive and Kickin’
Tues., Dec. 11, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Gym Gr. 1 Holiday Show performance
Once again, a huge thank you to our Development Council members for their time and efforts during the November phonathons. We would especially like to thank those families who have participated in the campaign thus far, bringing us to over 52% committed!
Wed, Dec. 12, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Gym Gr. 2 Holiday Show performance Fri., Dec. 14, Gym US choral group, Bel Canto per forms K-2: 1:45-2:15 p.m. and 5 & 6: 2:30-3:15 p.m.
As mentioned in the November edition, we are thrilled to announce that a Harker family has generously offered Harker a $25,000 Matching Challenge Grant. This participation grant will match, dollar-for-dollar, gifts received from returning families who did not participate in the Million for the Millennium Annual Giving Campaign. If you qualify for this grant, it is a magnificent way to double your contribution and, ultimately, double the support of your children.
Wed., Dec. 19 - Wed., Jan. 2 Winter Vacation Thurs., Jan. 3 Classes Resume HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!
Volunteer
The cost will be $5 per adult to cover beer, wine, soft drinks and desserts. Parents are invited to bring a favorite appetizer to share with the group. For further information, contact Becky at becky.cox@webmethods.com.
notes
Mesdames and messieurs, the Champs Elysee and the Tour Eiffel will provide the colorful backdrop for Harker's “Picnic in Paris” coming April 28th. Is it too soon for us to think about this big volunteer undertaking? Absolument, non! Individuals who signed up in the fall to participate in Picnic planning are soon to be contacted by members of the Picnic Steering Committee and Picnic Coordinator, Lynette Stapleton. Interested parents are invited to stop at our own little Paris “bistro” at the Advancement Office at 94 N. San Tomas Aquino Road on the morning of Wed., Dec. 5, right after morning drop-off, to learn more about our exciting Picnic plans! Presley Troyer, K grade level coordinator, and room parents Nancy Jones, Ruth Mohanram and Kim Pellissier invite fellow Kindergar ten parents to a monthly drop-in coffee break at City Espresso in Campbell, just around the corner from the Bucknall campus on the first Tuesday morning of each month. Anyone having a few minutes to stop in for a cup of coffee after morning drop-off and a chance to share some “parent chat” is warmly welcomed. Becky Cox and Margaret Demers, grade level coordinators for G1, invite first grade parents and teachers for an adults-only G1 Holiday Social on Friday night, Dec. 14 in Los Altos. Festivities will get underway at 7 p.m.
We have additional ways you can support your children and their educational and extracurricular experiences at Harker. One program in particular is eScrip. According to San Jose Middle School, their 400 registered families have generated $2,700-$3,000 a month for their school. This program is a wonderful opportunity that directly enhances what we can provide for your children. To find out more about this program, other programs available and the Campaign itself, please contact Amalia Keyashian, Director of Annual Giving (amaliak@harker.org). You can log on to www.harker.org and click on ADVANCEMENT & ALUMNI for more information as well. Again, we thank you so much for keeping the spirit alive! —Kelly S. Parker, Development Director The Saratoga and Bucknall editions of the Parent Pages are published monthly by the Harker Office of Communications. They are also available on the web at: www.harker.org. Click on PARENTS. Editor: Pam Dickinson
Design: Blue Heron Design
Photography: Chris Daren, Martha Acosta, Eric Hoffman, Bran-Dee Torres, Eric Chamlis, Joey Tyndal, and Jessica Luo (student) Printing : Communicart
DECEMBER
2001
Parent Input In an online survey last summer, many of you shared your compliments, concerns and ideas with us. Though we hope you will share your concerns and ideas with us at any time, we used an independent firm for the survey since this anonymous method better ensured honest and candid answers. We are grateful for your time and input and will be printing some of these results over the next few months, beginning with this issue. We will also be offering several other brief, online parent surveys this year (beginning this month!) to encourage your input on a variety of topics. First, we were overwhelmed with the positive feedback we received regarding your child’s experiences at Harker. The following words and phrases were repeated frequently in your praise regarding the school, and we’ve included a sprinkling of comments from parents at different grade levels:
“Ample personal assistance” “Lots of individual attention” “Extremely supportive environment” “Well tailored to ability” “Opportunities for extra help” “High academic standards” “Great academic discipline and structure” “Caring and motivating environment” “Ability for individualized placement”
“An excellent academic education where students come eager and ready to learn and are nurtured in a supportive environment where prejudice and
“Well rounded” “Well-rounded education, excellent after-school program, individual attention for each child.” — 1st grade parent “A Harker education provides a student with an excellent education in not only academics, but also in non-academic areas such as the arts and social activities, which allows the student to grow as an entire person.” — 2nd grade parent
“The high level of expectations placed on the children, combined with a really excellent support network.” — 6th grade parent “A robust, well-grounded, wellrounded academic foundation.” — 8th grade parent “A well balanced and competitive program, with stress on both the mental and physical aspects of growth.” — 9th grade parent
disrespect are not tolerated.”
We’re privileged to teach your children and to have a parent body that appreciates the value of a demanding and rigorous education. We thank you for entrusting your children to us and believing in the Harker vision.
— 4th grade parent
We received a number of questions and suggestions in the survey regarding parent communication. We have been reviewing all of our methods of communication over this past year, and based on your input, here’s an update of our current programs:
Survey of the Month Go to the “Survey of the Month” on our Parent Home Page and let us know how we’re doing!
E-Mails E-mails are a “green,” ef ficient way to impar t timely information, and we will continue to use this method for per tinent parent communication. Our Technology Dept. is currently writing a program which will allow each Harker family to have multiple e-mails in our system, and we appreciate your patience as we finish this useful program. Also, a big “thank you” to all of you who were so patient through our broadcast e-mail problems this past fall. The program we wrote to override the “spam” protector on other ser vers that was causing the problems seems to be working, thank goodness!
Parent Communication Parent Home Page Based on parent input, we felt it was time to create a place on the web where parents could easily access the information most important to them. Click on Parents at the top of the Harker home page. Some of the links currently there or in the works are: Calendars, Faculty E-Mail directory, Menus, Athletic Schedules, Academic Schedules, Contact the Nurse, Emergency Information, Frequently Asked Questions, Archived Broadcast E-Mails, Handbooks, Policy and Procedures and PDFs of the Monthly Parent Newsletters. In addition, there are links for both Bucknall and Saratoga questions so that we can address your concerns and inquiries individually. This Parent Home Page will be password protected as of Dec. 10th, and the user name and password is included in this packet. We’ll also e-mail you serveral times before we activate the password protection.
Web Calendars Since we have four lively divisions at Harker—Primar y, Elementar y, Middle and Upper—the time came for us to separate our date
information by division so families wouldn’t be over whelmed by the immensity of one schoolwide calendar. These are posted on the web, and a printed version is sent home each month. Though we print two months at a time on these one-page sheets for your convenience, please recycle last month’s calendar when you receive the new one to ensure you have the most current information. When in doubt, go to the web site to confirm. (The date each calendar was last updated is noted at the top of each.) We continue to work on the calendar to provide the information you’re wanting and get it in a format you also like. It’s a work in progress! In addition, we have recently modified our Yearat-a-Glance, all-school calendar on the web to reflect only vacations &
holidays so parents have a clear, definitive place to refer to for planning purposes. We have included an updated copy of this calendar with this month’s distribution.
Newsletters and Web News As a K-12 school, Harker has a lot going on. The quarterly magazine format wasn’t providing parents with the timely news and updates they wanted, so we have replaced the quarterly publications with a monthly edition for each campus. We will produce fancier, expanded newsletters during cer tain times of the year to better showcase the events and activities of the season. We’ll address concerns and questions with a monthly Q & A column. We are also expanding our “news space” on our web site so that the world can know about some of the great things our kids are doing!
Mailings Good old-fashioned mail is still necessar y for some things. However, we will be making an ef for t to consolidate our mailings as much as possible to reduce the amount of mail you receive from us and conser ve on paper and postage. Many of you have e-mailed me your comments, both positive and negative, and I hope you continue to do so. This kind of feedback helps us ef fectively direct our communication ef for ts to best meet your needs. Now go to the Harker Home Page and complete that sur vey!
Pam Dickinson Director of Communications pamd@harker.org
Next month: More results of the summer survey, suggestions from this month’s on-line survey and a recap of the outstanding achievements of our Harker students.