October 2001 (VOL. 8, NO. 1)
A
M O N T H L Y
Harker Responds to Tragedy The tragedy of September 11 brought the entire Harker
BUCKNALL CAMPUS
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■ Howard and Diana Nichols held special assemblies at the Bucknall and Saratoga campuses with all of the students the morning of the tragedy to provide age appropriate guidance, reassurances and opportunities for discussion. Our counseling staff provided further support to Harker students.
happened and about what will happen to you. Don’t worry about it. Just stay calm and think about anything that you like.
community together to try to understand the events that occurred and respond to those in need.
■ Our front desk and support staffs on both campuses handled hundreds of parent phone calls on the day of the events and kept our parents informed and reassured of their children's safety. Our webmaster posted emergency information on the web within hours of the event, and it was updated daily during the first week to further keep parents informed. ■ Children in the after-school Club Rec program are making red, white and blue beaded bracelets with beads donated by a local artist. These bracelets will be sold at area stores, including Nordstrom and Draeger’s, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross. Thanks to Brian McEwan’s (Gr. 6) mother, Lisa, Harker was invited to participate in this wonderful program. The tentative date is Nov. 2nd. Details will follow in next month’s newsletter. ■ Over 200 letters were written by Bucknall students and sent to the New York City Fire Dept., a school in New York located near “Ground Zero,” and a local Islamic school. Here are some examples: Dear Student, I know that you may feel scared or frightened about what just
S C H O O L
Keep a journal to express your feelings. You will be fine. Don’t listen to anyone who judges you by your skin color. They should judge you on who you are. They just don’t understand. All I want you to do is finish this letter off with a big smile as big as the river Nile. “Put a smile on your face and make the world a better place.” Sincerely, Sumita Sharma P.S. I hope this leter made you feel better. Dear Rescue Worker, Thank you for trying so much. It must be very hard. You are a hero. Connie Cheng, Gr. 1 Dear Students, I was told that you have been held accountable for the Sept. 11 attacks. You have been exposed to hate crimes, derogatory remarks, and graffitti. Obviously, the people who are committing these crimes are in a very wrong frame of mind. Do not, whatever you do, allow your feelings to be hurt. Know that you are not responsible and should not be held responsible for what happened on Tuesday, Sept. 11th. I would like to see the terrorists brought to justice. Do not be put
down by these people. Sincerely, Ben Englert Dear Rescue Workers, I believe that what you are doing is something a lot of people would not do. You are putting all of your time and effort into trying to save these people. After what happened, your work is the most important and without you more people would have died. You have inspired each and every one of us by your caring and helpful ways and I hope you know it. From a caring 6th grader, Ranjita Raghavan
HARKER
headlines Sixteen National Merit Semifinalists Named Harker is delighted to announce that 16 out of the 89 seniors in our first graduating class this year have been named National Merit Semifinalists, giving Harker one of the highest percentages in the countr y. These National Merit semifinalists are within the top 16,000 students in the United States based on PSAT scores achieved in the junior year: Jerry Chi, Alex A. Combs, Arjun Dave, Liang Dong, Shally Garg, Benjamin Y. Hu, Alexander S. Janofsky, Benjamin H. Janofsky, Kimberly N. Kanada, Anjali Khurana, Shalini H. Lal, Alan V. Liu, Nadia N. Raza, Stephanie C. Tsai, Matthew G. Wong and Jennifer Sun Yao. Congratulations to each and every one of them!
first
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Urgent Traffic Update Dan Gelineau, Asst. Head of School, Non-Academic Affairs, is asking for your cooperation with Harker’s traffic guidelines. Several of our neighbors have complained not only to the school, but also to the San Jose Police Department regarding blocked streets on both Bucknall and Rincon Ave. during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. The Police Department will begin increased enforcement of the area, particularly the “NO LEFT TURN” when exiting both the Rincon and Bucknall parking lots, and is now issuing citations.
with the following specific points:
Morning drop-off 1. When entering the Rincon lot, enter from the San Tomas Aquino side only, making a right turn. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TURN LEFT INTO THIS LOT. 2. Pull as far forward as possible before stopping. 3. You do not need to wait for staff to open the door. The staff are there to provide super vision, ensure student safety, and assist those who need help with backpacks, etc. They CANNOT open every car door. 4. RIGHT TURN ONLY WHEN EXITING THE LOT.
Afternoon pick-up It is illegal to double-park and block access on the street. It is also illegal to turn left across a lane of traffic into a driveway, when it is not clear enough to move out of the lane of traffic and completely into the lot. We are asking for your help
1. When entering the Rincon lot, enter from the San Tomas Aquino side only, making a right turn. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TURN LEFT INTO THIS LOT. 2. NO LEFT TURNS WHEN EXITING EITHER LOT.
3. Please do not arrive too early in the loading zones. Students are dismissed at 3:30, except for Kindergarten (3:20). When your children are excused, they need time to go to their lockers, gather their belongings, and get out to the loading zone. If parents do not arrive until their children are ready for pickup (about 3:45), or 15 minutes after activities/practice ends, the students can hop right in to the waiting cars. We do not have room to stack 30 or 40 cars in the loading zones without backing up into the street, which is what happens when parents arrive prior to their children arriving in the loading zones.
From the Nurse All students entering 7th grade next fall must have had three Hepatitis B shots and two Measles, Mumps and Rubella shots. Only 25% of this year's 6th graders have this information on file since this is a
new state requirement. You'll be receiving a letter soon from the Nurse's Office indicating which vaccination records are missing from your child's file. If you have questions, call the Bucknall Nurse's Office at 408.871.4609.
Morning Supervision There is now supervision in the 100 and 500 building area starting at 7:30 for students to access lockers to allow students more time to get ready for classes. We're aware that student backpacks can get quite heavy, so Bucknall students may now use the elevator in the gym building to transport their backpacks, if they wish. Students will be shown how to “transport” their backpacks upstairs and take the stairs up to retrieve them. Students themselves may not ride the elevator unless accompanied by an adult or presenting a written medical excuse.
www.harker.org
online
Database Access Available to Harker Families
Parent Info
art harker
gallery headlines
Enid Davis, Harker’s Library Director, announced that the following new subscription-based electronic databases are available for our Harker students and families via our Website. Please be aware that in accordance with our contracts, passwords are not to be given out to anyone but your household members. You may find these great sources of online, accurate information by going to the The Harker School library site: http:// library.harker.org, then going to “Subscription Links” on the menu. ■ Infotrac Student Edition and Kid's Edition http://infotrac.galegroup.com/ itk12/thsl_main Password: harker
■ Encyclopedia Britannica Online http://www.search.eb.com User name:!@#Harker. Password: KTwelve ■ Facts on File http://www.fofweb.com/ User name: harker. Password: harker ■ Galenet Databases http://galenet.gale.com/a/acp/ name/harker. Password: harker ■ Grove Dictionary of Art Online http://www.groveart.com/ User name: harker. Password: grvart ■ Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians http://www.grovemusic.com/. User name: harker. Password: grvmusic
In The
■ Lexis/Nexis https://web.lexis-nexis.com/ scholastic User name: HHIGH. Password: 112ZT8 ■ The New York Times Historical http://proquest.umi.com/ pqdweb?RQT=306&TS=10008 24840 User name: 4k9bc9n97v. Password: welcome ■ Proquest Direct http://www.umi.com/proquest/ User name: 4k9bc9n97v. Password: welcome
Due to recent world events, the Tamagawa visit of Japanese students which usually occurs in October has been postponed. A new date (probably in the spring) will be announced in next month’s newsletter.
Election Results In the 5th grade, homeroom representatives take turns fulfilling all the jobs of the offices. This year’s 5th grade homeroom representatives are: Taylor Martin, Barrett Glasauer, Louis Prusa, Lexie Ross, Elizabeth Case, and David Kastelman. Congratulations to all of the candidates for this year’s 6th grade student council elections, which were held recently. We applaud all of them for their willingness to represent the students. The new
The PARENTS site on the Harker home page is evolving into a HOME PAGE FOR PARENTS. Among the features of this expanding site are links to all the division calendars, a PDF version of this monthly newsletter that you can download and print from your home computer, and links to other pages in the site of interest to parents. Please email pamd@harker.org if you have questions or suggestions.
Becky Yanovky
classroom
Tamagawa Program
Alyssa Boyle
officers are: President, Cayden Berkmoyer; Vice President, Tonia Sun; Treasurer, Niyanth Anand; Secretary, Stephanie Benedict. The 6th grade Homeroom reps are: Raven Reddy, David Kuo, Melissa Chen, Paula Lauris, Michael Kang, Evan Sanders, and Alex Boberg.
Garden Opening First grade teachers Cindy Proctor and Diann Chung recently opened “The Garden” with a Sunflower Party. This annual garden project is one shared by the two teachers to give the children in their classes an opportunity to garden and to see what wonder ful things they can grow. Annual “crops” include tulips, onions and lettuce.
sports
briefs The lower and middle school athletic teams are under way, and the teams who have played so far have posted a record of 2-3. First to play was the C2 volleyball team. The girls lost this game to Valley Christian, and the scores were 15-9, 15-4. Coach Woolsey said, “They had a great time and got lots of practice, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Royal Burell
Next to play were the C1 and D1 teams. The C1 team coached by Pete Anderson won their first match 2 games to 1 against Hillbrook. Ashley Malone, Gar Yun Ho and Ariel Gaknoki played superbly to lead Harker to their first league win. The D1 team coached by Melanie McKenna lost to Hillbrook, 15-3, 15-5. —Many thanks to PE teacher and coach Mary Kay Oaks for this month’s lower and middle school SPORTS BRIEFS!
Vivek Maheshwari
Volunteer The Volunteer Breakfast on Aug. 31 brought out both veteran volunteers and new Harker parents who are eager to get involved in our
notes
Grade level coordinators and room parents are now in place, and every homeroom has its own room parent (some have two!). This year’s grade level coordinators are Presley Troyer (K), Margaret Demers and Becky Cox (1st), Michelle Maxey (2nd), Alicia Moore (3rd), Debbie Dawkins and Dede Ogami (4th), Leslie Doherty (5th) and Brenda Davis (6th).
community— many thanks! Already several groups of volunteers have helped with mailings, and special thanks to those who helped get out Mothers’ Dinner invitations in the midst of the recent and tragic
events. Other mailing teams will soon be helping with Monte Carlo Night invitations, Upper School brochure mailings and more. Volunteer Leadership Council member and parent, Smita Patel, is this year’s Mailings Coordinator. To volunteer, contact smita24@pacbell.net.
2001
Grandparent’s Day chairs, Janie Fung, Debbie Gray and Kim Pellissier, are in the planning stages for this Bucknall event on Fri., Nov. 16. Volunteers who expressed interest in helping at this event, or who signed up at the Volunteer Breakfast, will be contacted soon. Thanks to 4th grade parent, Sarala Devi and to Kim Hall for keeping the stream of helpers rolling through two days of photography sessions for the student fall pictures. Many thanks to workers Chris Douglas, Kim Pellissier, Nandita Pai, Ellen Harris, Pam Araki, Ernie Porter, Sylvia Beals, Sue Prutton, Janie Fung, Shipra Jain, Coral Shih, Mary Kay Guevel, Madhu Jain, and Maria Martinez.
—Nancy Reiley Director of Community Relations nancyr@harker.org
homecoming
All parents, faculty and students of Harker are invited to join the old-fashioned fun at Harker's Homecoming 2001. Harker will play Justin Senia at PAL Stadium in San Jose. Game time is 6pm on Saturday, October 20th. We're hoping to see everyone there to support the football team, cheer with the cheerleaders, congratulate the Homecoming Court and just enjoy a great evening outside as part of the Harker community! There will be an exciting halftime show, including a cheerleading routine, class competition between the 9th 12th grades, processional and
announcements by the Homecoming court and some fun surprises. Our goal is for Homecoming to become an annual event for graduating alumni to come join us! This year’s Homecoming Court of Princes and Princesses, voted on by the students in their grade are: Seniors: Alan Liu, Ahksar Kharebov, Adam Vucurevich, Tiffany Duong, Alexa Bush and Carmen Antoun. Juniors: Poorav Patel and Rebecca Chang. Sophomores: Max Kubota and Maya Hey. Freshmen: Abeer Desai and Catherine Ball.
parent
events
Tuesday, October 2, 1:15-6pm K Parent Conferences (by appt.) Wednesday, October 3, 1:15-6pm K Parent Conferences (by appt.) Thursday, October 4, 5pm Gr. 6 Yosemite Parent Orientation Monday, October 8 Columbus Day holiday - NO SCHOOL Tuesday, October 9, 1:15-6pm K Parent Conferences (by appt.) Tuesday, October 9, 5:30pm Gr. 5 Headlands Parent Orientation Saturday, October 20, 6pm Homecoming Game, PAL Stadium Monday, October 22-Friday, October 26 Gr. 6 in Yosemite Wednesday, October 31, 2:45pm Halloween Parade
spirit
alive
Fundraising Campaign Underway Welcome back Harker parents! Last year’s Million for the Millennium Annual Giving Campaign was a great success, and we’re now in the midst of this year’s Keep the Spirit Alive with 1.25 campaign. Participation to date for this year’s Campaign has already put us at a little over 25% of our $1.25 million goal! We are incredibly grateful to have such a magnificent group of parents who support Harker so wholeheartedly. With your generosity and commitment to Harker's Keep the Spirit Alive with 1.25 campaign, we will surely provide your children with the most comprehensive educational and extracurricular experiences possible. Thank you for keeping our spirit alive! —Amalia Keyashian, Director of Annual Giving (amaliak@harker.org) EDITOR’S NOTE: Many thanks to the parents who worked hard over the past several years to keep the monthly newsletter idea alive with the Eagle Eye. This first issue of the monthly PARENT PAGES is a tribute and thank you to them. I look forward to getting ideas and suggestions from ALL of our parents over the coming year to ensure that this publication is useful and entertaining for all!—Pam Dickinson, Editor (pamd@harker.org) 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 Printing: Todd Whitaker in the Harker print shop! Photography: Chris Daren, Eugene Louie, Eric Hoffman, Mark Tantrum. Also, US students Carmen Antoun & Ana Brar