2002 November Harker News

NOVEMBER 2002 (VOL. 9, NO. 2)

A

M O N T H L Y

N E W S L E T T E R

DRACULA

HARKER

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

headlines

Saturday Nov. 23

Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s senior minister of state for education, trade and industry, visited The Harker School on Sept.

26 as his first stop on a research tour of science and technology programs at top American schools.

He was accompanied by the counsel general of Singapore for the San Francisco embassy, Mr. Robert Chua, and led a delegation that included Mr. Wong Siew Hoong, headmaster of Raffles Institute, a top public high school in Singapore, and Mr. Poh Leong Joo, senior head of the higher education division of the Ministry of Education.

Saratoga Gym 8 p.m. $10

Free Preview Wed., Nov. 20 - 6:30 p.m.

Special Dinner Show Details - Pg. 7 Tickets: jeffreyd@harker.org

During their visit to Harker, Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his

top stories Bucknall Santa Fe artist visits Bucknall art classes ......................... 3

Saratoga - MS Middle School offers new Digital Music elective .................. 10

Saratoga - US Homecoming brings “Eagle fever” to both campuses .......... 8 & 9

important dates

“We’re honored to have been the only South Bay school chosen on this tour,” noted Diana Nichols, head of school. Nichols added that Minister Shanmugaratnam has been in contact with Harker since

the visit and is interested in establishing an ongoing relationship with our school. Watch for more details on this exciting partnership in future issues.

MIT Congratulates Four Harker Teachers Mark Tantrum

Artwork by Ranjitha Kumar, Gr. 12

Friday Nov. 22

Mark Tantrum

Singapore Education Delegation Visits Top American Schools

delegation met with administrators, teachers and students and viewed student presentations from the Human Genome, AP Biology, Video Motion Graphics and Modern Physics classes.

Diana Nichols, head of school, recently received four letters from MIT praising Harker US teachers who were cited by alumni as teachers who were especially influential in the student’s development. The letters state, “It is a remarkable achievement and a great honor to change a life, so MIT congratulates these teachers on being recognized by Harker alumni.”

It goes on to thank each teacher for the “…time, patience, expertise, love, discipline, and all the other

Mon.-Sat., Nov. 4-9 Gr. 8 in Hawaii

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Fri., Nov. 15 & Mon., Nov. 18 K-12 Parent/Teacher Conferences No Classes

For many years Harker has been voted as one of the top K-8 schools in the Bay Area in the annual “Best of the Best” guide, published by Bay Area Parent.

Tues., Nov. 19-Fri., Nov. 22 Bucknall Book Fair

With only one class of graduates under our belt, Harker has already been named one of the top three high schools in their 2002 edition! Way to go, Harker!

Tues., Nov. 26 - 5:30 p.m.

Thanksgiving Vacation Begins

—Pam Dickinson, Director, Office of Communications

Mon., Dec. 2 Classes Resume

Remember to check the Parent Home Page for detailed calendars and additional updates between editions of the Harker News!

qualities which have had such an important impact on your students… we at MIT are deeply grateful.” A warm congratulations to Donna Gilbert (US history), Rand Harrington (US science), John Near (US history) and Bradley Stoll (US math) for receiving this wonderful recognition. “We at The Harker School could not be prouder of our first-class faculty,” said Nichols.

“It’s certainly nice to have such prestigious recognition brought to us by alumni and MIT.”

AROUND

bucknall

■ Jeff Gatlin’s Gr. 4 language arts class has started their own line of collectible cards as a tie-in project to the story, “President Cleveland,

At press time, Harker’s Tamagawa buddies were just arriving to join our students in Yosemite. Watch for photos and a recap in the next edition, and see related article on page 10 about this year's Tamagawa teacher exchange.

Cyrus Merrill

Bingo. They also planted vegetables (lettuce, peas, spinach), tulip and daffodil bulbs as well as mums, black-eyed susans and snapdragons.

Terry Walsh

“I have an aunt who can’t hear, and I’ve watched my mom use sign language and wanted to learn to sign too,” said Anna Levine, Gr. 1,

So far, her Gr. 1 students have mastered the sign alphabet and are moving on to learn numbers, while her Gr. 2 students are now also finger spelling names and signing common phrases such as, “What is your name?”

Students in Gr. 3 and 4 have added signing days of the week, sentences and rapid pace finger spelling of names, places and frequently used words.

Ollie Peng, Gr. 3, said, “I thought I

2

Terry Walsh

This new course is being taught by Jada Burrell, assistant to the summer school director, who took a sign language course in college and was eager to use it again. Her curriculum is designed for typical Gr. 1 to 4 students, and she began the course with charades. “Since sign originated from forms of pantomime, the students tried to communicate a thought or an action or a word without talking,” explained Burrell. “I’ve been impressed by the students’ willingness to sit still and take such an interest in a form of communication that they can’t hear.”

■ Students in Gr. 1 have enjoyed two fun parties! Ms. Proctor and Mrs. Chung’s Gr. 1 students enjoyed the annual Sunflower Party. Parent volunteers assisted the teachers with many crafts, projects and, of course, planting!

The students painted rocks that now decorate the garden; they made pinwheels, tasted lots of veggies and played Sunflower

Science teacher Jeanne Tyrell reports that the 5th graders are becoming proficient at using the microscope!

Oletta Ju, parent

■ The Bucknall recreation department is now offering a sign language learning workshop during the first quarter, and 14 students are currently taking this fresh new offering.

would like to be a doctor some day, and many people might not be able to communicate with me if they can’t hear. Leaning to sign might come in handy as a doctor.”

about the new course. Sydnee Hyman, Gr. 4, added that he would like to be able to sign with a deaf friend at his church, and Rishi Bhandia, Gr. 3, thought it would be a good way to talk in private with his mother when other people were with them.

Oletta Ju, parent

Terry Walsh

Where are you?” from their literature book. The story is about children trading collectible series cards during the Great Depression.

Gaitlin’s 15 students have all created unique cards that they have reproduced and are “trading” to fellow students. “A special prize will be awarded to those who collect a complete set,” said Gatlin.

Terry Walsh

The annual Dinosaur Party was held after reading two stories about dinosaurs in Language Arts. The children decorated dinosaur cookies, made dinosaur masks and much more!

Cyrus Merrill’s Gr. 5 social studies class recently visited the Rosecrucian Museum in San Jose.

NEWS

you need

Important Safety Notice for Bucknall Families It has come to our attention that some students are being dropped off outside the fence and walking unescorted onto the campus through the parking lot and loading zones on both the Rincon and Bucknall sides. For their safety, and the safety of others, students ARE PROHIBITED from walking alone in the parking and drop-off areas.

If you do not wish to wait in the drop-off line, please park and walk your students onto the campus! We understand drop-off can be a stressful and rushed time, so we ask that you plan ahead and leave ample time before school begins to ensure your student arrives safely each day!!

AROUND

bucknall

Sante Fe Artist John Jimenez Visits Bucknall Art Classes

Terry Walsh

Retiring after teaching thirty-eight years in the Sante Fe School District, Mr. Jimenez now teaches traditional art workshops in the Folk Arts program at the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico and throughout the U.S. He is a participant in the Spanish Market in Sante Fe and volunteers his time as a docent at the new Spanish Colonial Museum. His work is included in numerous museums and private collections throughout the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Jimenez was most impressed with the facility and art supplies. Coming as a public school educator, he feels that the Harker art department is very lucky to have so many resources!

teacher, classmate and friend of art teacher and dept. chair, Eric Hoffman, received a grant from the Crossing Cultural Borders Organization, based in Sante Fe, New Mexico, to come and teach at Harker. The goal of this organization is to educate children about the arts and to bridge the gap between cultures.

Mr. Jimenez was able to come to Harker because the diverse background of our students suited the needs of his program.

The students in Gr. 5 were introduced to “tin work” centering on the theme of Day of the Dead to be celebrated in Nov. The students were given a small square of tin

Mr. Jimenez, a warm and spiritual man, is a retablo painter (one who paints on wood) who works

Which Came First?

whose edges they bent under to make a frame. They then stamped a design or drawing to indent the picture on the tin and colored the pictures with bright marking pens.

“He described the art projects well and really expressed his feelings,” said Priyanka Hardikar, Gr. 5. Ben Ho added that he liked learning about the history of this art form.

The students in Gr. 3 were introduced to retablo, a two dimensional art that focuses on Christian icons. The children worked with blocks of wood, penciled and then colored pictures of saints or “cholcha,” embroidery. The students learned how paints were made from natural materials, such as dirt, roots and flowers. Mr. Jimenez worked with Gr. 4 on the most extensive project.

The students are in the process of building shrines to the individual.

The shrines teach, “that we are all different and they build on the self esteem of the child,” said Mr. Terry Walsh

in the style and traditions of the Spanish Colonial Period of New Mexico. Jimenez explained that as the Spanish began to colonize and explore the new world, there was a need for items for their settlements. From painting to carving, basketry to weaving and metal work to furniture, artisans were called upon to provide some of the comforts of home.

The Bucknall art students were honored to have a visiting artist in their midst during the week of Oct. 7. John Jimenez, a former

Jimenez. Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Jimenez constructed and painted the shrine base and placed a votive candle on each one. The students added pictures, decorations, glitter and words to express themselves. Mr. Jimenez included a brief art history lesson for each class. One of his favorite sayings is, “Out of nothing, you can make a lot.” He emphasized in all the classes how important symbolism is in Spanish colonial art.

“John added value to our program by giving the students a unique experience.

It’s important for students to learn from different artists,” said Hoffman. Many thanks to Mr. Jimenez for sharing his knowledge and time with our lucky Harker students. And many thanks to art teacher Eric Hoffman for arranging this wonder ful visit!

—Reported by Terry Walsh

Bucknall Pep Rally Raises the Roof!

enjoy a scrambled egg party (or some other egg treat!), as pictured here. “The children had some pretty creative ways to crack the eggs,” laughed kindergarten teacher Nancy Curran. “Everyone had a chance to help with making the scrambled eggs, and it was really a lot of fun!”

Kathleen Ferretti-both photos

Nancy Curran

Nancy Curran

Harker kindergarten chickens Penny and Polly started laying eggs one year ago, and since that time the children help every day with feeding them and collecting the freshly laid eggs. When enough eggs have been collected, they

Lower school students recently participated in a pep rally at the the Bucknall campus for the 2nd annual Homecoming.

3

parent

volunteers

Recent Volunteer Stars

Great Minds Meet…and Prepare for Parties!

Mark Tantrum

Many thanks to the parent volunteers at each campus who made sure students looked their best for school pictures last month (organized by Kim Hall at Bucknall and Smita Patel and Tricia Strutner at Saratoga): Janie Fung, Sarala Devi, Chris Douglas, Grace

Edvalson, Ernie Porter, Archana Sathaye, Kim Pellissier, Sue Prutton, Allison Spiller, Shankari Sundar, Michele Taylor, Nancy Yee, Kyong Kim, Kisstopher Musick, Tricia Strutner, Smita Patel and Lillian Schmidt.

Volunteer Hours to Date

We hope everyone will discover the fun of being involved as a parent volunteer at Harker. For new families as well as old veterans, it’s a great way to get to know each other, to associate parent faces with your child’s favorite classmates and friends and to get to feel that you’re quickly “in the know” about what’s going on here at school.

Family Socials Join in on the Fun!

Chairs Janie Fung, Kim Pellissier and Debbie Gray have been tirelessly organizing volunteers for this special event and welcome those who would like to help.

Leslie Nielsen, volunteer recognition chair, reports that

712 hours have been logged, representing the service of

163 parent volunteers!

4

VOLUNTEERS ARE REMINDED TO SIGN IN AND OUT at the Bucknall office, the Shah Hall office or the main Admin. reception desk whenever working on campus. Ask for the Volunteer Logbook and wear a Volunteer button whenever you are on campus so you can be identified by security staff and students. We ask our volunteers to record their hours throughout the year so that we can acknowledge this generous service to the school. You may prefer to keep track of accumulated volunteer hours by periodically filling out a pink Volunteer Report Card and sending it to the Advancement Office. For a supply of these cards or if you have any questions about any of our volunteer programs, contact Nancy Reiley, Harker’s community relations director at nancyr@harker.org or 408.871.6608.

Upcoming Volunteer Needs—Sign Up Today!

Grandparent’s Day, Nov. 22, Bucknall Campus Tues., Nov. 12, 8 a.m., STAR – assemble gifts and work on decorations Wed., Nov. 20, 8 a.m., STAR – prepare nametags Fri., Nov. 22 – decorate and prepare for arrival of guests in the morning, then greet, guide and “unite” guests with their students when they begin arriving at 1 p.m. Volunteers are also needed to work the Book Fair in the library, etc.

Ludi Novembres, Sat. Nov. 9, Saratoga Campus Harker’s Junior Classical League (JCL) will be hosting the Ludi Novembres tournament, and parent volunteers are still needed to work as scorer/timers, floaters, carnival assistants, hosts and award presenters throughout the day. Parents interested should contact John Hawley, JCL advisor and Latin teacher, at johnh@harker.org or Jason Shangkuan, student tournament organizer, at jasonshangkuan@yahoo.com. the future. Gr. 7 and Gr. 4 families, watch for upcoming details on your special events! Gr. 5 grade level coordinators and room parents have organized a special outing for their students at City Beach in Santa Clara on Sat., Nov. 2, and they promise another gathering which will include parents sometime later in the year.

Trish Tobin, parent

Our athletic department has been thrilled to have some vigilant scoreboard tending for home games recently, and we warmly thank Harker dads Chad Musick and Ed Kwan for their devoted afternoons supporting our athletic teams in this way.

K-8 grade level coordinators met recently to prepare for homeroom parties, and based on valuable input from parents, teachers and administrators, general guidelines for parties are now in place. A “party de-briefing” coffee will be held after each of the five parent-sponsored holiday parties (Halloween, Winter Holiday, Valentine’s Day, Picnic Theme Week, and End of the Year) for parent volunteers to share their party successes and to contribute to our new Volunteer Resource file for all our parent volunteers. The first coffee will be on Fri., Nov. 1 at the Advancement Office at 94 N. San Tomas Aquino Rd. (STAR)

Families and teachers at different grade levels have gathered for some fun volunteer-organized socials over the past month. Gr. K, 1 and 3 families held picnics at Vasona Park and adjacent Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos recently.

Harker parents have also been spotted sipping morning lattes

A hearty thanks to the group of volunteers organized and assisted

by Karen Saunders who helped us get an US mailing out last month: Shankari Sundar, Fumiko Kimura, Marguerite Paseman, Sharon Mandell, Deepa Iyengar, Neeraja Muthal, and Renuka Madduluri.

Being a Parent Volunteer

together at City Espresso on Campbell Avenue and at Le Boulanger at El Paseo where some grade levels are gathering for regular monthly coffee and “chat” sessions. Gr. 7 families are planning a supper and movie night in The Edge at Saratoga on Fri., Nov. 8, and Gr. 4 families will be getting into the spirit of this year’s picnic with their own screening of “The Wizard of Oz” coming up in

Our Time to Say “Thanks!”

It’s important to us to thank our many hardworking volunteers and to acknowledge their efforts and energies expended on behalf of Harker students.

To make our “thank-yous” personal and timely, this year Harker will host three small, seasonal recognition events to which volunteers will be invited. These events will be intimate gatherings

where Howard & Diana Nichols and other members of the administration will have the opportunity to express their appreciation personally to volunteers who have recently given service in activities and events.

The first volunteer recognition event will be held on Fri., Dec. 13.

Subsequent events will take place in March and in May, and those dates will be announced in future editions.

Expressing our gratitude for your support of the school is a goal that extends throughout the school year, and we look forward to being able to thank and honor those who have so generously played an active role in our parent volunteer program.

—Nancy Reiley, Harker Community Relations Director

FEATURE

poetry

Here are the winning poems from the annual Gr. 8 poetry contest held each year by English teachers Sylvia Harp and Stephen Hewitt. These poems, which were selected last spring, will appear this fall in a book entitled “The Teacher's Selection - Anthology of Poetry.” Congratulations to our creative students for their inspiring work!

Gray Comfort

Angel-Tree

I’ll Go Dreaming

By Samantha Fang

By Rohini Venkatraman

By Amy Huang

In the dank gray morning she comes, And seats herself methodically at the cathedral door, Her tattered garbs as still and colorless as the stone saints standing guard above her, Whose listless eyes look down indifferently on her woes.

She comes, beckoning a sea of pigeons, And an ethereal cloud swoops from the church spires Engulfing her with warmth that she gathers To cure her incessant loneliness.

She sits quietly, an odd figure in an ashen field, Her silence continually interrupted by the cooings and rustlings of the birds.

A gnarled hand clutches a tattered bag filled with crumbs, As the Pigeon Woman throws shower after shower of yellow grain That fall, as tears brought upon by rejection would fall Soundlessly on the cold and colorless ground.

As the pigeons grope about for bread and plead with her charmingly for more, She sighs in joy: For in these birds she finds the shield That protects her from alienation and the gray.

So she comes piously, with every dark and dank crack of dawn To sit at the cathedral door and surround herself with friends; To talk to the pigeons and pretend that she is one of them.

When the last crumb disappears from the ragged bag, Her comrades, her friends, fly away, Leaving only reminiscences of the gray comfort Of friends who never were.

She dropped down from heaven on that magical day, As stars twinkled against the velvety sky, And golden waters washed against the shore.

She gracefully flew down, and clung to a sandy hill.

Under the moon, she opened her green wings, And on this golden night, her branches kissed the clouds, And with a gentle spark, the magic began.

She wants to render heaven with her brush, A cloudy gold expanse on paper drawn Forget the many limits she may have And Let her thoughts flow freely from her pen.

As pellets of rain pierced the grounds like knives, She spread her leafy blanket over a trembling owl.

As the sun emerged from behind the mountain peaks, Its fiery flames were mirrored on the shimmering waters.

Now her shield protects the fish from the blinding rays.

And during the despairing, silver-less moments, She released round, scarlet jewels to be sold in the market.

Then as the rich color fades from her curly hair, She opens her firm limbs to be hugged by a toddler.

They want to see the heaven in her head, They long to see her dreams, like towers made, The songs the angels sing to her at night Her dreams design the buzzing cityscape.

But she has since forgotten what she dreamed, She flies as if she’s a forgotten lark No longer can she keep her place of old, Her soul will soar within the light of morn.

For she without her dreams will never live Without them she could never paint the skies As losing them destroys the core of life, She leaves her heaven for another earth.

Rubber wheels bring the beast with metal teeth, That sweeps the angel from her home.

He considers her useless, unappreciated, a fiend, Still, she leaves behind a stump, Decorated with several golden halos.

Abandoned in the darkness where a raven claims his post.

Mark Tantrum

Young Poets Honored

Sigma Tau Delta (STD), an international English honor society consisting of college students and published authors, awarded two current 5th graders with awards in the elementary poetry division in their annual contest. Eugene Huang received a Superior Writing Award and Kendra Moss an Honorable Mention Award. STD stands for sincerity, truth and design and was established in 1924 at the University of Indiana. Last year’s 4th grade teacher Marsha Rhodes, a former member of Sigma Tau Delta, submitted the poems. Congratulations, Eugene and Kendra! Here are the winning poems.

Day of Depravity

A Present from Me to You

by Eugene Huang

by Kendra Moss

Extraordinary day September the eleventh Four crashes were made, a terrorist raid Heard all over the bay From the floor ninety-seventh Firefighters saved workers dismayed

This is a present from me to you.

I hope you like it ‘cause I sure do.

It’s full of rhymes and rhythms too, And poems worth reading a time or two.

Guided by strong leaders Who brought US faith, strength, and hope (Poet’s note: “US” can mean us or United States.)

To destroy the grotesque, we are at war!

The men who are cheaters With whom we have to cope Be defeated to terrorize no more

Haiku

What can I say that will mean a lot?

What can I pass on that isn’t bought?

“I got it!” I said as I jumped up with glee, “I’ll write a poem book created by me!.”

So, I pulled out my paper and I pulled out my pen, And designed words into lines with meaning in them.

This present is different; it’s special, I knew Because it’s a present from me to you.

by Eugene Huang On a peaceful day, I, passing through the meadow, touch tranquility.

Haiku

by Kendra Moss In the garden pond Koi fish swim and look for food They search under lilypads

5

Lower/Middle School The LS and MS sports programs are underway, and Harker is off to a great start!

Mark Tantrum

The A1 football team opened its season with a 13-6 road loss to Valley Christian. Their home opener

was a win against Hillbrook, 22-12.

Harker’s offense took off as the Eagles scored twice through the air and once on the ground. Jason Martin was 10-18 for 125 yards with touchdown passes to Pete McCarthy and Luke Grunbaum.

Danny Miroyan was a major contributor on the offense with four catches for 60 yards. The Eagles scored early and often in route to defeating Kings Academy 50-19.

Alan Kai’s opening kickoff return got the Eagles started, with five players contributing touchdowns and the offense gaining 218 total yards.

The D1 Gr. 5 football team is currently 0-2 with losses to Valley and Hillbrook. In the Valley game Coach Qua said the team played well, with highlights being a long run for a touchdown by Patrick Smith and a goal line stand where Albert Koh pulled two flags. Good luck to all our flag football teams and keep up the hard work!

A1 girls’ volleyball is off to a 2-1 start. They won their first two matches defeating Valley Christian 15-6,15-6 at home and Hillbrook, at Hillbrook, 15-7, 11-15, 15-13.

Their only loss was an away match at Apostles 15-4, 15-10.

The B1 girls’ volleyball team is right alongside the A1 girls with a 21 record. Wins have been against Valley, 15-8, 15-9 and Hillbrook, 154, 15-2. Their only loss was to Apostles, a heartbreaking 15-4, 1215, 17-15.

C1 girls’ volleyball is currently 3-0, with wins against Valley, 15-4, 15-6;

6

briefs of that match should earn the right to enter the CCS playoffs as an atlarge entry. The Eagles played the season’s most exciting match in mid-October against league rival Castilleja. Spurred on by a raucous crowd of parents and students, both teams played great volleyball.

Although the Gators came away with the victory, both teams left the gym knowing they had played a tremendous match and there were really no losers that day. The excitement and level of play made for great fun for all the players and spectators. The Eagle squad currently sports a 13-3 overall record. Harker will be hosting the WBAL league tournament on Nov 6, 7 and 8 with games in the evening. Come on out and see some great volleyball!

Hillbrook, 15-4, 12-15, 15-5; and Carden, 15-6, 15-4. In the game against Carden, outstanding serving came from Candace Silva-Martin and Nicki Woods.

The C2 girls’ volleyball team is currently 0-2 with losses against Apostles, 15-3, 15-8 and Valley, 15-8, 6-15, 15-6.

And finally our D girls’ volleyball team traveled to Hillbrook for their first game. After getting over their nervousness in the first game and losing 15-3, the girls won the second game 15-6, with some great serving by Namrata Anand and Cece Votta. Although they lost the third game 15-3, the three games included impressive hustle on the parts of players Bennett Jones, Colby Rapson, and Valerie Motro.

Eagle Football - JV football upped their record to 5-1 with a 22-8 victory over St. Elizabeth’s of Oakland. Led by their stingy

Eagle Soccer - The Eagle soccer team has been a surprise this year, currently in fourth place in the nineteam PSAL. Led by Rishi Mandal, Saahil Mehra, and freshman goalie Naushad Godrej, the Eagles most recently pasted Valley Christian Dublin, 5-0 behind a tenacious defense and a crisp passing game.

The Eagles look to finish with a strong run the second half of the season, and they are entertaining thoughts of qualifying for the playoffs if they get a few breaks along the way.

Eagle Cross Country - The Eagle cross country runners finished third in their season opening meet last week. Both teams are looking to improve upon that, as they had several runners fighting nagging injuries. With a strong Jen Shangkuan, Maggie Chen and Deepa Mathew, the Eagle girls are looking to finish higher in the next meet. They will be attempting to

Grade 6, 7 & 8 girls’ volleyball teams traveled to St. Victor’s for the St. Victor's Outdoor Grass tournament played Saturday October 12th. Harker finished with a great showing: Gr. 5, 3rd place; Gr. 6, 1st place; Gr. 7, 1st place; and Gr. 8, 2nd place!

Congratulations to all the volleyball teams on such a tremendous start to your seasons!

—Reported by Mary Kay Olks P.E. Teacher and Coach

Upper School The fall sports season is nearing the end, with exciting CCS playoff competition ahead for girls’ tennis and volleyball. Currently, both teams are in second place in the WBAL, and both teams hope to garner playoff spots with strong finishes to their seasons.

Eagle Tennis - Tennis lost a tense match against Notre Dame San Jose, 4-3. Ranjitha Kumar, Whitney Graves and Emily Hsi all won their singles matches. The team gets a rematch on October 29, and the team that wins that match will be the league champion! The Eagles will take a 12-3 overall record into the all-important match.

Eagle Volleyball - Another big match with Notre Dame occurs on Oct 22 when the Eagles host Notre Dame, in a duel which will decide 2nd place in the league. The winner

Mark Tantrum

SPORTS

defense, the Eagles were scored upon for only the second time this season. Ben Shapiro and Kevin Park led the offense with their throwing and running. This season is shaping up as potentially the most successful JV team ever. With four more games to go, the team looks to set a school single season win total.

The varsity team has struggled thus far, facing much larger opponents on a regular basis.

However, the team has earned the respect of their opponents with their precise and well disciplined per formances. Kevin Hartsoch, A.J. Reid, Matt Vucurevich and Chris Davis have all contributed greatly. The team pulled out an exciting 21-6 victory over Marshall early last month and will be looking for victories over rivals St. Lawrence and Sacred Heart Prep in early November.

qualify for CCS in their league championship later next month.

Eagle Golf - Led by junior Jen Jenq, who has earned medalist honors in all but two of the team’s matches, the Eagle golfers defeated Mercy Burlingame last week at Saratoga Country Club. Audrey Leung and Tiffany Lau have shown continued improvement throughout the season. Jen will look to qualify for the CCS individual championships the last week of October at Spring Valley Golf Course. Best of luck to her!

Winter sports will be cranking up soon, with wrestling, boys’ and girls’ basketball and girls’ soccer set to start play. Tryout information has been announced to students at school and the seasons will be well underway with results available in our next issue.

—Reported by Jack Bither US Athletic Director

PERFORMING MS Dance Ensemble This year the MS dancers began their dance program learning a choreographed routine for auditions. Over 60 students elected to

arts

placement. We congratulate the following 15 students who were selected as the 2002-03 Harker Dance Troupe: Naeha Bhambhra, Christine Kang, Emma Hawley, Rick Hayashi, Maya Hey, Maheen Kaleem, Tiffany Lau, Vivian Leung, Debbie Liang, Lisa Schwebke, Sasha Stepanenko, Shilpa Thakur, Joe Tsai, Aditi Uttarwar and Kimberley Wong.

Mark Tantrum

Throughout the school year these dancers will perform as a group for assemblies and the family picnic.

They will also present numbers in our annual dance production in March. One of the highlights of being part of this group is the opportunity to travel and to perform within the San Jose community.

Plans are underway for performances for our holiday season.

Traditional Song Receives Gr. 3 Update G3 students are performing “This Land Is Your Land” at the Tamagawa Welcome Reception Oct. 28. While learning the traditional song, Sarah Lougheed, lower school music teacher, said that many students noticed our world is much bigger, so they wrote new verses to add to the song.

Each class picked a topic and wrote a verse to be sung to the same melody as This Land Is Your Land, and here are a few examples: Verse 1 (by per 2) From Lake Tahoe To San Francisco From Sacramento To San Diego From the Hollywood Hills to Our Harker School – California was made for you and me.

Verse 5 (by per 8) From Tamagawa To the Harker School We share our friendship And our education.

Across the ocean We meet our buddies.

These schools were made for you and me.

Verse 2 (by per 4) North America’s your land.

North America’s my land.

From the mountains of Alaska To Mexico City From the Canadian Rockies To the Caribbean Sea – North America was made for you and me.

Verse 6 (by per 9) This is our universe To share together.

We can explore it To make it better.

From our home in the Milky Way To the Andromeda Galaxy This universe was made for you and me.

MS Acting

try out their skills and earn a spot on the ensemble group. Competition was high, and the following students were placed in the MS 2002-03 ensemble group for their technical skills, stage expression and commitment to dance: Debanshi Bheda, Neha Desmukh, Ayushi Gummadi, Julia Havard, Alissa Kawahara, Audrey Kwong, Ranjita Ragavhan, Shilpa Rajgopal, Allison Wong, Jami Woolsey, Ayse Celebioglu, Ariel Gaknoki and Erin Newton.

The MS dance ensemble is presently working on a routine for Tamagawa and brainstorming on a name for this newly formed dance group.

Contact Laura Rae, Gr. 7-12 dance director, if you would like to learn more about the US Dance Troupe or MS Dance Ensemble at laurar@harker.org.

US Dance Troupe US dancers (50 in total) recently auditioned for spots on a select team known as the Dance Troupe.

Evaluated on technical skills, stage expression and knowledge and execution of a choreographed routine, each student performed the auditioned routine in front of the three dance instructors for

Mr. O’Sullivan’s Gr. 7/8 acting class is creating a play based on adaptations of Aesop’s fables.

The premise is that a group of MS students are cleaning up an area filled with garbage for a community service project, and they come across a book of Aesop’s Fables written in Latin and edited by John Hawley (our US Latin teacher!) in 1844. The kids decide to update the tales and act them out using the “junk” they find around them.

“The Grasshopper and the Ant” becomes a rap number, for example, and the moral of “The Lion and the Mouse” is to the song “You Get By With a Little Help From Your Friends.”

“Music will be used throughout the play, each tale will have a different angle and the morals have a definite contemporary feel,” said O’Sullivan. “The students will be doing most of the writing and learning how to create a theatre piece from scratch,” he added.

At semester’s end, the students will perform their creation for invited audiences during 1st period, including the Latin class!

MS Harmonics Congratulations to the following two new students who have been accepted into MS Harmonics: Max Gektin and Hayley Steele. Watch for per formances by this talented MS group over the coming months!

SPECIAL PARENT EVENT Dracula Dinner & Theater Sat., Nov. 23, 5:45 p.m. • The Edge, Saratoga Campus A “date night” for K-12 Harker parents! Enjoy a “gothic” dinner with Harker friends and acquaintances AND a reserved, “front of the house” seat at the US fall drama production of “Dracula!” First come, first served, and seats are limited!

5:45 p.m. Cocktails 6:15 p.m. Wonderful buffet dinner in The Edge, transformed into the dining room of Dracula’s Transylvanian retreat. Following dessert….

7:45 p.m. To the gym for your specially reserved front section seats Tickets for Dracula Dinner & Theater package are $50 per person and may be purchased online by going to the Harker Parent Page (user name parents, password 1893). You will receive an email acknowledgement as a receipt of your completed transaction.

When you arrive on campus the night of the show, simply pick up your tickets, programs, and prepared nametags as you enter The Edge!

Tickets for this very special evening for parents are limited due to the seating capacity of the gym. Register online beginning on Mon., Oct. 28!

Artwork by Ranjitha Kumar, Gr. 12

MS dancers rehearsing for March dance production.

Note: Due to the rather “dark” nature of this production, this is intended as an adult social event. We welcome Harker parents and adult friends of the school to join us for this special pre-performance dinner!

7

news

All photos by Chris Daren & Mark Tantrum

EVENT

“Eaglets ran wild, junior cheerleaders thrilled the crowd and neighbors were awakened out of slumber by our spirited student body” —Jack Bither, US Athletic Director

8

Bucknall rocked!

Harker spirit was flying high at Bucknall thanks to spirit coordinators Jason Oncay, Cyrus Merrill and their team of dedicated students.

Homecoming Week was celebrated with “dress up days,” including Animal Day, Decades Day and School Colors Day. The campus was full of signs made by the 6th graders announcing the upcoming Homecoming game, and they even had a visit from the Harker Eagle! There was a Homecoming rally at the Bucknall campus with school spirit at a fevered pitch. “Eaglets ran wild, junior cheerleaders thrilled the crowd and neighbors were awakened out of slumber by our spirited student body,” laughed Jack Bither, US athletic director. The US cheerleaders provided some of the

entertainment, there was a Punt Pass and Kick contest and the football team got into act with a cheer of their own. “We may be the smallest members of the Harker family...but our school spirit is GIGANTIC!” said Kelly Espinosa, summer programs director. And we agree!

Maniacs cheered the Eagles on to victory from the stands. These spirited students received free admission into the game, a free dress pass and a MS Maniac bandana for their enthusiastic participation – many thanks to our Maniacs!

MS Maniacs!

It was bird, it was plane... it was US Homecoming Week!

During Homecoming Week, MS students participated in a number of events and activities coordinated by Mark Gelineau and his Spirit Committee, including a MS Extravaganza during assembly time.

Homerooms created banners, posters and superhero jingles, and this year the MS students had their own cheering section in the stands called the Middle School Maniacs.

This year over 150 Middle School

The theme for this year’s US Homecoming Week was Super Heroes, and each class chose its hero: freshmen chose BATMAN, sophomores chose Super Mario Brothers, juniors were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the seniors were The Justice League of America.

Each class had one day to show off its class spirit by dressing up as the characters of their chosen hero and decorating the grassy area behind

the dance room based on their theme. Students also competed in various hilarious lunchtime class competitions (including Plunger Pull in the Harker pool!). After the Homecoming rally where each class performed skits and cheers, the ultraspirited freshmen were victorious. However, the seniors garnered the ultimate overall spirit points win with their Tug of War victory at halftime the night of the game. Great spirit and participation by all!

Finally, it-s game night!

Over 2,000 students, parents, alumni and friends attended Harker’s 2nd annual Homecoming.

This was the first “real” Homecoming, with over half of our inaugural graduating class “coming home”

from colleges far and wide to visit with friends and teachers, and cheer their alma mater!

• Bill Bost and Jack Bither, the “Voices of Harker,” for their commentary throughout the night

Homecoming night highlights included...

• Diana Nichols’ pregame announcement and presentation of a permanent Harker plaque honoring the inaugural graduating class. Irene Altman and Abass Kothari accepted the plaque on behalf of the class of ‘02

• The Harker football team for soundly winning against King’s Academy 34-14 and closing the night with their infamous team victory cheer • The Pep Band, cheerleaders, Song Team, Eaglettes, faculty cheerleaders, junior cheerleaders and Middle School Maniacs for their spirited contributions to the night • The inspiring rendition of the “National Anthem” by the combined vocal talents of the MS Choir, Harmonics, Guy’s Gig, Show Choir, Bel Canto and Cantilena

• The arrival of the Homecoming court in wonderful cars driven by Harker faculty and the crowning of King and Queen, Brendan Boland and Kelly Gault, by last year’s King and Queen, alumni Adam Vucurevich and Carmen Antoun.

The 2002-03 Homecoming court this year consisted of freshmen – Amit Mukherjee and Shilpa Vadodaria; sophomores – Roberta

Wolfson and Michael Nguyen; juniors – Neil Bhalerao and Nickisa Hodgson; seniors Brendan Boland, Brian Chow, Andrew Zhang, Kelly Gault, Vivian Nguyen and Christiana Ratazzi.

• The cheers, support, painted faces (with Amanda Lundie winning hands-down) and roof-raising school spirit of all our Harker fans • The heartwarming reunions between current and former students – it was so great to see you all, and we hope to see each and every one of you next year!

Many thanks to Smythe European, Claridge BMW, Smythe Volvo and Men’s Warehouse for their generous support of our Homecoming this year with fabulous cars and sharp tuxes for our court!

9

Middle School

Terry Walsh

■ The new Harker eagle painting hanging on the Saratoga gym scoreboard was created by

Makenzie Schwartz, Gr. 9, winner of last year’s MS Harker Eagle contest.

This contest was revived last year by art teacher Margaret McGovern and is open to students in Gr. 7 and 8 who submit an original

saratoga Harker eagle drawing for consideration, with a winner chosen by faculty judges. The winner then must paint the eagle image by the end of the school year when it is hung on the scoreboard for the following school year.

When the new contest is held this spring, the new painting will be hung on the scoreboard next fall, and Makenzie’s winning entry will be mounted on the wall of the gym.

Congratulations and many thanks to Makenzie for her outstanding eagle this year, and to McGovern for reviving this wonder ful tradition.

We look for ward to a galler y of winning eagles for our gym in the coming years!

■ Harker is offering a new Digital Music elective class to the MS students this year. Students are

learning new methods of making music using a state-ofthe-art computer program called Propellerhead Reason, which provides virtual music-making gear including mixers, synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, sequencers and effects processors. Since Reason is a modular system, students will learn about the individual components and how they can be combined to produce music in many different styles. Throughout the semester, students will learn to apply the skills they learn to create music in the style(s) of their choice.

Mark Tantrum

AROUND

Teacher Mark Vail, whose extensive background includes being a member of Keyboard magazine’s editorial staff for 13 years, said, “The first-semester students began creating music almost immediately, and some of it is stunning. Five pieces are posted on my web page now, and I’m preparing more files to be uploaded soon. The students are currently working on their own interpretation of music for ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’ which they’ll complete just in time for Halloween.”

Tamagawa/Harker Teacher Exchange Enlightening

pant in a teacher exchange program between the schools which began in 2000. The philosophy behind this program was for teachers from the two schools to learn about the traditions and cultures of the two countries, as well as the different ways of reaching out to students, and to exchange ideas and share what they learned with their school communities.

The first few days of Keilty’s visit were spent with his host family, Kento and Mayumi Matsuda and their children Kento, Gr. 8, and Kanna, Gr. 4. The Matsuda family took Keilty sightseeing to

10

Keilty then stayed in the dorm during the week in order to teach a daily Gr. 9 biology class, with the help of translator Keiko Satoh. In describing the classroom experience, Keilty explained that that though teacher Keiko Satoh was translating his lesson, he felt he was not engaging the students because they wouldn’t answer the questions that he so frequently asks of his class. “During my first lesson, I found myself getting more and more animated,” he said.

However, at the end of the period he was inundated with group student questions and later learned that it is not the custom to ask questions and speak your individual mind

during class. “The classroom is full of respect,” Keilty said. He learned how to get their participation by initiating group work. “The whole was much more important than the individual,” said Keilty, adding that the students were very sharp, asking questions at the end of class that were thoughtful and critical and demonstrating they understood what he had presented.

Before the end of the semester, Vail plans to produce a CD of music created in the class. His hope is that students will be inspired to make music for a wide range of activities, including live performance, dance, onstage productions, video games and film.

Visit Vail’s Web page on the Harker Web site to learn more about this new class!

In the mornings and during lunch Mr. Keilty said he “hung out with a Gr. 8 homeroom and their teacher.” He also met many of the members of the science department, including Kojiro Tabaru who teaches 8th grade science and will be the science exchange teacher at Harker this January. His evenings were spent with numerous Tamagawa teachers and administrators seeing sights and enjoying the food and culture.

Keilty said he is especially grateful to Kiyoaki Ishizuki for all of the hard work that he put into planning and arranging his stay at Tamagawa. “The school was a wonder ful machine to see running. The students and teachers eat together, clean and maintain the school facilities together, and demonstrated true pride for their school.”

■ On Tues., Oct. 15, the students in Gr. 8 were involved in Unbounded Thinking Day, Sharing the High

Mark Tantrum

see Buddhist and Shinto temples and shrines, to enjoy traditional Japanese food and experience traditional Japanese culture. “I did my best to eat everything,” laughed Keilty. “I got to experience such things as Uni (sea urchin) and Nato (a fermented soy product), which pushed my culinary boundaries.”

He added that the Matsuda’s are a truly warm and loving family, and he felt extremely comfortable during his stay.

Provided by Tamagawa

MS science teacher and K-8 science dept. chair Simon Keilty traveled to the Tamagawa School in Sept. as this year’s partici-

School Experience, a half-day experience to give them a taste of student life in high school.

Students attended a variety of US courses in the morning, had lunch in the Edge and watched US spirit activities in the gym.

AROUND

saratoga

Preview and Back to School Nights

Special Presentations: Ranjitha Kumar, Sophia Wang, Alexandra Stanek, Charitha Reddy, Christiana Rattazzi, Alex Iftimie, Leann Duong, Aaron Kleinsteiber, Jessika Scheerder, Rick Hayashi, Rebecca Chang, Kevin Hartsog and Vivian Nguyen.

GR. K-3 BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT Gr. 5: Namrata Anand, Brandon Araki, Brea Borlas, Victor Chen, Katherine Harris, Nicole Lindars and Kevin Liu. Gr. 6: Ananya Anand, Kailee Ayyar, Emily Carr, Elizabeth Case, Courtney Dellar, David Kastelman and Tianna Knight.

MS BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT Gr. 8: Peter McCarthy, Danyal Kothari, Amar Kothari, Brian Ginn, Siddharth Chandrasekar, Arya Srinivasan, Ashley Morishige, Tiffany Lin, Twisha Buch, Aneesha Nilakantan, Robert Cheng, Sho Okubo, Annie Giomi, Julia Havard, Emily Issacs, Esther Teplitsky and Brice Lin. GR. 4-6 BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT Gr. 5: Joanna Melbourne, Sean Morgan, Sarah Newton, Jenny Pennell, Colby Rapson, Taryn Spiller, Gautam Srinivasan and Cecilia Votta. Gr. 6: Taylor Martin, Callie Medin, Alison Palmintere, Louis Prusa, Taylor Rapson, Lexie Ross, and Becky Yanovsky.

2002-03 Harker US Mentoring Program Mon., Oct. 7th marked the first mentor meeting of the year as our juniors embark on this annual career exploration program. The short orientation was followed by lunch and a lively session with their mentors.

Mentor Shobhana Parruck thought her session went beautifully with lots of great questions. “We had a very animated discussion about the business climate today, and I was surprised at how knowledgeable the students are concerning this area. They asked some very pointed questions,” she said.

Doug and Linda Emery (sports medicine) agreed and commented that the students were enthusiastic about all the different ideas that were presented. “When their eyes lit up, we knew what excited them,” they laughed.

Mary Malysz (law) also thought the kids asked good questions.

Malysz’ mentees will visit the courts in the areas and a law school class.

The US Harker Mentor Program, which began in 2000, brings Gr. 11 students and adult mentors together in a relationship designed to assist students in making informed career and college decisions. Harker mentors provide information about their own career paths and advise our students of steps to

take if they have an interest in pursuing that career.

Alexandra Selbo-Bruns chose education since she has experience working with children and says she enjoys it. Alexandra will go to a class with her mentor and have a tour of her mentor’s campus.

Aruna Bharathi and Jennifer Jenq, both interested in law, really enjoyed their mentor. “It was an enlightening experience, and she asked us lots of questions to see what we wanted to do,” said Aruna.

Danna Rubin had fun in her meeting. “Eric Gray (art/graphic design) brought magazines for us to look through and point out what appealed to us. I enjoyed doing that.” The students will be making their own advertisements at his office.

Mark Tantrum

US PREVIEW NIGHT In addition to the spirited performances by our Show Choir, Dance Troupe and Cheerleaders, many thanks to the following students: Surbhi Sarna, Poyin Chen, Allison Kwong, Jennifer Shangkuan, Tom Busch, Felix Lee, Jason Shangkuan, Andrea Brisker, Karena Chan, Estelle Charlu, Alice Chi, Carissa Chu, Nandini Datta, Meghana Dhar, Subja Gollakota, Lauren Gutstein, Sharon Her, Allison Kwong, Shephalie Lahri, Saloni Mathur, Aeshna Raman, Urvashe Sameer, Alisha Tolani, William Waggoner, and Kristen Kang.

Mark Tantrum

Harker would like to thank all the many students who helped out this past month at the Preview Night and Back to School Nights. We truly appreciate your willingness to help out at these impor tant and exciting events. As usual, you made us ver y proud!

The next mentor session will be Nov. 11 and include visits to the firms and offices of the mentors and hands-on experience for many of the students. We thank the 32 Harker mentors this year.

Architecture: Rodney Rapson, City of San Jose; Art/Graphic Design: Eric Gray, GDA Technology Advertising; Biologist: Alexandra

Swafford; Biotech: Gordon Ringold, Surromed Inc.; Business Management: Subrah Iyar, Webex Communications, Inc. and Le Kha, IBM Corporation; Computer Science: Patrick See, IBM Corporation; Computer Engineer: Ajit Deora, Synergy Venture Partners; Computer Engineering: Esin Demirlioglu, Vishay Electronics; Corporate Law: Suchitra Narayen, Sun Microsystems Foundation; Criminal Law: Sam Giammona, Santa Clara County District Attorney; Education: Kristen Edwards, Menlo College; Electrical Engineering: Krishna Saraswat, Stanford University; Investment Banker: Shobhana Parruck; Journalism: Peter Delevett, San Jose Mercury News; Law: Mary Malysz, McPharline, Sprinkles & Thomas LLP; Marketing: Ram Appalaraju, Hewlett Packard and Stan Dutrow, Dutrow & Associates; Medical: Suhani Mody, Kaiser Permanente Medical Group and Jim Kastelman, Kaiser Permanente Medical Group; Medical (neonatal): Monu Mukherjee, Monu Mukherjee, M.D.; Pediatrician: Ashima Madan, Stanford University of Medicine and Bindya S. Singh, Good Samaritan Hospital; Performing Arts – Musician: Anu Sridhar; Photography: Eugene Louie, San Jose Mercury News; Physicist: Larry Votta, Sun Microsystems Foundation; Psychology: Leon Khaimovich, Ohlone College; Sales: Julia Peppard, Haworth Inc.; Sports Medicine: Doug & Linda Emery, BaySport; Surgeon (Obstetrician): Andy Combs, Obstetrix Medical Group and Surgeon (Oncologist): Dr. Ahmed Sadiq, Ahmed K. Sadiq, M.D. For information on the Harker Mentor Program, contact Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, at joer@harker.org, 408.345.9266.

11

Upper School

Terry Walsh

■ Margaret Chen and Anjali Vaidya, both Gr. 11 students, will

be representing Harker on Congressman Honda's 2002-03 Congressional Student Advisory Committee. Congratulations to these two fine students!

■ Marc Hufnagle's English II students wrote chivalric romances and designed and built castles integral to the romance that are now on display at the Saratoga campus. His English II honors students are working on digital movies about original tales they have written, fashioned after Chaucer's “Canterbury Tales.”

Robotic Club Update ■ Bowen “Buzz” McCoy, member of the Stanford Business School

Galapagos Islands STUDENT EXPEDITION June 14-26, 2003

The Trip of a Lifetime!

• A unique trip customized for Harker Upper School students • An amazing experience to write about on college essays • Also earns college credit For more information contact US biology teachers: Jeff Sutton: jeffs@harker.org or Anita Chetty: anitac@harker.org

saratoga

■ US teacher and club advisor Diana Moss reported that The US International Club held a Multicultural drink sale on the Saratoga campus during the week of Sept. 30 - Oct 4. Club members helped prepare and sell the following delicious beverages: Chinese Pearl Milk Tea, Italian Flavored Sodas, Indian Mango Lassis, Thai Tea, Vietnamese Lattes, Mexican Horchata, Piña Coladas (virgin) and Sangría. Club officers Cathleen Chuang, Wendy Tsai, Anita Gupta, Stephanie Chun and Rubina Chuang each coordinated the sales for one day. The club would like to acknowledge the generous contribution of Thai Iced Tea and Lattes from 9th grader Jeff Le's parents, Chieu and Yen Le, owners of Lee's Bakeries, who have five San Jose locations. The club made $800, and those proceeds will go towards future club activities and our yearly fundraiser to benefit an international charitable cause.

■ Adam Engst, publisher of the weekly internet-based newsletter TidBITS, spoke on “Growing Up in the Computer World, Making a Difference and Living a Real Life,” to our computer science students in Oct. as a guest speaker in Harker’s Computer Science Lecture Series. Engst has written numerous technical books and holds a contributing editor position at Macworld. For the last three years he has been consistently in the top three “most influential people in the Macintosh Industry” (according to MDJ Power). The students enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions about the future of this industry, and Engst, in turn, enjoyed the opportunity to present.

This comment appeared in the

12

TidBITS edition immediately following his visit: “Looking Toward Tomorrow -- Right after Cliff and Rob finished demonstrating the network bug they’d isolated, I had to finish up at the conference and drive down to Harker, a private high school in San Jose where I’d been invited to speak. The computer science teacher Robb Cutler is a long-time TidBITS reader, and when he realized I was going to be only a few miles away, he asked me to come talk to his students about

Advisory Board, became famous when professor Arthur Miller made one of McCoy’s articles the initial required reading for all MBA candidates at Harvard. “The Parable of the Sadhu” serves as fascinating material for the discussion of corporate ethics.

While Buzz doesn’t normally speak at secondary schools, US head, Dr. Hartzell, was able to get him to come to Harker to make a special presentation to our upper school students on Nov. 7th. His visit will include a meeting with student leaders and a presentation and discussion at a special assembly. A report of the visit will appear in the next newsletter.

Mark Tantrum

AROUND

TidBITS and what life in the computer industry could be like outside of the technology pressure cooker of Silicon Valley. I managed what I hope was an amusing and helpful talk, choosing my stories to illustrate some of the points in my ‘Lessons from Ten Years of TidBITS,’ published back in TidBITS-527.”

■ Congratulations to the 2002-03 new Harker members to the National Honor Society, who were inducted Oct. 16th: Neha Bajwa, Pranab Barman, Neil Bhalerao, Shethal Bearelly, Eric Berglund, Kevin Busch, Janine Carpenter, Andrew Chen, Alice Chi, Stephanie Chun, Farhad Darbandi, Anshu Das, LeAnn Duong, Vicky Duong, Shreena Grewal, Maya Hey, Nickisa Hodgson, Emily Hsi, Jerry Hong, Charles Hung, Asmita Jina, Nina Joshi, Christina Kang, Irina Khaimovich, Kamilla Khydarov, Max Kubota, Allison Kwong, Alex Lee, Sanby Lee, Audrey Leung, Serena Liou, David Ly, Anna Maheshwari, Alan Malek, Vikram Malhi, Nayan Mehta, Ravi Mishra, Shaun Mohan, Arjun Naskar, Michael Nguyen,Kathy Peng, Greg Perkins, Utsab Saha, Shilpam Singh, Rashmi Sanbhadti, Alex Segal, Anjana Sundaram, Michael Tang, John Tepperman, Takeo Toyoshima, Khannh Trann, Jamie Trinh, Prithi Trivedi, Joycelin Tsai, Arian Vergara, Rachel Warecki, Kimberly Wong and Joshua Zloff.

■ The Harker Robotics Team (HRT) will be competing for the first time this year in the 2002-03 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Silicon Valley Regional Competition to be held March 27-29 at SJSU. During the first week of Oct., HRT was visited by the successful veteran Monte Vista Robotics Team (MVRT) and their chief mentor, Steve Bronstein, vice president of technology of the Venture Law Group, who have offered to mentor Harker for our first competition.

Robotics advisor Rand Harrington noted that the benefits of this

Family Tennis Lessons As part of our partnership with the Oakwood Tennis Center we are now able to offer Harker families the opportunity to enroll in private and semi-private tennis lessons.

The courts are located just minutes away from our Saratoga campus at the Oakwood Apartments on the corner of Saratoga Ave. and Blackford Ave. Lessons are taught by our own tennis pro Charles King, who is available late afternoons, evenings and weekends and has experience with both adults and children from beginning to advanced levels. For more information on the facility visit the website at www.oakwoodtennis.info.

Payment is simple—just charge it to your Harker account! For fee information or to make an appointment for a free introductory lesson to see the facility and talk to King about your tennis needs before signing up for lessons, call the Pro Shop at 408.983.5888.

relationship to Harker are numerous, including a $6,000 grant from the Kleiner and Perkins venture group!

Several members of the HRT's executive committee attended the FIRST Rookies workshop at SJSU on Oct. 7 where they received information about the competition and were able to view winning robots from last year’s competition, as well as talk with other students.

The kickoff for the event will be Jan. 4th when the Harker team will receive a parts kit and instructions for the competition. They will then have six short weeks to construct a competitive robot to compete in the regional competition.

The HRT is still interested in recruiting parents and volunteers to be involved in this exciting and

saratoga challenging event. They are looking for mentors in the areas of mechanical engineering (control systems, drive train, systems design) and electrical engineering (PBasic, Issac32 robot control systems, electric motors, power supplies and power management).

Interested mentors should email Dr. Harrington at randalh@harker.org. For more information about the competition, you can go to the FIRST web site at http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/ index.html ■ US Math Update: The “Mathematica at Harker” website has been updated and revised and is now available to the public from the Harker Web site as a resource for students and teachers. Of particular interest to the Harker

The night of the 2nd annual Lawn-In Movie in September turned out a little cold and blustery, but it didn't diminish attendance as over 100 US students bundled up to watch “Monsters, Inc.” on a huge screen set up on the Shah field.

Chris Daren

AROUND

community is the fact that outstanding examples of student work using Mathematica in advanced math classes are being published at this site, “a kind of an online journal of original work by students,” said US math dept. chair, Joanne Mason. The site also

includes Mathematica work by Harker faculty and information and resources made available as a ser vice to the high school and college mathematics education community. The site can be accessed from Mason's faculty page.

resale, washing chairs at a homeless shelter, hanging clothes on racks and working with children with special needs. In addition to providing greatly needed services for our communities, student participants also gain valuable work and life experiences by participating in community service activities.

details about this year’s Community Service Day as well as continual updates on our year-long community service programs and requirements for US students.

Community Service Update

Bradley Stoll

■ School Supplies for Mexico US students collected donations of school supplies for impoverished schools in Mexico for the Future Kits program, a class competition organized by the Key Club in conjunction with the Spirit Club.

Items collected included pencils, pens, notebooks, erasers, crayons, chalk and hundreds of other needed classroom

■ US Community Service Day “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give” was the theme of this year’s fourth annual All School Service Day held on Fri., Oct. 11. Throughout the day, 400 freshmen, sophomores and juniors volunteered at 21 community sites throughout the valley, handling a wide variety of tasks which included washing cars that were donated for

Shirley Conrad, director of volunteers at Lytton Gardens, said to Laura Lang Ree, “The visit from Harker was the single best event we’ve had with the volunteer group— EVER. Do you know that over half of your kids gave hugs to our patients? I’ve never seen ANYTHING like that before!”

Urvashe Sameer, Gr.9, who visited the Palo Alto Veteran’s Hospital said, “I talked with people who had injuries, and I think we lifted their spirits. It was good to hear and learn from their experiences.” The general feeling at the end of the day was that students felt good about what they did and would volunteer again in the future. Sites visited this year include San Jose Family Shelter, Palo Alto Veterans’ Hospital, San Jose Family Shelter, The Humane Society of Santa Clara and Children’s Recovery Center. Go to Lin Ng’s Web site for more

Karla Bracken, student

■ Belmont Village In Sept. a group of Harker students performed at Belmont Village, a convalescent home in San Jose.

Students led sing-alongs, played piano and violin, sang and danced for the residents.

■ Walk for AIDS On Oct. 20, 55 US students participated in the 10 km Walk for AIDS, the largest fundraising event for AIDS services and prevention in Santa Clara County. Raising funds to fight against AIDS, students and staff walked in groups with family members and friends.

J Gaston

Lin Ng

items. The junior class won with 250 points, and the seniors came in a close second with 200 points.

13

AROUND

saratoga

Harker Hosts 3rd Annual Invitational Debate Tournament

Donna Brandstetter - all debate photos

commitments: Ellen and Catherine Kim, Alex Iftimie and Linda Yen. Special thanks to Maria Tung and her group of culinary assistants who prepared 225 calzone lunches (the talk of the tournament) and the kitchen staff for their hard work and their always wonderful gourmet boxed lunches.

Twenty-one schools from three states, including Washington and Oregon, gathered on the Saratoga campus in Sept. for the 3rd annual Harker School Invitational Debate Tournament, and it was a rousing success in every way. Nearly 400 people were on campus as students competed in Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Parliamentary debate rounds, and Harker parents and staff contributed greatly with food service, logistical and judging support.

So many students and parents from other schools complimented

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Speech and Debate Club members who helped to keep the flow of judges moving throughout the tournament, especially Catherine Kim. All of our runners did a fantastic job collecting ballots: Tommy Polzin, Aruna Bharathi, Salman Kothari and Pranab Barman (whose leg injuries did not hinder his supervisory duties).

Harker debaters did a GREAT job filling in as judges whenever and wherever needed.

The concession stand parents were tremendous in handling all of our food needs, especially Galena

Our sincerest thanks go out to the core tournament chairpersons whose tireless efforts since last Jan. helped to make our event a true success: Susan Lee, Anu and Dinesh Barman and Kathy Polzin.

Many others stayed until the final rounds on Sun. to help with judging

14

The students who helped in the tab

All in all, everyone is to be commended for making this event a successful one for the entire Harker community.

—Matthew Brandstetter Harker Speech and Debate

Harker Debate Program Honored by National Forensic League The Harker School was recognized as being one of the nation’s “top 100 schools” in speech and debate activities by the National Forensic League, ranking 49th out of 2700 schools nationwide.

the Harker parents and students on their family support and caring attitude; in fact, many students marveled at the level of parent support and involvement for this event.

Gaknoki and Marina Weinstock who stayed all Saturday. Our dads Yuri Gaknoki, Dinesh Barman and Stephen Polzin were great barbeque chefs. The students and parents commented enthusiastically about the quality of the food, the efficiency of the tournament, and the family atmosphere that permeated the weekend event.

room, Maya Hey, Raj Misra and Kimberley Wong are to be commended for their dedication and conscientiousness.

Although not a member of the speech and debate team, Maya contributed both days to help with the smooth running of the tournament. Even a former club member, Rick Hayashi, came to judge two rounds on Saturday.

This recognition, based upon student participation and excellence in speech activities, was awarded to Dr. Matthew Brandstetter and published nationwide in Rostrum, the national magazine of high school speech and online at http:// www.nflonline.org, the Web site of the National Forensic League.

The League, the oldest and largest high school speech organization in America, was founded in 1925 to encourage and motivate high school students to participate in and become proficient in the forensic arts of debate, public speaking and interpretation. Since its founding NFL has enrolled over 1,052,891 members in all fifty states, U.S. possessions and several foreign countries. Currently over 93,000 high school students and over 2,500 high school

teachers are active members.

Other Debate News

In a letter dated Sept. 25th to Dr. Brandstetter, James Copeland, National Secretary for the NFL, writes: “Because your chapter achieved 300 degrees or more last year, it placed in the top 1% of NFL chapters nationwide and qualified for the NFL Societé de 300. This award is important because it means your program is teaching essential life skills—communication, research, listening, writing, organization—to a large number of students, not just a few ‘stars.’ NFL wishes to commend your energy and commitment to a large program which reaches out to provide forensic opportunities to a wide variety of students. The attainment of 300 degrees is an accomplishment that all members of your squad and you can share. NFL is proud of the Harker School chapter. Welcome to the Societé de 300.”

■ St. Mark's School of Texas hosted its annual Great Heart of Texas Tournament October 1820. Schools were all allowed one team entry, and a few second teams were awarded to schools with excellent records. Harker was one of only a handful of schools given the opportunity to send two varsity teams. Also, St. Mark's hosted, during the same weekend, its annual sophomore hoedown, during which 16 of the nation’s best sophomore teams were invited to compete in a roundrobin affair. Harker also received an invitation to this prestigious event.

Congratulations to Brandstetter and all our hardworking speech and debate students for achieving this recognition!

■ The weekend of Nov. 1-3, Harker will defend its 1st Place Sweepstakes Award at the 41st Annual USC Trojan Championships against 60 schools from 13 states. Harker will send 55 students to compete for the Grand Sweepstakes Award.

Check the Web site for updates on activities and achievements by our outstanding debate students.

participation

STAFF

100%

update

First Set of Phonathons Increases Grade Level Participation

As you know, our focus for this year’s campaign is 100% parent participation. We wish to thank the hundreds of parents who have donated already to this year's campaign. Your enthusiastic support is greatly appreciated and is reflected in the grade level percentages on the graph to the right.

We also gratefully acknowledge the contributions which have come from faculty, staff and alumni.

As you know, an additional way to support Harker is through the eScrip program. It is our hope to have every member of

L GIVING G UA

$1

the Harker community join eScrip. In short, eScrip donates a percentage of what you spend at participating merchants using your registered grocery or credit cards. Harker will even pay for your $10 registration fee so there is absolutely no cost to you!

. 2 5 M illi o

n

■ Terry Walsh has been appointed as asst. editor of The Harker News, in addition to her role as alumni programs director. Walsh has been with Harker since 1979, primarily working in the boarding program, and we're delighted she will be able to share her years of experience at Harker in these new roles.

Participate…and move your grade level percentage up!

L OA

■ Diane Plauck recently joined the Bucknall faculty, teaching math part-time in Gr. 2 and kindergarten.

She comes to us with a degree in math and liberal studies from San Jose State and teaching experience at Gunn High School in Palo Alto.

She has been a much sought-after math tutor for the last 12 years.

She is thrilled to be here, and we warmly welcome her to the faculty!

Thanks to the time and efforts of the Development Council as well as the support of Harker’s parent body, the annual giving campaign’s first set of phonathons increased each grade level’s participation percentages. We are truly thankful to those families who have participated thus far.

AN N

■ Harker MS/US drama teacher Jeffrey Draper performed in the production of “The Laramie Project” at the Bus Barn Theater in Los Altos recently. In this docudrama based on the actual murder of gay college student Matthew Shepherd, each actor plays multiple roles, using the actual words of at least 50 different Laramie residents. “It was a pleasure to see so many Harker faculty and students attend the production,” said Draper. The play is currently being performed in high schools and colleges across the country.

As a Result of Your Generosity…

For more information on eScrip or the campaign itself, please contact Amalia Keyashian, director of annual giving, at amaliak@harker.org or log on to www.harker.org and click on ADVANCEMENT & ALUMNI. Help raise your grade level participation to 100% today!

—Kelly S. Parker Development Director

“With three new IMACs in my room, along with 25 Alpha Smart computers, my students are able to understand the true

Also, a warm American welcome to Australian photo intern Mark Tantrum, here this year to learn

process of expository writing—creating, editing, and proofreading drafts. At ten years of age, these students are learning techniques and skills that will make them

Self Portrait!

Mark Tantrum

superior English students in the new century!”

—Kate Shanahan, Gr. 5 Language Arts Thanks to annual giving donations, this new projection screen was recently installed on the Bucknall stage. about the art of digital photography.

Tantrum will help us capture campus activities for publications and the web, work with teachers and students on classroom digital projects, and assist photo editor Chris Daren with the Harker photo archives.

Welcome to both—you will see much of their handiwork in this edition!

“The new shelves at our Saratoga campus library are a great enhancement

Heartfelt Thanks!

to our facility. Now we have room to order more books, and the new organization of the materials makes browsing and researching more enjoyable!”

—Enid Davis, Library Director

15

FROM

the archives

The Harker School History Flash Cards While going through our boxes of unsorted archive treasures, SJSU intern Sue Smith found a band of flashcards typed on small index cards. They contain names and facts about important people in the early history of The Harker School. Here are some founding fathers and mothers of Manzanita Hall, later to be called Palo Alto Military Academy (1919-1972), The Harker Academy (1972-1992) and finally, The Harker School (1992-present).

LIBRARY Ask a Librarian!

The Harker library is now offering a new research service to students.

Students may click on askalibrarian@harker.org if they need help with a research question.

The librarians will search within the scope of the school library

A Baker’s Dozen: Who are These People?

1. David Starr Jordan 2. Frank Cramer 3. Rev. W.D. Bishop 4. E.L. Rich 5. Dr. Ben Thomas 6. George B. Culver 7. J. Le Roy Dixon

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

William Alfred Shedd Col. Richard P. Kelly Dr. Grenville C. Emery Miss Katherine Monroe Miss Nellie P. Hansen Major Royal W. Park

Answers: 1. Jordan was the first president of Stanford University. He inspired Frank Cramer and Catherine Harker to open their two schools. Jordan was a botonist and an ichthyologist.

2. Cramer was a Palo Alto town trustee, trustee of the first Palo Alto public school, and founder, owner, and first principal of Manzanita Hall.

3. Bishop’s house on Waverley Street at University Avenue in Palo Alto was the first site of Cramer’s school.

4. Rich was one of the first teachers at Cramer’s school. He was a Presbyterian minister and husband of one of the two original teachers in the Palo Alto School District, 1893.

resources and get back to the student within two school days with an answer, a strategy or a request for more information. “We will not do the student’s homework, but we can provide guidance in their search for answers,” said library director Enid Davis.

“Ready, Set, Research Goes to Harkswort!” —Grs. 3 - 6 Now in addition to students competing for prizes by participating in three rounds of answering research, their entire class

notes competes against each other for the coveted Research Cup. Our sorting hat has put the kids in “houses” according to grade level, and leading each house is Georgene Ferrera (Gr. 3), Keith Hirota (Gr. 4), Pat Walsh (Gr. 5), and Leah Moll (Gr. 6). Round one starts October 21. See our Web site for the rules and questions!

“Knowledge Seeker” —Grs. 7 & 8 Saratoga campus librarian Linda Goossens has designed a new challenge for our MS students to substitute for “Ready, Set, Research!” In this new extracurricular library activity students can also earn certificates, pins, and medals. Its focus is on research, such as how to search our fabulous electronic databases, create a research strategy for a paper, use the computer catalog, the Internet, reference books, etc.

Interested students can learn more by coming into the library or checking out the library’s Web site.

—Enid Davis Library Director

5. Thomas was a dentist who taught at Manzanita Hall in 1896; he graduated from Stanford in 1897.

6. Culver taught at Manzanita Hall in 1896; he was dean of men at Stanford University, 1920-1928.

NEWS

you need

7. Dixon bought out Cramer in 1902 and ran the school for 10 years. He later sold the school to W.A. Shedd who later resold it to him.

Additional Insurance Recommended

8. Shedd was headmaster of Manzanita Hall in 1909. He bought the school in 1912 from Dixon and later resold it to him.

It’s quite common for parents and students to use their personal vehicles for school-related activities, and Harker families are no exception. We appreciate the valuable assistance and generosity of our families who help us in this way.

9. Kelly was also one of four Los Angeleans who bought Manzanita Hall from Dixon in 1919.

We do want to remind all our families, however, that these types of activities aren't covered by school insurance companies (including ours), and we recommend that families consider contacting their own insurance companies for additional coverage. In fact, while families have school-age children and may be driving many of their students’ friends around on weekends (to the movies, parties, etc.) it’s also prudent to increase your insurance coverage.

10. Emery was also one of four Los Angeleans who bought Manzanita Hall from Dixon. He left after one year to found Seale Academy.

11. Monroe was also one of four Los Angeleans who bought Manzanita Hall from Dixon. She served as housemother and later married Dr. Emery.

William Shedd, headmaster of Manzanita Hall in 1909.

12. Hanson was one of four Los Angeleans to purchase Manzanita Hall from Dixon in June 1919. They spent 32 years operating the school’s summer camp, Camp El Dorado.

13. Park was commandant of Manzanita Hall from 1922-1925. He left to start the Pacific Coast Military Academy.

—Enid Davis, Library Director and Chair of the Harker History Committee Correction: Thanks to an alert co-worker, we would like to apologize for an error in the last newsletter regarding the winner of last year's picnic raffle sales. While Jason & Taylor Martin did indeed sell a great many tickets, Raven Reddy was actually last year's first place winner.

Thanks again to all of our raffle ticket sellers!

16

Marie Clifford, Harker business manager, explained that many insurance companies will provide umbrella coverage for a nominal fee, and she recommends the following: Limits no less than $250,000 per occurrence $500,000 aggregate-bodily injury $100,000 property damage $2,000 medical For additional information, call your individual insurance company or contact Clifford at mariec@harker.org or 408.345.9028.

The Harker News is published monthly by the Harker Office of Communications. Current and archived issues are also available on the Parent Home Page on the Web site at www.harker.org.

Editor: Pam Dickinson Asst. Editor: Terry Walsh Photo Editor: Chris Daren

Design: Blue Heron Design Printing: Communicart