2005 January Harker News by The Harker School

JANUARY 2005 (VOL. 11, NO. 4)

N E W S L E T T E R

F R O M

T H E

H A R K E R

S C H O O L

Technology Brings Foreign Language Lab to Laptops

inside

Since Harker is continally riding the wave of new technology uses in the classroom, it was inevitable that language classes would eventually

S P E C I A L Alumni Edition

Alumni Update: pgs. 20 - 22

online Photo Galleries ■ Christmas Carol ■ Holiday Concert

rid themselves of the cassette tapes and recorders of old and replace them with something more exciting for our tech-savvy students. The analog method of recording oral language skills has recently been replaced in some of Harker’s language classes by the use of personal laptops and home Internet connections. With their laptop, a small, inexpensive device microphone, a simple recording program and an Internet connection students are able to record, edit and send their projects to their teachers with a few clicks of their mouse. Once the student’s

■ Newsletter Photos Go to the Parent Home Page (PHP) for these — and more!

events FASHION SHOW Fri., Feb. 4

instructor receives the assignment via electronic drop-box or email, the teacher can then listen and grade the electronic attachment instantaneously. Dan Hudkins, US director of instructional technology, said he had originally planned to use only a few language sections at first, but with the word spreading of how much easier it made the task of oral conversation, more and more teachers were willing to try it. At this point all Spanish 2 and higher, one set of French, and a handful of Japanese sections have all decided to use the new technology in their classes. US Spanish teacher Diana Moss was able to have her students use it to start recording and listening to their own narrations. Moss said students seem pleased and surprised with their own verbal skills after using this new method for the first time. “It helps language teachers impress upon students that we also value their speaking

Christmas Carol a Victorian Delight

skills, as opposed to just their written test scores.” She added that the teachers using this method feel it allows students to focus on their verbal abilities to communicate effectively, rather than focusing on test taking. Hudkins likes the efficiency and immediacy this technology brings to the study of languages. “It obviates the

Mark Tantrum-both photos

M O N T H L Y

language lab that most of us are used to by effectively using a home computer and simple microphone to record and review spontaneous dialogue,” he said. “It’s like taking the ‘lab’ out of ‘language labs,’” he added. Editor’s Note: Visit the US division page on the Parent Home Page (PHP) to hear sample recordings from Moss’ class!

Students Enjoy Inaugural Shanghai Trip

Tickets on Sale Now! See pages 4 & 5 inside

It takes a village to put on a show, and the Conservatory’s “A Christmas Carol” was no exception. Parents, students and staff devoted their time, creativity and energy to put on an amazing show and create a truly festive experience for all! See pg 18 for full story.

Bill Bost

Mark Tantrum-both photos

est. 1893 • K-12 college prep

Harker's inaugural trip to visit new sister school in Shanghai was huge success - see page 12 for story.

important

notes

december dates

editor’s note

■ Mon., Jan. 3 - K-12 classes resume

Harker's inaugural Shanghai visit was an incredible experience for all involved and another example of Harker's commitment to providing dynamic experiences that prepare our students to be global citizens. The Harker community is already rich in diversity, and these global partnerships — from Tamagawa to Shanghai to Slovakia — bring insights and friendships to treasure for a lifetime.

■ Mon., Jan. 17 - Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday – K-12 no classes

New Blackford Campus Update: Expanded Theatre Facilities Plans are firming up on the needed renovations in preparation for the MS move to the Blackford campus, and will include a conversion of the current cafeteria into a theatre facility that will be utilized by both the MS and US. “The facility will be rewired to accommodate the need for state-of-the-art lighting and sound, and will receive both cosmetic and acoustic treatments to better serve our ever-increasing performing arts program,” said Robb Cutler, asst. head of school, finance and operations.

May 2005 bring much happiness, friendship and adventure to you all!

Chris Daren

—Pam Dickinson, Director Office of Communications pamd@harker.org

quotes

Laura Lang-Ree, Harker’s director of performing arts, couldn’t be more pleased. “This new space will provide a much-needed dedicated rehearsal and performance area and help to lend more credibility to our extensive, award-winning Performing Arts program,” she said. “We can rehearse in the space - with the set - weeks instead of days in advance.” Lang-Ree also noted that because shows will be able to move in earlier, there will be more time for creative growth in each project. “This will be a valuable tool for us until the main performing arts theater complex is built.”

“To have work as scholarly as science binders displayed next to visual art demonstrates the balance of our

This addition of a theatre facility on the new middle school campus will reduce gym use at lower and upper school campuses for performances, and, along with the renovations to the middle school campus gym, will provide needed space for our extensive athletics programs. Watch next month for an update gym and locker renovations on the new campus!

school and honors the ability of our students to produce on both levels.” —Cindy Kerr, MS Division Head (pg. 12)

Tribute to the Nichols Diana Nichols — Global Vision

“I am taking Safe Kids because I thought it would help me learn to save people’s lives...”

correction The Yosemite photos in last month’s issue were taken by Robb Cutler - many thanks for the great shots!

Mark Tantrum

—Jithin Vellian, Gr. 3 (pg. 15)

Harker has long been distinguished by its international programs and technology initiatives, which have grown hand in hand. The vision for these programs can be traced to Diana Nichols, our head of school. From the inception of the Harker technology initiatives in the early 1980s, to the sophisticated use of technology tools to enhance the educational experience today, Diana has provided leadership and direction every step of the way. As Sharon Meyers, former Harker Academy computer teacher put it, “Diana is one of those rare individuals who is a true visionary. But beyond that, she has drive and a sense of purpose to move See full story back page her visions to reality.”

USmoms Plan Jan. 7 Parent Social USmoms (and interested dads, too!) will welcome in the New Year Fri., Jan. 7 at 7p.m., with a “jam” in the galler y of Dobbins Hall. Join a merry group for a glass of wine, some winter-y night nibbles and lots of friendly conversation. This happens to coincide with an US Coffee House night for the students, and the moms organizing this event are hoping lots of US parents will attend – click on the link to this event on the US section of the Parent Home Page to RSVP.

Common Ground Speaker Series As reported in the Oct. edition of the HN, Harker is a new member of this organization and Harker parents, faculty and staff may attend any of their speaker events free of charge. According to their Web site, Common Ground offers “programs and opportunities for parents from member schools to come together to communicate, share, support and learn from experts in the field of education and parenting.” The schedule for the rest of this school year is as follows, and all events begin at 7 p.m. The locations vary for each event, so visit the Academic Counseling page on our Web site for more detailed information. Kids, Parents and Power Struggles Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, M.A. Mon., Jan. 31 Tues., Feb. 1 Wed., Feb. 2 Married with Children: Survival Techniques Julie Schwartz Gottman, Ph.D. Tues., Mar. 8 Wed., Mar. 9 Thurs., Mar. 10 Drugs & Alcohol: What Parents Need to Know Lea Goldstein, Ph.D Thurs., Apr. 28 Tues., May 3 Tues., May 10 Harker News — January 05

EVENT

recap

Harker Holiday Concert – Dec. 7

THE BUCKNALL STRING ORCHESTRA: Patricia Huang, Khan Lam, Andrew Lee, Charles Levine, Alex Najibi, Philip Oung, Dylan Qian, Nikhil Raghuram, Adarsh

Ranganathan, Maya Sathaye, Supraja Swamy, Benjamin Yang, Wilbur Yang, Vincent Yao. CHIMES: Alison Axelrod, Emily Carr, Elizabeth Cutler, Jenna Glasa, Tara Hansen, Jackie Ho, Denzil Sikka, Nicole Lindars, Connie Lu, Shanna Polzin, Supna Saxena, Jane Thomas, Melinda Wang, Adrienne Wong, Nicole Woods Kelly Yu. THE HARKER JAZZ ENSEMBLE: Isaac Ball, Tara Chandra, Patrick Gendotti, Roger Kim, Jeff Le, Michael Lee, Spencer Lin, Josh Karnes, Brian Ma, Sid Satish, James Shaver, Ariane Vartanian, Justin Wu.

Chen, Joseph Chen, Eileen Cho, Tracy Chou, Aneesh Donde, Jason Han, Eric Hsieh, Sonya Huang, Vivian Huang, Whitney Huang, Audrey Kwong, Glenn Lee, Nikhil Raghuram, Mark Roh, Jacqueline Rousseau, Sharon Su, Vijay

THE HARKER WINDS: Caitlin Contag, Robert Oh. THE HARKER STRING ORCHESTRA: An Bui, Anthony Chen, Denaly

Mark Tantrum-all photos

The holidays came to the Bucknall Gym in the form of the annual holiday concert, with over 80 students representing all of Harker’s instrumental groups, and the MS choir, entertaining a delighted audience of over 200. The US Jazz Ensemble played styles from Duke Ellington to the Beatles, and included guest vocalist junior Tara Chandra. The Harker Winds and String Orchestra played music ranging from the Baroque to the Jazz eras, with sophomore violinist Audrey Kwong soloing, and the Chimes, Harker’s MS choir, sang some holiday favorites. A warm thanks and hearty congratulations to all the talented musicians, and to Chimes director Roxann Hagemeyer and instrumental director Richard Frazier, for a wonderful evening!

Swamy, Harry Tseng, Michael Wang, Andrew Wei, Jessica Wu, David Yao, and teacher Jennifer Owens.

Holiday Outreach: Harker’s Spirit of Generosity Evident Schoolwide

Jaja Hsuan-both photos

Each year Harker students and their families demonstrate their enormous generosity by suppor ting food and toy drives, giving tree programs and other worthy causes. In addition, Harker performing arts students and faculty reach out to the community with heartwarming per formances for the public to enjoy. See news of these programs throughout this month’s newsletter!

Harker News — January 05

tion. Christmas in the Park and Downtown Ice are open through Jan. 1 - check it out!

■ Harker Singing Groups Spread Holiday Cheer

Mark Tantrum

■ Downtown San Jose Tradition – Christmas in the Park A beloved Harker tradition of 47 US students, is helping set up along with US faculty Christmas In the Park, an chaperones Carol annual community event Zink, Ruth Meyer held in Cesar Chavez Park and Jaja Hsuan, in downtown San Jose that joined the hundreds attracts over 400,000 of volunteers who, people each year. A total according to a recent Mercury News article, “turned downtown San Jose into a magical wonderland with colorful lights strung among buildings, carnival rides and dozens of animated holiday displays.” The students, many being Key Club and NHS members, made bows, strung lights and decorated the Harker-sponsored

schoolhouse, a tradition Harker was recognized for as part of the event’s 25th anniversary celebra-

Bel Canto and Downbeat, two of the US singing ensembles, brought some holiday cheer to varied venues on their annual tours this year. On Dec. 3, Downbeat, directed by Laura Lang-Ree and Catherine Snider, sang at a holiday faire at Filoli, the beautiful estate in Woodside, then traveled to Lytton Gardens in Palo Alto, the San Jose Family Shelter, and The Forum, a senior living center in Los Altos. The trip culminated at the San Jose Fairmont, where many parents attended. Bel Canto, directed by Snider, traveled on Dec. 10 to the Sobrato Emergency Housing

Consortium, senior living facility Belmont Village, and an exciting new venue this year: Border’s Books in Santana Row. Both groups brought gifts for children and flowers for parents, and reported that it was a moving and fun experience for all! See page 11 for news of the annual MS caroling tour. We thank all of our students and musical directors for bringing such warm holiday cheer out into the communities! The Friends of the Saratoga Library and

The Harker School present

The Harker String Orchestra

Festive Holiday Celebration Wed., Dec. 15, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. Saratoga Library - Community Room 13650 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga

At press time, LS students held their annual Toys for Tots Drive and Harker's String Orchestra was performing in a special concert at the Saratoga Library.

FASHION FRIDAY Feb. 4, 2005 Fairmont Hotel San Jose 11:00 a.m. Luncheon Fashion Show

show ’05 Tickets and Tables are Going Fast! Don’t miss your chance to have a rockin’ good time with exciting entertainment, fabulous food and mar velous models, as Harker students, parents, grandparents, alumni and staff strut down the catwalk in the new spring fashions. Proceeds from this fundraising event will beneﬁt the Harker School Scholarship Fund, Teachers Fund and the new Math, Science and Technology Center. Early event ticket purchases will ensure you the best seating! Please join us for this special event. Together, we will rock the town!

$80 per person 5:30 p.m. Dinner Gala Fashion Show, Live Auction & Dancing to Wayne Foster Entertainment of Beverly Hills $150 per person

—Event Co-chairs: Shyamoli Banerjee, Reshma Dave, and Greta Jackson

Be a Part of Our School of Rock! There are many ways to participate – please see contact box next page for contact information. Attend! The sooner you make your reservation, the closer you’ll be to the fun on the runway! Invitations have already been sent, so return your RSVP card right away. If you need additional invitations, contact the Fashion Show Hotline. Donate quality items as the Live Auction and Showcase committee members make their ﬁnal push for donations! The committee’s wish list is posted at the Fashion Show Web site, or see the contact box next page. Dedicate a message to a graduating senior, an exceptional teacher, your child’s sports team, or that special someone. You can purchase a dedication line in the Fashion Show program to show your favorite people how much you care about them. Contact the Advertising Co-chairs to make your dedication. Volunteer and be a part of the action! We can always use more helping hands, and even a few hours of your time will contribute to the success of the show. Learn more about being a rockin’ volunteer today! Purchase one of the 500 Grand Prize tickets for an opportunity to win a year’s Harker tuition. Order forms are included with this newsletter mailing, so simply return your Grand Prize ticket order form in the envelope provided, and you could be the lucky winner! Don’t forget to purchase donation drawing tickets for your chance to win one of our six rockin’ good Showcases, each offering a wonderful array of fun for all ages: • Rock & Roll Showcase: Rock Down to Electric Avenue • Latin & Salsa Showcase: Hot Latin Nights on the Beach • Jazz & Blues Showcase: Escape with the Blues on the Bayou • Country Rock Showcase: Where We All Have a License to Chill • Classics Showcase: Let the Music Soothe the Soul & Spark the Imagination • Broadway Showcase: Where There’s Always Magic in the Air More detailed information about all these wonderful Showcases can be found in the ﬂyer that has been mailed with this newsletter. You have to be in it to win it!

Thanks to our Rockin’ Partners! A special thanks goes out to our Santana Row fashion partner stores for providing clothing and accessories for our models, and thanks as well to San Jose Magazine, our ofﬁcial media partner, for providing magazine pages to promote the show. We’d also like to recognize everyone who has committed to advertising in this year’s Rock the Runway! program, along with this month’s new sponsors, US Bank and Fremont Bank. Kudos to Signature Images by Lori Rose for the wonderful program photos that will be featured in the Feb. 2005 issue of San Jose Magazine, and for taking professional photos of fashion show guests at the Fairmont Hotel the day and evening of the show. To reserve a time for your professional photo, contact Padma Eswari at ps_eswari@hotmail.com.

Harker News — January 05

Valentine’s Day Gifts Made Easy! The centerpieces that adorn the tables during the luncheon and dinner events are available for purchase! Each centerpiece, a beautiful potted white phalaenopsis orchid in an elegant blue glass vase from Flower Divas in Santa Clara, is coupled with a $50 gift certiﬁcate to the relaxing Yelka Day Spa in Los Altos. Best of all – this great gift worth $100 can be yours for only $50!

To pre-order your centerpiece and spa certificate, simply download the order form from the Fashion Show Web site and then submit it with your payment at the front office of the Bucknall or Saratoga campus, or send it to the Fashion Show office at PO Box 9097, San Jose, CA 95157-0097. For more information, contact Grace Edvalson at 408.252.7042 or via e-mail at darianke@aol.com

Meet our Hosts and Hostesses with the Mostest! At both the luncheon and dinner gala, these friendly Harker US students will escort you to your table, assist you with your lastminute donation drawing ticket purchases, or help out in any way they can. Hats off to our Fashion Show Hosts and Hostesses: Tavishi Agarwal, Rupan Bose, Andrea Brisker, Hillary Brooks, Avanti Deshpande, Eric Gavarre,

Najm Haque, Yagmur Ilgen, Asmita Jina, Meghana Komati, Simon Kwan, Shephalie Lahri, Sara Laymoun, Euni Lee, Mina Lee, Audrey Leung, Amulya Mandava, Linda Mohammadian, Casey Near, Amanda Polzin, Greg Ringold, Natasha Sarin, Ben Shapiro, Tanu Shenoy, Sam Singh, Shilpam Singh, Paloma Solorio, Jamie Trinh, and Roberta Wolfson.

Swing to the Sounds of Wayne Foster Entertainment at Dinner Gala!

Photo provided by Wayne Foster Entertainment

“Through an extraordinary blend of talent, expertise and enthusiasm, their vast musical repertoire and stellar ensemble of performers set the pace for an exciting and fun-ﬁlled evening.” Wayne Foster Entertainment has established an unparalleled reputation for providing musical entertainment with an emphasis on elegance and fun. Through an extraordinary blend of talent, expertise and enthusiasm, their vast musical repertoire and stellar ensemble of performers set the pace for an exciting and fun-ﬁlled evening. Join us at Rock the Runway! and see why the Wayne Foster phenomenon commands rave reviews!

Get Your Tickets Today!

Grand Prize: Free Tuition!

Now available online:

• Grand Prize tickets - only 500 will be sold! - $100

Here’s your chance to win the grand prize. For only $100 you could win one year’s tuition* at Harker for the 2005-2006 school year! Only 500 Grand Prize tickets will be sold, so your chances of winning are amazingly high. Go to www.harker.org and click on the Rock the Runway! link to purchase your Grand Prize ticket today!

• Showcase tickets - 10 tickets for $20

*Prize-winner can receive cash prize in lieu of tuition.

• Luncheon tickets - $80 per person

CONTACTS

• Dinner tickets - $150 per person

VOLUNTEERING: Tina Najibi: tmm@cadence.com ADVERTISING: Mary Malysz: mmalysz@mstpartners.com • Ernaz Irani: ernaz.irani@hp.com SPONSORSHIPS: Archana Sathaye: archana@sathaye.com • Barbara Drummer: barbara.drummer@intel.com DONATIONS - Live Auction & Showcases: Angela Heslop: a.heslop@att.net • David Heslop: david.heslop@prestonpipelines.com RESERVATIONS: Jeannine Hammersley: jhammersley@comcast.net • Violet Boyle: boylfam99@sbcglobal.net GENERAL: Hotline 408.345.0115; E-mail fashionshow@harker.org Click on Rock the Runway! link on the Harker Web site for all the most up-to-date information!

Harker News — January 05

ANNUAL

giving Ringing in the New Year with Thanks and Appreciation! The New Year is here and once again we are thankful for your continued support of our student programs. We wish to extend a warm thanks to all families, grandparents, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the community who provide our students with the very best in programs and resources. From our outstanding academic programs to numerous grade level ﬁeld trips, phenomenal performing arts productions to dedicated athletics programs, and student clubs and classroom parties, every student beneﬁts!

Special “Reasons for Seasons” Note

And on behalf of the entire Harker family, we thank you for your continued support in providing an “encore for the margin of excellence.” Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year! —Bran-Dee Torres, Director of Annual Giving and Jennifer Helmonds, Director of The Harker Fund

Your Generous Annual Giving Dollars at Work! Your gifts continue to provide Harker students and faculty with tools and resources to make so many of our school-wide programs successful. In this issue we are proud to showcase the following: ■ LS iMovie Collaboration Project, page 10 ■ US Distinguished Speaker Series, page 18 ■ US Fall Play, “A Christmas Carol,” pages 18 - 19

staff

update

■ Lana Morrison, asst. recreation director at the Bucknall campus, has been promoted to recreation director at the Saratoga campus as of Januar y 2005, replacing Chris Yamashita who is leaving this position to pursue a career in hospitality. Good luck to Yamashita and congratulations to Morrison in her new role! ■ Filling Morrison’s vacancy at Bucknall as the new asst. recreation director will be Milton Mui. Harker alumna and current JV Volleyball coach Kelle Sloan ‘93 will ﬁll Mui’s current position as recreation lead. ■ The Association for Computing Machiner y (ACM), an organization founded in 1947 to advance the skills of information technology professionals and students worldwide, has named Robb Cutler, Harker’s associate head of school of operations

A very special thanks to the Emery, Davis, Nielsen and Azebu/Ogami families for producing the special “Harker Reasons for Seasons” note sent to all Harker families in December. This heartwarming holiday memo thanks all families who have pledged their support and invites those who have yet to join us in participation.

and finance, as the first board chair of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA). Cutler will lead this new task force in addressing professional development needs, teacher cer tification requirements, differing curriculum standards, and declining student interest, par ticularly among women and other underrepresented groups, in computer science courses in secondar y schools. ACM has over 75,000 members worldwide. For more information visit www.acm.org. ■ The day that the Harker Conser vator y’s production of “A Christmas Carol” ended, director Jeffrey Draper began rehearsing the same show at Center REPertor y Company in Walnut Creek. Draper, who is playing Young Scrooge, is joining Center REP’s annual tradition for the fourth time. It runs Dec. 9 - 19; see http: //www.dlrca.org/rep.html for details.

NHS Students Thank You! This holiday season, 44 National Honors Society students kicked off our ﬁrst “Thank-a-thon” of 2004 and reached out to nearly 500 families. Students placed calls and thanked parents for their generous support of various Harker student programs through their participation in the Annual Giving campaign this year. The Thank-a-thon gave students the opportunity to explain what charitable contributions provide here at Harker and to share their experiences ﬁrst hand with our donors. Based on the outstanding positive feedback so far, the group may hold another Thank-a-thon next semester.

Stylish Harker Luggage Tags! If you missed out last year, the Speech and Debate parents are once again offering custom Harker luggage tags—perfect for traveling students and parents.

The Harker forest green tags have the Harker logo on them and are approximately 2” x 3.5” with loop fastener included. Tags are $10 for two, and the set can be custom engraved to your speciﬁcations.

Mark Tantrum

THANKS

You are an important part of The Harker School’s community and continuing success. Your annual participation is vital to sustain the breadth and depth of our student programs.

Pick up your order forms from the Harker Bookstore and return them by January 21 or go to the Parent Home Page for the form to print and fax!

Harker News — January 05

SPORTS

briefs

Lower & Middle School The A1 boys basketball team’s season just got under way with wins over Peter Burnett and St. Christopher’s. A balanced offensive and defensive mindset, along with strong play from Usua Amanam and Arman Gupta, will prove to be a key for a successful season this year. The A1 girls basketball team got off to a rough 0-2 start and with a tough schedule in front of them, the girls will need to persevere and work hard to make this season one to remember. Team leaders Diana Beck and Kristina Bither are motivated and will direct the team to work together toward a winning season. More updates on the A2 teams, and the B boys and girls will come in our next issue. The LS soccer teams are wrapping up their season of exciting intramural play before gearing up for basketball tryouts. The Gr. 5 and 6 boys had an exciting season of team play, and ended with a dramatic round-robin playoff tournament with a few last minute goals, and suspenseful PK shootouts. The Gr. 5 and 6 girls enjoyed a season of games and competition as Coaches Mel Robinson, Paula Bither, and newcomer Jared Ramsey joyfully taught new skills and strategy to the wide-eyed players. The Gr. 4 boys’ and girls’ basketball squads had a good grasp on fundamental and basic strategy by the end of their seasons, and the boys ended their season in an exciting playoff tournament. Jan. 3 – Gr. 5 and 6 boys’ and girls’ basketball and Gr. 4 boys’ and girls’ soccer starts.

Mark Tantrum - all Sports photos

—Compiled by Teresa “Smitty” Smith, Gr. 4-8 Athletic Director, and Nick Gassmann, coach

Harker News — January 05

Upper School “All that I know for certain about morality and the obligations of man, I owe to football.” Who said that? Not Vince Lombardi or Bear Bryant, but Albert Camus, and he was actually referring to soccer, but his words ought to remind sports fans that however clichéd it may sound, team sports really can build character and prepare young people for the challenges of life. As the winter sports season is in its early stages, with teams having just begun play, I thought I might take a different approach to the monthly Sports Brief, I hope you will indulge me as I share some thoughts on the value of athletics.

As I was enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon, I realized I was scheduled to attend the annual football banquet. Now I have been to a lot of banquets over the years, and to be quite honest, I was somewhat less than enthused about attending. As for all of us, time is precious, as well as time with our families and tending to the business of our personal lives, hence my original trepidation. Well let me tell you, was I glad I attended! No, it wasn’t because of the chicken dinner, or the ambiance, it was because throughout the night, all the reasons that young men and women play sports came rushing back to my senses. Answers to why coaches and players devote an extraordinary amount of time to practices, travel, preparation, meeting, and games. Answers to why the physical demands of athletics are a price worth paying. Sitting in that room on a Sunday night listening to the emotions, the respect, the admiration, and even the love that the coaches and the players shared with one another reminded me so vividly how important the high school athletic experience is. The camaraderie, the life lessons, the disappointments, the triumphs, well you get the picture. Listening to Coach Fred Barnes and Coach Tim Woods express so eloquently the relationships that they have developed with the players and even the players’ parents was so moving. A team really is a big extended family. Drawing inspiration from the birth of his new baby, Coach Woods passionately shared experiences from the season that served to conﬁrm that a team is a family. They care about one another in ways that form lifelong bonds among them. You always remember your teammates and coaches, a part of them is carried with you for the remainder of your days. It is a bond formed by the sacriﬁces and the commitments one must make in order to be successful in athletics. Hearing the heartfelt

thanks from the players to the coaches reminds one why adults give so much of themselves to be a part of a team, of a student athlete’s life. It matters, and it matters greatly. At the risk of being a bit melodramatic, I hope this personal glimpse may offer conﬁrmation to any athlete or parent who has given up so much time and energy to participate on a team here at Harker. I also hope it may offer a glimpse, to those who have been hesitant to participate, of what the experience is like, how much of a positive impact it can have on a young person’s life.

Sitting in that room on a Sunday night listening to the emotions, the respect, the admiration, and even the love that the coaches and the players shared with one another reminded me so vividly how important the high school athletic experience is. As I am in the ﬁnal year of my involvement in the US athletic program, I have become more reﬂective as to what the purpose and the role of high school athletics is, in some way looking for validation of the endless hours, late nights, and all that goes with the job of being an athletic director. This evening provided just what I was looking for. Listening to senior quarterback Ben Shapiro providing hilarious and heartfelt commentary on the highlight video he and his parents had prepared for the evening was remarkable. Hearing senior Eric Gavarre enthralling the audience with the stories behind the unique and customized gifts for the coaches was so thoroughly enjoyable. Seeing the pride with which Adhir Ravipati, Jason Martin, Michael Keller and so many who received recognition was almost as awe inspiring as that same pride appearing on the faces of their proud mothers and fathers. A special night indeed, as athletics is special in so many ways. An experience unlike any other. Oh, and by the way, the soccer, basketball and wrestling teams are off to a good start, details next month! —Jack Bither, US Athletic Director

school

Library Director Enid Davis reported that the literary/art critics in grades K-6 contributed many fine suggestions in the contest to name the three bronze sculptures that now grace the Bucknall library. Students selected the sculptures’ first names from book characters, and their last would be the authors’ last names. The bronze figures in the “Boy and Girl on a Bench” sculpture, purchased by Diana and Howard Nichols, now have the names of Peter Blume and Sally Seuss. Kianna Bisla, Gr. 3, and Kian Martin, Gr. 1, contributed Peter’s winning name for a Judy Blume character in “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” and Virginia Hsiao, Gr. 1, contributed Sally’s winning name for a Dr. Seuss character in “The Cat in the Hat.” The sculpture of the “Girl at a Desk,” purchased by Facilities Manager Mike Bassoni, now has the name Alice Carroll for the heroine in “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. Karen Wong, Gr. 6, Jonathan Friedland, Ashley Watt, Gr. 2, and Natalie Simonian, Gr. 1, contributed to this winning entry.

Mark Tantrum

Kathy Clark-both photos

Students Name New Statues

■ Family Socials Held Several Harker parent and family socials were held in December: Kindergarten and Gr. 2 parents joined Gr. 1 parents for a holiday cookie

exchange where they made some holiday cards, shopped for candles and enjoyed a buffet lunch at Palermo Pizza. Gr. 2 parents gathered for a parent’s night out at Tannins Wine Bar in Santana Row, and Gr. 5 families joined together to see The Polar Express at the IMAX theater. Check the Lower School PHP to find out more about grade level coffees and events!

■ Annual Diwali Party On Fri., Nov. 19 parents organized an annual Diwali party for students in Gr. 2 where children experienced many aspects of Indian culture including food, dance, folklore and art. “The Gr. 2 teachers would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all the parents who helped make this

Mark Tantrum -both photos

Sylvia Beals

■ A Dragon is Hatched in After-school Art

celebration a great learning experience for the children,” said teacher James Hamilton. “We would also like to express our thanks to Susmita Bhatacharya (Tiara) for showing the children a wonder ful per formance of Traditional Indian Dance,” added Hamilton.

■ Character Counts Every Day During a week in December, the recreation staff led several lunchtime events on this quarter’s theme of respect in the Character Development Program. Students traced each other with chalk on the blacktop, joined at the hands, to show their respect for one another; construction paper was available for students to draw a picture showing respect towards another, with the pictures being made into a Respect Quilt to be displayed later in the year; posterboards with examples of ways to say “Hello,” “Good-bye,” “Please” and “Thank you” in different languages were displayed; students made bookmarks for staff who work so hard outside the classrooms to make Harker a better place. The week ended with trustworthy exercises on the field. The theme for Qtr. 3 is Kindness watch for more reports on the activities in this great program.

Mark Tantrum-both photos

lower

After-school artists assisted in a collaborative effort using tissue paper, aluminum foil and Modge Podge over recycled cardboard to create Dorothea Dragon, who is currently hanging high up in the Bucknall Gym Lobby. Dorothea’s body was designed by Gr. 3 students Raymond Xu, Mercedes Chien and Michelle Pagnon and her wings were designed by Daniela Lapidous, Gr. 5. Take a look up next time you are in the gym lobby to see this wonderful dragon! *K-6 report cards for Quarter 2 will be mailed the week of Jan. 31. Harker News — January 05

school

Generous Outpouring for Food Drive

Ali Abdollahi-both photos

The annual Gr. 5 food drive was an overwhelming success with more food than ever collected for delivery to St. Justin’s Community Ministry. The overflowing cans, filled by students in Grades 1 & 2,

were emptied four times during the collection weeks and delivered to St. Justin’s by alumnus Kevin Walsh ’01. The Gr. 5 homerooms assembled on delivery day to move all the food from the Gr. 3-6 classrooms to the waiting vans of six Gr. 5 parents. “I estimate that we sent over 300 bags of food this year, and we couldn’t have done it without the parents who caravanned to St. Justin’s in their vans stacked high with bags of food,” said Pat Walsh, Gr. 5 teacher. Thanks to parents Pam Araki (Bradley), Angie Krackeler (Margaret), Michelle Maxey (Noel Witcosky), Kim Pellissier (Christophe), Sarah Pennell (Amanda) and Ernie Porter (Mackenzie) for driving and moving all the food to the storage area at the drop off location.

Lower School Holiday Assembly The annual holiday assembly at the lower school was a rousing success, with the children entertained by several groups from all campuses. US group Bel Canto started things off with a rousing “African Noel,” and later sang a

beautiful Chanukah song in Hebrew. US jazz vocal group Downbeat reprised four numbers from their holiday tour, including a spiritual and a boogie-woogie Santa tune, as well as a hilarious spoof of “Jingle Bell Rock.” US Varsity and Junior Varsity Dance Troupes tapped, swung, funked and hip-hopped their way through several numbers, and the MS Dance Troupes jazzed it up with “Silver Bells” and

“Santa’s Elves.” When the BKN Dance Ensemble took the stage, their classmates were excited to watch them rock out to “Run, Run, Rudolph!” Chimes, the MS choir, per formed holiday favorites “Carol of the Bells,” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” The other campuses enjoyed these per formances in their own separate assemblies. Many thanks to technicians Danny Dunn, Paul Vallerga and Brian Larsen, and per forming ar ts directors Adrian Bermudez, Roxanne Hagemeyer, Laura Lang-Ree, Gail Palmer, Laura Rae, and Catherine Snider for getting the holidays off to such an entertaining star t!

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Faustina Chen, parent-all photos

Students in Gr. 1 attended the annual trip to Johnson Farm for a day of hayrides, feeding farm animals, learning how corn grows (and its many uses!) and picking out a pumpkin to keep as their own holiday decoration. “We had some wonderful parent chaperones who seemed to have as much fun as the students down on the farm,” laughed Rita Stone, Gr. 1 teacher. Harker News — January 05

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■ Annual Ready-Set-Research Contest Kicks Off Ready-Set-Research, an annual research game that gets students thinking about information-seeking strategies, along with learning how to use the library efficiently and effectively, just completed Round 1. In the theme of Americana, the grade level teams this year are: Gr.3 - The Sybil Ludington Brigade, Gr. 4 - The Ben Franklin Revolutionaries, Gr. 5 - The Abigail Adams Rebels and Gr. 6 - The Thomas Jefferson Patriots. Correct answers in each round earn students individual points towards awards at the end of the year, and can also boost their grade level points. A blue star certificate is for 7-9 correct answers, a silver star certificate is for 10-11 correct and a gold star certificate is for 12 correct answers. Congratulations to the winners for all of their hard work! Gold star certificate: Gr.5 Daniela Lapidous; Silver star certificate: Gr. 3 - Sharon Babu, Kevin Mu and Vikram Sundar; Gr. 4 - Jenny Chen, Suchita Nety and Molly Wolfe; Gr. 5 - Alisha Mayor and Gr. 6 - Samuel Babu, Carmen Das-Grande, Vamsi Vemireddy and Ian Wolfe; Blue star certificate: Gr. 3 - Kilian Burke, Anika Gupta, Urvi Gupta, Arjun Kumar, Alex Pei and Nithya Vemireddy; Gr. 4 - Michael Cheng, Cecilia Lang-Ree and Shelby Rorabaugh; Gr. 6 - Niva Bigler, Timothy Chou, Shreya Nathan and Margaux Nielsen. ■ iMovie Collaboration Project Groups of students in the Gr. 5 computer science class, in conjunction with the PE teachers, will be designated to a PE class to work on a project in iMovie during Qtr. 2. They’ll create an original script with scenes that capture the story of a student in a daily routine of a PE class, or shoot a video documenting the progression of a par ticular skill. Once all the footage has been taken, the students will transfer the raw footage and edit it in iMovie. “Students are very excited about this project,” said Joe Chung, LS computer science teacher. “Besides working with hardware and software, the bigger lesson in this project is to be tolerant and respect each other in order to communicate and to succeed in this group project - a life lesson that can only help to develop a student’s character.”

Annual Gr. 5 Marin Headlands Trip Exciting and Fun! This year’s Gr. 5 students and teachers enjoyed the best weather ever on the annual Marin Headlands Institute trip! “The sun was shining, the air was crisp and cool, the skies were clear, there was a slight breeze in the morning that drove the fog away and it was warm by afternoon,” said Christy Vail, LS Division Head. Students spent

their days hiking, exploring the Marine Mammal Center, doing a pond study, creating their own creatures on the beach and visiting Hawk Hill. Some of the groups saw sea lions, pelicans and even a hawk. “One of the highlights of the trip was the night hike to the beach in the dark to look for bioluminescencetiny animals/bugs that emit light when their environment is disrupted,” said Kate Shanahan, Gr. 5 teacher. “The groups inched their way as close to the ocean as possible, knelt down in the wet sand, and dug violently. Suddenly, tiny sparks of light came from the ground. It was bioluminescence! The harder the kids dug in the sand, the more flashes of light were seen. This was fascinating for both the kids and the teachers— to see this miraculous event before our eyes.” Also attending the trip as chaperones this year were Jason Oncay, Rob Regan, Milton Mui, Kathy Ferretti, Melanie Robinson, Joe Chung, Pat Walsh and Joe Gill. As always, the student behavior and participation on the trip were excellent — kudos to all!

Milton Mui, Jason Oncay and Joe Chung

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Eighth Graders Get Taste of US Life Harker 8th graders were given a preview of the club offerings awaiting them next year as part the Club-O-Rama event held Wed., Dec 8. The event featured displays from every US club set up in the Saratoga Gym, where Gr. 8 students asked questions, spoke with current club members and began to explore their options for the next school year. The students seemed impressed by both the presentation and substance of the US club displays. “The Improv Club had some of their members dressed up in costumes and that made it look really fun, which is really what interested me in the club,” said Sanaz Oskouy. It was the breadth of information available that piqued the interest of others like Paari Kandappan, who said, “The US newspaper seemed appealing because they really demonstrated how the entire process of making a newspaper works.” After learning a bit about US life, the students were invited to eat lunch in the Edge – normally reserved for US students – before returning to their normal daily schedules.

■ Caroling Tradition Continues The Harker Harmonics and the Middle School Choir, now called Chimes, joined forces for a caroling party on Dec. 10, touring local neighborhoods to spread some holiday cheer. This is the second year that the joint event has occurred, and Harmonics directors Susan Nace and Monica MacKinnon, and Chimes director Roxann Hagemeyer hope to continue the tradition in years to come. ■ MS Math Contests MS Math teacher Vandana Kadam reported that a number of Harker students participated in the annual Math Wizard contest held in Milpitas recently. In the Gr. 8 division, Harker students Thomas Harker News — January 05

Wang and Vikram Nathan finished in first and second place, respectively. In the Gr. 7 division, Jeanette Chin, Nikhil Bhargava and Andrew Zhou swept the top three positions. In the Gr. 5 category, Indraneel Salukhe placed second and Aakash Jagadeesh finished third. The Mathematical Association of America also held its annual AMC-8 math contest for students in Gr. 8 and below on Nov. 16. While all students in the Gr. 7/8 math elective class and the Gr. 6 honors math class took the test, other MS students were encouraged to participate. A total of 102 Harker students participated in the contest. Twenty-three Harker participants earned honorable mention by scoring an 18 or above

on the test. Those students were: Gr. 8 - Thomas Wang, Denzil Sikka, Vikram Nathan, Andrew Chin, Sophia Gilman, Andrew Stanek, Brian Chao, Alexander He, Aaron Lin, Jonathan Liu, Tiffany Tseng, Connie Wu; Gr. 7 - Vishesh Jain, Andrew Zhou, Daisy Lin, Nikhil Bhargava, Victor Chen, Jeanette Chin, Alex Han, Srikrishna Seeni; Gr. 6 - Ian Wolfe; Gr. 5 - Michelle Deng, Kathryn Siegel. Congratulations to all math contest participants and special kudos to Gr. 5 participants Deng and Siegel. “These students participated in this contest meant for three grades above their grade level and placed among the top scorers,” said Kadam. ■ Grade 7 Skating Party Gr. 7 parent coordinators Fran Axelrad and Charu Prakash organized a family skating party on Sun., Dec. 5 at Cal Skate in Milpitas. Parents and kids had a great time rollerskating and rollerblading at this Harker family event! ■ French Food Tasting MS Foreign Language Dept. Chair Carol Parris held a holiday French food tasting party for all three of her French classes on Fri., Dec. 17 where students enjoyed such traditional French foods as baguettes, quiche and a buche de Noel (a traditional French Christmas dessert). Parris’ classes are also busy planning their Kings’ Day celebration for Jan. 6, which will include the crowning of a king and queen at the end of every period. Watch for photos in the February Harker News! ■ New Club Focuses on Cultural Exchange A trio of MS teachers has established a new student organization focused on building multi-cultural understanding. The goal of the Academic Cultural Exchange (ACE) Club “is to expose students to cultural concepts in a more academic, yet hands-on capacity,” said MS English teacher and club advisor Mark Gelineau, who helped establish the club along with MS history teacher Pat White and art teacher Margaret McGovern. One of the ACE Club’s first activities was to arrange an e-mail buddy system with students at

Harker’s sister school in Shanghai. “ACE Club members now regularly communicate with their friends from across the globe,” said Gelineau. The ACE Club has also enjoyed a number of visits from Mona Viaykar, a representative

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from a program called India in the Classroom, who speaks on the history of Indian civilization and the complexity of Indian cultural symbolism. On her latest visit, Viaykar brought with her famed Indian painter Raghava, who was presenting at a prestigious gallery opening in Palo Alto. ACE students are now in contact with the artist, and will hopefully participate in a painting workshop with him next year. The ACE club is serving as an ambassador corps for Harker, as well. Club members have served as guides and hosts for visiting MS students interested in attending Harker, and will be hosts for the students visiting from Shanghai later this month, as well as for the Tamagawa visitors beginning next year. “The ACE Club is becoming a strong part of both the International Programs department and the Harker community as a whole,” said Gelineau. ■ Adopt-a-Family The MS student council sponsored the Adopt-a-Family community service project this holiday season. A total of 18 families in need were selected, one for each of the school’s 17 homerooms and an additional family sponsored by MS division head Cindy Kerr. The homerooms each received a holiday wish list from a less fortunate family, along with specific ages and sizes of the family members so the students could purchase gifts to give them for the holidays. Students were given the option of buying individual gifts, or chipping in with classmates to purchase larger presents. Items were then collected in homeroom classes and continued on pg. 12

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school Priya Sathaye, Shizuka Tiernan, Jackie Son. Said Son, “It feels good to do our part to help people who are less fortunate get through the cold winter.”

■ Service Club Collects Coats The MS service club organized a holiday coat drive to benefit InnVision, a San Jose organization that assists homeless people in moving toward employment and stability. Service club members gathered coat donations through curbside collections on the Saratoga campus from Nov. 15 to Dec. 3, and over 125 coats were donated and delivered to InnVision on Dec. 10.

■ New Display Showcases Breadth of Student Work MS division head Cindy Kerr has established a new display in her office in Shah Hall to showcase outstanding scholarly and artistic work of our MS students. “I started the display to highlight both dimensions of our students’ work the artistic side and the academic achievements.”

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continued from pg. 11 compiled in the Shah Office before being distributed to the Sobrato Center in San Jose prior to the holiday break.

MS English teacher and service club advisor Steven Hewitt extended special thanks to the students who volunteered for the early-morning curbside collection. Those students were: Gr. 8 – Shubha Guha, Mitali Parmar, Avanika Krishnaswamy; Gr. 7 – Natasha Dandia, Priya Banerjee, Joyce Zheng, Manasa Reddy,

The current display features a diverse variety of student accomplishments. Featured visual art projects are a collage by Patrice Lin, a watercolor painting by Liz Case and a “Dia de los Muertos” display by John McKenna, all Gr. 8. The academic works currently on display are expository writing assignments from Ryan Fan, Valeria Hwa and Roslyn Li, all Gr. 7, and two Gr. 8 population project displays created by the teams of Marcus Wong / Vivek Reddy and Melody Lee / Muzammil Javid. In addition, two physics binders are on display created by the Gr. 8 student teams of Kristina Bither / Becky Yanovsky and Liz Case / Alyssa Donovan. The current works will be on display until mid-January when new student projects will be rotated in. Said Kerr, “To have work as scholarly as science binders displayed next to visual art demonstrates the balance of our school and honors the ability of our students to produce on both levels.”

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PAMA 1936 alumnus Bingham Kirk joined the MS chess club to play some chess, give advice and learn from our students. Kirk runs the chess club at The Villages, an adult community in San Jose, and plans to bring some of the members over to play chess with the students throughout the school year.

Inaugural Shanghai Exchange A group of 12 Harker 8th graders landed in the People’s Republic of China on Nov. 7 for the inaugural two-week student exchange with Harker’s sister school in Shanghai, the Shanghai World Foreign Language Middle School (SWFLMS). The Harker students Dominique Dabija, Khwaab Dave, Sean Doherty, Matt Gehm, Amaresh Shukla, Steven Tran, Carolyn Kuo, Elizabeth Cutler, Ida Gorshteyn, Adela Chang, Elena Madan and Ananya Anand - joined their Chinese host families for dinner after their first full day in Shanghai. Much of the trip was built around the study of Chinese history and culture. One of the highlights for many of the participants was the group tour of the Great Wall of China. Harker students recounted the long trek along the wall and the reward at the end. “It took quite a while for me to get to the top of the mountain, but the view was outstanding,” said Tran. Shukla enthusiastically agreed: “The most memorable moment of the trip was the breathtaking view from the top of the Great Wall.” Another central theme for the trip was to demonstrate the contrast between the preservation of ancient Chinese culture and the development of a modern society in China. “The exchange provided an opportunity for Harker students to see both the modern technological growth of China and the ancient culture, side-by-side,” said director of international programs Bill Bost. Howard and Diana Nichols, president and head of school, respectively, took some time off from serving as chaperones and were treated to a day as the honorar y emperor and empress of the ancient city of Tongli, even being carried through the streets with a musical escort. Other cultural excursions on this firstever exchange included a tour of the Forbidden City (the former Imperial City of China), a visit to Ming’s tombs, an exploration of the ancient city of Zhou Zhuang, an evening at the Peking Opera, lessons in Chinese cooking and calligraphy and a trip Shanghai’s Magnetic Train Station.

For months prior to the trip, the Harker students had already been in contact with their Shanghai buddies through the two schools’ joint Population Project, a forum for the students to exchange ideas on population. Referring to China’s controversial “one-child” policy, Tran said, “My Shanghai buddy has no siblings, but he is content without one.” Bost added, “One of the most poignant moments of the trip was simply sitting on the gym floor with our Shanghai partners, and having an open and honest discussion about China’s one-child policy.” Beyond recreation, one of the reasons for sending the Harker students home with their host families, according to Bost, was to demonstrate first-hand the effects of overpopulation on the residents of a large city. The Harker students and their Shanghai buddies were then treated to a field trip at the Shenshan Park Resort northwest of Shanghai. “The park was a great place to explore,” said Bost, “There were hills to climb, cable cars to ride, and things that I cannot even describe what they do,” he laughed. “It was a blast. The students made many new friends and got a chance to unwind out of the classroom.” Upon their return, the Harker students went home with their Shanghai buddies to spend the weekend with their host families. “The students quickly realized that while the American and Chinese societies are much different, their buddies were just like the Harker students in so many respects,” said Asst. Head of School and Shanghai chaperone Jennifer Gargano. Of his experience with his host family, Tran said, “I quickly learned that my Shanghai buddy is exceptionally talented in basketball and I enjoyed staying at his cozy apartment.” Students from both schools bade goodbye to their new friends after a farewell assembly and tea party. Said Bost, “Our students were anxious to get home but did not want to leave our good friends here in Shanghai.” Harker students will now await the arrival of their Shanghai buddies to United States later this month. See photos next page! Harker News — January 05

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MS Holiday Assembly

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MS students got an eyeful - and earful - of holiday spirit at their assembly on Dec. 9. The 8th Grade Dance Troupe presented “Silver Bells,” while the 7th Grade Dance Troupe jazzed it up to “Santa’s Elves.” The US Varsity and Junior Varsity Troupes also got into the act, tapping and swinging to holiday favorites, thanks to choreographers Laura Rae and Adrian Bermudez. US group Downbeat, led by Laura Lang-Ree and Catherine Snider, reprised four numbers from their holiday tour, as well as a spoof of “Jingle Bell Rock.” Snider’s Bel Canto sang a percussive “African Noel” and a Hebrew song. Many thanks to the performers, and to the teachers and technicians in the Performing Arts department, for bringing so much holiday spirit on campus! Harker News — January 05

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From Slovak Republic to Harker - Lenka Pelakova Enjoying U.S. Visit

“The long term goal of this program is to increase the understanding between people in the United States and Eastern Europe,” says Bill Bost, director of international programs. “Although we are doing it with only one student each year, the ripple effect touches many people.” An important component to the program is the host family, and this year junior Casey Near and her parents John Near, Harker

US history teacher, and Pam Dickinson, Harker’s director of communications, are Lenka’s host family. “Without a host family, the program cannot continue,” said Bost. “While we could physically put the student up in a room, the family experience is vital to making the project worthwhile to the exchange student and to the school.” This is Harker’s second year of participation in the program. Oliver Janik was Harker’s year-long student last year, hosted by the Polzin family (Tommy ‘04; junior Amanda; Shana, Gr. 5; parents Kathy and Steve) as featured in the Jan. ’04 edition of The Harker News. The Dickinson / Near family have nothing but positive things to say about the experience. “I have a lot of respect for Lenka,” said Casey. “I am amazed that she has come so far and is so open and willing to try new things and experience California.” Pam said she’s been particularly impressed with Lenka’s courage and adaptability. “At seventeen years old to pack two small bags, leave her home and family and travel halfway around the world to stay for a year with a family she had never met - and to study at a challenging school like Harker in a non-native language - is a

“Lenka is so well integrated with the group that she seems like a typical American teenager.” testimony to her determination and grit,” she laughed. “To top it off, ﬂying to California from Slovakia was her very ﬁrst plane trip ever.” Lenka said that the logistics were really the only frightening aspect of her journey here. “I was afraid that the airport custom people would have problems with my papers, and until the end I was afraid I forgot some really important form at home!” As for the wonderful opportunity to learn from each other, one thing Casey has learned is that “there

are so many experiences that are the same between our two countries!” Pam is enjoying “butchering some perfectly good Slovak phrases,” and John noted that family discussions

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Harker’s International Programs provide rich experiences for students at all grade levels throughout the year to help prepare them for lives as true global citizens. One of the new features of this program is a year-long visit by a high school student from the Foreign Language Institute in the Slovak Republic, a program begun by U.S. foreign services ofﬁcer and Stanford graduate Art Breisky who lives in Slovakia and established a top-notch language school in the ancient walled city of Bardejov. The school sends a handful of top students to the States each year, and this year Lenka Pelakova was selected by Breisky and Diana Nichols to spend her senior year at Harker.

“I think that the biggest thing I learned is that I shouldn’t be afraid of challenges, and just take them, because what they can teach us is unforgettable and priceless.” around politics, U.S. history and ethics make for some great family debates. “I like the fact that Lenka has strong opinions and is not shy about sharing them. It’s what we encourage from our own students and it is certainly something I’ve come to expect from my own family, so she ﬁts right in.” Lenka agrees that much is similar here, but notes that “everything I’ve experienced here so far goes beyond my expectations.” Lenka said school is basically the same, although there is “more homework here and the students follow a set course together for much longer than at home.” Lenka is getting high praise from her teachers for her hard work and her contributions in classroom discussions and dynamics. She is particularly interested in art, and her art teacher Don Maxwell said, “Her painting class is all girls, and they have a great time talking with each other about their work, and other things that girls this age ﬁnd interesting. They also like to sing along with the radio, and actually they’re quite good,” he laughed. “Lenka is so well integrated with the group that she seems like a typical American teenager.” Her club and extracurricular activities include US after-school

art, Robotics Club, International Club and helping after-school art teacher Sylvia Beals at the Bucknall campus several days a week. “Lenka has a natural talent for working with children,” said Beals. “She is patient, capable of

breaking down tasks into chunks of information 1st thru 6th graders can handle and generates a warmth that our after-school artists are drawn to. Lenka is a true gem.” Bost adds, “We are fortunate to have a student of Lenka’s quality with us.” Lenka will undoubtedly return to Slovakia with much to share with her schoolmates, ensuring a continuation of this valuable Harker program. “I think that the biggest thing I learned is that I shouldn’t be afraid of challenges, and just take them, because what they can teach us is unforgettable and priceless.” Thanks for teaching us all something, too, Lenka! —Cathy Snider, US Music Teacher and HN Writer Harker News — January 05

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Swasti Sarma, student

■ Canned Food Drive – 1,058 pounds! The US sponsored a holiday food drive last month to beneﬁt the Second Harvest Food Bank. The ﬁnal count of all donations was a total of 1,058 pounds of food. Many thanks to all the students, faculty and parents who contributed to this worthy cause of bringing hope to the hungry, and congratulations to the freshman class for winning this year’s “Ultimate Giving” title!

■ Harker Students Receive Top Honors From City On Nov. 11 three Harker students, Greg Perkins, Alex Segal and Rohini Venkatraman, were recognized at the annual San Jose Veteran’s Day ceremony for their continued volunteer work with The Digital Clubhouse, which provides an outlet for young and older generations to collaborate capturing moments in history and producing digital stories that give voice to stories that may otherwise have been lost forever. Perkins’ mother, Diane Reese, commented, “It was a really great event this year. The stories were thematically tied and very moving. There were brief speeches from city council members and veterans, and the father of a soldier killed in Iraq read a poem that was very moving. [The students] have all been leaders in the program this year and are integral parts of the success of this event.” The Mercury News reported, “Many said the day wasn’t about the politics of war, the motives for sending soldiers into battle; it was about the rank-andﬁle men and women who serve in combat. For the Diane Reese, parent

■ Harker News Express We are now able to eliminate duplicate Harker News mailings to our families in a more efﬁcient manner with the help of student volunteers! Thank you to Dena Chen, Aneesh Donde, Lenka Pelakova, Andrew Tran, Heidi Wang, Jonathan Wang, and Mounica Yanamandala for helping us label and stuff last month’s newsletter envelopes. If you would like to be a part of the Harker News Express team, contact Jerusha Hew-Len at jerushah@harker.org.

service veteran participants of the Stories of Service project, most of them in their 70s and 80s, the war in Iraq puts particular urgency on them to make their own stories known by younger generations.” An 83 year-old veteran explained, “I did it because I want people to hear my story and wonder – especially now with Iraq – is it really worth it?” When Perkins was asked about his participation by a reporter, he replied, “It’s not my job to judge them for their service, but to resolve my own opinions and to let the veterans express themselves.” Congratulations to the Harker students who, amongst 17 other California students, received Presidential Gold Service Awards this year at the ceremony for their contributions.

Housing units. Students were instructed to be “shopping elves,” accountants, card-makers, and “delivery elves” after choosing items from individual wish lists. Presents ranged from socks, toiletries, calling cards, sleeping bags and gift cards to much more. The wish lists received were from teens and adults who have been admitted to the shelter for temporary housing. For Christmas, most of the recipients simply asked for basic necessities to keep them going each week as they work towards ﬁnding employment and returning to school – we often forget how important basic necessities are - items as simple as soap, shampoo, shaving kits, and even daily meals – to keep us warm and nourished. A total of 71 group gifts were delivered to EHC by the Harker “sleigh”at press time. ■ Giving Tree Project At press time the Key Club and Harker’s National Honor Society (NHS) chapter were wrapping and sorting gifts for families in need at the Family Giving Tree.

■ Christmas Giving Project – 71 Group Gifts Given This year 59 US adviser groups —Jaja Hsuan, US Community and the Counseling Department Service Director participated in the Christmas Giving Project to beneﬁt UPCOMING US SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES individuals at Sat. Jan. 22, 2005, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. the Emergency Second Harvest Food Bank, San Jose Housing Food sorting at the warehouse Consortium’s Youth Shelter Visit http://faculty.harker.org/JajaH/ for information. and Transitional

US Red Cross Club Leads LS Safety Awareness Program

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Paris Grabeel added, “I like to help people from drowning!” We applaud the following Red Cross members who have contributed to this worthwhile program: Mounica Yanamandala, Roshni Mehra,

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The US Red Cross Club is currently offering their skills as Safe Kids leaders to train LS students (Gr. 2-3) in safety awareness. The club officers, Ariane Vartanian, Alyssa Zachariah, Catherine Ho, Killy Biesele and Tara Chandra, maintain their training by attending Red Cross Chapter meetings and summer conferences. In addition to sharing current safety procedures with members, they have established a training program to educate our younger students in safety and emergency response. Through skits, demos, and games, the students learn important life-saving skills such as disaster preparation, rescue breathing, first aid, and fire safety. When students were asked why they chose to participate, Jithin Vellian explained, “I am taking Safe Kids because I thought it would help me learn to save people’s lives and also because I wanted to learn CPR.”

Meghana Dhar, Subha Gollakota, Ashley Yang, Michael Kim, Julia Havard, Christine Hsueh, Amira Valliani, Joanna Xu, Ayumi Funaki, Shivani Bhargava, Aline Zorian, and Chris Xiao. The Safe Kids workshops are offered weekly through the afterschool recreation program at Bucknall. For more information, contact Kim Coulter at kimc@harker.org.

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Mystery US student - thanks!

■ New US Club Boosts Support for Athletics There is added energy at Harker athletic events thanks to a spirited group of US students who have started a new group called The Athletic Club, or The A. C., formed to bolster support of US Harker athletics. “The goal of the club is to foster interest in Harker’s athletic teams among the Harker student body,” said US science teacher and club advisor Tim Woods. The A.C. has already participated in the Senior Night festivities for girls’ volleyball and boys’ football, helping honor Harker seniors by making signs and presenting ﬂowers. “We’ve been really successful so far, promoting more involvement from the students,” said club copresident Ariana Veraga, Gr. 12. In addition to their efforts aimed at increasing support, members of The A.C. will also seek to raise money to support Harker athletics, and they have designed T-shirts for club members that will be available for general purchase from Woods at timw@harker.org in January. Woods explained that the goal of The A.C. is to build school spirit and pride for the entire Harker family. “The organizers of the club envision a student body more spirited, active and interested in athletics, and that this will really help us all gain a stronger sense of community.”

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■ Terriﬁc Tapping Dancers of all skill levels were invited to daily tap dancing workshops at the Saratoga campus during the month of December. Independent choreographer Eric Carey and Harker student Debby

Liang, Gr. 12, a senior dance certiﬁcate candidate, led the workshops. Members of the JV Dance Troupe used the sessions to prepare for their holiday show, while new US dance students honed their skills in preparation for the Dec. 15 auditions for the Harker Conservatory’s production of “42nd Street.” ■ Improv at Coffee House The US Improv Club held a Improv Coffee House event in the FDR on Fri., Dec. 3, with students performing for the crowd of over 70 attendees. The Club’s performers that evening were: Gr. 12 – Gennady Erlikhman, Boris Federov, Alex Tearse-Doyle; Gr. 11 – Steven Boyle; Gr. 10 – Caitlin Contag, Robert LougheedLowe, Patrick Sweeney, and Dylan Syrett. Members of the audience were also invited to display their own talents during the “open mic” portion of the event. Bravo to all of the talented performers! ■ Music Students Attend Concerts Susan Nace’s The Study of Music classes attended the San Jose Chamber Music Society’s concert on Dec. 5 featuring Symphony Silicon Valley’s “Brass Plus” and the San Jose State University Choraliers, under the direction of Dr. Charlene Archibeque. The classes took a trip in September to hear the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The Study of Music ﬁeld trips are designed to present to students a variety of live musical experiences in the Bay Area arts community. ■ Math Students Compete Math teacher Carlynn Keilty and computer science teacher Dave Feinberg help interested Harker US students participate in math competitions around the state. Keilty, who reported on the recent competition results below, said that although there is a regular group of students who

US Harker Senate Debuts A new organization has emerged on the US campus – here’s a Q & A with ASB Vice President Amira Valliani, who tells us all about it: Q: What is the Senate? A: Harker might be a small school, but it’s a diverse one, especially in terms of student interests, and ASB has assembled a body that’s specifically made to represent this diversity. The Senate has two components. First, every member of the Senate has the opportunity to come to at least two Student Council meetings a year to discuss what’s going on with their clubs and to express any concerns or suggestions they have. That way, Student Council and ASB can more easily keep their fingers on the pulse of the student body as a whole. Second, the Senate will act as a think tank to come up with proposals on how to improve life at Harker. For instance, earlier this year, a lot of students were having trouble with the traffic coming into school in the mornings. This type of problem might be submitted to the Senate and each senator would be asked to come up with one possible solution. Student Council, with the help of the Senate, would then work towards implementing these solutions. Q: Who can be on the Senate? A: Each club on campus selects one student to represent it, and an additional five at-large participate, anyone is welcome to join in on any of several rounds throughout the year, so feel free to contact her at carlynnk@harker.org. In the first round of the Mandelbrot Contest, run by Greater Testing Concepts, junior Yi Sun was the only student to receive a per fect score on the national exam. Harker’s team is currently in second place nationally, and our regional team is currently ranked 15th with three more rounds to go. Sun also had the highest score of all contestants on the UCSB College of Creative Studies Contest qualifying exam, an exam which

members are selected by the Judiciary Committee through an application process. We’re confident that the JD can do a great job of choosing five students who can help mold the Senate into a body that really has a big impact on student life. Q: How did the Senate get started? A: The Senate originally got started last year when current senior Linda Yen suggested it to last year’s ASB President, Maya Hey ‘04. It was an experiment that worked, so ASB decided to bring it back this year, and I worked with all the class vice presidents to organize it so that it would become a body that stuck and have an enormous impact for years to come. So, it’s quickly coming into its own, and hopefully, soon it will become a major group of students on campus. Q: What do you hope the Senate will accomplish? A: In the long term, I hope the Senate will evolve into a cohesive student group that leaves a big mark on campus. I hope it will become a body that can work with Student Council to effectively tackle more amorphous and larger issues around campus, such as student stress. Most importantly, I hope the Senate will increase student involvement in the school. It should let students know that they can have their voices heard by the right people and that they can make a change. tests general math knowledge. We had several students qualify to enter the second round, and two students, Sun and Justin Chin, were among those to tie for second place on the Advanced Exam among the over 1,000 students participating. Harker also currently has one of the top scores after the first of six rounds of the California Mathematics League contest (CAMEL). The following Harker students achieved per fect scores: seniors Kevin Park, Lev Pisarsky and Justin Wu; juniors Neil Chao and Yi Sun; sophomores Harker News — January 05

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Congratulations to all our ﬁne mathematicians! ■ Harker Boasts Second Largest JSA Delegation at State Event Harker’s 63-student delegation at the Nov. 20-21 Junior State of America (JSA) Fall State event held in Santa Clara was the second largest representation of any school attending. The Harker students serving in high-ranking positions of the Golden Gate Region, Golden Gate Mayor Tara Chandra, Gr. 11, regional Senator Amira Valliani, Gr. 11, and chief-of-staff Natasha Sarin, Gr. 10, were all central to the planning and execution of the event that hosted more than 1,000 JSA members from all over Northern California. In addition, Shilpa Vadodaria, Gr. 11, served on the cabinet committee responsible for coordinating the moderators for the event. Three Harker students earned Best Speaker awards for speeches delivered during the event - Sheena Tomar, Gr. 12, Amit Mukherjee, Gr. 11, and Neil Shah, Gr. 9 - and Sarin’s writing talent was also prominently featured in the JSA’s quarterly newsletter. She wrote a cover story for the publication about her experience at the 2004 JSA Summer Program at Georgetown University, and another feature about the Harker JSA program. The Harker delegation included JSA advisor and US director of instructional technology Daniel Hudkins, US chemistry teacher Jennifer Owen and MS history teacher Pat White. Said Hudkins, “Pat White taught about history and politics to most of our current JSA members when they were in the MS, so she got to see how they ended up, and she absolutely loved watching her former students being politically active.” ■ Doctor Brings Sonogram to Science Class On Nov. 29 Dr. Madhur Bhatnager, an OB/GYN, visited Anita Chetty’s Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAPY) class to discuss fetal development and congenital abnormalities and the importance of ultrasound diagnosis for treatment. She brought a pregnant patient and an ultrasound machine with her so the students could see the fetus (they all got a picture!) and use doppler to hear the fetal Harker News — January 05

heart rate. “When we ﬁrst looked at the sonogram it was hard to believe that we were actually looking at a live human baby,” said senior Eric Gavarre. “The best part was listening to the fetus’s heart beat, which was truly amazing. However, when the doctor showed us the tape of the fetal abnormalities, it was heartbreaking.” ■ Teacher Takes Harker Spanish Class Some Harker US Spanish students may have seen an unusual addition to one of their classes, taking notes and raising a hand to answer a question – a teacher! Diana Moss said, “One of my star Spanish 1 students is none other than the amazing Dr. Jennifer Owen! After traveling in South America last summer, she got motivated to try and learn Spanish. She attends every day and takes all the tests - it’s a lot of fun for the other students to see one of their teachers struggling along with them to master new vocab and tricky grammar.” This isn’t the ﬁrst time a Harker teacher has joined students in the classroom. Last year, physics teacher Lisa Radice audited David Takamoto’s architecture class. “It was a really amazing experience, not only because of the concepts that I learned and the models I built, but also because I was reminded of what it is like to be a student - something that teachers sometimes forget,” she said. So don’t be surprised if you hear about other teachers doing a little professional development - right here on campus! ■ Students Travel to LA for Body Worlds Exhibit On Dec. 5 students from Anita Chetty’s Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAPY) class traveled to the California Science Center in Los Angeles for the Body Worlds Exhibit, viewing an exhibition of more than 200 real human cadavers that had been preserved by a unique process called plastination, and

displayed to reveal the organs, muscles and bones that make up our internal anatomy. Harker’s HAPY class is a full-year course that emphasizes the structure and function of the tissues, organs and systems that make up the human body. ■ Update Debate! Held on ﬁve campuses in Northbrook, Illinois, the Glenbrooks, hosted by both Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South High Schools, is one of the year’s largest and most difﬁcult speech and debate tournaments in the nation, attracting high school students from all over the country to compete. Schools are restricted as to the number of students who can be entered in each division of debate. Harker entered the maximum number in each debate division and was given an extra entry in the varsity Lincoln-Douglas division. This year, the students were treated to a special visit by Joe Gill, assistant head of non-academic affairs, and Kevin Williamson, dean of students, who were on hand to witness the success of the Harker students. Congratulations to all! NOVICE POLICY DEBATE: Freshmen Aneesh Goel and Neelaysh

Vukkadala advanced to quarterfinals, earning a 7th place seeding after 6 rounds of preliminary competition. JUNIOR-VARSITY POLICY DEBATE: Meghana Dhar, Gr. 11, and Annelise Han, Gr. 10, also earned a 7th place seeding after 6 rounds of preliminary competition. Meghana and Annelise advanced to quarter-finals before losing to Maine East. Meghana was recognized as 14th speaker out of a total pool of 136 debaters. JUNIOR VARSITY LINCOLNDOUGLAS: Sophomores Carolyn Wang and Chris Xiao both achieved winning records of 4-2 after 6 preliminary rounds of competition. Both were seeded 19th and 18th speakers, respectively, out of a field of 80 debaters, and narrowly missed the cut to the field of 16 competitors. VARSITY LINCOLN-DOUGLAS: Alex Hsu, Gr. 12, and Siddarth Satish, Gr. 11, both earned winning 4-3 records, one victory shy of the necessary 5-2 record needed to make the first cut from 202 competitors to the field of 32. In other news, Harker debaters attended the Ohio Valley Classic Debate Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky Dec. 4 and 5 and earned the following recognitions: NOVICE POLICY DEBATE (84 competitors): 1st Place Speaker Jay Shah, Gr. 9; 6th Place Speaker - Tonia Sun, Gr. 9; and 7th Place Speaker - Stephanie Lio, Gr. 9. continued on p. 18

Chris Daren

Justin Chin and Tiffany June Lin; freshman Spencer Liang.

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Over 330 students attended the 6th annual Winter Ball, organized by the Classes ‘06 and ‘07, and graciously hosted by Harker parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kechung Cu (Kristie ‘07, Jessica ‘04, Jennifer MS ‘92) at their Woodside estate.

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continued from p. 17 VARSITY LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE (57 competitors): Junior Amira Valliani advanced to quarterﬁnals and missed capturing a TOC leg by one ballot. Director of Forensics Matthew Brandstetter also mentioned that juniors Sean Turner and Meghana Dhar, and seniors Nilay Gandhi and Arjun Naskar successfully submitted 500-word essays on the topic of “States’ Rights” and have been chosen to participate in the Fourth Annual Duke Moot Court Tournament held Feb. 25-27 on Duke’s campus in Durham, North Carolina. “We are looking forward to an exciting tournament this year; invitations have been extended to 45 teams of bright, talented individuals from across the U.S. and Canada,” said Brandstetter.

■ Antarctic Explorer Shares Life Lessons The US Distinguished Speaker Series in December featured explorer Sunniva Sorby who spoke about her four-member team who made history in the winter of 1992-93 when they became the ﬁrst women to reach the South Pole on foot. ■ US Holiday Assembly US students gathered in the gym for a spirited holiday assembly on Dec. 10 featuring entertainment by US singing groups Downbeat and Bel Canto, and the US, MS and LS Dance Troupes. Gail Palmer’s LS Dance Troupe was adorable with “Run, Run Rudolph” and the US Varsity Troupe did a funky version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and a “Santa Swing.” The Junior Varsity Troupe showed off their new tapping skills to

“Winter Wonderland.” Many thanks to choreographers Laura Rae and Adrian Bermudez. Downbeat, led by Laura Lang-Ree and Catherine Snider, reprised four numbers from their holiday tour: including a spoof of “Jingle Bell Rock.” Snider’s Bel Canto also performed a rhythmic “African Noel” and a beautiful Hebrew ballad. The US Troupes and singing groups also performed later in the day for LS, and for the MS Assembly on Dec. 9. Thanks to the Performing Arts department for keeping the hits coming!

Mark Tantrum - both photos

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Christmas Carol: A Victorian Delight for the Whole Family! Director Jeffrey Draper and the 62 member cast provided four nights of fabulous theatre for the sold-out crowds Nov. 17-20 of this year’s fall play “A Christmas Carol.” A special congratulations to Draper, all of the performers and to student adaptors Genna Erlikhman, Boris Federov and Kamilla Khaydarov. Kudos also to Cantilena director Susan

Nace for arranging, composing and providing the incidental music, and to Technical Director Brian Larsen and Set Designer Paul Vallerga, who made Victorian London utterly believable (see collage facing page). Behind the scenes, crew Ben Carpenter, Andrew Hospodor, Cassie Kerkhoff, Kamilla

Khaydarov, Meera Kler, Shannon Tan, Esther Teplitsky, Kit Schimandle, and Pam Williams created Victorian London in front of our eyes, complete with fog! Ushers Dena Chen, Robert Oh, Natasha Wu and Ashley Yang helped the audience with tickets and seats. Larsen and Vallerga spent many long hours creating the magical set, assisted by the crew as well as Jessica Dickenson Goodman, Ben Englert, Audrey Kwong, Robert LougheedLowe, Patrick Sweeney, and Vyvy Trinh.

Mark Tantrum - all photos

Special mention to Cantilena senior Kathy Peng, who served as the assistant conductor for the show, responsible for giving starting pitches and cuing all of the singers’ entrances. Music director Nace says, “She

is an awesome leader and a solid musician.” And the parents! Small bags of potpourri, ﬂower posies, cinnamon stick ornaments and candles, not to mention the meat pies, high tea, and warm drinks, all contributed to the ambience. Thank you to these parents for making such beautiful treats: Anu Barman, Anita Ahuja, Cherrie Blair, Violet Boyle, Joan Brooks, Brenda Davis, Maura Donohue, Magdalena Enea, Kim Gudmundson, Reeta Gupta, Jeannine Hammersley, SueJane Han, Joan Havard, Eva Hsu, Nelia Ishisoko, Sandy Johnson, Susan Lee, Amanda Lundie, Michelle Maxey, Melody Moyer, Angela Nolan, Kathy Polzin, Alice Schwartz, Janet Smith, Carol Underwood, Angela Williams, Cindy Wong, and Bella Yanovsky. Draper says, “Without the parents’ support, there never would have been a pre-show that allowed the audience to experience a Victorian Dickens Faire - a unique experience that so many have told me they really enjoyed. Nancy Reiley and the parent volunteers are a wonderful support system that helps makes the Harker Conservatory a one-of-a-kind training program for our students.” Many thanks to the cast, crew and volunteers for such an outstanding launch of the 2004 holiday season! Harker News — January 05

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Harker News â&#x20AC;&#x201D; January 05

arts

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update HARKER HISTORICAL LEGEND

Get Re-connected! This year, take the time to re-register on the Harker alumni Web site, and confirm that we have your current address information. Think about getting involved again with Harker by joining a committee, helping plan your class year reunion or attending the Fashion Show in Feb., the Dance Show in March or the US Musical in April. Contact me for more information if you would like to help out or be involved with one of these events or meetings:

MN Manzanita Hall 1893-1919 MH Miss Harker School 1904-1959 PA

• The forming of an alumni committee consisting of several members from each graduating class • Class reunion planning meetings for class years ending in 0 or 5 (1970, 1980, 1975, 1985, etc.) • Selling or purchasing tickets for Fashion Show tables by college or graduation year • Alumni parent coffees and pot luck dinners (tell your parents!) This is the retirement year for Howard and Diana Nichols as they both retire in June 2005. Take a minute to send in your favorite memory of one or both of them. Visit the Harker home page at www.harker.org and click on the “Tribute to the Nichols” link. Harker alumni include any student who attended Palo Alto Military Academy, Miss Harker School, Harker Day School, Harker Academy and The Harker School. The alumni program is growing and I am very interested in hearing your ideas, so contact me with any suggestions for the program. Please remember to tell any former classmates you see to register on the Harker alumni Web site. Happy New Year!

Terry Walsh, Alumni Programs Director 408.345.9205, terryw@harker.org, www.harkeralumni.org

’65

vHD Alumni Steve Bitker

and Steve Sukovez reconnected over lunch after 41 years! The two were classmates at Harker Day School from kindergarten through fourth grade, when Sukovez moved to the South Bay. They hadn’t seen or talked with each other since 1963! But forty-one years later, they had lunch together at Le Cheval in Oakland. Bitker laughed, “This must be some kind of Harker two-person reunion record!” Sukovez is also the father of alumna Ashley Sukovez, ’96, who is also currently working in Harker’s Office of Communications. HA Delia Stallings, now Temi Stallings, graduated from UCLA with a degree in industrial design and from the Academy of Art in San Francisco with a degree in interior design. She is currently self-employed as an interior designer with Design Decisions. “Being in boarding school at such a young age taught me to be disciplined and independent,” wrote Stallings. She would like to hear from Akiko Murphy, Edrice Angry, Kelly Turner, Linda Flick and Paul Aliason.

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HA Tyrone Easter writes from Elk Grove, CA where he is working in construction.

HA Ken Steffen is the owner of California Grill & Rotisserie in Novato. Steffen said he had lots of good memories that included afterschool sports and staying in the dorms.

’83

’84

HA Anna George is a property manager living in London.

’85

HA Jayant Lulla checked in with an update of her address.

HA Kaja Baloun received her BA from Macalester College and masters from UC Santa Cruz. She is currently a software engineer.

’86

HA Jennifer Liss Murphy writes from Colorado where she is selfemployed as a children’s photographer. She said she learned about friendship at Harker, and is still in contact with Sara Hollinbeck Anderson and Maggie Hollinbeck. She would like to hear about Negar Sepehrdad, Becky George, Jennifer Scarbrough and Carmel Campos. HA Frances Lau graduated from UC Berkeley and is currently a registered nurse at Kaiser in Oakland.

’87

HA Julianna Orban graduated from Santa Clara University and is

currently an IT consulting manager. HA Shami Sudanagunta Ravi graduated with a BS in genetics from UC Davis and an MS in genetic counseling from UC Berkeley. She is currently a genetic counselor with UCSF. Her memories include Tracey Michaelis Clifford, a housemother in the dorm. “Harker taught me discipline in the dorm by waking up every morning at 6:45 a.m. to scrub my sink and make the perfect bed. Harker gave me the drive to always excel academically and personally,” she said. She is in contact with Kaanji Irby and would like to hear from Michelle Nguyen and Tami Engdol. HA Will Redfield checks in from Chicago. He received his BS from Georgetown University and is currently working in sales. He is in contact with Michael Blum and would like to know about Todd Lee, Derek Brosterhaus and Kenneth Lippee. HA Seema Roy Mulji sent in an update with her current address. HA Ian Forrest graduated from USC with a BA in economics and received his MBA from Drucker Graduate School of Management. He lives in Florida and works for Verizon Communications.

’88

Palo Alto Military Academy 1919-1972

HD Harker Day School 1959-1972 HA Harker Academy 1973-1992 HS The Harker School 1993-Present

HA Jamie Kayser graduated from UCLA with a BA in fine art and is currently a student at Loyola Law. “Who can forget Mrs. Harp or Dr. Dutcher?” said Kayser. HA Eric Xanthopoulos received his BS from UC San Diego, his JD from Stanford and his MD from Columbia University. He is currently an attorney. He writes, “Dr. Dutcher and Ms. Harp were particularly inspirational instructors. Misters Gelineau and Nichols were strict but fair administrators. My experiences of advanced math, science and writing training in sixth through eighth grades facilitated the transition to high school.” He is periodically in contact with Jonathan Lee, Amy Ward and Benjamin Chen, and would like to know the whereabouts of Jason Jordan and Harold Chow. HA Ardi Baramuli checks in from Indonesia. He received a degree in international business from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, and his MS in finance from Strathclyde University in Glasgow. He is currently a management associate with Standard Chartered Bank. Baramuli says he remembers, “Joe Rosenthal because he was cool, fun, understanding, helpful, and a real ‘father figure’ for the kids and Pam Dickinson for making our weekends so much more colorful.” He added, “My experience at Harker has helped me become independent and responsible for myself from a young age. I remember it being a wonderful ‘home away from home’ where there was always something to do to keep us kids active.” He would like to hear from David Garcia, Asim

’92

Harker News — January 05

Momin, Sharon Ho, Jeremy Palmer, Wayan Garvey and Kevin Liao. HS Christopher Jou graduated from Oregon Institute of Technology. He currently works in customer service in Oregon. He remembers, “Harker Boarding Program’s family-like environment” and added, “Harker has shaped the life that I live today.”

’93

’94

HS Sandeep Birla checks in from Fremont with an updated address.

HS Aaron Green updates his address from San Francisco. HS Kenneth Kang received his BS from Stanford and is currently a software engineer for eBay. HS Jooh Park received a BS in finance from Washington University in St. Louis. He is living in Seoul, Korea. Park remembers, “Weekend trips, Lani Potts and trips to Yaohan, Mr. Reynolds, basketball, Pam (Dickinson) and Curt (Head). He would like to hear from former classmates Julio Carta, Lance Tate and Yong Yeh. HS Jasona Prowse graduated with a BA in sociology from UC Santa Cruz and received her special education teaching credential from CSU Monterey Bay. She is currently

update a teacher for the Monterey Office of Education. Of her memories she writes, “Mrs. Harp, the best English teacher ever, prepared me for a life of writing and teaching English. The Washington D.C. trip was amazing! I have many hobbies that I developed at Harker: art, drama, dance, sports, speech and debate, etc. Harker provided fabulous academics and skills that helped me excel in everything.” She is still in contact with Leyna Cotran and Marissa Nebenzahl. HS Carolyn Starrett graduated from Brown University and is currently a product manager living in San Francisco.

Harker News — January 05

It’s not too late to purchase a ticket for this year’s Fashion Show. Gather together some classmates, invite your mom, or bring a date to see the Harker students, faculty and parents modeling or performing in this incredible show. Last year over 16 alumni and over 30 alumni parents attended one or both of the shows. Alumnus Michael Leonard ’04 will be a model, and this is a good chance to see Howard & Diana Nichols walk the runway for the last time before retirement.

HS Elizabeth Keezer graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in global studies. She is currently working for Score Educational Center.

’96

HS Smita Mittal received her BA in science from UC San Diego and is currently working for AOL. HS Daniel Ahn received his BA from Princeton University and is currently working on his PhD at Harvard.

’97

HS Stavros Conom is studying communications at Santa Clara University. “The academic intensity at Harker, which way surpassed

high school and most of college, has really made a difference,” said Conom.

family picnic and Mrs. Harp.

HS Vincent Yau is studying biology at Stanford.

HS Pramodh Ramnath is studying at UC Riverside. His memories include teachers Ms. Joanne Mason and Mr. Jeff Sutton.

HS Alex Sung is currently working on his BS at UC Davis. His memories include Mr. Hawley, Mr. Cutler, Mrs. Mittlestet, Ms. Gilbert, Mr. Near and Mr. Fisico.

’02

Alumna Visit

HS Georgia Gia Manry is currently studying journalism at Pacific University in Oregon. HS Alex Iftimie is pursing debate at USC and recently did well at the Wake Forest National Debate Tournament.

’03

Mark Tantrum

Alumna Katie Chou MS ’95 returned to Harker in November in her U.S. Marines uniform as a guest speaker to U.S. history teacher (and Katie’s mom) Carol Zink’s classes. After Harker, Chou attended Palo Alto High School and Northwestern University, graduating with a dual degree in industrial engineering and manufacturing engineering through the ROTC program. Zink’s students submitted questions ahead of time to let Chou know what topics were of most interest to them. Chou gave the students advice on preparing in high school for college, her involvement with ROTC in college, and explanations of her training, her duties and what lies ahead for her. Alumni director Terry Walsh brought out the MS ‘95 yearbook and students could see that, although she was now a bit

Alumni Important Part of Upcoming Fashion Show JOIN US!

taller, she looked just the same! At lunchtime former teachers had a chance to visit with Chou, who is currently home on leave from her first duty station in Hawaii. If the war continues it’s probable she will be deployed to Iraq. “We wish Katie the best of luck and look forward to her returning to Harker for other visits and future reunions with her classmates,” said Walsh.

’04

HS Amanda Bose is studying at Cornell University.

HS Sridhar Chadalavada - Teacher John Hawley reported that last year’s Medusa Mythology Exam results have finally been announced, and Chadalavada won the second place Apollo award, earning him $550 and having his winning essay published in the Medusa newsletter. HS Laena Keyashian checked in from University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Her memories will always include the

HS Trinh Nguyen is studying computer engineering at UC Irvine.

HS Lisa Schwebke is studying music at New York University. Schwebke writes, “I loved being a part of the Conservatory. Teachers that come to mind are Ms. LangRee, Ms. Snider, Mr. Draper, Mr. Larsen, Ms. Mittelstet - they helped me decide which path I wanted to take after high school, and I love them all for that! I received a more than outstanding academic education, and was introduced to music through the Conservatory program.“ HS John Tepperman is studying at Dartmouth College and recently enjoyed doing some interviews for the Dartmouth radio station election coverage. HS Albert Wu is studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder. HS Zakaman Wu is studying at USC. His favorite memory is “Coronado ’04.” He said, “Harker prepared me for college and allowed me the opportunity to create strong friendships.”

Lauren Gutstein, student

ALUMNI

update Alumna Archive Donation

Mark Tantrum

The Harker archives now include one of the first US cheerleader uniforms in its collection. Alumna Elnora Hawley ’02 generously donated her uniform and pom-poms to the archive department. The uniform will be stored and preserved to be put on display at future alumni reunions and events. If alumni have any items that you think may be of interest to the Harker archives, please contact Terry Walsh at TerryW@harker.org or the archivist, Sue Smith at SusanS@harker.org.

Alumni Participate in Recent Picnic Alumni attended this year’s Homecoming and Family & Alumni Picnic. These two events give alumni a chance to see their former teachers and classmates and to take a trip down memory lane as they roam around the

unveiling of the Class of 2004 senior bricks. These inscribed bricks have been purchased by parents to honor their graduating students and are placed in the pathway that leads into Graduates’ Grove, a redwood grove next to Dobbins Hall where

Class of ’94 Mini-Reunion

mates that they passed on to the alumni office: Jae Pasari is currently a biology teacher on the East Coast; Marcus Zachariah is

campus. Former boarder students Quan Pham Howard ’79 and Marta Marraccini ’84 got a chance to visit with Cindy Kerr who was the upstairs girls’ housemother when they were here and is currently the MS division head. Terry Walsh-all photos

attending medical school at UCSF; Dana Hahn works as a “script doctor” polishing, editing and working on major screenplays; Andrew Sun is attending Santa Clara University Law School; Kenneth Kang is working as an engineer in the Bay Area; Tuan Pham and Gaurav Singh are attending grad school at UCSF and Wajahat Ali is currently attending UC Davis Law School and promoting a play he wrote. For more information about the play, go to www.domesticcrusaders.com. In addition to the above, also in attendance were Brad Keller, Carolyn Starrett, Janet Chawla, Leyna Cotran, Allen Gilliland, Linda Huynh, Aaron Green, Ricky Cosentino and Marvin Balaoro. There is talk of another reunion over the holidays or later this year, so register as alumni on the Harker Web site so we can keep you informed!

alumni events take place. The bricks will be there for graduates to see at future Harker events.

Alumna in the News ’90 HA Sehba Zhumkhawala has currently been in the news as founder, principal and study-skills teacher for the new KIPP Heartwood Academy in San Jose’s low income Alum Rock district. KIPP schools (Knowledge Is Power Program) were started in Houston about 10 years ago by two young teachers who believed lowincome, minority students could excel with intensive teaching in fifth Joanne Jacobs

Rebecca Esquivel-both photos

Harker class of ’94 held an informal gathering in October, the night before this year’s Harker Family & Alumni Picnic, with about 22 former classmates meeting to reminisce and catch up with each other at the Campbell Brewing Company. The minireunion was organized by Jason Reid, Josh Covey and Mike Saltzman who sent e-mails to classmates registered in the Harker alumni database, and to those whose personal e-mails they had themselves. There were some brief updates on some of the class-

There was a special event at the picnic as alumni and their families gathered together for the

through eighth grades. KIPP Heartwood is the 38th KIPP School nationwide and the 10th in California. Zhumkhawala earned her degree in English and psychology from Berkeley and her MA in policy analysis and evaluation from Stanford. Some of her Harker teachers hope to visit her school this year as part of their professional development. Harker News — January 05

behind

the scenes

Hardworking Advancement Team Helps Build Community

With a community as vital as Harker, this is no small task. Rosenthal, who has been with Harker since 1982 and was once Harker’s boarding director, leads a busy department of eight talented individuals and he was eager to focus attention on his staff - some of whom have been with him for many years - who do so much to serve the Harker community. Rosenthal noted that an exciting new addition to the advancement team this year is Jennifer Helmonds, CFRE, who, as the new director of The Harker Fund, will directly oversee the majority of department activities. “My job entails significantly building the school’s annual fund, leading event-driven fundraising, increasing financial support from the community for important school programs, and strengthening the connection that parents, students, alumni and the surrounding community have to The Harker School,” said Helmonds, who has been busy getting acquainted with the Harker community and its activities. One of the first things she said impressed her was how enthusiastic Harker students are to learn and to achieve, but then meeting parents, teachers, counselors, administrators and staff, helped her understand why. “This incredible community is so focused and dedicated to providing each child the finest education possible,” she remarked. “The teachers are not only experts in Harker News — January 05

their ﬁelds, they are passionate about their subjects, which makes them incredibly effective teachers. And many parent volunteers are at Harker early in the morning and late at night, working hard to raise - or save - needed funds to provide the extra programs and services that give Harker’s students that margin of excellence.” Bran-Dee Torres, who joined Harker in 2001, held the positions of advancement associate and donor relations manager before recently being promoted to the position of director of annual giving. Torres is responsible for introducing fundraising programs to the Harker community, stewarding all gifts to the school and leading the Development Council (DC), Harker’s 80-member team of distinguished K-12 parent volunteers. Torres explained that the DC has set this ﬁscal year’s goal to increase parent participation and to raise $1 million for our Annual Giving Campaign. “We call it the ‘margin of excellence’ since the annual campaign provides funds for our student programs, and is the primary avenue for raising funds on top of tuition to support all of Harker’s great extra programs,” said Torres.

Front Row: Lynette Stapleton, Nancy Reiley, Bran-Dee Torres, Jerusha Hew Len, Maria Nguyen, Terry Walsh. Back Row: Joey Tyndal, Joe Rosenthal, Jennifer Helmonds. bunk bed, giggling despite their language barriers long after ‘lights out!’” Alumni Programs Director Terry Walsh has been at Harker since 1979, working most of those years in the boarding program. She joined the advancement staff in 2002 to ﬁll the new part-time position of alumni director (rounding out the rest of her day in the Ofﬁce of Communications as assistant editor of The Harker News), and has managed the colossal job of establishing an alumni program that includes all the schools in Harker’s history – Miss Harker’s

“...our purpose is to continually nurture a sense of community between students, parents, grandparents, alumni and the entire Harker family.” Community Relations Director Nancy Reiley joined Harker in 1996 as Rosenthal’s assistant in the boarding program, and is now primarily responsible for the coordination of Harker’s parent volunteer program, recruiting, training and acclimating the volunteers. Reiley manages an enormous group of over 600 parent volunteers, and “she does an outstanding job of coordinating, improving and recognizing [their] efforts,” said Rosenthal. Reiley enjoys the memories that her office in Manzanita Hall evokes. “It tickles me a bit to now find myself back in the corridors of the old dorm building where I first started at Harker in an office which once housed two exuberant young ladies stacked one above the other in a

School, Palo Alto Military Academy, Harker Day School, Harker Academy and the present Harker School. “Terry has such a history at Harker, and has really been here since the alumni program’s infancy,” said Rosenthal. “She somehow takes these separate and distinct groups of alumni and makes them feel connected.” Some of Walsh’s major projects are bringing alumni back for Homecoming and the annual picnic, and organizing class reunions and the new Back from College Day, where graduates return to speak about their college experiences. Lynette Stapleton, an alumni parent and current Harker board member, has been the coordinator for the Annual Harker Family & Alumni Picnic since 1989 and

Mark Tantrum

Harker’s outstanding advancement ofﬁce makes tremendous contributions to both the academic and community fabric of the Harker School. From development and community relations, to alumni programs and information systems, their efforts affect nearly every aspect of the Harker experience. “In addition to advancing student programs and providing school facilities and equipment, our purpose is to continually nurture a sense of community between students, parents, grandparents, alumni and the entire Harker family,” explained Executive Director of Advancement Joe Rosenthal, who also received his CFRE (Certiﬁed Fund Raising Executive) credential this past summer.

is responsible for coordinating the vast committee of parent volunteers of this beloved event. Maria Nguyen, director of information systems and with Harker since 1999, designs and maintains the entire donor database, keeping track of and collecting all donor information and preferences, such as whether a donor wishes to be anonymous. Joey Tyndal joined Harker in 2000 as Rosenthal’s administrative assistant. “Parents love dealing with her because she is genuinely interested in helping people,” said Rosenthal. In addition to her administrative duties, Tyndal also helps coordinate Harker’s Mentoring Program and Summer Internship Program. Jerusha Hew Len, advancement coordinator since 2002, generates and processes letters of acknowledgement and thanks for donations received by the advancement ofﬁce, and lends her considerable talents helping with the database and creating invitations for various advancement events. While we all enjoy such annual events as the Harker Fashion Show and Family and Alumni Picnic – and while our students enjoy the margin of excellence that a successful Annual Giving Campaign brings to them – the hard-working advancement ofﬁce is happy to make it all happen. “We see the potential of these children around us each day,” said Rosenthal. Many thanks to our great advancement team and to the many parents who support their efforts for the school. —Ali Abdollahi, HN Writer

FROM

the archives

Diana Nichols: A Vision of Global Learning & Technology focusing on environmental science and computer technology. The Tamagawa partnership has a 10-year history of exchange visits - a group of Tamagawa students traditionally comes to Yosemite to study trees in the fall and Harker students visit Japan to hike in Mount Hakone National Park in the spring. More recently, the program has included teacher exchanges in social studies, P.E. and art, which affords teachers from both schools the opportunity to explore distance learning and to understand the challenges of teaching in other countries.

preceded by a visit from Diana and a delegation of Harker faculty and staff to ensure success. The ﬁrst such partnership began with The Tamagawa School in Japan in 1992. The “Our Trees” program grew out of the desire to create a serious academic program that could bring children together from around the world. Today, sixth graders use e-mail exchanges, threaded discussion bulletin boards, PowerPoint presentations, and videoconferencing, to communicate with students in another country. Eighth graders participate in the “Population” project, an interdisciplinary project

Harker Archives

Diana’s passion for these programs has always been apparent. Trips to Asia were punctuated by meetings with inﬂuential leaders in technology. The chairman of Dae Woo, Kim Teacher computer training in 1993 (Diana, second Woo Chung, from left). hosted Harker on a trip to Korea. Howard and In the early 1990s, under Diana’s Diana often met with parents of direction, Harker began to explore our international student/boarders global learning projects. These when traveling abroad, and valued partnerships were carefully their opinions as Harker forged selected, and were always

“Diana is one of those rare individuals who is a true visionary.” Meanwhile, technology was rapidly changing, and under Diana’s guidance, Harker was there to meet the challenge. A Parent Technology Advisory Committee and a Director of Instructional Technology were added in the 1990s. As Sharon Meyers remembers, “In 1993, when many schools (Harker included) were using Apple II’s and nary a teacher had a computer on the classroom desk for daily work, Diana saw a different sort of future. She saw classrooms with a computer on every teacher’s desk, clusters of computers in the room for individual or small group enrichment, and computer labs where both students and teachers could learn the skills of the future…”

First research visit to Tamagawa in 1992, resulting in exchange program between the two schools that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

The Harker News is published nine times per year by the Harker Ofﬁce of Communications. Current and archived issues are also available on the Parent Home Page on the Harker Web site at www.harker.org. Editor: Pam Dickinson; Asst. Editors: Terry Walsh, Crystal Boyd; Photo Editor: Mark Tantrum; Contributors: Ali Abdollahi, Cathy Snider, Jaja Hsuan, Laura Vandendries, Chris Daren, Nick Gassmann; Printing: Harker Copy Shop; Mailing Coordinators: Ashley Sukovez, Jerusha Hew Len

head with new international programs. The trips were always fascinating, if intense. Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, recalls how, after a hectic eight-day trip, the Harker entourage feasted their eyes on a familiar looking Kentucky Fried Chicken in the train station in Japan! Diana remembered that experience and used her insight to make international visitors more comfortable when they came to Harker.

In the late 1990s, networks were installed

The Harker School is a K-12 independent, co-ed, college-prep school.

connecting Harker sites; new computer labs were built and equipped, software was purchased, and teachers received training on how to enhance their lessons with technology. Modems were replaced with cables, which eventually became wireless networks. Diana fully supported these advancements, writing in the fall 1998 newsletter, that they were essential to “ensure that our students remain on the cutting edge.” Her vision understood, the campus now has eight computer labs, a wireless network at Saratoga, and all US students equipped with laptops beginning in fall 2005.

Mark Tantrum

The Harker computer science program began in 1980 (way ahead of its time for a K-8 program), with a few Commodore computers, a printer, and a ﬂoppy disk drive. Just a year later, Harker offered classes in programming languages Basic and Pilot, for seventh and eighth graders. By 1986, fourth through sixth graders were using these new tools to create autobiographies and recipe books. By 1988, computer science classes were offered to all 3rd – 8th graders, and the computer lab was open after school for interested K-2nd graders.

Signing of the sister school agreement with the Shanghai World Foreign Language Middle School during their 2003 visit. Our international partnerships have expanded to include India, China, Australia, and Japan. Over the years, the “Our Trees” and the “Population” projects have provided hundreds of students the opportunity to use technology to better understand the global environment. As published in the autumn 1999 Harker Newsletter, Diana believed “the aim of the International Program is not just the activity of an academic project, or a wonderful opportunity of exchange, but the development of new friendships, which make the world just a little smaller.”

Grades K-6: 4600 Bucknall Rd., San Jose CA 95130 Phone 408.871.4600 • Fax 408.871.4320 Grades 7-12: 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose CA 95129 Phone 408.249.2510 • Fax 408.984.2325

The Harker School does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, athletics or other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices on the basis of age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or nonjob-related handicap. Harker News — January 05