2005 November Harker News by The Harker School

november 2005 (VOL. 12, NO. 2)

M O N T H L Y

inside

Polar Picnic Recap .............. 6 AlphaSmar t Makes Donation to LS ........................... 4 & 9 Int’l Programs Update ....... 12 Nat’l Merit Results ........... 16

harker.org Picnic Photo Booth Photos online - go to your division home page for link!

events US Conservatory Presents

the

comedy of

eRRORS

Thurs. - Sat., Nov. 3 - 5 All Shows 8 p.m. US Gym • 500 Saratoga Ave. Tickets: Adults $12 Seniors/Students (K-Gr.6) $10 Buy tickets at US Bookstore or e-mail tickets@harker.org For more details see page 2.

Harker News — November 05

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

Girls Volleyball Achieves CCS Ranking - a Harker First! The US varsity girls volleyball team became the first ever Harker athletic team to be ranked in the Central Coast Section (CCS) top 15, ranking 14th in the San Jose Mercury News poll released Oct. 5. The team improved to number 13 in the poll released Oct. 12. “This is huge for our school,” said K-8 athletic director and US varsity girls volleyball coach Teresa Smith. “The ranking will bring more attention to our school, and will bring more good players to Harker who want to be part of a ranked program.” The volleyball team earned their top 15 ranking after an impressive win over San Benito High School, whose team was ranked 5th in the CCS at the time. Said Smith, “We have played a lot tougher schedule this year to create an opportunity for us to get noticed.” Many years of dedication by Harker’s players and coaches contributed to the team’s recent accomplishments. Former athletic director and current MS Dean of Students Jack Bither said, “It didn’t happen overnight. It’s the manifestation of years of progress. No shortcuts. They earned it. They are now among the elite.” Head of School Chris Nikoloff said, “Our team has worked very hard. We’re proud of the girls and all that they’ve been able to accomplish.” “I respect and admire what the kids

have accomplished this year. They set a fine example for the entire athletic program,” said athletic director Dan Molin. “Coach Smith has done a wonderful job with her girls and has an admirable program from the middle school level to varsity.” Team co-captain Sylvia Schmidt, Gr. 12, said, “I love the team, and they’re my best friends. I’m so proud of us.” Smith said that beyond the impressive play of Sylvia Schmidt and younger sister Tanya Schmidt, Gr. 10, she is also impressed by her two freshmen starters, Nikki Woods and Candace Silva-Martin. “They have brought a very

high level of play to the team in just their first year,” said Smith. “However,” she continued, “I am most impressed with my seven seniors, who have sacrificed for the volleyball program for the last four years, and who have laid the foundation for what has become a topnotch volleyball program.” The seniors are: Schmidt, Amanda Polzin, Mariah Bush, Karen Chiu, Sharon Her, Jamie Wei and Candace Chang. (Some of the information in this story was gathered from a story written by Karen Chiu, Gr. 12, in the Oct. 7, 2005 issue of The Winged Post, Harker’s US student newspaper.)

Harker Homecoming – a Schoolwide Tradition A spirited crowd of K-12 students, families, faculty, staff and alumni kicked off another great Homecoming football game at Foothill College on Oct. 8. The inspirational start for the evening was the singing of the Harker

Robert Boucher, parent

est. 1893 • K-12 college prep

Anthem and the Star Spangled Banner by the LS, MS and US vocal ensembles. The always-adorable LS Eaglets and junior cheerleaders helped introduce the Harker football players by forming a tun-

nel for them to run through – and entertained the crowd with their routines throughout the evening – for the game against Stone Ridge Christian High School. The Eaglets were second graders Kathy Cutler, Maya Jeyendran, Kristen Ko, Cordelia Larsen, Kristen Park, Lauren Speckman, Namitha Vellian and Allison Yatco. The junior cheerleaders were: Gr. K: Haley Keller, Taylor Kohlmann, Continued on pg. 19

november dates & events

correction

This is shaping up to be another great year at Harker!

Visit the Web calendars for the latest detailed date information for each division.

The new MS campus opened with much fanfare, and our students - at all grade levels - are already showing us how bright, talented, caring and spirited they all are. The Polar Picnic blew in with a blizzard of fun on a perfect day, and Cruisin’ California, this year’s fashion show, is gearing up (see pg. 4)!

■ Mon., Nov. 21 and Tues., Nov. 22 – K-12 Teacher / Parent Conferences. No classes.

Matt Ho, Gr. 3, participated in the 2005 Silicon Valley Triathlon on June 5, but was unintentionally omitted from the Silicon Valley Triathlon story that ran in the October Harker News. It was Ho’s second consecutive year participating in the event, and his performance improved tremendously from a year ago.

We’re glad to hear that you like the Web redesign, and are, indeed, finding what you need easier. We’ll also be posting more news items on the Web site, and adding more features to the newsletter. We love to hear your ideas, so always feel free to contact me. —Pam Dickinson, Director, Office of Communications pamd@harker.org

quote “One of the biggest things I took away from the event was how we as parents add to the pressure that our kids feel, and how we can be more conscious of that.” —Lori Saxon, parent See Managing Stress, pg. 3

volunteer Kudos! Curbside Crazies A huge thanks to our enthusiastic parent volunteers, the “Curbside Crazies,” who once again inspired support for the Family Picnic during the weeks leading up to the big day, collecting picnic donations from gracious Harker families. Visit your division home page on the Harker Web site for the latest volunteer opportunities and get involved!

■ Wed., Nov. 24 to Fri., Nov. 26 – Thanksgiving Holiday. No classes. ■ Mon., Nov. 28 – K-12 classes resume.

Invite Your Friends to Join Harker! Each fall we hold Open House events for prospective students and their families, to acquaint them with Harker’s great programs, wonderful students and outstanding teachers. One of our best sources for great applicants each year is current Harker families. If your neighbors, friends, business colleagues or relatives have children that you feel would be a good fit for Harker, send them to our Web site for the following Open House information, or contact us and we’ll send them a postcard invitation: admissions@harker.org.

2005-06 HARKER OPEN HOUSE EVENTS For prospective families - visit our Web site for more details!

“We believe this is a great event to build up kids’ characters,” said Joni Ho, Matt’s mother.

GRADES K-5 ■ Sun., Nov. 6 – Gr. K to 5 11 a.m. (K) ; 12-2 p.m. (Gr. 1-5)

We apologize for the omission and congratulate Matt for his outstanding effort!

UPPER SCHOOL ■ Sun., Nov. 13 – Gr. 9 to 12 11 a.m. sharp

photo provided by Delepine family

editor’s note

■ Thurs., Jan. 5 – Gr. 9 to 12 6:30 p.m. sharp MIDDLE SCHOOL ■ Sun., Dec. 4 – Gr. 6 to 8 Programs and tours begin at 11 a.m.

Upcoming Performances ■ The Comedy of Errors Thurs.-Sat., Nov. 3-5, 8 p.m. US gym

■ Choral Concert Thurs., Nov. 17, 6:30 p.m. FDR, US campus

Director Jeff Draper is excited about the way the US Conservatory’s fall play is developing. “The fact that the set will consist of a floor, a the backdrop, and of only a door and a chair puts the focus on the actors’ physical and vocal choices,” Draper says, referring to their overthe-top characterizations. Stage combat expert Richard Lane has been working with the students, teaching them techniques for “slapstick, pratfalls, and other ways of safely handling the physical comedy and Three Stooges-like combat,” adds Draper.

Cantilena, Guys’ Gig and the new MS choir, Vivace, will present a program of choral music this month. Cantilena’s selections will highlight the exotic harmonies and thrilling rhythms of Spanish and Sephardic music from Spain, Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela. Guys’ Gig will tickle you with their four-part a cappella arrangement of Weird Al Yankovich’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” and melt you with their sweet harmonies. Reprising their Tamagawa performance, Vivace will also brew a little “Double Trouble” from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Ashkeban.”

comedy eRRORS

The show has moved from the MS to the US campus. Tickets are available at the US Bookstore or by e-mailing tickets@harker.org.

“Each year’s ensemble is always a delightful surprise. This year’s Cantilena has an angelic sound. Guys’ Gig has expanded to 18 committed and talented singers, many of them freshmen. Vivace is alive with vibrant young singers,” says director Susan Nace.

Trustee and former President Howard Nichols and current Head of School Chris Nikoloff (goalie) have a few laughs at the Picnic’s mini ice hockey rink in the Anti Freeze Bar. See page 6 for more photos and stories!

quote “My favorite part of the picnic is the games in the gym, where children and adults of all ages can win prizes while betting a ticket that is worth ﬁfty cents. Some of the prizes that can be won are scarves, a radio, and a boomerang that actually comes back.” —Max Elisman, Gr. 7 Harker News — November 05

schoolwide

news Good to Know

Managing Stress

With the campus now open and operational, we will be focusing on specific areas that did not see completion this summer.

LS Student Uses Birthday Money to Buy Ice Cream for Orphans

Our first focus will be the development of a performing arts space. Over the next two months, the old cafetorium will be transformed into a working theater which will house both MS and US productions. The house will have an audience capacity of approximately 260. This intimate venue will provide a “no bad seat” theatrical experience.

Tiara Bhatacharya turned her 8th birthday into a day other children will never forget. The third grader, spending her birthday with her extended family in Kolkata, India, donated the birthday money she received to the local orphanage, which her family has been supporting since Tiara was born.

Harker hosted a parent education event on Tues., Oct. 4, with a presentation by the founder and CEO of Goodparents, Inc., Joe Connolly, titled “Life in The Fast Lane… Helping Teens Manage Stress and Pressure.”

After the theater facility is up and running our focus will be directed toward construction of the offices for our finance and HR departments. Our entire business office operation will be brought to the new campus upon completion, which is targeted for late December of this year.

Chris Daren

Blackford Campus Update

—Mike Bassoni, Facilities Manager

staff

update

■ Bucknall security officer J.D. Costa retired at the end of September. Part-time security officer Harold Jordan will become full time and take over Costa’s beat. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank J.D. for his years of dedicated and outstanding service. His presence has made the overall operation of the Bucknall campus safer and he has had a very calming effect on the parents at both drop-off and pick-up times,” said Bob Keefer, head of security. ■ The technology department is excited to announce that it has a new administrative assistant. Ernie Porter has joined the team. Welcome, Ernie! ■ Director of counseling Deanna Barnett is participating in a 9month course sponsored by the San Jose Chamber of Commerce called the SJ Leadership Class. The course is designed to give participants a unique and thorough look behind the scenes of San Jose’s civic organizations, including law enforcement, education, health services & mental health and media. “The ultimate goal is to have each person serve on a nonprofit board,” said Barnett, “as well Harker News — November 05

as give us training in leadership.” Barnett will graduate in May and hopes that Harker will have continued involvement in this program, and perhaps a student participant in the Leadership Class’s teen program. More information on the class can be found at www.sjleadership.org. ■ US Latin teacher John Hawley was pleased to receive a letter from MIT informing him that current student Alexander Hsu (US ’05) named Hawley a teacher “who has been especially influential” in his development. The letter, from MIT’s dean of admissions, said “We thank you for the time, patience, expertise, love [and] discipline. …You do the work from which all of society benefits.” ■ Accounting manager Clif Wilcox reports that Randall Dukes has assumed the duties of Harker’s accounts receivable specialist. Dukes has been in the accounts payable group since joining Harker several months ago. He replaces Rosemarie Balani, who is moving on to new things. “Please join us in congratulating Randy on his new assignment and wishing Rosemarie well!” says Wilcox.

In a story she wrote about the experience, Tiara says,“I became involved with this family project for the last two years and tried my best to help these children in every possible way. So, in Kolkata, when I saw this envelope with money, I asked my mama if I could purchase ice creams for my orphanage friends.“ Tiara, accompanied by her grandmothers, uncle and mother, spent the whole day at the orphanage, and served ice cream to about 1,400 children. Tiara writes, “It was an amazing experience to be part of this event. I felt so good to share my time with them. We chose flavors like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, orange and mango. Children were so happy to receive two different flavors of ice cream from my hands and each one of them said ‘thank you’ to me.”

When she was only six Tiara wrote an essay about her desire to become a doctor so she could help these orphans with money and medical care. She seems well on her way to achieving her goal. As she writes, “I had so much joy in my heart, it is hard to explain, but it is my wish to share this wonderful story with you all about this special day in my life. I felt generous and kind, I felt happy and joyous at the same time. I felt great.” So do we, Tiara – thanks for sharing your story with us.

More than 175 parents attended the workshop at on the Upper School campus. The topics covered included the causes of teen stress, how peer pressure manifests itself as stress and how parents can help their teens deal with both. Connelly explained that while children under the age of 10 typically make decisions based on anticipated consequences, and adults usually make decisions based on what they feel is morally right, teenagers usually make decisions based on how their image will be perceived by peers. “I don’t think that parents really understand how big of a role peer pressure plays in our children’s decision making,” said Harker parent Jeannine Hammersley (Michael, Gr. 12, and Rachel, Gr. 10). “(Connolly) helped provide us with a better understanding of why our children feel so much pressure.” The topics also included how parents put pressure on their kids. “It is challenging for the students and the parents to balance homework, extra activities and family life,” said Harker parent Lori Saxon (Kevin, Gr. 8). “One of the biggest things I took away from the event was how we as parents add to the pressure that our kids feel, and how we can be more conscious of that.” Connelly is the author of “Three STEPS to Parenting Teens,” has been a featured speaker at teen conferences for Stanford University and for California State Senator Jackie Speier, and is a regular contributor to the San Jose Mercury News’ family section and Bay Area Parent Magazine’s “Teen Focus” feature. Harker is also a member of the Common Ground Speaker Series, which seeks to enrich communities by bringing together parents and educators to listen, connect and share ideas at presentations addressing a wide array of issues. Check the Harker Web site for the 2005-06 Common Ground Speaker schedule.

fund

weekend winner Trefethen Vineyard Weekend Winner All those who pledged or made a gift to the Annual Giving Campaign by the end of the Family & Alumni Picnic were entered in a drawing for a weekend getaway at the Trefethen Vineyard’s cottage in Napa. The lucky winners were Hong Xu and Yiru Zhang, parents of Harry, Gr. 3.

to date

Parent Development Council Volunteers – Job Well Done! Last month our distinguished group of parent volunteers pulled out all the stops at our phone-a-thon during Pledge Week. Over the course of five days, our 67 volunteers made hundreds of phone calls to Harker parents, seeking their support of the 2005-06 Annual Giving Campaign. What they said must have worked, as we are at 70% of our total dollar goal! On behalf of the entire Harker community, we would like to recognize our Parent Development Council for their hard work and dedication to our students: Co-Chairs Doug Emery, Linda Emery and Betsy Lindars; Tamra Amick, Shyamoli Banerjee, Anju Bansal, Aloke Bhandia, Heather Blair, Ravi Chalaka, Roy Chetty, Alice Chi, Karen Coates, Rebecca Cox, Sue Datta, Christine Davis, Barbara Drummer, Grace Edvalson, Galina Gaknoki, Melinda Gonzales, Elena Gruzman, Regina Gupta, Vivek Gupta, Sangeeta Gupte, Chris Gustafson, John Hawley, David Heslop, Marcia Hirtenstein, Colin Hsi, Deepa Iyengar, David Hutchings, Debbie Hutchings, Helena Jerney, Vidya Kamat, Robert Kendall, Miyeko Kohlmann, Sandhya Kulkarni, Vidya Lakshmi-Chari, Jacky Liu, Philip May, Sangeeta Mehrotra, Nimi Nagalingam, Vidhya Narasimhan, Suchitra Narayen, Irene Newton, Kiran Padwekar, Hemangi Parikh, Galina Patil, Kim Pellissier, Kathy Polzin, Rodney Rapson, Jayanthi Ravikumar, Brian Richardson, Marcia Riedel, Tanya Ringold, Abhay Salukhe, Robert Schwartz, Mark Shapiro, Preeti Sharan, Abha Shukla, Huali Chai Stanek, Trish Tobin, Carol Underwood, Nina Walvekar, Heather Wardenburg, Judy West, Bella Yanovsky, Carol Zink.

Jennifer Helmonds - all DC photos

harker

100% Jennifer Helmonds Director of The Harker Fund

90% 80%

Pledge Reminder

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

$704,595 4

Thank you to those who have already made your pledges and gifts! Your support greatly enhances our students’ experience at Harker. If you’ve made a pledge but haven’t paid yet, you can make your gift online on our Web site, or you can mail payment to the Harker Advancement Office, 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose, CA 95117 anytime before May 1, 2006.

Melinda Gonzales Director of Annual Giving

AlphaSmart Donates to Harker Brothers and founders of AlphaSmart Manish and Ketan Kothari have made a generous donation to Annual Giving with 20 AlphaSmart 3000 IRs for the Bucknall campus, for use by the language arts classes. It was Harker parent and Parent Development Council volunteer Vidya Kamat who introduced Harker to the Kotharis. For complete information about this wonderful gift, please see the full story on pg. 9.

If you are doing a corporate matching gift, we ask that you get your payment in by December 2005 to allow for processing time by the corporation. Harker News — November 05

FASHION

FRI., MARCH 3, 2006 Fairmont Hotel, San Jose

11 a.m. Luncheon & Fashion Show

show ’06

Get Ready For Our Third Annual Fashion Show Fundraiser! Proceeds from Cruisin’ California benefit the Harker Scholarship Fund, professional training and continued education for faculty, and the new Science and Technology Center at the US campus – so when you support Cruisin’ California, you support the school!

5:30 p.m. Dinner Gala with Fashion Show, Live Auction & Dancing

sponsors

Santana Row Swanson & Jackson Families Communicart • Davé Family Trust • John and Christine Davis • Diamond Quality Printing • Pennell Family • Sathaye Family Foundation

CONTACTS

Alex Alonzo Accountancy Corp.• C. Denise Brodersen CFP, V.P.Investments, UBS Financial Services, Inc. • Courtesy Chevrolet • Malysz Family • Riedel Family • Smith Barney, the Hall Walswor th Group • Stevens Creek BMW • XL Construction Corp.

Check out all these Cruisin’ Showcase Prizes! Each Showcase is a wonderfully themed collection of goodies that will provide hours, days, maybe even weeks of fun and excitement! Showcase tickets for your opportunity to win one (or more!) of these fabulous packages will be available soon – but now we are looking for help from the Harker community as we collect the items that will make up these wonderful showcases. Please take a look at this month’s Cruisin’ California ﬂyer for more details.

Your Name in Lights . . . Become a Sponsor or Advertiser!

There’s still time to become a sponsor and receive all the beneﬁts that sponsorship provides. You can also purchase an ad to highlight your company or business, or to thank teachers and staff, congratulate your children, their sports teams, or...the possibilities are endless! But hurry – two key deadlines are approaching. See the Cruisin’ California ﬂyer for more details.

■ Cruisin’ the Coast, celebrating magniﬁcent Morro Bay and Camarillo ■ Headin’ for the Hills, a host of Sierra- and Yosemitebased activities for the outdoor enthusiast ■ Northern Nirvana, with a focus on San Francisco and the beautiful Sonoma wine region ■ Soakin’ up the Sun, highlighting the fun and excitement of San Diego

Newest Program Advertisers

We want to recognize this month’s new program adver tisers: Vicki Geers of Coldwell Banker, The Next Step, and Out of the Envelope. Thank you!

Please join us on our journey to make Cruisin’ California a fun and successful fundraising event for our school!

Special Thanks

We’d like to extend a special thanks to Deja & Co. in downtown Saratoga for hosting our Oct. 11 committee meeting, and to Preston Wynne Spa and James Craig Haircolor & Design for supporting our meeting as well. Deja has been involved with the Fashion Show for the past two years, and James Craig has provided model hair styling services since the inception of the show. We welcome Preston Wynne’s increased involvement, and look forward to a fantastic show!

Event Co-chairs: Mary Malysz, Sarah Pennell and Carol Underwood

See the special ﬂier insert included with each month’s Harker News for more information.

VOLUNTEERING: Tina Najibi - tmm@cadence.com PROGRAM AD SALES: Ernaz Irani - ernaz.irani@hp.com SPONSORSHIPS: Archana Sathaye - archana@sathaye.com • Janet Smith - janets@harker.org DONATIONS: Showcases - Cynthia D’Agosta - Gdblick@aol.com • Live Auction - David Heslop - David.Heslop@prestonpipelines.com RESERVATIONS: Jeannine Hammersley - jhammersley@comcast.net • Violet Boyle - boylfam99@sbcglobal.net WEB SITE: www.harker.org/news.htm - click on Fashion Show link • HOTLINE: 408.345.0115 • EMAIL: fashionshow@harker.org

Harker News — November 05

picnic

Mark Tantrum and Steven Wong, parent

polar

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

Harker Freezes Over At Polar Picnic! The 55th annual Family and Alumni Picnic sent shivers of delight down the spines of all who attended on Sun., Oct. 16. As usual, the fabulous Picnic committee transformed the campus, this time into a winter wonderland complete with drifting snow and cardboard Eskimos whose faces looked suspiciously like administrators Chris Nikoloff and Jennifer Gargano! Other creative arts on display included master magician Phil Ackerly, balloon sculpting by Balloonatics, and the always popular Karaoke Kids booth. The newly crowned Homecoming king and queen and the Harker Eaglets also made appearances. The Manzanita (Hall) Powder Lodge was home to the silent auction and

the fabulous basket raffles (see next page for winners). Icicle Island (the Quad) featured the popular petting zoo and arts and crafts. Those looking for a chocolate overload headed to the Polar Palace (the gym), where the Sweet Springs Chocolate Fountain was a highlight, with eager chocolate lovers lining up to dip fruit, marshmallows and more into a perpetual fountain of melted chocolate. The FDR was transformed into the Anti-Freeze Bar, complete with a mini-ice hockey “rink” and the ever-popular Shoot Out game where Coach Smitty ruled again. And the Titanic sailed (and sank) onto Rosenthal Field in the form of a giant slide that was popular non-stop throughout the day. Harker News —November 05

The annual show on the Dobbins Patio was written and directed by MS performing arts teacher Monica MacKinnon, and featured a medley from the movie “Polar Express” by Harmonics, JV Dancers moving to the rap “Ice, Ice, Baby!” and a “Penguin Polka” sung by the fourth graders. Gr. 7 and 8 dancers were “Rockin’ on Top of the World,” and Bel Canto lamented “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Continuing the theme, the Gr. 4-6 Dance Ensemble danced to “Freeze Frame,” and Downbeat closed the show with the rousing “On This Polar Picnic Day.” And yes, that was Nikoloff in the penguin suit! Many thanks to the performing arts directors who got their groups ready so beautifully: Adrian Bermudez, Jennifer Cowgill, MacKinnon, Roxann Hagemeyer, Laura Lang-Ree, Gail Palmer, Laura Rae and Catherine Snider. As Head of School Nikoloff said in a letter to parents and staff, “Whether it is the painted faces in the stands cheering our team at Homecoming or the face painting at the Family and Alumni Picnic, the entire Harker community benefits when we come together to celebrate the truly special place that is The Harker School.”

A Big THANKS to all of This Year’s Picnic Sponsors!

Executive Director of Advancement Joe Rosenthal added, “I am so proud of the picnic committee volunteers who dedicated so much time into making the day so much fun for all our families. Everyone working together like that helps build such a good community feeling here at Harker; it makes me so proud of the parent volunteers and our entire staff.”

Miracles on Ice

Huge thanks to event coordinators Lynette Stapleton and Kelly Espinosa, the Frosty Flakes Picnic Committee, and all the staff, parents and Harker faithful who volunteered to make this Picnic a frozen fantasy!

Speed Skaters

The Ammatuna Family / I Yogurt The Stapleton Family

♥

Ski Jumpers The Pellissier Family Communicart Graphics & Printing

The Carr Family Miss Kelly Espinosa Krish and Nina Panu The Polzin Family The Sabeh Family

Snow Boarders Community Insurance The John and Christine Davis Family Charlie Huang and Susan Zhang The Moyer Family The Thomas Family

Bob Sledders Baysport, Inc. The Harris Family Wes Brown, Andy Hoffman and the Hoffman Family Jenny Lu and Larry Chien Guojin Liang and Orapin Kanchanachoosak The Mayor Family The Riedel Family Paul Tumason Portraits

Figure Skaters Alex Alonzo Accountancy Corporation Balloonatics The Chaat House Tony and Grace Chu Clos La Chance Winery Friend of Harker Kenneth Ma My Pony Party Preston Pipelines Chester Rivera Round Table Pizza

polar

picnic

2005 Picnic Winners Congratulations to the winners of the TOP FIVE PRIZES at the Picnic Grand Prize Drawing: ■ FIRST PRIZE ($10,000) David Lindsay Sold by Colleen Lindsay (staff) ■ SECOND PRIZE (Chill Out in Las Vegas) Jill Bostic Sold by unknown ■ THIRD PRIZE (Sony PSP Pack with Speakers & Games) Mercedes Chien Sold by Mercedes Chien, Gr. 4 ■ FOURTH PRIZE (TREK 4300 24-Speed Mountain Bike) Sylvia Young Sold by Brandon Stoll, Gr. 1 ■ FIFTH PRIZE (Toshiba Portable DVD Player) Lori Anaya Sold by Megan Joncich, Gr. K ■ TREFETHEN VINEYARDS ANNUAL GIVING PARTICIPATION DRAWING: Hong Xu and Yiru Zhang (Harry Xu, Gr. 3) ■ ALUMNI DRAWING (a bag of Harker logo gear to an alum attending the Picnic): Miyeko Yoneda Kohlmann ’85 ■ CHOCOLATE LOVER’S DELIGHT DRAWING: Marissa Ortiz

Picnic Prize Basket Winners at Powder Lodge: 1 – Winter Lodge Party on Ice: Robyn Peetz 2 – Ice Princess Tea Party: Alan Malek ’05 3 – iPod Nano Super Package: Don Porter 4 – Any Mountain Shopping Spree: Amanda Lundie 5 – Chillin’ at the Lodge at Pebble Beach: Marcia Hirtenstein 6 – Cuddle Up with a Picnic by the Fire: Choolye Sim

2005 Top Sellers Congratulations to these Harker students, who were the top ticket sellers. Thanks for your amazing sales abilities and for raising so much money for the school! LS TICKET SALES: Lauren Yee, Gr. 1 – 1530 Jordan Peetz, Gr. 3 – 1302 Preston Yeung, Gr. 5 – 1263 Nicholas Navarro, Gr. 4 – 1176 Brandon Stoll, Gr. 1 – 901

US TICKET SALES Total of $1,240 in ticket sales

MS TICKET SALES: Matt Azebu, Gr. 8 – 629 Andree Beals, Gr. 6 – 620 Shanna Polzin, Gr. 8 – 550

MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASS RACE Gr. 6 – $4,384 Gr. 7 – $3,471 Gr. 8 – $3,527

STAFF TICKET SALES: Lori Villarreal – 317 Colleen Lindsay – 200 Lisa Masoni – 125

lower

school

LS Spirit Week A Huge Success! The Bucknall campus was full of fun and games as the LS enjoyed their annual Spirit Week Oct. 3-7. Among this year’s activities were a special “teacher trivia” scavenger hunt, “twin dress day” and “cool crazy hair day.” For the “teacher trivia” scavenger hunt, LS teachers were asked to submit interesting personal facts. Students then competed as homerooms to match the LS teachers with the correct piece of personal trivia (ex.: Which teacher has a car that runs on French fry oil? Daniel or Katherine Sommer). Catherine Le’s homeroom class won the “teacher trivia” challenge. “The S-Club (LS spirit) delivered sodas to the Le homeroom as their reward for winning the challenge,” said LS teacher and spirit club adviser Jason Oncay. The week’s other events were also a big success. “Crazy hair day was a huge hit as usual,” said Oncay. “There were braids and colorful coiffures. I even saw a few giant wigs walking around.” Just as exciting was the “twin dress” activity in which students and teachers found partners to wear matching wacky outfits. “(LS teachers Pat) Walsh and (Robert) Regan were hilarious in their multi-colored socks,” said Oncay. On Friday, in preparation for that night’s Homecoming game, the LS students showed their Harker pride by wearing the

school colors. Said Oncay, “Spirit was high, and we look forward to more fun events in the future.”

Harker News —November 05

sports Katrina Update

Harker’s first grade classrooms bustled with activities and presentations this past month. Diann Chung’s and Cindy Proctor’s classes hosted several fantastic events, including a presentation on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah by Harker parents Svetlana Kipnis (Sasha, Gr. 1, and Izabella, Gr. 3) and Anna Tseitlin (Michael, Gr. 1). The students listened to stories about Rosh Hashanah, decorated a shofar (ram’s horn) and tasted challah bread, honey and apples. “It was a wonderful event,” Proctor said.

Gr. 4 and 5 student council members designed and created a house for the bulletin board on the LS campus to track the amount of money they raise for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The house has a chimney that is partially filled with red bricks, with each brick representing $100 that the LS has raised toward hurricane relief. “At the student council meeting, we were discussing ways to track how much money we’ve collected, the way the Blackford or Saratoga campuses do with things like the ‘thermometer,’” said Samantha Hoffman, Gr. 5. “We first decided to make a house, but then we’d have to make a really tall house. So we decided we’d use a chimney instead, and just add bricks as we collected more and more money.”

Cindy Proctor - both photos

Busy Month for First Graders

In addition, a representative of Happy Hollow Park and Zoo gave a presentation to Gr. 1 students called “Night Creatures,” about the adaptations of nocturnal animals. Students had the opportunity to see and pet an opossum and two leopard lizards. The students also heard bat sounds, saw pictures of different types of bats and saw an actual bat skeleton. The theme of the presentation coincided with a story the students were reading, titled “The Great Ball

Game,” in which the main character is a bat. Gr. 1 classes also held their annual Sunflower Party, in which students had the opportunity to participate in many craft projects, including painting rocks and making lollipop flowers. Each student also planted several types of flowers, including pansies, snapdragons and mums, at the BKN field. “We scattered seeds of all kinds, and the children planted many yummy vegetables including peas, lettuce, spinach and broccoli,” Proctor said. “It was lots and fun and will help our garden grow all year!” Many thanks to all of the parents who helped make these Gr. 1 events so special!

Kudos to the LS students for their impressive charitable efforts!

Generous Donation for LS Classes The LS received a generous donation of 20 AlphaSmart 3000 portable computer companions from the founders of AlphaSmart, brothers Manish and Ketan Kothari. The AlphaSmart 3000 is a simple computer companion device, designed to allow students to bypass the complexities of modern computers and get straight to work. The device is lightweight (less than 2 lbs.) yet virtually indestructible, boasts extraordinary battery life and can send text via wireless infrared to any Mac or PC, making it valuable to Harker students, whether they are in the classroom, home or on a field trip. AlphaSmart 3000s are used by Gr. 2-5 students for various writing projects. While Gr. 2 students use Harker News — November 05

At press time, the LS chimney and Support on a Stick (see Sept. HN) fundraisers had raised over $4,000 for the Katrina relief effort! Said Elementary Division Head Kristin Giammona, “Our student council came up with the house idea completely on its own, and they have promised more opportunities for raising hurricane relief money during the school year.”

AlphaSmart 3000s to compose letters to pen pals, LS teacher Kathleen Ferretti’s Gr. 3 class uses them every Thursday to practice typing their weekly vocabulary sentences. LS teacher Kate Shanahan’s Gr. 5 class also uses AlphaSmart 3000s to write literary analysis essays. In addition, the LS AlphaQuiz program, run in conjunction with AlphaSmarts, allows teachers to create quizzes that are then administered using the AlphaSmart 3000. “AlphaSmart 3000s help engage the students in the writing process,” said LS computer science teacher Lisa Hirata. “The use of this technology energizes the students, getting them excited and motivated to begin their work, and enables them to practice their keyboarding skills in a meaningful context.”

Dance Ensemble Auditions were held in early Sept. for this year’s Gr. 4-6 Dance Ensemble. The auditioning students performed a dance combination in front of a panel of judges, who evaluated them on technique, stage presence, energy and commitment to the movement, and ability to learn the steps quickly. Gail Palmer, K-6 dance instructor, commented that she was “very proud of the effort and positive attitudes all the dancers gave to the audition.” Only 14 dancers were selected from the 50 who auditioned. Their first performance was at the Family “Polar” Picnic, where they gave one “cool” performance! Members of the 2005-06 Dance Ensemble are: Gr. 4: Mercedes Chien, Michelle Pagnon; Gr. 5: David Cutler, Karan Das-Grande, Tiphaine Delepine, Michelle Douglas, Megan Grabeel and Hannah Prutton. (See MS section for Gr. 6 dancers.)

Fall Sports Wrap The Gr. 5 (D) flag football team is currently 3-0 against Gr. 6, 7 and 8 teams. The team took 2nd in the St. Catherines 6th grade Tournament and is excited to face the Harker C team and Apostles Lutheran. Apostles’ Gr. 6-8 grade combo team proved to be no match as the Harker team went on to win 34-12. The final game between the Harker D and C teams will determine who will carry the coveted “Harker Duct Tape Bowl” trophy through the end of the year. Key players include Kevin Cali, Michael Amick, Andy Perez, David Lindars, and David Cutler. Harker’s Gr. 4 flag football team has been working hard to learn pass routes and run plays on the offensive side of the ball, as well as how to pull flags and guard their opponent on the defensive side of the ball. The Lower School swim team is doing a great job this year, and has 55 swimmers this season. The team is working hard during practice and is putting many laps in every day! Everyone is looking forward to Harker’s annual intramural swim meet at the end of the season. Some key swimmers include Connie Cheng, Baris Demirlioglu, Erik Andersen, Ally May, and Allen Cheng.

The Gr. 4 girls volleyball team continues to work hard developing their fundamental skills on the court. Their serving and passing have improved greatly since the beginning of the season and they are having a lot of fun playing in small game situations thus far. —Nick Gassmann, coach

speak out Internet Safety Assembly Keeping our students safe in every respect is always of paramount importance to the administration, faculty and staff at Harker. On Oct. 12 two detectives from the San Jose Police Department presented an assembly on Internet safety to our MS students.

Messages in a chat room, IM or a blog that contain personal tidbits such as hobbies, school, friends’ or relatives’ names, phone numbers and locations are easily followed by a predator. The presentation, arranged by MS Dean of Students Jack Bither, incorporated video vignettes, a PowerPoint presentation and a Q & A period. A summary of the major points of their presentation follows.

It is illegal to do the following: n Harass or threaten another person on the Internet. Being a “cyber bully” is not only mean-spirited, it is illegal. n Send inappropriate pictures online. n Suggest or discuss with a minor anything of a sexual nature.

Maintaining anonymity on the Internet: n This is very difficult as any personal information given out can easily be collated through the use of readily available search engines. n Do not give out any personal information. Messages in a chat room, IM or a blog that contain personal tidbits such as hobbies, school, friends’ or relatives’ names, phone numbers and locations are easily followed by a predator.

MIDDLE

school

New MS Robotics Club MS computer science teacher Michael Schmidt recently founded a MS robotics club. “I have been teaching Lego robotics in my Gr. 7 computer science class for the last two years, and I felt comfortable enough to offer a club this year,” Schmidt said. To ensure that most of the club members would have prior knowledge and experience with the software, the MS robotics club was offered to Gr. 8 students only. All 16 club members (two eight-player teams) will compete in the San Jose Unified First Lego League (FLL) Qualifying Tournament, as part of the FLL’s 2005 challenge “Ocean Odyssey.” In addition, Schmidt and 11 club members attended the RoboNexus 2005 convention at the San Jose Convention Center on Oct. 7. RoboNexus is an annual gathering of Bay Area robotics companies. Nearly 200 local robotics companies attended, providing everything from books on how to build robots to actual robot kits. The Harker students had the opportunity to be photographed with famous robots like Star Wars’ C3PO, and use remote controlled robots for a robot battle game and robotic hockey. “One great draw was the ‘dancing robots,’” laughed Schmidt. “They were one foot high, human-shaped robots that had a great sense of balance!”

Learning In Motion As part of their studies of Newton’s Laws, MS science teacher Ilona Davies’ students took part in a unique motion detector lab activity. Using motion sensors and special software, students attempted to mirror the charts of different distance/time graphs with their own motion. Once they had mastered the distance/time graph, the students attempted to mirror more complex graphs that showed velocity, as well as distance. Said Davies, “This will help them understand and visualize the concepts of things like velocity, steep slopes and gradual slopes.”

n Deleting information does not bring it back to you. Once information is out there, it is probably archived somewhere. n Never send a picture of yourself over the Internet. n Never maintain a dialog online with someone you do not know or invite strangers into your chat room. n Any activity that is suspicious should be reported to a trusted adult immediately.

What parents should do: n If your child spends a lot of time on the internet unattended, it is your right and responsibility to step in and see whom your child is talking to or what sites your child is visiting. n Place the family computer in a multi-use room in the home. n Regularly monitor your child’s activity on the computer. n Use the search engine to see what information may be out there under your child’s name. Harker will be hosting a parent assembly during this school year, so watch for information on this important event.

MS Performing Arts News n Congratulations to this year’s Gr. 6 members of the Dance Ensemble! Director Gail Palmer is very proud of this Gr. 4-6 ensemble, which rehearses at Blackford on Fridays. Fifty students auditioned, and 14 were selected based on their technical dance skills, stage presence, energy and commitment. The group has already had their first performance, at the Polar Picnic on Oct. 16. See the LS page for the names of the Gr. 4-5 dancers in the group. This year’s sixth graders are Veronica Bither, Sonya Chalaka, Margaret Krakeler, Daniela Lapidous, Cole Manaster, Montana Miller, Neel Salukhe and Divya Sarathy.

—Cindy Kerr MS Division Head

n The Gr. 6-7 Choir unveiled its new name and logo. They will now be known as “Vivace,” an Italian musical term meaning “lively and vivacious.” Harker News — November 05

sports New MS Advisory Program MS teachers have established a new advisory program in which each student is matched with one teacher that he or she can feel comfortable going to with problems or concerns. “The primary goal of the MS advisory program is to establish a safe environment in which the students can express their concerns and discuss important issues that would not be possible in an academic class,” said MS teacher Simon Keilty. Students and teachers meet in advisory groups every Monday to plan spirit activities, answer questions about upcoming school events and plan events specific to the interests of MS students. On Oct. 31 each advisory group dressed its adviser in a surprise costume for the Halloween parade.

“The primary goal of the MS advisory program is to establish a safe environment in which the students can express their concerns …” Some other activities will be based on Jay McGraw’s book, “Life Strategies for Teens,” which addresses situations and concerns specific to teenagers. Among the topics addressed will be the characteristics of role models and examining one’s success within a social system. “Because the program is just now establishing itself, I feel that one of the greatest successes that I have seen so far is a sense of place and community for the students,” Keilty said. Furthermore, because more teachers and staff are participating in the advisory program than participated in the previous homeroom program, each advisory group is small and more attentive to the students’ personal needs. Said Keilty, “I have found that the dialogue within this smaller group is more comfortable, genuine and nurturing.”

ECybermission Team Gauges Attitudes Toward Metric System One of MS science teacher Raji Swaminathan’s eCybermission teams recently sent out a “metric system” survey to all MS teachers to help gauge attitudes toward a possible U.S. switch to the metric system. The survey was part of the eCybermission project for one of Swaminathan’s five teams. The team of Supraja Swamy, Amanda Kim, Justine Liu and Tiffany Chien, all Gr. 7, is participating in various fun metric activities every week, including measuring the students’ metric height and mass, a metric puzzle contest, a metric poster contest and cooking using metric measurements. “The team feels that going metric would be good for our economy,” said Swaminathan. “If the U.S. goes all-metric, we want to be ready for it.”

Harker’s Gr. 8 (A) flag football team has proven again that it is one of the league’s top teams and has no plans of slowing down. At 7-2, it isn’t a surprise that the boys have tallied up some big wins like the win against King’s Academy (52-0) or ones against Valley Christian (38-12, 24-12). They also placed first in the Harker Football Tournament, defeating Menlo School in the finals. Some key players include: Ryan Cali, Chauncy O’Brien, Patrick Smith, Curtis Lin, and Lung Ying Yu. The Gr. 7 (B) flag football team is currently standing at 6-4. As the only 7th grade team in the tournament they took 4th place in the Harker Football Tournament, falling short to Valley Christian on a yardage ruling at the end of the game. Some notable victories came against Valley Christian (33-25) and West Valley Middle School (27-0, 19-12). Some standout performances came from Timmy Lin and Nirjhar Mundkur. After a slow start the Gr. 6 (C) flag football team has shown many signs of improvement since their first outing versus Kings Academy. The boys face off with Kings Academy and Menlo School and will cap the season by taking part in the St. Victor’s Flag Football Tournament. In its inaugural year, the MS cross country team is showing massive improvements since first hitting the course in September. Approximately 70 students have been participating and have enjoyed competing in meets against Kennedy Middle School, John D. Morgan, and C.T. English. Coaches (and full-time US instructors) Scott Graham and Mike Smith, as well as top performers like Kristie Sanchez, are putting forth much time and effort into making this new sport successful. —Compiled by Nick Gassmann, Coach

Rugged Gr. 6 Fashion Statement! Gr. 6 students are annually required to wear their hiking boots to school for a week before their trip to Yosemite (which the students were on at press time) to ensure the boots are properly broken in. Watch the next issue for a recap of the trip!

New MS Babysitting Safety Class A babysitting safety class is the newest offering of the MS after-school recreation program. Fifteen students enrolled in the class, which covers topics such as how to avoid the “bedtime blues,” age-appropriate games, what to do in an emergency and basic first aid. Students will receive a babysitting handbook, learn to make a creative snack and receive a certification of completion at the end of the course.

First Dance Also Katrina Fundraiser The first MS dance was held at the new Blackford campus on Fri., Sept. 30, with more than 200 Gr. 7 and Gr. 8 students in attendance. MS students beautifully decorated the multipurpose room for the inaugural event. In addition, the MS student council sold Mardi Gras beads and glow-in-thedark bracelets to benefit the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. They raised $216 for the relief effort. Harker News —November 05

INTERNATIONAL

programs

Fulbright Scholar Moss and Chilean Teacher Arcaya in Teacher Exchange US Spanish teacher Diana Moss is spending the school year in Chile as part of an exchange that brought Chilean teacher Luis Arcaya to Harker. The exchange was made

well-behaved, although they can get pretty chatty.” Though Harker students are very busy, Arcaya views the heavy workload and emphasis on a well-rounded education as positive. “In Chile, we do not put any importance on athletics like they do at Harker,” Arcaya said. “Harker’s clubs, extra activities and

possible by the 2005 Fulbright Scholarship Program, which annually sends 800 teachers and other professionals from the This postcard from Chile was sent by Kendra Moss to Harker United States teacher Pat White. to teach or do research abroad. elective courses are also, I feel, While Moss is teaching Arcaya’s beneficial for the students. As teenEnglish classes at The Colegio San agers, most kids are looking for Ignacio de la Ssalle, a private K-12 space to do nothing, but with the school in Quillota, Chile, Arcaya is academic demands and activities spending the year teaching Moss’s outside the classroom at Harker, US Spanish classes at Harker. it puts the students in the habit of studying a lot and prepares them “Harker is a wonderful school,” for college life.” Arcaya said, “but it is very different from my school in Chile and most Meanwhile, Moss has had to adjust Chilean schools.” For example, from Harker’s relatively calm enviHarker students have a heavier ronment to one in which she sees workload and the school is opermore than 300 different students ated in an extremely organized and a day. efficient manner, he explained. “Speaking with Diana, she has already noticed how loud and crowded our schools are in Chile. But here at Harker, not only is the school spacious and orderly, but when the bell rings, the students are quiet and ready to learn.” Moss said that despite their extremely warm nature, students at her new Chilean school are slightly more difficult to control than Harker students. “The kids are truly lovely,” Moss said. “They are very kind, well-dressed and generally

“The reason for the massive student load is that they’ve arranged my schedule so that I see all

students from Gr. 5 through Gr. 12,” Moss explained. “They feel that the more contact they have with me, the native English speaker, the better for the students.” Students on both ends of the exchange are enjoying having an instructor who comes from a different culture. Shubha Guha, Gr. 9, one of Arcaya’s Harker students, said, “It’s great because he tells us cool stories about traditions, customs and culture in Chile. You learn things that you never would have learned from a textbook.” Moss said she starts many of her classes with question-and-answer sessions “to let the kids get all of the curiosity out of their systems. The kids’ questions are mostly about my family, and they are dying to meet (my kids) Kendra (Gr. 8) and Kevin (Gr. 4).” Arcaya hopes to take some of the elements of Harker back to Quillota when he returns. “I would like to borrow some ideas from Harker regarding organization, and the way they have instilled in the students a commitment and eagerness for learning, where the students’

motivation to study is visible,” he said. “I would also like to show my fellow teachers in Chile some of the ways that Harker is using technology in the classroom.” Both schools hope that this exchange will mark the beginning of a long relationship. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) assists in the administration of the program. Editor’s Note: Some of the photos on these two pages of the newsletter arrived via the Internet at a low resolution. We hope you’ll agree with us that the content is definitely worth seeing at any resolution! Special thanks to all of our far-flung correspondents.

Harker News — November 05

New US Program in India

Harker Ideas to be Shared in Boston

The US international program has added another country to its impressive list of academic partnerships worldwide. An exchange program with the Guru Nanak English High School in Mumbai, India, was initiated by the American India Foundation (AIF), formed in 2001 in the wake of the devastating earthquakes in India. Many Harker families are key supporters of the AIF. Lakshmi Pratury, executive director of the AIF, asked for Harker’s help in getting Indian students to use the computer as a learning tool and

Harker’s director of international programs Bill Bost has accepted an invitation to present a workshop titled “Global Environmental Education” at the National Association of Independent Schools’ (NAIS) 2006 annual conference. The theme of the conference, held March 2-3 in Boston, is “Opening the Door to the Global Schoolhouse …Today.”

The US international program has added another country to its impressive list of academic partnerships worldwide.

“This conference will introduce the participants to a program that really brings the world into the classroom,” Bost said.

to interact with students in the U.S. “ Dan Hudkins (Harker’s director of instructional technology), Lisa Hirata (asst. director of instructional technology K-8) and I met with Lakshmi and came up with two programs, and the AIF found a school in Mumbai for our students to work with,” said Harker’s international program director Bill Bost.

Through the use of technology, Harker students have discussed environmental issues with students from Harker’s sister schools in Japan, India, Australia and China.

Harker LS Teacher in Japan

Harker students in Jeff Sutton’s US ecology elective and Ramsey Westgate’s US international policy elective will participate in an online forum, exchanging opinions and discussing various world issues with the students in Mumbai. Sutton’s ecology class will also be doing several water ecology activities with the Mumbai students, and comparing data through the online forum. Saroj Sudan, principal of the Guru Nanak English High School, feels that the project is an invaluable opportunity for her students. Said Sudan, “We feel highly obliged and grateful to (Harker parent) Mrs. Reshma Dave (Khwaab, Gr. 9, Aura, Gr. 6), Mr. Bill Bost, and also to Mrs. Sushila Sharma (AIF co-coordinator for the Mumbai area) for giving the students of our school a rare opportunity to interact with the students of such an esteemed institution as The Harker School.”

Australian Alliance Explored Harker is currently in the discussion phase with a possible new sister school, Saint Stephen’s College of Brisbane, Australia. Established in 1995, Saint Stephen’s is an independent, co-educational Christian school designed to give students in preschool through Gr. 12 the finest possible education. Saint Stephen’s College is renowned for its state-of-the-art sci-

ence and technology program, the care and attention given to each Harker News —November 05

student, and for the way it nurtures and encourages enthusiasm and commitment to life-long learning.

Among the projects being considered are adding St. Stephen’s to the current Our Trees and Population Projects, forming a leadership exchange in the US and launching an annual teacher exchange. We will share more information on this exciting new partnership as the programs develop.

We received these photos from Japan at press time of LS teacher Diann Chung, this year’s annual Tamagawa faculty exchange participant who is currently in Japan. Watch the next newsletter for her story!

speak out Why US Is So Great: The Teachers “The teachers here are great: they take the class beyond the standard curriculum.” –Yi Sun, class of 2006 In case you missed it, I have already pointed out in this column that great students are the foundation of a great school. The edifice is the faculty. Of course, parents and students are used to wonderful teachers at Harker – and they should be, given how wonderful the teachers are! In order to expound on this bit of common knowledge, I decided to share a few concise quotations about US teachers from Harker alumni.

“I want to talk about what makes Harker great: TEACHERS! Goodness, how I love my teachers.” –Member of the class of 2005

“The teachers at Harker are incredibly caring and passionate people. Each teacher cares about students on an individual basis and really tries to help each student succeed…The teachers at Harker are also one of a kind in their ability to change and stay up to date. Most Harker teachers are very open-minded; they are willing to make changes to their curriculum or schedule to help students with different needs.” –Member of the class of 2004

“They are caring, passionate, knowledgeable, generous, everything I could ever have hoped for in a teacher.” –Member of the class of 2003

“The teachers are simply amazing – I have never met a group of more talented people. But the teachers don’t just teach; they take an active interest in their students’ lives, taking the time to form relationships with them. Even teachers whose classes I have never had stopped me in the hallway and after class. They asked me how my life was going, what I was reading, how my family was doing. They cared about me not only as a student, but also as a person and a friend and have taught me to regard them in the same way.” –Member of the class of 2002 Having read all the senior essays every year, I know that the students – at least once they are about to graduate – fully understand the great fortune they have had to work with the most talented and dedicated faculty anywhere to be found.

—Richard Hartzell, US Division Head

upper

school

Winged Post Boasts New Format The Winged Post, Harker’s US student newspaper, altered its format this year in an effort to become a more professional-style publication. The process of changing the newspaper’s layout and design started with the addition of co-editor-in-chief Karen Chiu, Gr. 12, who last year served as the layout designer for Talon, Harker’s US yearbook. “Thinking about how to redesign the paper, we decided just to start from scratch,” Chiu said. While at a Columbia University journalism camp this summer, Chui and The Winged Post’s Harker Life section editor Danyal Kothari, Gr. 11, reviewed various layouts from different student newspapers across the country. “We saw that the papers that used a broadsheet design looked and felt like a real newspaper, such as the San Jose Mercury News,” Kothari said. A “broadsheet” design refers to the size and format used by most professional news publications, in contrast to the smaller “tabloid” format formerly used by The Winged Post. The new look for the paper was also accompanied by some editorial changes. “Looking at previous years of The Winged Post, we felt that there was room for the paper to be more professional,” Chiu said. Among the changes in content, The Winged Post now includes a Global News section, which has included stories on North Korea and the genocide in Sudan. “People have already given us a lot of good feedback, saying that the look and the content of the paper is very professional,” Chiu said.

Tech Help Desk The US Tech Help Desk in the Bookstore is now open for business to help students with all sorts of laptop concerns. Hours are: Mon. and Fri. - 7:45-8:10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 2:45-3:15 p.m.; Tues. - 7:458:10, 12:15-1:15, 3:30-4:00; Wed. - 7:45-8:10 a.m., 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m., 3:00-3:30 p.m.; Thur. - 7:458:10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 3:30-4:00 p.m.

Terse Tales US English teacher Marc Hufnagl recently offered students in his English II and honors English II courses a unique extra credit opportunity as part of the “Terse Tales” project. Hufnagl challenged his students to write very short stories (150 words or less), then use graphics or drawings to complement the tales. “The visual does not have to be a literal interpretation of the story,” Hufnagl said. “In fact, I encouraged the students to use a more figurative approach to the visual accompaniment.” The project was inspired by a regular feature in the arts section of the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle, in which writers accompany their short stories with descriptive visuals. “The short stories in the Chronicle use figurative drawings or graphics to help set the mood for the story, so that gave me the idea of having my students do the same thing,” Hufnagl said. The results of this unique project are on display outside the science labs in the main hallway on the Saratoga campus. Harker News — November 05

Club Helps Katrina’s Animal Victims

Creative Writing Guild

The US Key Club directed their Hurricane Katrina fundraising efforts to helping the Santa Clara Humane Society deal with the 50 animal refugees they have been sheltering since Sept. 13. In eight days, the club members collected 320.3 pounds of dry dog and cat food, cans of wet food, over 30 towels, four blankets, and two giant dog beds. Club president Ashley Yang, Gr. 11, says, “I would like this to be a continued effort, not just a one time thing.”

There is a new club at the US designed to encourage and support those who love to write. The Creative Writing Guild was started by two juniors, Dylan Syrett and Natalie Torban, who joined forces when they realized they had the same goals. With faculty adviser Alexandra Mattraw, the guild hopes, in Syrett’s words, “To help the Harker community become better creative writers, to be bolder in their creativity and to provide a supportive environment for those interested in writing.”

The club’s other officers are: Aline Zorian, Gr. 11, vice president; Joanna Xu, Gr. 11, secretary; Theodore Lee, Gr. 12, treasurer; Anjali Joy, Gr. 11, historian; Mounica Yanamandala, Gr. 11, club bulletin editor; Shannon Tan, Gr. 11, webmaster; Stephanie Herh, Gr. 10, public relations chair. The club is advised by Kerry Enzensperger and Carol Zink.

The group aims to publish members’ works once a year, showcasing each member’s growth as a writer, and hopes to hold several poetry readings.

In other Katrina news, Red Cross Club officer Julia Havard, Gr. 11, says that $48 was raised in one afternoon’s bake sale.

Guild members are invited to write in any creative genre, and writing exercises and readings in their meetings help hone their skills. They also aim to have professional writers as guest speakers. “And yes, we do plan fundraisers,” Syrett says. “We’re working on one now for children’s libraries in Laos.”

Freshmen Serve 11 Community Organizations on Annual Service Day While the sophomores and juniors were taking the PSAT on Oct. 12, and the seniors worked on their college applications, all 176 freshmen were out in the community on their annual Service Day. With their advisor groups, the students helped out at local hospices, homeless shelters, food banks, disabled children’s facilities, nature preserves and more – 11 organizations were served in this one day. The main goal of Service Day is to encourage and instill a commitment to a lifetime of community service in our students. Gabrielle Yee found that after visiting the Second Harvest Food Bank, “My perception of how many people in need of food has greatly increased. I feel like I need to do much more to help

Harker News — November 05

the community.” Some students helped weed out non-native plants on the Arastradero Preserve. Kartik Venkatraman said, “My perception of habitat restoration changed as I learned the importance of removing invasive species.” At Oak Meadows Extended Care, students spoke with terminally ill patients. Rohan Agrawal said, “Some of the patients I spoke to experienced World War II…there was so much to learn from them.” The students’ reactions to the homeless shelters they visited were frequently ones of surprise that so many facilities exist. After visiting the Inn Vision Shelter, Dhruv Parthasarathy said, “I learned that even people in our neighborhood suffer from injustice and poverty.” By participating in this annual day of service Harker freshmen fulfilled a requirement while also learning the more important lesson of how each of them – by offering even a little help – can make a big difference.

For more information about the organizations Harker serves in the community, see the Community Outreach section of the Harker Web site.

upper

school

72 Harker Seniors Earn Prestigious National Merit Recognition The National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP), a nonprofit organization that honors the scholastic achievements of high school juniors, announced the nation’s semifinalists and commended scholars in the 2006 competition from those students who took the PSAT in 2004. More than 1.3 million juniors in nearly 21,000 U.S. high schools took the PSAT; semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of those who took the exam. Most high schools boast only a few, if any, students who earn this prestigious recognition. At Harker a total of 72 seniors - 50% of the class - were honored in the National Merit Program this year. Congratulations

to Harker’s semifinalists, now seniors: Hermanjit Bajwa, Steve Boyle, Elizabeth Burstein, Karen Chiu, Carissa Chu, Jonathan Chu, Adam Edwards, Samantha Fang, Sarah Fingerhood, Subha Gollakota, Lauren Gutstein, Michael Hammersley, Wilson Haung, Sharon Her, Houston Hoffman, Christine Hsueh, Amy Huang, Jaya Iyer, Michael Kim, Hailey Lam, Theodore Lee, Amulya Mandava, Amit Mukherje, Siddarth Satish, Jasper Shau, Yi Sun, Jayasree Sundaram, Chirstopher Sutardja, Lynette Tsai, Sean Turner, Irine Tyutereva, Eric Tzeng, Shilpa Vadodaria, Ariane Vartanian, Victor Wang, Xin Wang, David Woolsey and Christine Yeh. Most national semifinalists who continue their academic excellence

into their senior year, and who are endorsed by their principals and earn high scores on their SATs, will advance to the finalist round, where they have opportunities to win scholarships. Three Harker finalists from the class of 2005 were awarded merit scholarships sponsored by the college to which they matriculated this year. The winners were Alex Tearse-Doyle (UC Irvine), Amit Jain (UCLA) and Roberta Wolfson (UCLA). Two other seniors earned special recognition. Mariah Bush was one of 1,600 students recognized by the NMSP’s competition for Black American high school students; about 130,000 students were considered for this distinction. And Will Waggoner was named a 2005-06 National Hispanic Recognition Program Honorable Mention Finalist.

The NMSP also acknowledged those students who scored at or above the national commended level. Harker’s Commended Scholars are: Killashandra Biesele, Casey Blair, Karena Chan, Tara Chandra, Neil Chao, Jonathan Chien, Sameer Chopra, Anjana Dasu, Jackson Davis, Avanti Deshpande, Ankur Gupta, Catherine Ho, Timothy Ho, Thomas Holford, Eric Hsieh, Shawn Huda, Katherin Hudkins, Derek Keung, Rose Kirby, Arjun Kohli, Kenny Lee, Robert Li, Gail Nakano, Gopi Narra, Casey Near, Amanda Polzin, Rushikesh Sheth, Priya Takiar, Tanuj Thapliyal, Vijay Umapathy, Amira Valliani, Harish Venkatesan, Rohini Venkatraman and Lung-Hao Yu. Congratulations to all of our outstanding scholars!

Homecoming 16

Harker News — November 05

Judicial Committee Continues Important Role

Dean of Students Kevin Williamson, who is the first point of contact for students facing disciplinary issues, feels that there are still misperceptions about the committee. “Many parents and students view the Judicial Committee simply as a body established for punitive purposes,” said Williamson. “But, in fact, a student can elect to take his or her case to the committee if there is a feeling that my ruling was not just, and so the committee can

Homecoming week began with the football game Oct. 8 at Foothill College and culminated the following week with the girls volleyball game Oct. 14 and the Homecoming dance Oct. 15, attended by more than 400 students and sponsored this year by the JSA and Robotics clubs. Spirit events related to this year’s theme of salad dressing (chosen by the students!) took place on campus the entire week between those events. For the first time ever, the freshman class won the class competition during the rally, by diving into a vat of salad and dressing to retrieve bits of class posters. A new tradition began with each class creating a flag representing their year and theme, in this case their salad dressing: ranch, thou-

serve as mediators and perhaps rule on the student’s behalf.” Member Asavari Gupte, Gr. 12, agrees that the committee serves to represent the interests of the student body in relation to Harker’s standard of ethics. She said, “The Judicial Committee helps maintain the high standards of Harker as well as represent students and their points of view on the Honor Code and happenings in the school.” The committee is comprised of nine students and three faculty members, with two additional freshmen representatives elected in the second semester. Student members serve two-year terms, with the exception of one additional senior selected annually. Faculty members serve three-year terms, with two members elected by their

sand island, Caesar or Italian. Finally, by winning the rally, the class of ‘06 succeeded in the impressive feat of winning the Homecoming spirit week competition each of their four years! At the Homecoming volleyball game at the Blackford gym, where the girls swept Mercy San Francisco 3-0, the Homecoming court was reintroduced and the king and queen were crowned. Congratulations to all the princesses and princes: ’09: Kristina Bither, Arman Gupta; ’08: Tanya Schmidt, Philip Chu; ’07: Anjali Gill, Danyal Kothari; ’06: Carissa Chu, Jamie Wei, Jason Han Han, Arjun Kohli, and to 2006 queen and king Casey Near and Naushad Godrej. Godrej

faculty peers and one appointed by the administration. The 200506 Judicial Committee members are: Students – Samantha Fang, Gupte and Katherin Hudkins, Gr. 12; Carolyn Wang and Richard Kwant, Gr. 11; Tonia Sun and Stephanie Lio, Gr. 10. Faculty – Donna Gilbert, Evan Barth and John Hawley. “One thing I have noticed about our student committee members,” said Hawley, “is that they are not elected merely based on their popularity. They are serious, thoughtful individuals, and have a real understanding of justice.” The US Honor Code was actually devised, debated and created by the Judicial Committee, a fact that most members feel grants the Code greater credibility with the student body. “It is thoroughly

important that students constructed the Honor Code,” said Gupte. “It makes it personal for the students.” If a disciplinary issue cannot be completely resolved between Williamson and the student involved, then the committee is convened. At that point, Williamson and the student meet with the committee to present the facts, after which a course of action is recommended to the administration. “We personally believe that the job of the student members of the Judicial Committee is to represent the student body and its concerns the best we possibly can,” said Fang. “We try to be fair and judicious in our decisions, but student involvement provides the key to understanding as well as balance in the decision process.”

“Once again, Harker students outdid themselves during Homecoming week, supporting their classes and each other for another terrific year,” said activities director Chris Daren.

Spirit Week 2005 Harker News — November 05

Mark Tantrum and Steven Wong, parent

The Harker Judicial Committee, the group of students and faculty which interprets and upholds the US Honor Code, has greatly evolved since its inception in 1998. Originally created simply to enforce school rules, the Judicial Committee now acts through mediation, intervention and examination of issues regarding disciplinary and ethics issues.

upper

school

Update Debate ■ Congratulations to the Harker US Speech and Debate Society for its great showing in late September at California State University, Long Beach. Program director Matthew Brandstetter recognized the following students, who helped Harker earn a fifth place sweepstakes award overall from a field of 74 competing schools: Impromptu Speaking: Arjun Banerjee, Gr. 12, first place; Sophia Gilman, Gr. 9, fourth place Policy Debate Quarter-Finalists: Varsity Debate: Tatsu Hashimoto, Gr. 11 and Nicholas Tan, Gr. 11; Novice Debate: Aaron Lin, Gr. 9 and Jonathan Liu, Gr. 9 Lincoln-Douglas Debate SemiFinalists: Junior Varsity: Deepa Ramakrishnan, Gr. 10; Novice: Mohit Bansal, Gr. 9 Lincoln-Douglas Speaker Award: Sixth speaker: Deepa Ramakrishnan Policy Debate Speaker Award: Seventh speaker: Palash Agarwal, Gr. 10 ■ In October Brandstetter proudly announced that the National Forensic League (NFL) recognized Harker’s Speech and Debate Soci-

brief

Single vs Multiple Sports ety with a national award honoring the excellent program the school has developed since 1999. Says Brandstetter, “The credit for this national honor must necessarily be extended to all the Harker students, past and present, who have contributed to the rising success of our program.” Debate parents Nisha and Arun Tolani, (Alisha, Gr. 12), wrote Brandstetter a congratulatory message: “We celebrate your every success and look forward to your continued excellence!” The team will receive a plaque from the NFL, which Brandstetter says “will hang proudly in the Speech and Debate squad room as a reminder of all the talented and dedicated students who have represented Harker with dignity and excellence.” ■ More News! Just as this newsletter went to press, Brandstetter was informed that Harker’s Speech and Debate Society is currently ranked 95th out of 2700 forensic programs nationwide, which is roughly in the top 3.5 percentile range. ■ Coming Up Howard & Diana Nichols Tournament of Champions Tournament Qualifier Fri.- Sun., Mar. 3-5 STG Campus

kudos! Serafine Chen, Gr. 11, was named one 45 finalists from a pool of over 14,000 entries in the 14th annual Ayn Rand Essay Contest for her essay on Rand’s novelette “Anthem.” Chen entered her essay in the contest in March 2005. Entries are judged based on style and content, and must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of “Anthem.” Congratulations to Chen on her outstanding accomplishment!

sports

The culture of high school sports has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. More specifically, many athletes are starting to focus on one sport for year-round competition and training. Although this is a personal decision for each child and their families, the Harker athletic department encourages multiple sport participation. Full ride athletic college scholarships are extremely rare. If students are talented enough for a scholarship in a particular sport, then colleges will be aware of their athleticism. Playing a second or even third sport will not detract from their main sport training and if anything, it will enhance it. Not only can the additional sport be a refreshing break for young athletes and help prevent “burnout,” staying competitive will assist them with their main sport. A single sport focus may lead to overuse injuries. The typical high schoolaged body is still developing, thus doing the same motion in any sport for 10-15 hours per week all year may lead to further injury. In an Oct. 11 article in the Journal News of New York, Dr. Eric Small, director of Family Sports Medicine and Nutrition in Mount Kisco, New York, who specializes in pediatric and adolescent sports medicine, said he estimates that half his practice is treating children and teens with injuries related to overspecialization. “In fact,” he says, “doctors are performing surgery on children as young as 12 for elbow and shoulder injuries that, 20 years ago, weren’t seen in patients who were younger than 25.” For a link to the full article, visit the Harker Athletics Web page.

“...the Harker athletic department encourages multiple sport participation.” Many children and families have experienced success and happiness with a one-sport focus, but playing multiple sports will simply provide more learning experiences for your children, make them better athletes and more well-rounded people. The talented coaches at Harker are waiting for your sons and daughters to try out – please encourage them to do so!

—Dan Molin, US Athletic Director danm@harker.org

Winter Sports Start This Month! Sharon Her, Gr. 12, co-editorin-chief of Harker’s US student newspaper, The Winged Post, is writing a monthly update on Harker’s US sports teams and programs for the Bay Area edition of School Sports magazine. Her’s first contribution can be read in the October edition of the publication.

Our winter sport offerings are starting this month. If your child is interested in boys or girls basketball, boys or girls wrestling or girls soccer please have them contact the athletic office or the coaches directly. They are: n Boys Basketball: Jeremiah Brewer, jeremiahb@harker.org n Girls Basketball: John Near, johnn@harker.org n Wrestling: Karriem Stinson, karriems@harker.org n Girls Soccer: Evan Barth, evanb@harker.org Please remember that all athletic paperwork must be on file prior to tryouts, including an athletic physical. All forms are on the Harker Web site under ATHLETICS.

Mandatory Meeting – Thurs., Nov. 17 6:30 p.m., Blackford Campus Multi-Purpose Room This is an important mandatory meeting for all winter sport athletes and their parents. Even if your child is just contemplating a winter sport, you and he/she must attend. Snacks will be provided for the one-hour meeting.

Harker News — November 05

sports

■ Water Polo Coach David Towle reported that the boys water polo team kicked off their season at the Monte Vista Invitational. Led by pace-setter Raymond Paceman, Gr. 10, and goalkeeper Philip Perkins, Gr. 11, the boys will seek to end their season on a high note. “Both boys and girls water polo teams had a successful first year, paving the way for a solid future,” said athletic director Dan Molin.

Steven Wong, parent

■ Girls Volleyball The varsity girls volleyball team, coached by Theresa Smith, has earned Harker’s first-ever CCS ranking (see front page). The junior varsity team has also battled extremely hard in recent weeks, making excellent showings in a number of tournaments. ■ Girls Tennis The girls tennis team, coached by Craig Pasqua, is tied for first place in its league, as it attempts to win its first league championship. Said Molin, “This is without a doubt one of the strongest varsity teams in Harker history, and they have earned the respect of the entire league!” The team performed well in the Santa Catalina Tournament, finishing 5th overall. In the individual competition, Christina Yee, Gr. 11, won the singles championship, while Tara Panu, Gr. 9, won the #2 singles consolation title, and the team of Alyssa Boyle and Dominique Dabija, both Gr. 9, were the doubles consolation winners. ■ Boys Cross Country The boys cross country team made a great amount of progress over the past couple of months, according to coach Philippe Gonzalez. Gonzalez gave special praise to Sam Levine, Gr. 9, who is now the number two runner on the team. “Sam finished 19th at the first league meet, which is pretty good for his first season,” said Gonzalez. “He is also a good team leader.” Kevin Xu, Gr. 9, also made huge strides, moving up to the number six spot on the team. “I don’t expect him Harker News — November 05

to stop there,” said the coach. “He may be in the top four by the end of the season.” Though a senior, Victor Wang is also one of the team’s new members, and is already the number three runner on the squad. Harker finished with five runners in the top 30 at a league meet for the first time in Sept., despite the fact that only two seniors were among their top runners. Said Gonzalez, “Two freshmen and three juniors completed the team, which means that the team will be an even stronger one next season.” ■ Girls Cross Country The girls cross country team is young, with no seniors in its top seven. With a number of sophomores and freshmen, Coach Gonzalez predicts that the team will greatly improve over the next two seasons. Roshmi Bhattacharya, Gr. 9, has been the team’s number one runner all season, while the number two runner, Mansi Shah, Gr. 11, “is progressing more and more,” according to Gonzalez. All signs point to a bright future for the cross country team. “The team is working harder this season, running about 35-40 miles per week, and huge progress has been made,” he added. “More parents are also coming along with the team to help out and cheer along our runners!” ■ Girls Golf The golf team won first place at the Santa Teresa Golf Tournament, defeating very talented teams from Castelleja and Notre Dame. The Eagles were led by team co-captain Elyse Kim, Gr. 11, who was the tournament’s medalist as the player with the lowest individual score. Co-captain Colleen Lee, Gr. 12, turned in another strong performance. Several newcomers also contributed to the victory.

Jennifer Wang, Gr. 11, had another impressive round, as did talented freshmen Rachel Wang and Andrea Kim. The girls team and coach Chris Colletti look forward to continued success in their final league tournament. ■ Football The football team has continued to compete hard, despite having only 31 players on the roster. In the Homecoming game against Stone Ridge Christian High School, freshman quarterback Arman Gupta got off to a great start, completing 3 of 5 passes for 54 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown pass to junior Grayson Hurd, before leaving the game with a hand injury. Mike Keller, Gr. 11, took over at quarterback and provided a heroic effort, throwing for 110 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for an additional 72 yards. Gregg Ringold, Gr. 11, caught Keller’s 64-yard touchdown pass. Senior Jeff Lui led the Eagles with eight tackles, while senior Chris Sutardja recovered two Stone Ridge fumbles. Said head coach Fred Barnes, “The team continues to exemplify the positive characteristics of commitSteven Wong, parent

fall

ment, courage and class. They have played with great team intensity, and have come together as a close group with a high level of camaraderie.” ■ Boys Soccer Coach Easy Perez reports that Harker soccer is continuing to excel in its quest for first place recognition. The team is currently in second place with a record of 7-2-2 and only a couple of points behind Sacred Heart School. Perez congratulates two players who continue to lead the way for Harker: Nash Godrej, Gr. 12, and Adam Rubin, Gr. 11, who give outstanding performances as goalie and attacking midfield, respectively. This month, special recognition goes to Jon Jenq, Gr. 12, who has assisted in several key goals and has played outstandingly in the back line as sweeper. Also Kian Ansari, Gr. 10, has helped pick up the team with his enthusiasm and intensity as a midfield player. Our J.V. squad is also playing strong with a record of 4-2, with great performances from Jeff Mandell, Gr. 9, and Barrett Glasauer, Gr. 9. Keep up the good work, J.V.!

Homecoming - Cont. from p. 1 Jerrica Liao, Samantha Townzen; Gr. 1: Claire Bourquin, Lauren Liu, Isabella Scott, Lauren Trihy, Ellen Wu, Ava Lauren Yee; Gr. 2: Kaitlyn Gee, Filitsa Kamenis, Mary Najibi, Chandler Nelson, Selin Ozcelik, Shannon Richardson, Ankita Sharma, Madison Tomihiro, Chloe Vandendries; Gr. 3: Christina Andrus, Madison Beine, Madeline Bourquin, Delaney Martin, Jordan Peetz, Sheridan Tobin, Nephele Troullinos, Jacqui Villarreal, Alexandra Walker. The US classes took to the field for the first segment of the traditional tug-of-war competition, where the juniors and seniors ruled. Halftime pitted these two classes against each other resulting in a win for the seniors (fast becoming another Homecoming tradition). After the tug-of-war, a minifleet of Mercedes Benz convertibles – lent by Smythe European – paraded the 2005-06 Harker Homecoming Court into the stadium (see back page for details). New this year was the addition of the girls volleyball game the following Friday to the Homecoming week festivities, where the crowning of the king and queen took place (see pages 16 & 17). And of course, no Harker Homecoming would be complete without the faculty / staff cheerleaders – John Hawley, Dan Hudkins, Brian Larsen, Monica MacKinnon (director), Julie Pinzás, Gabriele Stahl, Carol Underwood, and Carol Zink – who added a stunning pyramid to their repertoire this year. The Eagles played hard and with heart, and though the final score wasn’t in our favor, the contribution of the team, and the spirit and support displayed by the Harker community, once again gave us the opportunity to celebrate and support our wonderful students, and our great school (see photos back page).

homecoming ’05

Mark Tantrum and Robert Boucher, parent

harker

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 (PHP) on the Harker Web site at www.harker.org. Editor: Pam Dickinson; Asst. Editor: Catherine Snider; Copy Editor: Jennifer Margoni; Production: Crystal Boyd, Jaja Hsuan, Blue Heron Design Group; Photos: Mark Tantrum, unless noted; Lead Writer: Ali Abdollahi; Contributors: Nick Gassmann, Steven Wong; Printing: Harker Copy Shop; Mailing Coordinator: Jerusha Hew Len.

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

Grades K-5: 4600 Bucknall Rd., San Jose CA 95130 Grades 6-8: 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose CA 95117 Grades 9-12: 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose CA 95129

Harker believes that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate against its employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, age (over 40), marital status, political afﬁliations, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by state or federal laws, local law or ordinance. Harker News — November 05