The Harker School

Ron McCurdy, a professor of music at UCLA, gave a presentation today on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s, tracing its history from migration of Black Americans from the South to the explosion of poetry, music and dance from Harlem that drew nationwide attention and greatly influenced American culture. The talk covered figures such as Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson and Marion Anderson as well as the popularity of dances such as the Lindy Hop and the rise to prominence of Black intellectuals such as W.E.B DuBois.

Congrats to these 12 seniors!

Many thanks to jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti for appearing this evening for the Virtual Harker Concert Series and to all who attended! Speaking with his longtime friend Dave Hart, Harker's upper school instrumental music director, Taylor talked about giving online piano lessons, what he learned as a touring musician and his new album, "Tree Falls" (out May 21 on GSI Records) and answered questions from students about his approach to composing. The video of Taylor's Oct. 18, 2018 concert at the Rothschild Performing Arts center is now available to view at https://vimeo.com/503209702

Reminder that the Virtual Harker Concert Series with Taylor Eigsti is tonight at 7 p.m.! Use the Facebook event page to register for the live chat for free!

Simar Bajaj '20 recently co-authored a piece for the New England Journal of Medicine!

Congratulations to these four ninth graders for making the top 50 in the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition!

Middle school students had great fun at this week's after-school activities, where they participated in sports, jazz dance, hip hop dance, graffiti art and more! Enjoy the long weekend!

Downbeat has been rehearsing choreography on-campus this week in preparation for the annual Big Assembly Day and a special holiday outreach film!

Congratulations to freshman Sriram Bhimaraju, who last week won third place Wells Fargo Community Innovation Award in Arizona State University’s Sustainability Solutions Science Fair! Sriram, who participated in the fair at the middle school level after entries were requested in June, developed a way to reduce water pollution that threatens coral reefs.

Yesterday was the first day of on-campus remote learning at the upper school, and 24 students arrived on campus to attend classes remotely and socialize with their friends while following safety guidelines. Students greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn on campus again, if only for a few hours!

Congratulations to this year's Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees! Read more about them here!

HAPPENING NOW: You can still register and attend the virtual Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony! Remember to wear your Eagles gear!

On Monday, transitional kindergarten students spent their first day back in the classroom! Activities during the day included circle time, STEM, music and movement and free play!

Over the last several days, the Harker community has been celebrating the birthday and life of Howard Nichols by baking chocolate chip cookies at home using the Harker kitchen's own recipe! Have a look at these delicious community-crafted confections!

On Fri., Oct. 16, four alumni -- A.J. Reid '04, Chris Davis '03, Candace Silva-Martin '09 and Isabelle Connell '13 -- will be inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame. Please join the community in celebrating the accomplishments of these four alumni athletes at a special virtual ceremony, which will begin at 6 p.m. Wearing Eagles gear is strongly encouraged! Registration is required, so please see visit the link if you plan to attend!

To celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day, storyteller Jim Cogan made an appearance at a virtual lower school assembly this morning to share three special stories. The first, from the Klamath people of Northern California and Southern Oregon, told the tale of a group of women who demanded more support from the men of their tribe for their hard work and ingenuity. In the second, Cogan recalled the story of Rosa Parks, whose acts of defiance in the Jim Crow were monumental moments of the Civil Rights movement. Finally, Cogan relayed the story of Jackie Mitchell, a woman who pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team and struck out baseball greats Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in a legendary exhibition game.

Tomorrow, Oct. 10, is the birthday of Howard Nichols, who served as Harker's president for nearly 40 years and in that time was a key figure -- alongside his wife, Diana -- in shaping Harker into the school it is today. Each year, the community celebrates Howard's birthday by enjoying chocolate chip cookies in recognition of Howard's practice of keeping a jar full of the treats on his desk for others to enjoy. Although the community cannot celebrate Howard's birthday in person this year, we hope these images keep Howard's legacy fresh in your mind while you enjoy a cookie this weekend! Happy birthday, Howard!

Upper school instrumental music teacher Dave Hart spent much of his summer putting together a stellar group of coaches for each section of the upper school orchestra, and in late September students had the opportunity to learn from top-level musicians such as oboist Adrienne Malley of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, clarinetist Ginger Kroft from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and and flutist Katrina Walter of the Marin Symphony!

Anna Weirich, grade 12, traveled to Arizona last week to compete in the 14th annual Desert Twilight meet. Weirich was not representing Harker, but rather raced as an "unattached" competitor to stay compliant with CCS rules in representing one's school out of season. More than 100 schools from across the nation competed in the two-day event, which saw temperatures hit triple digits for the 5K race. Weirich took 12th out of 110 runners in the Unattached-Club Girls Sweepstakes. Weirich is the reigning CCS D4 champ and is looking for another great season once the COVID-19 delayed year gets going in December. Check out the story from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here: https://www.santacruzsentinel.com//local-runners-brave-ar/

Yesterday was World Teachers' Day, and today we're celebrating the Harker teachers who'veworked so hard to maintain high quality education in these remarkable times. You are all admired and appreciated!