• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • The Harker School
  • Menu
  • Admission
  • Lower School
  • Middle School
  • Upper School
  • Summer
  • More
    • About
    • News
    • Alumni
    • Giving
  • News

  • The Harker News provides timely information, news and features about the Harker community to current and alumni Harker families.

  • |
  • General News
  • Lower School
  • Middle School
  • Upper School
  • Alumni
  • Summer
  • In the News

Grade 5 Student Wins Award for Designing Anti-Bully App

September 11, 2014 by Debbie Cohen

Share this:

  • Tweet

Grade 5 student Yash Narayan recently received the “Best Educational App” award from iOSDevCamp, where he created an innovative app called BullyWatch.

In an event dominated by adult, veteran developers, Narayan was one of only two youth to participate among 500 talented industry insiders from companies including Facebook, Twitter and Apple. The camp (http://www.iosdevcamp.org/) is an annual nonprofit gathering where participants develop applications for iOS (an operating system used for mobile devices manufactured by Apple Inc.) products.

  • MS girls robotics qualifies for world championships
    Read
    MS girls robotics qualifies for world championships

This year’s camp was held at PayPal’s San Jose headquarters over a weekend in late August.

The unique BullyWatch app, which takes the form of a watch, is designed to help stop bullying at school. Oftentimes students cannot express their emotions to a bully and sometimes bullies themselves are unaware that they are, in fact, bullying. Using BullyWatch, when a student feels bullied, they press a button that turns orange, expressing emotions to the bully of feeling bullied. Usually bullies will then back off, but if not, the student can then press the watch for a few more seconds and it will turn red, sending a text message to school staff with the victimized student’s name and location, thus alerting teachers.

“Thousands of kids are bullied in school every day and feel like nobody. My mission in life is to eliminate bullying from schools. I want every kid to feel safe and important. I created BullyWatch to help kids express their emotions to bullies with a click of one single button and get help quickly,” said Narayan.

According to his mother, Ritu Narayan, the iOSDevCamp is the second largest hackathon (an event where programmers meet to do collaborative computer programming) for iPhone- and iPad-based applications. She said Yash had just finished a summer camp at Stanford for developing iPhone applications, and out of curiosity accompanied his father to the hackathon. While there, he decided to pitch his BullyWatch app and subsequently built a working end-to-end product over the course of two days, never expecting to win the prestigious “Best Education Application” award.

Hackathons like the one the Narayans attended provide a venue for self-expression and creativity through technology. People with technical backgrounds come together, form teams around a problem or idea and collaboratively code a unique solution from scratch;  the solutions generally take shape in the form of websites, mobile apps and robots.

“Everyone at the competition was very impressed by the courage and persistence Yash showed, and were curious about the school that was nurturing him,” said Ritu Narayan.

Narayan’s app is especially relevant for students these days. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ anti-bullying website, Stopbullying.gov, the majority of bullying today takes place at school, with one in three U.S. students reporting that they have been bullied there.

“We are all so proud of Yash’s recent accomplishments and recognition. He is part of a growing tradition here at Harker in which our students and alumni are exploring the intersection between entrepreneurialism and service to the greater community,” said Chris Nikoloff, Harker’s head of school. 

You may also like

  • Science teacher releases third book in series about the elements
    Science teacher releases third book in series about the elements
  • Bajaj ’20 speaks to students on racism in medicine
    Bajaj ’20 speaks to students on racism in medicine
  • Harker teams place high in regional DOE Science Bowl
    Harker teams place high in regional DOE Science Bowl
  • 12 seniors selected as 2021 Presidential Scholar candidates
    12 seniors selected as 2021 Presidential Scholar candidates
  • Bajaj ’20 published in New England Journal of Medicine
    Bajaj ’20 published in New England Journal of Medicine
  • Four seniors named scholars in 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search
    Four seniors named scholars in 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search
  • [UPDATED] Eighth grader named finalist 2020 Broadcom MASTERS program
    [UPDATED] Eighth grader named finalist 2020 Broadcom MASTERS program
  • Senior research on low-cost masks published in peer-reviewed journal
    Senior research on low-cost masks published in peer-reviewed journal

Related

Filed Under: General News, Lower School Tagged With: Lower School

Primary Sidebar

Search for Articles

Multimedia Features

  • Harker Research Symposium Video Earns Award
  • Into the Fringe: Conservatory Takes ‘Into the Woods’ to Edinburgh

Subscribe to Harker News via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Harker News and receive a daily digest of recent posts.

Delivered by FeedBurner

Trending Stories

  • DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang '10 gifts $10 millionDoorDash co-founder Andy Fang ’10 gifts $10 million
  • Harker DECA performs well at SCDCHarker DECA performs well at SCDC
  • Dashing through life: DoorDash founder Andy Fang '10  – an alumni profile from Harker MagazineDashing through life: DoorDash founder Andy Fang…

The Harker Magazine

Published two times a year, The Harker Magazine showcases some of the top news, leading programs, inspiring people and visionary plans of the greater Harker community.

More Harker publications

About Harker

The Harker School is a non-profit, private K-12 school in Silicon Valley that has earned international recognition for its top academics, quality teachers and students' achievements. Founded in 1893, Harker is the largest independent school of its kind in California, with a dedicated campus for each of its divisions – elementary school, middle school and upper school – in San Jose, CA.

Learn more about The Harker School

Links

  • Harker Aquila
  • Preschool
    • Academics
    • Specialty Classes
    • Teachers
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Lower School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Middle School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Upper School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
    • Admission
    • Summer
    • About
    • News
    • Alumni
    • Giving
The Harker School

Copyright © 1893-2015 • The Harker School • 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129 • 408.249.2510 | Contact Us | Privacy Policy

  • Follow Us!
  • Admission
    • Request Information
    • Campus Visits
    • Applying to Harker
    • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Admission FAQs
  • Preschool
    • Academics
    • Specialty Classes
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Support & Services
      • Extended Care
      • Food Progam
      • Libraries
      • Summer Preschool
      • Transportation
      • Safety & Security
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Lower School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
      • After-School Program
      • Athletics
        • Coach Directory
        • Athletic Events
      • Character Development & Outreach
      • Global Education
        • Global Relationships - Sister Schools
      • Performing Arts
        • Performing Arts Teacher Directory
      • STEM
      • Student Research
      • Visual Arts
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Students
    • Support & Services
      • Food Program
      • Health & Wellness
      • Libraries
      • Safety & Security
      • Transportation
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Middle School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
      • After-School Program
      • Athletics
        • Coach Directory
        • Athletic Events
      • STEM
      • Visual Arts
      • Global Education
        • Global Relationships - Sister Schools
      • Performing Arts
        • Performing Arts Teacher Directory
      • Character Development & Outreach
      • Speech & Debate
      • Student Research
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Students
    • Support & Services
      • Food Program
      • Health & Wellness
      • Libraries
      • Safety & Security
      • Technology
      • Transportation
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Upper School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
      • Character Development & Outreach
      • Performing Arts
        • Performing Arts Teacher Directory
      • Athletics
        • Coach Directory
        • Athletic Events
      • Visual Arts
      • STEM
      • Business & Entrepreneurship
      • Global Education
        • Global Relationships - Sister Schools
      • Speech & Debate
      • Student Research
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Students
    • Support & Services
      • College Counseling
      • Food Program
      • Health & Wellness
      • Libraries
      • Safety & Security
      • Technology
      • Transportation
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Summer
    • Summer Preschool
    • Summer Camp Plus: KinderCamp
    • Summer Camp Plus: Grades 1-5
    • Summer Institute Middle School
    • Summer Institute Upper School
    • English Language Institute
      • Program Details
        • International English Language Institute Brochures
    • Swim School
    • Summer @ The Conservatory
    • About
      • Eligibility
      • Summer Jobs
      • International Families
      • Summer Registration and Policies
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Philosophy & Mission
    • History
      • Harker's 125th!
    • Events
      • Family & Alumni Picnic
        • Admission Passes & Tickets
        • Alumni Guests
        • Schedule of the Day
        • Raffle
        • Silent Auction
        • Picnic T-Shirts
        • Donations
        • Sponsorships
        • Volunteer
        • History
      • Homecoming
      • Harker Concert Series
      • Harker Speaker Series
      • Harker Gala: Night on the Town
        • Community Sponsorships
        • Corporate Sponsorships
      • Harker Sports Clinics
      • Research Symposium
        • Student Abstracts
        • Corporate Exhibitors
      • Harker Alumni Gold Classic
    • Message from the Head of School
    • Board of Trustees
    • Facts & Stats
      • Student Achievements
      • Alumni Achievements
    • Sustainability at Harker
      • Nichols Hall: LEED Certified
    • Eagle Store
    • Staff Directory
    • Careers
    • Media Information
    • Privacy Policy
    • COPPA Statement
  • News
    • General News
    • Preschool News
    • Lower School News
    • Middle School News
    • Upper School News
    • Alumni News
    • Summer News
    • In The News
  • Alumni
    • Transcript Requests
  • Giving
    • How to Plan Your Giving
    • Annual Giving
      • How Funds are Spent
      • Gift Clubs
    • Capital Giving
      • About the Cornerstones Campaign
      • The Cornerstones Of Success Campaign: Phases 1-5
      • Gift Recognition & Namign Opportunities
        • Capital Giving Gift Clubs
      • How To Make A Capital Gift
      • Naming Opportunities
        • Performing Arts Center
        • Athletics Center
        • Paving Tiles
        • Bucknall Campus
        • Saratoga Campus
        • Policy
    • Endowment & Planned Giving
      • Endowment Policy
    • Volunteering
    • Donations and Pledges