This article originally appeared in the summer 2019 issue of Harker Magazine.

Professional accomplishments of our faculty and staff.

Preschool science teacher Robyn Stone has been very busy! In April, she presented at the California Association for the Education of Young Children’s annual conference, where her two workshops – “Engineering and Design Thinking Projects” and “Mathematize This!” – were very well received. She also was featured in the CAAEYC Connections spring 2019 journal, and was invited to present at the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Professional Learning Institute in June. In addition, Stone completed her National Geographic Educator certification in April, and was selected to give a workshop titled Environmental Literacy” in October at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose. She is also slated to complete the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Leadership in Education Administration program in June.

Debra Nott, Harker’s director of health services, was awarded the 2019 Excellence in School Nursing Administration Award by the California School Nurses Organization in mid-February. “Debra’s dedication to student health and excellence in school nursing practice is an inspiration to her peers and colleagues throughout the state,” said Sherri Vitali, awards and scholarship chair for the organization. “CSNO is very proud of Debra and her many accomplishments.” The award was presented at the 2019 CSNO conference in Monterey in front of 600 of Nott’s peers.

In January, upper school music teacher Dave Hart gave a presentation at the Jazz Education Network in Reno, Nev. His presentation, called “From the Ear to the Horn: Inspiring Students Through Creativity,” was sponsored by Harker and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. In it, Hart showed how teachers can improve their students’ overall musicianship through emphasis on improvisation, and how practicing skills such as learning to play by ear, singing and reading music with their fellow students can also encourage them to be more creative.

Middle school learning, innovation and design director Abigail Joseph was recognized in February  by the city of Seattle’s information technology department, which tweeted from its account @SeattleITDept: In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth we  recognize @drabigailjoseph – A technology educator, computer scientist, design thinker, STEM enthusiast looking to create, collaborate, innovate and institute meaningful social change.