![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
The junior class sailing and kayaking trip, planned for today, was cancelled by an email sent out Friday afternoon due to the stormy weather in Japan.
Tropical Storm Man-yi hit Japan last week, leaving widespread damage throughout the archipelago. This storm greatly increased the energy of waves in the ocean; the waves are expected to hit the California coastline Monday. The administration decided that the weather patterns in Japan created a threat to the safety of the students kayaking or sailing in the Bay.
Many juniors, including Class president Sarah Bean, expressed discontent over the cancellation of the trip.
“I’m pretty disappointed that it was cancelled, but I know it was cancelled for the best,” she said. “We wouldn’t want to go and do something that is not safe.”
Like Sarah, Arjun Ashok (11) was disappointed in the cancellation of trip because he was looking forward to spending time with his advisory away from the classroom.
“It would have been a fun way to bond with my advisory,” Arjun said. “Now that they cancelled it, I’m kind of miffed by it right now because I was expecting to have a fun Monday rather than coming to school and having to learn.”
The short notice in change of plans forced teachers both going on the trip and teaching classes consisting mostly of juniors to come up with a lesson plan for Monday.
“As an advisor, I am sad not to have this important time with my advisees,” said Math teacher, Jane Keller. “As a teacher, it just means that we have to adjust. Flexibility goes with the territory of teaching.”
After the cancellation of the trip, the administration rescheduled the trip for Wednesday Oct. 9.
“I’m really happy that it got rescheduled so soon so that we wouldn’t have to wait for a long time,” Nicholas Nguyen (11) said. “It’s a really good chance to bond with our advisories and just have a relaxing day, away from all the hard work we do at school, such as studying for vocab.”
All details regarding the original trip will remain the same, simply shifted back a week and a half.
