![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
![“[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)
Lunch grading
The Upper School received a C for its clean-up after lunch today due to the large amounts of napkins left out. The prize for earning six A’s in a two week time span has not been determined yet.
Upper School students received a C today from the kitchen staff as a reflection of the leftover trash, a new grading system implemented a month ago.
Last year, ASB tried raising awareness on the problem of leaving food and trays after lunch but failed to make an impact. After talking with Chef Steve and understanding that the problem was worsening, they felt that they needed to create a new system and policy this year.
“We felt like we needed to start something like positive reinforcement and punishment sort of system and that’s what the grading system tries to do,” ASB Treasurer Rohith Bhethanabotla (12) said. “There needs to be some sort of community goal, something people can look forward to but something people don’t want to happen either.”
In a two week span, students must receive six A’s to get the reward for the next two weeks. On the other hand, six C’s or lower will result in a punishment, such as taking away the Mexican Grill as an option for lunch.
Some students notice a change in others’ actions after implementing the grading system.
“I feel like we should be able to fix it easily because we are smart kids,” Emma Doherty (10) said. “I don’t think they are thinking about the grade the most, but mostly the goal of keeping the Mexican food.”
Shikhar Dixit (11), who was featured in the trash video presented at a school meeting, recognizes the importance of the grading system to keep the eating area clean.
Kitchen staff is hoping this method will make a difference in the cleanliness of the eating locations, as the grades have been fluctuating and have not yet been consistent.
“I’ve noticed that a lot of kids will clean-up after themselves. It’s only a few kids that I’ve noticed that leave their stuff,” Bistro staff Connie Valenzuela said. “It’s kind of like one bad apple spoils the bunch.”
The following grades were given for this week, Feb. 18 to 21:
Tuesday: A
Wednesday: B
Thursday: C
Friday: C
Shannon Su is the Managing Editor and Executive News Director of Harker Aquila. She joined the program as a reporter her freshman year and has held many...