![“[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)
Gym Jam kicks off spirit
Classes pick themes for dances, play spirit games
Diana Moss leads a special game of musical chairs for Gym Jam attendees.
Harker’s annual Gym Jam began at 4 p.m. in the gym last Saturday, during which Spirit club planned a series of games and activities to engage 43 attendees.
Gym Jam is social event in which underclassmen have the opportunity to bond with upperclassmen while playing games, choosing Homecoming and Winter Ball themes and brainstorming ideas for school-wide spirit involvement.
The first game played was a variation of rock-paper-scissors, and the second a variation of musical chairs. Instead of merely sitting on the chair after the music stopped, students were given a body part to latch onto the chair. Interesting options such as “elbow”, “nose” and “armpit” were called out by co-spirit club presidents Julia Wang (12) and Katy Sanchez (12) as students scrambled to find chairs and stay in the game.
After the gym games, students broke up into groups by grade-level and met their class deans to brainstorm ideas regarding boosting student involvement in spirit.
The five sophomores in attendance had a plethora of ideas on how to increase student-participation in spirit events. Ideas included using a sophomore-wide group chat that would alert students of upcoming spirit events, using incentives such as food to entice students to attend, and nominating the entire sophomore class for the ALS ice bucket challenge as well as donating from the class fund to the ALS Association.
The group also touched upon issues such as the design of the class t-shirt for homecoming and the usage of last year’s flag. The overarching goal of this discussion, led by sophomore Dean Jeffrey Draper, was to increase student participation in spirit events and promote school spirit, while having fun.
After the discussions came to an end, pool time began with a relay race. After relaxing by the pool, Arben Gutierrez-Bujari (10) accepted the ALS ice bucket challenge and was doused with a bucket of ice-water.
Afterwards, sophomore class President Sandip Nirmel and Spirit Coordinator Haley Tran proceeded to take on the challenge together.
After practice, the football team team joined the gym jam attendees for a barbeque dinner, courtesy of Butch Keller.
Following dinner, the students reconvened and chose the theme for this year’s homecoming dance and winter ball, which which will be Mythical Cities and Agent 007 respectively.
Theme selection was followed by a game of glow-in-the-dark dodgeball and the traditional candle ceremony. Students joined together and took a moment to reflect upon the past year, and share their hopes and goals for the upcoming one.
Upperclassmen passed on words of wisdom to underclassmen.
Sophomore Taylor Iantosca cited her favorite part of gym jam as being the glow-in-the-dark dodgeball game and looks back upon the evening as a definite success, paving the way for future spirit events.
“I think it was a success because we kicked off the year with spirit and I can already tell that those who contributed to today will ensure that spirit will last throughout the year,” Taylor said.
While senior class dean Diana Moss acknowledged the fact that the turnout was rather low from the lower classes, she agreed with Taylor.
“The energy was great and students seemed to enjoy the games, pool activity, food and BBQ and finally planning spirit activities for the upcoming year. It’s a great way to have some fun before school gets underway and I hope next year’s turnout will be better,” Moss said.
Sophomore class spirit coordinator Haley Tran thought the evening to be a great opportunity for class unity and bonding; she too enjoyed the dodgeball game.
“My favorite activity was glow in the dark dodgeball because underclassmen and upperclassmen worked together on teams,” Haley said. “[Gym Jam] allowed people from different grades to really bond and also was successful in allowing students to have a voice in the winter ball and homecoming themes chosen this year.”
Arben Gutierrez-Bujari (10) named his favorite part of gym jam as voting on the school’s themes for dances and homecoming.
“Voting made me feel like my opinion mattered,” he said.
Like Moss, junior Evan Lohn made mention of the low underclassmen turnout, but still considers the evening as being a productive one.
“Gym Jam was a success in that we picked the themes for Homecoming and Winter Ball and brainstormed Spirit activities. However, the place we definitely failed this year was getting the word out about Gym Jam to the incoming freshmen,” Evan said.
As the evening came to a close, the festivities ended after ice cream was served for all.
This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on August 29, 2014.
Tara Parimi (12) is co-Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. She has been involved with the upper school's journalism...