![“[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)
Parent-teacher conferences to take place over break
CONFERRING TO HELP: Dr. Eric Nelson works with Johnny Trinh (11), helping him solve problems and talking about parent-teacher conferences. Parent-teacher conferences are set for next week during Thanksgiving break.
Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled to take place over Thanksgiving break along with the implementation new changes to teacher comments starting to be implemented as the year progresses.
The previous narrative comments system has been changed to a new shout-out system. Instead of writing paragraphs for students at regular intervals, teachers now send a note to the advisor, student, and parent whenever a student displays exceptional behavior.
The changes were implemented to enhance the communication between teacher and parents.
“I really think [the changes were made] to really make a connection as opposed to just making it sound more routine, and I can tell you as a parent when I read comments from my children’s teachers that there is a little bit of the same old,” Evan Barth said. “But if I were to receive an email out of the blue then it would be more meaningful for me as parent. That is our goal and so far what we have heard from parents who have communicated with us they like the system.”
Parent-teacher conferences are designed to update parents on their child’s progress.
“I think the parent teacher conferences allow parents to meet with their child’s teachers in order to get a better idea of how classes are going.” Sandip Nirmel (10) said. “It allows teachers to provide compliments and suggestions to parents, while also giving parents the opportunity to bring up important matters and discuss them with teachers.”
Some students consider the conferences a powerful motivator to stay focused. Others believe that the conferences lack transparency and discourage the student with the teacher highlighting the negative aspects of the students’ academics rather than revealing the positive.
Furthermore, some believe that students cannot be trusted to accurately report their academic status to their parents and that the conferences alleviate that problem.
“It’s a good way for the parent to communicate with the teacher because teenagers are not very reliable,” Akhil Arun (9) said.
Parent-teacher conferences update parents on their child’s academic standings and allow the teachers to directly communicate issues or commendations to parents.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 21, 2014.
Alex Wang (12) is the opinion editor for Harker Aquila in his fourth year on staff. He was previously sports editor in his junior year. His favorite part...
Adrian Chu (12) is a columnist for the Winged Post and Aquila. He has served as an Opinion Editor for The Winged Post. This is his fourth year in journalism,...