![“[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)
Teachers attend CAIS conference
California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) held its biennial teacher in-service day on March 9 at the Head-Royce school in Oakland, California, with an approximate participation of 2,500 educators.
CAIS teacher in-service day is a conference in which teachers from the private schools of Northern California converge to attend the approximately 240 lectures and workshops, and network with fellow educators.
“It is a great day for the entire Harker faculty to show our collective commitment to professional growth,” Gargano said.
As a result of the conference, administration added March 9 as a vacation day for the community. Faculty speakers included Upper School teachers Damon Halback, Evan Barth, Jane Keller, Katy Rees, Kelly Horan, Mark Janda, Monica Colletti, Meredith Cranston, Nicholas Manjoine, Ray Fowler, Ruth Meyer, Samuel Lepler, Scott Pflaumer, Smriti Koodanjeri, Susan Smith, Tim Case and Victor Adler.
AP Economics teacher Lepler presented with fellow economics teacher Halback on teaching the more complex areas of economics.
“The conference was helpful for sharing teaching ideas, setting up interscholastic competitions and collaboration, and making friends,” Lepler said.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 13, 2015.
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...