![“[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)
Students and faculty wear Apple Watches around campus
Customers can examine and play with the Apple Watch in Apple stores. Apple Watches start appearing around campus as students and faculty purchase the device after the release date.
Students and faculty alike show interest in Apple Watches as they start appearing around campus.
The wearable device comes in three versions: Apple Watch, Sports Watch and Watch Edition.
Ranging from $549 to $1,099, Apple Watch comes with a choice of 20 different stainless steel cases and seven different bands.
The Sports Watch, the cheapest version, has 10 aluminum models and five color choices for its band. Depending on size, it can be bought at $349 or $399.
As the most expensive version, the Watch Edition provides eight models with casings made of 18-karat rose and yellow gold along with two types of bands from $10,000 to $17,000.
Apple employees can purchase any iWatch at a 50 percent discount.
Neeraj Agarwal (9), whose mother works for Apple, owns Samsung’s Gear Live smartwatch as well as the Apple Watch, shares his thoughts on the device.
“I think the crown is [cool]. I think it’s a big step in the right direction in terms of smartwatch design. Especially compared to Android Wear, where it doesn’t have that,” he said.
English teacher Ohad Paran, who owns the Sports Watch, explains how the text and email sends notifications without making unnecessary sounds.
“The way that it works, is it’s got a special chip on the inside where when it receives a message, then it taps you on your wrist and it doesn’t make any noise and it doesn’t vibrate,” he said.
Other than its features of texting and calling, the iWatch also includes Wi-Fi and GPS. It also has the capability to allow the sender to draw a picture, which the watch turns into an animation and sends to the chosen recipient.
Paran believes that the Apple Watch is useful during work. Before he received the iWatch, it was inconvenient because he would have to check his computer screen to make sure nothing important arrived through email or iMessage.
“I’ll be talking and a message will come in, during work hours, it’s usually an email, so I’ll just look at it and make sure it’s nothing important that I need to handle right now and make a mental note,” Paran said.
Sophomore Taylor Iantosca, whose father works at Apple, also owns an Apple Sports Watch and she enjoys its conveniency and medical aspect.
“Something that it does that the phone can’t do, since it’s on you, it has a sensor that can monitor your health,” she said.
The Apple Watch includes an app that monitors the person’s daily exercise. It can calculate the number of calories burned, the time of active exercise completed as well as the number of times the owner stood up during the day, which are split into three rings. The goal is to complete all three rings during the day.
“So if you’re working out, you can determine how many calories you burned and when you’re eating, you can count how many calories you intake and what your heart rate is. You can do all that medical stuff that the phone can’t do.”
Apple Watches went on sale on April 24.
Jackie Gao (10) is in her second year on staff is a reporter of the Winged Post. Her favorite part of journalism is the ability to interact with various...