![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)
Yoga and capoeira classes begin
Students practice boat pose individually. Wendler’s classes will take place every Tuesday and Friday.
The athletics department began after school classes for Yoga and Capoeira this week on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Yoga is split into two sections, section one on Mondays and Thursdays and section two on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Chris Collins, Assistant to Director of Athletics, feels that these courses are valuable for students, especially those who are very stressed.
“We wanted to give students who are not interested in participating in a competitive sport an activity to do,” she said. “Capoeira is a great movement class and yoga is great for relaxation.”
Yoga is the more popular of the two courses, with enrollment at its maximum of 25 students per section.
Denise Wendler is the instructor for session two, and she has been teaching yoga for 19 years.
“I like to give the tool of yoga to people and to kids who can hopefully use it in their studies and to help with tension and stuff, but then also they can use it throughout their lives,” Wendler said.
The other section is taught by english teacher, Nicholas Manjoine.
One reason that Gwyneth Chen (10) takes yoga is because of the smaller time commitment than other sports.
“I don’t really have time to do other sports, so it’s a convenient way to have my P.E. credits, but I also do like it because it feels nice to me to stretch and to do the poses.“ she said. “Although I don’t do it anymore, I used to dance, and the movements are a little similar.”
Capoeira takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Currently, it has an enrollment of 16 students.
Loren Due (‘85) has been learning Capoeira, a Brazilian Martial Art, for 22 years and teaching it at Harker for over a decade.
“One of the things I like seeing is [a] students growth.” he said. “I like seeing them come in and not necessarily know how to do any of the moves then by the end of the class, they’re getting stuff down and they’re learning and exploring different movements, learning about their bodies, learning about the culture.”
Antony Sagayaraj (11) is participating in Capoeira for his third year, even though he initially did not intend to take it.
“I began to like it because I could do things now that I couldn’t do before like cartwheels and handstands,” he said.
Each class continues throughout the whole semester and gives each student 0.5 P.E. credits.
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