![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)
Upper School hosts Back to School Day
Whoever will attend Back to School Day will receive a brochure with the campus map in its pages. Back To School Day will take place Saturday, September 10.
September 9, 2016
Back to School Day invites all Harker Upper School parents to the Saratoga campus to learn about their child’s classes and teachers, while the teachers meet their student’s parents and discuss the curriculum of their classes on Sept. 10.
“We have Back to School Day so that the parents can put a face to the name,” Butch Keller, Head of the Upper School, said. “The teachers like this time because they promote themselves by talking about ‘this is what I do, this is what I stand for and this is how much I love to teach.’”
Due to construction, parents of seniors are required to park at Blackford along with the other parents. They are recommended to arrive at the Blackford campus before 9:30 a.m. to take a shuttle to the Saratoga Campus. Each bus will have one student ambassador, who is a member of the Associated Student Body (ASB) or the National Honor Society (NHS). They will explain the agenda of the day with the parents.
“Generally, our senior parents are able park on campus,” Lori Villarreal, Administrative Assistant to the Head of the Upper School, said. “We have had shuttles in the past, but this year they have to take the shuttle. That’s the only difference.”
From 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., there will be tables outside of Nichols Hall with the student’s schedules for parents to pick up. The student ambassadors will help parents find their way around campus, hand out the schedules of students and hand out maps of the campus.
“We have a variety of jobs in Back to School Day,” ASB President Sandip Nirmel (12) said. “We are supposed to guide the parents around and show them where the classrooms are, and if there are any questions about what we do, where things are or how things work, they can ask us.”
In addition to learning about their child’s school day, parents will also listen to a presentation by the Parent Development Council (PDC) members about endowments and its impact on the school. These presentations are during the advisory and first periods, which will both be 15 minutes long.
Every other class will be 10 minutes long, with a 10-minute gap between classes. Parents can visit Nichols Hall, Dobbins Hall or Main for refreshments, but will not have the opportunity to eat lunch on campus.
The Back to School Day event will end at 12:55 p.m. and parents can ride buses back to the Blackford campus.
