![“[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)
Performing arts kick off in fall and winter
Sana Aladin (12) performs in last year’s SDS. Sana is one of this year’s directors who announced their shows during the school meeting.
October 13, 2016
Groups perform at annual picnic show:
The traditional student show at the annual Harker Harvest Festival took place on Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon, featuring students and faculty from all four campuses.
The show this year followed the theme Picnic 66 and recounts the road trip that the Blues Brothers took along Route 66.
The performance featured 380 students, including upper school groups junior varsity dance, Kinetic Krew, Bel Canto and Downbeat.
“It’s really fun to be able to perform with everyone in the picnic because we’re all part of a big performing arts family with all the performers from different specialties and groups and campuses,” junior varsity dance troupe member Anna Miner (9) said.
Administrators and staff participated along with the students, and the organizers recognized the transportation department as the honorary department of this year’s picnic.
After the show, the upper school jazz band performed from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m., followed by the lower and middle school jazz bands from 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Dance Show rehearsals begin after school:
Circus, this year’s dance production, will take place on Jan. 27-28 and will have two acts: “Welcome to the Circus” and “Daring Acts and Sideshow Freaks.”
“It’s a really fun theme that we’re all excited about here in the dance program,” dance teacher Karl Kuehn said.
One hundred and sixty students will participate, 25 more than last year, along with faculty members who will perform one routine. This year, there are seven student choreographed dances by 10 student choreographers.
Auditions for the production took place on Sept. 17.
Directors begin preparations for SDS:
The Student Directed Showcase (SDS) performance preparations will take place throughout the rest of this year, and the four seniors directing their plays will hold them in January 2017.
Seniors Sana Aladin, Emre Ezer, Chetana Kalidindi and Kayvon Solaimanpour will each direct a play in the showcase.
“When it comes to [auditioning], we try to advertise that anyone can audition,” Kayvon, the director of “Dystopia!,” said in a comment about the audition process for students. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. It doesn’t matter if you’ve performed before or this is your first time on stage. [The directors] want everyone to come and everyone to try out.”
The four directors of “Importance of Being Earnest” (Sana Aladin), “Removing the Glove” (Emre Ezer), “Grover” (Chetana Kalidindi) and “Dystopia!” (Kayvon Solaimanpour) had staged readings of their respective scripts last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Callbacks were posted last Thursday, and final castings were posted this week.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on October 10, 2016.
