![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)
ReCreate Reading registration opens this week
This year’s ReCreate Reading selection featured 69 titles. Students will meet with their reading groups for a pre-summer meeting on April 10.
March 24, 2017
Students picked their ReCreate Reading books from a vast selection of 69 titles this week. They will read and discuss their selection with peers after returning from the summer vacation.
Upper school teachers join in on the summer reading experience as well, hosting a novel of their choice and leading a conversation with students.
Librarian and ReCreate Reading founder Lauri Vaughan created the ReCreate Reading program nine years ago to replace a previous system that had been both ineffective and unpopular among students.
“There used to be a program where all students were encouraged to read two books, and then students were supposed to write an essay and submit it,” Vaughan said. “The problem was that no one did it, and it was a terrible experience for both the students and teachers. Because of that, we somehow wanted to organically leverage the reading that was already happening on the campus and the enthusiasm that our reading faculty already had into a summer reading program.”
With ReCreate Reading, students are able to choose from a larger selection of books and genres rather than being limited to a required reading and essay reflection.
This year, the rising senior class was given first selection of the books on Monday, while rising juniors and sophomores chose their novels on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
An advancement in the program also includes the unprecedented number of ReCreate Reading titles featuring authors participating in their novels’ discussions. “Royal Bastards” by Andrew Shvarts and “We Gon’ Be Alright” by Jeff Chang are the two books with authors who will visit the Upper School and participate in group meetings to discuss their works with students. For some books including “True Crime Addict” by James Renner, “On Trails” by Robert Moor and “Zodiac” by Romina Russell and Nikki Loftin, the authors plan to connect with students in their reading groups via Skype.
Students will meet with their ReCreate Reading groups for a pre-summer meeting on April 10.
