![“[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)
School meeting recap 9/21
A group of sophomores stand up and cheer as Director of Upper School Clubs Eric Kallbrier announces this week’s spirit competition results. The upper school will hold its first spirit rally of the 2017-2018 school year tomorrow on Davis Field.
September 21, 2017
To start off the meeting, Dean of Students Kevin Williamson briefly spoke about safety during the morning commute and reminded students to take care while crossing the street.
Upper school history teachers Donna Gilbert, Carol Green, Damon Halback, Mark Janda, Byron Stevens and Julie Wheeler announced their new history discussion series, titled “Shah Salons.” Shah Salons invites students and faculty to participate in conversations about topics related to history but not often talked about in the classroom. The first session is on Oct. 4 and there will be tea, lemonade and cookies. Green and Janda will be hosting a discussion about Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article about President Trump and race, Stevens and Wheeler will be hosting a discussion about Confederate memorials and statues, Halback will be hosting a discussion on Marxism and its application to social media markets and Gilbert will be hosting a discussion on coded messages in the Sistine Chapel. Signups for Shah Salons are in Gilbert’s room in Shah Hall.
History teacher Donna Gilbert introduces her Shah Salons session as history teachers Damon Halback, Mark Janda and Julie Wheeler wait for their turn at the microphone. History teachers Carol Green and Byron Stevens will also be participating in Shah Salons.
Science department chair Anita Chetty announced that starting this year, there will be a limit on the number of Synopsys projects Harker can submit to the competition. There is information on how to guarantee a spot in this year’s submissions in both the upper school daily announcement emails and on Research Club’s Schoology page.
Rajiv Movva (12) invited students to a Research Club workshop on Sept. 27 in physics and science and research teacher Chris Spenner’s room. Attendees will learn more about Synopsys during this workshop.
This year’s Student Directed Showcase (SDS) directors, Anika Banga (12), Jessica Skinner (12), Sameep Mangat (12) and Haley Keller (12), announced their respective SDS shows. Anika’s show, “The Murderous Mansion of Mr. Uno,” is a comedic murder mystery in which the audience decides the outcome of the production. Jessica’s show, “Chamber Music,” an absurdist comedy based on women, is held in an insane asylum. Sameep’s show, “Rabbit Hole,” is about a couple coping with the loss of their son. Haley’s show, “Imperfect Proposal,” is about a proposal that goes wrong in every imaginable way.
SDS directors Sameep Mangat (12), Anika Banga (12) and Jessica Skinner (12) walk to the microphone to deliver summaries of their shows. They and fourth SDS director Haley Keller (12) will be hosting SDS auditions in two weeks.
Harker Athletics gave a short update about games this past week and encouraged students and faculty to support the teams at upcoming games this week.
Spirit Club announced the winners of the spirit events that took place earlier this week. The juniors won the blindfolded art contest on Tuesday, with freshmen taking second place, sophomores taking third and seniors coming in fourth. The sophomores won the eagle painting with the seniors and juniors tying for second place and the freshmen coming in third.
ASB President Jimmy Lin announced that chopsticks will now be available during lunch.
