![“[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)
Sophomores, juniors and seniors participate in second Eagle Buddies session of school year
Amanda Cheung (10) reads a book about cats to her buddy. The sophomores met with their Eagle Buddies at the Bucknall campus, where they donated children’s books to the lower school’s ongoing pajamas and books drive and decorated corner bookmarks.
February 2, 2018
The sophomores, juniors and seniors met with their Eagle Buddies for the second time this school year at the Saratoga and Bucknall campuses this week and last week.
Sophomores read to buddies and donate to lower school pajamas and books drive
Sophomores greeted their Eagle Buddies at the gym of the Bucknall campus after departing from Saratoga near the end of sixth period today. Since the lower school is currently having their annual pajamas and books drive, many of the sophomores brought in children’s books to donate to charity. In the spirit of this event, both the sophomores and their Eagle Buddies wore pajamas to school.
During the Eagle Buddies session, Upper School Head Butch Keller read Mary E. Whitcomb’s “Odd Velvet” and Helen Lester’s “All for Me and None for All” to the students. Since the third graders also each brought in one of their favorite books, the high schoolers read to them as part of the first activity. Afterwards, everyone was dismissed to the playground and the field to eat lunch.
“Waiting in the lunch line with my buddy was my favorite part of the day because we played charades,” Anna Miner (10) said. “She’s normally shy, but when we started the game, she was more active and happy, and it was nice to see her come out of her comfort zone a little bit.”
After lunch, the students created corner bookmarks as part of the book drive-related activities. The sophomores helped their buddies with cutting, gluing and decorating the artwork.
“I really enjoyed spending time with my buddy, especially during the creation of the bookmarks because we got to see firsthand what he likes, which is Minecraft in this case,” Liam Bakar (10) said. “We were able to design our own bookmarks, and I think that was an interesting and cool way to promote the book drive.”
Juniors and seniors watch “Harker Circus” and fifth grade show for Eagle Buddies sessions
The juniors’ and seniors’ Eagle Buddies sessions were held last Thursday. For the juniors’ session, clowns from the Clown Conservatory in San Francisco visited Saratoga to perform the “Harker Circus,” during which each of the clowns presented a unique act. These acts ranged from magic tricks to a mini circus performance involving a balancing act and juggling.
“It was actually pretty fun for both the kids and the high schoolers because we all were able to watch entertaining acts,” David Melisso (11) said. “Even though the acts were targeted towards the younger kids, they were still quite entertaining to watch.”
After watching the “Harker Circus,” students rotated around three different booths with their Eagle Buddies. At the booths, the juniors and their buddies painted each other’s faces, balanced peacock feathers on their hands and juggled scarves. After spending some time at the booths, the students enjoyed a lunch of chicken tenders and corn dogs.
For the seniors’ Eagle Buddies session, their Eagle Buddies performed the fifth grade show at the Bucknall campus gym. The show was medieval-themed and and involved fantasy characters, such as Merlin and King Arthur.
“I think the fifth graders did great; they showed a ton of heart and genuinely seemed like they were having fun. I enjoyed it,” Vedant Shah (12) said. “I think Eagle Buddies is a great program because it’s important that kids learn skills not only from their teachers but also from older students. These interactions also help us in that it relieves some of the stress we have in high school.”
While the other three grades were at their respective Eagle Buddies sessions, the freshmen attended two LIFE meetings today and last Thursday.
