Harker Spirit holds annual ice skating trip at Solar4America Ice

Charlotte+Blanc+%2810%29+and+Cas+Ruedy+%2810%29+skate+around+the+Solar4America+Ice+rink+together.+Trip+attendees+had+the+option+of+taking+the+bus+from+the+upper+school+at+7+p.m.+and+returning+to+campus+at+9%3A30+p.m.+or+driving+to+the+venue+separately.

Gloria Zhang

Charlotte Blanc (10) and Cas Ruedy (10) skate around the Solar4America Ice rink together. Trip attendees had the option of taking the bus from the upper school at 7 p.m. and returning to campus at 9:30 p.m. or driving to the venue separately.

by Sydney Takemoto and Gloria Zhang

Students attended Harker Spirit’s annual ice skating trip at Solar4America Ice today.

Various skaters of different skill levels came out to skate; some students preferred to stay at the bucket-pushing section while others practiced ice dancing skills around the circular rings in the main section of the rink.

Participants had the option of taking the bus from the upper school at 7 p.m. and returning to campus at 9:30 p.m. or driving to the rink separately. Permission slips due Feb. 26 were required for the former. A fee of $13 was required to rent skates and step onto the ice. Dinner was not provided; however, students were able to purchase food and snacks at the venue’s food court.

“About three years ago, our leadership team was looking for fun ways to celebrate the winter season and somebody suggested ice skating, and so we went and got a large group of kids for an outing,” Harker Spirit advisor Eric Kallbrier said.

The event was open to all students. One of main goals of the event was to bring a variety of different students together.

“[The trip] strengthened our friendships, which got us through the tough time of learning how to ice skate,” Anish Kilaru (9) said. “I got to hang out with my friends and go ice skating, which is something I haven’t done in a long time. That made it a really fun experience.”

Harker Spirit was happy with the number of students attending this year. They hope to have as many students as possible come in the future.

“We’ve been doing ice skating for the past two years, so it’s kind of like a tradition,” Harker Spirit member Jennifer Hayashi (11) said.

Harker Spirit is currently looking for artists for the upcoming “Flight Zone” logo redesign competition. All submissions are due by March 9.