![“[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 4/10
History department chair Donna Gilbert and Library Director Sue Smith direct students interested in applying for a Near or Mitra scholar grant for the next school year to the program’s information hub and LibGuide. Applications and a parent permission form were due by 6 p.m. on April 24.
April 10, 2018
Kaitlyn Nguyen (12) announced that today’s school bells were changed to the Mii Channel theme to celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Mario Kart Wii.”
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.
The Near/Mitra application for current juniors is now available on the library portal. Applications must be submitted by April 24 at 6 p.m. and must be signed by the applicant’s parents.
Artstravaganza, featuring student artwork and writing, will take place on April 18 in Nichols Atrium during long lunch. Jazz Band will also be performing in front of Nichols during that time.
Prom will take place on April 28 at Boulder Ridge Country Club from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. This year’s theme is “The Great Gatsby,” and general sale tickets cost $130 and at-door tickets cost $140.
Next year, the business and economics department will be offering a new course, Behavioral Economics. The semester-long course can be taken by anyone who has taken a semester of an economics course and can be signed up for by emailing Director of Standardized Testing Troy Thiele.
Green Team’s club week is next week, and they will be hosting an inter-school green challenge with Pinewood, Nueva and Bishop O’Dowd High School. Participants can record every environmentally friendly act they perform, such as turning off the lights in a room or using a reusable water bottle, on the Shine app available on the App Store using the registration code “highschool.” The club is also hosting a baked goods and smoothie sale during office hours, lunch and after school next week. The second annual Harker Clothing Swap will be on April 26, and Green Team is accepting donations all week long.
The annual Harker Science Research Symposium will take place this Saturday at the upper school campus.
The upper school spring musical, “42nd Street,” will be performed next week during 7 p.m. shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well as a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday.
Harker Journalism played a video featuring math teacher Gabriele Stahl and her passion for tango dancing.
The Hoscars awards winners were announced. The best director and tech crew member award went to production manager Brian Larsen and Logan Frank (11). The best group act went to Zack Wong (11) and Chloe Chen (10), the best solo act went to Kalyan Narayanan (10) and the best overall act went to Chris Gong (11) and Vance Hirota (10).
UnPlugged member Matthew Sutton (12) encouraged students to sign up for the club’s Rock Band tournament, which will be held in the Rosenthal room this Thursday. Three students can team up to form a band consisting of a singer, guitarist and drummer.
Spirit Club announced this year’s Spirit Week themes, which will be ‘Merica Monday, Pajama Day Tuesday, Woodstock Wednesday, Career Day Thursday and Class Color Day Friday.
Class council candidacy forms are due by Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the class deans’ classrooms.
