School meeting recap 10/22/18

Junior+spirit+representative+Vance+Hirota+%2810%29+picks+a+number+from+a+basket+to+draw+for+a+pumpkin+in+preparation+for+a+pumpkin+carving+competition+later+this+week.

Kathy Fang

Junior spirit representative Vance Hirota (10) picks a number from a basket to draw for a pumpkin in preparation for a pumpkin carving competition later this week.

by Arushi Saxena, Global Editor

Chatter engulfed the student body as students sat by advisory and settled down in their seats for the eighth school meeting of the year.

ASB President Neil Ramaswamy (12) spoke first, giving details about the upcoming Quebec trip. All interested students were asked to attend an informational meeting on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Nichols Auditorium.

Matthew Hajjar (12), Adhya Hoskote (11) and Grace Hajjar (11) gave the Eagle Update, inviting students to support the varsity girls volleyball team as they advance to CCS. Girls and boys water polo also competed in their CCS league championship games in the past week.

Diane Main, Director of Learning, Innovation and Design, then took the mic to announce a new Schoology group for the entirety of students, faculty, and staff on campus. All students were automatically added into the group, where school-wide announcements will be made through the Schoology feed, replacing the Daily Announcement emails from PCR. Resources, events, important dates and lunch menus will be posted on the group. Currently, only administrators of the group can add updates, but anyone who would like access can email Main.

The HELM officer team announced their deadline for all creative work on Dec. 16. The HELM digital issue will be released in January, and all art, writing, music and film is accepted. Research and other academic projects will not be accepted. Any submissions and questions can be sent to [email protected].

AI Club then spoke about their club week. They sold boba, pizookies and iced coffee this week. All students were also invited to a presentation by Dr. George John, a guest speaker from Stanford who spoke on the “Business of AI” in Nichols Auditorium on Monday during long lunch.

Career Connect followed, encouraging students to attend the Quickbooks Connect conference on Nov. 6. All permission slips must be turned in to the Innovation Center by next Tuesday.

Brian Park (12) next introduced Fencing Club. All information about coaches, materials and sign-ups can be found by emailing [email protected], and the first class will be next Thursday. No prior experience is required.

History Club announced the first Shah Salon of the year next Wednesday from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m.. Four different sessions will be held. “#Me 2.0” will be held by Donna Gilbert and Lola Muldrew; “Election 2018” will be held by Carl Green and Julie Wheeler; “Toxic Masculinity” will be held by Mark Janda and Pilar Aguero-Esparza and “Is Democracy at Risk?” will be held by Byron Stevens.

Upper school English teachers Charles Shuttleworth and Jennifer Siraganian announced a creative writing workshop held on Monday at 12:50 p.m. Students interested in writing competitions were encouraged to attend.

Art Club then announced Timmy Chang (12)’s gallery, “Neptune and Nymphs”, taking place in the Shah Gallery this week, held with a closing reception on Friday at 12:45 p.m.

Next, a promotional video for the fall play, “Our Town,” played. Following the video, cast members encouraged students to purchase tickets outside of Manzanita all week. Performances took place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m.

Harker Spirit then took the mic to announce pumpkin carving, which was held on Thursday during lunch. Spirit coordinators for each grade chose a pumpkin for their class, followed by an announcement about a costume contest next Wednesday with spirit points awarded to the winners.

Prior to students being dismissed, Neil restated the $150 cap on students’ purchases through Harker Pay, and said that all organizations looking to fundraise were required to visit pay.harker.org/sell to set up prior to their event.