![“[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 11/2/18
Spirit club officers Arjun Kilaru (12) and Zachary Hoffman (12) announce the results of the costume contests from Wednesday. Each winner received prizes as well as spirit points for their class.
November 2, 2018
Eagle Update presenters announced that the girls volleyball team made the CCS finals, and girls water polo won their league finals and will play their first CCS game tomorrow. Boys water polo and boys cross-country are state academic champions, while girls golf placed second in CCS.
The cross-country team played a video announcing that their senior night is today at the Crystal Springs cross-country course at 4:30 p.m.
LIFE self-defense classes will start on Nov. 7 from 3:10 to 3:50 p.m. Students who sign up on Schoology are required to attend all eight weeks of the class. The Upper School Students Schoology group has the dates of all LIFE sessions.
The boys basketball team needs a team manager. The team manager will receive sports credit. Interested students should contact Gene Wang (12) or Jack Connors (11) at [email protected] and [email protected].
Orchestra performed live music accompanying a movie screening in the auxiliary gym today at 12:15 p.m.
WiSTEM’s club week will be next week. They will sell boba, cookies and old Research Symposium water bottles and T-shirts after school from Monday to Thursday and sell popcorn at Quadchella on Thursday. Proceeds will benefit WISER, an organization that helps girls access education in rural Kenya. WiSTEM will screen “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap,” a movie describing the low number of women and minorities in the engineering field, in Nichols Auditorium after school on Wednesday. They will also host a panel featuring female Harker alumni in science and technology, “Beyond Harker: Successful Women in STEM”, on Wednesday.
To participate in the F=ma Physics Olympiad screening exam in January, email [email protected] with the subject “F=ma”.
The Student Council Appreciation Committee will hold the first Thanksgiving grams, free stickers and cards available to send to other students next Wednesday and Friday. Student Council members will deliver the cards the week before Thanksgiving break.
Representatives from performing arts announced that Kelsey Wu (12) was accepted to Jazz in the Neighborhood’s Emerging Artist Program, which will pair her with an experienced jazz musician.
Spirit held this year’s Halloween costume contest on Wednesday. Office of Communications, Development, Alumni and Events, who dressed after different decades in honor of Harker’s 125th anniversary, won the faculty and staff first place. The best duo/group were Chris Leafstrand (12) and Abhinav Joshi (12), who dressed as an angel and demon, respectively. The funniest costume award went to Trevor Thompson (12), who dressed as Napoleon Dynamite. Sarah Raymond (10), whose costume was themed after “Little Shop of Horrors,” won the most creative costume. The best solo costume was Sian Smith (12), who dressed as the Morton Salt Girl. Alissa Gao (10) won scariest costume with a Day of the Dead-themed costume.
Kaushik Shivakumar (12) and Shaunak Maruvada (12) faced off in this year’s ping pong championship finals game. Shaunak won 11-8.
Assistant Head of Student Affairs Greg Lawson discussed the upper school’s emergency response protocol, with a “Run, Hide, Defend” strategy, in preparation for a lockdown drill during sixth period today. If outside, students should run away from the danger and either attempt to exit the campus or find external cover, such as cars in the parking lot. If inside, students were advised to stay inside and lock down in a classroom, where a teacher would make the decision to evacuate.
To lock down, people should close window blinds and and lock doors, turn off lights, stay quiet and build multiple barricades to block entry and visibility. Even behind a barricade, they should avoid sheltering directly in front of doors or windows. If the room is breached, students can “defend” by using any accessible implements against the attacker. In the event of a real emergency, students should follow the directions of police officers and first responders after they arrive. Lawson also advised students to contact an adult if they become aware of a threat and to respond quickly to emergency alarms.
This year’s Quadchella talent show will take place next Thursday during lunch. Students interested in submitting acts should do so by tonight at tiny.cc/quadchella.
