![“[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 11/8/18
Forensics representatives Nakul Bajaj (11), Nikki Solanki (11), Maddie Huynh (11) and Anusha Kuppahally (12) announce results from recent competitions.
November 11, 2018
Eagle Update presenters congratulated girls volleyball on their successful CCS run. Girls golf placed seventh in NorCal and second in CCS, and Natalie Vo (10) qualified for the state tournament.
Rohan Arora (11) spoke for the year’s first community service spotlight. He described how his mother’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis 12 years ago influenced his goal to create a nonprofit, Touched By MS, with his sister Riya Arora (9) in order to fundraise for research into MS. He encouraged students to find something that they care about and contribute to it.
Green Team announced a screening of the documentary “Tomorrow” next Wednesday and Friday during long lunch in Diana Moss’s classroom.
Harker Horizon’s club week will begin next Monday. Submissions to Horizon, a student-run science research magazine, are open until Nov. 26. Horizon will host a research article workshop in Chris Spenner’s classroom on Monday at 12:40 p.m. They will also be selling popcorn chicken, donuts and baked goods outside Manzanita throughout the week.
Students Partner with Veterans will hold a flag ceremony on Monday at 10:30 a.m. in the quad in honor of Veterans Day on Sunday. The flag ceremony will honor the service of all military personnel and include a moment of silence.
Quadchella, the upper school’s informal talent show, took place in the quad Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:25 p.m.
Career Connect will hold a Lunch and Learn session in the Innovation Center on Nov. 27 at noon. Guitar Hero creator Kai Huang will speak about his experiences as a serial entrepreneur.
Speech and debate announced recent tournament results. In policy debate, Anusha Kuppahally (12) and Maddie Huynh (11) made the elimination rounds of the Valley Invitational in Iowa, the Heart of Texas Invitational, hosted by the St. Mark’s School, and the Davis Classic in Los Angeles. Andy Lee (10) and Deven Shah (9) made the elimination rounds in Iowa and Los Angeles.
In Lincoln-Douglas, Kelly Shen (12), Akshay Manglik (10) and Quentin Clark (11) qualified for elimination rounds in Iowa. Akshay, Aditya Tadimeti (10), Sachin Shah (11) and Anshul Reddy (9) made the elimination rounds at the Presentation Voices Invitational in San Jose. Akshay, Aditya and Anshul also made the elimination rounds at the Heart of Texas Invitational. At the Davis Classic, Kelly made it to elimination rounds and Sachin made it to the top four, earning him a bid to the Tournament of Champions in Kentucky next April.
In speech, Alycia Cary (12) won an award at the Yale Invitational in original oratory. Nikki Solanki (11) took second place in programmed oral interpretation and dramatic interpretation at the Florida Blue Key Invitational and first place in dramatic performance at the Florida Blue Key Round Robin. Jay Menon (12) reached elimination rounds in Florida with his oratory. Brian Pinkston (10), Ellis Goldman (10), Andrea Thia (9) and Brandon Lin (11) made the final rounds at the local league tournament.
In public forum, the duos of Annie Ma (11) and Amanda Cheung (11), Cindy Wang (12) and Clarissa Wang (12) and Datha Arramreddy (11) and Raymond Banke (12) qualified for elimination rounds at the Milpitas Invitational. Naveen Mirapuri (11) and Chandan Aggarwal (11) won awards at the St. Francis Tournament.
In congressional debate, Jason Lin (10), Jason Huang (12) and Andrew Sun (10) earned bids to the Tournament of Champions at the Yale invitational. Andrew and Nakul Bajaj (11) both placed second at a league event. Jason Lin, Andrew, Riyaa Randhawa (9) and David Feng (11) earned bids to the Tournament of Champions at the Florida Blue Key Invitational.
November is DECA Month, and DECA’s club week will begin on Nov. 26. They hosted a yard sale in the Innovation Center on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. The DECA Idea Challenge with a mystery item is also beginning, with a possible prize of $1,000. DECA will also hold the Bagels for Business event, as well as Hoops and Scoops on Nov. 29, where they will sell Dippin’ Dots at a basketball game to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Performing arts groups including Kinetic Krew, varsity and junior varsity dance, Downbeat, Dance Fusion, High Voltage and Showstoppers will perform next Tuesday at the Santana Row tree lighting ceremony. Pre-ceremony entertainment starts at 5 p.m. and the ceremony begins at 7.
To close the meeting, ASB President Neil Ramaswamy (12) held a moment of silence for the 13 victims of a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday.
