![“[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)
Bay Area air quality on alert due to smoke from Camp Fire
Hazy air lingers over campus as smoke from the Camp Fire north of Sacramento travelled throughout the Bay Area today. The current Air Quality Index is 152, which is categorized as “Unhealthy.”
November 9, 2018
The smell of smoke permeated the upper school today as air from the Camp Fire in Butte County, north of Sacramento, blew south toward the campus.
As a result of the smoke, sports practices for boys and girls soccer, wrestling, JV boys basketball, tennis, cross country and after school workouts are cancelled. Varsity and JV girls basketball will practice together from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the athletic center, and varsity boys basketball and yoga will be held as planned, according to an email from athletic director Dan Molin.
Students and faculty are advised to stay indoors, and ‘rainy day protocols’ are in place, although students were allowed to eat lunch outdoors.
“The air quality is considered unhealthful but if you’re simply stationary and eating your lunch, it’s not an activity that going to cause you harm, at least that’s our understanding,” Assistant Head of Student Affairs Greg Lawson said. “It could get to a level where we might have to force everybody to eat indoors, but we haven’t reached that point yet.”
The air ventilation system in Nichols Hall, which does not have a recirculation option and therefore pulls air from outside into the building, has been shut off in order to limit the amount of particulate matter inside classrooms.
“It’s different for different people, but generally speaking, all people in good health in this kind of weather might have a scratchy throat or sore throat, might feel kind of headache-y, maybe a little nauseous,” nurse Clare Elchert said. “Try to stay out of the outdoor environment and get yourself into an indoor space, preferably one that has air conditioning.”
A Spare the Air alert is in place for parts of the Bay Area, and San Jose currently has an “Unhealthy” Air Quality Index (AQI) of 178, with a forecasted AQI of between 100 to 134 (“Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”) between today and tomorrow, according to AirNow.gov as of 2 p.m.
Because the forecast for the following week is still uncertain, administrators are not able to determine whether upcoming school events will be affected by the air quality. Lawson said that cancellation of classes could be a possibility if the AQI reaches a dangerous level.
The Camp Fire was ignited yesterday morning in the Sierra Nevada foothills and has been classified as a vegetation fire, according to an incident update from the Butte County Fire Department. As of this morning, the fire is 5% contained and spans 70,000 acres, which is the equivalent of almost 2.5 times the size of the city of San Francisco, with strong northeast winds pushing both the fire and its smoke southward, towards the Bay Area. The fire has already burned through the towns of Paradise and Concow, and evacuation orders have been issued for the region, including the nearby city of Chico.
This article was last updated at 6:11 p.m.
