![“[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)
Lights and action for the holiday season
Upper school performing arts groups participate in annual Santana Row tree lighting
Kinetic Krew performs at the Santana Row Tree Lighting. The Kinetic Krew routine was choreographed by dance teacher Rachelle Haun.
November 22, 2018
As warm jackets and boots become a common sight around the upper school campus, the holiday season makes its appearance, starting off with the annual Santana Row tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 13, which featured several of Harker’s performing arts groups.
Upper school performing arts groups Downbeat, Kinetic Krew and the junior varsity and varsity dance teams, as well as middle school groups High Voltage, Dance Fusion and Showstoppers, all performed at the event.
Santana Row celebrated its 14th tree lighting this year, where entertainment included live music, performances by the Children’s Musical Theatre and San Jose Dance Theatre and a snow shower of confetti. Upper school students performed in front of the 40-foot Christmas tree, which was lit up with colorful decorations at 7:30 p.m.
Harker’s performances began around 6 p.m. Kinetic Krew, whose routine was choreographed by upper school dance teacher Rachelle Haun, danced to a medley of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”, “The Chipmunk Song”, *NSYNC’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” and Britney Spears’ “ My Only Wish.”
Kinetic Krew member Alex Zhai (10) danced at this year’s tree lighting ceremony for the first time.
“The crowd was pretty engaged, and I think a couple of the audience members laughed when we were doing our kick line,” Alex said. “The tree lighting was really fun because the music and our costumes were really cheesy, and the routine itself was also really cool.”
The upper school singing group Downbeat sang “Deck the Halls”, varsity dance performed Jessie J’s “Man with the Bag” and the junior varsity team performed Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree.”
Middle school girls’ dance team Showstoppers danced to “Hallelujah” while the boys’ team High Voltage performed to “Jingle Bell Rock.”
The teams have been preparing their routines for the tree lighting for several weeks, holding extensive practices weekly to perfect their routines. However, the unexpected fires in northern California, which have caused severe damage in the city of Paradise and neighboring towns, caused poor air conditions with an unhealthy air quality index.
All of Harker’s performing arts teams were required to wear protective masks during the tech rehearsal and took them off during the actual performance.
Audience members watched as Harker students took the stage, with Downbeat being the last performance before the tree lighting began. Junior Larissa Tyagi came to the tree lighting to support her friends on the dance team and watch the tree light up.
“I live pretty close to Santana Row, so I thought I would come down and just check it out. I really enjoyed all of the performances that Harker put on, and it looked like it ran very smoothly,” said Larissa. “I know all of the performers have been practicing for a super long time, so it was really cool to see the final result.”
