![“[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 1/13/2020: Eagle Update, new semester electives, and a Night of Nostalgia
Head of Upper School Butch Keller delivers a talk at school meeting about recent incidents of students using disrespectful language and racial slur. Keller presented an initiative called Challenge Day that aims to encourage diversity of perspective and break down barriers between students and faculty.
January 14, 2020
Avi Gulati (12) started off yesterday’s school meeting by welcoming everyone. On behalf of ASB, he announced that students should submit slides through the form instead of email. On behalf of upper school security, he urged students to limit their use of Doordash, especially during school hours.
Following Avi’s announcement, Giovanni Rofa (12), Meona Khetrapal (11) and Rohan Varma (11) gave the Eagle Update. The interest meeting for boys tennis was yesterday at 1:00 p.m. in the team room, for baseball is at 3:15 p.m. today in the team room, for boys golf is at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday in the Main Hall conference room, for girls lacrosse is 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday in the Multipurpose room in the Athletics Center.
Girls soccer defeated Eastside College Preparatory (ECP) last week 8-0 and tied with a Notre Dame team 2-2 during Kicks Against Cancer night last Friday. Their record is now 4-0-3, with 4 wins, 0 losses and 3 ties. They will host Mercy SF on Friday on Davis Field. Boys soccer tied Leland 2-2 and defeated Priory 6-1 during their Kicks Against Cancer game. Their record improved to 6-1 overall, and they will be hosting ECP on Saturday. Girls basketball defeated Burlingame and Crystal Springs before falling to Kings Academy on Saturday. They are currently 6-7 overall. Boys basketball went 0-3 last week, and they travel to Priory tomorrow. The junior varsity boys basketball team went 2-3 last week.
Alice Feng (10) announced a speaker event on behalf of Research Club. Ge Wang, Stanford professor of both computer science and music, will be coming to speak in Nichols auditorium during long lunch on Wednesday. Details will be posted on Schoology.
Multimedia club played a video, made by Matthew Jiang (12), on Zara Vakath (12)’s Shah art gallery installation. The gallery opened yesterday and the reception will be held on Wednesday during lunch.
Upper school history teacher Donna Gilbert announced the five new history semester electives offered the next school year: Ethnic Studies, Social Justice, Social Psychology, Civics and Modern International Topics. The electives will be offered in a every other year rotation. The classes will be taught by upper school history teachers Mark Janda, Carol Green, Julie Turchin and Damon Halback.
Arushi Saxena (11) and Michelle Si (11) played a video about the National Economics Challenge and announced the National Economics Challenge, the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Economics Competition and the Harvard Economics Competition. The deadline to sign for National Economics Challenge is Feb. 21, and the deadline for the other two competitions is Jan. 31. All three competitions will take place during early April, and students can sign up with teams of 1-4 people. To sign up, students should go to harker.io/econcomp.
They also announced an alumni speaker event during long lunch yesterday at 12:45 p.m. in upper school economics teacher Samuel Lepler’s room, where alumni Angela Ma came to speak.
The senior student council performed a skit to announce the Winter Ball. This year’s theme will be a Night of Nostalgia.
Academic Dean Kelly Horan presented a video, made by Multimedia Club, about asking teachers for recommendation letters for summer programs. She urged students to inform their teachers about needing a letter at least two weeks in advance. Students seeking recommendation letters should first ask their teacher in person, then fill out a summer recommendation request form on Schoology.
Lastly, head of upper school Butch Keller addressed recent incidents of a racial slur being used on campus and other disrespectful remarks being made by students.
“[Disrespectful remarks] aren’t funny, and after a while they just stack up. People are getting tired of it, and it’s not the kind of community we want to live in.” Keller said. “We are a wonderful place, but right now we’re being undermined by your lack of sensitivity, respect, kindness [and] understanding. Every single one of you sitting there, every one of the teachers standing around, we can all do something about [the disrespectful remarks].”
Keller announced that Challenge Day, an event that addresses diversity, would be taking place on Feb. 6. Students interested in participating should let their advisor know. 80 spots are available for the event.
“This is just day one, and then we’re going to build from that. We’re going to rebuild our foundation [as a community],” Keller said.
