![“[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)
Upper school online classes canceled tomorrow for 50th annual Earth Day
Provided by Anvi Banga/Natasha Yen
A poster describing the daily challenges for each day of Earth Week. “We wanted to still be as engaging as possible this week, even if it wasn’t in person,” upper school Green Team President Anvi Banga (12) said. “Take advantage of tomorrow, because it’s not every day that we get to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.”
April 21, 2020
All upper school online classes will be canceled tomorrow in observance of the 50th annual Earth Day following a virtual webinar at 9:30 a.m., giving members of the community a chance to unplug and spend time outdoors.
No classes will be held tomorrow, skipping periods five, six and seven. Classes will resume following a regular C-day schedule on Thursday.
The webinar, scheduled to last about 45 minutes over Zoom, will feature speaker Michael Doshi, who will address the problem of plastic pollution in oceans.
“[Doshi] was one of the organizers of [the Youth Summit on Plastic Pollution], and we met him there. He was a really motivational speaker, and we thought what he had to say was really cool, so we invited him to come talk,” upper school Green Team President Anvi Banga (12) said.
Students are encouraged to unplug from their electronics for the remainder of the day, participating in activities such as journaling, hiking, gardening and recycling. A full list of activities, compiled by the upper and middle school Green Teams, can be found here, as well as descriptions of the daily Earth Week challenges, which are Meatless Monday, Gardening Tuesday, Disconnect Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday and Waste-Free Friday.
“We wanted to still be as engaging as possible this week, even if it wasn’t in person,” Anvi said. “Take advantage of tomorrow, because it’s not every day that we get to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.”
