![“[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 9/10/21: 9/11 remembrance, self-study APs and Eagle Update
Associated Student Body (ASB) Vice President Ayan Nath speaks after he and other members of student council presented a video on cleanliness on campus during lunch. “The other day, I was walking by, I heard someone say, ‘Oh, my God, we go to Harker, we can’t afford to buy more forks? There’s such a shortage of forks.’ And that’s because you’re throwing the forks away.”
September 13, 2021
Associated Student Body (ASB) President Dawson Chen (12) began the school meeting by introducing upper school Academic Dean Kelly Horan.
Horan discussed the importance of communication with teachers, academic planning and other logistics of testing at school. She also reviewed how to properly reschedule tests and contact Director of Standardized Testing and Scheduling Troy Thiele about self-study Advanced Placement (AP) exams, noting that students who self study a course are no longer eligible to take the corresponding class in school. She emphasized the idea of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” throughout her speech.
Upper school history teacher Chuck Witschorik spoke about the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 and gave a moment of silence to remember those lost on that day.
Upper school Dean of Students Kevin Williamson spoke about emergency preparedness and procedures for different emergencies. He discussed earthquake and fire drill procedures reminding students to keep each other safe.
“Everyone on this campus, we treat all alarms as actual emergencies and everyone must evacuate the building,” Williamson said.
In case of a fire, students must quietly make their way to Davis Field, line up by advisory, and be aware of their surroundings. For earthquakes, community members should duck and cover.
Student council members Daniel Lin (10), Dominick Piscione (11), Sasvath Ramachandran (12) and Ayan Nath (12) presented their video on the topic of cleanliness throughout the campus. In the video, they addressed the importance of always putting trays and utensils away otherwise the trash will become someone else’s responsibility.
Mathematics Department Chair Anthony Silk announced the American Math Competition (AMC) for 2021. The test will take place in November, with the deadline for signups on Sept. 23. Freshmen and sophomores are allowed to take the AMC 10, whereas AMC 12 is open to all students. No prior qualifications are necessary in order to sign up.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) representatives BB Ajlouny (11), Zain Vakath (11) and Elvis Han (12) gave an Eagle Update on fall sports and introduced the “put your eagles up” routine to the freshmen and sophomores.
“To put your eagles up is both a chant and a hand sign. First, you put your thumbs together to form an eagle and then we flap them aggressively to make an eagle,” Elvis said.
The HSLT then gave updates on home and away games for girls and boys water polo, girls volleyball, girls golf, cross country, girls tennis and football.
Girls tennis earned a 7-0 victory over Monta Vista High School and will travel to Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday. Girls golf placed fourth out of 17th at a tournament at The Olympic Club in San Francisco and also defeated Notre Dame Belmont 2-0 in league. Girls junior varsity and varsity volleyball defeated Westmont last Wednesday. Football dropped a 28-7 loss against Lynbrook High School last week and boys and girls water polo earned victories over Los Altos High School 15-8 and 10-8. Cross country opened their season at the Lowell Invitational in San Francisco on Saturday.
Harker Conservatory representatives Kris Estrada (11), Anya Warrier (12), Anoushka Khatri (12) and Kai Due (12) spoke about upcoming events in performing arts and showed a small promotional video for the spring musical. Kai talked about the dance production, for which auditions were held on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center and forms due by 5 p.m. last Friday. Anoushka then promoted the spring musical and announced the name of the show.
“This year, we’re doing the hilarious, Tony award-winning ‘Drowsy Chaperone.’ The musical is a great way to get to know people, try something new and create awesome memories. There are roles for all sorts of time commitments and there are dancing and non-singing roles too,” Anoushka said.
Harker Aquila co-editors-in-chief Alysa Suleiman (12) and Nicole Tian (12) announced that the publication can be accessed through the app Student News Source. Through the app, students can receive notifications whenever a new article is posted.
Harker Robotics presidents Angela Jia (12), Gloria Zhu (12) and Ethan Cao (12) invited every one of any age and experience to join the robotics team. They announced their weekly training every Thursday until January and the next meeting time occurs on Sept. 16 at 4 p.m.
Harker National Honor Society (NHS) members Emily Zhou (12), Angela Jia (12), William Chien (12) and Mir Bahri (11) spoke about the role of the NHS and their volunteering programs.
“NHS is an internationally recognized honor organization that promotes excellence with its four tenets: leadership, scholarship, character, and service,” Emily said. “Students in NHS are expected to serve both the school through events such as open house and the annual food drive, as well as the larger community around them outside of school.”
NHS offers to promote and provide volunteers for any clubs or service activities that need extra hands to help out.
Dawson concluded the meeting by thanking all who showed up last Wednesday for the town hall regarding the community expectations surrounding dress.
A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to National Honor Society as “National Honors Society.” This article has been updated on Jan. 29, 2022, to reflect the correction of this error.
