![“[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 9/22/21: Nuclear nonproliferation, honor and Outlook Pals
Upper school English teacher Christopher Hurshman delivered a speech as a faculty speaker for Honor Week about the vulnerability associated with behaving honorably. “In a sense, every time I offer respect or honesty to someone, I’m taking a risk,” Hurshman said. “Every time I receive it, I’m receiving a gift.”
September 22, 2021
Associated Student Body (ASB) President Dawson Chen (12) welcomed the upper school community to the meeting.
A varsity girls volleyball video made by BB Ajlouny (11) played on the screen before Elvis Han (12), Zain Vakath (11) and BB delivered the Eagle Update.
Girls tennis remained undefeated with a 7-0 victory over Mercy Springs yesterday, and the varsity girls team heads to San Diego National Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
Girls water polo placed fourth in the Watsonville Tournament with wins over San Lorenzo Valley and Lynbrook High School. Varsity girls water polo is now 6-6 overall, and the team will host Cupertino on Saturday. Boys water polo defeated Los Gatos High School 17-10 yesterday to improve to 3-1 in the league.
Varsity girls water polo, varsity boys water polo and the junior varsity boys water polo teams will travel to Palo Alto High School on Thursday. Varsity boys water polo will travel to the Santa Teresa Tournament on Saturday. The junior varsity boys water polo scored 3-0 to win the Aptos Tournament Saturday, remaining undefeated in league play with their 13-3 win over Los Gatos High School yesterday.
Girls golf won against Notre Dame San Jose last week before losing by two strokes to St. Francis. They prepare to play Mercy High School and Sacred Heart Preparatory next week. Girls volleyball lost yesterday to Notre Dame Belmont, and they travel to Menlo on Friday. Varsity girls volleyball scored 1-3 at the Notre Dame Belmont Tournament on Saturday with a win over Notre Dame San Jose.
Cross country will compete in the Ram Invitational at Westmoor High School on Saturday. The football team will host an eight-man football game versus Crystal Springs tomorrow. Students interested in playing soccer this upcoming season can attend an interest meeting next Wednesday during long lunch at 1 p.m. in the Athletic Center.
Dawson reminded students to refrain from using their phone and mobile devices during the school meeting.
Upper school computer science department chair Dr. Eric Nelson introduced the Critical Issues Forum (CIF), a nuclear nonproliferation interest group. The first meeting for students interested in joining is next Wednesday from 12:55 to 1:25 p.m. in Nichols 312.
“Do you want to be a part of changing the future? Be a part of the next CIF conference,” Nelson said.
Honor Council representative Neo Alpha (10) introduced upper school English teacher Christopher Hurshman, who delivered a speech as a faculty speaker for Honor Week about the vulnerability associated with behaving honorably. He spoke about his own experiences with practicing the values of respect, honesty and accountability and emphasized every community member’s role in fostering honor.
“The only way to live a truly honorable life is to live in an honorable community, to live in a community where people are paying you in respect and honesty and accountability, and that you are risking yourself by offering it to them as well,” Hurshman said.
Honor Council representatives Alexa Lowe (12) and Gary Ding (11) introduced today’s theme for Honor Week: respect. Students had the option of writing about what respect looks like, feels like and sounds like on sticky notes in Manzanita.
After showing a video of last year’s various Zoomchella performances, Student Events Committee members Jacob Huang (11) and Ella Lan (10) introduced Quadchella, which will take place during long lunch on Oct. 20. Students interested in performing can sign up at tiny.cc/quadchellasignup. Sign-ups close this Sunday.
International Outlook Foundation co-presidents Jessica Zhou (11) and Victoria Han (12) and co-vice president of communications Emily Tan (12) introduced Outlook Pals, a cross-cultural pen pal program that pairs upper school students with students from China, Korea and the Philippines. Students earn community service hours through this program. To sign up, visit tiny.cc/outlookpals21.
Dawson ended the school meeting by wishing everyone a whimsical Wednesday.
