![“[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)
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![“[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)
Honor Council hosts annual Honor Week activities
Gary Ding, one of the junior Honor Council representatives, shares his thoughts on a sticky note to display in Manzanita Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
September 28, 2021
What does respect sound like? What does respect feel like? What does respect look like?
Amid the hustle and bustle of lunchtime in Manzanita Hall, students wrote their answers to these prompts about Thursday’s daily theme of respect on brightly colored post-it notes during Honor Week, creating a sea of answers on a bulletin board for the upper school community to see.
Honor Council adviser and upper school mathematics department chair Anthony Silk thanked participants in conclusion of Honor Week last week in a Schoology post yesterday. Honor Council hosted Honor Week last week, providing students with the opportunity to participate in related activities and reflection. After Monday, which focused on sustainability and the environment, each day promoted the revised honor code’s three themes, respectively: honesty, respect and accountability.
Honor Week is an annual event in which the upper school community dedicates each day of the week to an aspect of honor. Last year’s Honor Week took place virtually, which led to the Honor Council adapting some activities, but the in-person format of Honor Week this year allowed for more variety in the activities.
On Monday, students signed the revised honor code and spent time outside with their advisories. The Green Team also put up an EcoChallenge bulletin board in the Main building to encourage sustainability.
On Tuesday, in light of the theme of honesty, Honor Council provided a box of sticky notes for students to write a response to the questions “In a few words, what does honesty mean to you?” and “Who is someone you admire for their honesty?” The sticky notes were then pasted onto a bulletin board at the entrance to Manzanita Hall, and TV monitors around campus also displayed quotes about honor.
“I [was] really excited to see everyone’s [sticky note] responses when they [came] in,” Alexa Lowe (12), one of the Honor Council Senior Chairs, said. “Every once in a while, it’s important to reflect about honor and the role it plays in our community, so Honor week is just a good time for everyone to reflect on it.”
Wednesday emphasized respect, and students could once more share their thoughts on sticky notes and display them in Manzanita Hall in response to a prompt on what respect sounds like, feels like and looks like. Christopher Hurshman, upper school English teacher and senior class dean, also spoke during the school meeting about the vulnerability associated with honor and the importance of living in an honorable community.
“I want to challenge you to try to live in a community where we share in each other’s authority and vulnerability in a way that we all get to flourish,” Hurshman said in his speech.
On Thursday, the last day of Honor Week, Honor Council emphasized accountability. Honor Council hosted an activity around the campus in the style of a scavenger hunt with QR codes, which led to reflective questions about accountability. The Honor Council also encouraged interactions between underclassmen and upperclassmen throughout the week, rewarding spirit points to underclassmen and upperclassmen who spoke about what they have in common and submitted a selfie. As of Wednesday, the senior and freshman classes are in the lead.
“I think [Honor Week is] important because some people might not know about it or they might have just forgotten, so periodically reminding them and emphasizing the values and everything can help the community,” Anandita Arun (9) said.
Additional reporting by Michelle Liu and Muthu Panchanatham.
