![LALC Vice President of External Affairs Raeanne Li (11) explains the International Phonetic Alphabet to attendees. "We decided to have more fun topics this year instead of just talking about the same things every year so our older members can also [enjoy],” Raeanne said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_4627-1200x795.jpg)
![“[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)
Homecoming Week Day 1: Sophomore and junior dress up for theme day, dodgeball prelims determine finals game
The senior dodgeball team prepares to throw balls at the sophomores at the preliminary homecoming dodgeball tournament. The class of 2025 defeated the seniors in the game and will advance to the finals against the juniors on Wednesday.
October 3, 2022
Students kicked off the first day of Homecoming Week today with the sophomores’ and juniors’ themed dress-up day and the annual preliminary dodgeball tournament in the Zhang Athletic Center during lunch.
The classes of 2024 and 2025 showed up to school fashioning outfits inspired by their themes of “Justice League”- and “Minions”, respectively, for spirit points for their grades. Isabella Ribeiro (11), who dressed up in yellow and blue for the juniors’ “Minions” theme, comments on the significance of Homecoming Week in strengthening class and school community.
“I think Homecoming Week is really important because it helps rally the spirit and support that needs to be acquired for the Homecoming game,” Isabella said. “[The activities] get people really excited for [Harker Day] and forms this spirited community between classes as well as the entire school.”
During lunch, the frosh took on the juniors for the first preliminary dodgeball game, with students from all grades watching in the audience and commentary provided by Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) adviser Eric Kallbrier. The class of 2026 dodgeball participants eventually lost to the class of 2024 participants. In the next match, the classes of 2025 and 2023 competed in a game, with the sophomores holding a strong lead over the seniors until the sophomores’ ultimate victory.
The winners of the preliminary games, the classes of 2024 and 2025, will compete at the dodgeball finals on Wednesday. Leo Sobczyn (10), who participated in the sophomore’s dodgeball team, talks about the class of 2025’s victory over the seniors as well as his aspirations for the finals on Wednesday.
“It really feels good when you’re beating an upperclassmen class, especially the seniors,” Leo said. “I’m excited to face the juniors on Wednesday because we’re going to have faced both upper classes and hopefully show our dominance.”
In addition, HSLT prepared activities and events for Homecoming Week so each grade could show their class spirit. For example, because the frosh and senior classes did not have a theme dress-up day today, they instead dressed up with sportswear to still show their spirit. HSLT Vice President Paulina Gicqueau (12) reflects on how spirit activities can help students relieve stress, have fun and form connections with classmates.
“Especially on this campus, we’re often so focused on academics, clubs and extracurriculars,” Paulina said. “But I think that Homecoming Week is a great way for people to bond outside of that and to temporarily forget about the stress or their assignments and just relax.”
Tomorrow, tug-of-war preliminaries will take place on Davis Field and the Advisory Parade will move through campus; Wednesday will have the frosh and senior theme dress-up day and dodgeball finals on Wednesday; and then the Homecoming Rally will be on Thursday.
