![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“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 its played such a major role in who Ive 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 Im [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)
![“[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)
![“Im 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 theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones 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)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent 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)
![“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)
Winter wonderland: Students and faculty delight in holiday-themed spirit festivities
Katie Wang (12), Laurie Jin (12), Zubin Khera (12), Jacob Fernandez (12), Miki Mitarai (11) and Sawyer Lai (12) sing Christmas songs during the Winterfest celebration in front of Manzanita Hall on Thursday after school. “[Winterfest] was a huge success, and that’s down to the hard work, the dedication and the creativity of our HSLT,” Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier said. “A lot of our HSLT members didn’t even get to participate in the activities, but they got their joy out of making joy for others.”
Members of the Harker community enjoyed winter spirit activities from elf spaghetti to ice fishing in events organized by the Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) and Student Activities Board (SAB) throughout the week of Dec. 5.
“We always like having winter events because they’re right in the middle of break and finals, which is normally a very stressful time,” HSLT Executive Secretary Arjun Moogimane (11) said. “Our hope was just to help people de-stress, help people have a good time and give them a chance to have a hot chocolate, make a cookie or whatever it is that they enjoy doing.”
In a winter-themed window painting contest lasting from Nov. 28 to Dec. 8, each grade decorated a window of Manzanita Hall according to a festive theme to compete for spirit points. Seniors took inspiration from the movie “Frozen,” juniors from “Penguins in Madagascar,” sophomores from “Ice Age” and frosh from “Snoopy.”
On Tuesday, students and faculty members participated in Ugly Sweater Dress Up Day to win tickets to a raffle. Advisory was extended to an hour for holiday parties, during which members of class council visited each classroom to sing holiday carols and deliver holiday cookies. Advisories could also visit various stations around campus including a petting zoo, a hot cocoa bar and an area for board games.
“I’m in Mrs. Cranston’s advisory, and we watched the first bit of ‘Twilight,’ made donut snowmen and a few of us played a little bit of soccer as well,” Suhana Bhandare (9) said. “Although the extended advisory did cut into a little bit of office hours time, I think that relaxing before finals is also pretty important.”
During lunch on Tuesday, representatives from each grade and faculty members built gingerbread houses for spirit points, decorating their creations with frosting, pretzels, gumdrops, M&M’s and more. The junior class came in first place, followed by the frosh, seniors and sophomores.
To conclude the week of celebration, HSLT and SAB hosted Winterfest on Thursday, an annual tradition they started last year. Inside Manzanita Hall, students partook in a movie night featuring “Elf,” with popcorn and hot chocolate served by HSLT members. A spaghetti bar featured traditional marinara sauce as well as toppings inspired by the movie such as Joe-Joe’s cookies, Red Vines and chocolate syrup.
“My favorite part of Winterfest was eating popcorn and watching Elf,” attendee Sidak Sanghari (10) said. “I thought it was really well organized — it united everyone in holiday spirit. I think it’s really great that HSLT is taking time to provide activities for students that relieve finals stress and college application stress that’s going on for seniors. I’m glad our school hosts spirit events that bring everyone together.”
In front of the building, HSLT members led ice fishing, where participants used magnets to capture plastic fish from a kiddie pool, and spun a wheel with prizes such as a $25 Starbucks gift card or a chance to pie seniors Nick Delfino and Zubin Khera.
“It was a huge success, and that’s down to the hard work, the dedication and the creativity of our HSLT,” Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier said. “A lot of our HSLT members didn’t even get to participate in the activities, but they got their joy out of making joy for others. Overall, I’m extremely proud of our team, and very proud of our community for how many people got involved.”
Felix Chen (11) is the co-news editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is his third year on staff. Felix hopes to diversify this year's...
Ella Yee (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Ella hopes to continue bonding with the journalism...
Emma Gao (12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she hopes to explore writing a variety of articles...
