![“[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)
Upper school faculty, students and parents attended the annual Back to School Day to take a glimpse at daily student life at the Saratoga campus on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Back to School Day serves as an opportunity for guardians of students to familiarize themselves with students’ classes and teachers by participating in 10-minute class periods.
The day kicked off with breakfast and booths set up by upper school clubs and organizations, including athletics, DECA, Harker Eclectic Literary Magazine (HELM), performing arts, robotics, TEDxHarkerSchool and Harker Journalism. Faculty and student representatives from the programs displayed decorated tri-fold posters and answered questions as parents socialized before the start of classes.
Following the introduction to campus organizations, guardians attended a brief meeting with their students’ advisers before attending classes. Student ambassadors, including members of Associated Student Body (ASB), class councils, Student Diversity Coalition (SDC), Honor Council and National Honor Society (NHS) answered questions and guided parents to locations around campus.
“In the morning there wasn’t anybody here, but [as] it’s starting to get busier, it’s more fun,” student council member Terry Xie (10) said. “[To prepare], we had a meeting with [upper school head Paul] Barsky, where he explained what was going on and gave everyone their positions.”
In their respective classes, teachers employed different methods to introduce both themselves and their curriculum, such as slideshows, interactive games and formal lectures. Many parents enjoyed the engaging and personal aspects of teacher introductions as a way to establish a deeper connection. Sophomore Lily Shi’s mother, Haidan Li, who attended upper school Modern and Classical Languages department chair and Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language teacher Abel Olivas’ class, found that his presentation about his culture served as a way to “break the ice.”
“My favorite part of back to school [was] getting to meet the teachers in person and learning about their backgrounds and family stories,” Li said. “[Señor Olivas] was such a fun and dynamic teacher. He was super energetic, and I liked the fact that he showed us a family picture because that helped us get to know him better.”
Amidst preparations, many teachers found that condensing introductions, class content and activities into the shorter period proved a challenge.
“[One of the challenges I encountered was] trying to finish everything in 10 minutes,” upper school chemistry teacher Ran Tao said. “It’s kind of challenging for a teacher, [as] class time is 85 minutes, and I feel it should be longer so I can finish all the materials I prepared. It’s the same thing with Back to School Day; it’s 10 minutes [and] very hard to put everything I want to share together.”
After attending their students’ classes, parents enjoyed a lunch prepared by upper school chefs in Manzanita Hall. The event closed as parents and student ambassadors departed from the upper school campus at around 12:30 p.m.
