![“[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)
Head of Upper School Paul Barksy opened school meeting by reminding students to put away their devices on Thursday in the Zhang Gymnasium.
DECA officers Lauren Lin (12), Eden Kelly (11), Nichole Dean (10) and Kai Nishimura (10) presented their activities for DECA month. They announced an ice cream social on Friday to kick off DECA month and the Hustle 4 Muscle volleyball tournament to promote the Muscular Dystrophy Association on Nov. 12 and Nov. 14.
DECA’s public relations teams also spoke about Dine with DECA, where students can receive career advice from industry professionals on Nov. 20. DECA will collaborate with Green Team to host a textile drive to donate to the Green Education Foundation from Nov. 18 to Nov. 22 and will work with FEM club to create care packages for Project Glimmer, a nonprofit for women’s shelters, on Nov. 22.
English teacher Beth Wahl, theater teacher Brandi Griffith and junior Daniel Miao reminded students about the Shakespeare Monologue Contest on Nov. 14 and an opportunity to receive advice on their monologue performance from Dr. Wahl and Griffith on Nov. 8. The top three contestants will receive prizes, and the first place winner will have the chance to compete in the English-Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team member Charlotte Ludlow (11) revealed the athletes of the week: varsity boys water polo player Caio Cammer (12), varsity girls water polo player Zoe Cammer (10), varsity boys cross country captain Robinson Xiang (11) and varsity girls cross country captain Emily Bryan (11). She commended varsity girls golf for their 7th league title and junior varsity girls volleyball and varsity girls volleyball for earning league and co-league champions, respectively.
Associated Student Body Student Events Committee members Sam Parapudi (12), Eric Zhang (12), Amishi Gupta (11), Andrew Shin (10) and Amber Wang (9) reminded people to attend Chellaween at 12:25 p.m. in the Quad. Community Events Secretaries Kairui Sun (11) and Robinson Xiang (11) encouraged students and faculty to submit photos to the Halloween costume contest. Winners in the categories of best duo, best group, scariest, funniest and most creative will receive prizes.
LIFE board members Angelina Antony (11) and Krish Goenka (11) announced and kept score for the final round of the LIFE board exercise month badminton tournament, where the top three teams from the preliminary rounds and a teacher team played against each other. Junior Aman Chandra and frosh Isabel Yang competed against frosh Yimo Xie and Gary Xu finals round, and third place finishers Daniel Xi (9) and Adrian Jia (9) faced off against Assistant Upper School Division Head Kelly Horan, math teacher Bradley Stoll and physics teacher Lisa Radice. Aman and Isabel won the competition while Daniel and Adrian beat the faculty team 18-11.
Sam announced hot food for seniors in Manzanita and closed the meeting.
