![“[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 Barsky opened school meeting by reminding students to respect the presenters by putting away devices and avoiding side conversations.
Associated Student Body Community Service Committee Aaron Bao (12), JiaJia Jiang (12), Luke Wu (11), Nicole Dean (10) and Aydin Mesic (9) introduced Winter Wishes, a new initiative where students can write thankful notes to their peers and teachers, with recipients receiving a Ghirardelli Peppermint Snowman Bark Chocolate. Check-ins will be held at Manzanita Hall the week after Thanksgiving break.
The president of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Taylor Summers (11) and the president of the Transgender Affinity Group (TAG) Fern Biswas (12) clarified that GSA provides a space for discussing recent LBGTQ+ media and news, while TAG is only open to transgender individuals and focuses on decompression and connection. They honored Transgender Awareness Month and held a moment of silence to commemorate the struggles and deaths of transgender activists for Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20. They announced that GSA is planning to host a queer open mic night and a collaborative nail painting group.
Conservatory representatives Shruti Srinivasan (12), Arthur Wu (12), Yinan Zhou (12) and Jessica Skylar Chen (10) congratulated clarinetist Eric Dong (11), violinist George Yang (11) and violist David Tang (10) who were accepted into the California All-State Music Ensembles. They invited students to the upcoming Winter Instrumental Music Concert featuring Lab Band, Jazz Band and Orchestra on Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Patil Theater. Conservatory members Iris Cai (12) and Holly Templeton (11) each received a gift bag for being Conservatory Performers of the Month.
Oeconomia co-president Andy Chung (12) and Equilibrium co-editor-in-chief Sophia Liu (12) announced the release of the seventh issue of Equilibrium, Oeconomia’s student-run economics magazine. This issue focused on international affairs and politics under the theme of the recent presidential election. They invited students to a speaker event with former US Federal Trade Commission economist Dr. Lawrence Wu, who walked through a regulatory case study on Nov. 22 during lunch.
Winged Post editors-in-chief Victor Gong (12) and Katerina Matta (12) introduced Winged Post’s third newspaper of the school year, which was distributed during lunch.
Flight Crew members Charlotte Ludlow (11) and Omar Khan (10) announced De-stress Week after Thanksgiving break, featuring a hot cocoa bar on Monday, casual athletic games on Tuesday, dress to de-stress on Wednesday and slime-making on Thursday.
Living with Intent, Focus and Enthusiasm (LIFE) Board officers Sathvik Vemulapalli (11) and Yena Yu (11) introduced the LIFE gratitude booth with bingo and raffle, hot chocolate and heart pins during lunch.
Harker Spirit Leadership Team member Charlotte began the Eagle Update by leading the “put your eagles up” cheer from previous years. She dubbed tennis player Pavith Khara (11), football player Rayan Arya (12) and cross-country runner Ava Alvarez (10) as the athletes of the week. Pavith won the WBAL Individuals Singles Tournament, Rayan led the Eagles to a 5-3 record in their league and Ava’s 5k time placed her at third in Harker’s record books. Charlotte also praised the varsity boys water polo for placing in NorCals, girls cross country team for finishing fifth in CCS and the boys cross country team for finishing ninth.
ASB Outreach Committee members Alicia Ran (12), Jason Shim (12) and Avi Gupta (9) commended the student body for surpassing the original 1,000 pairs of socks goal in the sock drive and donating over 2,000 pairs of socks, with the class of 2027 donating 1,369 pairs. As a result of passing the benchmark number, ASB will be pied at Winter Fest on Dec. 6 and will host a hot cocoa bar with whipped cream and other toppings. Students can volunteer at West Valley Community Services to distribute the socks to people in need on Dec. 7.
ASB President Sam Parupudi (12) announced the daily sandwich bar would be available after school 15 minutes earlier at 3:15 p.m., then dismissed the meeting.
