![“[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)
This semester, finals will run from Thursday, December 13 to Tuesday, December 18, separated by a weekend, as opposed to previous years’ three-day exam schedule.
By inserting a weekend in between exam days, students are given a few extra days to either relax or study for their upcoming tests. Dean of Studies Evan Barth explains that new arrangement is merely the result of the placement of the holiday break rather than an intentional change.
“It was just basically [because of] the calendar of the year; it was kind of a funky calendar, and the administration decided last winter when they were setting the calendar [so] that Wednesday would be the first day of break, and the final schedule got backed out of that,” Barth said.
In addition to altering the placement of finals in the week, the exams also begin one hour later than they did in previous years. Similar to the schedule modeled last spring, the first final of each day begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. A lunch break follows the first final, and the second final commences at noon and runs until 2 p.m. Since three hour exams start at 8 a.m., everyone finishes the first final at the same time and starts the second final together.
“I think it’s nice that we have a weekend in between because that’s a bit less stressful so that we don’t just have finals all the time; there’s a break in between,” Simran Singh (10) said.
However, not all students think that the weekend provides any extra help than a normal, block schedule. For Sahana Narayanan (9), the new schedule will not alter the way she prepares for the exams.
“I think it is definitely a change […], but it doesn’t really affect how I will take the final,” Sahana Narayanan (9) said.
The first final of the year, History, begins on Thursday, December 13, less than two weeks from today.
![Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Katerina Matta and Managing Editor Young Min were selected as first place winners from a pool of around 2,000 students. “This page [shows] how much we paid attention to detail and how much we pushed ourselves to ensure the best quality that we could,” Young said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_4254-900x1200.jpeg)
