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The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

Talk around campus: Club showcase

Talk around campus: Club showcase

by Jessica Tang and Katie Wang August 19, 2021

In light of a new year, club officers are looking to take advantage of an in-person campus after adapting to an online setting during the 2020-21 school year. Some have used the summer to explore, improve...

A pair of bronze eagles stand in a fountain in front of Shah Hall. The sculpture, a gift from the Class of 2021, had previously been installed in Dobbins Hall.

Graduates’ gift: Class of 2021 funds new eagle fountain, places near Shah Hall

by Sabrina Zhu and Nicholas Wei August 17, 2021

A pair of sparring bronze eagles grasp at a flowing American flag, suspended over a glassy pool of water. The birds of prey lock claws in the air, their talons gleaming in the sunlight. Two rings of stone...

Talk around campus: Returning to in-person school

Talk around campus: Returning to in-person school

by Sally Zhu, A&E and Lifestyle Editor August 15, 2021

As the 2021-22 school year approaches, students and faculty discuss returning to school in person on campus. They share their excitement to see their peers and teachers after a year of virtual learning...

Class of 2021 alumni Arusha Patil and Michelle Si speak with writer Jody Brady during a field trip to the Beat Museum on June 26. Organized by upper school English teacher Charles Shuttleworth, the field trip included 13 alumni from Shuttleworth's senior English elective courses, Postmodernism and Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation.

Class of 2021 alumni discover Beat Generation poetry roots in San Francisco

by Sarah Mohammed, Features Editor June 30, 2021

Wooden bookcases line the warm red walls, each shelf brimming with poetry books—yellow-tinted pages lovingly dog-eared at the corners. Hanging from the ceiling, musicians and writers fill a black-and-white...

Art Club members stand behind their work after the completion of the "Love Not Hate" mural in Downtown Palo Alto on June 12. Club members painted the mural in support of the Stop AAPI movement and to show solidarity with the AAPI community.

Pulse of the People: Where color and paintbrushes meet local issues

by Sally Zhu, A&E and Lifestyle Editor June 22, 2021

If you were to walk down University Avenue in Downtown Palo Alto the summer afternoon of June 12, the streets would be filled with tables outside restaurants, families and many large canopy tents to block...

How to draw Studio Ghibli characters

How to draw Studio Ghibli characters

by Aastha Mangla, Asst. A&E and Lifestyle Editor June 10, 2021

With the joys of summer beginning, memories of nestling in my bed to indulge in Studio Ghibli movies to celebrate the end of my exams flood me. This year, summer seems sweeter after a year in a pandemic,...

Colleges have prioritized overall GPA over test scores, unlike previous years.

A world of uncertainty: students reflect on the college application process during the pandemic

by Sarah Mohammed, Winged Post Asst. Features Editor May 19, 2021

Looking back at her experience completing her college applications earlier in the year, Stephanie Shen (12) remembers it as a process filled with the general emotions suffused within the pandemic: longing,...

Freshmen class council officer Ella Lan (9) offers individually packaged donuts to a student on April 22 during the morning class spirit activity.

Spirit Week brings community together for on-campus excitement

by Michelle Liu, Winged Post Design Editor May 5, 2021

Splash! Head of School Brian Yager dropped into the water of a dunk tank as upper school seniors, gathered in front of Manzanita Hall with their masked faces beaming under the sunlight, cheered amidst...

Each member of our journalism staff has approached the pandemic in their own way, sometimes together and sometimes separate. Hear the voices of our program and experience how we overcame the unknown of 2020.

Growing up ahead of the curve: Gen Z on living through a global pandemic

On March 12, 2020, Head of School Brian Yager announced through the speakers that the upper school would be closing due to the public health threat of COVID-19. Though we celebrated in the hallways and...

Upper school Latin teacher Scott Paterson shows his son, Virgil, holding some Amanita Muscaria mushrooms in Jan. 2020.

Meet your teacher: Mad for mushrooms

by Sally Zhu, Humans of Harker Profiler March 24, 2021

Upper school Latin teacher Scott Paterson kneels in a large forest in camping gear, holding a bright red Alice-in-Wonderland mushroom with his son Virgil. He’s featured in more photos, smiling and holding...

Library director Lauri Vaughan stacks rectangles of cotton into what she calls "mask pancakes" before sewing them into individual masks. With aid from student volunteers and fabric donors, her sewing project reached 5000 masks, which she announced on Mar. 3 on Schoology.

Mask on: Students and faculty contribute to upper school mask drive

by Arely Sun, Winged Post Lifestyle Editor March 23, 2021

Last spring, when the upper school left campus and switched to remote learning, library director Lauri Vaughan initiated a small-scale sewing project with some friends to make cloth masks to donate. “I...

More than 1000 protestors gather at San Jose City Hall to protest hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) on Sunday March 21. The protest was just one of many happening across the nation after the recent spotlight of Asian-directed attacks.

Pulse of the People: Not a new issue

by Alysa Suleiman and Nicole Tian March 22, 2021

This article has been updated on March 26 to reflect additional resources provided for the upper school community. What does an “Asian American” represent? A computer engineer at a Silicon Valley...

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