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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

An example of the Facebook Chess chessboard. Facebook Messenger users can use a command to start a game of chess with a friend.

Facebook Chess is the next move in social media

by Katherine Zhang, Reporter May 17, 2016

At a quiet table in Manzanita, two students sit opposite each other, completely focused on an eight-by-eight checkerboard. After a pause, one student directs her king to capture the rook of her opponent,...

Movie poster for the original "Space Jam", released on November 15 1996. The film premiered at #1 in the US box office and grossed over 230 million USD worldwide.

LeBron James to star in “Space Jam 2”

by Prameela Kottapalli, Reporter May 10, 2016

Evil intergalactic theme parks and diabolical alien henchmen. Looney Tunes characters. NBA all-stars. If these words combined make sense to you, then you’ve watched “Space Jam,” the (notably cheesy)...

Led by spirit coordinator Edward Sheu (12), the senior class participates in their last scream-off of high school during the rally. Despite rainy weather, upper school students closed Spirit Week by competing in the annual Spirit Rally on Davis Field on April 22.

Drenched classes compete in pouring rain during rally

by Kaitlin Hsu and Ashley Jiang May 9, 2016

Spirit rallies means sweaty crowds cheering under the unbearable heat of the sun, right? Not so much. Students and faculty crowded under umbrellas and plastic bags to shield themselves from the pouring...

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory passed the anti-transgender bathroom law on March 23. The law limits transgender individuals to only the bathroom of their birth gender.

Anti-transgender bathroom law causes controversy

by Nicole Chen, Reporter May 9, 2016

North Carolina recently passed an anti-transgender bathroom law on March 23, limiting transgender individuals to use public bathrooms corresponding to only their birth gender. With the recent inauguration...

Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) placed first in Original Oratory at the District National Qualifying Tournament for the National Speech and Debate Association's National Tournament from March 18 to March 20. He will represent California at the National Tournament from June 11 to June 18.

Did you know: Nikhil Dharmaraj’s journey through speech

by Tiffany Wong, Reporter May 5, 2016

Nikhil Dharmaraj (9) joined Harker’s speech and debate team in sixth grade after his parents persuaded him to take public speaking classes at school. After three years of speech and debate at the middle...

“Everything is Rosie” at the spring musical, “Bye Bye Birdie”

“Everything is Rosie” at the spring musical, “Bye Bye Birdie”

by Kaity Gee, Kaitlin Hsu, and Maya Kumar May 5, 2016

The Upper School Conservatory took audiences on a jukebox jammin’ ride for this year’s annual spring musical, “Bye, Bye Birdie”, from April 12 to April 14 at the Blackford theater. When rock...

Alisa Su (10) poses in a selfie with the new Harker Geotags that were released last month.

Snapchat Geofilters introduced to campus

by Jenna Sadhu, Reporter May 5, 2016

Upper school student Alisa Su created two Geofilters on Snapchat that can only be accessed on the Saratoga campus. According to Snapchat, Geofilters appear in thousands of places around the world. Geofilters...

Two additional courses, Game Theory and Honors US History, will be available for next year in the B&E and history department.

Two classes added to next year’s course list

by Vignesh Panchanatham, Reporter May 4, 2016

Upper school students have the option of taking Game Theory and Honors US History next year, adding new classes to the Business and Entrepreneurship (B&E) and History departments. The B&E department...

A guide speaks to a group of students in Pompeii, a historical site in Naples, Italy. 2016 marked the first year the Italy and Greece was open to students.

Six sides of a Greek coin

by Nicole Chen and Aneesha Kumar May 4, 2016

Over spring break, 15 Harker students participated in the Italy and Greece trip, marking the first time this opportunity was open to students. Students had the chance to participate in and observe all...

Eight Harker seniors who received John Near and Mitra Family Scholar grants presented their papers to friends, teachers and family during a reception on April 25.

Reception honors 8 Near, Mitra Scholars

by Zachary Hoffman, Reporter May 4, 2016

Eight Harker seniors who received John Near and Mitra Family Scholar grants presented their papers to friends, teachers and family during a reception on April 25. The John Near Endowment funds students...

Caption: Grandmother Lee (center) protesting with supporters in front of the Seoul Japanese embassy on Oct. 30, right before the arrival of Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

Comfort women: How the past still matters

by Brian Park, Reporter May 4, 2016

The Japanese government has continued to downplay or deny claims of sexual slavery and other crimes against humanity committed during World War II. Over 70 years later, they still have failed to resolve...

A student’s pocket holds Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem Afternoon on a Hill. “Poetry is a pure expression of emotion and thought,” Nikhil Ramgiri (12) said. “It’s a medium to express yourself.”

Writers and readers celebrate National Poetry Month

by Prameela Kottapalli, Reporter May 4, 2016

A poet sits in a silent room, a notebook open to a fresh page perched on her lap. A pen is poised in her hand, hovering inches above the blank sheet of paper. She has so much to say, but she doesn’t...

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