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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

Tara Nemati (10) works to complete the sophomore class eagle during Spirit Night on Friday. The sophomore eagle donned a lab coat and sports jersey to highlight the “High School Musical” theme.

HSLT hosts spirit night, students complete eagle paintings

by Felix Chen, Co-News Editor October 1, 2023

Upper school students celebrated Spirit Night on Thursday outside of Manzanita Hall from 3 to 5:30 p.m. to build class camaraderie and finalize homecoming preparations. Harker Student Leadership Team...

The presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) looms over students at Harker. Students often use AI technology to generate ideas, to complete homework assignments or even to write sections of essays.

ChatGPT can’t fix everything

by Isabella Lo, Co-Opinions Editor September 27, 2023

It’s late at night. I have an assignment due the next morning, and my goal is to go to bed as quickly as possible. Who would want to toil through two more hours of homework, then wake up sleep-deprived...

Otter 841 clings onto a vibrant surfboard in the waters off Santa Cruz's Cowell Beach in June. Many surfers have reported encounters with this otter outlaw, and authorities are still searching for her.

Otter 841: The audacious, surfboard-snatching menace

by Victor Gong, Co-STEM Editor September 26, 2023

As surfers ride the waves in the cool blue waters of Santa Cruz, one omnipresent threat looms over them all — an overly-social, delinquent sea otter. The aquatic outlaw, which local officials call Otter...

Despite changes and improvements, Wi-Fi at Harker is sometimes unreliable and unstable, disconnecting at inconvenient times. These disconnections create disruptions both in and out of the classroom.

What’s happening with Harker Wi-Fi?

by Eva Cheng and Victor Gong September 19, 2023

Wi-Fi: a magical gateway to the Internet, a necessity in everyday tasks, the enabler of everything online. In today’s day and age, web browsing, gaming and video calling all require wifi or internet...

Amini's death paved the way for a renewed movement of defiance, protest and anger against Iran’s oppressive regime. Thousands of people have taken to the streets, dancing, singing, burning hijabs and defying authorities.

Pulse of the People: Iran’s resistance, one year after Mahsa Amini

by Hima Thota September 16, 2023

Today marks one year since the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was stopped by the morality police for not wearing her headscarf properly. Three days after her apprehension,...

Heads on shoulders, members of the Class of 2023 lean on each other as Mr. Yager gives his final remarks near the end of the event.  Baccalaureate closed out the Class of 2023's last day of high school on May 12th.

Class of 2023 culminates with Senior Brick Ceremony and Baccalaureate

by Jonathan Xue and Brandon Zau June 13, 2023

The Class of 2023 and their families gathered in front of Graduates’ Grove for the annual Senior Brick Ceremony and Baccalaureate on May 12 at 5 and 6 p.m. Director of Annual Giving Jun Wang presented...

Meet your teacher: Ace of all trades

Meet your teacher: Ace of all trades

by Aryana Bharali and Tiffany Chang May 1, 2023

Cross country athletes surround Kevin Oliver as he reviews techniques and invigorates them with advice for an upcoming competition. His expertise as a runner enables him to devise proper strategies...

Charlie Major, owner of Bay Area cheesecake store Charlie's Cheesecake Works, poses with a classic cheesecake. Major, who started the store 20 years ago, still runs the shop to this day, selling three varieties of cheesecakes in 40 unique flavors.

So you wanna be a cheesecake baker?

by Lavanya Subramanian, TALON Student Life Editor May 12, 2022

After Bay Area local Charlie Major retired 20 years ago, he didn’t take a conventional route of retiring. Instead, he started a new cheesecake business, setting up Charlie’s Cheesecake Works right...

This illustration represents the podcast "Research Revelations," which spotlights student researchers with staff members.

Research Revelations Episode 1: Microplastics in fish with Aeliya Grover

by Ella Yee and Selina Xu May 2, 2022

This is the first installment of Research Revelations: Conversations with Our Student Researchers, a podcast where Aquila staff members talk to student researchers about their projects and research goals....

Climate strike attendees wave their signs and flags in the air on their way to Plaza de Cesar Chavez on Friday. Upon their arrival, the group formed a semicircle in the plaza to listen to various speeches from people involved with stopping climate change.

Pulse of the People: Youth demand environmental action at local climate strike

by Sabrina Zhu, Kinnera Mulam, and Sally Zhu April 27, 2022

Ten upper school students attended the Silicon Valley Youth Climate Strike 2022 for a march and speeches in downtown San Jose on Friday, Earth Day, at 4 p.m.  Green Team members and Green Team...

Three students and two teachers discuss their thoughts on the mask mandate lift at the upper school. The lift began on Monday, and students and faculty are no longer required to wear masks indoors.

Talk around campus: Mask mandate lift

by Selina Xu and Sally Zhu April 25, 2022

Additional reporting by Edward Huang. With the upper school's mask mandate lifting last Monday, April 18, students and faculty are no longer required to wear masks indoors, a decision following Gov....

Hacking groups have attacked both Ukrainian and Russian government websites, bringing a new era of cyber warfare. Along with other misinformation on the internet, cyber warfare tactics pose a rising threat to civilian lives.

A new generation of warfare

by Arjun Barrett, Asst. STEM Editor April 12, 2022

In a room lit only by the glow of my laptop, I stare intently at a dark terminal window full of tiny white text. Esoteric phrases like “ncat” and “ssh” clutter the screen alongside various scripts...

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