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

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Apple’s HomePod continues smart speaker trend

by Anthony Xu, Reporter March 6, 2018

Following in the footsteps of Amazon and Google, Apple recently released their own voice-controlled smart speaker named the HomePod. Announced in early June last year, the HomePod became available to pre-order...

“Everyone around me needs to be constantly smiling and happy and giggling and bouncing off my energy,” Jenna Sadhu (12) said. “Otherwise, I didnt do my job for the day.”

Humans of Harker: Jenna Sadhu embraces laughing out loud

by Meena Gudapati, Editor-in-Chief March 5, 2018

Walking past the lunch tables, classrooms, or any lounge area on campus, if you catch sight of warm, smiling green eyes and hear a fruity, characteristic laugh, you've spotted Jenna Sadhu (12). When...

The ReCreate Reading LibGuide houses information for all of this years 63 titles as well as key dates for the program. Rising seniors register first for ReCreate Reading on March 8 during office hours, rising juniors second on March 12 during office hours and rising sophomores last on March 13 during class meeting.

ReCreate Reading registration opens Thursday, continues into next week

by Tiffany Wong, Aquila News Editor March 5, 2018

Registration for this year’s ReCreate Reading program, featuring 63 titles and five visiting authors, opens this Thursday and continues into next week. Rising seniors register first on March 8 during...

Memoir Monday: A day spent sailing

Memoir Monday: A day spent sailing

by Irina Malyugina, Reporter March 5, 2018

With numb, blistered fingers, I grip my seat as a cold spray of water slaps my face. I can feel the wind, even though I am wearing three layers. The boat is tilted: I am almost parallel to the sea, which...

Harker BMUN competitors Jerry Su (11), Michael Eng (9), Andrew Lu (9), Amy Dunphy (12), Logan Bhamidipaty (11), Helen Yang (11), Sriya Prathuri (10) and Jai Bahri (10) posed with their awards after the conference. Inviting over 115 schools and 2,000 delegates to participate in three days of competitive events at this year’s conference, BMUN aims to spread awareness of international issues and the spirit of diplomacy through U.N. simulations as well as develop public speaking and policy debate skills in high school students.

Model UN delegation takes top honors at Berkeley conference

by Tiffany Wong, Aquila News Editor March 5, 2018

Eight members of the upper school’s Model United Nations program attended the 66th Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN) at UC Berkeley from March 2 to 4. The Harker delegation of Amy Dunphy (12),...

“My first year, I was the only sophomore in [Downbeat], Akhil Arun (12) said. So it was kind of scary, I’m not going to lie. It took a little bit to grow comfort, but I think when you’re performing or in an ensemble group, it takes a good amount of trust to get out of your skin and not be afraid of getting judged when you’re trying out for solos and things like that. I never did any of that sophomore year because I was so in my head about getting judged. But after a certain point, you realize that these are all your friends and no one’s going to care.”

Humans of Harker: Akhil Arun breaks out of his comfort zone

by Emily Chen, Reporter March 4, 2018

A single spotlight hits center stage, as the lights reflect off of the blue cast wrapped around his arm. Dressed in teal blue, Akhil Arun (12) confidently lip syncs to Frank Sinatra’s lyrics, mouthing...

MSD student David Hogg sits in front of posters advocating for gun control after the Feb. 14 shooting. David is a leader and founder of the Never Again MSD movement.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas students push for reform

by Aditya Singhvi and Sahana Srinivasan March 4, 2018

Student survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14 have since been advocating for gun control measures through their burgeoning organization...

“One of the biggest events in my life was when my parents got divorced,” Markus Wong (12) said. “Ive always wanted to improve myself — its kind of a common theme in my life. I was never satisfied with just being mediocre. When my parents got divorced, I thought it was the worst thing in the world. It was at that point that I was thinking to myself, Why do bad things happen to me, even though Im trying so hard? That kind of started a long journey of realizing that stuff like that will happen, but you have to learn how to be the bigger person. You cant let things consume you.”

Humans of Harker: Markus Wong reflects on his dual nature

by Irina Malyugina, Reporter March 3, 2018

“It's like a cheap drug, in a way,” Markus Wong (12) said of performing arts. “You do it once, it makes you feel good. The difference is that it's the people you're with. It's who you're interacting...

In Spain, I took this picture of this street musician. It was in the night, and it was super grainy and really dark, Neeraj Aggarwal (12) said. But when I increased the exposure and everything was still grainy, you could see a really big smile on his face and [he was] holding his guitar. There were two children next to him. This picture, to me, is not something I could blow up and print, but thats one of my favorite pictures just because of the moment that I captured... two kids enjoying the musicians music and the musician enjoying the fact that the kids were there.

Humans of Harker: Neeraj Aggarwal lies at the “intersection of design and technology”

by Michael Eng & Melissa Kwan March 3, 2018

Neeraj Aggarwal (12) has travelled to Dubai, Guatemala, Switzerland and Spain, but he admits that he spent much of his time looking through a viewfinder. “My dad tells me to put the camera away a...

Charlotte Blanc (10) and Cas Ruedy (10) skate around the Solar4America Ice rink together. Trip attendees had the option of taking the bus from the upper school at 7 p.m. and returning to campus at 9:30 p.m. or driving to the venue separately.

Harker Spirit holds annual ice skating trip at Solar4America Ice

by Sydney Takemoto and Gloria Zhang March 2, 2018

Students attended Harker Spirit’s annual ice skating trip at Solar4America Ice today. Various skaters of different skill levels came out to skate; some students preferred to stay at the bucket-pushing...

Satchi Thockchom (12)  speaks at the EPA hearing about the CPP repeal at San Francisco on Wednesday.  The CPP targets the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from coal-burning at electricity power plants.

Students speak against CPP repeal at EPA hearing

by Helen Yang, Aquila STEM Editor March 2, 2018

Seven Harker upper school students spoke at the the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listening session on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) this Wednesday at San Francisco. Freshman...

Future Problem Solvers club officers Anvi Banga (10) and Anika Tiwari (10) organize mini bundt cake sales outside Manzanita. Future club events include the state competition from April 20 to 22 at Design 39 in San Diego.

Future Problem Solvers holds club week

by Julia Huang and Devanshi Mehta March 2, 2018

Future Problem Solvers sold mini bundt cakes for the charity organization The Forgotten International everyday after school for their club week this week. To support the cause, students could either...

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