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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

Summer Adler (9) scoops ice into a mason jar. Green Team has taken multiple environmental activism steps to open up climate activism opportunities for youth.

Global Reset: Fighting for a cooler future

by Kinnera Mulam, Co-STEM Editor August 24, 2022

“The seas are rising but so are we.” Waving signs streaked with color, protesters filled the sidewalks of downtown San Jose as they marched through the city. Drivers in the streets showed their...

Anjali Yella (11) sprints forward in preperation for a long jump. Anjali played basketball and ran track last year, using skills from each sport to improve the other.

Apex: From a competitive individual to a team player

by Katelyn Zhao, Sports Editor August 24, 2022

Resounding footfalls, cushioned by the spikes of her shoes sinking into the coarse sand, thump closer and closer. Swirls of dust rise, followed by a swish as she springs off the ground with her arms slicing...

Freshman students read the matriculation oath while standing up. Upper school students and faculty gathered on Davis Field for the 2022-23 Matriculation ceremony on Friday to welcome the incoming class of 2026 and mark the commencement of the new academic year.

Matriculation ceremony welcomes Class of 2026 to upper school

by Isha Moorjani and Sally Zhu August 23, 2022

Upper school students and faculty gathered on Davis Field for the 2022-23 matriculation ceremony on Friday to welcome the incoming Class of 2026 and mark the commencement of the new academic year. The...

One frosh advisory group tries to use several long sticks to lift a rubber ball during the ninth grade field day. Sophomore and junior class trips and frosh field day took place on Thursday with bonding activities for each class.

Frosh class attend orientation, sophomores, juniors embark on class trips to kickstart school year

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor August 22, 2022

As an annual tradition celebrating the start of a new school year, the incoming ninth grade class attended orientation at the upper school campus while sophomores and juniors participated in ropes courses...

“STEM Spotlight” is an Aquila repeater showcasing STEM clubs and their initiatives.

STEM Spotlight: Robotics club conducts week-long summer camp for incoming frosh class

by Edward Huang, Co-STEM Editor August 22, 2022

Harker Robotics held their annual introductory summer camp from Aug. 8 to Aug. 12 in Nichols Hall, with club leadership teaching rising ninth graders about the basics of designing and building robots. The...

Prakrit Jain ('22) searches for new animal species to help the environment and wildlife.

Humans of Harker: Scorpion spotter

by Erica Cai and Irene Yuan August 17, 2022

This is one installment of the Humans of Harker 2022 video series. Through this project, the Harker journalism program aims to tell the story of the senior class, one profile at a time.

Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.

Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause

by Erica Cai, Selina Xu, Ella Yee, and Irene Yuan August 17, 2022

This is one installment of the Humans of Harker 2022 video series. Through this project, the Harker journalism program aims to tell the story of the senior class, one profile at a time.

“[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.

Humans of Harker: Blast of creativity

by Olivia Xu, Managing Editor August 15, 2022

Most people are familiar with Nerf Blasters: the toy gun that launches small foam darts. But have you ever considered the mechanics behind the product? Or, take it a step further, built your own nerf gun...

"Every single person I've interviewed for Humans of Harker has said one killer quote that has stuck with me even through four years of high school, and I think I really do internalize those messages. There are nuances in every single person's experience that makes it unique to them and also makes it a good lesson for everyone else. It's just amazing to see how much wisdom every single person at Harker has, and it's fascinating to learn about those stories," Erica Cai ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: Harmony in humanity

by Olivia Xu, HoH Managing Editor July 18, 2022

A musician seeking to understand the quirks of the world. A student activist expressing herself through mediums of art. An archer developing composure and resilience. What do they have in common? They...

“Something I took away from baseball is that there's always the opportunity to bounce back when things don't go particularly right. Even the best hitters only go one for three, so being able to push through that is one of the most important parts of the game. Being able to identify what goes wrong and learning from that is important to being able to find success in the future," Mark Hu ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: The perfect pitch

by Nicholas Wei, Michelle Wei, and Tiffany Chang July 17, 2022

Mark Hu (‘22) recalls the perfect game he pitched against Woodside Priory, in which not a single batter from the opposing team managed to complete a home run. It was the seventh and last inning and the...

“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: Creating his own world

by Lakshmi Mulgund, TALON Co-Sports & Social Media Editor July 16, 2022

As he opens up the animations on his phone, Carter Chadwick ('22) begins to project a screenshot of one of his animation works. Standing in front of the projection, he begins to point to different parts...


“For both theater and ballet, you have a set of guidelines: for dance, it's choreography, and for theater, that's your script. But in both, your role is to make those things feel like your own. You're fully embodying the character and making it seem completely organic. You take your own interpretation of the piece and make small artistic decisions to make it fully what you feel is true to the character or the idea you're trying to convey," Arely Sun ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: Stage magic

by Erica Cai, HoH Editor-in-Chief July 16, 2022

Arely Sun (‘22) vividly recalls her 2020 performance at the Youth America Grand Prix competition in San Francisco. Dressed in simple brown and beige as the titular character in the ballet “Giselle,”...

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