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

Girls Programming League (GPL) team officers and participants meet in a Zoom room for the awards ceremony. This year, the GPL event was held virtually due to concerns about COVID-19.

Girls Programming League held virtually for the first time

by Mark Hu and Sabrina Zhu September 25, 2020

Zoom breakout room “Byte the Dust” is filled with three middle school girls. They excitedly discuss the potential algorithms that can solve one of the problems, before one of them begins sharing her...

STEM Scene showcases briefs to update our community on the STEM world.

Stem Scene: Sept. 22

by Anmol Velagapudi, Mark Hu, and Sriya Batchu September 22, 2020

Astronomy Club The Upper School Astronomy Club held two guest speaker sessions with a Q&A with Dr. Eugene Chiang from UC Berkeley on Sept. 4th and a talk with Dr. Bruce Macintosh from the Stanford...

University of California, Santa Cruz, was one of the few universities that modified their Summer Internship Program, a summer research program for high schoolers, to an online format. As most opportunities moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students found new research opportunities, either through virtual labs or on their own at home.

Students’ summer research continues despite new difficulties, Harker research classes adapt to online environment

by Sabrina Zhu, Assistant STEM Editor September 1, 2020

Upper school students conducted science research during the summer despite new challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though several popular research programs like the California State Summer School...

An illustration depicting Falcon 9 launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The spacecraft was designed and created by SpaceX, a private American aerospace company based in Hawthorne, California.

SpaceX partners with NASA to send American astronauts to space

by Mark Hu and Sabrina Zhu June 2, 2020

SpaceX, a private American space manufacturing company, sent two NASA astronauts into space on Saturday in a launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, marking the first time that...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a test kit in February, during the early stages of the outbreak, but it proved to be faulty. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in March that it would begin to issue Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) to clinical laboratories and commercial manufacturers that have produced tests that are screened by the FDA before their distribution and use.

COVID-19 testing and treatments explained: Cases ramp up as researchers race to find sustainable cures

by Mark Hu, Katie Wang, and Nicholas Wei May 20, 2020

As COVID-19 infections continue to spread across the nation, hospitals across Santa Clara Valley are taking measures to increase the number of resources available for patients, including ventilators and...

STEM Scene showcases briefs to update our community on the STEM world.

STEM Scene: Upper school clubs continue activities in quarantine

by Tiffany Chang, TALON Reporter May 4, 2020

With COVID-19 pushing everyone to pioneer alternatives for events made unfeasible by shelter-in-place, upper school STEM clubs have risen to the challenge. Despite the inability to continue hands-on activities...

The condiment bar in Fresh Mex in the auxiliary gym was closed last Friday as kitchen staff worked to implement a reduction in self-served items in food service.

Upper school cafeteria limits self-served food items to limit the spread of COVID-19, among other local health measures

by Mark Hu and Sabrina Zhu March 9, 2020

The upper school has recently removed self-serve food stations to reduce extra student contact with food due to concerns over the coronavirus.  As of March 6, the salad and fruit bar in Manzanita and...

A hand sanitizer station stands at the registration table for the Harker Programming Invitational. Extra hygienic precautions were taken this year due to concerns over the coronavirus.

Upper school hosts annual Harker Programming Invitational with extra precautions due to coronavirus concerns

by Sabrina Zhu, Anna Vazhaeparambil, and Mark Hu March 8, 2020

Three students huddle around a table in the Nichols atrium, speaking in hushed voices together as their eyes focus on the problem set in front of them. One picks up a pencil and begins drawing out a list...

Ellen Guo (12) presents her project to a judge at the 2018 Synopsys Science Fair.  The fair has gone virtual in response to the CDCs advisory against mass gatherings.

Annual Synopsys science fair goes virtual in response to concerns over coronavirus spread

by Mark Hu and Sabrina Zhu March 6, 2020

The annual Synopsys Science & Technology Championship, which features work from students in Santa Clara Valley, is going virtual due to concerns over the coronavirus.  The competition has been...

Members of the winning Science Bowl team pose with coach and upper school chemistry teacher Robbie Korin. The team won its third regional championship in four years.

Upper school science bowl team wins regional competition

by Mark Hu, Winged Post STEM Editor February 24, 2020

The Department of Energy’s regional science bowl took place at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park on Feb. 8, and the upper school science bowl A team was crowned champions remaining undefeated...

Smoke fills the sky near the property of middle school math teacher Margaret Huntleys sister on the outskirts of the capital city of Canberra. Bushfire smoke consists of water vapor, various-sized particles and toxic gases like nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide.

Global Reset: Australia battles blazing bushfires in war against climate change

by Emily Tan and Brian Chen February 4, 2020

26.9 million acres burned. More than 3,000 homes destroyed. 33 deaths, including nine firefighters, as of Jan. 31, according to the Crisis Coordination Center of the Australian government. And over one...

STEM Scene showcases briefs to update our community on the STEM world.

STEM Scene: Upcoming contests and competitions

by Sally Zhu and Amruta Dharmapurikar January 15, 2020

AMC The American Mathematics Competitions (AMCs) will take place on Thursday, January 30. The AMC 10A and AMC 12A are math contests open to all students in or below grades ten and twelve, respectively....

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