The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“Human connection is very important to staying grounded and stable. The people around me are one of the reasons that I'm not fully burnt out, so I really prioritize keeping a good schedule for myself. Being able to prioritize the things in life that give me internal satisfaction is important to me because that's what allows me to have the drive to do good with the rest of my time. Talking to people is a way for me to replenish," senior Kashish Priyam said.
Humans of Harker: Pep in every step
“It's very important to make sure the people in your life know they're important to you. Whether that's doing small acts of kindness or just being there whenever they need you, having a really strong support system is what gets you through life, and it's a really valuable life skill to have," Sofie Marino (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Pillar of support
“My karate teachers emphasize that as black belts, we should be living up to the standard of our rank and acting as an example for the students who are lower-ranked.' When I’m helping out and someone messes up, I don't necessarily say, ‘You did this wrong, try to do this.’ I take a more relaxed approach and act out what they did a little comically. It's finding the balance between being strict and being more playful with the students," senior Claire Perng said.
Humans of Harker: Playing with purpose
“I have the ability to convey my opinions and ideas through art, which in my opinion, is the most powerful tool I have because not everyone has it. It requires me to, first of all, have an opinion or thought, and second of all, be able to convey it with this medium. Together, that is the strongest calling for an artist," senior Eva Li said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in abstraction
"I like challenging myself to really, really high expectations and then surprisingly, somehow it works, and I think I have the most fun doing that. Rather than making a beginner thing, I wanna be the best .I wanna do the craziest thing first," senior Gabe Li said.
Humans of Harker: B-roll to your beat
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
“There's a lot of value in every moment and everyone around you. I appreciate people who just appreciate the little things. For me, I feel like everyone you meet can teach you a little bit, and that's something that I've really internalized over the years. I think that's part of why I like being around people and different communities so much. Because in each of these communities, you can learn so many different things from everyone," Olivia Xu ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Purpose towards progress
“I get to choose how much effort and detail I put in, and that’s what you’re going to see in the end. I love that you can see the truth on paper. A lot of my work is in black and white, so I can’t rely on color to cover it up or make it more interesting — I can only rely on my skill and willingness to go into the studio and add to my piece," Katelyn Zhao ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Envisioning the everyday
"I used to think that I have to keep doing dance just because it's what I’m known for. But now I’ve realized there’s beauty behind all the madness that happens. And it’s now a part of me, so not doing dance or not having Legos is like I’m losing a part of my identity," Luke Mehta ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Building with style
“Why not? So many things are very foreign or unknown to us, but there’s not much to lose by just trying things. I initially wasn’t very comfortable with DECA, especially with impromptu, but the community really helped me grow out of that. And DECA is now one of my top high school memories. Just giving things a try is really worth it, and if it fails, the worst thing that can happen is you just try something else," Claire Luo ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: It’s all in the details
"Being a lifer, I really want to put my knowledge to use. Being a TEDx speaker is a really big honor in and of itself, but to be able to actually address the Harker community was really important to me because I wanted to have an impact on the place that I've been at for 13 years," Arissa Huda ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Prescribing change
"I’ve learned discipline: practicing a lot and then knowing what your strengths are, knowing where to improve. That discipline is definitely going to stay with me. If I’m trying to get a big piece of work done in general when I'm interested in it, I'll stop at nothing to reach my goals," Linette Hoffman ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in motion
"I have this philosophy with theater. I wholeheartedly believe that my life was made for the stage, and all my make or break moments have happened there. While some people learn best through lectures or visuals, I learn best from having a spotlight on me," Zubin Khera ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Scripts to success
"One of the most important things for me about performing is its transformative power. There was one concert where we were singing this commission about gun violence, followed by a piece about climate change, a piece about the Holocaust. Watching the audience's expressions and how they reacted to the music we were singing was the first time that I was like, ‘Whoa, music has the power to change lives and engender positive change,’” Sawyer Lai ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Symphony of spirit
"It’s been fun getting to know the chefs at La Mar, their team and how different cultural influences blend together. For example, they make ceviche, which is a traditional Peruvian dish, but they infuse it with many different cultures. They have a version of their ceviche which is inspired by African tastes and spices, and they also have a Japanese form of that same ceviche dish. I think it’s interesting to watch how these fusion dishes form," Alex Lan ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Flavors of knowledge
Prakrit Jain ('22) searches for new animal species to help the environment and wildlife.
Humans of Harker: Scorpion spotter
Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.
Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause
“[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
"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
“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
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
It's been obviously rough, turning on the news and seeing another death, seeing another acquittal every single time … but, ‘How much can I do?’ is the question I'm asking myself. ‘How much can I help, and what impact can I have?’” Brian Pinkston ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: For the future and the present
“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Leading with DECA-cation
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
“I feel really good about myself when I'm relaxed and enjoying the world. There’s so much to learn about the world and so many ways to do so," Daniel Wang ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Mapping the unknown
"I'm the person that always has a plan for everything. And then I have backups for the plan, and I have backups for the backups," Nicole Chen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Calendars for a cause
"I don’t ever intend on letting the internal love of life that I have leave me. As I grow up and I maintain my love for the random things I do, I know I’ll be happy– and hopefully people around me will be, as well," Mathew Mammen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Jack of all trades, master of fun
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
"The more serious side, people will never see. You'll never see who's behind one of these websites that people may be using," Neil Ramaswamy (12) said. "Several freshmen have approached me like, 'hey, you're the really funny guy at school meeting' and I'm like 'hey, yeah, nice to meet you' and at the same time they might be using an application that I've written not knowing that it's me. I kind of get that personal satisfaction knowing that there is a serious side to me, you just don't know about it."
Humans of Harker: Dueling with duality
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Neymika Jain finds balance in life
“A lot of the time, when I’m out at nail salons, nailers ask me if I‘m Vietnamese. I say yes, but they say that I don’t speak the language and have never been back to Vietnamese, so am I really? I always felt disconnected, like I would be Vietnamese-American but never Vietnamese. When I went to Vietnam for the first time, it brought me closer to my culture. I realized I shouldn’t view myself as a different. I have to see Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese as one and the same," Haley Tran (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Haley Tran values her cultural identity
“One time, I was hiking up this giant off-trail path, and this is going to make me sound like a complete hippy, but what I was thinking at the moment was that every single tree out there must have had some sort of backstory. Even when I was walking to Shah, there was this tree right next to the building, and I was like, ‘Maybe this tree had a lot of other tree friends, but then this building came up and they had to get cut down.’ That made me pretty sad. So, when I was coming up with backstories for trees, it reminded me of my childlike innocence of playing pretend or playing with my stuffed animals because I thought my imagination would never run as wild as it once did. But, this experience made me feel happy because it’s something that I’ve lost, and I feel like I gained some of it back," Aashish Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Aashish Jain finds inspiration in painting through watching Bob Ross videos
“For me, robotics has always been a great way to learn about how to build things and how things work. Honestly, that is the reason why I love robotics. When you see everything working, you look at it and say 'I helped make this happen,' which is really really gratifying," Andrew Tierno (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Andrew Tierno reflects on his passion for robotics
“A lot of being a choreographer is about digging deep, understanding, and finding out which event leads to the next, which is basically what science is. You would take a circuit and break it apart to understand each of the components, and you would do that to a song,” Sneha Bhetanabhotla (‘17) said.
Humans of Harker: Sneha Bhetanabhotla learns to connect robotics and dance
“I can be serious, and I care a lot about a lot of things, but I also just like having fun and people feeling comfortable being their true selves,” Isabella Spradlin (12) said. “You don't have to be one-sided — you can have different sides of your personality, and different moods.”
Humans of Harker: Isabella Spradlin gleans insight from sisterhood
“This is like a melting pot of Cupertino, Lynbrook, Saratoga, some people from De Anza, so you meet all kinds of people,” Rahul Mehta (12) said. “Half the time I’m not even playing with my friends, so I’m playing with random people. You start off in the beginning a bit wary of each other, and then by end you’re playing like they’re your friends. It’s kind of gradual. Like after a really cool play, you’ll high five each other, and that’s how it all begins.”
Humans of Harker: Rahul Mehta befriends others through banter
"People are always debating, you know, ‘should I go up to a higher weight or not?’ And I’ll just yell, ‘do it, you won’t,’" Tiffany Shou (12) said. "And then, you know, it’s like that challenge, and so it always pushes them pick that higher weight, and then they can accomplish it, so it’s even more gratifying."
Humans of Harker Video: Tiffany Shou pushes her limits in the weight room
“First, I start at my house,” Sparsh Chauhan (12) said. “Then, I turn on Saratoga, and it’s always crowded with traffic and stuff. That’s when I’m setting the music, checking the tire pressure, the gas. After downtown, the road gets smooth, which is when I put the windows down. I go all the way down until there’s a dip and then I go back. Even when I have stuff to do, I drive that same route every day. I don’t have to take directions. I know all the traffic times; I know exactly where I’m going.”
Humans of Harker: Sparsh Chauhan takes pride in his work
“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”
Humans of Harker: Angel Cervantes chases his goals
“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.
Humans of Harker: Learning to fall
“You just have to go for it. You think, 'In the future, if I think back and regret it, is that how I want to end up — or would I rather just try something and see what happens?' Usually, it turns out well,” Montek Kalsi (’20) said. 
Humans of Harker: All fun and games
“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.
Humans of Harker: Leadership and love
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Ananya Sriram

Ananya Sriram, Winged Post Co-Managing Editor

Ananya Sriram (12) is a co-managing editor for the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Ananya hopes to bond more with members of journalism staff and explore creative page designs to modernize Winged Post and help the paper find its essence. In her free time, she enjoys eating spicy food, curating a new monthly Spotify playlist or taking sunset photos.

All content by Ananya Sriram
“I love using performing arts as a method to positively impact the audience. With every single show I do, I always want to have my performance be moving, leaving the audience with something new to ponder, something for them to take away," Shareen Chahal ('24) said.

Humans of Harker: Voice behind the story

by Ananya Sriram, Winged Post Co-Managing Editor
June 11, 2024

End of Year Slideshow 23-24

by Kairui Sun, Aishani Singh, Alison Yang, Ananya Sriram, Ariana Goetting, Brandon Zau, Chayce Milheim, Ella Guo, Ella Yee, Emma Milner, Emma Li, Eva Cheng, Isabella Lo, Jonathan Xue, Kevin Zhang, Lindsey Tuckey, Margaret Cartee, Mirabelle Feng, Selina Xu, Tiffany Zhu, Yifan Li, and Vivian Chen
June 3, 2024
“One of the things I've learned through having a YouTube channel is the importance of digital media and dispelling misinformation. I think these cutting edge topics really fascinate me, because there's still a lot of ambiguity around what's the right way forward. Exploring that and sharing what I've learned with others is really rewarding," Arjun Gurjar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Limitless learning

by Nathan Yee, Reporter
May 23, 2024
“I've noticed that since I've done Speech and Debate, I'm unafraid to point out when someone's wrong or ask clarifying questions, something I struggled with. It also has helped me with research, in terms of being a better advocate for the work that I do," Sasha Masson (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Advocating for opinions

by Risa Chokhawala, Reporter
May 23, 2024
“Overall, I feel like I need to be achieving something. It’s the feeling you get after you study for a test and you have a bunch of tabs that you can close. I remember when I came in freshman year, I was nervous, and I thought if I didn’t know things, people would be condescending, but a lot of people want to work together. You need to put yourself out there and try to make connections with people you didn’t expect you’d make connections with," Evan Matvey (12) said.

Humans of Harker: One ticker at a time

by Yifan Li, Co-Conservatory Editor
May 6, 2024
Humans of Harker: Climate for connection

Humans of Harker: Climate for connection

by Ananya Sriram, Winged Post Co-Managing Editor
May 6, 2024
“I hope people who knew me will remember me as someone that they could always talk to and someone who’s super approachable. I generally tend to strike up a conversation with anyone, anyplace, anytime. I hope people remember me as someone who brought a little bit of joy to their lives," Reshma Kosaraju (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Authenticity in cultural expression

by Emma Gao, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
April 30, 2024
“Music helps me say stuff that I can't say in words. I'm not really an emotional person, but it helps me translate what I'm feeling into something,” Jerry Li (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Music of minds

by Charlie Wang, Co-Multimedia Editor
April 29, 2024
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Humans of Harker: Blazing through baskets and blues

by Heather Wang, Staff Reporter
April 26, 2024
“In a way, I just don't really care about what I've heard about other people. A lot of people have different opinions and opinions will clash, so I feel like it's best to form my own opinion from my own interactions. As cliche as it sounds, treat others how you want to be treated," Katelyn Hsu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Singing with sincerity

by Lily Shi, Co-News Editor
April 22, 2024
Many are aware of the pain that concussions cause on the court, but the arduous process of concussion recovery behind the scenes is less known. Apart from the initial pain of the hit, symptoms of a concussion vary and have the potential to heavily affect day-to-day cognitive function, emotional wellness and physical health. 

Athletes tackle concussion recovery

by Claire Yu, Co-Assistant Sports Editor
March 28, 2024
Ramadan, the holiest month in the Muslim calendar, will take place this year from Mar. 10 to Apr. 9. Over the thirty days, those who are physically able will fast from sunrise to sunset, fulfilling one of the five pillars of Islam, sawm.

Fasting and faith

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
March 10, 2024
With my experience in selling these special cookies, these five are my favorite Girl Scout cookies of all time.

Friday Five: Girl Scout cookies

by Janam Chahal, Assistant News Editor
March 8, 2024
The Winged Post sent out a Schoology survey to upper school students asking them to explain situations in their love lives or friendships so that the Winged  Post strategic team could offer advice. We chose five out of 62 responses to answer in this column.

Call to cupid: Your questions, answered

by Ananya Sriram and Ariana Goetting
February 14, 2024
Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes faces off against the 49ers' Brock Purdy. The two teams will play in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday.

Students and staff share Super Bowl LVIII predictions

by Eva Cheng, Claire Yu, and Tiffany Zhu
February 9, 2024
Head Coach Joel Mthombeni reviews a play with the team at halftime. Coach Mthombeni joined the team last September.

Varsity girls soccer ties with Menlo 1-1 in West Bay Athletic League opener

by Desiree Luo
January 22, 2024

Our immigrant stories

by Ella Yee, Sally Zhu, Ananya Sriram, Selina Xu, Medha Yarlagadda, Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Anwen Hao, Katerina Matta, Gabe Sachse, Aishani Singh, Hima Thota, Jessica Wang, and Claire Zhao
December 14, 2023
Upper school psychology teacher Julie Turchin gives a speech to the senior class about how to have difficult conversations on Nov. 2. Teachers handed out worksheets that students could use to plan a difficult conversation they might have in the future.

Juniors meet Eagle Buddies while seniors, sophomores and frosh attend LIFE assemblies

by Jessica Wang and Vivian Chen
November 24, 2023
Screenshot 2023-11-15 at 10.44.20 AM

Sixes, centuries and celebrations at the Cricket World Cup

by Mihir Kotbagi and Disha Gupta
November 24, 2023
Deepfakes are a type of deep AI that can synthetically generate convincing videos by manipulating facial features and voices. The danger associated with this AI comes from its susceptibility to being abused.

You see it, but can you believe it?

by Disha Gupta, Reporter
November 28, 2023
Claire Anderson (11) awaits the announcement of the spirit rally champions on Thursday. The class of 2025 came out on top, followed by the class of 2027, the class of 2024 and the class of 2026.

Homecoming Week Day 4: Grades spar in Spirit Rally, Juniors take lead in points

by Margaret Cartee, Ananya Sriram, Felix Chen, and Shareen Chahal
October 5, 2023
“As soon as I learned about this amazing new field of medical humanities, I wanted to share it with other people through workshops and what other means I could. Whatever I’m really interested in, whatever I learn, I immediately want to spread it to other people,” Anika Mantripragada (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Canvas of curiosity and culture

by Ananya Sriram, Winged Post Co-Managing Editor
October 4, 2023
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
A parent converses with athletics department representative Vyom Vidyarthi (11) at the Harker athletics booth during Back-to-School Day on Saturday. Club and organization representatives, including faculty and students, set up booths outside the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC) Saturday morning.

Annual upper school Back to School Day bridges parent to teacher connections

by Ashley Mo, Vivek Moorjani, and Ananya Sriram
September 10, 2023

Photo Slideshow Aug. 22

by Margaret Cartee, Gemma Chan, Mirabelle Feng, Charlie Folk, Vika Gautham, Ariana Goetting, Victor Gong, Katerina Matta, Kinnera Mulam, Chayce Milheim, Aishani Singh, Ananya Sriram, Claire Su, Lindsey Tuckey, Olivia Xu, Jonathan Xue, Grant Yang, Ella Yee, Brandon Zau, Claire Zhao, and Kevin Zhang
August 27, 2023
transistors

Transistors: Stem cells of technology

by Victor Gong, Co-STEM Editor
August 25, 2023
Seniors Jessica Morel, Shanaya Dhawan and Sania Gupta sketch designs in the Zentangle: Doodling for Peace workshop. Campus faculty hosted the workshops to teach seniors a variety of life skills and promote personal well-being.

Seniors unite for inaugural Senior Retreat

by Alena Suleiman, Ananya Sriram, and Kevin Zhang
August 21, 2023
"I like to analyze both myself psychologically and just like things in general by trying to notice details. It's helped me know myself better. I understand why I'm doing certain things, even if they aren't the best thing, so I can work towards becoming a better person," Amrita Pasupathy ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Hitting escape

by Ananya Sriram, Katelyn Zhao, and Olivia Xu
August 13, 2023
"I like to see how much I’ve grown. I’m proud to say that the Charmander on my screen became a real sketch; and maybe someday I can create a game that inspires someone like it did for me," Carlo Banzon ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Sketches from a screen

by Ananya Sriram, Winged Post Co-Managing Editor
June 1, 2023
"Even though high school can be daunting at Harker, don’t be afraid, and go out and do what you want to do. I was scared to try things at first: I didn’t try out for the DECA leadership team, I didn’t play football, and I didn’t hang out with the people that I wanted to hang out with. There’s a lot of things that I didn’t do because I was scared, and it took a pandemic for that to change for me. Don’t make that mistake. If you fall down, you’ll be able to get yourself back up," Rohan Gorti ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: ‘Tuff’ness in a touchdown

by Ananya Sriram, Winged Post Co-Managing Editor
May 30, 2023
Tourists and locals walk along the sidewalks of the Tenderloin, taking in the warm afternoon weather and crowded streets. Harker journalism staff members attended the Spring JEA/NSPA Convention in the Tenderloin district from Thursday to Saturday.

“The best the city has to offer”

by Desiree Luo and Ananya Sriram
April 22, 2023
Illustration for the "Catching fireflies" piece in this installment of "Life’s Tiny Treasures." For 30 minutes, we were there in the middle of the night, wind and rain in our hair, dancing outdoors in the lamplight, catching fireflies.

Sincerely, spring: Raindrops, fireflies, crows and puppies

by Vika Gautham, Desiree Luo, Katerina Matta, and Ananya Sriram
March 28, 2023
Illustration for the "Catching fireflies" piece in this installment of "Life’s Tiny Treasures." For 30 minutes, we were there in the middle of the night, wind and rain in our hair, dancing outdoors in the lamplight, catching fireflies.

Catching fireflies

by Ananya Sriram, Co-Features Editor
March 28, 2023
Vibrant colors soar as kids and adults fling “gulal,” or colored powder, at each other, their once white clothes dusted with colors of spring, resembling fields of flowers to welcome the new season. Also known as the Festival of Color, Holi is observed during March as a way to welcome spring and to honor the triumph of good over evil.

Holi celebrations: Welcoming the blooming of the season

by Vika Gautham and Sarah Mohammed
March 23, 2023
An illustration of the choreography in “Naatu Naatu," which inspired a variety of dance trends on Instagram and TikTok. This song won at this year's Academy Awards for Best Original Song, making it the first Indian film song to be both nominated for and win an Oscar.

The significance of ‘Naatu Naatu’’s Oscar win for India

by Ananya Sriram, Co-Features Editor
March 23, 2023
superbowl

Chiefs stun Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII with second win

by Gabe Sachse, Co-Assistant Sports Editor
March 9, 2023
An illustration depicting Rihanna's half-time performance during Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12. Her jumpsuit revealed her pregnancy, with a baby bump visible through the layers of red.

Light up the sky: A review of Rihanna’s half-time performance

by Emma Milner and Hima Thota
March 8, 2023
Although empty space during the day may not seem to help students’ productivity, it actually trains them to allocate their time wisely. In particular, the absence of a mandatory activity during the morning block can shorten the long list of tasks students must complete each day, lessening their burden bit by bit.

Editorial: Leave more open space in schedule

by Editorial Board
February 6, 2023
An illustration depicting various injuries that commonly occur within sports including a concussion, a strained meniscus and an ankle sprain. “Injuries are part of the game,” varsity boys basketball coach Alfredo Alves said. “Every injury [is] different, but the longer you're out, the longer you're away from playing, so just mentally, [players are] adjusting and understanding that it's going to take time.”

Searching for the silver lining: Athletes persevere through injuries

by Emma Milner and Hima Thota
February 3, 2023
Cake thrown at the Mona Lisa, soup splashed onto Van Gogh, body parts glued next to paintings, shouts of, “What is worth more, art or life?” Such protests may or may not be necessary to draw attention to global climate change issues.

Perspectives: Extent of artivism

by Ananya Sriram and Hima Thota
December 23, 2022

Climate activism should pursue the art of persuasion, not force

by Ananya Sriram, Co-Features Editor
December 23, 2022
An illustration representing an online chess match. Online chess site Chess.com released a 72-page report on Oct. 4 accusing Chess Grandmaster Hans Niemann of unfair play in over 100 online chess games in his career.

Shattering the integrity of a centuries-old sport

by Edward Huang and Felix Chen
November 7, 2022
The upper school celebrates its 25th anniversary this year after its founding in 1998. It began with 90 students who comprised the first graduating class of 2002 and a small-sized faculty of 12 to 15 members.

Happy birthday, Eagles: Commemorating 25 years of upper school history

by Ananya Sriram, Co-Features Editor
October 30, 2022
Seniors Zubin Khera, Arin Jain and Rohan Gorti hold up a check of $20,000 written to TuffToy after winning the National Pitch Competition in Chicago in July. The three founded TuffToy in their junior year to sell customizable and durable dog toys.

Want to start a business? It’s pawsible.

by Desiree Luo and Ananya Sriram
August 30, 2022
Harker Journalism strategic introduce themselves at Tuesday's school meeting. This year's first school meeting included presentations by Model UN, Conservatory, HarkerDev, journalism and athletics.

School meeting recap 8/23/22: First week of school, performing arts and fall sports updates

by Shareen Chahal and Claire Zhao
August 26, 2022
Members of the Class of 2022 clap during their graduation ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga on May 19 at 5 p.m.

Class of 2022 graduates at Mountain Winery

by Kinnera Mulam, Ananya Sriram, and Olivia Xu
May 28, 2022
“A lot of hobbies you do or you get into, there’s people behind it who also enjoy that. So it helps you network. For example, I have a lot of friends that don’t go to Harker, but I still consider them close friends because of it. It helps you meet new people. Trying stuff isn't just for the thing itself, but for the people," Will Yashar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Flying higher into the sky

by Charlie Folk and Ananya Sriram
May 11, 2022
Sporting a yellow class shirt, junior Richard Zhang delivers a response to a question asked by junior class dean Karl Kuehn. Prior to the question and answer session, the junior class could view candidates responses to a set of five questions.

Freshmen, sophomores, juniors elect class council and SAB representatives

by Ananya Sriram, Isha Moorjani, Katerina Matta, and Jessica Wang
April 30, 2022
An illustration of Reagan Ka's (12) prom dress. While many upper school students still approached their princess, prince or even friends in a series of promposals, they decided to live their happily-ever-afters for prom in style.

Ballgowns and bow ties: Students prepare fashion statements for prom

by Trisha Iyer and Ananya Sriram
April 23, 2022
Seniors Keya Mann, Camilla Lindh, Simren Kochhar, Saanvi Arora, Tristan Goodwin and Ishaan Parate throw powdered color at each other to celebrate Holi on March 18. Holi, or the Festival of Spring or Colors, is a Hindu festival most commonly celebrated in India, although people also take part in festivities all over the world.

Flames of triumph and hues of spring: Upper school students and staff celebrate Holi with family and friends

by Ananya Sriram, Asst. News Editor
April 20, 2022
The sophomore class cheers for Student Activities Board (SAB) sophomore representative Daniel Lin in the final round of Musical Chairs on Davis Field on Friday. Freshman SAB representative Jason Shim won the game.

Juniors storm Spirit Rally, take home first place

by Kinnera Mulam, Ananya Sriram, and Desiree Luo
April 20, 2022
Kai Burich (12) travels across the pool during the regatta competition in the Singh Aquatic Center. The seniors ended the race in last place, while the juniors came in first and the sophomores in second place. The freshmen team unintentionally popped their float, prompting a disqualification.

Classes compete in sports-themed spirit day activities

by Kinnera Mulam and Ananya Sriram
April 12, 2022
Upper school biology teachers Eric Johnson and Matthew Harley sport Star Wars outfits for Disney day. Students and faculty who chose to participate wore a variety of Disney merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts and Minnie Mouse ears.

Upper school kicks off Spirit Week with Disney-themed day

by Ananya Sriram, Asst. News Editor
April 11, 2022
The freshmen step into formation while rehearsing their dance routine on April 1 on Davis Field for spirit week. The dance was choreographed by freshmen Maya Affaki, Yasmin Sudarsanam and Sonia Yu.

Spirit week activities to begin tomorrow

by Ananya Sriram, Asst. News Editor
April 10, 2022
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‘I couldn’t believe that I made it’

by Alysa Suleiman and Dilsher Dhaliwal
March 23, 2022
The Black History Month board in Main hallway is decorated with short biographies and pictures of various influential Black people from around the world in celebration of Black History Month. Notable Black people which the Black Student Union (BSU) included in the Student Diversity Coalition board range from athletes to actors to politicans.

Upper school Black Student Union holds fundraiser celebrating Black History Month

by Ananya Sriram and Ariana Goetting
March 10, 2022
Colorism is the discrimination of individuals based on skin color, with lighter-skinned individuals receiving preferential treatment compared to people with darker complexions. It often infiltrates beauty standards to emphasize fair skin as a part of the “pure, white and innocent” look. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, an Irish romantic novelist in the 19th century, said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but if the core of both typical western and international beauty has been reduced to one skin tone, is it even a matter of personal preference? 

Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all: Colorism on dating shows promotes toxic and classicist beauty standards

by Ananya Sriram, Asst. News Editor
March 7, 2022
Brendon Hayes (9) and Akul Goyal (9), members of Harker Robotics' mechanical and machining team, wear masks inside Nichols as they run the router during Robotics' weekend work session today. As of April 18, Harker will no longer require middle and upper school community members to wear masks indoors.

BREAKING: Harker announces end of indoor masking requirement starting April 18

by Isha Moorjani and Ananya Sriram
March 5, 2022
“When you’re trying to solve a coding problem or trying to accomplish a task, there are many different ways to go about it. You can use different programming tools, languages, or different algorithms. You have quite a bit of freedom, and being able to look at situations through different lenses is important to finding the most efficient solution," Anirudh Kotamraju (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Enterprising engineer

by Ananya Sriram, Assistant News Editor
February 22, 2022
Downbeat members stand in rows while facing the audience in the Patil Theater. After their successful holiday tour around the north Bay on Dec. 3, Downbeat brought some holiday cheer to the upper school audience as well.

Downbeat returns with cheery holiday season and qualifies to Varsity Vocals quarterfinals

by Katelyn Zhao, Assistant Sports Editor
February 3, 2022
Middle school girls dance group "Showstoppers," in costumes of flowing white dresses, performed to Sia's "Snowman." Middle and lower school dance groups at Big Assembly Day included High Voltage and Dance Fusion.

K-12 performing arts students shine at in-person Big Assembly Day

by Alysa Suleiman and Sally Zhu
January 9, 2022
"Santa, Can't You Hear Me" plays on Spotify as a wrap on the holiday season. Assistant news editor Ananya Sriram offers her top five holiday song picks.

Friday Five: Holiday songs

by Ananya Sriram, Assistant News Editor
January 7, 2022
Green Team co-president Camilla Lindh (12) talks about protecting Coyote Valley from industrial development during the club's meeting last Wednesday during long lunch. This local place is a location Green Team has been working on saving since the beginning of the year.

Harker Green Team discusses upcoming sustainability goals

by Kinnera Mulam and Ananya Sriram
December 7, 2021
Third-grader Sofia Mohammed received her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Nov. 12. The FDA officially authorized the emergency use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children from 5-11 years old with a 91% efficacy rate on Oct. 29.

COVID-19 vaccination mandates enforced in New Zealand, Italy and United States

by Ananya Sriram and Brandon Zau
November 30, 2021
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