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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

As journalists, one of our primary goals is to honor the people we report on. If we omit compassion, our articles lose life and color, and we fail to do justice to their stories. 

Editor’s Note: Empathy in subjectivity

by Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief May 22, 2024

Deliver the facts, maintain neutrality. There exists a flawed perspective that journalists should strive for objectivity when reporting the news. Yet objectivity gives the impression of detachment and...

Students David Jiang (9), Tiana Salvi (11), Harshini Chaturvedula (11) and Ivanya Sadana (9) express their cultures by playing musical instruments, dancing and singing while wearing cultural apparel. (Illustration by Young Min, Photos by Margaret Cartee and provided by Tiana Salvi)

Creativity builds cultural bridges

by Tiffany Zhu March 28, 2024

Every step to a dance, every stitch for a keychain, every note from an instrument and every lyric in a song form a vibrant tapestry of cultural expression, weaving a connection between artists and their...

Out of the nest: Walk the High Line

by Alison Yang and Brandon Zau March 16, 2024

NEW YORK — Twenty Harker Journalism students and staff visited the High Line, a former freight line turned public park, on March 14. They walked through Chelsea on the elevated line, exploring greenery,...

Introduction to Journalism student Sarah Wang (9) captures fellow classmates Emma Lee (9) and Victoria Li (9) jumping midair. During photographer Mark Murray’s visit, students practiced shooting action photos and capturing motion.

Professional photographer guides journalism students through creating photo stories

by Jessica Hu and Mendy Mao March 6, 2024

Harker Journalist-in-Residence and Executive Director of the Association of Texas Photography Instructors Mark Murray gave photography tips to Introduction to Journalism classes and guided them through...

Art Club officers Emma Li (10) and Laurel Davies (12) and Student Diversity Coalition Leader Dina Ande (12) draw in chalk outside of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center on Friday. Students responded in chalk to the prompt "What do you hope to see in the future?"

Culture Week Days 4 and 5: Students collaborate on chalk mural, mark countries of origin

by Janam Chahal and Lily Shi March 2, 2024

Upper school students contributed to a school-wide collaborative art piece outside of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center during lunch on Friday, marking the end of Culture Week’s activities. Student...

Tap Club members learn the Shim Sham, a classic tap routine. The Shim Sham was first introduced by tap dancers Willie Bryant and Leonard Reed in 1928.

Tapping into tradition: Tap Club explores Shim Sham

by Ashley Mo, Assistant STEM Editor February 28, 2024

Tap Club president Sanaa Bhorkar (11) introduced four members to a tap combination called the Shim Sham in the dance room on Thursday during long lunch.  Sanaa started off by going over the basic steps,...

"Botticelli Drawings" welcomes visitors with a projected slideshow of the exhibit. The Legion of Honor's exhibition is the first to focus on the preparatory drawings over the finished pieces.

Out of the nest: Trace the line

by Alison Yang and Emma Li February 11, 2024

As an artist works, countless lines are sketched, erased and refined between studies and finished product. In presenting a piece to the public, they draw one final line connecting themselves and the viewer....

Writers’ Advocate officers Tanisha Singh (12), Felix Chen (11) and Sydney Ling (12) analyze a mythology-themed poem "Gaea" for entry into the Scholastic Awards. Participants discussed how to use literary devices that communicated the writer's voice without sacrificing clarity for the reader.

Club Corner: Writer’s Advocate hosts Scholastic writing workshop

by Jeremy Peng, Assistant Copy Editor December 19, 2023

Writers’ Advocate Club hosted its annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards writing workshop during long lunch on Dec. 1 in advance of the competition’s Dec. 11 regional submission deadline. Club...

AI-generated illustration by Fotor AI with cutouts by Claire Zhao. "I have seen a few pieces where the hands are actually decent, but then most of the time they're kind of just like blobs; they look like sausages," Vika Gautham (10) said.

Not so handy: Why AI art can’t draw hands

by Claire Zhao, Co-STEM Editor May 4, 2023

“Wow, these look like real photos and people!” “I can’t believe they were drawn by AI!” “Where is society going with this?” These were some questions and comments that curious individuals...

Phoebe Castle (11) takes in a work from the "Color Trip: Yoshida Hodaka’s Modern Prints" exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco during a field trip on Mar. 27. "I was immediately drawn to the different themes of color in each one of the [prints]," she said.

AP Art History students tour San Francisco Asian Art Museum

by Felix Chen and Katerina Matta April 3, 2023

Advanced Placement (AP) Art History students visited the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco during a field trip on Mar. 27.   After attending their fifth period classes, students left school from the...

Sheena Vaswani ('04) discovered her interest in dentistry as early as high school. “I realized that dentistry was a marriage between my interests, and I didn't necessarily have to give up the artistic side of things,” Vaswani said.

Blooming from the STEM: Artistry in dentistry

by Andrew Liang and Sidak Sanghari March 13, 2023

Like most Harker students, Sheena Vaswani (‘04) is a native of the Bay Area, born and raised in Los Altos. However, after finishing high school, she felt the need to explore outside her bubble. And...

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