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

Over 100 students and faculty attended the second Challenge Day of the year, a community-building event that took place last Friday in the Zhang Gym. “Challenge Day represents values that I think are important, including the idea that the most important parts of our lives are things we don’t often share,” upper school English teacher Christopher Hurshman said.

Community connections strengthen during underclassmen Challenge Day

by Emma Gao, Co-News Editor March 11, 2023

Over 100 students and faculty attended the second Challenge Day of the year, a community-building event that took place March 3 in the Zhang Gym. The upper school held this month’s Challenge Day,...

Facilitator Danny Midborn runs through a crowd of student leaders on March 4 during Challenge Day. The upper school held Challenge Day for underclassmen, and upperclassmen who attended the Challenge Day in the fall volunteered to help out.

Harker underclassmen forge community bonds during second Challenge Day of the year

by Michelle Wei March 21, 2022

 harkeraquila · Winged Post Audible: Upper school hosts second Challenge Day Around 100 students and faculty engaged in community-bonding activities during Challenge Day, which took place Friday,...

Samvita Gautham (11) dances with a partner during one of the bonding activities. After upper school participants linked arms and danced to music, they turned around and shared their answers to a prompting question introduced by a Challenge Day facilitator.

Strength in community: Challenge Day embraces growth with return to in-person format

by Anika Maji and Alena Suleiman September 25, 2021

“I love my neighbor, especially the ones who… go to Harker!” A commotion fills the Blackford gym as all students and faculty leap up from their seats and jog to an empty chair across the room....

Student Diversity Coalition representatives Uma Iyer (12) and Brooklyn Cicero (12) introduce Challenge Day on Friday. “[Challenge Day] was truly a transformative experience,” Brooklyn said in her speech. “It brought me a lot closer to my peers and allowed me to get very vulnerable with them, something that was a bit hard to do at first, but eventually I got used to it.”

Student Diversity Coalition announces Challenge Day event for juniors and seniors

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor September 7, 2021

The Student Diversity Coalition (SDC) gave a presentation to juniors and seniors in the Auxiliary Gym on Friday about Challenge Day, which will be held on Friday, Sept. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m....

Nearly 900 upper school students and faculty attended a Challenge Day assembly over Zoom on Monday to learn about the importance of empathy and awareness in the community. Challenge Day is a nonprofit working to bridge differences and build compassion in communities.

Upper school community embraces vulnerability at virtual Challenge Day

by Lucy Ge and Anna Vazhaeparambil September 23, 2020

Nearly 900 upper school students and faculty attended a Challenge Day assembly over Zoom on Monday to learn about the importance of empathy and awareness in the community. Challenge Day is a nonprofit...

An illustration depicting the beauty of diversity of all types.

Editorial: Challenge Day serves as first step

by Editorial Board March 7, 2020

A hundred students and 20 to 30 members of faculty met in the auxiliary gym to participate in community developing activities on Feb. 6. The program, Challenge Day,  focused on mindfulness, to address...

Teachers line up at the end of the faculty meeting in the morning and practice their favorite dance moves. Whenever a Challenge Day leader shouted Were about to play a game, participants began dancing.

Challenge Day bridges gaps with emphasis on empathy

by Nicole Tian and Sarah Mohammed February 12, 2020

The double doors on the far side of the auxiliary swung open to welcome a stream of students who jumbled their way through a tunnel of dancing faculty members, the upbeat music mixing with laughter and...

Head of Upper School Butch Keller delivers a talk at school meeting about recent incidents of students using disrespectful language and racial slur. Keller presented an initiative called Challenge Day that aims to encourage diversity of perspective and break down barriers between students and faculty.

School meeting recap 1/13/2020: Eagle Update, new semester electives, and a Night of Nostalgia

by Lucy Ge, Asst. News Editor January 14, 2020

Avi Gulati (12) started off yesterday’s school meeting by welcoming everyone. On behalf of ASB, he announced that students should submit slides through the form instead of email. On behalf of upper school...

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