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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

Students and staff witness the partial solar eclipse with special solar viewers. These glasses prevent eye damage by filtering out harmful radiation from the Sun.

Upper school community marvels at partial solar eclipse

by Victor Gong and Jessica Wang April 12, 2024

Students and staff across the upper school campus gathered outdoors during lunch on Monday, with eyes, through lenses and filters, affixed to the sun. The partial solar eclipse seized the spotlight on...

Attendees of the research club take part in a mock-science fair in preparation for Synopsys on March 7. Synopsys is the Santa Clara County regional research championship.

Research Club holds Synopsys Championship preparation meeting

by Vivek Moorjani, HoH Profiler March 18, 2024

Research Club held a mock science fair on March 7 in upper school physics and science research teacher Chris Spenner’s room in preparation for the Synopsys Science and Technology Championship. Around...

COVID-19 continues to mutate into new variants like the most recent JN.1 strain and remains especially active during the respiratory virus season from fall to winter. Updated vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax that came out in fall 2023 are effective against newer variants, and CDC safety precautions have largely stayed the same since last year.

Keeping up with COVID-19

by Mendy Mao and Jeremy Peng February 9, 2024

As we slog through another respiratory virus season, COVID-19 is no longer the main topic of discussion. Instead, the nation seems to have collectively moved on, despite the dangers the virus still poses....

The Panama Canal Authority cut traffic through the canal indefinitely by 36% on Jan. 17, leading to global shipping delays. An ongoing El Niño exacerbated the drought in Panama. (Provided by statemag.state.gov)

Severe drought in Panama slashes traffic in canal by a third

by Jonathan Szeto, Assistant News Editor February 9, 2024

The Panama Canal Authority cut traffic through the canal indefinitely by 36% on Jan. 17 due to an extreme drought in Gatún Lake. Authorities now permit only 24 ship crossings per day, down from 38...

Audience members listen attentively to upper school science department head Anita Chetty during the non-RRI portion of the upper school's annual Synopsys information meeting. Chetty went over Harker's project selection guidelines as well as key dates.

Upper school hosts Synopsys meeting on science fair guidelines

by Andrew Liang and Tiffany Zhu September 10, 2023

Around 80 upper school students attended the Synopsys information meeting in the Nichols Auditorium on Aug. 25 to learn about the application process and guidelines for the science fair.  Upper...

An illustration featuring a cyclist biking down a path. Cycling, in addition to being an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation, is, for many, a sport and a passion.

Cycling onwards: Bikers find their own path

by Emma Milner, Assistant Sports Editor March 9, 2023

Cycling, in addition to being an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation, is, for many, a sport and a passion. The sport redefines the focus on the individual through lessons of personal accountability...

Students listen as Mrs. Chetty walks through the Synopsys guidelines. The informational meeting for the Synopsys fair and Regeneron Science Talent Search research competitions took place on Friday in the Nichols Auditorium.

Upper school science department holds annual Synopsys and Regeneron informational meeting

by Sidak Sanghari and Vika Gautham September 6, 2022

Upper school science department head Anita Chetty and research teacher Chris Spenner held the Synopsys and Regeneron informational meeting for students in the Nichols Auditorium on Friday at 3:10 p.m. The...

Adrian Liu (10) works on his project with help from Jonathan Zhang (10). Adrian plans to present his research
on biopolymer drug delivery for fibrosis treatment at the annual Research Symposium, which is organized by the WiSTEM (Women in STEM) club.

Students attend and prepare for annual research events despite COVID-19 restrictions

by Sabrina Zhu and Kinnera Mulam March 22, 2022

Upper school students competed in the annual Synopsys Science & Technology Championship on March 10. Meanwhile, Women in STEM (WiSTEM) Club is currently preparing for the annual Research Symposium...

Upper school physics and research teacher Chris Spenner discusses the lessons he learned in astrophotography during the Astronomy Club's workshop on Thursday. During the workshop, Spenner emphasized how certain astrophotography techniques are more challenging and can take several years to master.

Astronomy Club dives into details of astrophotography in speaker event

by Ella Yee, Reporter December 14, 2021

Astronomy Club invited upper school physics and research teacher Chris Spenner to lead an astrophotography workshop last Thursday during long lunch. The workshop was the first part of a series intended...

Prakrit Jain (11) photographs a sample for his project that built an automatic software to create ranged maps for wildlife.

Student research through the pandemic

by Mark Hu, STEM Editor March 23, 2021

The annual Synopsys Science & Technology Championship was held virtually on March 11, with students presenting their research from the past year to judges through online interviews and PowerPoint slides. The...

"STEM Spotlight" is a new Aquila repeater showcasing STEM clubs and their initiatives.

STEM Spotlight: Research Club

by Mark Hu, STEM Editor March 5, 2021

STEM Spotlight is a new repeater exploring what clubs at Harker have been doing during remote learning. This week’s featured club is the Research Club, which strives to spread interest in scientific...

Turning off unnecessary lights at night illuminates the natural glow and beauty of the stars and galaxies visible in the night sky.

Global Reset: Bright lights tarnish dark starry nights

by Mark Hu, STEM Editor February 23, 2021

Traveling hours away from the Bay Area’s brightly lit sky to take photos of the galaxies in our universe, one finds oneself in a vast wilderness as stars twinkle above across the night sky. A swarm of...

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