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

Arthur Wu (11) cheers for his grade before the announcement of the spirit winners. The juniors finished the spirit events in first place with 4,475 points.

Spirit Week Day 5: Juniors sweep spring rally

by Tiffany Zhu and Emma Milner March 29, 2024

Students and staff closed out spirit week with a rally held in the Athletic Center, wearing their class shirts and cheering on their respective grades on Friday.  Hip-hop group Kinetic Krew opened...

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...

Dancer Selina Wang (10) performs in the upper school dance production, with an image of her rehearsing in the background. Despite the intense training required of dancers, many forms of dance strive to hide strain on stage.

Studio grit, stage grace: Dancers debate sport vs. art

by Katerina Matta and Tiffany Zhu March 15, 2024

Competitive dancers can practice at least nine hours every single week, or condition to train endurance for up to an hour each time they’re in the studio. They push the human body to its physical...

Mandarin students hold poles supporting a dancing dragon in the Quad on Feb. 22. The dragon followed the movement of a spherical pearl which represents wisdom.

Lunar New Year Gala rings in the year of the dragon with song and dance

by Margaret Cartee and Felix Chen March 8, 2024

National Chinese Honor Society held the first annual Chinese Lunar New Year Gala to welcome the year of the dragon in the Quad during lunch on Thursday. Chinese students and students taking Mandarin...

Many young athletes battle body dysmorphia, driven by a variety of social and athletic pressures. From dances strict emphasis on perfect alignment to the double-edged use of weight classes in sports like wrestling, body image issues manifest themselves in across a variety of athletic disciplines.

Body dysmorphia pervades athletics

by Eva Cheng and Katerina Matta March 8, 2024

Trigger warning for discussion of body image and dysmorphia.  “Did you eat a watermelon today?”  An anonymous dancer recalled hearing the insensitive comment from a teacher at her studio,...

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,...

Riya Samuel (9) and Ivanya Sadana (9) dance to a Bollywood routine during Mondays assembly. The Student Diversity Coalition opened the showcase by introducing culture week and promoting events later in the week like a chalk art activity.

Culture Week Days 1 and 2: Students showcase diverse performances in cultural assembly

by Janam Chahal and Lily Shi February 28, 2024

Upper school students commenced Culture Week by sharing their cultural traditions through song, dance and poetry during an assembly in the Athletic Center on Monday.  Student Diversity Coalition leaders...

Anwen Hao (11) celebrates his Best exit for a ballet dance Hoscar. 40 students performed in the 12th annual Hoscars on Feb. 8.

From comedy to K-pop: Annual Hoscars shows off student talent

by Tiffany Zhu, Mendy Mao, and Emma Milner February 23, 2024

Best four-person co-ed dance to Rihanna. Best and largest gossip session. Best rap song. Best exit for a ballet dance. Best original song and best person on the piano. The “I love Barbie award.” Where...

Arthur Wu (11) extends his arms during Clocking out. This high-energy routine was choreographed by Luke Mehta (12).

‘Night and Day’ Dance Production mesmerizes Harker community

by Young Min and Suhani Gupta February 14, 2024

A cluster of dancers, loosely huddled together, rhythmically undulate in a mesmerizing cadence. A red spotlight illuminates their iridescent leotards and mesh pants as the dramatic intro of “(I Just)...

Juniors Shiv Deokar and Caitlyn Wong sing along on the Winter Ball dance floor. The DJ played a variety of music, from Travis Scott to ABBA, over the course of the night.

Lights, camera, action: Students shine like the stars at “Old Hollywood” themed winter ball

by Gabe Sachse, Assistant News Editor February 3, 2024

Students attended the annual winter ball in the Auxiliary Gym and Main Hall on Jan. 20 from 7 to 10 p.m. Rain forced the dance to shift to an entirely indoor event, changing the typical layout of activities...

Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Embrace EDM’s diversity with Aquila

by Kevin Zhang, Aquila Co-Managing Editor January 15, 2024

Music Monday features a different category of songs on a weekly basis. Each Monday, Harker Aquila will release seven songs, one song for each day of the week. The end of the beginning and the beginning...

Middle school dance team High Voltage performs to a remix of Wham!s Last Christmas. A total of seven groups from Harker performed at Spirit of the Row.

Harker performing arts groups shine bright at ‘Spirit of the Row’ celebration

by Ariana Goetting, Alison Yang, and Gabe Sachse December 31, 2023

Lights strewn across the Santana Row Christmas tree bathe spectators’ faces. Murmuring in anticipation, the crowd surrounds the stage as two students clad in sparkling gold dresses and black scarves...

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