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

Aastha Mangla (12) answers a question during the GSA panel on Oct. 21, which featured other students and teachers. Olivas moderated and asked questions to the panelists about their life experiences surrounding their identities.

‘We’re not colorblind:’ Upper school commemorates members of the community during LGTBQ+ month

by Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, and Sidak Sanghari November 15, 2022

A sea of rainbow stickers glimmers in the sun, placed on the sweatshirts, masks and even foreheads of students. Scattered around campus, Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) members offer these stickers to...

Jessica Dickinson Goodman (‘07), who supports and educates underprivileged women in STEM fields, holds up cards of notable women in computing. She has traveled to numerous countries in Africa and the Middle East to teach technology.

Blooming from the STEM: Activist in tech

by Sidak Sanghari and Michelle Wei November 14, 2022

Draw a venn diagram with three circles: policy, human rights and technology. What do these three fields have in common? Jessica Dickinson Goodman (‘07) stands at the center of these circles. Dickinson...

Physicist and research fellow Dr. Jess Wade poses with a bottle of non-Newtonian fluid. Dr. Wade has written over 1,750 articles about women in STEM online.

Empowering the past, present and future generations of women in STEM

by Edward Huang and Kinnera Mulam November 13, 2022

In 2018, British physicist and research fellow Dr. Jess Wade sat down and started to draft a Wikipedia article about American climate scientist Kim Cobb. Noticing Cobb’s outstanding achievements which...

An illustration of history textbooks. When we deliberate contrasting viewpoints as well as the hard facts of the situation, we develop better understandings of each other and a more complete view of the world.

Forbidden history impacts our lives. We should talk about it.

by Isabella Lo, Reporter October 16, 2022

Trigger warning: This article includes discussion about human deaths, racial injustice, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and the Tulsa race massacre. We advise readers who may be sensitive about these...

Fern Biswas (10) admires the Diego Rivera bulletin board in Main Hall, which features over 150 paintings about Rivera’s dream of what North America would be like. Hispanic Heritage Month began on Sept. 15 and honors different types of Hispanic culture in the world.

‘We want to show that we are proud’

by Vika Gautham and Sarah Mohammed September 27, 2022

When she hears the words Hispanic Heritage Month, upper school mathematics teacher Jeanette Fernandez thinks of bringing awareness to others who aren’t as knowledgeable of the Hispanic culture in America....

Visual Artist Ta-coumba Aiken poses with one of his works. Aiken was awarded a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship Award recognizing him for his work in dynamic art, specifically spirit writing and rhythm patterns.

So you wanna be a Guggenheim award-winning artist?

by Sally Zhu and Sarah Mohammed September 19, 2022

When Ta-coumba Aiken got the phone call announcing his Guggenheim Fellowship Award, he didn’t believe it at first. Aiken had applied for the award eight times previously, but in April 2022 he received...

Divya Venkat (11) explains the goals of Make Our Schools Safe, a nonprofit organization devoted to combating gun violence. “The personalities of the people running the stands [were what drew me in],” Ryder Hewitt (9) said. “I got the vibe of the whole club. When I saw very invested, excited people, it made me more invested in their clubs.

75 clubs share new initiatives at annual Club Fair

by Shiv Deokar and Ella Yee September 19, 2022

Students visited different booths set up by clubs and organizations at this year’s Club Fair, which took place in front of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC) during lunch on Thursday. The...

In the aftermath of countless mass shootings and an intrusion on our own campus, we cannot be passive bystanders and wait for a more dangerous situation to happen to us in order to enact change. Our system for responding to school shootings needs an update.

Editorial: Responses for school safety require an update

by Editorial Board September 14, 2022

This June, Harker encountered an unarmed intruder on campus — one of the rare times when a shelter-in-place was not a drill. With this incident and the heartbreaking school shooting at Robb Elementary...

TEDx co-curator Medha Yarlagadda (11) and TEDx Public Relations Director Daniel Lin (11) speak to a parent. The upper school hosted Back to School day yesterday for parents to explore the campus and classes.

Back to School Day offers glimpse of student life

by Desiree Luo and Medha Yarlagadda September 11, 2022

Upper school parents attended the annual Back to School Day to familiarize themselves with classes, teachers and extracurriculars yesterday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Saratoga campus.  “[The...

An illustration of W.N.B.A. Brittney Griner. The Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner was found guilty for smuggling illegal narcotics into Russia on Aug. 4.

W.N.B.A player convicted for smuggling illegal narcotics

by Katelyn Zhao, Sports Editor September 11, 2022

W.N.B.A’s Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner was found guilty for smuggling illegal narcotics into Russia on Aug. 4.  Griner originally traveled to Russia for the purpose of playing for the UMMC...

The Harker upper school welcomes new faculty members this year. Among them are the new head of school, the new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, an athletics trainer and nine new teachers.

Upper school welcomes new faculty faces on campus

by Sabrina Zhu and Olivia Xu September 1, 2022

From bacon lovers to avid Beyoncé dancers, the new teachers and staff members joining the Harker Upper School for the 2022-2023 school year have so much to offer. With nine new teachers and a new athletics...

Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT), led by president Sawyer Lai (12) and vice president Paulina Gicqueau (12), entered to the song Classic by MKTO.  Mondays school meeting included announcements by HSLT, TedX, Dance Club and other organizations.

School meeting recap 8/29/22: Student Diversity Leadership Conference, math competitions and spirit kickoff

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor August 31, 2022

Associated Student Body (ASB) president Kris Estrada (12) opened the second school meeting of the year in the Zhang Athletic Center on Monday. Performing Arts Production Manager Brian Larsen reminded...

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