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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

Theater department members Taylor, Daniel Miao (12) and Holly Templeton (12) announce the Oregon Shakespeare Festival trip to Ashland, Oregon. Attendees will participate in workshops and see four plays: “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Into the Woods” and “As You Like It.”

School Meeting 9/2: Robotics, Spirit Kickoff and evacuation drill

by William Jiang and Sam Li September 8, 2025

Upper School Assistant Division Head Kelly Horan opened the school meeting with academic updates, beginning with a message drawn from the film “KPop: Demon Hunters.” She focused on the theme of embracing...

The Trump Administration's anti-DEI policies and research funding cuts have pulled students into a political battle. “It’s a shame that students from other countries are going to have a harder time in order to learn from the American higher education system,” an anonymous senior said.

Trump’s college mandates fuel uncertainty for students

by Elizabeth Zhang, Opinions Editor September 7, 2025

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 7 mandating that colleges submit admissions data to prove they do not consider race, his latest move that transforms college admissions decisions...

Behind the gatekeeping epidemic lies a greater web of problems. When students feel pressured to keep certain activities a secret, they lose the opportunity to bond over shared interests with peers.

Breaking the locks: Harker’s gatekeeping culture

by Victor Gong, Lily Shi, and Chelsea Xie February 6, 2025

Secret summer plans. Hidden nonprofits that don’t emerge until they’re featured in the news. Entire lives outside the classroom, beyond campus, that go entirely unacknowledged. Even between the closest...

Assistant Upper School Division Head Kelly Horan discusses new courses added to the 2025-2026 academic school year. Some of these included advanced topics in Chinese and math.

School Meeting 1/7: Student Directed Showcase, course selections and summer programs

by William Jiang and Leah Krupnik January 12, 2025

Head of Upper School Paul Barsky opened the first school meeting after winter break for grades 9, 10 and 11 in the Athletic Center on Tuesday. Meanwhile, seniors gathered for a meeting about their end-of-year...

The competitive culture Harker students have established exacerbates the pressure they feel when overwhelmed. Often times, this leads to cheating on tests or quizzes.

Shortcutting success

by Ashley Mo and Mihir Kotbagi November 21, 2024

Five minutes left on the clock. As the second hand ticks, a student racks their brain, attempting to remember how many carbon dioxide molecules are produced in cellular respiration. As they turn around...

Meet your staff: Musicality meets mathematics

Meet your staff: Musicality meets mathematics

by Jonathan Xue, Humans of Harker Editor-in-Chief October 17, 2024

Listen to a violin sonata for long enough, and you might just hear an unexpected motif — Fibonacci. In notes, chords and arpeggios alike, the golden ratio dictates classical harmony, interweaving...

Senior Navya Samuel plays with her Eagle Buddy group on Davis Field. Students had the option to interact with their Buddies on the field, as well as tour the upper school campus.

Sophomores and seniors connect with Eagle Buddies as freshman and juniors attend LIFE sessions

by Aryana Bharali, Jonathan Szeto, Leah Krupnik, and Victoria Li September 29, 2024

Sophomores and seniors spent time with their Eagle Buddies and frosh and juniors attended Living with Intent, Focus and Enthusiasm sessions on Sept. 20. Sophomores took a bus to the lower school campus...

Harker Robotics members Deeya Verma (12), Tiffany Gu (12), Atharv Goel (12) and Brenna Ren (11) invited students to join Robotics and attend weekly Thursday meetings. Members can specialize in various aspects of Robotics such as programming, engineering or business.

School Meeting 9/12: Robotics, Startup World Cup and evacuation drill

by Charlie Wang and Samaara Patil September 17, 2024

History teacher Carol Green opened the school meeting on Thursday in the Zhang Gymnasium. Green reminded students not to cut through the Shah parking lot during morning drop off and instead take the...

Senior Sriteja Kataru's parents explore the Honors Anatomy and Physiology tablets. Science department chair Anita Chetty teaches the class.

Parents experience school life at annual Back to School Day

by Chelsea Xie and Heather Wang September 16, 2024

Back to School Day gave parents a taste of student life as they met teachers and participated in class activities on Sept. 7. “It’s a relationship-building opportunity — parents can learn more...

Ritu Belani (12), Anna Lee (12) and Caden Ruan (10) choose food options from the LIFE Board's snack bar after school on March 14. The board set up the snacks as a healthier alternative option with orange juice, donuts and more.

LIFE nutrition month encourages healthy eating through speaker event and snack bars

by Jonathan Szeto, Assistant News Editor March 25, 2024

The Living with Intent, Focus and Enthusiasm (LIFE) Board held a speaker event on March 11 and two snack bars, one on March 14 and the other on March 27, as part of their Nutrition Month initiative. Dietitian...

Shafia Zaloom speaks to the frosh and sophomore classes about consent in a LIFE session on Feb. 2. Zaloom explained the meaning of a healthy relationship and emphasized the importance of not being pressured into making decisions.

Students explore cyber awareness, healthy relationships and life after high school through February LIFE assemblies

by Vivek Moorjani and Ella Guo February 23, 2024

Upper school students attended various grade level Living with Intent, Focus and Enthusiasm (LIFE) events across the month of February, while some also attended Eagle Buddy events. Assistant upper school...

Head of Upper School Paul Barsky speaks to frosh, sophomores and juniors in the Athletic Center on Tuesday. Barsky announced he was working with student leadership and faculty to combat cheating and reminded students of the importance of integrity and personal responsibility.

School meeting 1/9/24: Academic integrity, kindness and course selections

by Jonathan Szeto, Assistant News Editor January 13, 2024

Frosh, sophomores and juniors gathered in the Athletic Center for the first school meeting of 2024 on Tuesday while seniors met in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center for announcements about the Student...

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