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The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Zoe Goor, Executive Managing Editor

All content by Zoe Goor
Staff Editorial: Select What You Love

Staff Editorial: Select What You Love

Zoe Goor, Executive Managing Editor
March 19, 2025

The two-week period when sophomores and juniors select their courses for the next year is an important time at the Upper School, as students look ahead and consider what they want their remaining time...

The Class of 1974 stands during their commencement ceremony.

Back to the Future

Alumni discuss a new documentary about Harvard School’s Class of 1974.
Alex Dinh and Zoe Goor
May 29, 2024

It is June 2020. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peter Jones ’74 and a group of his former classmates join together on a Zoom call. Almost 50 years after graduating, the men begin to reminisce...

The softball team takes a picture following their first scrimmage against of the 2024 season against Norte Dame High School on January 18.

Softball sees rising talent excel

Zoe Goor, Assistant Features Editor
March 20, 2024

The softball team started their season with a record of 3-3 after their most recent win against Marymount on March 14. Following an initial victory against Brentwood (20-0) the team suffered a series of...

A playing card with an illustration of a college counselor on it.

Students and counselors discuss independent college counseling

Students and counselors discuss the benefits and disadvantages of private college counselors.
Zoe Goor
March 20, 2024

Afternoon light floods the room as Ben Boateng '25 logs on to a Zoom meeting. An iced coffee sits on a coaster next to the computer. The characteristic Zoom chime sounds as he joins the meeting room, and...

Admissions accepts prospective students

Admissions accepts prospective students

Zoe Goor, Assistant Features Editor
March 20, 2024

The school received almost 1,300 applications for grades seven through 12 this year. The school is not releasing data on acceptance rates at this point as matriculation has not yet been finalized. In...

Growing up in the Spotlight

Growing up in the Spotlight

Students and teachers discuss the appeal of spending free time acting professionally and the challenges associated with starting at a early age.
Zoe Goor, Assistant Features Editor
March 20, 2024

The television is on, and in between shows, a commercial plays. It is a medical commercial, the type where someone takes the medicine and then runs through a field of poppies with their golden retriever...

A hand holds a bottle of unprescribed pills amidst a background of illegal drugs.

High on Life

Students reflect on the culture of substance use in the school community.
Zoe Goor
December 13, 2023

A fluffy brown chick stands alone on a sandy beach. The calm British voice of natural historian David Attenborough reverberates out of the laptop’s speakers, and the students clustered around it draw...

Let Them Eat Cake

Let Them Eat Cake

Students discuss Erewhon Market’s branding and how it affects the school community’s overall perception of its food and the store itself.
Sasha Aghnatios and Zoe Goor
December 13, 2023

On her break from her job at ChaCha Matcha on Abbott Kinney Blvd. in Venice Beach, Katie Chambers ’25 walked a few blocks to the Erewhon Market (Erewhon) down the street to grab something to eat. As...

Illustration by Sabrina Simek

Reclaiming Narratives

In light of Native American Heritage Month, students and teachers discuss the inclusion of the Indigenous community at school.
Zoe Goor and MeJo Liao
November 15, 2023

I’ll say, say, say, I’ll say, say, say, What is the United States if not a clot of clouds? If not spilled milk? Or blood? If not the place we once were in the millions? America is Maps— Maps...

Two teachers are married with a wolverine, the school's mascot, officiating.

From School Bells to Wedding Bells

Teachers who are married to other teachers reflect on the story of their relationship, the benefits and drawbacks of office relationships and their teaching-life balance.
Zoe Goor and Saisha Kumar
November 15, 2023

In 1998, after an extensive interview process, Jon Wimbish, now the Head of the Middle School, was hired as a teacher in the middle school English Department. During the process, he said he met every member...

Harvard School cadets pose with rifles during the 1923-1924 school year.

War Games: New Marching Orders

Alumni reflect on Harvard School’s military past and the administration’s Vietnam War era decision to remove the Junior ROTC curriculum and affiliation.
Zoe Goor
September 21, 2023

On a sun-drenched morning at the end of the 1960s, as war raged across the Pacific and Beatlemania spread stateside, the Studio City fire department received an unusual call. There had been a brush fire...

Buddy the Wolverine sits atop a vault filled with cash.

Venturing to Ventura

Students and local Studio City buissness managers discuss how the school community affects restuarants and coffee shops around the Upper School campus.
Alex Dinh and Zoe Goor
September 21, 2023

Machines whir, blending up pumpkin spice Frappuccinos, and bags crinkle, filled with vanilla bean scones at the Starbucks on Ventura Boulevard. Of the 19 total customers that have made purchases in the...

Einstein and Shakespeare box each another.
Illustration by Iris Chung

Bar Charts vs. Liberal Arts

Zoe Goor
August 26, 2023

As Lauren Park '25 made her course selections last March, she scrolled through the curriculum guide, seeing offerings like Slam! Spoken Word Poetry and Mass Entertainment in America and Principles of Engineering....

A teenage girl is recovering from undergoing a rhinoplasty.

Illustration by Annabelle Cheung

Beauty is pain

Zoe Goor
August 26, 2023

When Clara Conrad '25 was 14 years old, she began thinking about how she would want her nose to look if she was to get a nose job. She thought about who she would want to do it. She thought about whether...

Illustration by Amelia Chiarelli

Oreo no longer safe for vegans

Zoe Goor, Assistant Features Editor
August 25, 2023

Yesterday, Oreo released its newest and first non-vegan product in a decade: Oreo Under the Tuscan Sun, and all I can say is, "Finally, a protein-filled sandwich cookie. Just what we all needed." This...

Casey Reims ’24 Jordan Dees ’24, Stella Stringer ’24 and Olivia Baradaran ’24 pose together for a photo as the newly selected Peer Support coordinators for the 2023 - 2024 school year.

Peer Support coordinators selected

Georgia Grad and Zoe Goor
May 25, 2023

Olivia Baradaran ’24, Jordan Dees ’24, Casey Reims ’24 and Stella Stringer ’24 will serve as Peer Support coordinators for the 2023-2024 school year, Head of Peer Support Tina McGraw ’01 announced...

A heart with the United States flag, a symbol of the soul of America, melts away. The image symbolizes the loss of America's core value of freedom.

The soul of America

Zoe Goor, Layout Assistant and Staff Writer
May 24, 2023

The first word of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign announcement video is “freedom." The landing page of the Republican National Committee displays the phrase (in big red and white letters):...

Addressing Misogyny

Zoe Goor, Layout Assistant and Staff Writer
March 22, 2023

Andrew Tate, a far-right social media influencer, has been searched via #AndrewTate 22 billion times on TikTok as of the end of 2022, according to New York Magazine. Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist,...

Alumni panels speak to juniors

Zoe Goor
January 20, 2023

A panel of alumni spoke to juniors about the college process during Junior Seminar in Rugby Auditorium, Ahmanson Lecture Hall and the Chalmers Lounge Jan. 9. Split up by dean group, each cohort heard from...

The Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide

The Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide

Zoe Goor, Staff Writer
December 18, 2022

For the person who will go bankrupt from their matcha addiction: Save them from themself and buy them some tea bags. Or better yet, send them a link to the CDC’s “Water and Healthier Drinks” page...

Jeon poses with her new book "Brand New World." Her book, available on Amazon, combines elements of Greek mythology, tragedy and dark academia.

Jina Jeon ’23 publishes novel

Zoe Goor and Everett Lakey
December 15, 2022

Presentation Managing Editor Jina Jeon '23 published her novel "Brand New World" on Amazon on Nov. 11. The book, inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, is the first that Jeon has published,...

Wake Up, Harvard-Westlake

Wake Up, Harvard-Westlake

Zoe Goor
November 4, 2022

Every morning, as students trudge down the sidewalk in front of the Taper Gymnasium at 7:40 a.m. with their heads bent over their cellphones and their ears plugged with AirPods, most other students in...

Open Door: Drama Edition

Alden Detmer and Zoe Goor
October 26, 2022

Chronicle presents the first episode of the Open Door Series, where students showcase the offices around campus and the teacher's favorite aspects of their working environment.

Rival Alert: Donda Academy

Zoe Goor, Staff Writer
October 3, 2022

According to Niche.com, our school ranks #1 in “Best Private High Schools in the Los Angeles Area.” Not for long. Ye—Kanye West—has just opened a new school called Donda Academy. Named for his...

Alejandro Lombard '23 adjusts his camera to film footage for his junior fellowship project.

Junior Fellowship: Alejandro Lombard

Zoe Goor
September 1, 2022

Alejandro Lombard ’23 created a documentary about immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border for his Junior Summer Fellowship project, “Seeking Asylum.” Lombard visited the U.S.-Mexico border...

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