Skip to Main Content

Search this site

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

News
Opinions
- Columns
Features
- Homecoming Court
Arts & Culture
Sports
In-Depth
Editorial
Print
Guest Write

More

The Talon

News
Opinions
- Columns
Features
- Homecoming Court
Arts & Culture
Sports
In-Depth
Editorial
Print
Guest Write

More

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

Search this site

The Talon

News
Opinions
- Columns
Features
- Homecoming Court
Arts & Culture
Sports
In-Depth
Editorial
Print
Guest Write

More

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon

Search this site

A look into the cutting-edge research from the ASI classrooms
By Jisoo Hur, Michelle Jacob, and Manya Sikka | April 23, 2025
More than maintenance: meet the crew behind campus upkeep
By Matilda Haney Foulds and MC Teixeira | April 23, 2025
Words from the undocumented community: Ella
By Shannon Chiang, Staff Writer | April 23, 2025
Words from the undocumented community: Destinee Marie
By Shannon Chiang, Staff Writer | April 23, 2025
Justice Vanguard: The Heartbeat of Los Altos Activism
By Tyler Elman, Senior Writer | April 23, 2025

News

Students eat and celebrate together at GSA’s third annual Pride Gala.

GSA’s Pride Gala brings color and community into the student union

By Jolie Lu, Staff Writer | April 7, 2025

Sounds of music and laughter filled the student union as students gathered for the annual Pride Gala, hosted by GSA, on Friday, March 14. The Pride Gala was created to be a sanctuary for queer students,...

Los Altos High School’s robot, Theseus, attempts to grab balls from “algae” to score points.

Despite impressive comeback, Robotics ends season early at regionals

By Michelle Jacob and Manya Sikka

The San Antonio and Almond intersection bus stop remains empty due to the recent VTA workers strike, leaving many students at LAHS without transportation.

Ongoing VTA strike leaves students without transportation

By Michelle Jacob, Staff Writer

Math and English SBAC tests will be held during juniors’ English and Social Studies classes rather than a dedicated testing window in the mornings.

SBAC testing to be held during English and Social Studies periods

By Oscar Johnson, Web Managing Editor

Librarian Gordon Jack

Photo Gallery: I used to believe…

By Lev Zeiger, Staff Writer | April 22, 2025

The Sweetest Place in Town: Los Altos Sweet Shop

The Sweetest Place in Town: Los Altos Sweet Shop

Megan’s family photo with her dad, mom, and brother. Faces are covered to protect their identities.

Words from the undocumented community: Megan

By Shannon Chiang, Staff Writer

Bringing corridos to campus: How music brought three students together

By Lev Zeiger, Staff Writer

Sports

Badminton loses to Saratoga in rematch

Badminton loses to Saratoga in rematch

By Carolina Yi, Staff Writer | April 22, 2025

Boys singles contributed half of the Eagles’ points, sweeping their opponents and winning in straight sets. Even though boys singles 1 captain senior Raymond Liu lost his match the first time Los Altos...

Last month, Steve Howard joined the track and field team as an assistant coach, specializing in distance running. Howard was an anesthesiologist for more than 30 years before retiring in 2023 (left), and has remained an avid competitive runner since starting in high school (right).

Steve Howard brings decades of distance running experience to track team

By Dorie Xie, Print Managing Editor

Track and field runs senior day through wind and rain

Track and field runs senior day through wind and rain

By Dorie Xie, Print Managing Editor

Eedha Mehta prepares to take a serve in practice, playing squash again after a shoulder injury took her off the court for almost a year.

Eedha Mehta smashes Yale squash commitment

By Alanna Grier, Staff Writer

The fairies for A Midsummer Night’s Dream are all glammed up on the stage.

Broken Box to bring “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to stage

By Sahana Srinivasan and Jisoo Hur | April 17, 2025

Broken Box’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream hits the stage from Thursday, April 17, to Saturday, April 19 with a student-led live...

Participants of the Schoolwide Poetry Slam, senior Piper Chatwin and junior Isabel Malobrodsky, perform their poems onstage.

Poetry Club takes over school slam, prioritizing expression over competition

By Annabelle Lee and Jolie Lu

Freshman Sophia Cofield and senior Deven Merced rehearse “Community Garden”.

Acting One brings its inaugural production “Community Garden” to the stage

By Sahana Srinivasan, Senior Writer

Preview of Los Altos High School’s Upcoming 40th Annual Writers Week

By Carissa Lai and MC Teixeira

lahstalon

Following the resignation of former football Head

Following the resignation of former football Head Coach Mike Garrity, last week, Los Altos High School appointed new Head Coach Mark Adams.

“Losing a head coach at this point in the summer was unfortunate and I wanted to step up and contribute,” Adams said. “High school football was invaluable to me on many levels and the players deserve to have a great experience. This was just too exciting to say ‘no’ to when the opportunity was presented.”

Adams’ own football career entailed playing as quarterback for the Division I Boston College Eagles from 1983–1986. From 2013–2014, Adams coached the Mountain View Marauders, a local Pop Warner team.

“As I don’t know the team yet, my goals are more tied to growth, development and competitiveness,” Adams said. “As a coach, I have a single goal to make sure the players have a great experience and a lot of fun along the way.”

Photo courtesy Mark Adams
Story by Dorie Xie

Photos by Oscar Johnson, Sahana Srinivasan, Matild

Photos by Oscar Johnson, Sahana Srinivasan, Matilda Haney Foulds and Manya Sikka

On Friday, May 24, Los Altos High School’s annua

On Friday, May 24, Los Altos High School’s annual red carpet, Oscar-style event took the Eagle Theater stage. The Night Film Festival showcased films that Film Analysis students worked on throughout the second semester. Organized by Film Analysis teachers Susana Herrera and Robert Barker, the festival honored the hard work and dedication of seniors who completed their final projects.

The judging panel, librarian Gordon Jack, former Film Analysis teacher Sasha Jones and math teacher Teresa Dunlap, crowned three winning films:

The top film was Day 387 by seniors Joey Braun, Gijeon Gerdes, Manuel Gonzalez Stocker, Paavo Lahdesmaki and Sam Stein.

Second place was awarded to Video by seniors Isamu Britt, Eric Dogan, Daniel Field, Leo Gardner and Thomas Riordan.

The third place film was seniors Passenger Princess by Annelise Hein, Paavo Lahdesmaki, Razvan Popescu and Abby Wang.
“Film can be an emotional experience - some films make us laugh, make us cry, make us happy and make us sad. Each film manipulates us to feel a certain way based on the purpose of the film,” Film Analysis teacher Susana Herrera said.

Story by Summer Li
Photo by Ellie Ji

This year, the celebration for Pride Month at Los

This year, the celebration for Pride Month at Los Altos High School was kicked off at the Gender Sexuality Awareness club (GSA) Pride Gala. Held last Friday, May 31, the event’s theme was “Fantasy” — attendants were encouraged to dress to the theme however they felt comfortable.

“It's meant to be a safe space for queer people to dress in ways that would otherwise be difficult,” GSA president junior Mei Ozawa said. “But anybody is invited to have fun.”

“The event fits in with our greater hope of GSA being a place for LGBTQ people,” Trisha Bhattacharyya said. “We definitely try to bring representation to the community, and with the Pride Gala being an event where it's all about celebrating self expression, I think it very much aligns with our mission.”

A large part of organizing the event was budgeting. GSA, having to balance between spending money for the event and keeping prices low, chose to prioritize the latter.

“It’s an expensive event to put on, but we want to have low ticket prices to make the event as accessible as possible,” Mei said.

Conversations about the Pride Gala started all the way in August. There were obstacles along the way, including communication, which according to GSA member junior Trisha Bhattacharyya, was “challenging.” However, it was a net positive experience for GSA members who worked on the project.

“Logistics were difficult to figure out, but it was really exciting,” Trisha said. “Seeing the Pride Gala come together at the end was absolutely the most memorable part.”

Story and photos by Jolie Lu.

On Thursday, May 23rd, LAHS Advanced Science Inves

On Thursday, May 23rd, LAHS Advanced Science Investigation researchers hosted their annual ASI symposium. The Talon interviewed rising and current ASI students to discuss the significance of their presentations and the benefits of the class.

Video by Sahana Srinivasan and Joseph Wang

Staff Storytime: Kelly Coble Coble's dog rugby ta

Staff Storytime: Kelly Coble

Coble's dog rugby tackles life with vigor!

Video by Ishika Modi

Last week, ASB hosted their annual dodgeball tourn

Last week, ASB hosted their annual dodgeball tournament in the gym. Team Klay Thompson took home the win, defeating the Kings in the final matchup for the title.

Video by Jisoo Hur, Michelle Jacob, and Marcus Gao

On Tuesday, May 21, Los Altos High School’s stud

On Tuesday, May 21, Los Altos High School’s student choirs performed in a final concert in the Eagle Theater. The event was organized by choir teacher Lauren Diez and aimed to invite the community to enjoy the music students in Choral, Concert Choir, Bel Canto and Volare worked on throughout the year. With just their voices and passion, the choirs hoped to bring beauty and inspiration into people’s lives through their songs.

“It’s really special to share those moments through live music,” Diez said.

Story and photos by Summer Li and Joseph Wang.

Load More... Follow on Instagram

Each banned book is a silenced voice.

Each banned book is a silenced voice.

By Anonymous | March 30, 2025

Point guard Steph Curry during a game against the Utah Jazz.

Hot Shot: Nobody wants to see the Warriors in the playoffs

By Lev Zeiger, Staff Writer | March 17, 2025

Scouting Report: New season, fresh starts

Scouting Report: New season, fresh starts

By MC Teixeira, Sta | March 13, 2025

We stand with the undocumented community

We stand with the undocumented community

By The Editorial Board | March 17, 2025

High school is difficult. For many of us, our lives revolve around constant questions. Will we get into our dream school? How should we resolve...

Letters to the community: Parking regulations at LAHS

Letters to the community: Parking regulations at LAHS

February 15, 2025

COVID-19 & Monkeypox

Last week, LAHS distributed COVID tests, and they will continue to be available this week.

LAHS distributes COVID tests for winter break

By Matthew Kim, News Editor | December 18, 2022

Next year, LAHS and MVHS will only offer on-site testing down on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

MVLA to decrease on-site COVID-19 testing

By Matthew Kim, News Editor | December 14, 2022

Columns

Each banned book is a silenced voice.

Each banned book is a silenced voice.

By Anonymous | March 30, 2025

I write about queer people like me because queer people like me exist. By telling my story, I want others to know they are not alone. This...

Faye’s Expressway: Living Out Loud! Lessons from The Closet Door

Faye’s Expressway: Living Out Loud! Lessons from The Closet Door

March 2, 2025

Newsletter Sign-Up

Email Address

What we’re listening to

The Talon

The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

Support Us
- Advertising
About
- Staff
Policies
Contact Us

The Talon • © 2025 The Talon. All Rights Reserved. • Advertise • FLEX Pro WordPress Theme by SNO • Log in