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SATIRE: Years of research into reducing student stress culminate with the unveiling of motivational signs
SATIRE: Years of research into reducing student stress culminate with the unveiling of motivational signs
By Nathaniel Joffe | June 8, 2021

As finals season reaches its peak, one team of dedicated members from Los Altos High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) has been hard at work addressing the ever-present issue of student stress. The result of their efforts, a collection of signs plastered throughout the school, has completely revolutionized...

Graduating seniors preparing to walk across the podium.
LAHS commemorates graduates in commencement ceremony
By Rohan Vaswani
A bus of students was hit while returning back to school from their senior picnic in Santa Cruz. No seniors were injured and the effect on others involved is unknown.
Senior bus encounters a collision while returning from senior picnic
By Anika Sikka
As the 2020–21 school year draws to a close, The Talon took a closer look at the issue of academic cheating within Los Altos High School’s virtual halls and investigated how classes have adapted their structures and expectations across the year.
Cheating culture in a year of distance learning
By Nathaniel Joffe, Allan Feldman, and Kathrina Welborn
After over a year of distance learning and virtual tutoring, Jacob Valadez, the Tutorial Center Coordinator, will hit the ground running when students return to in-person learning. He has plans to increase collaboration between support groups like AVID, skills and special education to reach students before they fall through the cracks. Increasing representation of tutors and making the physical space more inviting are also on Valadez’s to-do list.
Tutorial Center invites increased tutor diversity and support group collaboration
By Parisa Larson and Lauren Morimoto
During the pandemic, many members of the senior AVID class have experienced their fair share of trials from technological issues to reduced instructional time. Throughout this year, AVID classes and the District have worked to minimize the impact of the pandemic on the students
AVID seniors and teachers reflect on pandemic-era academic and financial challenges
By Parisa Larson and Olivia Hewang
News
Protestors assemble along San Antonio Road on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death
Protesters march on anniversary of George Floyd’s death
By Olivia Hewang | May 27, 2021

Familiar chants of “I can’t breathe” and “Say his name” rang through the streets of Los Altos on Tuesday afternoon as activists marched from Los Altos High School to the intersection of San Antonio...

After years of student complaints regarding the sexism implied in the Los Altos High School dress code, the Associated Student Body (ASB) has started brainstorming a dress code revision plan. ASB’s goal is to revise the dress code to be more reasonable, inclusive and generally appropriate.
ASB begins brainstorming for revised dress code
By Emilie Enser
Students attend Seniors Under the Stars, held on the football field.
LAHS holds Seniors Under the Stars in place of traditional prom
By Rohan Vaswani
Headed by Associate Superintendent of Business Services Mike Mathiesen, on-campus construction has been split into two phases. Phase one, which includes new classroom buildings for culinary and engineering classes, an auxiliary gym, multipurpose spaces and new 700-wing stairs, is close to completion this coming summer of 2021.
Phase one construction for campus expansion set to finish in summer 2021
By Lauren Morimoto and Parisa Larson
A Protester holds a sign while marching through downtown Mountain View.
Protesters unite against growing acts of hate across the nation
By Mira Sundar
Opinions
The Asian American identity is a constant crisis for many and reconciling the relative privilege of one
Kulture à la Kaavya: Notes of a native Asian American
By Kaavya Butaney | May 9, 2021

What does it mean to be Asian American? I got the technical aspect down cold (an American of Asian descent), but I’ve spent 16 years struggling with the details. Must I be a straight-A student or speak...

The competition of college applications is harmful, but we can shift our mindset to mitigate it.
Application expectations: Does the stress even lead to so-called “success”?
By Emilie Enser
The digital AP exams this year do not offer the option to go back and change answers.
The shortfall of digital AP exams
By Kiefer Tierling, Guest Writer
People use a variety of pronouns that all deserve to be respected.
Kulture à la Kaavya: Respect pronouns
By Kaavya Butaney
Cooperation and empathy is the only way we will be able to get through the pandemic and the rockiness of a return to school.
A teacher's perspective: Rebuilding normalcy with a growth mindset (Op-Ed)
By Tiffany Karow
Features
With seniors committing to colleges today for National Decision Day, The Talon looked into a college season tradition expanded by a few MVLA seniors this year. In an effort to place a positive light on often painful rejection letters, a handful of students ran college rejection Instagram pages filled with dozens of entries from their peers.
MVLA seniors unite peers one college rejection at a time
By Emily McNally, Senior Writer | May 1, 2021

Spring is in full swing with birds chirping and flowers blooming. It’s also the season most seniors receive a surge of life-changing college decision letters — rejections, acceptances and everything...

Consistent stock market crashes during the pandemic have forced stocks to fall to historic lows, giving small-time investors countless opportunities to get involved in the trade. In quarantine, seniors Peter Budko, Abigail Hagan and Eike Rehwald seized the chance to investigate the ins and outs of the stock market, including the GameStop incident that made headlines this January.
High schoolers navigate the pandemic-era stock market
By Rose Liu, Staff Writer
Student environmentalist groups throughout the Bay Area haven
Student environmentalists stay green in quarantine
By Marie Godderis and Rose Liu
Since 1985, local writers from all professional backgrounds have presented their life
Zoom into the writing process with Writers Week 2021
By Kaavya Butaney, Emily McNally, Emilie Enser, Nathaniel Joffe, and Naomi Schulze
When MVLA students were offered another opportunity to choose between the two remote learning models, Options A and B, for the second semester of the school year, all but 45 students chose to stay put in their current option. Senior Maya Amit and sophomore Sarah Su decided to make the switch, sharing their reflections on their experiences with the two learning models with The Talon.
Option A or Option B? Meet two students who made the switch!
By Nathaniel Joffe, Staff Writer
Editorial
Editorial: Our statement on anti-AAPI violence
Editorial: Our statement on anti-AAPI violence
April 7, 2021

Note: This editorial is a collaborative effort among The Talon, Fremont High School's The Phoenix and Homestead High School's The Epitaph. The...

Especially during shelter-in-place, it’s crucial that we take every measure necessary to ensure that students have unfettered access to mental health services. By normalizing the use of mental health services and increasing their accessibility, we can eliminate many of the obstacles that prevent students from getting the help they need.
Editorial: LAHS's mental health response leaves much to be desired
March 10, 2021

In the time of distance learning and shelter-in-place orders, providing accessible mental health services at Los Altos High School is more important...

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