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

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

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

The Talon
Natalie Wei

Natalie Wei, Senior Writer

All content by Natalie Wei
For years, Goodreads has held what is essentially a monopoly over the book-tracking market space. Now The StoryGraph has come to challenge this position.

[Photo] Goodreads versus The StoryGraph

April 6, 2022

Growth and growing pains: The aftermath of distance learning

By Rachel Rudyak, Natalie Wei, and Olivia Hewang
April 4, 2022
Traditional recipes by students at Los Altos High School.

A holiday helping of traditional recipes

By Natalie Wei
December 12, 2021
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[Photo] Cream Puffs

December 12, 2021
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[Photo] Matzah Ball Soup

December 12, 2021
As students return to campus for the 2021-22 school year, establishing a finalized dress code has been brought to the MVLA’s administration’s attention. The Associated Student Body has proposed a revised dress code in an effort to address concerns over sexist policies, and student opinion will be collected in January to give the MVLA feedback for further revisions.

[Photo] Revised dress code set to be out for student feedback

December 10, 2021
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[Photo] Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

December 12, 2021
Seniors are able to request a change to the official name on their diploma; however, some seniors see flaws with the process, and propose changes on how to make the experience a better one.

Administration requests final diploma names; seniors suggest revisions to name change process

By Nina Crofts and Natalie Wei
December 6, 2021
At last Tuesdays Community Conversations event, panelists discussed the disproportionate impacts the pandemic has had on womens mental health.

[Photo] Women’s mental health discussed at Community Conversations event

November 22, 2021
Located at the corner of Main and First Street in Los Altos, iChakras offers spiritual wellness services ranging from brainwave monitoring to life coaching in a meditative environment.

iChakras fuses spirituality and science in the heart of Silicon Valley

By Nina Crofts and Natalie Wei
November 9, 2021
A ghost looking in through a window. Ghosts are real, and dont let scientists tell you otherwise.

[Photo] Satire: Don’t be gaslit by science, ghosts are real

November 5, 2021
A ranking of LAHS hot lunch.

A Definitive Ranking of School Lunch Offerings

By Natalie Wei and Nathaniel Joffe
November 5, 2021
The MVLA District approved revisions to District Title IX policies as a response to state legislative changes.

District approves revisions to sexual harassment policies

By Natalie Wei
November 3, 2021
Los Altos High School is set to produce its biannual production of Mamma Mia, following COVID-19 procedures and guidelines.

[Photo] LAHS set to produce “Mamma Mia,” meeting pandemic safety guidelines

October 29, 2021
The Mountain View–Los Altos School District recently published the results to a homework survey, detailing participant’s concerns with stress, unhealthy workloads and the lack of standardization between classes.

District releases results to homework survey following changes to District policy

By Natalie Wei
October 19, 2021
Our hopes are high this year. After a year and a half of quarantining and Zooming and part-time Zooming, we hope to finish this year on campus, in person, maybe even without masks. And right now, that seems reasonable. While we currently feel safe, there is the possibility of things worsening and we cannot be caught unprepared. If things worsen, they will worsen quickly. Transmissions are exponential.

[Photo] District COVID-19 plans are naive and reactive

September 22, 2021
Bears have made Downtown Los Altos their home — meet the artists who made it happen

Bears have made Downtown Los Altos their home — meet the artists who made it happen

By Natalie Wei
September 19, 2021
It’s easy to diminish the validity of “cancelation” and label any and all criticism as a product of mob mentality, but referring to all criticism as canceling equates harmful views or actions with genuine mistakes.

Cancel culture isn’t real — just look at Matt Damon

By Natalie Wei
September 19, 2021
Los Altos High School has installed two gender neutral bathrooms in an ongoing process to expand its gender support plan.

An overview of gender inclusivity at LAHS

By Allison Bricca and Natalie Wei
September 15, 2021
After months of WiFi issues and “Hey, you’re muted,” teachers and students have finally returned to the Los Altos High School campus for the first time since March of last year.

Teachers are returning to campus — here’s how they feel

By Mira Sundar, Kaley Kwan, and Natalie Wei
April 25, 2021
Yesterday, the United States Department of Education named Los Altos High School one of 27 nationwide Green Ribbon Schools for its “promising practices to improve achievement and equity.” The Green Team, a club dedicated to promoting healthy environmental practices, works to implement sustainable practices in LAHS and played a major role in Los Altos’ Green Ribbon School selection.

LAHS named one of 27 nationwide Green Ribbon Schools

By Anika Sikka and Natalie Wei
April 23, 2021
This morning, the Mountain View–Los Altos School District and the District Teachers’ Association released the terms and conditions for the District’s planned return to in-person instruction. The return will operate under safety regulations provided by the State Health Department and CDPH, including face coverings, stable groups, physical distancing, adequate ventilation, hand hygiene, surveillance or screening testing and reporting symptoms and close-contact exposure.

MVLA District releases finalized hybrid return agreement

By Anika Sikka and Natalie Wei
March 26, 2021
This morning, Los Altos High School released its Advanced Placement (AP) testing schedule for the 2020–2021 school year. The schedule was created with input from District faculty, students, families and the College Board.

LAHS releases AP testing schedule for the 2020–2021 school year

By Anika Sikka and Natalie Wei
March 19, 2021
After meeting for the annual review of data, the Mountain View–Los Altos Board of Education clarified its general intervention plan to pursue equity in the District. This included addressing the uneven number of Latino students in special education.

District planning hybrid on-campus return next month

By Natalie Wei
March 12, 2021
The College Board announced that the SAT and PSAT will be going fully digital in 2024

College Board releases 2020–21 AP exam schedule

By Anika Sikka and Natalie Wei
February 10, 2021
The Mountain View–Los Altos (MVLA) School District approved plans for a potential hybrid schedule during yesterday’s “study session,” marking the next phase of the District’s return to campus.

MVLA District approves proposed potential hybrid schedule

By Anika Sikka and Natalie Wei
February 9, 2021
Amidst limited social interaction, distance learning and rapidly changing safety regulations, children have been forced to adapt to their often irregular environments. After talking to experts and parents alike, The Talon has created a comprehensive guide to the social, emotional, and physical effects that the pandemic has had on the development of children of all ages.

[Photo] Baby steps toward child development in a pandemic

February 8, 2021
The heroes of todays world are just as much role models as they are public figures. When Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score in a Power Five football game on December 12, 2020, she became an inspiration to girls and women around the world, including staff writer Allie Bricca.

[Photo] Dear Sarah Fuller,

January 8, 2021
Fitness influencers often advertise for rapid fitness transformations, promoting at-home workouts that thrive on Instagram and Youtube, especially during the pandemic. Along with its popularity, though, fitness culture is often clouded with misinformation. Over the past few months, staff writer Emilie Enser put four popular influencers and their workout programs to the test.

[Photo] Popular fitness influencers reviewed: Fab or flop?

January 5, 2021
While transitioning to distance learning, accessibility was the primary issue for Intro to Engineering Design teacher Jeanne Yu and Innovative Design Essentials teacher Stephen Hine. Through balancing conceptualization with hands-on experimentation in their updated curricula, Yu and Hine strive to optimize students learning experiences.

[Photo] Engineering & Design

December 7, 2020
Los Altos High School’s robotics room stands empty as students develop their teamwork and technical skills from behind a computer screen. Despite the lack of a competition this season, students continue to experiment with robot construction and programming in hopes of returning to campus.

[Photo] Robotics

December 7, 2020
Each of the three courses in the Computer Science pathway has endured its share of setbacks because it takes more than a computer to successfully teach and learn the subject and its applications. Intro to Computer Science teacher Jeanne Yu, AP Computer Science teacher Brent Smith and Advanced Data Structures and Embedded Networks (ADEN) teacher Scott Murray have relied on past sources, while discovering new resources to aid students just beginning their computer science education all the way to complex concept extensions.

[Photo] Computer Science

December 7, 2020
Now that its that time of year, the Starbucks holiday menu is out. We each picked up the holiday drinks and gave them a taste to see which drinks were actually good and which ones genuinely made us sad.

[Photo] A comprehensive review of this year’s Starbucks holiday drinks

November 19, 2020
Floating in a world of uncertainty and insecurity can feel like being the imposter in Among Us for the very first time. My experience with impostor syndrome in water polo almost made me quit the sport, but I realized that the fun bus rides home and the banter between teammates, not just winning or losing, were at the heart of my athletic career.

[Photo] You’re the impostor — water polo edition

November 8, 2020
The Talon interviewed several Los Altos High School graduates to give you a look into college life, distance learning edition. While some students are learning virtually, others have chosen to defer their first year. Continue reading to learn about how the pandemic has affected these graduates’ decisions.

Post-grad plans during a pandemic

By Natalie Wei, Emily McNally, and Allan Feldman
November 7, 2020
Tonight, Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off in the final presidential debate.

An overview of the final presidential debate

By Kaavya Butaney, Natalie Wei, Olivia Hewang, Gil Rubinstein, Anika Sikka, Mira Sundar, and Nathaniel Joffe
October 22, 2020
Gurshaan Arora, 19, is pictured posing with Footsie the Owl, the Foothill College mascot. Arora is in his sophomore year at Foothill College and maintains a positive outlook on distance learning as he looks to transfer into UC Davis’s pre-med program next fall.

Gurshaan Arora

By Natalie Wei, Copy Editor
October 13, 2020
Miguel Orozco, 20, (third from the left) is pictured walking down the Foothill College football field with his family during the 2019 LAHS Homecoming game. Orozco is starting his freshman year at Foothill College virtually this fall to complete EMT training in hopes of becoming a firefighter in the future.

Miguel Orozco

By Natalie Wei, Copy Editor
October 13, 2020
Staff writers Allan Feldman and Mira Sundar share their perspective on how cancel culture has recently begun to inhibit free exchange.

[Photo] It’s time to cancel ‘cancel culture’

October 12, 2020
The District clarified its plans for continued distance learning this year.

District to begin in-person return for select groups of students

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
October 5, 2020
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[Photo] STEM stress at LAHS

September 28, 2020
The District is planning a hybrid in-person return to campus for this semester.

MVLA planning hybrid in-person return for this semester

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
September 18, 2020
Which egg is most eggcellent? We investigated that age-old question below.

[Photo] Nine eggs, a liter of tears and a mission

August 30, 2020
Three candidates are running for two spots on the MVLA Board of Trustees in this years upcoming election.

Laying the field: Three candidates run for two MVLA board seats

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
August 30, 2020
The district will be expanding its mental health services as the school year begins in a remote setting,

[Photo] MVLA to implement new wellness services for the 2020–2021 school year

August 12, 2020
The district board voted unanimously for a complete remote return in the fall.

District board votes for complete remote return to school

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
July 16, 2020
Rising senior Shivani Mandalaparthi, Class of 2020 graduate Allison Lee, and rising senior Jackson Van Vooren volunteer to purchase and deliver meals to frontliners working locally and at hospitals beyond the Bay Area. By partnering with various small businesses and franchises, they have been able to donate hundreds of meals and cards in cooperation with the rest of the Food For Frontliners (FFF) team.

Food For Frontliners: bringing smiles to frontliner faces

By Kaavya Butaney and Natalie Wei
July 15, 2020
Summers aren’t what they were meant to be: Instead of relaxation and calm, they’ve turned into stretches of work and stress.

[Photo] 104 days of summer stress-cation

July 13, 2020
The ACA-5 bill, which would legalize affirmative action, will now be on ballots in November.

State legislature rules in favor of affirmative action

By Natalie Wei
June 24, 2020
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