The Talon December 10, 2021
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AVID CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE The YES competition is one of the many programs that AVID partners with to provide students a variety of career-oriented resources. This program, made possible by a partnership with Comerica Bank, teaches students entrepreneurial skills with speakers like Rutgers Business School professor and Executive Director of the YES program Ernest Ruffin Jr. Teams of students then pitch an idea for an original product to a panel of judges, many of whom are real investors. The MVLA winning team’s company is called NDEN (made by combining the team members’ first names), featuring their product of dry shampoo and conditioner bars that do not require plastic packaging. Last year, the team won the local competition with a design that included liquid shampoo and conditioner, supplemented by ecofriendly packaging; however, they had redesigned their product for nationals and removed the packaging aspect altogether. One of the greatest challenges the team faced was the research
behind the design, and presenting that research in an easily comprehensible way for the judges, according to team Chief Executive Diana. “We’re not really chemists, and the business we wanted to make was very based on the knowledge of chemistry,” Diana said. “[At the same time], it’s very important to understand that your audience is probably not going to care about [behontremonium methosulfate] or whatever else we add into the bars. Our goal was to do the complicated research and simplify it as much as possible.” Despite the high-stakes environment of the competition with a national title at hand, Diana pointed out that the trip was quite relaxing and welcoming. “It was very much like a vacation atmosphere,” Diana said. “We went to the beach a lot — our hotel was right in front of one.” Now with a national title under her belt, Diana sees the competition as a reflection of the work AVID does for its students. “AVID has connected me to a lot of different pathways,” Diana said. “I think that the AVID teachers do an incredible job at bringing all the little opportunities that come up in different places for students … [and] at providing students with
COURTESY DIANA SUVOROVA
The team traveled to the St. Croix Island in an all-expenses-paid trip with a private jet. things that really help them build career interests.” Next year, the national competition will take place in Saint Thomas
island. A winning group of five LAHS AVID sophomores — Diana Flores, Hazel Castaneda-Lopez, Melissa Gabriel, Esperansa
Kulyger and Angel Oregon — from the local MVLA competition this October are already planning to attend.
LAHS bomb threat: The receipts ANIKA SIKKA
administration’s discretion; administration was trying to make choices that would benefit stuFollowing Los Altos High dents the best, according to SatSchool’s October bomb threat, terwhite. The biggest concern The Talon spoke with school and was having students out in the community representatives to heat, so students were moved provide holistic coverage of the to an area with more shade. Alevent as well as its cost. though the move also heightAn unknown LAHS staff mem- ened COVID-19 transmission ber received the anonymous concerns due to the compact threat through a phone call at 8:55 nature of the space, the school a.m. Within 90 seconds of the offered extended COVID-19 testcall, Principal Wynne Satterwhite ing every day for the next week. was notified of the threat, and the Students who needed additional authorities were called. Teachers assistance were brought into the were then notified to immediately portables, and met with counselevacuate students through an an- ors and teachers to address their nouncement on the loudspeaker. needs. The fire alarm was not pulled in While trying to maintain stuorder to alert students and staff dent comfort, LAHS provided of the situation, — a students and staff strategic choice, acwith food from the cording to Satterschool’s brunch and white. lunch supply for the Fire alarms in“There’s no way to day. Students were quickly pull the fire crease people’s also given water alarm,” Satterwhite anxiety. We from the school’s said, explaining why weren’t trying emergency resource the administration to do that at the bins. decided against pullWhile ensuring stumoment ing the fire alarm. dent safety and well— Wynne Satterwhite “Since we’ve implebeing, school adminmented new techistrators worked in nology in the classrooms, the fire tandem with local and national alarm is triggered automatically. law enforcement to develop a You’d have to walk down to a dif- plan of action for searching the ferent space in order to manually school for the threatened incenactivate the alarm. Fire alarms in- diary device and the subsequent crease people’s anxiety,” Satter- student and teacher evacuation. white added. “We weren’t trying Given the severity of the threat, to do that at the moment.” as well as the number of students Within approximately 15 min- potentially impacted, the Los Alutes, all students and teachers tos Police Department worked were evacuated to the field, and with the Mountain View and teachers were made aware of the Sunnyvale police departments to nature of the situation through provide adequate surveillance of word-of-mouth by the staff-stu- the scene. Local firefighters from dent liaisons Seth Tasman and the community were also present Julie Corzine. on campus along with the Santa Decisions such as moving stu- Clara County Sheriff's Office, dents to the baseball field and Stanford Department of Pubbringing out water and food for lic Safety, U.S. Coast Guard, the students were all due to staff and Department of Homeland SeNews Editor
ROHAN VASWANI
On Friday, October 1, an anonymous bomb threat was called in to Los Altos High School. In order to ensure student safety, LAHS used many internal and external resources; the community also provided LAHS with resources to evaluate the threat. curity and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Division. These agencies are called in any bomb threat situation, according to Satterwhite. These agencies along with Emergency Medical Services stayed on campus for approximately four hours, assisting local law enforcement and also providing six explosive detection canines to aid in the search for the bomb. “We’re extremely grateful for the support we received from our community,” Satterwhite said. “It was amazing.” Students were permitted to leave campus at around 10:55 a.m, and the authorities completed their search determining the
threat wasn’t valid around 2:00 p.m. Teachers were then allowed to leave campus, and were paid for a full day of instruction. About 10 teachers stayed overtime to help conclude procedures at school and were paid for their time, according to Associate Superintendent of Business Services Mike Mathiesen. “It’s hard to put a cost on the resources — both internal and external — that we used that day,” Mathiesen said. “There was an immense amount of support from our community, a cost would be hard to quantify, and there’s also an emotional cost with a lack of instructional time factored in.”
The student who called in the false bomb threat was identified earlier in November, and was “cited on multiple charges of making criminal threats and for making a false bomb report,” according to a Los Altos Police Department press release. In order to improve the evacuation process, the LAHS administration sent out a survey to students regarding their experience and is analyzing the results to develop a broader plan for future emergencies. “My biggest concern at the time was student safety,” Satterwhite said. “If I had to push over the fences to get students out, I would’ve.”
