Melody Xu, Copy Editor
Melody is a copy editor, proofreading and revising stories before publication. She also works as a beat reporter covering the Palo Alto Unified School District. Additionally, Melody is a staff writer at Paly’s Verde Magazine and a graphic designer for Z Magazine, an independent student publication. Melody is a junior at Palo Alto High School, and joined the Post in February 2021.
Everything you need to know about the drought, and how it affects Santa Clara County
STORY BY NAINA SRIVASTAVA AND MELODY XU, PHOTO BY ARYA NASIKKAR Droughts are nowhere near a new phenomenon in California, and it can be easy to tune out the constant stream of emergency declarations and best practices. But Santa Clara County has been in a drought emergency — a serious one — since early July.…
The Zone 3 Caltrain stations, ranked
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTOS BY TOMOKI CHIEN AND EMILY YAO There comes a certain point in a driver’s-licenseless teenager’s life when they desperately don’t want to be chauffeured around by their parents to hang out with friends anymore, and in which they’ve had enough of everything within walking and biking distance. This summer, I…
CDC reverses, recommends fully vaccinated wear masks indoors; CDPH follows suit
STORY BY MELODY XU, GRAPHIC BY ALLISON HUANG The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday recommended that even fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high COVID-19 transmission. Over 63% of counties nationwide currently fall under this category, including Santa Clara County. The California Department of Public Health…
Continue reading ➞ CDC reverses, recommends fully vaccinated wear masks indoors; CDPH follows suit
PAUSD to offer remote learning option for 2021–2022 school year
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTOS BY ARYA NASIKKAR The Palo Alto Unified School District will offer students a fully remote learning program for the 2021–2022 school year. While all students are expected to attend in-person instruction in the fall, PAUSD’s new Remote Independent Study (RIS) program — introduced to district parents and guardians in a July 20…
Continue reading ➞ PAUSD to offer remote learning option for 2021–2022 school year
Palo Alto Bell’s Books continues decades-long mission to match the “right books with the right people”
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTOS BY ARYA NASIKKAR Browsing through the ceiling-length shelves of Bell’s Books feels like opening a box of historical treasures; the variety of books a customer encounters might include first edition Steinbeck or Twain novels, an early grimoire (book of spells) once considered effective in summoning angels or a collection of…
PAUSD approves 2021–2024 Local Control Accountability Plan, reorganizes Department of Equity and Student Affairs
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY The Palo Alto Unified School District approved its 2021–2024 Local Control Accountability Plan, a goal setting and planning tool required for educational agencies in California at Tuesday’s board meeting. Key highlights of this three-year LCAP include goals for early literacy, equity, additional social-emotional development support, wellness and…
Economy sees full reopening — but some businesses see little practical change
STORY BY OLIVIA HEWANG AND MELODY XU, PHOTOS BY ARYA NASIKKAR The State of California this week underwent its full economic reopening, lifting major COVID-19 restrictions that have long been the norm for the past year. But despite the changes on paper, many in Downtown Mountain View haven’t noticed any immediate change. “To be honest,…
Continue reading ➞ Economy sees full reopening — but some businesses see little practical change
Paly, Gunn to welcome three new assistant principals
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY Palo Alto and Gunn high schools are set to welcome three new assistant principals next year, which include Paly science teacher Erik Olah; San Jose Unified School District Assistant Principal LaDonna Butler; and Gunn Education Specialist Courtney Carlomagno. Assistant principals at the high school level are responsible…
Continue reading ➞ Paly, Gunn to welcome three new assistant principals
Paly junior explores cultural identity through poetry
STORY BY JONAS PAO AND MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY Most students probably view the poetry unit in English class as just another midday nap opportunity. But while her classmates were dozing off, this is where Jasmine Kapadia fell in love with poetry as a first grader — and since then, her poems and slam…
Continue reading ➞ Paly junior explores cultural identity through poetry
PAUSD expands summer school opportunities
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY The Palo Alto Unified School District is expanding its summer school program to serve students facing “adverse learning and social-emotional circumstances.” Funds for the program come from Assembly Bill 86 signed by Governor Newsom in early March, funding expanded learning opportunities grants for districts like PAUSD in…
Continue reading ➞ PAUSD expands summer school opportunities
PAUSD to offer vaccinations for students 12 and older this weekend, all vaccine-eligible students by fall semester
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY Sunday, May 16: Assistant Superintendent Lana Conaway said that the number of clinics the district hosts moving forward will be “based on need,” and that the district’s goal is to offer vaccinations for all students who are eligible. The Palo Alto Unified School District will offer coronavirus vaccinations this…
Proposed 2021–2022 PAUSD bell schedules face criticism
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY The Palo Alto Unified School District’s proposed bell schedules for secondary schools in the 2021–2022 school year came under fire at tonight’s board meeting, with many community members voicing concerns about the late end times. Through the pandemic, PAUSD high school classes have begun at either 9…
Continue reading ➞ Proposed 2021–2022 PAUSD bell schedules face criticism
Global art project Breathe with Me comes to Gunn, celebrating Earth Day and unity
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTOS BY EMILY MCNALLY Palo Alto resident Irina Selva stood in front of a 6-foot-tall canvas on Saturday, in the outdoor space behind Gunn High School’s athletics fields. She took her time observing the two thick, vertical brush strokes she had just created with blue paint down the canvas — though…
Continue reading ➞ Global art project Breathe with Me comes to Gunn, celebrating Earth Day and unity
Gunn senior founds virtual music lessons nonprofit, instructing over 900 students
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY When Gunn High School senior Julia Segal was devastated by the sudden cancelation of her band’s first recording session due to the pandemic, she turned to another way to utilize her passion for music. QuaranTunes, which Segal founded just weeks later, is described by the singer-songwriter and…
Continue reading ➞ Gunn senior founds virtual music lessons nonprofit, instructing over 900 students
PAUSD to allow secondary students on campus four days a week
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY TOMOKI CHIEN Palo Alto Unified School District secondary students will have the option to attend school on campus for four days a week starting Tuesday, April 27. The district’s in-person learning model — dubbed “Zoom in a Room” — puts students in the same classroom as teachers and peers,…
Continue reading ➞ PAUSD to allow secondary students on campus four days a week
Connecting farmers with community, local nonprofit Tera Farm is ‘everyone’s farm’
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTOS COURTESY JACQUE RUPP AND TERA FARM When the pandemic first hit last March, wreaking havoc on the food industry, it wasn’t just restaurants that were forced to shut down — the agriculture industry also suffered from the sudden drop in demand. Sheena Vaidyanathan, a teacher in the Los Altos School…
Continue reading ➞ Connecting farmers with community, local nonprofit Tera Farm is ‘everyone’s farm’
PAUSD drafts plans to offer optional remote instruction in fall 2021
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY TOMOKI CHIEN The Palo Alto Unified School District has plans in progress to offer remote instruction programs for its K–12 students in the 2021–2022 school year, as discussed at tonight’s board meeting. District documents clarify that though PAUSD remains “optimistic for a full return to school” in the fall,…
Continue reading ➞ PAUSD drafts plans to offer optional remote instruction in fall 2021
At last, PAUSD, MVLA high schoolers return to campus
STORY BY TOMOKI CHIEN, JONAS PAO AND MELODY XU, PHOTO COURTESY WYNNE SATTERWHITE Almost exactly a year since campuses first shuttered to stem the tide of a raging pandemic, high schoolers in the Mountain View–Los Altos and Palo Alto Unified school districts returned to classrooms this week. We spoke to students in both school districts…
Continue reading ➞ At last, PAUSD, MVLA high schoolers return to campus
Paly club makes change one postcard at a time
STORY BY MELODY XU, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY Palo Alto High School’s Postcards for Change club seeks to increase youth engagement in politics, and in a rather unique way — writing, decorating and mailing out postcards. The club, founded and led by sophomores Isabella Daly and Ella Rosenblum, branched out to a couple of community-oriented…
Continue reading ➞ Paly club makes change one postcard at a time
Gluten-free bakery Sweet Diplomacy brings a community of food lovers often left out, together
STORY BY OLIVIA HEWANG AND MELODY XU, PHOTOS BY EMILY MCNALLY When Melody Hu happened to run out of regular flour while baking muffins at home one afternoon five years ago, she discovered gluten-free, mochiko rice flour to be a perfectly delicious substitute. The result of this accidental discovery is Sweet Diplomacy, a 100% gluten-free…
PAUSD to make optional in-person return in red tier
STORY BY OLIVIA HEWANG AND MELODY XU, PHOTO BY GIL RUBINSTEIN Grades 7–12 in the Palo Alto Unified School District will enter an optional in-person return once Santa Clara County falls to the red tier of coronavirus restrictions. As a continuation of the school board’s Nov. 10 vote to return to school in the spring…
Continue reading ➞ PAUSD to make optional in-person return in red tier
