Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Los Baños Junior High

 
Left to right: Kellen Haug, Julian Arrechavala, Elizabeth Guzman, Julian Ornelas, Julisa Ornelas, Shyanne Vargas, Sammy Perez, Nayeli Gonzalez

Elizabeth Guzman: President,
Los Baños Junior High is having a incoming Saturday Academy for incoming 6th graders and students who are joining Mesa again. Our mini Saturday Academy  is going to be held on May 12 from 8:30 through 11:30 a.m. The purpose of the Saturday Academy is to introduce projects to the sixth graders. The students do a math test, and then followed by an enrichment project. After all, the students with the best scores get prizes. The Saturday Academy then allows students to determine if they want to stay or leave Mesa

Erik: Vice President,
 I think that everyone who went on the college road trip can agree that even though it was an educational trip, it was an educational trip, that overall it was fun and exciting experience. This trip gave us the opportunity to visit some of California’s greatest Campus’! It also gave us the chance to plan ahead for our own future. The three campuses we visited were UC Berkeley, CSU East Bay, and UOP (University of the Pacific). All of these campuses are great and provide awesome scholarships and programs. Personally, I wanted to go to UC San Diego or UC Berkeley. My back-ups are CSU Fresno and CSU East Bay. Not only was this trip educational, it was really fun!

We did really fun things over the three days on this trip. We toured many the three campuses, and watched cool presentations and slide shows. We got to eat food from each campus. We also learned many interesting facts on each campus like how safe it was, rumors, facts, and even the alumni. Other things we did on the trip was have many picnics in different parks, have fun in the hotel, and even went to watch the sunset from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Overall this trip was extremely fun and educational at the same time. I recommend present MESA students and future MESA students to go on this trip. Again I think that everyone can agree that this trip was really worth it, and would want to do the trip all over again.


Gurlynn: Secretary,
 On November 21 – 23, about 50 students went on a College Road Trip to Northern California. We visited 3 college/universities; University of Pacific, UC Berkley, CSU East Bay. For 2 nights, we stayed at Union City’s Holiday Inn. On the first day we left the school around 7 am. We took a tour at University if Pacific when we arrived. After the tour, we ate a quick snack in their food court and had lunch at a park. Once we finished, we headed to our hotel. On the second day, we drove to Berkeley and took a tour. Afterwards, we stopped at Treasure Island for a picnic. We had some time, so we also visited the Golden Gate Bridge and after a while we drove back to the hotel. On our third and last day of the trip we took a quick tour at CSU East Bay. On our way home, we stopped at a truck-stop to eat and after a long three days, we went home.

Kellen: 5th period Representative,
This year over spring break, about thirty of us MESA students went on a field trip to a very special island: Catalina! After a long overnight bus ride, we arrived at a small port in Long Beach and got ready for the boat ride. The boat was rocking pretty hard on the way, and I know a few people got a little queasy, but it was all worth it once we were on the island. We claimed our cabins, ate lunch, and were thrown into our first activity: snorkeling. After a funny presentation by “Surfer Dude” (A counselor in an afro wig), we put on our somewhat uncomfortable and tight wetsuits and set off into the cold ocean. The abundance of sea life made it truly an awesome sight. After dinner that night, we had a campfire where we sang songs, told stories, ate s’mores, and learned a little astronomy. Afterwards we set off to our cabins and rested the night. 

The next morning, a few of us went down the dock at about 6:30 and jumped into the cold ocean, an optional activity known as the Polar Plunge. It’s a great way to wake up and watch the sunrise. We had a medley of activities that morning. We learned about oceanography, did a plankton lab, and went hiking on the rocks to see some very cool tide pools. After that was over, we took a break for lunch before going back out for what many people considered to be the best thing there: Kayaking! We chose our partners, did a few paddle exercises, and headed out into the ocean. We kayaked all the way to the next beach over on the island, looking at the kelp, exploring small caves, and enjoying the sun. And to wrap it all up, we played a fun game which was basically kayak football. When we got back to the island, we had a little free time before dinner, and then it was off to squid dissection. We were given a step-by-step demonstration by “Delilah” (Another counselor in a cowgirl costume), and then we got to try it ourselves. Sure it was a little gross, but pretty fun and really cool. After that, it was sleep time once again, and we all prepared for our last day on the island.

This last morning, instead of doing the Polar Plunge again, we took a little morning hike up one of the island’s cliffs called Bible Peak. The sun was rising as we reached the top, and the view of the island was absolutely spectacular. It was really a great experience. After breakfast, our final meal on the island, we got in our wetsuits and snorkels again and set out. This time we were given the option to wear a weight belt, a tool that would allow us to dive underwater and explore for a short time. We finally got out of the water after about an hour and a half, and went up to our cabins for the last time to pack. The boat arrived at about 1:00, and we headed off back to the mainland. It was a great experience and I’m sure we would all do it again.