LSI 2012 Halloween Party

Every year students, teachers and staff members all look forward to the annual LSI Halloween Bash at the Oiwake Restaurant located in downtown LA's Little Tokyo.  Everyone attending the party is required to wear a costume, and every year LSI students from all four campuses compete in our costume contest to determine which costumes are the funniest, the scariest, the most creative/original, and the best group/pair.  

LSI students are so dedicated to showing up in the most spectacular outifts.

 

At the LSI Halloween Bash, students also get the chance to enjoy a wonderful all-you-can-eat buffet of delicious Japanese Cuisine, such as tempura, udon, curry, yakisoba, california rolls, teriyaki chicken, mapo tofu, and other delicious dishes.  

During dinnertime, students get to hang out and practice speaking English with each other and with their teachers while they enjoy plate after plate of this amazing food. 

 

This year we also had an impersonation contest.  The winner was a student who imitated Michael Jackson by dressing like him and dancing like him.  We also had an amazing Elvis impersonation.  All the students loved watching these performances.  

After all the contests were over, and everyone had their fill of delicious Japanese food, it was time to clear the floor.  That's right!  It was dancing time.  As the DJs arrived, the Oiwake Restaurant became the Oiwake Nightclub!  LSI students and teachers alike love to dance!

 

I love the LSI Halloween Bash.  I look forward to it every year.  Any student who attended this year's party got a very special opportunity to see how American's celebrate Halloween. Thanks LSI for giving us all this chance!  Happy Halloween everybody!

LSI 2012 Beach Party

The clouds gathered above Huntington Beach on the morning of August 24^th and produced a smattering of rain.  A slight wind pushed wave after wave into the sandy shore.  A lone flock of seagulls stalked the beach for remnants of past lunches.  And the four LSI campuses thronged the area in search of a party…and party they did!

Not to be deterred by the lack of sun, LSI students, teachers and staff quickly set about organizing a gripping and combative volleyball tournament.  Competition proved fierce, with all four schools producing lengthy rallies for each coveted point.  Yet, it was the Alhambra school that emerged as victor.

Right after lunch, feeling renewed strength and vigor, the four campuses were once again given the opportunity to flex their collective muscles in the Tug-A-War contest.  Grunts, cheers and screams echoed up and down the beach as LSI Downtown L.A. dug in and dragged the other campuses across the sandy substrate to take the trophy home for the third year in a row.

Several more events ensued – individual races, a relay hole-in-bucket race, and a disgusting food eating competition (in which, to their credit or to their shame, Northeast L.A. proved the hungriest school) and the end of the day was upon us.  But what a great day.

Big thanks to all who made it to the beach, especially Karla, the PCs, teachers, staff and those who helped organize and clean-up.  Can’t wait for the next one in 2013!

For more pictures, please visit our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/LSIUSA  or our website www.languagesystems.com

LSI's 25th Anniversary Party

On June 22, 2012, students, teachers, and staff all gathered at Oiwake Japanese Restaurant in Little Tokyo to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of LSI.

LSI parties are usually fun, but we were so surprised by all the special activities throughout the night. First, Managers and PCs treated everyone to an awesome Karaoke performance of "Celebrate" by Kool and the Gang. They are great singers for sure!

The BIG event of the night was LSI Idol! Many students from each campus auditioned for the chance to win the $500 prize, but only the best from LA, OC, Torrance, and Alhambra could show off their skills at the party. The first performers were dancers from OC who treated us to a steamy couples routine. Next up was a drummer from Torrance who blew the crowd away with a face-melting solo. The third performance was a break dancer from LA who wowed us all with his precise movements. The final act was Revolutionary, a rock band from Alhambra doing an excellent cover of the classic Beatles tune. Everyone was awesome, but our guest judges could only choose one winner...... Junya! The Drummer from Torrance was declared the LSI Idol of 2012!

After LSI Idol, we were treated to a special guest performance from an OC dancer. She was awesome- Lots of energy and totally cute! One of the biggest surprises of the night were the Samba Dancers from Brazil! Their costumes were colorful and bright and their dance moves were spell binding!

Throughout the night, some lucky students won iPod Nanos and one REALLY lucky student took home an iPod Touch. Once all the performances were over, it was party time! The DJ played awesome music and many people stayed and danced the night away. 

We all had such a great time celebrating LSI's 25th anniversary!

5th Annual Soccer Tournament at LSI

On May 11^th, Whittier Narrows Regional Park played host to the 5^th Annual LSI Gold Cup Tournament.  LSI Torrance, LSI Orange County, LSI LA, and LSI Alhambra packed their cleats, shorts, and soccer balls and headed to the fields to do battle and compete for the Gold Cup. 

The opening round of the tournament pitted LA against last year’s champions, Torrance.  LA showed a slight edge in the beginning and jumped out to a 1-0 lead before the end of the first half.  Though Torrance fought hard in the second half, LA’s defense dominated, allowing LA to glide to victory.

In other first-round action, Orange County faced a formidable Alhambra team.  Unprepared for the explosive attack of the Alhambra forwards, Torrance watched their hopes to reach the finals get buried in an avalanche of goals.  The Alhambra sharp-shooters netted 4 unanswered.

As throngs of fans from LSI and Alhambra waited in anticipation for the Gold Cup game, veteran players and long-time fans exchanged stories of a past final game in which the two soccer powers met.  The 2010 Gold Cup game ended in a regulation tie which led to a tense shoot-out and an LA victory.  Would the Gold Cup land in familiar hands in 2012?  Or would Alhambra heal an old wound with victory?  These questions buzzed throughout the crowd as the two rivals lined up for the final game.

A strong defensive effort for LA kept the rush of the Alhambra offense in check for much of the first half.  Yet, Alhambra’s forwards were not to be turned away. Before the whistle to end the first half blew, Alhambra capitalized on a momentary defensive faux pas, which gave them a 1-0 lead going into the second half. 

Adjustments were made to the LA defense and midfield to compensate for their lack of attack, and though this provided LA with increased shots on net, Alhambra players retained their composure and repelled the offensive push.  The game ended with a score of 1-0.

But the real victors were the students who attended the event.  Players were treated to 2 great games; Fans were treated to top-notch play on the pitch; and everyone was treated to lunch, drinks and great fun in the California sun.  A big thank you goes to Karla, our Marketing Supervisor, Michelle, our Academic Director, and all the Program Coordinators and staff from the 4 campuses for making this day possible.  We’re all looking forward to the next one.

For more information about events and activities at LSI go to www.languagesystems.com

LSI 2nd Annual Basketball Tournament

Language Systems International (LSI) had its second annual basketball tournament on Friday, March 2nd at Peck Park in San Pedro, California. Teams from 4 campuses participated and a lot of fans from each school came along to cheer their teams on. Each school wore T-shirts from their school and most of the fans had signs and pom poms! Torrance and Alhambra had cheerleading squads and LA had yellow noisemakers (to match their T-shirts) that could be heard all over the gym!

    

Before each game, the teams exchanged gifts that were chosen from each school's location. So, OC gave little basketball hoops to celebrate the tournament and Torrance gave little bottles and shells since that school is close to the beach. LA gave small little "Oscar" trophies (like the ones given in the Academy Awards) and Alhambra gave out bags of yummy taffy! All the teams played really well and each game was fun and exciting! 

Finally it came down to the last two teams, Torrance and LA, playing for the championship. Even though it was close, Torrance won and the fans went crazy when the Torrance team held up the trophy. The Torrance fans kept yelling "who let the sharks out!" The shark is the Torrance mascot. All the students and team members were good sports and congratulated each other on a great game.


Afterwards, LSI had a pizza party and the students stayed for a while meeting people fromother schools and talking about the games. Everyone had a great time and we'll be sure to have another tournament next year! 

You can check all the pictures of this event on LSI's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Language-Systems-International/132682066749739


You can also check our video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEkelLg2Dc0&feature=youtu.be


For more information about school events, check out our website at www.languagesystems.com 

Valentine’s Day

For some people Valentine’s Day is just a normal and very commercial day, but for many others it is the day to exchange candy, flowers, and gifts between loved ones. But who is St. Valentine and why do we celebrate this holiday?

There are various popular and interesting legends of St Valentine's Day. One says that it originates from the Roman celebration called Lupercalia. According to Wikipedia, it was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to prevent evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility.

Apparently men and women in Lupercalia drew names from a jar to make couples, and modern Valentine's letters originated from this custom. It says that this custom was combated by priests by replacing it with a religious custom of girls drawing the names of apostles from the altar.

Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common.

At Language Systems International we loooove Valentine’s Day, so this year each school had its own party. At LSI Los Angeles, students enjoyed music and a wonderful chocolate fountain with delicious strawberries, pretzels, marshmallows and bananas. Our Program Coordinator in LA, Ligia, held a huge heart balloon (which she referred to as her heart) all day to bring the V-day spirit to school!

At LSI Alhambra and LSI Orange County they played the amazing Dating Game. Our PC in OC,  Ty,  and our teacher in Alhambra, Erber, did a great job as MCs of the “show” making students laugh and have a great time!!! The couples won movie tickets for their first date!!! At each school students also enjoyed delicious pizzas, candies, heart-shaped cookies, etc.

At LSI Torrance students pinned the Heart on The Teacher! The students were really excited about this game and they all wanted to participate. The winner s also got movie tickets! And all students enjoyed corndogs, cupcakes, cheesecakes, fruits, heart-shape cookies, sodas, etc.

It was so much fun! Thank you everybody for making Valentine’s Day so special for us!!! J

Did you know?

Approximately 150 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas?

For more information about LSI’s activities and pictures please visit www.languagesystems.com 

Whale Watching with Torrance and Alhambra

On Thursday, February 9, students from the Alhambra and Torrance campus joined together to go whale watching at Redondo Beach. Almost 90 students participated in the activity, which took us out into the Pacific Ocean, across from the Palos Verdes peninsula and Catalina Island. It was a great day to be out there. The weather was sunny and warm, and LSI students had almost the entire boat to themselves.

The excitement started almost as soon as we left the dock. The boat’s captain told us he could see whales just outside of the harbor. But first, we stayed in the harbor while dolphins sw

am up to and around our boat. They came right up to the sides and would pop their heads out of the water, like they wanted to play with us! They seemed so friendly and

intelligent – we really enjoyed being so close to them.

Almost as soon as we left the harbor, the captain sighted the whales. The first whales we saw were fin whales. Fin whales are the second longest whale, and can grow up to 90 feet (27 meters) long. We saw a pair of whales swimming together. First, we saw their blow, which is the water they blow into the air from the hole on top

of their heads. After that, the whales “fluked,” which means they lifted their back fin high out of the water, right before they dived deeply underwater. These whales were a little hard to see because they are fast and only stayed on the surface for a short time.

As we continued to sail on the ocean, the captain pointed out different types of sea birds and animals that were flying over or floating on the ocean’s surface. Did you know that sea lions will float on their side and stick one flipper into the air to absorb the Sun’s heat and warm their bodies when they are cold? If they get too hot, they wait until the air above the ocean is cool and stick their flipper up again, this time to cool themselves down. We saw several sea lions doing this.

Suddenly, the captain had us look into the distance off the left side of the boat – two gray whales were out there swimming. By law, commercial boats (like the one we were on) have to stay at least 300 yards (274 meters) awa

y, but it was still very easy to see their blow. Soon, one of the whales rose out of the water in an arc, and then went below again. Like the fin whales, these whales swam in pairs. The captain was excellent in predicting where and when the gray whales would come to the surface again. He circled the boat around so we could get a closer look.

After about three hours on the ocean, we headed back to the dock. Nature wasn’t done with us yet. Shortly before we entered the harbor, another gray whale made an appearance. This time, we were close enough to see the large white spots common on the whale’s body. Finally, as we entered the harbor, a small group of seals played near the entrance and allowed us to watch them. All in all, it was a fantastic trip, one I’m sure LSI students will remember for a long time!

New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions

New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes.

Here are the ten most common New Year’s Resolutions in the United States. Do you have some similar promises?

1. Start Exercising

2. Quit Smoking

3. Learn Something New

4. Eat Healthier and Diet

5. Get out of Debt and Save Money

6. Spend More time with Family

7. Travel

8. Be Less Stressed

9. Volunteer

10. Drink Less

We asked some teachers, staff members, and afternoon students about their own New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s what they said:

In 2012 I will:

Tina: stay healthy and always have a positive attitude

Emily: be a good new mom

Bhumika: travel more, learn to cook new things, & go to karaoke more often

Monica: travel more, lead a healthier lifestyle, & learn a new language

John: go to bed early, improve my English, & make more money

Sylvia: wake up early every day & be a better cook

Bruno: try to be more organized & make plans for the future

Joel: improve my English

Yoshi: get buff Betsy: do more yoga

Davi: be more friendly and open-minded

What is yours?