Los Angeles City Hall Tour

  

            Students from Language Systems Northeast Los Angeles had the privilege of taking a tour of Los Angeles CityHall on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. After battling for parking and making it to the meeting point, students were asked to remove everything from their pockets to get through the security screening. 

            Two docents welcomed students with a series of quick facts and historical explanations. The docents walked students through the main corridors of city hall and allowed them into different chambers and assembly rooms. The main battle was getting people moving at a quicker pace, as the race for the best selfie intensified with every new area visited.

            Students were surprised to find out many aspects of Los Angeles that they may have never learned otherwise. Historical displays, ancient architecture, dome art, engineering feats, and symbolic representations adorned the entirety of the building. It felt like walking through a timeline of LA’s life. It’s was a great example of our city’s history for the students to live and remember.  

By:  Carlos L Takashima #NELAcampus

www.languagesystems.edu

Concert at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood!!

Last Thursday night, #DTLA students ventured to one of Hollywood’s premier music venues – The Hotel Café. Despite the name, it is neither a hotel nor a café, but instead a restaurant and bar which features some of LA’s top talent playing in a comfortable, ambient lounge setting. 

On this particular evening, the #DTLA students came to the Hotel Café to hear the musical stylings of Smithfield Bargain, an LA-based jazz-folk band, as well as the music of an amazing trio of three sisters on tour from Portland, Oregon called Joseph. Situated in one of Hollywood’s best walkable areas near Cahuenga and Hollywood Blvd, it’s easy to find something to suit your fancy. Bonus: it's close to a metro stop, so no need to worry about traffic or parking.

www.languagesystems.edu

2015 Language Systems Basketball Tournament

This year’s basketball tournament welcomed us with a heat wave that kept everyone in the gym watching attentively. Students proudly wore their school colors as their teams took to the basketball court for a three on three tournament with no shortage of action and surprises.  

Students were greeted with drinks and pastries for breakfast. The court slowly filled with people and the energy grew by the minute. Team themed bows, shirts, slogans, and cheers were ever present in what turned out to be a day filled with smiles, chants, music, and the bizarre.

Cheers got louder as the tournament progressed.  The leading teams began to stand out clearly after the first game.  It appeared it would end in a point battle between Orange County and Downtown, but in the end, Downtown claimed the championship with no defeats and took the trophy home for this year.  It was a hard fought victory and another tournament win that downtown can add to their repertoire. 

After the game, everyone enjoyed pizza and soft drinks for lunch.  Students from all schools took the opportunity to meet and share stories from their experiences in the US. Staff and faculty worked diligently to make sure everything was in place and ready for students to enjoy.

Let’s hope next year’s tournament can be as exciting. The buildup is always slow, but the competitive spirit always rises to the occasion.  Congratulations to Downtown on their victory and congratulations to all who took part in making sure the tournament was successful.  And as always, GO Language Systems! 

By: Carlos L Takashima (PC  #NELAcampus)

www.languagesystems.edu

First Fridays!

 

What a night we had at the Natural History Museum! Everyone seemed to love the dinosaur bones and the exhibit of the founding of Los Angeles. First, we learned a little history, checked the gems and diamonds, and finally we danced our booties off. After, we met outside for a bite and an hour chat/class on meeting and making American friends. We had the best of times at First Fridays! Thanks for joining me and let's do it again soon! 

DJ - Teacher at the #SBLAcampus

www.languagesystems.edu

Karaoke Night with teacher Bhumika

Last Friday night, I organized a karaoke activity for the South Bay campus students which turned out to be a total hit. About 15-20 students from levels 1 through 7 attended. The location was not so far from school and the karaoke place was awesome. We made a reservation for the largest karaoke room which fits about 20-25 people. It was nice to have our private room with a big screen tv mounted on the wall and fancy disco lights to match the mood perfectly.

For many, it was their first time to join a karaoke event, not just in US, but the first time ever, since karaoke is not so common in their country, yet. But that didn't stop anyone from singing solos, duets and chorus all night. Also, it provided a great opportunity for students from different levels to mingle outside of school and make new friends.

Songs of many genres and moods were sung throughout the 3 or so hours we spent there. From Mamma Mia to Bruno Mars, Britney Spears to Eminem, love songs, hip hop songs...a good mix of everything. We got lucky to have students like Keisuke (level 6) who surprisingly raps very well, and Hiromi (level 3) who mesmerized us with her choice of love songs.

                      

It was a musical and memorable evening indeed. And the students can't wait for the next karaoke activity. They have promised they are going to practice and prepare more songs to be able to sing in English !! Good Job everyone !!

Bhumika Chettiar - Teacher @SouthBayCampus

www.languagesystems.edu