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Friday, December 23, 2016

Toy drive for the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)



This year for Christmas, our students at the Language Systems Orange County campus organized the second annual toy drive for the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). We set up a Christmas tree at the front desk, and many students brought new toys to be donated to the hospital. Day after day they placed these toys by the Christmas tree.  We had an amazing collection of toys!  


On Saturday, December 17 Ty, the program coordinator, delivered all the toys to the children's hospital. These toys will be used throughout the upcoming year to bring joy and encouragement to the children who have to battle many kinds of health challenges. Thank you so much to the students of Language Systems - Orange County for making this year's toy drive a huge success!

 By Ty Mussack, Program Coordinator at OC

Monday, December 19, 2016

Torrance Art Museum

Last week, students joined teacher Corey for lunch at Wahoo's and walked over to the Torrance art museum. Here's what happened:



It was the first time for most of the students to try Mexican food & they loved it! Wahoo's is a great "gateway" Mexican restaurant since it's sort of a fusion on Mexican, Hawaiian, and Asian style foods. There's something for everyone there!


After lunch we walked over to the Torrance Art Museum. It's so close to our school! 


I can't believe we've never been here before! We saw the South Bay Focus exhibition featuring local professional and amateur artists. 




We had our own private tour & learned a lot about the local art community. 









Afterwards, we went to the nearby Pine Wind Garden to relax & see the koi fish (the Japanese students were surprised that we also say "koi" in English). 







It was very peaceful, and a great place to unwind after our tests. 


 By Sylvia Sunada, Program Coordinator at SB 

Friday, December 16, 2016

Holiday Season in Redondo Beach

December 1st kicks off the Holiday Season in Redondo Beach! 


Teacher Corey took students to the Corner Bakery Cafe for a casual dinner, hot cocoa, coffee, and desserts, then the group walked over to Riviera Village in Redondo Beach to join their annual "Holiday Stroll."




The streets in this cute shopping area are closed just for this event. The shops are all open and it's a great chance to get to know this neighborhood. 


There was a Christmas parade featuring local high schools, community groups, and much more! Santa Claus also made an appearance! 


The students were so happy to celebrate the holidays in Redondo Beach's Riviera Village! I think we'll go back for brunch in the spring!

By Sylvia Sunada, Program Coordinator at SB

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

NBA Game at the Staples Center


On November 21, 2016 a group of 25 students from Language Systems Orange County carpooled their way up to downtown Los Angeles for an NBA game at the Staples Center.


We had so much fun! The LA Clippers played against the Toronto Raptors.


That night there was a free hat giveaway, so we all got these cool hats.



We saw some amazing slam dunks too. The Clippers won the game by a final score of 123-115.




On the way back to our cars, Ty, the program coordinator, introduced some of the students to bacon-wrapped street dogs... yum!! It was an awesome night.

By Ty Mussack, Program Coordinator at OC

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Dr. Strange


This weekend our group hit the weird Matrix/Inception/Harry Potter like world of Marvel's epic hero Dr. Strange. And strange and cool it was!  


We reserved our seats for the 3:40 show in the newest Dolby Surround Sound Luxury Seating. 


The seats were super comfortable and easy to operate. 


The movie had a good mix of reviews but all were positive getting an average score of 4 out 5 stars. Before we left to eat at BJ's, we had to take pics with Dr. Strange (poster).


BJ's was crazy busy but luckily we found a table in the bar area where we ate burgers, spaghetti, salads, a few beers, a coffee whiskey martini, and ice cream.


After that it was time for us to part. My students however had other plans.They decided to go to Karaoke until midnight. My students never get tired until it's time to study but I still love them!

By Sylvia Sunada, Program Coordinator at SB

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Awesome Halloween Party 2016!

Halloween is such a fun time and a special experience for international students living in the United States. Language Systems campuses were filled with lots of fun activities during the Halloween season this year. 

 



This year, we tried a couple of new activities with our students in addition to our standard costume contest, and pumpkin carving.



One of the new activities was the 1st Annual Halloween Door Decorating Contest.


The students worked together in their 3rd hour classes to create one-of-a-kind designs. 


Each morning class received the same supplies which included balloons, construction paper, tape, scissors, glue, streamers, and spider webs. 


The results were all so different, yet all spectacular. Once the doors were completed, the afternoon and evening students voted on their favorites. The winner was chosen by an overwhelming number of votes. 


You can see from the picture, the winning door has many components and extends beyond the door to include a police outline, a TV set, caution tape, and many other outstanding details. 


The winning group will get a pizza party later this week! 



Another new activity was Trick-or-Treating. 


In America, many children and teens dress in costumes and go from door to door in their neighbors asking for candy. With Trick-or-Tricking, however, you don't say "may I have some candy please?" 
You must say "Trick-or-Treat!" and you will receive some candy! 


It's a tradition that dates back to the early 20th century and we wanted to share this experience with our student since many of them will have the chance. 

 

Each teacher were in the classroom which represented the "house" and students Trick-or-treated from class to class. At the end, they collected a lot of candy!

 


We hope our students have enjoyed their Halloween experience with us!! Looking forward to the rest of the holiday season! 

By Sylvia Sunada, Program Coordinator at SB