SOCCER TOURNAMENT 2017

The soccer tournament was held at the beautiful Glendale Sports Complex. 

They day was beautiful but brought a punishing heat that tested all players’ and spectators’ dedication to their team.

 Students flocked to the fields full of enthusiasm and excitement to cheer for their school. 

And this year brought some exciting matches and interesting results. 

The battle between OC and DTLA ended in a nail-biting spectacle of penalty kicks. 

While the Torrance Sharks struck first blood versus the Alhambra Dragons. 

Needless to say, the atmosphere was energetic and full of cheers. 

No matter how many times these tournaments take place, the drama doesn’t end. 

At the end of the tournament, the DTLA Angels proved their worthiness to be crowned champions over the Torrance Sharks. 

However, at the end of the day, the tournament is about fun and building friendships. 

Language Systems loves bringing people together to cherish diversity, culture, and friendship in an atmosphere that is welcoming to all. 

Let’s hope the upcoming Volleyball Tournament is as exciting as this year’s goal mania Soccer Tournament.

 By Carlos Takashima, Program Coordinator at NELA 

http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Our excursion to The Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) in Pasadena, on April 28, 2017 was a fascinating opportunity for students and teachers alike to learn about the contribution to past, present and future space exploration and a deeper scientific understanding of the Earth, our solar system and beyond. 

It started with a short lecture and film on the history of JPL, as well as some time to look at some interesting models of past and current robots used to explore the solar system. We then paid a visit to Mission Control, where JPL scientist monitor and adjust the current activity of space probes and satellites being used for a verity of scientific missions. JPL scientists were in contact with eight space craft at the time, including Cassini, which was sending back new information about and pictures of Saturn's rings. For the last part of the tour we saw the "clean room." This is a huge room where JPL engineers build new robots and vehicles that will be used in upcoming National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) missions. The tour guide said that we were currently assembling the machines that would be sent to Mars in 2020. It was a fascinating afternoon, spent learning about how this local organization has expanded our understanding of space, how they are helping us learn more about the solar system now, and how they plan to continue exploring into the future. Take a tour of JPL, it's really interesting!

 By Carlos Takashima, Program Coordinator at NELA 

http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

Visiting JPL campus by Charlotte

One has to register one month in advance before visiting JPL campus.  A passport is required if you are not a US citizen.  

It takes about 2.5 hours to visit every part of JPL which is sprawling and the tour involves lots of walking.  The commentator greeted us with warmth and delivered with passion an introduction in detail on the model exhibitions of all robotic spacecraft sent to the planetary bodies of the Solar System.  

The mission control center that monitors and manages all the space flights has become a national landmark.  Our last stop is the clean room where we saw part of the shield of 2020 Mars Rover.  

By Charlotte, Student at LSI - Northeast Los Angeles School 

http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

JPL tour by Christine

JPL (jet propulsion lab) is located in Pasadena, this place is pretty massive and tranquil. 

We reserved this tour a month ahead and went there on Friday afternoon.  The security check is very strict; a passport is required before entering the campus.  A very smart and enthusiastic engineer greeted us and led our group. 

She took us through several buildings which performed different tasks for the space exploration programs.  We watched a short introduction film about JPL in the first exhibition room. The museum is not big but was super cool and had replicas of all the space vehicles that is currently out there exploring each planet. Our second stop is the mission control center.  It’s cool to see scientists monitoring the operation of all the crafts and satellites that have been sent out.  

 The most amazing part of this tour is when we were in the room. We’ve got the chance to see some parts of “Mission 2020” which is a branch new spacecraft that will be sent to Mars. I guess some extraordinary discoveries will be made by this cute robot.  Overall, this tour was really fun and chill, and I did learn a lot about the space crafts. 

By Christine, Student at LSI - Northeast Los Angeles School 

http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

Jet Propulsion Laboratory by Rebecca

On April 28^th, we went to Jet Propulsion Laboratory that belonging to California Institute of Technology located in Pasadena, CA. 

A tour guide told us that JPL is the leading U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system, and has 19 spacecraft and 10 major instruments carrying out planetary, Earth science, and space-based astronomy missions. 

We saw a different kind of space vehicle, and the tour guide told us what they make for and how they work in space. Also, we visited mission control center that is for monitoring date and keep all thing running well. 

To my surprise, they have an interesting behavior at mission control center. That is. when they thinking or feel nervous, they used to eat peanuts.  

In the end of the tour, we got into a huge white room called clean room that is for clean all equipment and tools. I was so excited to see those interesting and complicated robots or space vehicle which I never see them before, except on TV. For the future, they plan to send one or two space vehicle to MARS in 2020. I hope they doing well and sent more picture or date back to Earth, then let more people know the universe because our world is but a small part of the universe.

By Rebecca, Student at LSI - Northeast Los Angeles School 
http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

On Saturday, April 29^th, a group of us headed to Pasadena to explore the beautiful Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. 

Our first stop was the Library Exhibition Hall where we saw rare manuscripts, original works of Shakespeare, the Gutenberg bible and several other works from renowned writers. 

Across the way, we took a mini-tour of the Huntington mansion which had a massive art collection. 

We then had lunch at one of the cafes and had great chats all around.

The biggest attraction was, of course, the Botanical gardens. The Rose, Japanese, Chinese and Desert gardens were all breathtaking. 

Each garden boasted its own unique look and style. 

There were several gardens we didn't get to see due to time but we'll definitely come back there again. 

What an amazing time!

By Teacher Caroline (DTLA)

http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

Whale Watching with South Bay Students

Language Systems South Bay students had quite the adventure last month while on a whale watching trip! 22 students plus PC Sylvia enjoyed an eventful day out on the water.

The day started off quite foggy and we were concerned about visibility and whether we would be able to see anything. By the time we all arrived and boarded the boat, the fog had burned off and it was a beautiful sunny day! Our vessel was called “The Indian,” and Captain Mike and his crew greeted us with friendly smiles. 

Peggy, a volunteer from Naturalist of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium/American Cetacean Society taught us many interesting things about the wildlife, coastline, and history during the trip. She was very informative and answered any questions we had.

As soon as the boat left the harbor, we could see some sea lions that live very close to the harbor. Peggy also pointed out a bird called the cormorant. This bird is interesting because it dives deep into the water for its food and later rests on the rocks drying their feathers.

Despite the sunny skies, the water was a bit rough. The ocean was rocking our boat more than we liked and before we could see any whales or dolphins, some students began to feel sea sick! 

One student even fainted! Captain Mike and his crew are very concerned about passenger safety and so they called on the Coast Guard to come and check on our student.

While we waited for them to arrive, we could hear a helicopter circling above our boat.

 While we waited for them to arrive, we could hear a helicopter circling above our boat. The Coast Guard arrived quickly assessed our student for any injuries. They then decided to call in the Lifeguards to get our student off The Indian as soon as possible to take him to a nearby hospital to make sure he was totally fine. The Lifeguards got our student off our boat and onto their boat and took him to an ambulance waiting on shore.

 Once our student was safe with the Lifeguards, Captain Mike took us farther out to sea. We began seeing a pair of gray whales. The whales spend long periods of time underwater, but you can see where they will emerge by a looking for a spray of water. Gray whales migrate from Baja, Mexico to Alaska every year; they travel up to Alaska to eat as much as they can and breed. 

During their journey down south, female gray whales are likely carrying a baby gray whale that they will deliver in Baja. The migration takes place every year from January to April.

We saw the pair of gray whales breach the water several times. Some of our students were still a bit seasick, but nevertheless excited to see some whales! 

On our way back to the harbor, a pod of dolphins followed out boat back and “surfed” with us! What an exciting day! 

I hope our students will remember this adventure for a long time!!

http://languagesystems.edu/