By Blythe Jones

Melissa Poblete, Middle College’s brand new English teacher, is no stranger to new experiences. Having varying teaching credentials from similar communities like Middle College to larger schools such as Hilldale High School and even teaching English as a second language in Japan, she is prepared to take on this exciting step in her career. One thing that enthralled Ms. Poblete into joining our community was her enjoyment of the learning style and freedom in exploring mature topics. With her previous teaching experience being similar, getting to know and harbor the relationships with her students is what she is most excited to rekindle.

What you can expect from her class and teaching model is developing the curriculum in a way that will give her student’s the best opportunity to engage in her class. Some books she will be teaching include the book Beloved and play Zoot Suit. You should expect a positive learning experience from the versatility of Ms. Poblete’s career, and her background in College Prep and AP English. One of her secret talents you may not know about includes her dance background. You can find her dancing in contemporary, hip-hop, and house styles outside of the classroom. We’re so excited to welcome Ms. Poblete to our community!

Our last-first month at MC has finished, and you all had a lot to say in a form sent out recently. Whether it's the fact that you’re almost done with high school or that you’ll be off to college or other post-graduate plans in less than a year, it’s no secret that you’re all excited to celebrate this last year together! From your last prom to turning eighteen to field trips, senior year is bound to be as exciting as it can be.

“The confidence/assuredness in myself, excitement about the future.”“Knowing college is around the corner”

“Meeting new people in my cohort”

“because we are cool, lol jk, because i waited my whole life to be a senior so it's kind of cool now that im a senior. also because im graduating.”

“Just making the most of my time w friends, having more freedom, getting to live the life my younger self had envisioned”

“Teachers for sure”

“Freedom"

“All of the last things before I'm an adult.”

“Senior Grad Night”

“The field trips and community days because those are days in which I can relax.”

“Prom, dances, basically going to social events or just hanging out with friends”

“Getting to spend time with friends leading up to graduation.”

“Not failing at anything (hopefully)”

“The last summer before college.”

“Getting close to people, graduation, and the MC activities”

“I think finding out if I get into college is the most fun thing. I like the anticipation”

“GRADUATION! AND GETTING ACCEPTED INTO MY DREAM SCHOOL IF I DO!”

It’s finally October, meaning that the first month-and-a-half of school is finally over. In a form we sent out recently, you guys had many thoughts about finally being in your second-to-last year of high school. Whether it’s the flexibility of Middle College or meeting new people in both your high school and college classes, it seems like you guys are making the most of it!

“New friends and experiences”

“the freedom and flexibility of my classes/schedule and how supportive the teachers/system is”

“Not taking AP classes”

“driving to CSM”

“the sense that because everybody is part of the same community, people feel free to spend time/talk with each other and support each other.”

“making new friends”

“how i will grow as a person”

“better sense of self, better schooling habits, and meeting new people”

“I’m curious if I’m going to be hanging out with all my new friends on winter break”

“The field trips”

“reaching my goals i couldn’t in the past, I really want straight As”

“Getting a job and getting ready for the future”

“Making a huge improvement for my badminton class so I can be ready for the spring season”

By Jaden Luke

With college applications rounding the corner (for both juniors and seniors), it’s time to start building up your resumé! Whether that’s by finding a job, volunteering somewhere, or securing an internship, there are many ways to add that boost to your application. The College and Career counselors at the home schools frequently update this spreadsheet with said opportunities that are currently open for applications or will open in the near future. But if you’re interested in getting involved at school, there are many opportunities to choose from.  In addition to our amazing Middle College clubs, CSM clubs and ASCSM boards are open to all Middle College students who are interested. Either way, get involved with the community around you—not only so that colleges will want to admit you, but to get to know your peers and maybe even make a change.

By Devin Gowdy

Severance Review

By Michaela Gonzalez

Severance, written by Ling Ma in 2018, is kind of like a slap in the face. Ma reveals the human experience, naked and vulnerable. She touches on the enormous gentrification of America, the western gaze, moving through life mundanely like a cog in The Machine, interconnected social media, the importance of being creative, and the termination of an entire civilization: New York. Candance Chen is the center of this life that she weirdly explains as though she is not the one living it. The rare emotions that she expresses are revealed once The End is near. As the population slowly dwindles, fear doesn’t even pass her mind—not having to go to work does. When the work of hers is assigned on a day off, she claims on behalf of all cogs, “Leisure, the problem with the modern conditions is the death of leisure. And it finally took an act of nature to interrupt our routines.” Once the apocalypse hits, she begins to look inside herself and realize she has not crafted a single part of her identity. From her relationship: “It wasn’t even a choice”, to her mother “I just want you to be of use”, to her work “You're under the impression that everyone gets to do what they want for a living.”; it’s capitalism at its finest. Have any of us? The book was written in 2018, but the parallels between COVID-19 and Shen Fever are drastically similar. The way society responds, blowing it off, decorating face masks with sequins, and companies and businesses having “COVID-19 discounts” are all recounted in Severance. Shen fever terminates the brain into employing the routines one knows best. Cooking, taxi driving, folding clothes, going to work. The words “I get up. I go to work in the morning.”, starts every chapter. Although Candance is not fevered, she still goes to work. She still sticks to her routine. If it’s not Shen fever, what is it that forces her to keep going?

By Katie Yeh

Senior Isha Mukherjee touches on an upcoming Hindu holiday called Navratri—meaning the end of the nine nights—which, mythically speaking, is when the world has been overtaken by evil for nine days. Essentially, demons took over the Earth and they came with blessings that no man nor god could harm them. On the fourth day, the gods were frustrated with the mass amounts of chaos and discovered a loophole within the blessing. If no gods could defeat these demons then why not a goddess? Thus, they made Durga, “Who is a war Goddess, protector of women and tamer of lions,” Mukherjee says. Because of Durga's triumph, for the next five of the nine days, the people of the Hindu culture celebrate the victory of good over evil.

“Personally, I've been celebrating Navratri since I was a little kid. It's this recognition of my culture and worship of the divine women,” Mukherjee shares. They explain how they usually celebrate the holiday from October 1st to the 5th. This celebration includes the worship of a figure of Durga and her four children, which represents her significant welcoming to earth. This is where they give Durga offerings, such as food, clothing, and jewelry, and ask her to bless the earth and protect them. “There's this cool dance part where basically we start a fire in a container and its smoke is intended to symbolically 'blind' the evil so she can fight it”, Mukherjee says. Another highlight of the festival is the food and sweets that are shared and also lots of music and performances.

In addition, in the native regions of India—West Bengal, Assam, and Orissa— the festival is called ‘Durga Puja,’ which means the adoration of Durga. On the final day of the festival, women gather to play with red power, a sign of respect is the respect for Goddess Durga as a lady and a friend to women and children. This is where they offer food to a statuette of the goddess and send her home, satiated with her time spent there. Durga is recognized as a destructive spirit, so it's important to please her and make sure that she is never dissatisfied.

By Jaden Luke

On Monday, September 26, Jupiter was the closest to the earth that it has been since 1963. Although 367 million miles from the Earth, Jupiter was clearly visible no matter where you were. With Jupiter being on one side of the Sun and the Earth sandwiched between the two celestial bodies, it shone like a star. It was one of the brightest lights in the sky due to the moon being “invisible” (new moon phase), and if you looked closely enough, you could see four out of its eighty moons. It was visible for most of the night, appearing to the naked eye when the sun set on the 26th and disappearing when it rose the next day.

Clubs at Middle College have always been an integral part of building our community—but even more so now. Both the juniors and the seniors brought new ideas to the table this school year. We now have a whopping amount of clubs: eighteen of them! Each one is just as important as the other, so continue reading to find out about each of them.

By Michaela Gonzalez and Steven Acuna Delgado

by Diego Figueroa

The Career Opportunity and Networking Club, or CON Club for short, is a brand new club at Middle College whose goal is to help students experience different careers and majors in a way Middle College alone can’t do. By bringing in presenters from different professions, you can get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes of different jobs or just hear their story of how they got to where they are. This semester, the club is mainly going to focus on Careers within STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), and next semester’s focus will be on careers outside of STEAM. On the weeks where there is no presenter (every other week) a mini community event is held—like, for example, watching a movie. Collaborations with other clubs are in the planning stages as well. The club is always welcoming and there if you even if just want to stop by every Thursday in Room 12-220 during advisory.

by Jay Harvey

Ever thought about using cutting-edge technology to bring project ideas to life?

Stem Club is a club for creators that promotes hands-on experiences in learning about STEM and engaging in creative projects! One of its aspects is the utilization of CSMs Makerspace resources which include various 3D printers, Lazer Cutters, and Cricut cutters. Throughout the year STEM Club will be running workshops that make these technologies accessible to anyone. If you are interested, you can stop by any Friday after school (2-3 pm) at CSM’s Makerspace in the library. Note: STEM club will be meeting in Room 12-211 for the month of October.

by Mimi Wilson

MCU's renewed and changed culture club has made a comeback this year. Last year, it was named Asian Club and hoped to learn about cultures in Asia and spread awareness for the ongoing issue of Asian hate. Now, the club aims for complete diversity with all different types of cultures from around the world. With time, the meetings that were originally evolved around Asian topics and then transformed into topics of other cultures’ holidays. From there, it blossomed into MCU (Middle College United). Iris Budiman, being one of the main officers, intends for this club to spread awareness about social issues that include race and culture. She strongly believes in the power of community and hopes that the club is a safe and inviting place for everyone. It’s a place for fun and accepting others. MCU plans to have culture nights, such as potlucks and dances. They are very excited to start the new school year with everyone and meet the new juniors! MCU meets every other Friday, alternating with Sunshine club in Room 14-117.

by Mimi Wilson

Do you like music and its history? Music Appreciation club is a brand new club, created by Daniel Shapiro—a complete music fanatic— and a couple of his friends. During their meetings, they listen to music as a group and then discuss it. It’s a safe place for others to discuss their favorite music genres and to connect with others about common interests. Music Appreciation is hoping to go to concerts with its members and set up jam sessions with people who are interested. Their main music genres are rock and rap, but you can be the person to share new genres with the club! They meet every Friday in Room 12-220. If you have a love for music and want to connect with others who share the same passion for it, join the Music Appreciation club!

By Sid Bharwani

The Middle College Investors club engages in many different investing activities by giving members a reasonable chance to invest from their portfolios. From guest speakers attending Zoom calls with us to having seminars and discussions on current market trends, the club members will learn a lot about different strategies they can use to be successful in investing. This is a brand new club at Middle College but an extension of the investors club from San Mateo High School. It was originally started to expand knowledge in terms of financial literacy and also get hands-on opportunities and experiences with investing. StreetFins sponsors this club, meaning there will be a lot of investment opportunities, interschool investment competitions, guest speakers, and prizes worth thousands of dollars for the winning investors in a competition. The club meets Thursdays during advisory in Room 12-221.

by Brooke Mendez

This year's environmental club has been up to some great things. They have participated in this year’s coastal cleanup on the beach, and they also plan to reinvent CSM’s community garden. They meet every Tuesday in Room 12-211 in building 12.

By Devin Gowdy

Vox Gen is a brand new club this year, acting as an extension of the Vive Church in Mountain View, California. The club name stands for the “voice of our generation” in Latin, with “Vox” translating to “voice” and “Gen” meaning Generation. The club has many plans for this year, including bringing in special guest speakers and having food for anyone who is interested. Vox Gen is a Christian club founded with the intention of building both community and faith; however, according to an interview with Dio, one of the club founders, the club is not exclusive. Anyone who wants to join, regardless of their religious or political beliefs, is welcome at all of their meetings. They want to break the “stigma” surrounding church, which Dio says “is fun and exciting,” and they would love the chance to prove it to you. If you are interested in joining, Vox Gen meets every last Friday of the month in Room 12-202.

By Devin Gowdy

At the end of the school year, since no current seniors wanted to take over the club, the Gender Sexuality Alliance disbanded when last year’s seniors graduated. However, the new junior leaders, Mariana Lopez and Toyo Adenekan, decided to revive the club because they believe that GSA is an incredibly important space to have at Middle College. The club leaders want to “break the stereotype of being queer” and facilitate an environment in which LGBTQ students and allies can talk about sensitive topics without any judgment. In the future, GSA plans on doing “low-key” activities such as decorating cookies, painting, volunteering, and organizing a drag day for Middle College. They want to do activities that incorporate pride as much as possible. If you are interested in joining the Gender Sexuality Alliance, they meet every other Tuesday in Room 12-220.

By Jaden Luke

When thinking of leadership within the Middle College community, Sunshine Club immediately comes to mind. Senior Alexis Centeno decided to continue the club from last year, taking on its official leadership position. Their main focus is event planning for the community and making a direct impact on the students around them through cooperating with CSM’s Child Development Center, organizing the school dance, and fundraising for other ideas club members come up with, like community days. The club is looking for dedicated members who are willing to take on leadership responsibilities and meet alternating Fridays (to MCU) in Room 14-117.

by Jaden Luke

Need a space to relax? The Cards for Humanity club was started this year by senior Mira Venugopal as a space to get away from the stress of school and to simply hang out. In the MC community, connection is key—and the club is only striving for that. Card games are a great way to connect with people, and what better way to connect than talking with friends (both new and existing) while playing them? The club meets in Room 14-116 during Thursday advisories, so if you decide to stop by, bring ideas for card games.

Devin Gowdy & Jaden Luke

Steven Acuna Delgado

Siddharth Bharwani

Diego Figueroa

Ryle Fu

Michaela Gonzalez

Landon Gutierrez

Sarah Grover

Jay Harvey

Blythe Jones

Brooke Mendez

Adger Middleton

Maxwell Miller

Loralei Rohrbach

Mimi Wilson

Katie Yeh