Middle College Fall 2020 Newsletter |
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Newsletter is here to provide you with positivity through quarantine :) |
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Oct 8th: Environmental Club Movie Night (5pm)
Oct 9th: PD Day (No HS Classes)
Oct 15th: Community Day (No CSM Classes)
Oct 16th: Screens-Off Day (No HS Classes)
Nov 11th: Veteran's Day Holiday
Nov 25-27th: Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec 14-18th: College Finals
Dec 17-18th: HS Finals
Dec 18th: End of Fall Semester
Jan 7th: Spring Orientation Begins
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Upcoming Advisory Workshops |
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COLLEGE + CAREER
Oct 6th/7th: Navigating the UC Application
Oct 13th/14th: Navigating the CSU Application
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WELLNESS
Oct 22nd: Wellness Drop-in
A space for community and connection with peers through check-ins, activities, self-care practices, and group mindfulness exercises. This group will meet every 2 weeks and is limited to 20 students. Sign up link to come.
Oct 23rd: Seize the Awkward How to talk with friends about mental health
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Our MC Themes for 2020-21 |
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This year, the Middle College community experienced an orientation that was similar in some ways, but entirely “2020-ish” in others. Gathering online from August 10-18th, we focused our time together on developing the strong community bonds that have always been a cornerstone of the Middle College program. The orientation began with a program-wide Zoom gathering, which gave MC students a chance to reconnect with classmates from last year as well as get to know the newest members of the community - our MC class of 2022 (woop woop!). MC students competed in an MC trivia game (congrats Alan!) and met in breakout rooms to get to know one another. We then met with our Advisory classes, a group of around 30 Middle College students, who would meet every day at 11 a.m. for the rest of the year, making this group an essential part of MC students' consistent support network. Over the next four days, this group broke into even smaller cohorts to discuss ways we can integrate our three core MC themes - connection, balance and compassion - into our lives this year with intention and consistency, while simultaneously learning about MC and CSM "How-To's" and resources around wellness, mental health, and safety. We concluded our orientation with our Advisory group on August 18th, connecting one final time before beginning the adventure of high school and college classes. By the time we all logged off on the last day of orientation, it was clear that, despite the unusual circumstances, we were already becoming a community that we could all count on to help us not just survive but thrive in the year ahead.
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MC students stopped by the DO to pick up their materials (and say hi!) |
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Middle College in the News!! |
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MC Senior Hannah Levine recognized in the SF Chronicle for her organization Hannah's Warm Hugs!!
“If you get a hat from a stranger, it’s different than if you get a hat made by someone you know,” she said. “A hat from a stranger says the community is there, right beside you. That you haven’t been forgotten.”
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Middle College Poll Results |
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If you had to choose ANY music album that got you through shelter-in-place...what would it be....? 🎵 |
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What movie(s)/show(s) did you binge-watch over quarantine? 🎥🍿 |
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What is one activity/experience that you did over the summer to make it somewhat worthwhile? |
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Top 5 Answers:
"I went driving in RC's in the red san dunes of Utah"
"Watched a movie on the side of a road and got egged"
"Took driving permit test"
"I took three classes, two of which were college courses (haha I did something that I didn't regret doing!"
"Biking to south bay"
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What is a hobby you started doing since quarantine/shelter-in-place started? 🧶 |
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What has been your best achievement during quarantine? |
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Pics of our (mostly) furry quarantine buddies! |
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Photo Competition
Best photo you took over quarantine (Top 5)📷
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Be honest... were you actually looking forward to school starting or were you happy with a fairly mellow summer? |
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Chess club is a fun time. We spend time trying to figure out how to use discord lol... oh and sometimes we play chess. 😄
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"Chess club helps students interact with others as we help each other learn different strategies and rules about chess. I personally find chess club to be a safe, relaxing environment where I can just play chess and release my stresses".
-- Anudari
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"Chess Club is about teaching students how to play chess as well as helping them develop winning strategies in chess games. In the club, we focus on how to interact with every game piece in different contexts of the match and how to analyze different games played by other people".
-- Alan v
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Mark your Calendars!
MC Environmental Club is hosting a movie night on October 8th at 5pm on Zoom!
Don't miss it!
Anybody is welcome to join :)
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Self-care tips for balancing school and mental well-being
By: Maya Srimal
- Get plenty of sleep (8-10 hours each night!)
- Turning off electronics 30 minutes before sleeping to ensure better and undistracted rest
- Eat healthy and nutritional meals to maintain energy throughout the day
- Exercise helps reduce stress levels
- Taking breaks during studying to refuel
- Meditation and yoga can help relax and relieve stress
- Set realistic goals for yourself so you can stay motivated all year long
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MC Songs to Self-Quarantine/Wash Your Hands to
By: Jacob Basnage
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Bored or need a break from homework? Ease your mind and do this word search...
By: Justin Lai
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Here's some jokes to keep you smilin' through COVID-19
By: Ty Emanuel
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Q: Why do fish always sing off key?
A: Because you can’t tuna fish!
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Q: What comes down but never comes up?
A: Rain
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Q: Why can’t a leopard hide?
A: Because they are always spotted!
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Q: What did the big flower say to the little flower?
A: Hi, bud!
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Fun Things To Do While in Quarantine!
By: Lauren Pravdin
- Watch all the really long movies you’ve avoided until now.
- Meditate. Try lying down with your eyes closed, palms up and while focusing on your breath. Or spend 20 minutes sitting crosslegged and repeat a soothing word to yourself in your head. (The latter is more like transcendental meditation.)
- Write actual letters to family and friends. After that? Write thank-you notes to service people who you remember went out of their way for you.
- Learn calligraphy. YouTube can help.
- Look at yourself in the mirror. Attempt a self portrait with pencil and paper
- Take time to reflect: What have you accomplished in the last year? What goals are you setting for yourself in the next year?
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Need some new scrumptious recipes?
We got you:
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The BEST Chewy Sugar Cookies!
By: Hannah Levine
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Serves 36 (if you actually make them small or unless you "by accident" eat most of the cookie dough hehe)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 ½ granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla (I recommend adding a little more hehe)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat or tray.
- Cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix until well-combined.
- Stir in flour, baking power, salt, and vanilla.
- Scoop cookie dough by the tablespoon full and roll into a ball.
- Add granulated sugar to a large bowl (or plate) for rolling cookie dough in before baking. Place each ball of cookie dough into the bowl of granulated sugar and roll to coat well. Place cookie dough onto baking sheet, spacing about 1 ½-inches to 2 inches apart. Lightly press each cookie down. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
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Crisp Peach Cobbler
By: Lauren Pravdin
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- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 45 mins
- Additional: 30 mins
- Total: 1 hr 35 mins
- Servings: 8
- Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 6 large fresh peaches, pitted and cut into eighths
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
Batter:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 1 ⅓ cups self-rising flour
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- ⅔ cup whole milk
Glaze:
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cold water, or as needed to wet topping sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on the rack under the middle rack to catch drips. Generously butter a 2-inch deep (2-quart) baking dish.
- Place peach sections into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and zest.
- Stir butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Mix until creamed and resembles a sugary, buttery paste, 4 to 5 minutes. Add oats and flour; stir until flour and oats are incorporated into the butter-sugar mixture and mixture resembles coarse crumbs, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in milk; stir until mixture is wet and creamy, like a thick spreadable batter, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Drop batter by spoonful on top of the peaches. Spread batter evenly over the surface of the peaches. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar on the batter. Spritz with water until sugar is wet and surface glistens.
- Bake in preheated oven on middle rack until browned and crispy, about 45 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
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Human or dog treat?
By: Marisa Weng
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Ingredients:
- ½ oats
- ½ water or chicken stock
- 1 tbs peanut butter
- 1 egg
- Your desired amount of chicken or salmon
Directions:
- Mix all on stove until everything is homogeneous and fully cooked.
- Throw into the freezer or refrigerator.
- Take out once cold, and enjoy!
- Just kidding, it’s for your dog but you can eat it too :^)
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Editor in Chief: Hannah Levine |
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Co-editor in Chief: Lawrence Kupfer |
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Managing Editor: Justin Lai |
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We're looking forward to a great year together! |
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