When you hear the word “summer”, what do you imagine? Popsicles, barbecues, sun, beaches, airplanes, family time, movies, relaxing sunsets, flip flops? -chiara kovac
When you hear the word “summer”, what do you imagine? Popsicles, barbecues, sun, beaches, airplanes, family time, movies, relaxing sunsets, flip flops? Many OSA students are excited to receive a break from school, or at least start a new school year, and many people enjoy the idea of a longer set time to relax. But what are students at OSA doing for their summer vacations?
This summer, Charlotte Porter, an 8th-grade literary artist, is dancing in two dance intensives. She is dancing at In The Groove dance studio and each intensive is three weeks long. She is also going to New York with her mother because her mother will be showing her trays in a tray show. Charlotte always goes there because she loves New York. Once she gets back from New York and in between the dance intensives, Charlotte will go on a week-long vacation. The destination of the vacation is not decided yet, and the vacation is shorter than usual because the family normally takes a two-week vacation. In the past Charlotte has taken lots of theater, but this summer she focuses more on dance.
6th-grade visual artist, Dulguun (Leah) Bayarsaikhan, is going to Disneyland. She has never been there and is excited to go with her dad, sister, and mother. Dulguun says, “I usually go wherever my parents want to go”. She also tells me that she once went to summer camp in Mongolia when she was six (they lived there at the time).
Trevor Walton, a 6th grader in literary arts, has a summer filled with spending time with his family. Every year he goes to Las Vegas because it is a family vacation and tradition from before he was born. In his opinion, Las Vegas “Gets better every year.” In Las Vegas, Trevor goes swimming in the hotel’s pool and other vacation activities. Sometimes he meets up with other family there from his mom’s side. Trevor will also attend a summer camp at Saint Mary's, a camp for soon-to-be middle schoolers to go hang out. Trevor also mentioned that you had control over which classes you took at this camp. One class he is taking a class on strength and conditioning. He is not taking swimming lessons, as he did in the past this summer because the classes are too beginner for him. Overall Trevor says ”Summer is important because it is the longest time to spend time with your family. We always need a break(from work and school).”
6th-grade literary artist, Milo, is going on a trip across Europe. He is excited because he has never been out of the country before. Milo’s mom and sister are going to London, France, and Ireland with him before returning to the United States. Then he will go to San Diego for his mom’s annual work retreat. Since his sister bought him a ticket to Disneyland, Milo and his mother will go there after the work retreat. In summers past, Milo has gone to Branson, Missouri to visit his grandma. Overall, Milo uses his summer for traveling.
7th-grade visual artist, Rhiannon, says she is “Just going on trips and stuff”. She is going to Michigan to visit her grandparents and might also see her cousins there as well. Later, she is attending summer camp at Skylark Ranch. As one of her summer traditions, Rhiannon also camps with her dad at Lake Tahoe. She also claims that watching too much Netflix is a tradition. Two years ago Rhiannon went on a trip along the Danube river and traveled to countries like Germany, Austria, Slovakia.
Treice, a literary artist in 6th grade, is visiting her aunt in Virginia for two weeks. She is excited to see her baby cousin Roman and go kayaking. After that, she will be hanging around at her house and babysitting her sister. Triece also visits her grandparents, in Montera, for two days to swim and go on a classic movie marathon. “Summer is my favorite time of year because it is usually hot and no school and usually no stress,” she says. Triece also enjoys summer because she gets to have more sleepovers and see friends more often.
Leah Seymore, a 6th-grade instrumentalist, says that she is “probably not going anywhere” for her summer. She might be getting surgery to remove her tonsils and later on she will be taking swimming lessons. Leah says she will be attending summer school at Lafayette Elementary. In the past, she went to Freedom School, an empowerment summer school. When asked if she liked summer school Leah said, “Well you get used to it and it doesn’t bother me much anymore.”
A literary artist, Cecilia Fontaine,is going to learn how to be a CIT (counselor in training) at Studio One. Studio One is an art camp in Oakland that she has been going to since she was six. Cece also remembers going to Six Flags and drinking a ginormous coke with her counselors and fellow campers. In addition to that, she will be going to Fresno for a sort of Church activity learn-about-god vacation. In summers past the church family vacation was in Vegas, and Cece recalls that there was a very good Panda Express inside the hotel they stayed at. She says she will also visit her 90-year-old grandma and grandpa in Escondido. They don’t speak English but Cece can communicate enough, “Once when my grandma asked if I spoke Spanish, I said un poco (a little) and she was so flattered!”. She also plans on visiting her Auntie (or Tia, as Cece calls her) and cousin in San Diego.
Students at OSA like to travel the world, visit their family, explore their passions and relax at home. Sounds like a great way to spend your summer vacation! Many students have worked really hard all year, and it is fair to give them the break they deserve.