BY GUADALUPE REMIGIO

Matt Pitchford (10) visited Australia this past summer.

Another summer has passed and students will remember it in many different ways.

Sophomore Matthew Pitchford and Junior Christian Coelho went with People to People to Australia, Figi, and New Zealand this summer. They spent 22 days there spanning most of the month of July.

They got to visit museums and various villages and also went to the Sydney Opera House located in the capital of Australia.

Senior Anthony Quercia also went with People to People to China. He spent two and a half weeks in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Xi’an. He got to see places like the Great Wall, Hard Rock Café Beijing, and the Summer Palace. He also got to see wonders such as the Terra Cotta Army.

“My favorite place was Shanghai because it was really advanced,” Quercia said. He looks forward to visiting Europe next summer with People to People.

Sophomore Samantha Pena did something somewhat different this summer. She spent five weeks in summer school taking English 9 with Mr. Curran. Not the best thing to do in summer, however she did have fun since she got to spend time with friends and the best thing: she passed the class.

Science instructor Veronica Gomez spent five weeks of her summer teaching summer school.  She taught Earth Science to a small class of sophomores and juniors.

“It was nice because it was a small group of kids. With a lot of work to do the weeks went by really fast.” Gomez said. After summer school she spent a week at Disneyland and Pismo Beach with her family. When asked about the best thing during summer she said, “Getting my summer school paycheck.”

Summer camps were also something students participated in this summer. Juniors Deandre Dickson and Sal Olvera both went to FCA camp this summer.

“It was really fun and I met new people,” Dickson said.

Athletes like Dickson and Olvera go to FCA camp to play sports and develop their Christian beliefs.

“I loved it,” Olvera said, “It changes lives.”

Spanish instructor Gaby Villalobos got to visit Canada this summer for five days with her husband. They had fun watching a fireworks show, taking a horse-drawn tour and something every teenager girl could appreciate, she got to see Zac Efron in person.

Other students like seniors Ashlee Sullivan, John Hills, and Amanpreet Virk and Lexi Bartsch participated in the summer leadership and citizenship programs such as Boys State, Girls State and a National Student Leadership Camp program for Health.

“Boys state taught me how to appreciate our form of government and I met awesome people,” Virk said.

Principal Joey Campbell believes programs such as FCA camp and other kinds of athletic camps are beneficial to our students because it helps students stay engaged and focused on something during the summer.

“You’re doing positive things and learning,” Campbell said.