October 31, 2008 (Friday)

LSI had its 1st Annual Halloween Bash for all four LSI campuses on Friday, October 31st. The party was held up on the roof of downtown LSI’s building and included a delicious Chinese dinner and a chocolate fountain! One of the highlights of the night was the costume contest, where students showed off their creative and unique costumes on a runway surrounded by dozens of partygoers acting as judges. At the end of the night, a male student from Torrance, dressed up as a gorgeous girl, won first place, with runner-ups from all four schools. Each winner received gift cards! Another highlight was the Pumpkin Carving Contest. Each school participated by bringing a few pumpkins the students had carved earlier in the day. The partygoers looked at the pumpkins on display and voted for the best ones. The vote was very close, but in the end, Torrance received first place, followed closely by LA and OC. Afterwards, partygoers danced the night away with a live DJ. Everyone had a fabulous time and we are eagerly awaiting the 2nd Annual Halloween Bash next year!

September 12, 2008 (Friday)

On Friday, September 12th, Language Systems held its first College Fair at the LSI - LA campus. Several well-known and important colleges were there including CSUN, SMC, PCC, and LAHC. All in all, there were nine colleges participating. Many students came from all four campuses to meet with the college representatives to discuss transfering to college and about different career options. Afterwards, many of the students attending the fair asked if LSI could have a fair more often. Considering how well everything went, we'll keep you posted on any future College Fairs or events!

August 22, 2008 (Friday)

Language Systems had its annual Beach Party on a beautiful Friday in August. There were plenty of games and excitement. Each school came prepared for the volleyball contest. LSI-LA even designed its team's shirts! In the end, Fullerton came in 1st in the volleyball tournament with LA a close second. Many of the students enjoyed the beautiful weather, just hanging out with friends or going for a swim. All four schools also competed in several other contests, many of which LSI - LA won. At the end of the day, LSI - LA ended up having the most points of all the schools and took home the trophy! You can view the trophy in the lobby of LSI - LA. Way to go!

June 20, 2008 (Friday)

The annual LSI Luau party was held on June 20th.  Students from all four schools got together to celebrate the begining of Summer with a fun competition, karoake, and dancing at Oiwake in LA.  Each school prepared an act (singing, dancing, etc...) to present to everyone and to be judged for a prize.  LA made a "beauty pagent" with four gorgeous contestants and a funny MC who ends up stealing the crown!  LSI - Alhambra presented a "chinagin act" where someone's face was painted upside down to look like a puppet!  LSI - OC and LSI - Torrance both presented musical acts with bands and a lot of dancing!  It was difficult for the judges to choose the best performance, but in the end LA won a $500 first prize!  LSI - OC came in second with a $300 prize, LSI - Alhambra third with movie tickets and LSI - Torrance placed fourth with gift cards from Starbuck's!

June 18, 2008 (Wednesday)

The Film Group Project has already made 5 movies at L.S.I.. The first one is CRAZY FOR YOU, a love story full of mystery and confusion. The second movie is a horror/comedy, ZOBY THE ZOMBI. Some scenes were pretty scary, and the make up was pretty impressive. The third movie, STRANGERS, is a drama based on a real story. An international student comes to LA and feels lonely at times. His routine makes his life very hard until he meets someone very special… The fourth movie, ROBBER SCHOOL, is a great comedy. The acting and plot are amazing! I laughed so much my cheeks hurt! This coming Friday we will watch F.G.P.’s 5th movie at the graduation party! I will write about it and let you know how it was! If you want to join the F.G.P., just go to room G on 07/11. We meet every Friday from 1:30 to 4:00!!! See you there!

June 15, 2008 (Sunday)

LSI - OC hosted a soccer tournament on Sunday, June 16th at a park in Yorba Linda. All four campuses showed up in full force, ready to play for fun and for the 1st place trophy! The LA team was very impressive, but unfortunately did not make it to the final championship game. However, LA played an excellent game for third place against LSI - Torrance, winning 4 - 0. LSI - Alhambra won 1st place over LSI - OC in overtime, 5 - 4. Everybody had a great time and there was a pizza party afterwards for all participants and fans. Several teachers and students want to have a tournament more often, so there may be another tournament coming soon and another chance for LA to win the trophy! We'll keep you posted!

June 10, 2008 (Tuesday)

Leslie Landey, the International Student Recruiter from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), visited LSI - LA at the first of June and gave a presentation to about 25 students. The students had a lot of questions and she was there for about an hour and a half. She said that she was impressed with all the questions the students had and wished that she had more time to meet with them. The presentation was a good chance for students to learn about attending universities in the U.S. and to see the different options available for higher education in California. LSI plans to ask CSUN to come to its College Fair in September. In that fair, students will be able to visit the booths of about 15 different colleges and/or universities. Since it will be an all-day event, there will be more opportunities for students to get their questions answered and to discuss their options with several different college/university representatives.

--- College Fair ---
Language Systems - Downtown is having a College Fair on Friday, September 12th, from 11:30 - 5:00. There will be 15 colleges and universities participating in the event, so it is a great chance for students to come and discuss different options in education with experts in the field. This is a free event for participants and students. Refreshments will be served throughout the day. We can't wait see you there!

May 21, 2008 (Wednesday)

On 05/21, Katie Westfall from the Stormwater Program (City of Los Angeles), visited our school to talk about storm water pollution. It was really interesting to learn a little bit more about how things such as soap, cigarette butts, and even pet waste (poop), can be extremely harmful to human beings and wildlife when they end up in the ocean and rivers after a rainstorm. Katie tested the students’ comprehension skills while playing a game about the topic! Here are some tips we learned from Katie to prevent this type of pollution:

Don’t liter! Don’t throw cigarette butts in the streets!

Dispose pet waste in trash cans!

Recycle!

Wash your car with biodegradable soap!

Don’t throw paint and solvents, used motor oil, aerosol cans, medicine, computers, monitors, electronics, etc, in trash cans or down a drain. They are too toxic! Take these items to a S.A.F.E. Center! Here are the addresses to our closest S.A.F.E. centers:

Washington Blvd SAFE Center
2649 E. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90021

UCLA SAFE Center
550 Charles E. Young Dr. W.
Los Angeles, CA 90095

LA SAFE Center
4600 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039

For more information on storm water pollution and what we can do to prevent it, go to www.LAstormwater.org