Roaring through the first semester

You may not be able to find this definition from Webster or even your local doctor, but if you have any of these symptoms: headaches, sweaty palms, quick temper or a general sense of dread, you may be suffering from school overload. As Live Oak High School's first semester continues, so do the deadlines, projects and overall stress levels.

For us seniors, we are faced with the constant lectures concerning college applications, SAT scores and future plans. To say we all feel intimidated and apprehensive is an understatement. Fortunately, at LOHS, the students involved in the A.V.I.D. program are trying to relieve some of this worry.

The first three days this week, there was a college fair put on by our head AV.I.D. teacher, David Anderson. The assignment was for students to work in groups and choose a school, ranging from a private university, a CSU or a UC, and make a display board as well as a brochure.

"We're trying to help the older students get an idea of which school they would like to attend, and at the same time, trying to expose the younger students to all of the options out there," said Anderson. Students' displays included everything from the school location, the admissions process, certain requirements, tuition and extracurricular activities offered.

Junior Tony Montes's group did their project on California State University, Long Beach, and he said that the fair "was very interesting and not only did I learn about a new school, but I learned about the CSU system in depth."

Sandra Alcantar, a senior, took something else from her project on Saint Mary's University, however. She said, "I finally was able to look into everything this school offered and am very excited to apply there now."

Though all of the A.V.I.D. students learned a lot from this, so did many other students, such as the students of Live Oak Middle School and Manzanita Elementary School, who also attended the fair.

Though academics may be overwhelming to the students at LOHS, we all have many things to be excited about. All three sports teams have winning records and, most importantly, our varsity football team beat our rival last week, the Gridley Bulldogs, winning the first Harvest Bowl 33-9.

Homecoming is next week, which will be full of crazy dress-up days, class competitions, spirit rallies, a powder-puff football game and, of course, homecoming royalty. This will give everyone a much-needed break from the mid-semester blues.

As the fall approaches, we at Live Oak High School can only hope for cooler weather and a continued roar of the lion.

Melissa Anderson is a senior at Live Oak High School. Her column appears about every sixth week in Education.