My Birthday Trip

By Addison

     Imagine celebrating your birthday surrounded by the ocean, with relaxing breezes and a wave of music and laughter. This is exactly how I felt on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia Of The Seas. Let me tell you about this amazing birthday trip!

     This trip consisted of three days heading to the Bahamas and Coco Kay. This ship had so many fun things to do like zip lining and rock climbing, and I had the best time. I celebrated with my best friend and her cousins, which made the cruise extra fun. They also had a Central Park and a Boardwalk, which had lots of restaurants and stores. There was even a candy shop and  carousel on the Boardwalk. 

     I especially don’t want to forget about the shows. Those included an aqua show where there were a ton of insane water tricks and high diving. Also, an ice show with professional ice skaters. There was also a laser show and a silent dance party as well. Then, there was a music hall that had a bar with live music at night and a walking area with a bunch of stores and restaurants. Overall, I had the best birthday weekend and I’m so happy and grateful that I went.

A Trip to Peru with National Geographic

By Lucas

I began my trip with a long airplane ride to Lima, Peru. When we arrived we drove an hour to a homemade lunch with their culture food which was very good. After many more hikes that day, we ended the day with a quaint hotel that were like mini homes. We stayed there and hiked for three days. When we were about to leave for another town in Peru we stopped at a local village. We noticed  that many women were using the natural environment as resources. 

It was cool until we arrived to Machu Picchu Town, and specifically to Huayna Picchu. We traveled via a train with a 360* view of wild life. After sleeping a night, the next morning we started our journey to Machu Picchu. The path there was very intense and interesting. It was just a bus driver with our lives in his hands. After a long four hour Machu Picchu tour, we headed back to the train station to go to the Amazon Rainforest, or so we thought. The train got delayed because the train before us got into an accident that had two trains collide on a single lane track. We were all lucky that we weren’t on that train. Because of the delay, we had to stay another night at Machu Picchu town. 

The next morning we headed to the train station to finally go to the Amazon Rainforest with a National Geographic guide. After arriving at a spot to get there we got on a boat that was three hours to the cabins in the middle of the rainforest. The food there was amazing, we had a mid-day hike and a hike in the middle of the night. During these hikes we saw many creatures, such as; walking stick bugs, sloths, bats, and many more. During the sleep, we had no air conditioning and no enclosed place, we had to put double layered nets to keep the bugs off for the next few days. On our way back we took the same boat ride and bus ride to the airport. We took off to a hotel. We spent our first day there and we had our last supper there. The next day we woke up at 4am in the hotel to go home, we were very lucky because it was a direct flight to Orlando. Overall, this trip to Peru with National Geographic was an amazing experience.

Study Tips

By: Aryan

     We all feel the pressure going into the second semester, so here are some tips to get ahead on your assignments and make studying easier. First, use a calendar to keep track of your assignments. Luckily, if you use Canvas, you have one built in, but if not, it is recommended to plot all due dates on a calendar. Secondly, use your free time. There is always a bit of extra time you can manage during the school day, so instead of talking to your friends or playing games, get started on an assignment. You’ll be more likely to come back once you start. Another trick is to complete assignments as soon as you can. This will free up more time for more important things in the future. If you wait, you will have too many assignments to manage and get stressed out.

     One study tip to use is to listen to music without lyrics. This will keep you from getting bored and stimulate the brain. Music with words will just distract you. Another study tip is to pretend you are teaching the material to students. Explain the material in your own words, and you will recollect your knowledge when it really matters. 

     Before we end, let’s talk about study groups or partners. Sometimes study partners can help you go over more material, but most times they can distract you. Only study with partners if they won’t distract you. Hopefully, you will find the tips helpful. Good luck with the second semester!

Telluride

By Ethan

     I awoke at 3:30am to get ready for a big day of travel. We had to fly from Orlando, to Dallas, then to Montrose, and finally drive to Telluride. We traveled with a group of friends who knew people in the area.

     Once in Telluride, we tiredly checked into our hotel room where we would stay for the next three days. The room had a loft, full kitchen, living room, and a downstairs area. We planned on going skiing, but there wasn’t enough snow and the ski patrol was on strike. The three days went by fast and after that we went to a remote ranch in  the mountains. It was a massive  ranch with ATVs, UTVs, and  lots of other cool things. The ranch was massive and we had a lot of fun.

     Finally, we said our goodbyes to the people we were staying with, gathered our things and headed home. The time change and plane flights were exhausting and by the time we got home it was 11:00pm. Overall, I had a great winter trip.