The last day

Today is the last day at C2C. I am going to miss all of the new people that i have meet. C2C has change alot about me. i really do look forward to comming back next year.

Jakira

BOWLING! By First Period Writing Class

"I really enjoyed bowling," said Manny, "because it is fun!" 

"It had good food," added Edgar. "But their fries tasted burnt," countered Jakira.

The student workers and teachers took the Freshmen class bowling at Winona Bowl. 

Was anyone any good at bowling?

Manny said, "I scored a 113!"  Jocksy said she was good at first, but then got worse.  Jakira advised picking the right ball.  "I liked the #8."  Alejandra advises throwing the ball straight, and Rocio claims she got a first place!

Banquet Part 2

There were ACADEMIC AWARDS.  Afterall, this is an academic boot camp!  The following were the award winners:

The Vocabulary Award: Aldontae Guess, Asminda Santoyo, and Priscilla Hart

The Reading Award:  Antonio Garcia, Frydha Cordova, and Maria De Los Angeles Perez

The Math Award:  Tatiana Jones  and Angel Bahena

The Writing Award:  Cesar Gonzalez and Isabel Garcia

Awards Banquet

Tonight our Freshmen Class celebrated the Awards Banquet.  We met MaryAnn & Jack Remick, who are the sponsors of Countdown To College.  We thanked them for their investment in our education.  We also celebrated our achievements.  The following are the award winners:

The Rising Star Award:  Atiya Hall, Rocio Nieto, Jessica Salas, Manuel, Reynoso, Angel Garcia, and Jose Sanchez

The Special Achievement Award: Jakira Robinson, Jocksy Ojeda, Stanley Wright, Edgar Mejia, and Maria De Los Angeles Perez.

And the Star Performance Awards: Aeisha Walls, Kyana Henry, Frydha Cordova, Tatiana Jones, Priscilla Hart, Antonio Garcia, Aldontae Guess, Isabel Garcia, Asminda Santoyo, Alejandra Pina, Fabian Alvarez, Angel Bahena, and Cesar Gonzales

To the "Freshmen"!

It has been a pleasure getting to know you all this week. You are now making memories you'll remember for a long time to come. Make the most of this opportunity! Let's continue to put forth much effort. Looking forward to seeing your growth over the next four years.

Meet the Students~ Student Interviews

For their first writing assignment, students had to interview each other and write a paragraph about their partner. Below are the interview pairs. Please Comment! The students would love to hear from you!

~Ms. Donohue

Aldontae & Antonio

Aldontae is a big surprise! He is two and a half inches taller than me. Although he does not do any sports, he always has something to do. Surprisingly, we both like to eat cheeseburgers and fries and both of us li8ke to dance. Aldontae wants to be a director when he grows up and I would actually go see a movie of his. He is really into “Star Trek” and his favorite character is Captain James T. Kirk. Aldontae is an amazing person.

 Interviewed by Antonio Garcia

My roommate Antonio Garcia is a very outgoing person with varied interests. His amazing favorite color is blue. His all-time favorite movie is “Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.” From Transformers his favorite character is the jazzy Camaro Bumblebee. His favorite television show to watch is Jersey Shore. He is 14 years old and is 5”6 in height. Antonio loves the Mexican classic Pambozos. He loves to play Soccer in his free time; it is also his favorite sport. When he is an adult he wants to be either an Architect or be a Food Engineer. Lastly, his role model is Ronaldinho. These are just a few facts on Antonio Garcia.

Interviewed by Aldontae Guess

Aeisha & Tatiana

Aeisha Walls is an absolutely amazing person. She is very unique in her own way. Aeisha is 14 years old and was born October 18, 1996. She lives in Chicago, Illinois. She thinks that Chicago has the best McDonald’s and the people who live there are lively and exciting. She also loves all the parties! She attended San Miguel Gary Comer Campus.  Aeisha is good at writing poetry, speaking in public, and spinning flags. Two things that she could never live without are her poetry book and her music. Aeisha’s favorite food is pasta. Even though I just met Aeisha this week, I already think she is an absolutely amazing person and I hope I can learn more about her so we can become better friends.

Interviewed by Tatiana Jones

Tatiana Marie Jones is a west-sider, who came from Catalyst Circle Rock. She was born on December 6, 1996 (14 yrs.). She was born in Chicago. She didn’t come to the C2C-4 program alone; Miss Jones came along with Adontae and Kyana. People tell Tatiana that she has a great singing voice, but she still doesn’t know for sure. Her two favorite colors are Black and Yellow, which comes from watching her favorite show SpongeBob. During her free time she likes to do a lot of activities, such as, write poems, watch TV txt and IM on Facebook. 

Interviewed by Aeisha Walls

Priscilla & Stanley

Today, I just found out little more about a girl name Priscilla. She likes to try new things. She has three brothers; she likes to do cheerleading but wants to try softball, soccer and volleyball. She was born in 1997, on June 14. Her favorite class is writing, because we are talking through our mouths and our words. I think she is a cool person, because she is a quiet person.  She is helpful, she likes to laugh and she doesn’t mind when I call her ‘Steven’!  Her favorite color is red and her favorite animal is a panda. I think that she is a good friend and a good person.                                                                                                         Interviewed by Stanley Wright

This is my friend Stanley; we met at this outstanding camp in Minnesota. Spectacular Stanley’s real name is Stanley Wright. He was born on December 7, 1996, in Chicago.  He is the only child, but not spoiled at all. He likes not having siblings because he does not have to share anything. Although, he does get bored at times, and occasionally gets lonely. He enjoys football and baseball, and he would like to be a lawyer when he grows up. His favorite class is this one, writing, out of all the ones he has been to today. 

Interviewed by Pricilla Hart

Manuel & Rocio

In writing my partner was Manuel. He is 14 years old and has two brothers and one sister in his family (including his parents of course). His name was picked by his own mother because his grandfather’s name was Manuel as well. When he was in 2^nd grade he started wearing glasses. In school his favorite subject was science. When he wants to see a movie he prefers to watch “Transformers.” He says he is terrible at drawing even though I haven’t seen him draw yet. His favorite color is the color gray or a kind of steel color. He enjoys playing soccer, paintballing, and go-carting.

Interviewed by Rocio Nieto

My partner for the activity was Rocio. She is 14 years old and lives in Illinois. She says she has no pets but has two younger brothers which makes her the oldest. She also says she is good at playing softball. Rocio also said she came to Saint Mary’s on the same bus the parents left in. she added that it took about six hours to arrive. Finally she said that she would be attending Noble Street College Prep for high school.

Interviewed by Manuel Reynoso

Jose & Kyana

Jose Sanchez is a neutral person and very sociable. He’s a 13 year-old boy who lives in Racine, Wisconsin and was born August 16, 1997. He says there isn’t a real crazy explanation behind his name, and he also says that he is the second oldest of his siblings. In his free time, he eats nachos, enjoys soccer, plays videogames, texts a lot, and fiddles around on Facebook. Now that he’s here, he has a roommate named Cesar and is having a great time. Although, he is quite upset about the weather, he admits that he doesn’t miss home yet.

Interviewed by Kyana Henry

My partner’s name is Kyana and she’s from Chicago IL. She is 14 and her birthday is on December 16, 1996.  She is going to Lane Tech High School. She is the youngest one in her family, and she likes to play video game on her X-Box 360.  She likes to play shooting games and adventures. What she likes about Chicago is the food and the malls. She really enjoys math class and she like the movie “The Lion King.” She doesn’t have a favorite food and she is rooming with Interesting Isabel. She wanted the gum I offered her, and she doesn’t like to jump rope.  She was born in Chicago and came on the bus. Her name came from the day she was born. A patient nearby to her mom wanted to call her Khyon but her mom change it to Kyana.

Interviewed by Jose Sanchez

Jessica & Maria

Jessica Salas is one of my best friends. I met her when I was in 6^th grade. Our school’s name was San Miguel Middle School. In our first year of middle school, we didn’t talked too much to each other. In 7^th and 8^th grade we started to talk more to each other, we learned many things about each other, and then we became friends. She is a really nice person and she is fun to be around with. Whenever I needed help on something she was there to help me. She is a funny person and she likes to go to fun places. I consider her as a best friend because she trusted me and I trust her. I believe that if there is no trust then it is not a friendship. I value her friendship and she has showed me a lot of things like how she is a good friend and how she cares for others. I believe that even though we are going to be in different high schools I will always treat her as my best friend.

Interviewed by Maria Perez

A person so nice like Maria de los Angeles Perez is a friendly person. Maria was born on May 19^th, 1997. She has a younger sibling who she gets along with really well. Her favorite subject in school is math and someday she will like to go to college and become a teacher to help students. Maria is a person who will give up her time just to help out other people with any kind of problem. Marvelous Maria is someone who thinks about other people before her.  Thanks to her personality, many people understand stuff better because she makes everything more clear. That is one thing many people like about her.

Interviewed by Jessica Salas

Edgar & Jocksy

Edgar Aguilar is a fourteen years old, and loves his family dearly. HE has one sister and a brother, and doesn’t have any pets because they all ran away. He sometimes like school and his favorite subject is gym. When he grows up, he wants to work as an FBI. Edgar’s favorite color is blue and he listens to Lil Wayne, DJ Fiesto, and some rock. Overall, Edgar is a nice, funny person.

Interviewed by Jocksey Ojeda

Jocksy Ojeda is an interesting fourteen-year-old girl that lives in Los Angles, California.  She was raised in Wisconsin in a family with two sisters.  She plays soccer, does track, and dances during her free time.  Also, she hopes to become a doctor when she grows up.  Although she gets easily bored, she makes every day funny and joyful.  Jocksy Ojeda has many qualities that make her an interesting fourteen-year-old girl.

Interviewed by Edgar Mejia

Cesar & Isabel

It is a fun experience trying to get to know someone better, and today I learned more about Cesar. He was born on August 22, 1996. Cesar’s family consists of two siblings, an older sister and a younger brother. He is currently deciding between a career as an engineer or a doctor. In his free time, he likes to play on the computer, fix things, and play sports. Some of the sports Cesar likes to play are soccer, basketball, and tennis. He has two favorite soccer teams Chivas and Manchester. Even though he doesn’t like school he makes the best of it so it won’t be as boring. His experience in an all-boys school was fine, and this fall he will be attending Marquette High School. Overall Cesar is an active person.

Interviewed by Isabel Garcia

Isabel is an intelligent person who cares for everyone. Isabel was born to two loving Mexican parents on November 27, 1996. She lives in Milwaukee but wishes to be in Mexico. There are 6 family members in her family in total, and like in every family there is an odd ball, her little brother she says. Isabel expressed that she didn’t like school nor sports but cares for her family and friends. When asked what animal would she pick to be, she chose a bird for their freedom and liberty to do anything. I believe that Isabel would make a great president because she strongly believes in equality for all. Thus through my interview with her, I know that she has a great personality and will succeed in life.

Interviewed by Cesar Gonzalez

Atiya & Fabian

This is my friend Atiya Hall. She lives in Chicago and goes to Catalyst Schools-Howland. Her favorite subject is writing, and she plays girls softball. She listens to Pop, Rock, and R&B. Her favorite food is nachos with Takis. Atiya is really good at taking and creating pictures. She is not good at painting her nails with the opposite hand. Atiya also wanted to come to this program!

Interviewed by Fabian Alvarez

My Partner, Fabien J. Alvorez , has many likes and dislikes, favorites and non-favorites. Here are some:  his favorite food is pizza (yumm!), and his all-time favorite sport is soccer.  Fabien likes to shop at his favorite stores, Aeropostale and Hollister. His best friend’s name is Ivan. When asked what was his home life like he replied, “ghetto”. The one thing Fabien admits he is terrible at is writing!  The name “Fabien” comes from an old Mexican movie. Also, Fabien’s religion is Catholic.

Interviewed by Atiya Hall

Angel G & Frydha

This lovely summer, I made a new friend, Angel Garcia. As I was getting to know him, I found out quite a few interesting things about him, such as favorite foods, hobbies, and holidays he gets very elated about.

          Angel’s favorite foods are tacos and seafood. He’s passionate about and good at soccer, writing, playing the saxophone, the piano and singing. He enjoys dancing and the movie, Friday. Angel loves dogs. He says his favorite holidays are Christmas, New Years, and his birthday.

When he was younger, Angel’s dream was to be a graphic designer and now, he would like to become a pro-soccer player, buy a house for his parents, and buy himself a Lamborghini Riverton. Lastly, if he could trade shoes with a famous person, he would be Leo Messi because of his fascinating life and incredible ability to play soccer or he’d be Cristiano Ronaldo. And that is what my new friend has shared with me so far.

Interviewed by Frydha Cordova

Frydha is a very cool person. She loves to play basketball, volleyball and can also play the clarinet. Her favorite subject in school is Social Studies and she also likes Language Arts. She listens to Rap, Hip-Hop, and Rock most. The artists she mainly listens to are Drake and Kid Cudi. So far she has liked the experience of being here at Saint Mary’s University and cannot wait to take a swim in the pool. She misses home very little; she hates the humid weather of Minnesota though. One place that Frydha would like to go to is Australia. She says that she loves the way they speak and wants to learn more about their culture; she also likes the animals from there. She has around five different favorite colors, one of them is violet. I think it’s funny that she laughs whenever someone says ‘bubble’. Frydha is a very awesometastic human being.

Interviewed by Angel Garcia

Angel B & Asminda

My interviewee today was Angel Bahena, born in Iowa, February 9^th, 1997. Angel graduated from Nativity Jesuit Middle School and is going to Dominican High School this coming year. Berenice is his one and only sister and she is older than him and to Angel’s benefit, she helps him with his homework. Something great about Angel is his sense of humor because he can easily make someone crack a smile. When I asked Angel if he was good at cooking, he said it was pointless because there’s always preheating! The only pet in his house is a Chihuahua named Spot which his family cherishes very much. When it comes to relationships with friends, Angel has plenty because he doesn’t like the idea of having a best friend that’ll come and go. Angel has some great soccer skills and also has a passion for basketball; he still isn’t sure what he wants to do with his life yet though. Whatever it is Angel ends up with, I can tell will be perfect because of his great dedication to accomplish things and sticks to his goals. Keep it up Angel!

Interviewed by Asminda Santoyo

This scorching summer, I made a new friend named Jasmine Santoyo. I knew who she was, but I didn’t really know much about her.  I found out many fascinating things that I didn’t know like her favorite food and things that she is good at.

Jasmine was born in California on September 17, 1997. She is thirteen years old and she has two pet dogs. She moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when she was three years old and her elementary school was Vieau School. She has recently graduated from Notre Dame Middle School. 

Jasmine is good at doing many things. But one of her specialties is meeting new people. She is very friendly and loves to communicate with people. Her favorite type of food is shelled tacos. Especially the shelled tacos from the taco shop. Jasmine is a very hungry but friendly girl.

There are many entertaining things about Jasmine. She has two pet dogs named Princess and Hushy. In Notre Dame she loved to play Volleyball because it was her favorite sport. Jasmine is afraid of heights, but when it comes to money, she said that she would sky dive for one million dollars.  Jasmine was an amusing girl to interview.

Alejandra & Jakira

This is a crazy, outgoing girl name Alejandra, who was born in Chicago. In her free time she likes to play Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball. She has a small family, unlike me. She has 2 brothers that are 12 and 13 yrs. If she could be an animal she would like to be a pretty Dolphin. Her favorite song is Best love by T-Pain.  I see that Alejandra loves to eat her favorite food is Tacos, Tamales, and Enchiladas. Alejandra is not taken by anyone because she broke up with her boyfriend last week. Alejandra really does need to take singing lessons because she doesn’t know how to sing. The main thing that Alejandra and I have in common is that we both love to shop at the mall. Alejandra is a great girl who has a lot going for herself. The main thing I notice about her is that she loves to laugh. She is a very cool girl to be around that’s why I hope that after the trip me and her can hang out and learn more about each other.

Interviewed by Jakira Robinson

Sometimes you can say that a person is nice, but I say that Jakira is not nice, she’s marvelous! Once you meet her you would want to spend all day with her. I am so lucky to have a partner like Jakira. She’s is astonishing and loves to dance and sing. She blows her candles out on January 23, 1997 and currently lives with her mom, older sister, and 2 younger siblings. Dogs are her favorite animals. Jakira likes candy but does not have a favorite type of candy. Singing and dancing are her favorite hobbies, and she is going to teach me how to Douggie.  She prefers McDonalds to BK because she says that food from BK taste like it’s burned. If Jakira were to pick between Chris Brown and Bow-Wow, she would pick Chris Brown because he’s better looking and because he knows how to shake it. Jakira is currently taken by Armand, the love of her life♥. She likes the color black and likes mostly all kinds of music. Overall, if you met Jakira it would be a blast because she is such a wonderful friend that likes to have an enjoyable time!

Interviewed by Alejandra Piña

A Reflection by Jakira

First I would like to say that I am glad that I am able to attend C2C. This program is great. C2C helps me a lot in Math, Reading,Vocabulary, and Writing. I really do like the staff and the kids. I have never met a group of kids like the C2C kids; they really care about you. I cant wait until next year I am really looking forward to seeing everyone again.

~By Jakira Robinson

National Eagle Center

So far I really liked the National Eagle center. When we were there we got to take a tour of the amazing place. Also we got to acually have photo ops with a real eagle. We even got to have Eagles 101 with a expert. And we got to see two eagles eat dinner (aka rats) in front of us. I had a amazing time at the National Eagle center and I hope to go there again.

~By Aldontae Guess

Prepare for Take Off!

The second class for Countdown 2 College at St. Mary's University, MN, arrived on campus on Saturday. They come from all across the Midwest (and Arizona!) to participate in this unique college-readiness camp. Oh, and they are all incoming FRESHMEN in High School! They will come back to St. Mary's every summer until college.

Would you like to meet them?