Artificial Intelligence
by Anaelle Tadros
Artificial intelligence isn’t a new concept; in fact, in 1956, John McCarthy coined the term at Dartmouth College. However, the topic of AI has become more common and has been popping up in a lot of conversations recently. There have been lots of questions about whether or not AI is beneficial for our society, or if it’s going to ruin and deteriorate the community. It has been especially controversial in terms of its uses in education. Lots of AIs are ones we are familiar with, like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana. Some other systems use AI too, like Tesla and the latest models from BMW. The car companies use AI algorithms for their self-driving models. Other situations where AI is used are in content creation in marketing, advertising, and movies.
Recently, it’s also been used to help with natural disasters. California’s main firefighting agency is using AI to find visual signs of wildfires. They’re using over a thousand high definition cameras to locate where fires are happening and determine how fast they are spreading. When signs are apparent, the AI models send alerts to the state’s fire department control center to prevent the fires from spreading. The only issue is that human confirmation is required to make sure that these alerts are true and not just false alarms. According to ArsTechnica.com, this has been a problem, with the alerts being frequently set off by fog or by steam from geothermal plants. Setting up these systems also takes a lot of time and effort, and could therefore take away resources and focus from other important emergency initiatives.
AI has a bit of a negative connotation, with many people worried it may soon be able to take over the world. However, our school has used it for a lot of great projects, such as informational posters in the hallways, and many are hoping to incorporate it into our learning environment even more. Because AI is guaranteed to be a part of our generation’s future, our school held a meeting on November 13th to discuss ways our school district could better incorporate AI in the classroom. During this meeting, several people discussed how they use various AI software, while others explained how they use AI in appropriate ways for their own artwork and in drafting college essays. One person used AI for help in compiling their resume and another proposed the idea of using AI to make team shirt designs.
In this meeting, problems from AI were also discussed, with some mentioning that the suitability of AI’s usage really depends on the person using it. AI can be thought of as a harmful resource because lots of individuals use it to cheat and plagiarize. However, if given to the right person, they will use it as a way to improve their work and learn more deeply. For example, one person may use AI to write an essay, giving them either no benefit in learning how to write effectively themselves or giving them an unfair advantage in the system, while another person may use AI responisibly to give their essay more polish, maybe using it to find stronger phrasing or correct grammar mistakes. A student mentioned using AI to ask questions about a topic they were unclear on from their science class, thus showing how AI allowed them to deepen their understanding. Speaking of cheating, AI is also useful in finding instances of plagiarism. Applications like Turn It In and Grammarly have AI softwares that are used to make sure students aren’t just copying and pasting another person’s work.
Recently, Principal Mr. Lauchu, Asst. Principal Mr. Rosenthal, Computer Science teacher Mr. Bradfield, and SciFi parent and STEM adviser Mr. Tsao sat down together to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence in the classroom, and LAUSD has released their discussion as a podcast.
Listen here: https://www.lausd.org/Page/16535
To prove the point that AI is quickly being incorporated into so many settings, I used ChatGPT for the first time in my life to write this concluding paragraph:
In conclusion, the advent of artificial intelligence has ushered in a transformative era, reshaping the landscape of industries, society, and human interaction. As AI continues to evolve, its potential for innovation and efficiency is undeniable, offering solutions to complex problems and unlocking new possibilities. However, the ethical implications and potential risks associated with AI demand careful consideration and responsible development. Striking a balance between harnessing the benefits of AI and safeguarding against its potential pitfalls is crucial for a sustainable and inclusive future.
If you have ideas about how AI can help improve our learning, don’t be afraid to share them with our teachers and administators!
Sources:
- What is Artificial Intelligence in 2024? Types, Trends, and Future of it?
- What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) ? | IBM
Homecoming 2023
By Milan Riley, Jordin Lim, and Ryan Park
On October 20th and 21st, the Science Academy celebrated Homecoming events, including a pep rally, Homecoming football game, and Homecoming Dance.
The pep rally occurred Friday in the gym during lunch and 5th period, and was attended by both East Valley High School and The Science Academy high school students. There were many surprise events, such as a performance by the Dance Club as well as a lip sync battle between our own Mr. Parks and an East Valley teacher. Students were also invited to participate in several light-hearted competitions. Besides these fun extras, the point of the rally was for the fall season Falcon sports teams to introduce themselves. These included girls’ flag football, girls’ volleyball, cross country, and last but definitely not least our beloved football team. Tying the event together were our cheerleaders, whose active involvement boosted the morale and excitement of the rally.
As for the Homecoming Football Game, our school played against Discovery High School. Our Falcons came out on top against the Bulldogs, winning 50 – 26. After the second quarter, a half-time performance was held as trucks carrying the homecoming court and our school’s ASB were paraded around the football field. After the performance, we continued the second half of the game and were able to not only bring home a trophy but also qualify for playoffs! While there were those who thought the popcorn was somewhat lacking, the game certainly wasn’t. The $5 tickets were well worth their price, and the triumphant game had a notable added effect of splendor under the dramatic evening sky.
Finally, the climax of Homecoming events took place on Saturday, October 21st, from 7-10 p.m. with our Homecoming Dance. From a freshman’s perspective, this indoor dance was definitely a step up from the outdoor dances we had in middle school. Purchasing a $12 ticket ($15 at the door) meant free pizza, chips, cake, and water. Accompany that with gorgeous decorations and lights, along with great music, and you have a formula for a fantastic dance! Toward the end of the night, we held a dance for the Homecoming king, Anthony M., and queen, Zahra R..
In the crowd were the other nobles of the Homecoming Court, listed below:
Grade 12: King – Anthony M., Queen – Zahra R.
Grade 11: Prince – Daniel S., Princess – Ava S.
Grade 10: Duke – Madison P., Duchess – Payton S.
Grade 9: Knight – Luis S., Lady – Kiahn L.
Thank you to all who helped to make the evening so special!
2023 Falcon football team at the Homecoming Dance
Read MoreNASA TechRise Challenge
by Ryan Kim
Have you ever wanted to conduct an experiment in a space-like atmosphere or design an experiment for NASA? In the new 2024 TechRise Student Challenge, you can do exactly that. Interested students can join any time before October 20. Those in the Robotics or StellarXplorers clubs may be especially interested.
NASA has invited all schools with students in grades 6-12 to form a group to design, build, and submit an experiment to be held in a high-altitude balloon or rocket-powered lander in the 2024 TechRise Student Challenge. Students can participate in the challenge by going to https://www.futureengineers.org/nasatechrise, and submitting their proposals.
How To Participate
To participate in the challenge, students must first form a team of four students and a team leader (a teacher or school employee). The team can consist of four students spanning from grades 6-12 with no limit of students per team. Secondly, students must read the proposal template and guide at https://tinyurl.com/mru394z2. Next, choose between a rocket-powered lander or a high-altitude balloon for your experiment. The rocket-powered lander includes a clear view out to the ground from eighty feet, or about as high as a six-story building. The flight time for your experiment will be about two minutes. From the balloon, your experiment will be open to the air with the ability to take pictures vertically and horizontally. It will ascend through the troposphere and into the stratosphere from Baltic, South Dakota while attached to a frame called a gondola. Once it reaches 70,000 feet, the balloon will stay there for at least four hours. After the experiments have been concluded, the balloon will separate from the gondola and fall to the ground where NASA will retrieve the experiments.
Example of the gondola.
Your team leader can submit the proposal on or before October 20, 2023, and the winners will be announced on January 16, 2024, with a prize package of $1,500 for their experiment, a flight box, technical support for the experiment, and an assigned spot for the experiment. The experiments must be mailed no later than May 10, 2024. The experiments will be launched in the summer of 2024.
A NASA experiment being launched.
NASA said that the goal of the challenge is to inspire “a deeper understanding of space exploration, Earth observation, coding, electronics, and the value of test data.” All students are encouraged to apply and participate in the challenge, so be sure to send your experiment ideas to TechRise! For more information go to: https://www.futureengineers.org/nasatechrise and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNSdAIDS9lI.
Read MoreFall 2023 Middle School Science Center Field Trip
by Maleeya Mickelson
A favorite Back to School tradition is our annual middle school field trip to the California Science Center, which this year took place on September 21, 2023. This field trip occurs early on in the school year, giving students a great opportunity to make new friends, socialize, and share some science-related adventures.
The California Science Center was created to teach students about science in a fun way using hands-on exhibits. At the Science Center, studentsare able to further their knowledge on subjects they’ve been learning about at school as well as general scientific topics of interest. As a STEM school, it’s especially important that we go field trips like this in order to allow students to use their critical thinking and creativity to learn more about different scientific concepts. This field trip can also spark new scientific interests that students may want to explore in the future.
Right after we arrived at the Science Center, we watched the IMAX movie Blue Whales. IMAX movies are different from regular movies, in that they are shown on gigantic screens and in 3D. The IMAX movie we watched this year showcased the journeys of two crews of scientists: one documenting whales in the Gulf of California, and the other searching for a missing population of blue whales off the Seychelles Islands. This movie taught the students about the communication methods, diets, survival challenges, and so much more regarding these massive creatures, which are the largest mammals to ever live on Earth. Most importantly, the students learned about the impact of blue whales on the oceans’ ecosystems and why we must strive to protect them.
Once the IMAX movie finished, everyone headed to the cafeteria area to eat lunch. After lunch, groups of students with their chaperones were free to head off to explore the exhibits.
Images from Blue Whales
The California Science Center includes four major exhibit areas: World of Life, Creative World, Ecosystems, and Air and Space. The World of Life exhibit highlights aspects of human biology, evolution, and genetics to teach students more about the living world around them and how it came to be. Creative World shows students how people take advantage of technology to help them with transportation, communication, and construction projects. The Ecosystems exhibit lets students explore more that 200 species of plants and animals in various environments. This exhibit shows how organisms on Earth all depend upon each other and are therefore interconnected. The Air and Space section of the Science Center allows students to learn more about atmospheric flight and space travel using the principles of science and engineering. This exhibit area also houses the space shuttle Endeavour, which will unfortunately be leaving the Science Center on December 31, 2023 until its new exhibit is created nearby at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
The different exhibits with many interactive and informative experiences help to make the annual middle school field trip to the California Science Center a great way for the students at The Science Academy to learn more about science while also having fun. The hands-on exhibits and IMAX movie covered a handful of scientific topics including aquatic mammal biology, human biology, evolution, genetics, engineering, architecture, environmental and climate challenges, atmospheric flight, and space travel. Overall, this field trip gave the middle schoolers a very fun, engaging, and educational experience made possible thanks to our students and their families through donations to the Science Academy Fundraising Initiative (SciFi), which paid for the IMAX admissions and bus transportation. Thank you, SciFi!
More pictures:
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The Fall Season
by Liz Zarikyan
Did you know catching a falling leaf is said to be good luck? Fall is a season full of comforting traditions and overall nostalgic feelings. In the Northern Hemisphere, fall occurs during the months of September, October, and November. The start of the fall season is officially declared on the Autumnal Equinox, when the sun’s position is directly over the Earth’s equator, creating equal amounts of daylight and nighttime hours. This date falls on September 22nd or September 23rd. Fall continues until the Winter Solstice, which occurs annually on December 21 or 22.
Fall is also known as autumn and the harvest season. Fall is often called the harvest season as this is when many crops became ripe and farmers found that it more beneficial to harvest these crops in the cooler months after summer ended. The word autumn comes from the Latin word “autumnus”, which means “the passing of the year” and describes the position of the season in the annual calendar. Finally, the word fall is short for “fall of the leaf” since deciduous trees tend to lose their leaves in September and October, which allows trees to expend less energy through the harsh winter months and conserve moisture within the trunk.
There many popular themed events that occur during this time. These include amusement parks with dedicated displays for the spooky Halloween season. Six Flags has an event known as Fright Fest, where you can enjoy the thrill of rides during the day before experiencing their frightening night attractions, which includes scare zones, live entertainment, roller coasters, and more. If you’re looking for something more family related, they offer family-friendly events and food during the day. Knotts Scary Farm and Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights offer similar experiences, so you can pick and choose from your favorite amusement park.
If you’re looking for something slower-paced, try the Electric Dusk Drive-In in Glendale, where you can experience horror-themed movies in the comfort of your own car. Info: https://www.electricduskdrivein.com/ If you’re a fan of artifacts from the San Fernando Valley, visit the Valley Relics Museum where they offer a Halloween open air museum every Saturday and Sunday: https://valleyrelicsmuseum.org/. Or maybe you’d prefer an outdoor area with stunning scenery. This is exactly what Lavender Nights offers. 123 Farm in Cherry Valley transforms into a lit-up lavender farm containing over 30,000 lights. Experience the romance of the night while you stroll through their gardens, enjoy food and live music, and much more now through October 29th, Thursday – Monday from 5-10pm. https://www.123farm.com/lavendernights
However you celebrate, have a Happy Fall!
Read MoreNational Paper Airplane Day
by Jordin Lim
National Paper Airplane Day, celebrated each year on May 26th in the United States, is the unofficial observance of a simple, beloved aeronautical toy. This day is commonly celebrated through contests in two basic flight categories: distance and air-time.
Most people are familiar with paper airplanes and enjoy making them frequently. I know that personally, I tend to indulge in making paper airplanes whenever I get bored, but of course never in class (wink).
QUICK TIMELINE OF PAPER AIRPLANE DAY
SCIENCE ACADEMY PAPER AIRPLANE COMPETITION
Here at The Science Academy, Mr. Bradfield’s MakerSpace classes have the wonderful opportunity to participate in Paper Airplane Day at school. Every year, the class goes out to the quad where an intense paper airplane contest is carried out.
There were many creative attempts at winning this competition, with someone actually wrapping up a basketball and claiming it to be their paper airplane. I even caught glimpses of a torpedo-like airplane shooting through the skies.
Overall, the best paper airplane was created by Sutthidol Chainamnaris (8th grade) with a plane that achieved a distance of 94.5 feet!
Will you make the award-winning plane next year? Will your airplane come out on top? Better start practicing now!
FURTHER INFORMATION ON PAPER AIRPLANES
Do you want to know the science behind paper airplanes? Watch the video below.
Do you want to make some fun paper airplanes? Check out the videos below.
This channel also has really great videos on paper airplanes:
https://youtube.com/@funpaperairplanes)
Read MoreRobotics Champions
By Maleeya Mickelson and Milan Riley
Science Academy is the proud home to a world-renowned Robotics Club! Our teams have received many awards over the years and have brought back multiple wins, not only from local VEX Robotics Competitions (VRC), but from State and even World competitions. This year has continued to showcase the many talents of our students with an especially successful season.
The 2022-2023 Robotics Teams consisted of between two to five members, who worked together on their planning and execution by meeting at least twice a week to get ready for competitions throughout the season. As part of their dedication to the Robotics Program and in preparation for their competitions, teams often met in Science Academy’s on-campus Robotics Lab after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. During that same time, advanced robotics mentors provided assistance to students as well.
Example of 2023 VEX VRC robot
Each team strived to build a robot that could compete in all aspects of the game. Every year the game changes, meaning the teams have to create new robots. This year’s game, called “Spin Up”, challenged two alliances, Red and Blue, each made up of two teams. The game started off with a 15-second autonomous period — a period when the two teams used code already pre-made to score as many points as possible. The alliance who scored the most points during this time received a 10-point bonus. The game then moved onto a 1-minute and 45-second long driver control period, where alliances once again had to score as many points as possible. Different ways to score points included shooting discs into the high goal (5 points), getting discs into the low goal (1 point), or spinning the rollers on the field (10 points). During the last 10-seconds of the match, teams could release their robot’s expansions (often made out of string) in order to score even more points by covering the tiles on the field. Every tile the team covered at the end of the game scored them another 3 points.
The 2023 challenge arena
Teams competed in many competitions this season. An overall win at one of the local competitions, as well as winning certain awards that vary from competition to competition could qualify them for the States competitions. At competitions, teams went through multiple rounds with randomly picked alliances in order to determine seeding for the elimination round. After a certain number of rounds, teams then chose their own alliances for playoffs and eliminations. Teams higher on the seeding chart received the chance to pick an alliance sooner. The 16 alliances created, consisting of a total of 32 teams, then went on to compete for the championship.
Teams also could have qualified for State competitions via another aspect of VEX Robotics Competitions known as Skills. At each competition, teams received six tries to score as many points as possible either autonomously or by driver control. They were allowed three tries for each method. Autonomous and driver control during Skills were very similar to during matches because the teams used the same methods to score points; however, teams did not have to deal with defense from their opponent or defending themselves because they were the only ones on the field.
Middle School Champions during the competition
Another large component of the competition focused on the creation and organization of the team’s engineering notebook. Throughout the season, teams recorded their progress and all the work they’ve done on their robots, from their first prototype to their final design after many adjustments and long hours of trial and error. The purpose of the notebook is to show the judges the team’s thinking, processes and their progress. Without a good engineering notebook, teams cannot win many of the awards.
This year, VEX held two State competitions, split into middle school and high school, for our region, one in San Diego and another in Los Angeles. Teams from the Science Academy won both competitions (3324U & 3324B), qualifying them for Worlds. Other teams also qualified for Worlds either by having a high score in Skills or by the following awards: Excellence Award, Design Award, Robot Skills Champions, Innovate Award, Amaze Award, Think Award, or Build Award.
Team 3324B at a state competition
The VEX Robotics World Championship was held in Dallas, Texas at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas from April 25 to May 5. The event was split into competitions for middle school and high school. Two of our high school teams competed from April 25 to April 27 and of our eight middle school teams participated from April 27 to April 29. Due to the large number of teams present at the World’s competition, VEX split the teams into different divisions. Within each division, each team participated in a mini competition, where the winners from each division advanced to the final elimination rounds in the so-called “Dome.” These rounds took place with thousands of people watching.
2023 Vex Robotics Competition
After a fierce competition between Science Academy’s Team 3324U (aka Supernova Team Hydra) and their alliance Shanghai’s Team 9123X against West Vancouver’s Team 10012W and their alliance Shanghai’s Team 9123C, Supernova Team Hydra and their alliance emerged triumphantly as the VEX VRC Middle School World Champions 2023! Despite being a first-year team, two eighth graders, Nicholas Mandreyka and Eero Wolfe, successfully created a robot worthy of a world championship. Congratulations to them!
The following Science Academy teams also won awards in their divisions as listed:
3324U Nicholas Mandreyka and Eero Wolfe Think Award
3324B Shivaan Nigam, Liam Cahill and Lily Kelsay Amaze Award
3324Y Aidan Limketkai, Gabe Cooper and Aaron Park Build Award
During the World’s competition, VEX also revealed the challenge for the 2023-24 season: Over Under. The goal of Over Under is to score as many points as possible by performing actions such as placing the game element (tri-balls) under goals or elevating the robot on a post at the end of the game.
Congratulations to all teams that participated in the 2022-23 VEX robotics season! Each and every team did a great job and has made the Science Academy very proud. A special congratulations to the members of 3324U, 3324B, and 3324Y for their accomplishments at the World Championship. Good luck to all teams competing in the 2023-24 season!
After the excitement of the World Championship, teammates Eero Wolfe and Nicholas Mandryka, the middle school winners of the 2023 VEX Robotics Competition, sat down with Milan Riley for an interview looking back over this momentous competition season:
1. What were your goals for this competition?
“Our goal for this competition was to win our division [500 teams are split into 6 divisions].”
2. What have you learned from past competitions and how are you putting that info to use now?
“What we have learned from past competitions was that ranking high before eliminations and alliance selection is important, as well as warming up before each match.”
3. What specific skills have you and your team been working on to prepare?
“Specific skills that our team has worked on to prepare was my driving because at high levels, robots are equally matched as they can score points at almost 100% efficiency and it comes down to the driving to determine who wins.”
4. What modifications have you had to make to your robot(s)?
“Some modifications that we have made to our robot was to have it shoot very fast so that when being defended, we can shoot all of our disks before being blocked. We also made sure that our expansion – we try to cover as many tiles as possible using string that is launched from the robot – does not fire out of the field so that we are not disqualified from the tournament.”
5. What were some highlights from the competition?
“Some highlights for the competition were of course winning it, but also after and during the competition when all of the teams were together having fun and supporting each other.”
6. Why do you think you guys did so well this year?
“Some reasons that we did so well this season was that we had great mentors and sister teams that helped us so much and motivated us to try so hard.”
7. What are you looking forward to working on in the future?
“We are looking forward next year to competing in high school with new members on the team and being able to help the new teams that were once us.”
8. What capabilities are you looking forward to the robotics world developing in the future in the competition world? What about in terms of real-world applications?
“As new technology like more efficient electronics become accessible, teams will be able to do even more and create amazing robots that can compete at levels unimaginable right now. VEX robotics takes a lot of real world robotics concepts and incorporates them into the competition, meaning that as technology becomes better, so will the robotics in the real world.”
Read MoreAsian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
by Ryan Park
During the month of May, the United States recognizes Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This celebration, spanning from May 1st to May 31st, honors the contributions and accomplishments of Asian Americans, Pacific Islander Americans, and Native Hawaiians.
Why the month of May?
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a bill that was passed by Congress to expand Asian American Heritage Week into the entirety of the month. Two years later, it was renamed Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to recognize the contributions of all Americans of Asian descent. The month of May was chosen because it commemorates the first immigration of Japanese Americans on May 7, 1843. In addition, it commemorates the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, as Asian immigrants made crucial contributions to our country’s first coast-to-coast railway.
Making their Mark in America
An important aspect of the commemoration of AAPI Heritage Month is sharing the many life stories of those of Asian descent.
Born May 31, 1912, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu is a pivotal figure in the history of physics. An immigrant to the United States from China, she did important work for the nuclear Manhattan Project, helping to develop the process for separating uranium into uranium-235 and uranium-238 isotopes by gaseous diffusion. Wu studied nuclear physics at the University of California, Berkeley where she got the chance to learn from physicists like J. Robert Oppenheimer. She later went on to become the first female instructor in the Physics Department at Princeton University, and her contributions to experimental physics include the Wu experiment, which proved that parity is not conserved.
On March 12, 2023, at the 95th Academy Awards, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh made history by becoming the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress for the film Everything Everywhere All at Once. You can also find her in other popular movies like Shang Chi; Crazy Rich Asians; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and Wicked.
On that same day, Vietnamese-American actor Ke Huy Quan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the same movie. Ke Huy Quan was the first Asian to win this award in 38 years! A fun fact is that Ke Huy Quan was the actor who played the part of Short Round, a young boy in the popular Indiana Jones movie series.
Chloe Kim, a Korean-American Olympic snowboarder, is the youngest woman to win an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding. In the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang, Chloe became a gold medalist in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at the age of 17 and later became a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Although she has taken a break from the sport, she is set to return to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
You can find out more on: https://www.asianpacificheritage.gov/
Read MoreVolunteering Opportunities
by Milan Riley
While the state of California does not require high school students to complete a certain amount of volunteer hours to graduate, numerous schools either encourage it or make it mandatory for graduation. This applies to particular middle schools, as well. The reason for this is that volunteering helps communities, prepares students for their future jobs, and appeals to colleges.
What amount of volunteer hours is preferred by colleges? The majority of high schools with such a requirement ask students to complete at least 100 hours of volunteer work. Between 50 to 200 hours of volunteering shows commitment and experience. However, any less than 50 hours is not especially impressive and over 200 hours could seem excessive. Most sources state 100 hours is a good average.
If you’re looking to volunteer, either to help your community or because you’re looking to bolster your college application, here are some volunteer options:
1. Coastal/beach cleanups:
Picking up trash along the coast is a common form of volunteering. This activity helps the environment and gets you close to the beach! Heal The Bay is a good place to start: https://healthebay.org/beach-cleanups/ .
2. Red Cross:
For years, the Red Cross has helped victims of disasters and provided communities programs that help prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Teen volunteer opportunities: https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer/youth-opportunities.html
3. Jr. Lifeguard:
Lifeguards could always use help making the waters safer for everyone. It’s physically engaging and a fun experience for strong swimmers. Lifeguards also supervise pool decks and teach groups how to swim. Check out the County of Los Angeles Junior Lifeguard program: https://fire.lacounty.gov/junior-lifeguard-program/ .
4. Libraries:
Los Angeles Public Libraries offer numerous volunteer options ranging from online teen council meetings, writing book reports, and in-person activities. If you enjoy books or representing other teens your age, check out their website for more details: https://volunteer.lapl.org/ .
5. Parks:
Community parks offer volunteer positions in athletic programs, after school programs, and general park maintenance. Volunteers help out groundskeepers, keep hiking or equestrian trails functional, and guide visitors around the park. This website is looking for volunteers aged 14 or above to lend a hand at LA county parks: https://parks.lacounty.gov/volunteers/ .
There are so many more opportunities to volunteer in addition to those listed above. Not all volunteer work may count towards volunteer hours for schools, but it’s kind to just help out your community in your spare time! And as a bonus: studies show that volunteering helps to improve your mental and emotional health.
The articles below have lists of additional volunteer options, especially for teens:
https://www.ymca.org/blog/articles/24-volunteer-ideas-for-teens
https://www.teenlife.com/category/volunteer/volunteerunteerunteer-opportunities-los-angeles/
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