September NorCal Meetups

At the start of every year, OHSPA volunteer Regional Coordinators around the world organize both in-person and online meetups to facilitate building community at OHS. With the majority of the school year ahead of us, both StartUp and other locally organized events serve as critical milestones in our trajectory. To provide a recap for some meetups from the start of this school year, we’ll take a glimpse into two events held in NorCal this September!

On September 3rd, from 5 PM to 7 PM, local OHS students attended an informal gathering at Burgess Park, Menlo Park. Students brought an array of dishes to share, such as pizza, pasta, cupcakes, and much more. In addition, students brought sporting equipment, including volleyballs and footballs. Whether it be playing board games or strolling in the park, both students and parents had the opportunity to meet new and returning students. As the night came to an end, students and parents helped clean the park, and prepared to return home. However, this was only the start of their activities—students were ready to see each other again next week at StartUp!

Nearly a week later, on September 9th, OHS students arrived to Great America—a local amusement park in Santa Clara, California. While some students had a head start on rides when the park opened at 10:00 AM, other students socialized with their classmates and teachers until 11:00 AM, when the buffet lunch at Mission City Pavilion opened. The lunch provided Dr. Hoshi and other staff with the chance to introduce themselves using welcome speeches. Later, students, families, and staff were able to socialize in the midst of icebreakers, where they asked each other questions about one another. They also participated in games such as Connect 4. Moreover, clubs such as the Filipino Student Alliance (FSA) and FTC Robotics Club presented at the club spotlight. The FSA prepared a fun linguistic game, where students tried matching words in Tagalog to their definitions in English. Meanwhile, the FTC Robotics Club brought a posterboard summarizing the process of competing in their previous tournament.

Once the buffet lunch ended at 1:00 PM, students enjoyed the park and rides until the park closed at 8:00 PM. A couple of students’ favorite roller coasters included “Demon,” “Flight Deck,” and “RailBlazer.” “Demon” is one of the original attractions at the park, and has been a thrilling ride for decades. It features multiple loops and a double corkscrew. On the other hand, “Flight Deck” was originally called “Top Gun,” and has speeds up to fifty miles per hour while riders are suspended. Students marveled at “RailBlazer,” an intimidating single-track roller coaster reaching over a hundred feet high and with 90 degree drops. 

Dr. Gupta, a mathematics instructor at OHS, was amongst some of the staff who were able to attend. We interviewed her about her experience, which she concludes was great because she got to “meet with parents and recognize students by their faces.” Dr. Gupta highlights the difficulties of teaching online, including that, “There is a lot of information that you just can’t match in-person. Body language is a big part of it.” Similarly, Dr. Gupta noted that “when we [colleagues] have meetings online, we only talk about work. So being able to see them in-person, we were able to talk about things outside of work and get to know each other better.” One of Dr. Gupta’s favorite activities at StartUp was lunch, where she laughingly recalls, “We were trying to convince each other to go on the roller coasters and everything—and in the end we never ended up going.” As a note, Dr. Gupta remarks that, “There used to be meetups near Cupertino with board games, etc. They were very valuable for building relationships with my students, and I’m not sure there are as many now—I'd definitely try to attend them!” 

This year, NorCal’s Startup varied significantly from those of previous years. Last year, for example, students socialized with families and staff for the entire duration. This year, Dr. Gupta notes, “I think it was great to see students in their groups going on rides; but usually in those hours, we spend time socializing with the students. Our meetups are special because they’re focused solely on socializing.” For Dr. Gupta, meetups have helped her strengthen relationships with students. For instance, she fondly explains, “There are students who are now nearly graduated from college, and they still email me. I think these meetups, and seeing them in-person, really contributed to the bond that keeps us in touch.” In the future, Dr. Gupta has a couple pieces of advice for students. She suggests, “For students, it might be difficult to spot your teachers amongst other people. But if you happen to see them, make sure to say hi. I definitely remember my students’ faces easier that way.” Moreover, to summarize how to make the most of an event, Dr. Gupta recaps that students should, “participate in the activities, be on time, and help the parents—especially with cleaning.” 

Overall, events like StartUp offer valuable opportunities to kickstart the year on a positive note. They lay the foundation for a great year—a year which hopefully has many more amazing meetups to come!