California
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July 26, 2023
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A student pair dances

 

Though previous excursions took students far away from Santa Paula, the women of the California High School Summer Program got local Tuesday afternoon with a trip to the town’s quaint Main Street following the day’s last class. With the prefects leading the way, the contingent took to the offerings of the area with gusto. They filled the Santa Paula Trading Co. with excitement, examining the clothes and locally sourced goods on display; keeping the shopping going, they next browsed the nearby thrift store. Finally, it was on to Rabalais’ Bistro for delicious pastries and, in the words of one programmer, “the best lattes ever.”

Santa Paula & Sports
  • Students climb on the rock wall
  • A student holds up a pair of pants at the thrift store
  • Two examine a cucumber green tank top
  • A student holds up a lemongrass polo
  • Three enter the store
  • Several clustered around a baked-goods display
  • Two pose with coffees
  • Two pose at their coffee-shop table
  • Five around a table
  • Two pose together with their bags from the Santa Paula Trading Co
  • Two pose together
  • Two pose together
  • Several peruse the clothing aisles
  • A student holds up a multi-colored skirt
  • A student holds up a dress
  • Two shop the clothes
  • Several in the pool pose
  • Two attach safety equipment for rock climbing
  • Several play water polo
  • Several play Spikeball
  • Two pose in cowboy hats

Meanwhile, campus bustled with activity. The pool especially saw use in the July heat, games of water polo keeping students active while others lounged nearby. Those with an artistic bent worked on visual projects with renewed interest — the previous night, the St. Bernardine of Siena Library suffered a malfunction in its sprinkler system, flooding the Art Club room and compromising some student pieces. Undeterred, however, many worked to recover damaged works or make new ones for the coming art show. Beauty, it seems, cannot be simply washed out!

The women returned to campus, the artists laid down their brushes, and the athletes cleaned up for a barbequed chicken and mac n’ cheese dinner. Once physically nourished, it was on to intellectual nourishment with more of the Elements and Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy.

Study Hall
  • A student at the board
  • Two chat at the classroom table
  • Three study at the table
  • A student does a prop at the board
  • Two study at the table
  • Several study at the table
  • A student studies
  • Studying at the classroom table
  • Several study
  • A student studies
  • A student practices at the board

Studying first took students through further sections of the Consolation, contemplating Lady Philosophy’s arguments that man’s inadequate attempts at happiness indicate God’s necessity, as well as her reconciliation of God’s existence with the problem of evil. From philosophy to mathematics, attendees investigated Euclid’s first treatment of plane angles, rectilinear angles, and right angles. With the attendees’ collaboration and the prefects’ guidance, preparation flew by, arming all with a solid understanding to bring to this morning’s class.

Spiritual nourishment followed intellectual nourishment with the nightly Rosary in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel. The night then turned to Mr. Selmeczy’s thorough dance instruction, filling St. Cecilia Hall’s Richard B. Burns Auditorium with students, arm-in-arm, training in the craft of musical motion. Swing steps became more confident, flourishes more graceful, and friendships deeper in the pursuit of dance.

Dance Practice
  • A student pair chats
  • Two practice a turn
  • Two dance
  • Two practice a turn
  • Two chat in between instructions
  • Two pose
  • Two dance
  • Two in swing position
  • Student pairs line up
  • Two high-five
  • Student pairs practice a turn
  • Two practice a turn
  • Two practice a turn
  • Student pairs in swing position
  • Two practice a turn
  • Two dance

Hungry from all that movement, the programmers found the Coffee Shop ready for them, per usual — the prefects this time serving large pretzels with mustard and cheese alongside Italian sodas. Everyone chatted and played games right until curfew, making the most of this special community in their all-too-brief time together. The day, ripe with adventure, arts, and all manner of things proper to the College’s student life, ended with a smile.

Coffee Shop
  • Students take pretzels
  • Two pose
  • A prefect serves pretzels
  • Four pose together
  • Several write postcards
  • Three prefects pose in the coffee shop
  • Three at a coffee shop table
  • Two write postcards
  • Three pose
  • Three pose at a table
  • Two pose
  • Four at a table
  • Long shot of a crowded coffee shop, with two at a table smiling for the camera in the foreground

Today’s classes promise exciting challenges as the propositions become more elaborate, and Boethius digs into deeper questions. Tutors expect to see much growth, even in just a short period’s time. Come back to Summer Program Blog later today to read all about it!