MacArthur Counselors continue to develop college-going atmosphere with Mactivities program

The 2018 Mactivities program kicked off in October, encouraging students to prepare for college.

Counselors Ms. Christine Silva and Mrs. Laurie Tristan organized a Mactivities assembly in the PAR during language arts classes on September 29.  They organized this assembly to generate interest and motivation to get students involved with the Mactivities program.

Mactivities is a program to explore college and career to help students think about their future. It took several months to create this program, but it took about two hours to organize this assembly.  It is important to know about Mactivities because students are all going to get a career someday, so everyone should start now by getting involved in the program.

“Mactivities is a fun way to explore college and career to help students in their future,” said Tristan.

On October 19, there was a college fair at Santa Ana High School at 5:30 PM.  Students who attended received a signature on their Mactivities sheet.  

The deadline to complete ten Mactivities is February 28.  The prizes for completing ten Mactivities is college gear and a college field trip.  The deadline for completing 20 Mactivities is May 4.  Students who complete 20 Mactivities will still receive the gear and the field trip but will also be recognized with a medal at the second semester awards assembly.

Silva and Tristan decided to do 12 separate assemblies because they wanted more personal experience with the students.  When it’s a school-wide assembly, fewer students actively participate in the assembly.  

At the assembly, the prizes that were given out were pencils, posters, stickers, pennants, and bookmarks to students who wore college gear.

One of the Mactivities is to wear a college shirt on Wednesdays for six Wednesdays.  Some Mactivities involve going online on the website.  Others involve going to the library.

Eighth-grader Mariela Rodriguez completed the Mactivities and earned a college field trip last year.  Mariela said, “I think Mactivities are a creative way to get a good idea about your future.”  Mariela is planning to complete all of the Mactivities this year, as well.

Sixth-grader Jacob Rodriguez, who is new to the Mactivities program, said, “I am looking forward to try and complete the Mactivities so that I can start to get an idea of what I want to do in the future.”

Once a student completes ten Mactivities, the school bus that is located outside the attendance office moves up depending on what grade the student is in.  Therefore, this is how students, staff members, or administrators can check how many students have earned their field trip.  

“I hope all students do Mactivities this year!” said Silva.