Every once in a while, MCHS teachers need help funding trips to get their students out of the classroom and into the field. Field trips are a great way to give students an opportunity to experience “school” outside the classroom, and at the same time reinforce concepts they are learning in class. Some recent trips we helped fund include:

Academic Decathlon Competition

ABC was happy to grant MCHS teacher Kim Monson $430 to help take 11 students to a regional Decathlon in Madera County at the end of January. The students competed in categories including art, music, literature, math, science, economics, and history. They also gave a speech, were interviewed, and wrote an essay.

The Academic Decathlon program is annual and open to all MCHS students. The team must have students in three different GPA categories (3.75 and above; 3.0 to 3.74; below 3.0) and only academic classes count. Every year has a different theme; this year’s theme is World War II. MCHS will find out the theme for next year in March. College admissions officers say Academic Decathlon is the top extra-curricular activity for college admissions. Materials studied in Academic Decathlon often show up in college classes. Students who participate develop excellent study and time management skills. What a great program!

Drama trip to Playhouse Merced

With the help of a grant from ABC, MCHS Drama Teacher Bryan Starchman took 67 students and 3 staff members to see “Beauty and the Beast” at Playhouse Merced on December 7. Students loved the play! Mr. Starchman says all of his students were impressed with the production. One of his students said, “Starchman, that was really good! And I don’t usually like that kind of thing.” Mr. Starchman tells us the other half of the audience was made up of kindergartners and both their teachers and the head of the school program for Playhouse Merced commented on what a great example MCHS students were for the little ones. Way to represent, Grizzlies!

Band trip to Hawaii

The MCHS Grizzly Band and Color Guard, led by MCHS Music Teacher Gail Vanderslik, left before dawn on December 5, travelling to Hawaii to play on the USS Missouri for the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. In addition to performing with other musicians from around the country, students took part in week-long educational activities. What a week full of music and history they had! ABC was pleased to contribute $500 to put towards expenses for this trip.

Art Field Trip to SF MOMA

ABC was thrilled to contribute to MCHS Art Teacher Pete Bothwell’s field trip to the San Francisco Modern Art Museum’s grand re-opening in May 2016.

If you are an MCHS teacher and would like to request funds for a trip, please visit the “Requesting Funds” section of this website.