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By Jacob Walke
   If you don’t know about Outdoor Ed then wake up- it’s been going on in Plumas County for about ten years. The Outdoor Ed counselor program gives students in their junior and senior year the chance to connect with their inner-child and spend four days and three nights helping sixth graders connect and learn about the environment and about themselves. The counselors also get to have lots of fun on the first night without the sixth graders.
   Year after year, the U.C. Berkeley camp in Meadow Valley is generous enough to offer its facilities to Rob Wade for one of the eight field trips. Rob Wade is a Wildlife Biologist focused on helping young kids to know their surroundings.
   Every year is full of fun new experiences for both counselors and students alike. One experience includes waking up at 6:30 to go to the creek and have a mass freezacide, which is comically called the Polar Bear Plunge. Ironically, despite the name almost all of the students participated in hopping in the ice-cold water. Also, this year, those who went participated in an eight-mile hike to the top of Spanish Peak. Counselors Joe Zattoni and Steven Viera agree that this was the most challenging aspect of this four-day field trip to the Berkeley camp. The counselors and students also went on a night hike. It took place while it was pitch-black outside, and the students were encouraged to be silent so that they could better appreciate wildlife and nature.
   The counselors and the students had a lot of fun even though there were a few complications. On the Spanish Peak hike a student was stung by a bee and was   having a severe reaction; thinking quickly, Jacob Walke and a fellow sixth grader, who was concerned with his safety, ran the curvy foot-trail from teacher to teacher looking for a bee-sting kit. Finally, the student got his medicine. Although the students’ moral was low, their gloomy thoughts were alleviated when the student came back that night to say that he would be returning the next day.
    The overall “camping” experience       consisted of crying and sweating; but mostly laughter. According to Emma Miravalle, Lizzy Dembosz, Steven Viera, and Esther Labrado, the funniest moment at camp was at the counselor-controlled campfire when counselor Jake Walke told his notorious story in which the Quincy Confederates met head to head with the Keddie Union and fought with samurai swords on a monorail.  Although no actual school credit is awarded to counselors, the knowledge of helping kids was enough motivation for this year’s counselors. It’s too late to become an Outdoor Ed counselor for this year, but if one was interested in becoming a counselor for next year’s sixth graders, pay attention to next year’s bulletins and get a hold of an application. Chances like this come once in a blue moon, so take charge and look into this amazing opportunity. IT’S WORTH IT!

Ways to  Fight  the Flu

By Cory Franklin

    Are you tired of getting sick? Do you just want to go through the whole year without getting the flu? Most of us do.
   According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year in the United States an average of 5%-20% of the population gets the flu. A little more than 200,000 people have to be hospitalized due to flu complications and around 36,000 people die from the flu every year. Senor citizens, children, and people with certain health problems are most susceptible to contracting the flu bug. How can you avoid getting sick this winter? Here are a few ways to fight that flu bug:
   -Try to stay away from people that are sick.  -If you are already sick, don’t get anyone else sick by touching them or coughing on them.
   -Wash your hands a lot, and always after you cough or sneeze.  -Hand sanitizer or antibacterial soap would be a good choice when washing you’re hands. You can buy both of these at your local Dollar Tree.        
   National Geographic says the rates of the flu are going up drastically. Avoid the flu bug by following these simple tips. Keep yourself and other students and teachers from getting sick and being absent, Quincy High, let’s come together and fight that flu!
    If you want to know more information on the flu go to http://www.cdc.gov/ or try http://news.nationalgeographic.com/.