Tag: OVS

Behind the Scenes of the Lee Vining Live Blog

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Hello all, we are finally back from our football road trip where we came out victorious against the Lee Vining Tigers, putting us 4th in our free lance league, and currently putting us in an undefeated position with our 52-28 win.

Now, if you are reading this post I hope you have read our Lee Vining updates where the whole trip is laid out day by day, highlighting major moments and fun times.

What you as a reader get is different than what I as a writer experience on a day to day basis. Some of our readers may envision students and teachers alike sitting in an office or classroom that is well groomed and maintained, writing on computers in newsrooms like those portrayed on TV and in movies.

It is actually quite the contrary if you are reading our blogs from the Lee Vining trip. Our three  journalists on the Lee Vining trip were me (Keaton Shiffman), second year journalist (John Olivo), and first year journalist and photographer (Nicholas Giannetti).

It may seem obvious that trees and bushes do not output a strong WiFi signal, rather, none at all. So every night of our trip after all of our camp business was done, and food was taken care of, the journalists along with Mr. John Wickenhaeuser travelled down the road into the small town of Lee Vining.

Lee Vining is not the most normal of towns, because as it currently states on its welcome sign, it has a population of 398, which could have varied from the first time this sign was put up.

The first night of blogging was done from a Mobil Gas station, which also supplemented as a restaurant, gift shop, and convenience store. John, Mr. Wick, and Mr. Craig Floyd, all sat outside on the picnic style benches this gas station had to offer, and used a phone’s internet to post our Lee Vining: Day 1 post. John and I sat outside in the cold writing on the computers to inform our readers of how the first day and night had gone so far. This blog can be found on John’s profile, backinphilly, where we co-wrote the first story.

After about an hour of blogging John, our faculty supervisors, and I headed back to camp to find all of our teammates and remaining coaches asleep.

The next morning was the game which can also be found on the “backinphilly” blog. This day turned out better than expected with a great victory, but we played against a team with such great work ethic, and even better sportsmanship. Read all about Day 2 in Lee Vining @ Lee Vining: Day 2. This blog was written in an even more unique spot than a gas station diner, a McDonalds PlayPlace.

After our first varsity victory, the team enjoyed a fantastic meal at Giovanni’s Pizza in Mammoth Lakes, CA.

After dinner, we once again ventured out to a new blog spot, and it turned out that McDonalds had accessible WiFi, so we hopped on that opportunity.

When we first arrived, briefcase in hand, covered in dirt, sweat, and tears, I would have expected an unusual look from the staff, but maybe that was normal for them.

What really should have provoked a look was the fact that when we could not find any power outlets, we set up shop in the middle of the napkins and straws. And even at that no McDonalds employee minded the fact that we had set up our computer at a random condiment counter in the middle of their restaurant.

While writing we had a few visitors trying to find a straw or a napkin to wipe off their hands. Even at that nobody really wanted to question the two large teenage boys sitting and writing on a laptop in the middle of a McDonalds in Mammoth.

About 30 minutes into our writing one employee finally decided to tell us there was a power outlet under a seating area in the front lobby of the establishment. We picked up and moved there, and in this area there was a PlayPlace located conveniently on our left.

While we wrote on the couch like seat, we had to seize a great photo op in which John and I sat in the PlayPlace finishing our Day 2 blog.

I now see why these play places are made for children and not grown adolescent boys who have heights that exceed 6 feet.

This blog spot provoked a few laugh after an amazing and exhausting day.

We once again packed up, got in the car and headed back to camp, where once again we found a campground in a slumber after a day of hard work.

This really shows the dedication of our Journalists, and the want to let our readers  know how we do what we do.

I hope this shed some light on what really goes on behind the scenes in the life of an OVS Journalists, and what it is like blogging on the road while playing one of the most memorable football games any of us will ever take part in.

From Keaton “That Guy” Shiffman, back in Ojai, I bid you good evening.

Also, contrary to popular belief apparently, I was not stuck in the slide at the PlayPlace, I was merely lost in the ever so confusing maze of tunnels that I may or may not have been to large to have been crawling around in.

Stuck

Lee Vining Day 2-Game Day

backinphilly3 Comments

Today, we woke up to our pregame breakfast. First off, this consisted of a 4 pound slab of bacon (purchased from the Mahogany Smoked Meats Co.).

You have never seen a group of guys go this wild for meat.

With the bacon, we made sausages, eggs cooked with the bacon grease, potatoes and onions cooked with bacon grease, and threw it all into breakfast burritos. Clearly, there was salsa and cheese involved. But it was meat-tastic.

After breakfast, we relaxed and either slept or went into the freezing cold river for a nice wake up dip. We then gathered to elect team captains while getting game gear ready to go.

Each player had to vote for three players that they think displayed the greatest form of leadership. Although we only planned on having three captains, the vote was so close that the coaches added a fourth. The result was John Olivo, Cody Triggs, Grant Spencer and Min Ung Choi.

We checked our gear one last time before loading up into the vans and blasting pump up music. We all got into our own zones, and prepared ourselves for battle.

We arrived to the field with one goal in mind: Win. We showed up an hour prior to kickoff, and began our warmups. The captains led the team in their stretches and agility workouts, and then broke up into individual position drills.

The whistles blew, and the starters took the field to compete in what very well may be the greatest 48 minutes in OVS history.Read More »

Lee Vining: DAY 1

backinphilly3 Comments

The OVS football team traveled to Lee Vining for the team’s first football game of the season. For those that are completely unaware of how far Lee Vining actually is from Ojai, the team needed to camp out overnight before reaching Lee Vining. Tinnemaha Creek was the stop for the team the first night, which was Thursday. We pulled in at about 10 PM and unpacked for the night. We relaxed and slept before we set off on Friday morning for Lee Vining.

Before leaving, we did a walkthrough of our plays for the game at Tinnemaha Creek. We got our work done and packed back up. We got on the road and moved on to our final destination.

Lee Vining is a very small town, but we aren’t here to sight-see. We came to do some business, and we plan on doing just that. With another practice session in the afternoon, we go into our game confident that we will be at our best. The game is tomorrow (Saturday) at 1 PM.

On to more miscellaneous things!!!

Let’s talk about the trip up here. There was music blasting and tons of inside jokes that I’m sure we are never going to forget. At our campsite, food is never an issue. Not only do we have a lot to eat, but we have a lot of guys that LOVE to eat. What do you expect from a bunch of crazed football players?

As I write this update, we are cooking a rather large pre-game dinner.

How could you say no to a meal like this?

At the campsites, we are finding ways to stay occupied. When we aren’t exploring or practicing, we are having a good ol’ time with the boys. Some can be seen off in the distance learning how to throw a ball properly, others are off wandering in to the great never ending creek, building wooden fishing rods with hooks (most likely infected with tetanus), or building makeshift fish traps. With so much to explore and so many unruly teenage boys always expect the unexpected.

The end of this story ends with two of the coolest guys around sitting at a gas station/restaurant/convenience store/bar writing a blog using internet off of an iPhone’s hotspot while Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wick just sit and watch us type away to entertain all of you readers, no matter where you may be.

John “The Honey Badger” Olivo and Keaton “That Guy” Shiffman signing off on night one in Lee Vining. Check for more blog posts to see if mama and baby bear left us alone tonight.

Lives are at stake here. Please send help (just kidding).

Goodbye, OVS.

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

Wow. Did this year just end?

I’m sitting in my empty room on a sunny day before graduation, looking outside of my window thinking how OVS made me a happy person.

It’s still unbelievable that I’m here today at Ojai Valley School. Everything just happened all of a sudden in one week during last summer after I met Mr.Alvarez.

First of all, Mr.Alvarez. I don’t know how to thank you. You made my year. If I wouldn’t have met you, I would’ve stucked in New Hampshire being cold, wondering why I run and when and where I can be happy. It’s so strange that you know me very well; you knew I was scared to race, you knew I had to slow down and take one step at a time. I really couldn’t have achieved anything this year without you. You’re the best coach I’ve ever had, and it’s such a blessing to meet you. I will never forget the lessons you taught me, and in college, I want you to be at the Olympic trials in 2016.

Second of all, Serry. You have no idea how much you influenced me. When I first met you, I thought you were just being super nice because I was new to this school but you never changed and found out that you’re just nice from the bottom of your heart. And we have the exact same humor. Everyday, every morning, after lunch, before dinner, we never stopped laughing at the lamest jokes. At that moment, I realized that I’ve met the person who I will keep in touch for the rest of my life. I’m so fortunate that I could have you as a roommate. And I love you so much.

Third of all, all my friends at OVS. Seriously, I’ve never seen a group of people being very friendly and super nice. I am not even exaggerating but when I first came here, I couldn’t believe how nice they are. I was actually wondering why they’re so nice to me… but that’s OVS.

I really can’t express how fortunate I am to come here.

I just realized that this is the last blog of the year, and I think this is the last assignment of high school…

I love you OVS. You changed me and you made me so happy as a person.

Summer… School?

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When thinking about the summer, I was always overly excited to graduate, go back home, and spend time with friends and family.

But, recently, those plans have change. I am still graduating, of course, but I am not going back home. Instead, I am staying right here in Ojai and working for OVS‘ summer camp program!

I knew I would need to get a summer job this summer. So, I started looking for many places back by where I live, but not many of them wanted to hire someone just for a few months during summer. My friend had told me that she was planning on staying in Ojai and working for OVS this summer. I figured it would be a really good opportunity and I would also be making a good amount of money.

I am pretty excited about this opportunity! First of all, I love kids and I am excited to work with the younger kids this summer and do fun activities with them.

Secondly, I am happy that I will be around a lot of my friends, since most of them are day students and live around this area anyways.

After I work, I will be able to go home in early August and spend a month at home with no obligations. I can see my friends and family and then, after that, it’s off to college at Cal Lutheran! I am so excited for this summer and for what’s to come after it as well! 🙂

The might of Horses

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Today, I finally did something that I have been wanting to do at OVS for almost a year. I went Horse Back riding.


Upon arriving I was told I would be riding Lexi, the gentlest and easiest of all the horses.  That’s good of course, except she is HUGE.  Well not huge but pretty big.

While in the stall with the horse, brushing it and picking its hooves it really donned on me as to how big they are.  Although we claim to control them once you are on them or in the stalls with them, they can do whatever they want and you can’t stop them.

Once in the Arena and all mounted up it was time to walk.  Luckily Lexi IS the gentlest horse there so with a “HIGH HO SILVER AWAYYY” we were off at slow walk.

There really is something special about horse back riding.  For one only a hundred years ago or so they were the only means of fast transportation, and back then everyone knew how to ride.  Now its such a small part of our lives its quite sad.

It is wonderful that OVS still puts so much time and consideration into these powerful animals and offers such an incredible program to learn how to ride.

The first meet of the season!

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This Wednesday, we had our very first track meet at Cate school. Competing schools included Providence hall, Cate, Thacher and us, Ojai Valley.

We didn’t have any field competitors, but we had sprinters and long distance runners. We all ran well.

Two distance runners and I ran in 3 events: the 800m which is 2 laps, the 1600m which is 4 laps(1 mile) and the 3200m which is 8 laps (2 miles). There was only about 20 to 30 minutes in between the events, so it was pretty exhausting.

My coach (thebrownguy) and me warming up:

I love my track shoes, but they peel off my skin every time I run in them. I wear Nike Zoom Victory shoes and I can’t even feel them because they’re so light. Also, the colors are so bright and the colors of each shoe is different.

Well, it was such a fun meet and I can’t wait for the next meet, which is after our spring break!

Ojai Valley School continues to Relay

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In the past two years, I have been one of the many students from Ojai Valley School to attend an amazing event called Relay for Life. It is sponsored by the American Cancer Society to raise people’s awareness and fight against cancer in a fun and community-oriented event.

When I first signed up to attend the Relay for Life event at Buena High school in Ventura, I had no idea what it was about. But within no time, there were hundreds of people and tents set up all around the track with different information, games, prizes, raffles, and live music as well. Everyone was walking or running around the track, and it was a great feeling to see all of these dedicated people in once place.

All of the teams, including the OVS team, raises money ahead of time to donate to the American Cancer Society to help research. Last year, our school raised over $5,000, earning us the Silver award, which means we donated in the middle category of high-level contributors. Although OVS is a little school, we are still mighty. Donating $5,000 is such an amazing contribution that I never could have even imagine for us.

This year, OVS is in the game once again – we even have our own Ojai Valley School page on the Relay for Life website where there is information and an opportunity to donate to this great cause. (Click on the link to go to the page)

Personally, I absolutely CANNOT WAIT for the Relay for Life event this year. It has been an amazing experience in the past, and I’m sure we can contribute just as much if not more this time. So far, we have $50 worth of donations, but I know how supportive our school will be and the donations will grow greatly over time. If money isn’t an option, anyone can contribute by attending the event and walking, running, or just being there to support. The first year was great, the second was even better, and I’m looking forward to a flat out amazing time this year.

I highly encourage everyone to check out the Relay for Life website and our school’s personal page and help support the fight against cancer!

The first time for everything

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This week we played our first game, we lost.  Now that that’s out of the way I can talk about all the good things that happened.

Firstly we showed up at Viewpoint School and were directed where to park by PARKING ATTENDANTS.  We finally get to the field to be greeted by 30 lacrosse players and a beautiful turf field.  For the 12 OVS spuds it was quite intimidating.

One person said to me as we were walking up, “oh wow they have enough players to sub every five seconds!!!”

Yet we went out there and played, and for more than half our team it was the very first lacrosse game they have ever played in.  Talk about shell shock, your either going at 110% or standing still.  It is incredibly fast paced and very intimidating to people who have never played before.

Sometimes I think we should be the stubborn spuds and not just the spuds.  Down by almost ten in the first half, we had nothing to lose.  Exhausted and on edge we squared our shoulders and started the second half zero to zero in our heads.  By the end of the third quarter we were up 3-0.

Although we lost we came together as a team learned a lot, and definitely left them some bruises to think about.

The Basketball Game of the Century

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Man was that awesome or what?

The OVS Alumni basketball game was sure one for the ages. It was cool to see the basketball team face the Alumni in a very close game. However, the highlight was one play.

While the boys’ team and the Alumni had many impressive moments, I have to tell you…coach Floyd went crazy on the court.

While he only played for about 20 seconds, he was able to shoot a 3-pointer and then rifled a baseball pitch-style pass all the way down the court for fellow alum Parker Colborn to shoot an easy layup.

The Alum came out on top and did it in style.

What a game!