By Alexis Stuckey

Legend faculty members, students, and Principal Corey Wise took an adventure over the Great Wall, through the Temple of Heaven, and around the Forbidden City of China to XinJin Experimental Middle School, a middle school in China.

Chinese teacher, Matthew Solak, chemistry teacher Jay Zimmerman, Jake Taylor, and a few other dedicated Chinese students ventured over a few borders to the middle school in order to absorb a little bit of the Chinese culture and leave a little bit of American culture behind.

“Several of us taught middle school Chinese kids at the sister school,” said Zimmerman, a full time chemistry teacher and part time Chinese student at Legend. “The most exciting thing for me was teaching Chinese students and forming strong bonds with those kids.”

Zimmerman also included that he finds the Chinese culture intriguing, which is a reason to keep returning to China for years to come.

But the Legend faculty and students weren’t just leaving knowledge, but also gaining some.

Junior Kylie Bernard remembers the memorization technique that she learned during her vacation.

“In school I was in a class with [senior] Blake Fogle and two students from Chaparral, and we had two Chinese teachers, one who didn’t speak any English. They made us learn and memorize these old Chinese poems and we had to recite them with perfect tones and we had to move our head around in a circle while we did. It was embarrassing.”

The Chinese middle school doesn’t operate very much like Legend. The school day lasts from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a two-hour lunch break and two-hour dinner break. The classrooms are also significantly more packed with an average of 40 to 50 students per classroom.

“The focus is the same: learning,” Zimmerman said.

The students also took a side-trip to Xi’an, which was the ancient capital of China, where they visited the Terracotta Soldiers, and rode bicycles around the eight-mile city wall, according to Solak.

The annual trip is open to a select group of Legend students and faculty members. In order to attend the trip to China, you must be in Chinese with a B or higher, and be a good student in all other courses, meaning no D’s. The eligibility for the trip is similar to that of Legend athletics.

“It is such and great trip and so important for my Chinese students and Legend,” said Solak, who believes “‘our legend’ is definitely crossing borders.”

By Miranda McHodgkins

Read about Collin Elliott’s sign spinning in the Oct. 3 issue of The Forum.

By Miranda McHodgkins

Chunky Knit Sweaters
Knit sweaters not only keep you comfy during the cooler months, but are also very casual and cute. It’s an easy piece to throw on when you’re in a hurry to get to school.

Riding Boots
I highly recommend investing in a good pair of riding boots because you’ll get a lot of use out of them. They go great paired with skinny jeans or leggings and are so comfortable and cute.

Sweatshirts/ Graphic Pullovers
Sweatshirts will not only keep you warm but by having a bold print or design on it can help make a statement and gives your look an edgier feel.

The Army Jacket
Military inspired clothes are big this fall and what better way to sport the look than with an army jacket. It looks great layered over knits, t-shirts and even dresses.

Leather Jackets
Leather jackets are a warm and fun way to spice up your look and give your look an edgy feel. Plus they are so effortless. You can pair them over a v-neck t-shirt with some skinny jeans and converse shoes and you’ve got a warm and comfy outfit for the day.

Polka Dots
If you could wear only one pattern for the entire season of fall I’d recommend polka dots. This season big and bold polka dot prints with bright colors are in and especially look cute on  a big oversized sweater.

Patterned Skirts and Pants
Feel like wearing something a bit bold and daring? This season crazy patterns are in such as tribal printed skirts. If you want to join in on the patterned trend, but want something more subtle I’d recommend trying out soft floral printed skinny jeans.

Cardigans and Blazers
These two pieces of clothing can dress up any outfit and will definitely keep you warm. Plus they are perfect for layering and you can play around with having layers underneath the cardigans and blazers pop out from your sleeves or if you have a collared shirt you can have that pop out from under you cardigan or blazer.

The Menswear Watch
Accessories that are in this fall are big wrist watches. They look great paired with cuffs or chunky bracelets.

Colored Bags
Another accessory that is hot this fall is colored bags. The crazier and brighter they are, the better. it’s perfect for a day when you’re just wearing a plain white tee and some skinny jeans and can instantly transform your outfit and make it look like you spent more time on your outfit than you did.