Embedded Files
The Monterey High Model UN club
By Michael Daoud
January 1, 2026
On Wednesday afternoon, the Monterey High School Model UN club was, full of energy because of the upcoming global debate, as a large group of students gathered for a major Model United Nations meeting.
Founded five years ago and passed down through dedicated student leaders, Model UN has become an important area for students to explore international issues while strengthening public speaking and critical thinking skills. Members step into the roles of real diplomats, representing countries and working together to address global challenges through negotiation.
The club offers a welcoming environment where students participate in mock UN sessions, research current geopolitical conflicts, and draft resolutions to present all aimed at solving international problems. Through these activities, students gain a deeper understanding of world affairs and the complex reasons behind global politics.
Three active members are Alexandro Miles (‘27), Bishop Singer (‘26), and Tim Hamza (‘27) all sharing their experiences and perspectives on the club’s impact.
Miles, a junior who joined Model UN to improve his public speaking skills, explained how the club broadened his outlook on global issues:. “Model UN has taught me how important it is to understand issues from different perspectives…,” Miles said. “When you represent a country, you have to think like a real diplomat. It allows you to see global problems in a deeper way.” In addition to participating in conferences, Miles has helped organize practice debates to help newer members.
Singer, a senior and one of the club’s dedicated researchers, shared how Model UN strengthened his interest in international politics:. “I love diving into complex topics like economic development…,” he said. “Model UN is about understanding the history, the politics, and the human impact behind political issues." His detailed speeches have added energy to club discussions.
Hamza, a junior with a growing passion for diplomacy, emphasized the supportive community within the club. “Model UN has helped me become more confident,” he said. “You learn how to negotiate, speak clearly, and collaborate with people who think differently from you.” Hamza has taken an active role in conferences and also coordinates club meetings.
The Monterey High Model UN team meets every Thursday at lunch in Room 23 to prepare for conferences. The club welcomes students from all grade levels who are interested in diplomacy and debate. With committed members like Miles, Singer, and Hamza, Monterey High’s Model UN club continues to grow rapidly with new members alike joining.
MHS Star Testing
By Ruben Gomez
January 14, 2026
The Monterey High School STAR tests are coming up, and students and teachers are getting prepared to do an outstanding job on these STAR tests.
Axel Swisher(‘28) Said that he is feeling excited for the STAR test, The way he’s getting ready is “focusing on all his class, but especially math and english”.
The students of Monterey High are focused and getting ready for these important tests, which will help show how strong their reading and math skills are this year.
Birch Sonrode(28’) Said that he doesn’t really think it’s important because “It shows the school’s overall grades on everything but I feel that they could sum up all the test scores from our tests from the last semester”.
Comments like these help show how students at Monterey High really feel about the STAR tests and can give the school ideas about different ways to measure learning in the future.
Other students share similar concerns and think the STAR tests may not be the best use of class time, even if they understand why the school gives them.
Owen Smith(28’) Owen Smith felt that these tests aren’t as important either since he said “I feel like it’s just kind of a waste of class time. I feel like we take, like too long on it and we could take a regular test instead”
Whether students see the STAR tests as exciting, useful, or just a long assignment, they will still play a role in how Monterey High understands student progress and plans for the future through their STAR tests.
MAOS Juniors Field Trip
By: Dariele Ramirez
On January 9th, 2026, the MAOS junior class took a field trip to the MBARI(Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) facility in Moss Landing. As the sister institute to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, MBARI specializes in many focus areas, such as biodiversity, engineering, robotic technology, ocean imaging, and many more.
Ocean philanthropist David Packard founded MBARI in 1987, with the mission to advance marine science and technology.
MBARI has been using its AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) and ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) to observe wildlife and ocean imaging/mapping. While using ships like the R/V David Parkard as a command center for the ROVs, allowing the team to take the vehicle 4000 meters(2.5) underwater.
MBARI demonstrated the significance of almost all sciences in all of its focus areas, which allows students interested in the careers MBARI provides in the future. MBARI also provides a summer internship program for college students lasting 10 weeks, and enables one to work on a project with a team focused on a specific area.
Quinn Murphy(‘27) explains how she appreciates how passionate all the staff were in their specified fields, adding that her tour guide, J. Andrew Hamilton, a Mechanical Engineering Lead, was an excellent example of how hardworking the MBARI staff and teams are. Murphy(‘27) said: “I enjoyed how educational it was, and he(Hamilton) was very knowledgeable in his field.”
While Teagan Kouns(‘27) added, “ We got to see all the cool behind-the-scenes areas. This was an amazing experience as someone who found their cause and company interesting.” Adding that this trip was eye-opening for the operations seen at MBARI.
Kai Shimabukuro(‘27) adds his take on the robotics aspect of MBARI, stating, “The many different robots they had were really cool to look at and learn about.” Saying that seeing all the intricate details on each robot was very interesting to see.
MHS GIRLS SOCCER
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