With summer approaching fast, many Archer students are eager to finally get a break and the chance to relax. While some students will be pursuing academic interests, others will be taking the time to explore outdoors or get more involved within their communities.

Rising junior Dani Fenster said she wanted to enjoy her summer as much as she could while also being academically active.

“For the first half of summer, I’m going to try to unwind as much as possible from this year and have some fun. I also just got my vaccination, and I’ll be able to hang out with friends more,” Fenster said. “I’m [going to] have a set time every day where I will prioritize schoolwork [and] then move onto things like reading a cool book or something.”

Rachel Chung (’25) echoed Fenster’s comment about balancing her summer as much as possible. Chung not only wants to explore personal interests but is also thinking about her academic transition into high school.

“I want to focus on things I haven’t really been able to do during the school year,” Chung said. “I also have an itinerary of things that I want to do academically so that I’m not just spending the whole time on my phone.”

Rising sophomore Julissa Cach hopes to dedicate her summer to spending time with friends and family, while also thinking about academics.

“I think I’m going to be hanging out pretty much half the summer with my friends [and], half of my summer I will be in Texas because I will be visiting my sister for a while — she just graduated,” Cach said. “We’re going to be eating out a lot and then reorganizing her house, which will be super cool.”

All three students mentioned taking classes over the summer ranging from pre-collegiate courses at schools like Syracuse University to acting classes in Los Angeles. Fenster said she is planning on taking college courses that interest her during the break.

“I haven’t decided exactly which courses I want to take yet, but I want to learn a bunch this summer in a way that it doesn’t feel like a chore,” Fenster said. “Ideally, it would be something like environmental studies or policy, which would be fantastic.”

Cach will be attending an online coding course this summer at Syracuse University that her sister inspired her to take.

“I’ll be programming and learning how to make a website, so that’s something I’m really excited about,” Cach said. “I saw this as an opportunity to get busy during the summer, and I want to try to be productive and see if I would like to [code] further in my life.”

In an attempt to further develop her acting skills, Chung will be taking acting classes and is also excited to travel and spend time with her family. In addition, to prepare for her freshman math classes, Chung will be taking online math courses that will allow her to develop her skills in preparation for advanced courses at Archer.

“During the summer, I know I’m going to be making a trip to New York just with my family,” Chung said. “I’ll also be taking some acting classes over the summer and taking a math course.”

Archer students said they enjoy taking advantage of the break and tend to participate in many different activities to involve themselves. Cach is thinking about the next school year and hopes to use the summer to prepare for it both mentally and academically.

“I’m really excited to see what’s coming and also kind of nervous for my courses because it will be my first time taking honors,” Cach said. “During the summer, I want to try and focus on expanding my skills, such as improving my writing a bit and being productive instead of doing everything last minute.”

In addition, Fenster will be participating in volunteer work and is planning to explore new academic interests; however, she will also be taking time to engage in outdoor activities that she enjoys.

“I also plan on doing some volunteering, preferably environmental volunteering. I’ve been volunteering virtually with Environment California over the past few months, and I would love to bring [my work] to a hands-on experience now that things are opening back up,” Fenster said. “I’m also going to be spending a bunch of time in Mammoth, and I want to get better at mountain biking and I’m going to do some backpacking, which is very exciting.”