Day 5: Restaurant Review

Review of The Mixx
by Stella

The first thing you will notice when entering The Mixx is how white most of the interior is. The walls, chairs, tables, and a good amount of the decor are almost entirely white. With all that white everywhere, the restaurant felt colder than it actually was. The Mixx's music selection was not that great. It consisted of mostly terrible pop songs.

The menu had plenty of vegan/vegetarian and gluten-free options, as well as a kids' menu. You could order a variety of soups, salads, and sandwiches or create your own. You could also order some baked goods at the front counter.

I ordered the Pretzel Chicken Sando, which came out about as fast as I expected it to. The sandwich itself consisted of crispy grilled chicken, spicy pepper jack cheese, fresh spinach and tomatoes, and some garlic aioli topped with a delicious pretzel bun. This combination made for one tasty sandwich. I don't usually like most sandwiches, but this one was an exception. Compared to other sandwiches I've had, like at Planet Sub, this one is two times better.

The sandwich totaled at a reasonable $9.50, plus tax.

Overall, I'd say The Mixx isn't my favorite restaurant ever, but I wouldn't mind going there again.

FOOD:⭐️⭐️ 

SERVICE:⭐️⭐️

ATMOSPHERE:⭐️⭐️

Overall-⭐️⭐️ and a half

⭐️-Fair

⭐️ ⭐️-Good

⭐️⭐️⭐️-Excellent 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-Extraordinary

Day 4: KCUR

Teacher’s note: On Thursday, students listened to podcasts and discussed the attributes that make professional podcasts successful. Then they created their own podcasts, focusing on a topic meaningful to them. Students practiced monitoring their volume, pitch, and speed to optimize their vocal deliveries. Here is Stella's podcast:

Later that day, students toured KCUR studios in Kansas City. As their kind and knowledgeable host, Donna Vestal—director of content strategy—provided background information on public radio introduced the students to KCUR announcer Linda Sher. 

Director of Community Engagement Ron Jones then had each student record a promo for the popular KCUR program Up To Date. You can hear Stella's promo below.

Day 3: KCPT

Teacher's Note: On Wednesday, students took a tour of the KCPT studios in Kansas City, learning what distinguishes public television from its commercial counterpart. With those differences in mind, each student wrote and directed a public service announcement. Here is Stella's.

Day 2: KU School of Journalism

MEDIA MANIA VISITS KU SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM

LAWRENCE, Kan. — On June 7, seven students from Barstow's Media Mania camp visited the KU School of Journalism for a tour in order to learn about journalism and media.

The tour was given by KU Academic Advisor Ashley Gomez, who has worked in her current role for three years and has a degree in Higher Education Administration from KU. Before officially starting work as an academic advisor, Mrs. Gomez spent five years getting her master's degree. "Those were some crazy years," says Mrs. Gomez.

Mrs. Gomez showed students different classrooms, labs, the library, and the school's green room. After the tour, camper Brianna shared, "I hated the burned coffee smell" in the Stauffer-Flint building.

Despite the building's smell, camper Catherine gave the experience an eight-and-a-half out of 10 rating. "I thought the library was cool," she said.

After the tour, the students had lunch at the Union before returning to Barstow to write their news stories. 

Day 1: The Jungle Book Movie Review

Review of The Jungle Book

by Stella S.

The Jungle Book starts out exciting enough with our hero Mowgli (Neel Sethi) being chased by Bagheera (Ben Kingsley), who is trying to teach Mowgli how to be more like a wolf. After this, Mowgli returns to the wolf pack and sees his adopted wolf mother Raksha (Lupita Nyong'o) and other wolf siblings. 

The story then fast-forwards to some time later during a drought. It is here the villain is introduced, a tiger named Shere Khan (Idris Elba) who wants to kill Mowgli. Not wanting to endanger the pack, Mowgli decides to return to his village and live with humans. 

Bagheera and Mowgli begin their journey towards the "man village."Along the way, Mowgli is separated from Bagheera, but not before they agree to meet up again later. 

The story kept me intrigued from start to finish, and the ending was very well-executed.