The Zoo Magnet is a magnet that is paired with North Hollywood high school located at the Los Angeles Zoo. There at the magnet kids go and learn how to interact with animals and learn what it is like to be close to them and near them so that later in life they can do careers that are closely related to zoology fields or biology fields for animals. 

However, the Zoo Open House is a place where many students get together from the zoo campus and they show off what they did that year in their classrooms. They then talk about their magnet, what it does, and how great it is. 

One anonymous student who is part of the zoo magnet said that “The zoo magnet open house is about showing the families of all the students who attend what accomplishments they have done throughout the school year.” While another anonymous student said, “that can be anything from posters in English class or pictures in photography.” 

This is to show that their students are learning about their magnet, while still partaking in their required classes and having fun. For the parents, this shows growth and for incoming students, this shows two things; one how much fun they will have in their new classes and two it is there to get them excited about the upcoming school year/ years at the new magnet school. 

Furthermore, the Zoo Open House is there to welcome new students and as described by Sage (grade and last name not wanting to be told) “familiarize them.” Another anonymous student said that the Zoo Open House is to “show how awesome our magnet is!” and to get fellow new students excited to be part of it and the action. 

The Zoo Open House helps connect the newer students because “instead of being shy to the 10th, 11th, and 12th graders they will recognize them and hopefully become acquainted with them.” said an anonymous student. Another anonymous student agreed with the statement and said that it accented new incoming students because “they will know some people they will be in class with and possibly feel less alone.”

The reason that it helps connect students is that not only are there students showing their work to their fellow peers and parents, but it moreover helps convince students to join clubs and have fun with other fellow students around them in these programs. 

For instance: The drama club puts plays on for the students and teachers in the schools, the Jewish Student Union helps unite Jewish students together, Gender Sexuality Alliance brings together straight and LGBTQ students together and gives them a safe space to talk and have fun, Weed Killer Killer Club a club dedicated it finding new wildlife and preventing pant harm/ damage and Stop Club were just some of the clubs that were there. 

Likewise, they had sports that were promoted there that the zoo magnet kids can go to on the main campus such as Softball, Baseball, Tennis, Cross country, Track and Field, Volleyball, Cheer, and Archery. Kids who decide to do sports will take a bus back to the main campus and will do the sports at the main North Hollywood High School campus instead of the zoo magnet campus. 

All of these activities are there to help grow a community between the two schools and to help all the students, no matter how long they have been there at the school or going to be there, have better connections and friendships. 

I interviewed some of the students who participated in the event and many of them quite enjoyed it. An anonymous student said “For this year’s Open House I presented one of the many labs that my chemistry class did this semester.” they also said that they helped with quite a few clubs that they partacted in. This included “the Drama Club’s table as well as the Weed killer killer club’s table as I am the Vice President of the club” Other students took part in helping the sports teams and they were very excited while doing so. 

There however were some students that could not attend the event and could not do it. They said that it was mainly scheduling issues and that if they could they would like to do it next year, because of how much fun it is to do in the years prior. 

Overall the Zoo Open House is a great success and a huge help for students overall who are just coming into the school and those who are trying to find new friends and things to do on campus. In conjunction with helping parents and students who are trying to figure out what they will be doing next year and how much growth they have made in the following years at their school. Many students enjoy the tradition and wish to continue it.