Leadership class converges with executive council by
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN YU
by
shannonCHAI
Room 72, Choir. Room 73, Art. Room 74, Drama. The fine arts wing is welcoming a new member; say hello to the Flexible Lab, located in room 76. The Flex Lab provides a new and improved way for students to give speeches and presentations in class. Walk into the room and on the right you will see two new interactive, touch-screen projectors. Surrounding the room are three spacious whiteboards, and one large projector screen stands at the front of the room. The shiny movable desks sit on their wheels, and a door on the left wall opens into a room where the 36 new laptops are stored safely. In addition to these new technologies, the Flex Lab also implements Tidebreak, a new software program. Tidebreak
allows teachers to control both interactive projectors with one computer and lets students throw their desktop screens onto the projectors for the whole class to see. Then, students will easily be able to share their work with the rest of the class for deeper discussion. These special characteristics of Tidebreak make class discussions more interactive, which in turn can create a more energetic learning atmosphere. Often, class presentations can be a complicated mess because students forget to email themselves a copy of their work or leave their USB flash drives at home. On top of that, students frequently find that their files will not open on their teacher’s computer. Fortunately, the Flex Lab offers students equipment that help fix these problems.
see FLEX LAB pg 3
Night on the Quad revamped by
jasmineMIRESHGHI
On October 1 from 5-8pm, Lynbrook will hold the annual Night on the Quad, where families will enjoy an evening of entertainment provided by Lynbrook students and a variety of cultural foods. Attendees will receive information on school organizations and have the opportunity to meet the staff. This year, the PTSA has made several changes to its entertainment and food in order to better accommodate all attendees and incorporate more of the school into the activities. Night on the Quad has experienced significant changes in entertainment. Many major school groups including the Cheer team and the Valkyries are planned to perform at Night on the Quad for the first time. “Because many of the parents at Back to School Night rush in just before it begins, the Marching Band
and Cheer team were not able to perform, so Night on the Quad will be a chance for them to see the groups perform,” says PTSA President Debbie Ward, “We also hope there will be a bigger and more relaxed audience at Night on the Quad.” As in previous years, different clubs will be advertising and providing information to families about their organizations, which will benefit students looking to join clubs on campus. “Last year, there were 24 clubs present,” says Ward, “But we hope that we will have over 30 at our event to make it even bigger than last year.” Additionally, there will be a silent auction with items including tickets to an Earthquake soccer game and a Lake Tahoe timeshare for spring break, which were provided by school clubs, families and staff. Although the deadline for order forms has already passed, dinner tickets can still be bought at the door for 20 dollars.
charuMEHRA
With great power comes great responsibility. For the group of about 40 students in Lynbrook’s leadership class, this famous aphorism becomes a reality every day during third period. As part of this year’s Leadership class at Lynbrook, these students make a large part of the decisions at Lynbrook regarding student life. However, this year’s Leadership class has merged with the Executive Council to expand into a class of approximately 40 students, more than double the size of previous years. Whether they are part of class officer teams or the separately chosen Executive Council, these individuals have proven themselves as responsible, friendly and open, not only to their peers, but also to their supervisors. Leadership advisor Tania Yang says, “The students in the class are there because they represent their school, and because they love it and want to be able to serve their peers and reach out to help their school and community.” The motivation behind this merge, says Yang, was because, “it gives us an identity, sense of unity, accountability, and feedback within our group.” Already, changes have been set in motion. Although the Activities Committee has been dissolved, its duties have been taken over by the entire class and activity point sheets have been delegated to the Elections Committee. Two new committees, Clubs and Community Link, have been formed to try and bring the school as close as possible to its clubs and the community. One example of the events they are coordinating is the voter registration drive, set to begin on Sept 20. Relating to the efficiency of the class, junior Carrina Dong says, “I think it works really well, making Executive Council into a class. Before we would only meet every other Wednesday and it would be kind of hard to communicate, but now we meet almost every day and we are much more productive.” ASB treasurer junior Kevin Tu says,“It gives more of a sense of unity, as committees are always helping other committees out!” However, he adds “whenever an old system, idea or structure is completely uprooted or thrown out, and a new one is instituted in its place. There are bound to be contradictions between ‘traditional’ and ‘new methods.’ But so far it’s been pretty smooth sailing.”With the merge of Executive Council and the ASB leadership into a class, the formation of two new committees, and more involvement in the community, Lynbrook’s Leadership class looks like it’s trying to reach out and make the 2010-11 year productive.