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For the month of November, six brave Lynbrook teachers take on the challenge to grow out their facial hair for prostate cancer.
Bale along with five other staff members, Japanese teacher Jeremy Kitchen, Spanish teacher Michael Esquivel, History teacher Mike Williams, Art teacher Lee Akamichi and Student conduct specialist Jose Ramirez, have taken on the No Shave November Challenge, to support prostate cancer research and awareness. Men who participate are referred to as “LynBros,” but teachers are not the only ones sporting the new scruffy look. Many boys at Lynbrook, or “MoBros” have decided to put their shaving cream away for the remainder of the month. “The moustache is a very visible conversation starter for the cause that is unique to men. This makes the ‘MoBros’ a walking billboard for the cause,” says Bale. Approximately one out of every 36 men die of prostate cancer. Although “Movember” is a fun way to educate the public about this disease, the men and boys involved in it understand the gravity of prostate cancer. “Truthfully I have always wanted to grow my beard out,” says senior Bhaumik Kotecha. “I also understand how serious prostate cancer is, and how many men are affected by it. The fact that I get to grow my beard while supporting cancer awareness is a plus,” says Kotecha. Everyone can get involved with Movember by participating in the various activates at the top of the quad each week. One such Movember fundraiser is the giant head at the top of the quad during brunch that students can pay to take a picture with. Lynbrook has raised about $150 so far from the “Movember” activities, and is continuing to raise funds for the throughout the duration of the month.
dianaDING & namrataSINGH
burns, otherwise known as a beard, or connect at the chin, known as a goatee. History teacher Jeffrey Bale brought the phenomenon to Lynbrook for the first time. “I decided to bring “Movember” to Lynbrook after seeing two of my fellow Lynbrook alumni last year at Thanksgiving with moustaches. These guys looked so hideous, so naturally I asked why they were sporting them. That’s how I learned about ‘Movember.’ This year I was able to recruit five staff members to join the challenge and we were able to launch Team ‘LynBro.’”
This November a new trend is growing on the students of Lynbrook, and their faces. Moustache November, commonly known as “Movember”, is a prostate cancer awareness movement that involves men growing their facial hair out for the entire month of November. “Movember” was started by a group of young men from Australia in 2003 as a fun way to raise money for prostate cancer research. The rules are simple: Begin clean-shaven on November 1st and do not shave till the end of the month. The moustache should not connect with the side-
Meet a few
LYNBROS mr. williams
mr. ramirez
mr. esquivel
Teacher models classroom after Mondrian art by
danielleLERNER
They’re a child’s best friend; the key to building elaborate cities and colorful spacecrafts; a source of entertainment for hours on end. And art teacher Paul Willson is aspiring to take Legos to a whole new level of creativity. A few weeks ago, principal Gail Davidson came to Willson asking him to help “spark up” conference room 75. Willson eagerly accepted, but wanted something more than just to hang student work. He says, “I wanted something simple and basic to highlight student work, since I’ve already displayed student art in over 70 locations on campus.” Taking inspiration from early 19th century Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, Willson commenced transforming the historic works into something contempo-
rary and modern. Mondrian’s work in the 1930’s, inspired in part by painter Vincent Van Gogh, was composed of various bold colors and lines arranged in bright, eye-catching patterns, creating unique patterns through use of elementary geometric technique. He was one of the leaders in the movement to create a new abstract art genre that became known as Neo-Plasticism. Following this example,Willson, with the help of his aide, stretched canvases and painted them with bold primary colors lined with sleek black tape to create a new twist on a classic artwork. This design functions to make a subtle frame for student pieces surrounded by a broad color field. After immortalizing Mondrian’s age-old techniques, Willson still yearned to do more to enhance the campus. He explains, “I thought, ‘how much fun would it
be to do Mondrian with Legos to hang pictures above the white boards in the room?’ It’s dead space up there anyways, so it sparks up the room a little more and ties together with the canvas pieces on the walls.” Willson has begun asking fellow staff members for donations of the colorful interlocking blocks, but still does not have enough to begin his creative project. He comments, “I’d love to approach parents and students”, adding that once he has all the Legos he needs, it shouldn’t take him very long to complete the series of one-foot squares he plans to exhibit above the white boards. Willson would very much appreciate donations of red, yellow, blue, black, or white Legos in order to get started “as soon as possible.” Students or staff willing to donate can bring their Legos to Willson in room 73, and help fuel the effort to keep Mondrian’s work alive on our very own campus.