The Korea Daily Los Angeles

[Student Reporters] NHS's Big Brother/Sister Program

This year the National Honors Society (NHS) for high schoolers came to Burbank High School (BHS) for its very first year. The NHS is an organization whose members honor and emulate those in the community who demonstrate excellence in scholarship leadership service and character. Members are encouraged towards self development through involvement in school activities and within the community and encourage the qualities of NHS membership in other students as well. Today an estimated one million students participate in NHS within and outside of the U.S. What finally brought NHS to BHS is its first and current president Sally Noh. Sally current Junior who transferred into BHS after freshman year brought her experiences planting its seed by opening the club for the new Spring 2010 semester. With a total of over forty members in its first semester the club is currently fleshing out ideas and programs to get its members involved within the school. One such program brought by Sally from her previous high school is the Big Brothers/Sisters program which involves older NHS members acting as individual mentors for the entire freshman class. "It's a buddy thing" says Sally. "You guide them and give them advice from what you've experienced." The goal is to encourage them to persevere through high school and to provide freshman students who otherwise are lost in a new environment with a guide who will teach them the ropes of high school. Unless they have an older brother or sister many freshman students can be left at a loss and on their own when entering high school for the first time. Hana Park a freshman says "If I didn't already have friends in grades older than me it would've been nice to have an older student help me since they know better than I do." BHS is a very large school; with about 2500 students and around 600 to 700 students per grade lower grades and higher grades can easily become estranged. With one NHS member tied to every single incoming Freshman it eases the distance between the grade levels. Because the club is new to BHS and the program requires meetings with counselors advisors teachers and a lengthy amount of time if the program is to begin it will not do so until the fall semester of 2010. And when it does it will not be an easy task. NHS currently has about forty members with an average of 600 to 700 freshmen coming in every year giving each member about fifteen or seventeen freshmen to be responsible for. However such a program will provide new incoming students with a source to ask questions and receive answers and someone to welcome them into high school life. We anticipate the Big Brother/Sister program to help strengthen the bond between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen and to help younger students be welcomed into high school life.

[Student Reporters] Global Awareness Week

On February 18th Flintridge Preparatory School held its first ever Global Awareness Week featuring spokespersons of different organizations to share injustices of the world and their efforts to absolve them. The main presentation was conducted in the school auditorium by the organization Invisible Children. Invisible Children helps to alleviate the negative effects of a rebel group in Uganda. Joseph Kony of the Lord's Resistance Army has been in rebellion of the Government of Uganda for the last 23 years. Due to a lack of popularity for their movement the Lord's Resistance Army has been kidnapping young children and using them as children soldiers. The eventual generations of innocent people between the violence are born to a turbulent world. However Invisible Children aims to help these children by rebuilding schools educating future leaders and providing jobs in Northern Uganda. Invisible Children makes documentaries of the war-inflicted children and shows the videos across the world. At the school presentation the organization featured a documentary about a young girl named Rosaline afflicted with AIDS. The film showed her deep enjoyment for life as well as the struggle to obtain enough medication for all people with the disease. Through Invisible Children she is able to continually get the medication she needs and now aims to become a doctor. In their Legacy Tour Invisible Children brings young Ugandans afflicted by the war who have recovered their lives through the organization to come to America and tell their story. Ronald who barely escaped becoming a child soldier told his story to the student body. He described seeing his uncle die in front of him when he was just a small child due to the Lord's Resistance Army. However he obtained a new life and renewed hope through Invisible Children. He now aims to become a filmmaker to give people the same inspiring experience that he receives from film. Directly after the performance and throughout the day the members of Invisible Children sold bracelets made by Ugandans t-shirts made with cotton from Ugandan farmers and other products. The money they raise will help children like Rosaline and Ronald and the entire Flintridge Community was happy to oblige them. The rest of the allotted time was given to more personal presentations by other organizations to raise other issues like hunger and food availability.

[Student Reporters] If Everyone Dreams, It Becomes True

On February 6th National Schools Debating Championship began and lasted two days. Apart from the fierce competition among the teams Chairman Youngjun Kim stood in the back watching the whole event. - What responsibilities do you hold as a chairman? ▷ I would like to say I am a captain on a voyage to set destination that is meaningful and valuable and provide correct paths so as to avoid any snags. - What was the motive for the foundation of NSDC? ▷ Students especially those residing in Korea have relatively less chance to engage in various experiences. Most middle and high school students are busy going to institutes and only focusing on university admissions. I wanted to provide an opportunity to recognize the potential of becoming a global leader and materializing it in today's international communities. - What do you think is the most difficult task of carrying out NSDC? ▷ The reality in Korean education system is too focused on university admissions. Most teams participating are from Foreign Language High Schools or Global High Schools. But I really do hope that anyone regardless of their records what schools they are from can participate. So balancing the world of idealist and realist just like in any debate is the biggest obstacle. - When do you feel most rewarded? ▷ It is too early to be satisfied and stop at where we stand. However I feel the most rewarded when students steadily develop their skills and watching these participants grow I feel very fruitful. - Is there anything you want to say to the students in Korea? ▷ If only one dreams it stays a dream. But if everyone dreams it becomes true. This statement is a famous quote of Genghis Khan. Even though the reality is difficult I really want to make every student to participate. This is a responsibility that holds for not only the parents and managers alike but also for the students. I want all of Korean students to take the challenges. I hope the students can be the leader of their own life and be active. Chan Mi Lee / 10th Daewon Foreign Language High School

[Student Reporters] What? An SAT Prep Class Under $100?

Through a generous donation by Tier One Tutors Inc. Cypress High School is offering 11th grade students SAT preparation classes for the coming SAT exam on March 13. This is a new program called "SAT prep for all" that works with 1000 high school students from Los Angeles and Orange County. Students take the two-hour class every Wednesday for a period of seven weeks. As more students become interested in applying to colleges SAT preparation classes are becoming increasingly popular in society. The costs usually range well into the thousands burdening students from low-income families but these classes do not even break a hundred. Students are required to pay $75 solely for the material cost of the SAT preparation books and tests. Steve Dorfman the CEO of Tier One Tutors states "We thought this was a great way to allow students that could not afford private tutoring or expensive prep classes to still get the help they need to be competitive for college. Plus as we looked around at the other major companies in our industry we did not see any evidence that someone else was willing to step up and help public school students." The program was an immediate success with over 100 juniors signing up almost 20% of the junior class."I've been to Elite and it was much more expensive. So most of my friends are taking this class." says Lina Hong junior. The program uses practice tests and problems from the College Board to give students realistic practice and focuses on methodology and thinking skills. "So far it's pretty helpful. I've gotten a lot of tips to deduce what answer is the best answer for the language arts section." says Stacey Sanchez junior. "My teacher is very fun and carefree. She goes through it easily." It is refreshing to see an agency out there willing to do community service to further education for students with a tight budget. Especially in these economic times the program has given great relief and hope to many who cannot afford expensive classes. In regards to future classes Ken Gompert the head counselor says "They are very professional and we are open to a partnership but there are no promises."

[Student Reporters] Former Disney CEO Receives Standing Ovation at Lawrenceville Community

"My strength is coming up with two outs in the last of the ninth" the former Chief Executive Officer of Disney quoted. On January 14th Michael Eisner former CEO of Disney and also member of the Lawrenceville class of 1960 presided over the podium to share his impressive career and also his surprisingly less-than-impressive record as a Lawrenceville School student to the Lawrenceville School community in New Jersey. Michael Eisner is the former CEO of Disney where during his 20-year tenure he transformed Disney into world's leading entertainment and media enterprise. He successfully purchased ABC ESPN the Muppets and other profitable properties and had reanimated the animation department. Eisner is known for his "magic touch" for turning a company going down hill into a great company. Prior to his position as a Chief Executive Officer at Disney it was Eisner who directed the box office hits such as Saturday Night Fever Grease Raiders of the Lost Ark Beverly Hills Cop and Airplane as a Senior Vice President in the Paramount Pictures. Despite his majestic performances Eisner revealed to the thrilled crowd that undoubtedly he was a late bloomer. In fact during his times as a student at Lawrenceville he was neither a genius nor a bright student. The headmaster of the Lawrenceville Bruce McClellan quoted Michael as "[someone who] plays the angles to get away with what he can" and broke rules. After graduating from Lawrenceville he pursued to Denison College a small liberal arts school and began his career as working as a page of NBC. Remarkably upon his graduation he worked steadily up the ranks to become a senior vice president of NBC being in charge of programming and development. Eisner explained his secret recipe behind his success was allowing himself to be courageous by taking the initiative and to be present at locations. He said "Showing up is half the battle." He justified that once one is present one does not have to fret because what really matters is one's courage that has already allowed one to "show up." Furthermore Eisner inspired each student to take the chance to be ambitious in showing-up to places. Toward the closing of his speech the Lawrenceville Community cheered and applauded for Eisner being granted of the highest honor by the School and Alumni Association the Aldo Leopold Award which is presented to an alumnus who has demonstrated "brilliant life-long work in a specific field of endeavor." As an advice for students Eisner said. "Anything you do do it with excellence. How could you make every moment excellent?" The ceremony was undoubtedly an "excellent moment" in that sense of the word and it was an unforgettable moment for all to be converged as a Lawrenceville community and to take part in this remarkable milestone in Lawrenceville's history.

[Student Reporters] Irvine Student Takes Big Steps to Aid Haiti

On Friday February 12 Shibani Dhume president of the Project: Haiti club at Woodbridge High School in Irvine called her first meeting to order lighting the fire of assistance for earthquake-shattered Haiti. Junior Dhume created the club after seeing pictures of the damage in Time magazine and it has gathered almost two hundred supporters at the school in two week's time. "I realized that there were so many other people out there who had bigger problems than me" she said. "I felt like I needed to do something to help them." With her new club Dhume and members have organized a shoe drive to provide Haitians with the necessity of safe clean feet amidst the rubble of their devastated nation. Project: Haiti members will hold a school-wide weeklong drive to collect mildly used shoes starting Monday February 23rd to March 5th. "Our ultimate goal is to give it our best shot and do everything possible to help the people of Haiti" continued Dhume. "I want to make a difference. We want to make a difference." Project: Haiti is working with the nonprofit organization of Soles4Souls for their drive. Soles4Souls who distributes a pair of shoes to a person in need every 9 seconds will provide the collection bins which will be stationed in the on-campus cafeteria quad. "I think it is great that students are actually taking time to help others" said science teacher and Project: Haiti advisor Bruno Dworzak. After the shoe drive the club plans on holding a T-shirt sale with brands like Stussy Billabong and Hurley at school sporting events as well as setting up after school bake sales. "I hope the shoes will put smiles on the Haitians' faces despite the tragedy they experienced" said junior and Project: Haiti vice president Jamie Castelar. "We will start with shoes and keep helping them as much as possible. This is only the beginning." For more information on Woodbridge High School's Project: Haiti club contact [email protected]. For more information on how to start a shoe drive at a school like Shibani and her club visit http://www.soles4souls.org.

미주중앙일보 - 미주 최대 한인 뉴스 미디어