Photo by: Stevan Brennar and Matt Rosenbaum Photos by: Matt Rosenbaum

Written by: Matt Rosenbaum

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What Happened to the Library?Written by: Jeeda Alayoubi

It’s safe to say that there are many aspects of North Bro-ward that will always remain the same. Constants. For example, there’s an infuriatingly large lake to slow us from getting to our next class (by the way, have you noticed that it seems to get larger as you get later?), a RIDICULOUSLY long carpool line would be another prime illustration (which again, seems to get longer as you get later), a daily high five or fist bump from the friendly custodian Rodrigo, and finally, Mrs. Condon will always be here. Always.

I myself am beginning my sixth and final year at North Broward, and the one thing I never thought would be crossed off my list of constants was our school library. But oh boy, was it. With red ink. Red ink and jack hammers.

The library has been a part of my experience at North Broward for as long as I have been attending the school. Whether I was pretending to pay attention in my fourth JSTOR tutorial for that year, “prepping” for a certain standardized test with Ms. Pagano, or simply wanting a place with North Pole-status air conditioning, the library has always been there for me.

So when my senior year came around, it was pretty devastating to see that it literally had been uprooted. And what’s even more devastating is the uncertainty of the fates of those clever cardboard animal-letters that so quirkily decorated the tops of bookshelves. (Remember the M that looked like an elephant?) I can picture them now, cold and deserted, probably deep in a labyrinth of banana peels, Jersey Shore Season 1 DVDs, and other assorted pieces of garbage at Mount Trashmore. I don’t even want to start to fathom where all the books must have gone.

The first thing that came to mind when I realized that our library was missing was: what could they possibly be making room for? A few ideas from anonymous sources include: ice skating rink, monster truck arena, and the set for M. Night Shamal-amanan’s (or however you spell it) next unbearable movie. I even heard a rumor that the ruins of a lost civilization had been uncovered beneath the surface of the library, and room needed to be made for excavation purposes.

Despite my grieving for our late pal, the library, I did some research and happened to get some uplifting results. No, there will be no ice-skating, monster truck related antics, or all-too-predictable twist endings, but there

will be something of great benefit to underclassmen and future North Broward Students: A BIGGER library! The upcoming facility, which will be referred to as “The Learning Commons”, is estimated to be open to students by the end of November. Not only will the Learning Commons be 50% larger than our old library, but it will be subject to a complete technological make-over. Students will have the luxuries of digital research labs and technology instruction classrooms jam-packed with exciting new gadgets. The Learning Commons will be equipped with fourteen spanking new iPads (for educational purposes only, of course), flat screen TVs-turned-smart boards, a built-in electronically re-tractable screen and projector system for lectures or presentations, and much more. The brand new ELMO (no, not the giggling red thing, so don’t get too excited—I’m talking about the digital pro-jection system) that will be available creates projected images of solid objects. Place an open textbook on it, and you’ll be intently staring at a wall for your next study session. The possibilities are endless…think about it. Remember the Dewey Decimal Sys-tem? Don’t need to. If you’re having trouble finding a book, just find an open iPad station and, well, as the Starbucks- drinking, flannel-clad, hipster kids and Mr. Gleeks of the world would put it, “there’s an app for that”.

Although the gutted library initially wrenched some hearts, jerked some tears, and turned some heads, there is no doubt that the incoming Learning Commons will quickly be-come, as deputy headmaster Jeanne Korn put it, “both the heart and the brain” of our community. On a final note, did anybody hear about the bumper boat installations in the back lake? I did. But that’s for a different story.

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F I N E A R T SMeritas Film Festival:The Meritas Film Festival was hosted at Windermere Prep in Orlando, Florida on September 19. Students were given the challenge of completing productions in just one day. After finishing, students discussed their experi-ences and were given advice for future endeavors. On the final day, the participants headed over to the movie theatre for the screening of their films. “Media Arts, in my opinion, is a sect of the fine arts that doesn’t get as much recognition as some of the other disciplines, like music or dance, so I’m really glad that we had a chance to participate in this event,” said Junior Andrea Pulgar.

Meritas Art Festival:On November 3, art students arrived in Chicago, the Mertitas headquarters. The participants were able to tour the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The event ended with a visit to Interna-tional Expositions of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Work. “My hope is that the students will make new friends with other fifty middle and high school students from our Meritas schools across the continental United States and that they will create many wonderful memories,” said North Broward Art Teacher Shelly Weiss.

Meritas Music Festival: “We want to be in harmony with the academic system, and we want the academic system to be in harmony with fine arts, to create a high achieving family [within our school],” said George Tandy, Choir Director. From Febru-ary 2 through 5, fine arts students will be able to visit Tempe, Arizona. Middle and high school musicians will be guided by professionals based on their particular interests for eight hours a day. “This trip will give kids a bet-ter understanding of the significance of their art and how it is used to communicate positive results to society,” said Tandy.

Meritas Dance Festival: On March 16-20 2011 at our Coconut Creek CampusOn Wednesday, March 16 students from our sister schools will check in to a local hotel preparing for a fun week of dance. These Meritas dance students will be able to participate in workshops. After three days of hard work, a beach party and dance showcase will be rewarded to participants.

European Charity Tour:Students will meet in Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday, June 9, 2011, for the 14th Annual European Charity Tour. This year, students will be visiting London, Amsterdam, Prague, and Krakow. Participants will have the oppor-tunity to tour and learn about Europe while making a difference participating in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “[Last year’s trip] was a very moving experience, and it helped shape me into the musician I am today,” said Senior Connor Cushing.