Author Spotlight
Lauren Dierks
IB BIOLOGY STUDENTS are pending approval on ‘East for Water’, a club to raise money for The Thirst Project, a foundation based that raises money to help build wells for people in need of clean water.
IB Biology students came up with the idea for the club after IB Biology teacher Erica Jablonski brought in a speaker from the Thirst Project to talk about the lack of clean water in third world countries.
The Thirst Project has made an impact in 13 countries and strives to provide accessible water to developing countries around the world.
The East for Water club will plan fundraisers and events to raise money to donate to the cause. The club’s goal is to build at least one well, which costs $12,000.
“I feel that we take our clean water for granted,” said Jablonski. “It is a very important cause that the Thirst Project is after — trying to get clean water to people.”
East for Water will begin holding meetings and planning events as soon as they get approval from administration. The club plans on having two meetings a week, one for the ten co-founders and one for anyone else who is interested in participating.
“IB bio started the club, but we have about 50 people in a GroupMe that are interested in doing it with us,” co-founder and junior Henry Decoursey said.
Once the club is approved, they will begin to take action and make their plans to support The Thirst Project.
THE PRAIRIE VILLAGE Community Council held a community workshop on Sept. 19 for community members to discuss their renovation ideas for Harmon Skate Park.
At the workshop, members of the community were able to design their own skatepark and discuss ideas with Newline Skateparks’ project manager Kanten Russell. There, they could use printed out blueprints of the park to layout features that they hoped to add.
Russell hopes the meetings will allow the team to create a new skate park best catered to the community’s priorities.
“We just really wanted to hear from them what some of their top features are that they wanted included in there,” Russell said.
Before the next meeting date, the design team from California will collect the most requested features and continue to collect more input from community members. By the third meeting, they’re scheduled to have the design team come up with a final sketch and present it to the community and project facilitator, Keith Bredehoeft, where they can then modify the design to their desires and finalize their work.
“I think a newer design and skate park will draw in more people, especially when it’s brand new,” Bredehoeft said.
The project will receive a budget from the city of Prairie Village and will fundraise if needed. The team will continue to gather community input to make the skatepark accessible for everyone. They plan on having the skatepark fully constructed by April of next year.
APPLE LAUNCHED THE iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone Pro Max on Sept. 20, all available in an array of colors and equipped with the fastest U1 chip found in any smartphone.
While the iPhone 11 offers 17 hour battery life and an ultra-wide camera, the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max have an 18 hour battery life and an ultra-wide, more powerful camera.
The newest selection of phones differ from past versions, with longer water resistance and dual camera systems. Compared to the iPhone XR that started at $599, the iPhone 11 was on the market at $699 and the iPhone 11 Pro at $999.
After purchasing the iPhone 11, junior Drew Parisi believes the newest iPhone hardly differs from his old iPhone 7.
“I think it was over-hyped because it’s just another phone and does the same things that the other ones do,” Parisi said. “Except with minor changes like the fancy camera.”
Junior Kate Peery believes the newest iPhone is worth trading in her old iPhone 7.
“It’s bigger and there’s a lot of new features,” Peery said. “Like the camera’s better and the glass is more durable and there’s a much better battery life.”
With fresh colors, a new camera and more features, Apple expects customers to be interested in upgrading to the new phone.
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