LMSA students went away on study abroad trips this summer, where they continued to study language and came face to face with the culture of their lan-guages of study for the first time.

Five students were selected to go on a CPS-funded trip to China. LMSA se-niors Juan Robles, Karina Banuelos, Sabrina Rodriguez, Mariaton Tate, and Matima Muhammad journeyed to Shang-hai, where they connected with other CPS Chinese students and attended an intensive language and culture course at East China Normal University. The stu-dents spent half the trip staying in dorm rooms with native Chinese speakers, and the other half staying with Chinese families. Juan Robles said of the expe-rience, “My favorite part of the trip was

bonding with my home stay roommate and his family.” The home stay made a big impact on these students and played a role in making them feel at home in China. Some of the students reported that they’ve continued to stay in touch with their roommates.

The students also got the chance to go sightseeing throughout China. They made a trip to Beijing, in which they vis-ited the 2010 World Fair, a unique expe-rience. “My favorite place was possibly the World Expo,” Juan said. “In Chinese [the Expo is] referred to as shi bo and its overall goal was to show the world what each country has been doing over the past few years in terms of the economy and environment. I also enjoyed The Great Wall, because it was a great expe-rience to admire such a beautiful work of architecture,” he said.

Matima added, “My favorite part of Beijing though was the Great Wall. Be-cause how many other people my age in the city of Chicago can say they’ve climbed the Great Wall?”

The students returning from China all agree that their communication skills have greatly improved during this sum-mer. Students agree that they are far more confident in their Chinese skills now than when the summer began. The study abroad trip created new friendships and pushed students toward fluency. It also motivated LMSA students to take their foreign language studies even further. “In terms of college, I most definitely want to take Chinese as a class or pos-sibly even as my minor in college,” Juan said. Other students felt the same way.

Continued on Page 8

Volume IV, Issue ILindblom Math and Science AcademySeptember/October 2010

2010 Sees New Faces in LMSA Student Government

LMSA Takes Shanghai

The Talon

By Asha Walker

By Nia Williams

LMSA Welcomes New EaglesPage 3

Back to School!Page 4-5

2010 LMSA College Fair

Page 2

Ambassadors Program Makes Freshmen Feel at HomeFor 2010-2011 school year, the Lind-

blom staff is taking steps to increase the success level of incoming freshman.

The transition from 8th grade to high school comes with the pressure of meeting new, higher standards in an unfamiliar environment filled with new challenges and freedoms. More often than not, freshmen fail to meet these new requirements, ending up with far worse grades than they hoped to achieve. The newly introduced LMSA Ambassadors Program focuses on strengthening the

success level of new freshmen with the help of students who have faced the same tough transition from middle school to high school.

The Lindblom Ambassador Program Mission Statement states: “By helping freshmen understand expectations of the class room, by encouraging positive student success, by being a positive role model, and by collaborating with Lindb-lom faculty and staff, we will find ways to best serve the freshmen and empower them to succeed.”

Teachers Mr. Ray and Ms. Berdelle recognized an important demographic at LMSA: many upperclassmen are strug-gling with credit recovery and summer school. This may show that there was a flaw in the way LMSA previously han-dled freshmen.

The Lindblom Ambassador Program brings together 30 selected sophomores, well-versed in the expectations of fresh-men to serve as mentors. Freshmen are paired with certain sophomores based on the evaluation of each student. Each

sophomore is required to serve a mini-mum of two hours per week with the program, and to always uphold a high code of conduct. Teachers of fresh-men advisories report to Mr. Ray and Ms. Berdelle regularly on the needs of students in order to assist in the choos-ing of mentors based on specific needs. Students selected to serve as mentors are also evaluated for their level of responsi-bility, good grades and willingness com-mit to a year-long program.

Continued on Page 8

By Carolyn Davis and Tekhundra Stephens

The freshmen class elections stood out this year because of their unortho-dox election methods.

This year, the freshman class neither held speeches nor elections. The initial cancellation of student elections

was because the class lacked spon-sorship. Eventually, Ms. Davis, a new freshman advisory teacher, volun-teered.

Originally, there were two candi-dates for President and none for Vice President. A brief meeting was held to determine who would hold which posi-tion in which it was left up to the presi-dential candidates to decide whether or not there would be elections.

If they decided not to have elections, they’d have to decide who would be vice president and president between them. If there were to be elections, the two presidental candidates would battle head to head, opening the position of vice president and treasurer.

They decided on skipping elections and ended up with this year’s freshman student government roster.

The results for the freshman class of 2014 were Mykhail Alexander as Presi-dent, Isaiah Brisco as Vice President, Luther Boyd as Secretary, and Lerron Bonner as Treasurer.

For all winners, see chart on page 4

Photo Courtesy of Sabrina Rodriguez

LMSA students and their Chinese counterparts pose for a picture in Shanghai, China.

The Lindblom College Fair offered stu-dents of all grade levels the opportunity to meet and chat with college representa-tives from throughout the nation. It gave students the chance to learn as much as they could about the schools in which they were interested.

The seniors, of course, know it is “deci-sion time.” It is one of their last chances to get information on what schools they will apply to, in order to meet the deadlines for their favorite schools.

Senior Sawsan Abousbie attended the fair and felt good leaving the fair know-ing that she would be able to make a good decision for her college plans. She said, “I found the college fair to be informative.”

In the past, there have been many col-leges, military organizations, as well as independent organizations that have been involved in Lindblom’s college fair.

This year, several more schools and as-sociations joined the list and many of those are willing to come again next year. Some of those schools included: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ball State University, University of Iowa, Luther College, North Park University, Univer-sity of Northern Iowa, Saint Olaf College, and Truman State University.

A few students, as well as Mr. Welsh, were a little disappointed that some of the schools backed out, including Coyne Col-lege, Daley College, Davidson College, Miami University-Ohio, and Philander Smith College. The reason why they were no-shows is not known, but even with

those few missing schools, students still made the best of the experience.

Although many students felt the college fair was a good experience.

Since the college fair was held through-out the entire day, many schools could not stay for the entire time.

Alexandra Richardson, a senior at Lind-blom was saddened by the departure of many of those schools. She said, “Some of the schools were leaving and I felt as though they should have stayed longer. I was interested in the University of Wis-consin-Madison and they left. The schools that I have seen here do not appeal to me and that is why I was upset when UW left early.”

Out of the many schools that were will-ing to attend, most of them came with high expectations for the students at Lindblom

as well as any students who apply to their school.

DePaul University representative Mi-chael Esparza said, “DePaul is looking for strong candidates like the ones at LMSA. LMSA students show they are very seri-ous. Besides, Mr. Welsh does a great job of conducting the college fair.”

Mr. Welsh feels very good about the success of the college fair. He said, “I am very pleased. I am trying to get students exposed to new colleges that may fit them. By having the students talk to the schools, they will be eager to apply.”

By Alexandria Williams

Page 2 September/October 2010Monthly Feature

September/October 2010 Volume IV, Issue 1

EDITOR IN CHIEF:Tekhundra Stephens

MANAGING EDITOR:Asha Walker

EDITORSKiersten Porter (News)Porsha Stennis (Opinion)Tyehimba Turner (Arts)Tammy Thomas (Sports)Mica Dugas (Photo)

STAFF Kezia Darring, Chaniqua Hardy, Chazz Johnson, Niara Norvell, Maleiya Porter, Joshua Romero, Jessica Simmons, Chanel Ware, Alexandria Williams, Nia Wil-liams

CONTRIBUTING REPORTERSAutumn Branch, Kyesha Caver, Endya Clark, Yazmine Cole, Carolyn Davis, Keith Davis, Cameron Fenton, Jourdan How-ard, Jacquelyn McCune, Dywon Perkins, Jeremiah Porter, Terrence Turner

BUSINESS MANAGERChardeney Mason

PRINCIPALMr. Mather

STAFF ADVISORMr. Dudek

TALON (tāl’ən) n. - The claw of an eagle. Among its many functions, the talon is used to dig. It is a symbol of strength and integrity.

Please send all comments, ideas, let-ters to the editor, and sumbissions to lindblomnews@gmail.com

The Talon

College Fair Shows Students the Choices They Have

Here’s a look at nine schools that visitedUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison •ACT: 26-30 •GPA 3.25 & Higher •30,343 Undergrad Students

DePaul University •ACT: 22-27 •GPA 2.5 & Higher •16,199 Undergrad Students

Purdue University •ACT: 23-29 •GPA 3.0 & Higher •31,145 Undergrad Students

Illinois State University •ACT: 22-26 •GPA: 2.5 & Higher •18,389 Undergrad Students

Tuskegee University •ACT: 17-21 •GPA 2.5 & Higher •2,475 Undergrad Students

University of Illinois at Chicago •ACT: 21-26 • GPA:N/A • 16,044 Undergrad Students

Concordia University-Chicago •ACT: 19-24 •GPA: 2.5 & Higher •1,270 Undergrad Students

Indiana State University •ACT: 17-22 •GPA: 2.0 & Higher •8,460 Undergrad Students

Grand Valley State University •ACT: 22-26 •GPA: 3.0 & Higher •20,850 Undergrad Students

The “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” put in place during Clinton’s term in office, allows ho-mosexuals to serve in the armed forces as long as they keep their sexuality a secret.

Recently, however, there has been a move to repeal the policy and allow ho-mosexuals to openly serve in the military. This movement has led to divided opin-ions amongst both ends of the political spectrum. President Barack Obama, who has led the movement for the ban’s repeal, may now be looking at a weaker compri-mise.

Republicans have expressed satisfaction with the military’s current state of policy. Former presidential candidate John Mc-Cain (R - Ariz.) described the policy as being “imperfect, but still effective.”

Democrats have acknowledged a desire to change to the act, some more assertive in their support for the repeal than others.

Just as policy makers seem torn on the issue, homosexuals in the military are also conflicted.

A Pentagon survey for service members did little to ease concerns with somewhat biased inquiries into issues such as how a soldier would react to showering with a homosexual service member. Many sol-diers expressed fear that the survey served the secret purpose of forcing gay members to reveal their identities and therefore vio-late the very act under scrutiny. Encour-agement from the Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, was needed in order to get sur-veys filled out. The apprehensiveness of the soldiers shows that sleeping dogs may be best left to lie.

Obama’s attempts to end “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” are admirable but pose the risk of causing a divide. There is no room for dissention when fighting wars. Efforts to create chances for gay military person-nel to be open may be thwarted by the fact that prejudice is still present in soci-ety. When fighting wars, circumstances are always strained and do not need the added stress of domestic conflicts due to one soldier’s possible inability to tolerate another’s sexual orientation.

“The American people don’t want the American military to be used to advance a liberal political agenda,” said Republican Mike Pence.

This policy undoubtedly must cause some emotional dissatisfaction amongst homosexual service members. However, consequences for repealing the act could negatively affect the people Obama is at-tempting to empower.

This policy is best suited for the circum-stances of the times we live in. By not al-lowing for sexual orientation of service members to be announced, focus is solely kept on defeating the enemy as a unit.

The effects of division have been exem-plified within the past few months from political differences between parties in Congress.

While imperfect, maybe it’s best to leave the policy alone for now.

“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is imperfect, but should stay

Page 3 September/October 2010Talon News

The stakes were high and the candidates were set for the 2010-11 school year.

Senior year is here and both Chardeney Mason and Chaniqua Hardy gave us their all. This year the candidates gave their speeches after colloquium so it was not mandatory for students to attend. During her speech, Chaniqua Hardy stated that this year she wanted every student to be represented. She stated, “I do not want one small group to determine what we do.” Hardy seemed very passionate about being President.

Chardeney Mason, however, has been the reigning authority of the senior class since

her election in 2009. She has introduced major fundraisers such as Innisbrook, Val-entine’s Day Gifts, and Movie Night. She believes that she can really show what she can do this year.

Chardeney said, “I want our class to be the first class to successfully plan a class trip.” She felt that her experience thus far makes her the best candidate for the posi-tion.

After the votes were counted, Chardeney Mason was named class president for the second year in a row with Julian Clayton as vice president, Casey Bailey as secre-tary, and Olivia Weathers as treasurer.

Seniors Choose Officials

By Tekhundra Stephens

By Jourdan Howard

Ms. Tina Peano is a new English teacher here at Lindblom. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ms. Peano teaches AP Literature and Composition and American Literature. Before coming to LMSA, she taught at Best Practice High School for six years. She then started working part time at National Lewis University, the Chicago History Fair, and Chicago Teachers Center. She missed working full time with students, so she decided to come to LMSA. When asked why she decided to start teaching, she said, “I was a teacher’s assistant at UIC because you can get your fees waived that way, and I found that I really liked it. I decided to get my degree and really enjoyed working with students.” Ms. Peano has a positive perspective of LMSA and seems to like teaching here quite a bit. “I’m enjoying it [LMSA] a lot. The kids are very cooperative and interested in learning. The staff has been really supportive, too. They nod and say hello and they’ve been trying their best to make sure that I’m comfortable and not havingany trouble.”

Mr. Dallas Lee is also a new English teacher at LMSA. He graduated from Langston University in Oklahoma, and is currently working on his Master’s degree from the American College of Education. He has taught at South Suburban College, Kenwood Academy, and Deneen Elementary. Mr. Lee has always had a passion for teaching. “I started teaching because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I enjoy sharing my knowledge of English and cultural experiences. I also enjoy learning from everyone.” Though he has only been teaching at Lindblom for about a month, Mr. Lee already has plans

on how he can contribute to the school. “I plan to start a mentorship club open to LMSA boys only. I’ll also be working as the sponsor of the junior student council.”

Mr. Jake Baskin is the new computer science teacher. He graduated from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Penn. where he majored in computer science. Mr. Baskin seems to enjoy LMSA a lot so far. “I’m really enjoying teaching computer science. I’m happy to be teaching at Lindblom; both the teachers and students are amazing. The building too; just walking around it is great. I also really like how much students feel like they can just be in the building and hang out comfortably. At my last school, students were confined to certain classrooms and not allowed out. It’s really great to see everyone so comfortable.” He became a teacher because he wanted to have an influence on people. “I became a teacher because when I really thought about it, I realized that the people who’d been most influential in my life outside of family were teachers.”

This year, Lindblom welcomes Mr. Reed Flygt. Mr. Flygt attended Lawrence University, in Appleton, Wisc. and majored in Music Education and Percussion Performance. When asked about his motive for teaching, he said, “Honestly, I became a teacher because I felt I could do better than everyone else. I was motivated to give students a good experience,” he said. Mr. Flygt enjoys meeting new students and faculty, and having the opportunity to be influential in Lindblom’s decision making process. He says his first weeks at Lindblom, have been “fun, interesting and full of excitement.” He also enjoys having real chairs, which he didn’t have before.

“I was a substitute teacher before; this is my first real teaching experience. I’ve only been out of school for a little while, so then I substituted for CPS.” Flygt enjoys teaching high school more than elementary because he can be more creative. He says, “There are more opportunities to cover more things with them. I did enjoy teaching elementary school, though, because I like being around kids, but you just can’t do as much with them, not the things I’d like to be doing.” He feels that he can contribute energy and new opportunities to students. Outside of school, Mr. Flygt’s interests inclused nature and music: “I enjoy music, I play in a band. I enjoy the outdoors. I like Wisconsin. Oh, and I have two ferrets, male and female. The male is named Odantey and the female is named Arwin.” Students can come to room 137 on Tuesdays and Thursdays for his drumming sessions after school. Ms. Sarah Baker is a new math teacher here at LMSA. She graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and the University of Notre Dame where she attended graduate school. She majored in mathematics and computer science. Teaching has always been her passion. “I’ve always wanted to teach. I always tutored while I was in high school,” Ms. Baker said. After she graduated from George Washington, she taught for two years at a Catholic high school in Washington, D.C. Her favorite part of teaching is when students understand the concepts in math. When asked how she has enjoyed the past month at LMSA Ms. Baker said, “It has been great. All of the students are nice and good.” Ms. Baker feels that she can inspire students with her extreme passion for math. A profile of Mr. Gallo appears on page 6.

We could not fit them all... Check next month’s Talon for profiles of Ms. Copper, Ms. Johnson, and two others.

New teachers come to LindblomBy Asha Walker, Kiersten Porter

THE EDITOR’SCORNER

Mr. DudekThe senior class government: Casey Bailey, Chardeney Mason, Julian Clayton and Olivia Weathers.

Track E calendar trouble for school & studentsTalon Opinions

2010 2011YEAR ROUND SCHOOL CALENDAR

TRACK E (DRAFT)

JULY 2010 OCTOBER 2010 JANUARY 2011 APRIL 2011M T W T F M T W T F M T W T F M T W T F

(1) (2) (1) 3 4 5 6 7 1#Q(5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) 10 11 12 13 14 4 5 6PE 7PH 8

(12) (13) (14) (15) (16) 11* 12 13 14 15 17* 18 19 20 21 (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28#Q /18/ /19/ /20 / /21/ /22/(26) (27) (28) (29) (30) 25 26 27 28 29#Q 31 25 26 27 28 29

AUGUST 2010 NOVEMBER 2010 FEBRUARY 2011 MAY 2011

M T W T F M T W T F M T W T F M T W T F (2) (3) 4+ 5+ 6+ 1 2 3PE 4PH 5 1 2 3 4 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 11 12 13 8 9 10 11* 12 7 8 9 10 11* 9 10 11 12 13

16 17 18 19 20 15 16 17 18 19 14 15 16 17 18 16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 26 27 22 23 24 25* 26* 21* 22 23 24 25 23 24 25 26 27 30 31 29 30 28 30* 31

SEPTEMBER 2010 DECEMBER 2010 MARCH 2011 JUNE 2011

M T W T F M T W T F M T W T F M T W T F 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3

6* 7 8 9 10 6 7 8 9 10 7* 8 9 10 11 6 7 8 9 10 13 14 15 16 17 (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) 14 15 16 17 18 13 14 15 16+ 17Q 20 21 22 23 24 /20/ /21/ /22/ /23/ /24/ 21 22 23 24 25 (20)e (21)e (22)e (23)e (24)e

(27) (28) (29) (30) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31) 28 29 30 31 (27) (28) (29) (30)

LEGEND ( ) School closed – No salary paid // Salary is paid except as provided for by Budgetary Action + Teacher Institute Days * Holidays Q End of Quarter PH Full Day Parent-Teacher Conference – High School # Professional Development Days PE Full Day Parent-Teacher Conference – Elementary School Days of non attendance for students e Emergency Days – school in session if student days fall below 170 (summer school would begin and end later as necessary)

BOLD no classes for students; staff development days for School Improvement Planning

*HOLIDAYS 2010-2011

September 6…………Labor Day November 25, 26 ………….Thanksgiving Holiday February 21 ………………Presidents DayOctober 11…………..Columbus Day January 17 …………………M. L. King’s Birthday March 7 …………………..C. Pulaski’s Birthday November 11………..Veterans Day Observance February 11 ………………..Lincoln’s Birthday May 30……………………Memorial DayNOTE: Friday, November 26, 2010 - holiday for office employees

NEW STUDENT ENROLLMENT - June 18, 2010 is the deadline for students enrolling for the 2010 - 2011 school year. CLASSES BEGIN - Monday, August 9, 2010. Students are scheduled for a full day of school. TEACHER INSTITUTE DAYS (+) -Wednesday, August 4, 2010; Thursday, August 5, 2010; Friday, August 6, 2010; and Thursday,

June 16, 2011. On these days teachers are to report at the regular time. Institute days are non-attendance days for students and are days held or approved by the State Superintendent of Instruction for teacher in-service workshops or equivalent professional educational experiences such as educational gatherings, demonstrations of instructional materials, visitation of other schools, institutions or facilities. Teacher Institute Days are fully principal-directed.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS (#) - Friday, October 29, 2010; Friday, January 28, 2011 and Friday, April 1, 2011. On these days teachers are to report at the regular time. These are non-attendance days for students. Professional development days are half principal- directed/ half teacher- directed. STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAYS FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING (BOLD DATES) - Friday, September 3, 2010 (School directed); Friday, September 24, 2010 (Central Office/Area directed); Friday, November 12, 2010 (School directed) and Thursday, February 10, 2011 (Central Office/Area directed). PROGRESS REPORT DISTRIBUTION DAYS - Elementary and High Schools will distribute Student Progress Reports during the 6th week of each

Marking period on Wednesday, September 15, 2010; Wednesday, December 8, 2010; Wednesday, March 9, 2011 and Wednesday, May 25, 2011. REPORT CARD PICKUP/PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE DAYS (PE.PH)) - Elementary Schools Wednesday, November 3, 2010 and Wednesday, April 6, 2011: high schools are Thursday, November 4, 2010 and Thursday April 7, 2011. The elementary school dates are non-attendancedays fro students in elementary schools. The high school dates are non-attendance days for high schools. REPORT CARD DISTRIBUTION DAYS – For second marking period, Wednesday, February 2, 2011, for fourth marking period, Friday, June 17, 2011. FALL INTERSESSION – Schools close ar the end of the school day on Thursday,September 23, 2010 and reopen on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. WINTER INTERSESSION - Schools close at the end of the school day on Friday, December 10, 2010 and reopen on Monday, January 3, 2011. SPRING INTERSESSION - Schools close for students at the end of the school day Friday, April 8, 2011 and reopen on Monday, April 25, 2011. GRADUATION DATES – Elementary graduation may not be held prior to the week of June 13, 2011. PRESCHOOL PRE-REGISTRATION AND KINDERGARTEN PRE-REGISTRATION - The suggested dates are April 11, 2011 through April 15, 2011. SUMMER VACATION - Schools close for students on Friday, June 17, 2011.

REGULAR SUMMER SCHOOL SESSIONS FOR ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOLS Grades 3-6-8 SUMMER PROGRAM will operate for six weeks beginning Monday, June 20, 2011 and ending Monday, August 1, 2011.

HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAM will operate for seven weeks and may start on June 20

Last revised 1/22/10

Ron Huberman Chief Executive Officer

10

24

9 18 25

15

Red Boxes: Colloquium Days Red Boxes with Blue: Early Colloquium Days

Lindblom Math & Science Academy

11

17

Other Important Dates: August 17.....Back-to-School Night August 25......College Fair September 27 - 29.......College Blitz Days (seniors) October 16...PSAT Testing February 28 - March 4........ISATApril 27 & 28.....PSAE Testing May 2 - 13......AP Testing May 18......Career Day June 8......Class Sing/Luncheon June 11....HS Graduation June 14.....8th Grade Graduation

14

By Kiersten Porter and Porsha Stennis

Principal Mather, Asst. Principal Mest, and Ms. Meyers talk about the first week back to school.

Seniors Eric Kwitkowski and Terrence Turner working in class on the new Track E Schedule.

Page 4

from page 1

SENIORS - Class of 2011

Chardeney Mason President

Julian ClaytonVice President

Casey BaileySecretary

Olivia WeathersTreasurer

JUNIORS - Class of 2012

Autumn BranchPresident

Dysis ArzolaVice President

Debbie FariaSecretary

Miles StiffTreasusrer

SOPHOMORES - Class of 2013

Christopher CanadyPresident

Joshua ShortVice President

Jade MooreSecretary

Deion OwensTreasurer

FRESHMEN - Class of 2014

Mykhail AlexanderPresident

Isaiah BriscoVice President

Luther BoydSecretary

Lerron BonnerTreasurer

ACADEMIC CENTER

Ni’jia BradfordPresident

Dominique ReedVice President

Rebecca BowmanTreasurer

None electedSecretary

Picture Not Available

Picture Not Available

Track E calendar trouble for school & students What LMSA Thinks about the Track E Schedule

“Well I think it’s a waste of time and I want to finish my summer.” - Simone Dowdell

“I was ready for school to start [but] I was upset that my summer was so short” - Demetrius Nelson

“I think it’s stupid to just change the schedule. I liked having those month intersessions. -Chaniqua Hardy

New lunches aren’t good for us if we don’t eat them

“This schedule doesn’t necessarily make us perform better. “ - Nia Williams

The first week of school can often be a drag for students. With other schools still enjoying their sum-merbreak, most students’ minds aren’t focusing on the new school year, but more on how they wish their six-week break was longer. Students then reluctantly return to school only to find out that the first week was more difficult than expected.

Besides coming to school earlier than desired, class schedules were not how most planned; some were disappointed with the classes that they got and some with the classes that they didn’t get. Lunches were congested, colloquiums were a complete mess, and students were overwhelmed with either confusion or disappointment due to a miserable week. One reason for all of this is the new Track E schedule.

Julian Short has a hard time adjusting to being back at school. “The first week felt like the first month,” he said.

With this new schedule, students start their school year on August 9 and instead of a month long interses-sion students receive two week long breaks for the fall and spring break. The new breakdown of the Track E calendar (see previous page) not only gives the illusion to students that the year is longer but also changes the grading system completely different from what most LMSA students were used to; the school returns to the semester system.

Many students are starting to adjust to the new calendar, taking notes on how to prepare for the future while others made good use of their six week summer, traveling across the country and even getting in-volved in educational programs.

One of the many students that are having trouble adapting to the new calendar is Amanda Alayon. “I think the break is such a rush, it’s like we’re out of school and all of a sudden we go back and it feels like were expected to know everything from the year before with nothing but a small review,” she said.

If disappointing schedules and a short summer weren’t enough, imagine having to stand up eating be-cause your lunch is overcrowded; not to mention the new lunch that many students are not pleased with either (see story below).

“I think it should have been evenly spaced between all four lunch periods so it won’t be as crowded,” Latasha Kelly said.

Even though there were many disappointments with students’ schedules and aversion to the track E schedule, we all know the perfect schedule is not guaranteed and CPS decisions are final. Besides, the coun-selors and Mr. Woods can only do so much to make us happy.

From CPS schedule changes to class changes, it seems as if both have some sort of effect on students, but at this point all students can do is become accustomed to the changes and enjoy the 2010-2011 school year.

“I don’t like it. It seems like the schedule is always changing. - Alexandria Williams

Lindblom is one of many schools to switch to a healthier lunch; well at least that’s what they tell the students. These new organic lunches including new pizza, chicken patties, chicken tacos, and a variety of salads are supposed to be healthy. But how can the new lunch menu be healthier if no one is eating any of it?

Believe it or not, many students come to school on an empty stomach not having enough time to eat before leaving home and prefer to go eight hours in school without eating lunch either. If the reason isn’t clear why, it should be now. The new lunch menu is not appealing and not up to par with the old lunches that students ate.

The number of students willing to go hungry for seven hours should be a clear sign that the new lunch isn’t going the way CPS planned for it to go. The only memories left of the old lunch and the only thing that students actually eat from the lunch room are the flavored slurpees, choclate chip cookies, and lemon cakes. Not to mention the snacks and pops that students line up to buy from the school store.

CPS should go back to the old ‘non-healthy’ lunches. At least that way they know that students are eating something. Even if one does eat these new lunches, it’s not guaranteed that these students are eating healthy at home.

If the school’s goal is to make everyone anorexic, they’re on the right track, but if they want their students to be healthy, Lindblom should return to the old lunches. At least then students will be eating lunch which is apart of our daily nutrition instead of nothing at all.

By Dywon Perkins

Freshmen year is a big step for many people, whether it is high school or college, but it is an even bigger step when you are a freshman attending LMSA. Lindblom, is one of several Selective Enrollment high schools in Chicago, is a challenge for many of its students but most of all the freshmen. Having to adapt to a new environment has to be difficult but it can also be exciting. Freshman Malik Dockery commented on how his first day of school was and he said, “It was fun, but I expected the lunches in high school to be better than elementary school lunches.” Besides lunches there are many things to look forward to when entering high school, especially one such as LMSA: colloquium on Wednesdays, the variety of subjects available to students, and the comfotable “at home” feeling that allows students to form relationships with their classmates and teach-ers. But if any freshmen are worried about how to handle their first year, here are are a few tips to use that will come in handy:

1. Don’t skip class, you’ll miss work. Absences don’t look good and as boring as class is you need to pass. 2. Build a GOOD relationship with your teachers because you need them in the long run. 3. Stay out of detention, its boring and you can’t sleep. 4. Don’t fall in love, focus on homework. 5. Make the most out of LMSA, participate in sports, go to games and dances.6. Have fun! High school goes by fast!

Tips for the freshmen of LMSABy Chazz Johnson and Jacquelyn McCune

Page 5

Megatron and Optimus Prime crushed the Windy City streets looking to destroy, while Shia LaBeouf and Tyrese Gibson ran for their lives. Sounds extraordinary doesn’t it? Well, it didn’t happen quite like that! The Michigan Avenue Bridge and some parts of Michigan Avenue were turned into a set for Transformers 3. Wrecked cars, explosions, foam con-crete, sky divers, and smoke filled the streets as Chicagoans watched from afar in awe and excitement.

In case you have no clue what the Transformers series is, here’s a brief synopsis. All three Transformers mov-ies have been directed by legendary filmaker Michael Bay. The third install-ment stars Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gib-son, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, and Rosie-HuntingtonWhitley (replacing the popular Megan Fox).

The story focuses on robots known as Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, who repeatedly save Earth from evil Decep-ticons, led by Megatron. Throughout the series the constantly battle it out to de-cide the fate Earth, and thus, the fate of humanity.

Both Transformers movies are jammed pack with action and have produced great ratings and profit. With Transformers 3 currently being filmed, fans can’t wait to see more action and thrills. So, all you hard core Transformers addicts, and ac-tion lovers, I strongly recommend you pencil in Transformers 3 on your calen-dars for when it hits the big screen on July 1, 2011.

SALTBy Terrence Turner

SALT is an action-packed thriller star-ing Angelina Jolie. Jolie plays a CIA agent named Evelyn Salt who is be-lieved to be a member of a Russian spy ring embedded in the U.S. It is believed that her mission is to bring the U.S. to its demise. Now, she is on the run and must use her CIA skills to prove her in-nocence.

The movie is great for action fans and is full of great hand-to-hand combat scenes. Some memorable stunts include Jolie jumping from car to car on an ex-pressway and scaling the side of a build-ing. The movie has a great plot and will keep you guessing until the end. It is cur-rently rated by Rotten Tomatoes as one of the best movies of the summer.

The movie also has a feminist side as well. Critic Julie Rigg from ABC Radio National says, “Why it should be so damn satisfying for women like me to watch these heroines kicking men around is another question. We’d surely be appalled by the reverse. Just call it a guilty pleasure.”

The movie reverses the typical male hero role commonly seen in Western movies. So if you haven’t seen SALT, you should take a break from work and check it out.

The Lindblom Art Department welcomes Mr. Franklin Gallo, who has assumed the recently vacated position for-merly occupied by Mr. Dakota Pawlicki. Mr. Gallo comes well versed, having obtained a BS in Music Education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, a MM in Choral Con-ducting from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., a Diploma in Choral Conducting from the Zoltan Kodaly Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemet, Hungary, and is currently working on a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) degree from the Hartt School of Music, a part of the in Uni-versity of Hartford in Connecticut.

When asked why he became a teacher, he said, “I love to learn new things and I love to teach students of all ages what I have learned.” Prior to the beginning of his Lindblom expe-rience, he taught for two years in the Canon-McMillan school district in suburban Pittsburgh, and for four years in the West Hartford Public School System in West Hartford, Conn. Dur-

ing summers he has taught courses in music education at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Silver Lake College, in Manitowoc, Wis., and at DePaul University in Chicago. He is presently teaching a course in choral music during the fall semester in the School of Music at DePaul. Gallo has visited an astounding 25 countries, and plans to visit more. He loves to cook, try new foods, and travel. However, while Gallo has taught in many places, he is new to Chicago. In fact, he and his wife moved to Chicago on July 30th. As with all new Lindblom teachers,

“I hope that I will be able to foster growth in the choral program and develop students’ abilities in reading music,” he said. “I also hope that more and more students will become involved in the music program here at Lindblom.” Gallo ends the conversation with one last quote, “I love to see a student succeed and to achieve things that he or she never thought possible.”

LMSA Welcomes Mr. Gallo!Optimistic about Student Education

Page 6 September/October 2010Talon Arts & FashionMovie ReviewsTransformers III By Yazmine Cole

By Asha Walker

“Fashion fades, but style remains the same.” These words were first stated by couturier Coco Chanel in the early 20th century. However, while some trends do repeat themselves, there are some that should be left in the past. Here’s our take for fall 2010.

The first is the impractical white legging. Once a staple of summer fashion, these are easily dirtied, and can be replaced with white pants.

A second and often-seen mistake is to wear flats with socks. Some may see this as a statement of rebellion, but it more often translates as tacky and unfinished.

A third rule is to never wear leggings with shorts. If you

feel like you need leggings under shorts, then they are prob-ably too short to be worn to school in the first place. How-ever, in the midst of fashion chaos, some important trends have resurfaced.

The first is the romper. This essential can be worn in any color or print, and looks perfect when accessorized with a wide or narrow belt. Another trend is the sling-pouch purse. These look perfect when thrown over the shoulder, and are made for women on the move. Also present are prints, in ev-ery shade, color, and style. Popular today are leopard, floral, and zebra. Currently resurfacing is the jean jacket. These look cute when thrown over a dress, shorts, etc. However, there is one rule. Never wear it with jeans.

2010 Fall Fashion TipsBy Kyesha Caver

Rick Ross Teflon DonThis is Rick Ross’s fourth album and he hopes for it to be his biggest one yet. It is a good album to listen to no matter what type of mood you are in. Whether you are getting ready for football practice and want to get hyped up, or are ready to go hard on the field, “MC Hammer” and “B.M.F.” are two good tracks to listen to. If you want to just chill and relax, then songs like “Super High” and “Aston Martin Music” may be best for the moment. Any way it goes, Ricky Rozay’s Teflon Don will suit your mood.

F.L.Y. Auto-PilotLast month Def Jam rap trio F.L.Y. released a follow-up proj-ect to their debut album Jamboree. The title of this new project is Auto-Pilot. If you are a fan of artists like Roscoe Dash and Travis Porter (both of whom are featured on the mixtape), then most of the songs will probably be added to your list of favorites. For the most part, the songs have catchy hooks and hypnotic beats produced by K.E. On the album, Zaytoyen and G- Fresh, rappers who can’t sing, try to sing , and at times can get pretty annoying. However, the good outweighs the bad, and there are plenty of great songs on this project. A few can’t miss picks are: “Gettin To The Money”, “I’m So Gone”, “Auto Pilot”, and “Get Around.”

Drake Thank Me LaterDrizzy Drake released his debut studio album at the end of our last school year. Ever since then, the Canadian-born rapper’sCD has been playing in cars everywhere. Now, the lyrics to songs such as “Up all night,” “Over,” and “Miss me” have been playing in my head everywhere I go. These songs are some of the current hits from Thank Me Later that attempt to show off more of Drake’s upbeat rapping style. For the most part, the rest of the album is more mellowed out and has more of an intimate feel. Thank Me Later is a must have if you don’t already have it.

Eminem RecoveryEminem is back with his seventh album, and is more focused and serious than ever before. There is definitely a different vibe this time around. Unlike previous albums in which most of his songs were produced by Dr. Dre and himself, this time he reached out to others so he could primarily focus on the lyrical side of his album. He seems to be more mature and gets a lot of issues off his chest. The old, seemingly insane Slim Shady tends to show his face every now and then on certain tracks, but as his album is titled Recovery he shows that he has recovered from some of the negative things he was dealing with in his personal life. The 741,000 people who went out and purchased the album can back me up when I say that this is a classic Eminem album.

September-October Music ReviewsBy Cameron Fenton and Jeremiah Porter

Football is one of the many extracur-ricular activities played at Lindblom Math and Science Academy. Some see it as just a game, but others see it as their life. Hard work, dedication, and guid-ance are the fundamentals to a success-ful season this year.

Head Coach Frazier said before the season started, “My expectations for the year are to change the environment of sports in selective enrollment schools and help seniors go off and play at the next level.” LMSA Eagles are playing in the Chicago Inner City Conference and expect to dominate.

Football captain Cameron Fenton said, “We’ve put in a lot of work since last season has ended. We had a pretty decent season, but now I feel we are ten times better. We’ve faced some adversity, but it will make us stronger in the end and I hope to help lead this team to an un-defeated season and shock the world. Our starting quarterback, Brent Taylor, injured his knee as we played Julian High School a week and a half before our first game. He will be out for a few weeks, but until he gets back healthy, we have faith in our replacement, Travante

Thompson to lead the team.” Practice makes perfect and that is why

the LMSA Eagles practice every day from 3:00-6:00 pm. Football captain, Davontay Kwaaning says, “I am look-ing forward to a great year” and another football captain, Cody Bailey says, “I expect for the team to go 9-0, go big, and leave with an undefeated record.”

The LMSA Eagles first game was Sat-urday, August 28, 2010 at Gately Sta-dium. Unfortunately Lindblom lost to Brooks 14-40. The Eagles bounced back with a win against Englewood.

Head Coach: Coach FrazierAssisting Head Coach: Maurice John-

son, Stephen SimonQuarterback Coach: Donny CockrellCaptains: Cody Bailey, Cameron

Fenton, Davontay Kwaaning, Travante Thompson

Managers: TaVashane’

The recent budget cuts in Chicago Public Schools have greatly affected ev-eryone. Many teachers were fired, the av-erage classroom sizes have increased, and many high schools lost their sophomore sports teams. The coaches were also af-fected by these budget cuts. For a while, there was the possibility of them not get-ting paid.

One can only imagine how this further impacts Chicago Public High Schools’ sports teams. People who coached only for the pay may have quit. If there was no profit, why waste their time with a bunch of high school students hoping to become professional athletes? This wasn’t an issue for Lindblom’s coaches.

Even with the threat of no pay, they still want to stay and help lead our sports teams to victory. “It’s just a matter of helping the team. You can never put a price on watching a kid turn into the player you helped him to be”, said Lindblom’s head football coach, Coach Frazier. His state-ment shows that he really is about helping

our team. Sgt. Lawson remains the cross-country

coach; Coach Bryant is still in charge of the girls’ swim team; Ms. Wielgosz, Mr. Otero, and Ms. Davis continue to teach soccer; and Ms. Brown, (who helps out every chance she gets) has brought in the new Coach Jenny for girls’ volleyball. Lindblom’s coaches deserve a round of applause, and the students here at Lindb-lom would like to say, “Thank you!”

Chazz Johnson

Lindblom’s football team talks about their next play during their game against Brooks. The Eagles lost the game 40-14.

Page 7 September/ October 2010Sports

By Endya Clark

It’s Football Season at LMSA

By Autumn Branch

Budget Cuts Coaches

Predictions for the 2010 Season

Lebron James – the self proclaimed “King” – who has the passing ability of Magic Johnson, the scoring ability of Larry Bird, and the overall ability to do any and everything like Michael Jordan lost respect for his decision of leaving Cleveland.

The egotistic decision to hold a prime-time event on ESPN called “The D e c i s i o n ” only made

him look like a fool and ultimately ruined his legacy. Some have already crowned him the greatest player of all time, even though most believe he wouldn’t have been as great as Michael Jordan.

Being a free-agent, Lebron had the choice to go wherever he wanted to, but it’s the fashion he did it in that hurt every fan in Cleveland and every fan in the state of Ohio. James was not only the face of Cleveland, but the face of the NBA and now he isn’t the face of either one.

If he would have told the world of his decision in a different manner, I think people would have the same respect for him and all the negative talk would have never started.

Unfortunately, the NBA needs a new king now.

By Keith Davis

Lebron Moves On

Cross Country Volleyball Football Pom Pon Soccer

“I believe we have a pretty good team and we will be successful in future meets.” -Chanel Ware

“I feel that we will be better as a team beacuse we have a closer bond this year. We also have a new coach that will aid us in having a good season.” -Chardeney Mason

“We have been working hard all off season and we deserve to come out on top.” -Davontay Kwaaning

“Well right now, things are going very well, and I know that things will only get bet-ter from here.” -Alandrea Mosely (right)

“I am very excited about the new season, I think we’re going to do better than last year.” -Alex Esparza

NEWS ANALYSIS

•Monday, Oct. 18 - University of Cin-cinatti and Kalamazoo College will visit during lunches.

•Monday, Oct. 25 - St. John University will visit.

•Wednesday, Nov. 3 - Augustana Col-lege will visit.

SENIORS APPLY NOW! Don’t wait for ACT scores! APPLY NOW!!

JUNIORS NOW IS THE TIME! Do your research on colleges. Get a top 10 list together to prepare yourselves for next year.

Spirit Week (October 12-15)Tuesday- Oh No You Didn’t!Wednesday -Thug/Diva Day Thursday - Class Color

Seniors - Red Juniors - Blue Sophomores- Black Freshmen- Green 8th -Purple 7th -Yellow

Friday- Maroon and GoldHomecoming Theme: Club Masquerade

($10 at the door; $15 for couples if paid ahead; $2 fine if you don’t dress in the proper attire.)

Senior year activities are coming up fast! So plan ahead, FUNDRAISE, FUNDRAISE, FUNDRAISE; don’t let time pass. Lindblom is still an option for hosting our prom, so don’t FUNDRAISE and WOMP, WOMP, WOMP...prom is in the Boys’ gym. So let’s get it together and make our Senior year events memo-rable for us all. LET’S GET READY TO HAVE A BALL!

Aventa started September 7, 2010. Stu-dents who are absent will be dropped, NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Classes take place in room 327 from 3:15-4:15, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

JUNIORS, if you have any questions about the Senior project please contact Ms. Strang for further information. The first meeting was held on September 9, 2010. SHOW YOUR CREATIVITY!

Hey! Are you interested in joing the ro-botics team? Well you’re in luck. If you have any questions contact Mr. Hershey.

AnnouncementsAttention LMSA Students!

Reminders... The Talonpage 8

Of the program, all participants said it was an amazing experience. When asked whether she was eager to return to Shanghai since going on the study abroad trip, Sabrina said, “I definitely wouldn’t mind going back to Shanghai in the future. I recommend this program to anyone because you’ll gain so much knowlege from another culture and you’ll learn something from it.”

Both Juan and Matima agreed.“I strongly recommend this program to

any student who has a passion for learn-ing more about the Chinese language and the country’s unique culture.” Juan said.

The trip made a great impact on the stu-dents, both culturally and academically. As school begins again, these LMSA stu-dents will hold the memories that they made over the summer close to them as they continue their studies.

LMSA takes Shanghai

Ambassadors Program “It was hard; so many classes and so

much homework,” said sophomore Tay-lor Tyler about the transition from 8th to 9th grade. “I do feel that being an ambassador is extremely helpful to the freshmen now,” he said.

The program is helping to ensure that mistakes of the past will not be re-peated.

The strict code of guidelines is teach-ing the importance of being productive early on. Freshman not participating in an ambassador’s tutoring session, sport or club are required to be in a classroom for at least the first hour after school if they remain at the school. When home-work assignments aren’t completed, stu-dents receive calls home.

Aside from the positive preventative

aspects of the program, the ambassadors also highlight a need for upperclassmen to serve as role models. Even when not sitting in a classroom the sopho-more participants “must conduct them-selves as role models all the time,” Ms. Berdelle said.

It is important for all students to begin holding themselves to a higher standard of behavior. Nothing serves as motiva-tion better than knowing others depend upon you for leadership.

The introduction of this program brings better values and more opportunities to Lindblom students.

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