New assistant principal in charge of curriculum and instruction Mary Streshly misses the classroom. “I feel as though being an administrator makes me spend less time with the kids,” she said. “When I was a teacher, I understood that kids really feel whether you plan ahead for the classroom and are really into teaching them and making them understand.”

Although she may return to the classroom in the future as an instructor for teachers at the university level, Streshly is currently enjoying her transition into the Lowell environment as an administrator. “Everybody is so smart and dedicated and seems to have a lot of passion,” she said. “All the students are very unique and have a lot to say!”

The new assistant principal of pupil services, Janée Montelongo, started her career as an educator on an interesting note. During her very first year of teaching, she appeared on the television game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. “Teachers and students that I didn’t know would point at me as I walked around campus saying, ‘that’s the teacher who was on T.V,’” Montelongo said.

As her $10,000 question, Montelongo was asked what Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that the United States was an arsenal of during his fireside chat. She was stumped “I used up my lifelines early because they format the questions in such a way that when people are under this pressure they tend to second-guess their initial instincts,” Montelongo said.

For senior Diana Suen, who is the SBC community liason as well as a student delegate to the school board, this vision became reality this past summer. The Bezos Aspen Scholars program granted Suen and student activities director Othello Jefferson the opportunity to mingle with some of the most accomplished luminaries of our time at the 2006 Aspen Ideas Festival in the heart of Aspen, Colorado.

“As a Blond,” from Dobson’s second album Sunday Love, is one of many songs depicting the strange and funny thoughts going on in her head. In the song Fefe gets tired of her simple life and wonders whether or not being a blond will make a difference. Other songs that reveal Dobson’s thought process include “The Initiator,” in which Dobson makes no apology about getting what she wants from a guy. She also encourages other girls to make the first move: “Listen up girls/ you know it’s alright/ go get/ what you want tonight.” Yet another song showcasing Dobson’s raunchy sense of humor is “If I was a guy.” It describes how women, including Dobson, suffer from what she calls “penis envy,” which is when women are envious of society’s double standard. Dobson not only describes the amount of sex she would have as a guy, but she also talks about how she would let a bunch of girls down and be obnoxious because “that’s what all guys do.”

In fact, when I first saw the cover of Sufjan (pronounced SOOF-YON) Stevens' Come On, Feel the Illinoise! album, the only attraction was the fact that I had found one of the "cease and desist" copies that were selling for double its price on Ebay. The record label, Asthmatic Kitty, had neglected to sanction a copyright for use of DC Comics character Superman on the cover. So while local record stores like Amoeba were "in the know" and pulled the record off the shelf, Borders left copies of the album in their downtown San Francisco chain. I bought my copy in hopes of making a measly profit on Ebay.

And now, Korean singer Rain is going after the United States, preparing for the much-anticipated release of his English album in October.

Rain, whose real name is Jeong Ji-Hoon, already became the first Asian ever to perform solo at New York’s Madison Square Garden this February. His two-day concert , “Rainy Day in New York,” sold out in a matter of days, a modest rate considering his concert “Rainy Day Japan” sold out 30 seconds after tickets went on sale and after an hour in Hong Kong. Clips of his concert and other media can be accessed on the internet on sites like YouTube (www.youtube.com).

Luckily, the city offers quite a few places where idle high school students can spend time satisfying their creative urges.

The American tradition of barbecue has grown from Southern roots and expanded to almost every corner of America, including along the coast of California and in Lowell’s own backyard. But this tradition is not just about succulent slow-cooked ribs, perfectly charred ears of corn or wood-smoked chicken breasts; it is about getting together with friends and taking a break from the daily grind.

“There is no better way to wind down after a long week of school than with a big barbecue on a sunny Friday afternoon,” said senior Nick Allen, another member of the club. “It ushers in the weekend wonderfully.”

Jessica, a high school senior, entered a foster care program when she was eight years old because her parents were drug addicts. “A representative from Child Protective Services just came and took my sister and me away,” she said. They “pried me off of my mom and pulled me out of the house. No packing, no good-byes.”

For 10 years, Jessica has lived with her uncle and a family she didn’t know before being placed with her grandmother, with whom she will stay until college starts in the fall. “My grandma doesn’t have as much compassion (as my uncle),” she said. She also said that her grandmother has not established any boundaries or rules for her. “Because of that, I feel really neglected,” she said. “I wish (my grandmother) cared enough to tell me ‘No’ once in a while or something.”