Welcome to the new alumni page and newsletter!

This is planned as a monthly newsletter, but this edition will bring you up to date from September to the present. By the way, there is also a link on this page for the school newspaper and for sports results.

School opened late this year to give contractors every opportunity to finish the new building. We did open on time, and had the school officially dedicated, though the contractors are still working on a punch list of work still left to be done that Dr. John Ritchie, the superintendent/principal, described as the size of the "Manhattan telephone directory." Mainly, these are small things, but there have been some larger problems, e.g. lack of proper venting has shut down the photography lab for the time being. There have also been venting problems in ceramics and the wood shop, and pillars in the main gym that many folks wish would disappear.

But still the year has gotten off to a smooth start. Reactions to the new building vary. Some find it striking, and it does have superb facilities. We are all getting used to it, but some of the older students express nostalgic feelings for the old place which they consider "more homey." The new architect-designed building has some very nice features, but it also has a more "institutional feel," at least as this point. We are acclimating and beginning to discuss how to decorate the building and give it a little more color. A major milestone came the other day and was appreciated by all: the parking lot, which sits atop the grounds of the old school, opened. No more long hikes to the new school! The athletic fields--two with artificial turf--are approaching completion. The tennis courts and a baseball field will be built in the spring over by the old science wing.

A few miscellaneous news notes......The new Rogers-Kirshner auditorium was "dedicated" with a wonderful production of "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream" in November....the fall athletic teams excelled as usual...there has been a rash of theft which is causing concern....we are facing a large budget gap...even a modest increase in the budget will not help us catch up to the cuts of past years.....looks like there will be an attempt to get a Prop 2 1/2 override....the school is growing...we are up to about 1500 students.....the building is 1/3 larger and electric rates are higher than expected...the faculty is getting younger....not too many 25-35 year veterans left! Mr, Pacenka and Mr. Newton, who both retired last year, will still be at the school for a few years as "teacher emeriti."

That's it for now.

Bill Schechter

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PLEASE FORWARD A COPY OF THIS L-S NEWSLETTER TO YOUR
L-S FRIENDS! HELP US TO EXPAND OUR ALUMNI DATABASE AND COMMUNITY!!

-Please note that we are now listing contact information or links to class reunion pages. Send these to us!

-See the link to the Forum for more news.

-Finally, please check out Superintendent/Principal John Ritchie's greeting to alumni.

Send us your feedback! What would you like to see on the alumni web site?.
E-mail Bill Schechter with your suggestions: bill_schechter@lsrhs.net

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