Latest Post

Senior wins scholarship for motorized skateboard

Photo used with permission of the Daily Hearld At Matt Brazeau’s house, the garage isn’t used only for storage. Brazeau turned his garage into a workshop where he builds all kinds of contraptions, including his award winning safe motorized skateboards. Through his involvement in the Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA) over the past year, Brazeau has turned his hobby into a business, iBraz motors. Through the YEA program, Brazeau competed in New York in a competition called the YEA Saunders Scholars Bright Idea Business Competition. Brazeau got first place, which earned him a $30,000 scholarship to the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Featured Post

News Briefs

• Lake Zurich Breezewald Park and Paulus Park beaches open May 23, Memorial Day weekend. Passes to these beaches are now available for purchase. The village of Lake Zurich decided earlier this year to raise the membership price of Paulus Park but to keep Breezewald Park free to residents with ID’s. "Because it was [free] prior to this year, it was decided it were to still be free to residents," Michael Perkins, Director of Lake Zurich Park and Recreation, said. Non-residents will now pay $25 for individual passes and $50 for families of five for passes to the Breezewald Park Beach. Paulus Park beach passes for residents of Lake Zurich will cost $25 for individual passes and $50 for families of five. Non-residents will pay double the fee for passes. "We’re trying to meet our aquatic programs funds," Perkins said. Guest passes to Paulus Park beach are also available for numbered visits throughout the summer. For more information or to sign-up for passes, visit http://volz.org. #
• Eight members of FBLA are heading to Anaheim this summer to compete in nationals June 25-29. The FBLA is a nationwide program made to "groom students for the business world," Cindy Klebba, FBLA sponsor, said. This year 15 students qualified for state. Of those 15 students, 13 placed in the top ten in one of the events. To qualify for nationals, one must place either first or second in an event. Out of the 13 who placed in the top ten, eight qualified for nationals, which is the most to ever qualify from LZ. The students headed to nationals are Sutapa Adhikari, junior, Maggie O’Connor, junior, Tom Bohac, senior, Alexa Haider, senior, Marina Dubovis, sophomore, Jeff Simnick, junior, Brian Batten, junior, and Kristen Extrom, junior.   #
• Finals will be held three days late this spring because of school closures in December and January. Underclassmen finals begin Monday, June 8 and go through Wednesday, June 10. Thursday, June 11 is an optional day for students to come in to see their finals scores and semester grades. The days have affected AP testing slightly said Kim Kolze, principal. "If you are a sophomore or junior in AP it becomes difficult for the teachers because they have to plan for the extra weather days for their curriculum because they sophomores and juniors have to stay when the seniors are done May 29, so that makes it a little hard," Kolze said. Senior exams will be taken Monday, June 1 through Wednesday, June 3. Seniors will take exams in the main gym and will be proctored by the Department Chairs. There is open parking for all students as well as open campus. The final exam schedule is the same as first semester. Day One: 1, 2, 5. Day Two: 8, 3, 4. And Day Three: 9, 6, 7. #
• The grant foundation recently approved a $55,000 lighting grant for Lake Zurich School District 95. The construction will change the fluorescent lighting in the older sections of the school to a more energy-efficient light bulb. This will either increase the light level slightly while reducing the energy used, or reduce the light in over-lit hallways. Rick Marzec, director of facilities and grounds, and some maintenance workers are completing the work. "I submitted the grant application and it went to the Grant Foundation. The project will cost $110,000 total, and the grant will pay for half of it," Marzec said. "The first year [the lights] will save $25,000 and the money saved will go up each year." The lights will save money by using less of the school’s energy. The lights will not only save money, but improve the light fixtures. "There are some grayish fixtures and some blueish fixtures, all the fixtures will be the same," Marzec said. "In the hallways there will be less light and the classrooms will be 5-10% brighter." This work will not disrupt any of the classes or after-school activities, and most work will be done after school. If a teacher is in a classroom late, the workers would just skip over that classroom, according to Marzec. This is just the start of an energy conversation program Marzec is working on to reduce expenses. He will continue to reduce electrical expenses each year from now on. # #
• Tim Ewan, senior, represented LZHS at the 2009 World Wide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge at the University of Illinois on April 6. Ewan placed second in the state for math and fourth in the state for physics. The second place win earned Ewan a $1000 scholarship to the University of Illinois Engineering School, where he will attend college in the fall. "[Tim] was very excited after qualifying at sectional. He studied a lot and it paid off," Patricia Armbruster, science club sponsor, said. The Academic Challenge is a competitive series of tests created and administered by WYSE and offered to high school students in Illinois and Missouri, according to the official web site. Students compete as individuals and as part of a team to complete tests at more than 50 community colleges and universities in the area.                 #