In the September issue of the Chronicle, the staff wrote an editorial titled “Break Proposal has Potential.” This editorial supported our 2:35 p.m. additional break proposal, noting that it is a step toward “a more unified community.” For those of you who don’t know, we proposed an additional break to be added to the schedule once a week on a rotating schedule. School would still end at 2:35 p.m. We believe this time will be used for more club involvement, constructive activities, and a chance to take a breath. We have proposed this break to FAC, a body on campus comprised of the Department chairs. As of now, we have not received an answer from FAC; we will let you know their response as soon as possible.

The Chronicle also mentioned that “students themselves don’t see the results of the prefects’ work.” This year, we hope to change that. Here’s what the council is are working on currently:

The Student Lounge: After we failed to keep the lounge clean at the end of last year, we were not permitted to eat in the lounge. We have met with the deans and come up with a two-week trial period to be used as an opportunity for the student body to keep the lounge clean every period of the day. If we are able to keep the lounge clean, we will regain the privilege of eating there. However, the deans reserve the right to remove this privilege at any point if the lounge becomes dirty again.

Ping-Pong Table: Another goal of ours is to improve the quality of student life on a daily basis. The first of these initiatives is putting a ping-pong table in the lounge within the next few weeks. We also saw the great success of Activities Fair. We hope to have many more days where we can simply have music in the Quad.

Semiformal: At the beginning of the year, Semiformal was moved from the Sheraton Universal to Taper Gym. After meeting with Dr. Jeanne Huybrechts and some of the deans, the deans and the Prefect Council agreed to move Semiformal back to the Sheraton Universal, as long as Semiformal has a greater purpose. A Semiformal planning committee has been created. This committee will be in charge of planning the logistics of Semiformal, as well as coming up with a way to make Semiformal mean more.

Honor Board and Honor Code Review: The Prefect Council is reviewing the structure of the Honor Board and the content of the Honor Code. While we evaluate, we are planning a year-long educational program to be implemented at the Middle School that would help unify Harvard-Westlake as a school under the banner of our Honor Code. We also have plans to increase awareness of the Honor Code and the Honor Board and its work at the Upper School.

We look forward to bettering this school in both the short term and the long term. Thank you for your support and please don’t hesitate to ask any prefect for updates and we’d welcome any suggestions you might have.

— The Prefect Council