Science and Technology

Virtual start-of-year prefect events reunites the Webb community

Cristian Rosales-Cardenas, Leeann Shu, Bryan Oglesby, and Ryan Walker

September 20, 2020

Zoom is now the venue for all start-of-year prefect events this year.

With the coronavirus spreading its bat-like wings across the world, killing hundreds of thousands, many school and work events have been switched to online via Zoom, Google Meet, or other types of video conferencing platforms. The world’s reliance on web-based interfaces has caused digital technologies to be constantly modified and improved, supporting the global demand.

In late July, Taylor Stockdale, Head of Schools, and Theresa Smith, Assistant Head of Schools, announced to the entire Webb community that Webb would begin the school year online. All classes, start-of-year orientation, afternoon activity meetings, and school events will be conducted via Zoom until Webb and the LA County of Public Health decide on when schools, institutions, and other public crowded areas will reopen again.

Though online meetings and events present more challenges to keeping everyone engaged, the prefect council developed many great ideas for what start-of-year social events should look like, ensuring that these events are fun and appealing to the student body.

Traditionally, prefects would host the Welcome Back Dance on the first weekend of school, but it had to be modified this year. Nonetheless, this did not deter the prefects and they still managed to create fun and innovative virtual weekend events that provided a relief for students from the stressful first week of school.

“It was definitely harder to plan the events since communication online takes more time and could cause confusion,” said Alice Phung (‘21), a day student prefect. “However, an upside of switching to online was the ability to hold Zoom meetings with the entire prefect council and coming up with ideas together!”

In particular, one prefect group held a skribbl.io event where students were put into breakout rooms and got to play the skribbl.io online game with one another. Students tested both their drawing and guessing skills through a series of fun, competitive rounds where one student draws, and other students try to guess the drawn picture to earn points.

“I had a lot of fun during the weekend events even though they were online and not in the most ideal conditions,” said Jaydyn Akpengbe (‘22). “I really liked how we were put into small groups, as that gave me the opportunity to interact with my friends and get to know those whom I’m not super familiar with. I just wished there were more people that came to the skribbl.io event.”

Although not many people attended the Saturday evening skribbl.io game, the Mafia event led by Jake Baiz (‘21) and Kalman Dong (‘22) was a fan favorite. Students got the chance to test out their acting skills as they masked their identities to convince their classmates they were innocent.

“Overall, it was very challenging to plan the first online event over zoom,” said Kalman, “But my group came through and hosted a really fun event with lots of people participating. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.”

Although many of this year’s new students never got the traditional Webb campus tour, the prefects decided to supplement this using Jonathan Liu’s (‘23) Minecraft replica of Webb to showcase different parts of the campus.

“I believe the online format is allowing students to be more innovative in creating events through new technological mediums,” said Michael Martinez (‘21), a head dorm prefect. “It also helps introduce the faculty to new forms of entertainment that most likely wouldn’t have been featured in normal school events.”

Though students are missing life on campus, Webb created an event to remind students the excitement of designing their dorm rooms and parking spaces. This event was a drawing contest where students were encouraged to design their dream dorm or parking spot. The participants were instructed to fill out a blank template however they so choose. Those who participated in this contest have the chance to win gift cards. This contest not only helped the students come together and remember the campus, but also gave them an opportunity to step away from their computer and use a part of their brain that they don’t often use.

Even though this year’s start-of-year events were hosted via Zoom, the prefect council still pulled off an amazing weekend, developing many creative and exciting events for Webb students. It is also important to remember that without Zoom or any other video conferencing platform, hosting these events would not be possible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the advancement of technologies to resemble a physical environment. It is wonderful to see how much fun people are having with these online weekend events, and we can all hope that, sooner or later, we can reunite and live life like how it was before the pandemic.

About the Contributors

Cristian Rosales-Cardenas, Co-Editor of Technology

Cristian Rosales-Cardenas (‘21), a Rancho Cucamonga resident, is starting his senior year at Webb. He joined journalism during his sophomore year and is coming back as an Editor of Technology for WCC. Something valuable he learned as a 10th grader was to find resources and topics to write about. Cristian is passionate about new advancements in technology, politics, and economic theory. He is on the robotics team and was the co-captain of team 359. He has been a part of these groups since freshman year and feels very prideful due to his consistency. Cristian also works out in his free time along with boxing and biking. Cristian is still unsure about what he wants to study in college, but he wants to follow his many interests such as technology and robotics. He wants to work on third-party delivery services this year, which he thought about when the pandemic began.

Leeann Shu, Chief Copy Editor

You might usually associate a Leo with being supercilious, selfish, and self-centered, but Leeann Shu (‘22) exemplifies the opposite of these traits. Leeann is supportive, trustworthy, humble, and sociable. In her free time, Leeann enjoys relaxing with friends, and this year, she hopes to re-bond with friends that she has not seen or talked to for a while. At school, Leeann actively interacts with the community by taking various leadership roles: a day student prefect, an admission fellow, chief editor of the yearbook, and Chief Copy Editor of the Webb Canyon Chronicle. As Editor of Technology last year and a head editor this year, she continues writing for the WCC because of her enthusiasm for the publication and writing. Her personality contributes to her success in the newsroom because journalism requires her to be a risk-taker while searching for interviewees, and an active listener to understand other’s thoughts. This year, her goal is to assist younger members of the WCC as they grow and shine in their writing. In addition to helping others, she wants to have more confidence in herself and seek more opportunities to utilize her writing skills for the betterment of the publication. Not being afraid of any type of failure is what she will keep in mind to help her progress toward her goals. Favorite song: "Laugh Now, Cry Later" by Drake

Bryan Oglesby, Chief Editor of Sports

Bryan Oglesby (‘23) has made himself known in the world of Webb athletics by being both the captain of the varsity football team and track & field team. His love for sports is intertwined with his love for the Webb Canyon Chronicle, as he takes on a new role this year as the Chief Editor of Sports. Being an athlete has given Bryan many talents such as being able to jump over his leg, do handstands, and do front flips, all in that order. Along with football, Bryan’s favorite hobbies are singing, playing a variety of sports with his family, helping the community, and cooking. Bryan loves cooking his favorite meal, beef Wellington, for himself and his friends at social gatherings or just for fun when he’s hungry. Outside the WCC, Bryan is an avid leader in the community by being a head peer advisor and his role in the Empowering Student Voices Initiative. Bryan also prides himself on being a scholar. His favorite class is LA Literary Culture with Mr. Calvert because it puts LA into a different light and has given him a new perspective on the city he grew up in. Going into his senior year, Bryan hopes to write meaningful articles that will benefit the community as well as staying connected to his family during his last year of high school. He hopes to end his final year at the WCC with a bang. Favorite song: “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye

Ryan Walker, Staff Writer

Ryan Walker (’23) is a sophomore at Webb, who loves how open the Webb community is especially in the library and dining hall. He resides in Arcadia, where he frequently goes to malls to see friends. The Seattle Seahawks is his favorite sports team because his dad is from Seattle. Ryan has a passion for skateboarding ever since he started practicing a few years ago and is now trying to learn complicated tricks; his most recent challenge is learning how to land a laser flip. Ryan is delighted to be a part of the Webb Canyon Chronicle, as he is excited to begin writing articles about daily events and interviewing students and faculty members. He displays perseverance in any challenges he undertakes, expressing enthusiasm for connecting with people. He is involved in a few Webb activities including theater tech and soccer, and you can usually find him listening to Lil Peep, or watching Johnny Test.