Making new connections

For the past two months, seniors Nick Entin and Albert Khalbourji have been working on a school related app called PenConnect. The app will allow students and parents to access school data from their iOS devices. Features include the Daily Bulletin, “Eye of the Panther News” videos as well as Principal’s Updates, info about sporting events, and a calendar of events.

“We are working on making a feature that will notify [students] the day before there is a late-start as well, so [they] will know the schedule,” Khalbourji said.

Entin and Khalbourji first thought of the idea at an Apple Developer club meeting. After a few more sessions of conceptualizing the layout and discussing features as a pair, Entin and Khalbourji began devoting more attention to the application. Since then, Entin has spent three to four nights a week developing the app while Khalbourji worked on marketing and design.

“I am the person with the vision of how the app will look and feel in the hands of the users,” Kahlbourji said. “The app is supposed to be convenient to use.”

Entin and Khalbourji will be promoting the app through various social networks and hope the app will eventually connect all the students and faculty with what is happening at the school. The will be free on the app store when it is released in late December.

PenConnect is Khalbourji’s fourth app. Khalbourji released his first game, Catch!!!, when he was fourteen- years-old. Since then he has made about two hundred dollars, but all of his apps are currently free on the app store.

“I’m not in it for the money, I just want my name to get out there,” Khalbourji said.

Entin has released one other app, Emergency Beacon, which is designed to help victims of natural disasters and other emergencies.