School. Many find this place difficult to tackle. That is, without a fresh cup of joe. Located in the commons, left of the main counseling office, is a quaint coffee shop run by moms and dads of students at Dimond High School. Dubbed “The Lynx Lair” by the PTSA, the shop offers a variety of coffee drinks, hot chocolate and various fruit smoothie and Italian soda flavors. The small shop has become popular to students of all grade levels. “Without my morning hot chocolate, I don’t know whether or not I’d be in first period…at all,” claimed Ethan Gould, sophomore. Freshman Jordan Clevenger also frequents the coffee shop. “Their smoothies are really good. The strawberry flavor is the best,” he said. “I think that one of the reasons the coffee shop is so popular is because of freshmen. We can’t really leave anywhere for lunch, so a smoothie or a frappucino makes it feel like we’re not buying a drink from school,” Clevenger explained. One of the most popular items on the menu is the frappucino, an iced drink made of vanilla and other flavorings. “I don’t know why so many people like it, other than that it’s delicious,” said Kaylin Forbes, a senior. “I didn’t go to get drinks [at the coffee shop] much last year. But after I had a frappucino, I was hooked,” Forbes said. Junior Chris Thorp doesn’t go to the coffee shop often, but enjoys going when he can. “I really like the drinks [there]. Sometimes I feel they can be a bit on the expensive side, but you get what you’re paying for,” said Thorp. Not only do you get what you’re paying for when buying a drink from the shop, you also are supporting a good school cause. The profits made go to buying more coffee supplies but, more importantly, the money is given to the Parent Teacher Student Association or PTSA, for short. “The school store generates approximately $8,000 to 10,000 per month in revenue,” said Suzanne Hueners, President of the Dimond PTSA. “The money we make in the school store provides all of the funding for our grants. We do a grant process during the Fall and Spring semesters. Since I have been president of the PTSA we have given approximately $22,000 per semester in grants. Those grants include things like band instruments, music scores for choir, calculators, iPads, ROTC helmets and shirts, riflery scopes and supplies, weight machines in the weight rooms, software programs, medical equipment for our trainers in athletics,” said Hueners. “We try to approve any reasonable grant request that comes to us. We also give each class $2,000 to use as they see fit. We also buy Battle of the Books books for Freshmen, donate to Senior Fun Day, Prom and Graduation. We pay for our Special Ed kids to participate in Challenge AK and contribute to special travel requests. We provide the money for Maroon and Gold Night Awards. We pay for refreshments served at most assemblies and awards ceremonies,” Hueners added. From buying a tasty to drink to supporting your school, drinking coffee made at The Lynx Lair is good for everyone.