Seniors Sign to Higher Ed
	2
	
African Ameri-can Read-In
	3-4
	
Spotlight on FASD Black Educators
	5-7
	
Student Spot / Super Bowl
	8
	
Coach Jaylen / FHS Swim Team
	9
	
Basketball / Senior Night
	10
	
Upward Bound / FHS Library
	11
	
FC Sciences / Soul Week
	12

F R E L	I H C O L

In this issue:	Poetry / Flowetry Luncheon

in both French and
English. We also lis-
The First Annual Poetry / Flowetry Luncheon	thor, Rene Philombe, for Black History Month at FHS was a huge
tened to Amanda Gor-
man perform her poem
success. We spoke to Mrs. Latzoo, Student Council Advisor to ask for the event feedback.
Here is what she said:	“The Hill we Climb,” What was the objective of this event and/or why     from President Joe is it important to our academic community? The	Biden’s inauguration objective was to celebrate Black History Month	via recording. Farrell
while promoting reading and writing. It’s im-	‘04 graduate, Monique portant that we identify and promote different	Samuels, shared her forms and genres of language art so that we be-	work entitled “Under come stronger readers and more critical thinkers.	Construction.” Who/What inspired the idea to host this event at
How many were in
attendance? There
were approximately
our school? I was “jealous” that the Farrell Ele-mentary students regularly celebrate Black Litera-ture through their participation in the National
the website (https://ncte.org/get-
African American Read In program. So I went to	forty students (7th -
Language Arts teachers.
involved/african-american-read-in/) that hosts the 12th) attending this event and most were invited by their event to find ideas for older students, so that we,
What are some pieces that were read / who were
the readers? I shared the idea of the “Poetry
Luncheon” with my
Biology II class and
too, could participate in this national celebration.	What were some takeaways from the event for you? For the audience? Our Farrell students are talented young people with varied interests and deep thoughts. I hope students see poetry, and writing in general, as entertain-ing and a good way to express one’s emotions.
found that Jere
Edwards and Arian-
na Blanchard had
written poems, so
they each shared an
original piece.
Is this an event that FHS StuCo will be hosting in the future? If so, what, if any, are some future plans for the event? We, Mrs. Tota and StuCo, definitely plan to host this next year. We may have two sessions (middle school and high school ) or a combined event in a larger venue, perhaps the auditorium.
French II student,
Jashaun Lowe,
read,“The Man that
Looks Like You,” by
Anything that you’d like to add that I haven’t touched on? I really enjoyed the Luncheon and I think many stu-dents really liked it as well. Mrs. Tota and I are very excit-ed for next year. I’m proud of the active Student Council
Cameroonian au-	Members. They are reliable and great to work with.

Digital art projects depict African American Heroes

Billie Holiday by Tyreese Thompson

Muhammed Ali by Deandre Odem

Kobe Bryant by Jaylie Green

Barack Obama by Tamera Slater

Marie Daly by	Serena Williams by Kennedy Johnson Nikasha Marcella

Michael Jordan by Gabby King

Scholar Athletes Sign to Higher Ed

Congratulations to Omar Stewart Jr. who signed to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Anthony Stallworth, who signed to Akron University, Preston Williams to Thaddeus Ste-vens, Anthony Jackson to Westminster, and Taidon Strickland, who also signed to IUP (all pictured right). We wish these scholar athletes the best of luck on, and off the field in their future pur-suits!

‘Taco bout’ Achieving Success! The following FHS students that achieved Highest, High or Honorable Mention were treated to a Ta-co Bar lunch and Basketball in the gymnasium as a reward for their hard work and formidable out-comes.

High Honor Roll: Sanaa Brodie, Demariah, Burns, Jaylie Gree, Lavar Hightower, Trian Holden, Allen Mycheal, Jackson, Diamond Lewis, Julain Scarbrough, Anthony Stallworth, D’Eryah, Stewart, Taidon Strickland, Jada Williams, Robert Zieminick, Gabrielle King, Nikasha, Marcella, Amari Roye, Tamera Slater, Tyleigh Stinedurf, Mckenzie Ulan, Amir Graham, Maria Harrison, Neveah Husband, Jaxson Jones, Ryan Stewart
Honor Roll: Landen Felix, Mercedes Hall, Cyncere Harden-Man, Omar Stewart, Azaria, Talbert, Jasean Boatwright, Tymere Evans, Tahj’mere Gibson, Ti’Marr La-Camera, Nasir, O’Kane, Malachi Shepherd, Zaire Thomas, Alan Wilder, Kylon Wil-son, Ja’Laija Gregory, Kennedy Johnson, Jonathan Singh, Kabron Smith Honorable Mention: Arianna Blanchard, D’Angela Gilbert, Makayla Hall, Jaiman,
Holden, D’mario Norris, Nick Smith , Tyreese Thompson, Chyna Butler, Bryan Phil-lips, Ismaiah Harvey, Marion Norris, Khaliya Venable

Page 2	Spring 2022

Farrell Elementary Tradition of African American Read-In

Continues to Inspire BY Zoee Mishata & Raelen Phillips

Mrs. Tracy Hughes reads to Ms. Rush’s Kindergar-ten Class.

Wright, and the professors at West-minster College.
The cho-sen books must be written by an Afri-can American au-thor, and must fall under certain cate-gories. This year the inspiration goes along with the college stu-dents' assign-ments, however in the past years they have done Sheroes (female heroes) ,

Reverend Dr. Adams-King opens the Read-In event in the EJ Gym announcing what to expect for the day’s events.

Black Educators, On Friday, February 25, 2022, Farrell Area Ele-	and more.
mentary School held an African American Read in, in	"The students that sit in on the read-in seem to which volunteers came in to read to the students. The               really enjoy the interaction and experience they receive event occurs once a year, and seems to be known amongst        from the event," states Mrs. Lombardi, Title Teacher and many. However, when asked about the inspiration behind        Read-In Coordinator. Elementary Principal, Ms. Wright the annual African American Read in, that takes place at           added, "The event also seems to teach both teachers and Farrell Area Schools, we found out what was important.           students about the true history between commonly
The event was started in 1990, a group of students	known people and times. During this event, students and a teacher at Westminster College decided to collabo-	also learn about heroes that aren't known to many, un-rate with Farrell Area Elementary school for the event.	like the commonly known ones, such as Martin Luther Additionally, simi-                                                                                                                                  King Jr. and Rosa lar events take                                                                                                                                         Parks."
place all over the	With fur-country, in coffee                                                                                                                                    ther research and shops, schools, li-                                                                                                                                    observation on the braries, and all                                                                                                                                        event, we began to types of places.                                                                                                                                        see how much the Awareness was                                                                                                                                       students enjoyed brought to the                                                                                                                                         the event. They event when they                                                                                                                                      seemed to be very realized African                                                                                                                                      intrigued about American culture                                                                                                                                    learning more wasn't being talked                                                                                                                                 about Black peo-about enough, and                                                                                                                                  ple in the commu-that the history of it                                                                                                                                 nity and the histo-was unknown to          Students listen in as Representative Mark Longietti read to and addressed        ry of the Black many. During the        Mrs. Morrison’s Fifth Grade Class.                                                                       community. The event, students and                                                                                                                                students also be-community members come in to read an appropriately             gan to learn more with an activity after the chosen book themed book to the requested grades. The books are cho-          was finished. The activities ranged from coloring pag-sen by the Farrell Elementary Title One Teachers, Ms.

African American Read-In Continued on next page Spring 2022	Page 3

African American Read-In Continued from page 3

es, to mini projects that the students seemed to enjoy. Not only did the ac-tivities keep them entertained, but they also generated more interest in the books for the students, and they started to have fun as the activities went on. Not only did the students enjoy the Read-In, but the teachers and staff also seemed to enjoy the event as well as putting together the activities.

During the event, there were many community members who vol-unteered to read. There were also many college students from Westminster who wanted to come, but sadly weren't able to make it due to poor weather conditions. Even though the college students couldn't make it, they still seemed to have a good turn out, which involved many community mem-bers, and some were even family members of the young students.
Each grade was assigned a specific book, which was read to them by either the guest or the classroom teacher.

As listed, the following books were read to selected grades, "I Am Enough," by Grace Byers, was read to the pre-k and kindergarten classes. "Charlotte and the Nutcracker: The True Story of a Girl Who Made Ballet History,'' by Charlotte Nebres, was read to First and Second Grade stu-dents. Third and Fourth Grade students had the opportunity to listen to ''Stacey's Extraordinary Words,” which was written by Stacey Abrams.
The book, "The Five O'Clock Band,'' written by Troy Andrews, was read to the Fifth grade. Lastly, a book written by Floyd Cooper titled, "
Juneteenth For Mazie" was read to the Sixth Grade.

Elementary students com-mented on the event:
1st Grade:
Destiny Johnson- "I like that she prac-ticed a lot."
Katalina Bradford- "I like the ballerina because she wrote her own story." 3rd Grade:
J'Mon Wells- "I liked when she compet-ed"
Laila Pegues-"I liked when she was a good sport and got an A"
6th Grade:
Kadejah Reddick-"I liked the history in the book"
Arra Clark- "It was quite nice my favor-ite part was the history"
Dallas Pickard- "I liked it because it was interesting learning about the history and the other cultures."

A special thank you to Guest Readers:
Dr. Lora Adams-King Miss Margaret Orchard
Mrs. Tracy Hughes Mayor Ron Viglio Ms. Sharon James
Ms. Chardenee Freeman Rev. Tiffany Holden
Representative Mark Longietti Rev. Allen Harrison Mr. Gary Satterwhite
Commissioner Tim McGonigle Dr. Erin Houston
Ms. Christal Graham-Jones

Dr. Erin Houston reads to a Grade 6 Class, Reverend Allen Harrison reads (above), Rev-erend Tiffany Holden (right) reads to Third Grade in the EJ Gymnasium.

Page 4	SPRING 2022

FASD African American Educators Spotlight

BY Aaliyah Stallworth

Ashley McGill
How long have you been employed as a teacher?
14 full time years
How many different school subjects have you taught throughout your life?
I’ve taught in some capacity every grade k-6 including learning support and Title I,high school reassignment and high school learning support chemistry.
What is your biggest struggle being an African American educator? Sometimes being one of only a few African American Educators in the building can be lonely. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made great friends here, some that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. There are times though that things going on in the world make you feel uncomfortable. I don’t have a problem with defending myself, but sometimes I don’t want to have to speak for the entirety of the popula-tion. I’ve gone to conferences and have been the only one who looks like me. I’m often told how articulate I am, and how valuable my opinions are. To me that's not a compliment. Is it a shock because of my skin color? I was raised well. It has nothing to do with being one race or another. How do I overcome? Growing up my dad

always told me I could do anything that I put my mind to because I was a Smoot. Not a Black Smoot, just a Smoot. Annnd I believed him, still do. I have self control, I can get my point across without fists or inappropriate words. I keep going no matter what someone else thinks I can’t do. My mind is already made up that the only one that can stop me from accom-plishing whatever I want to accomplish is me! So every day I wake up with the plan to be the best educator I can be. It’s not the best African-American Educator to the African American kids, it's the best educa-tor to all kids. It’s my gift to the world! What are some things you would tell your students about Black History?
I always let my students know that the “history” we talk about isn’t so long ago. They need to know that we must stay in-formed and diligent in what is going on around us so that “history” doesn’t repeat itself. Which unfortunately right now is a day to day fight. I also let them know that they can create, conquer, or change the world with their ideas, dreams and con-cerns about the world we live in. I’m my ancestors' wildest dreams realized and they can be too!
What influenced you to become an educa-tor?
I had great teachers here. Mr. Podobnick, Mr. Cardamon, Mrs. Rose Johnson, Mrs. Clay and Mrs. Weston just to name a few. To be honest though, being a teacher was-n’t on my radar. I went to school to be a psychologist. I did 2 ½ years of my psychol-ogy degree, and decided that although I wanted to help kids, I wanted to be the one they talked to before they made major mistakes. So after working with Neighbor-hood Based Family Intervention Center in college my Freshman and Sophomore years, I changed it up. I changed majors and graduated with a dual major. Being here daily, working with kids, seeing their light bulbs turn on does bring me joy. Alt-hough there are alot of other forces that make teaching dificult and undesirable, when I’m in my room and learning is taking place, I’m truly happy.

Is there any other advice you would like to give to your students ?
If I had the chance to talk to students today in your age group, I would tell them that this is just the beginning of your life. What you do today will totally affect your tomorrow. Be responsible for you, and don’t believe the social media hype. That doesn’t make you special or cool. Harming or demeaning others in actions or words doesn’t make you spe-cial or cool. Our ancestors did not fight big battles, get their families torn apart and endure all that they did for you to act any way other than the kings and queens you were designed to be. So stand up and be the best version of yourself you can be. The world needs you!

Leslie Harrison
How long have you been employed as a teacher? I’ve been a Teacher’s Aide for 5 years
How many different school subjects have you taught throughout your life? Life Skills aide
What is your biggest struggle being an African American educator? I Don’t have one, however, encouraging African Amer-ican children to love themselves and to appreciate their history is a challenge. What is your approach/how did you overcome the struggle?My approach is encouragement.
What are some things you would tell your students about Black History? Learn

SPRING 2022	Page 5

FASD African American Educators Spotlight

as much as you can about Black History, you need to know where you come from to know where you are going, and you will be more appreciative of your success. What influenced you to become an edu-cator? I love learning, therefore I love helping others learn.
Is there any other advice you would like to give to your students? Always do your best, everyone has a purpose, figure out what you like to do, and learn as much as you can about it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand some-thing.

Juliana Ferguson

How long have you been employed as a teacher?
I have been employed for 8 years as a substitute teacher and teacher's Aide in Special Education.
How many different school subjects have you taught through your life? Before working at FASD, I worked in different school setings for 14 years as a Behavioral Specialist in Farrell, Sharon, Hermitage, West Middlesex and Reyn-olds. Here at Farrell, I have been as-sisting Kindergarten through second grade in Learning Support with Read-ing/Math and other activities. Currently, I’m assisting students in Kindergarten in Ms. Rush’s classroom. I’m also involved

Page 6

with the R.E.A.D program which is STEM based and it’s through United Way of Mercer County.
How long have you been an educator at FASD?
I’ve been employed for 8 years as an ed-ucator and have been assisting students with their reading and math in small and large groups.
What is your biggest struggle being an African American educator? What is your approach/ how did you overcome the struggle?
My biggest struggle as an African Ameri-can educator from an African country was communicating my ideas using my accent. I’m able to work on this struggle being around my family and others. I was able to familiarize myself with the Ameri-can language and adjust with others us-ing my accent.
What are some things you would tell your students about Black History?
I would tell them to always be proud of their Black History. They should not let any obstacle of color get them off track. They should be aware of their Black His-tory and what their ancestors have con-tributed to our country. They should stay focused and never give up.
What influenced you to become an edu-cator?
I was always passionate about teaching children to learn and to do their best.
Is there any other advice you would like to give to your students?
I will tell them to always think the best of themselves and never let their color keep them from achieving their goals. Just because you are African American you should never give up on your dreams.

Tracy Hood
How long have you been employed as a teacher? I have been a teacher here in Farrell for twenty-two years.
How many different school subjects have you taught throughout your life? I have held many positions here in the district. I first began my career here as an Alternative Education Teacher many many years ago. I have taught 9th and

11th grade English, Keystone Prep, I was the librarian in the high school, I was an administrator for several years, and I am currently the elementary li-brarian.
What is your biggest struggle being an African American educator? My big-gest struggle as an African American educator is to see that so many of our students do not read for pleasure.
Lol. I’m the librarian and I think that is a universal struggle that most teachers face. However, my biggest struggle is that too many of our students do not know African American history, and that will surely hinder their future. What are some things you would tell your students about Black History? Black History isn’t a month that we celebrate once a year, Black History occurs daily and we must celebrate the contributions of African Americans. As the poet James Baldwin once said, “History is not the past, it is the pre-sent. We carry our history with us.
We are our history.”
What influenced you to become an educator? I was influenced to become a teacher by my 4th grade teacher.
Is there any other advice you would like to give to your students? Yes, always put forth your best effort and do your best in everything that you do. Strive for excellence!

SPRING 2022

FASD African American Educators Spotlight

Chardenee Freeman How long have you been employed as a

teacher? I’m actually a “one on one” aid for a brilliant, kindergarten boy. I’ve been working with him for several weeks.
How many different school subjects have you taught throughout your life? In college, I taught a theater workshop for the youth in the Farrell area.
How long have you been an educator at FASD? I've been at FASD for about 2 months.
What is your biggest struggle being an African American educator? A struggle is knowing that issues can not be fixed with a “snap of a finger”. My approach to overcoming the struggle is pulling a child that is having a hard time to the side, and asking them what is wrong or even telling them how valuable they are and have them repeat a few afirmations. It changes their demeanor almost immedi-ately.
What are some things you would tell your students about Black History? I would tell students about the African Americans that are from here in the area.
What influenced you to become an edu-cator? Education has always been in my blood. I choose to educate through story telling or writing children books.

SPRING 2022

Is there any other advice you would like to give to your students? That you can absolutely do anything you put your mag-nificent minds to! You are the best parts of your parents and you can and will change the world for the better!

Joann Sharper
How long have you been employed as a teacher? 29 yrs
How many different school subjects have you taught throughout your life? Mostly math but have help to assist in reading and currently science.
How long have you been an educator at FASD? 29 yrs
What is your biggest struggle being an African American educator? The biggest struggle is the disrespect that is given to adults and the lack of knowledge that they know.
What are some things you would tell your students about Black History? Learn your history
What influenced you to become an edu-cator? Connie Langley (retired educator) influenced me a lot in education. I volun-teered in her classroom when my child was in her room, and I enjoyed the inter-action that was given, and her compas-sion for the students. I want to see every student be successful.
Is there any other advice you would like to give to your students ? Be involved in things in and out of school. Travel if you can. There is life outside of Farrell.

Karen E. Weston How long have you been employed as a teacher?

54 years (31 years as an elementary teacher 23 years as a substitute teach-er)
How many different school subjects have you taught throughout your life?
Reading, math, science, social studies, handwriting
How long have you been an educator at FASD?
54 years
What is your biggest struggle being an African American educator? Having my students understand the challenges experienced being a black educator. My approach was to work hard and remain focused on my goals. I overcame the challenges that came to me with hard work and dedication. What are some things you would tell your students about Black History? To learn about all the sacrifices our ancestors made to improve our quali-ty of life.
What influenced you to become an educator?
I was inspired by my Kindergarten teacher as she approached every day with enthusiasm and excitement to-wards her students which made an impact on my life and made me want to do the same for my students.
Is there any other advice you would like to give to your students ?
I would tell my students to always do their best and don't let their skin color be a barrier to their success.

Page 7

Student Spotlight: Omar Stewart Jr. BY Bryan Phillips

Omar Stewart Jr. was chosen as this month's student spotlight because he is a schol-ar athlete and just signed to IUP on a full ride, half academics and half athletics. Omar played wide receiver and linebacker for the Farrell Steelers and currently plays center for the Farrell Basketball Team.
After graduation, Omar will be attend-ing IUP with a Major in Graphic Design. He plans on playing wide receiver for the football team. He earned this opportunity from working hard on and off the field. He uses his motivation to carry on his family legacy, which drives him to work harder and constantly get better. Omar wants the Stewart name to be talked about years from now. Omar grew up with two great football inspirations, his father, Coach Omar, and the former, FHS Head Football Coach, Coach
Jarret Samuels. He was very observant of these two role models. They taught him what hard work means and how to achieve his goals.
It took a lot of hard work to get where he is today. Starting for 4 years at Farrell High School isn’t easy. He worked hard during

all 5 off-seasons to get to where he’s at now. He made sure to listen to his coaches and has always made it a point to reflect on what they say. His dad, Coach Omar, played high school and college ball, so he guided Omar in making the right decisions. Omar has true heart as a football player. He recalls one of his greatest challenges as the time when, after los-ing his late grandmother, Omar still came to practice and played that following game. In that game, he ended up winning the Bob Greenburg Player of the Game.
Omar cites one of his main inspirations when it comes to working hard to be his grandfa-ther. At 91 years old, his grandfather still worked and walked around as if he were young. Family is everything to Omar. When he is not working on school or sports he loves to hang out with his family and also loves playing video games.
Some advice that Omar would like to give to underclassmen athletes is that without self motivation you won’t be able to make it as far as you want. “When times get tough, push yourself to be a better you and let no one bring you down or tell you, you can't do it.”

Packed full of HITS: Superbowl and Half-time Show please crowds BY Allen Mychael Jackson

entertainment company.
The Super Bowl was February 13, 2022, located outside of
Rams home stadium. The contenders for Super Bowl XLVI (56th)
were the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. This is the
Rams 4th time in the Super Bowl and for the Bengals, this will be
their third year competing in the Super Bowl.
Both Super Bowl LVI contenders have star players and vet-
Los Angeles, in Inglewood California, at the Sofi Stadium. This is the		Considering the current racial conflicts in the world and the NFL, the organization thought to present African American rap artists in the Super Bowl, which represented rap culture in a big and positive way. Dr. Dre opened up the performance behind a mock mixing board, a nod to the root of his celebrity: the ability to mastermind sound. For
State University and also played with his star wide receiver for the
Next Episode,” a collaboration between Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, wear-
erans that either played at the same college or played together in	the next 12 minutes, vivid and thumping hits followed, including “The college. For instance, the Bengals quarterback played for Louisiana	ing a blue bandanna-themed sweatsuit “California Love.'' Eminem sang

together and also are contending for a NFL Championship as team-
LSU but years before Ja’marr Chase and Joe Burrow. Another coinci-
“Lose Yourself.” Lamar performed his most famous hit record,
came with an unexpected performance hanging ups de down from th
Although it was a tough battle between the Rams and the
Bengals, Ja’marr Chase, at LSU. They won a national championship	“Alright”. Mary J. Blige, the only female singer, sang two songs. 50 Cent mates together. Rams’ wide receiver, Odell Beckahm Jr., also went to	ceiling performing his breakout hit “in da club,” alsoi produced by Dr. e dence is that another Bengals receiver, Tyler Boyd, went to Claritin	Dre. It was an epic and crowd pleasing performance.
defensive tackle, Aaron Donald, went to Penn Hills High School
XLVI champions and end a 22 year championship drought. It was a
tough defensive game. Between Odell Beckham and Cooper Kupp, they
High School and went to play college football at Pitt University., Rams	Bengals, the Rams came out with the victory to become the Superbowl which is located in Pittsburgh, and also went to Pitt University to play
with whom you attended the same school with or just went to the
same school in general. The same is true for those who went to the
same college and on the next level together.
With all the greatness that's going on with the players and the
competition, another great thing that goes along with the Super
football. It is a very special opportunity to play against an opponent	combined for 144 yards out of 283 yards thrown from Matt Stadford. Bengals Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined 189 yards out of 263 yards thrown by Joe Burrow. Although those are great stats, defense definitely carried the game, which led the Rams to the victory. With 1 minute and 25 seconds left in the 4th quarter, the Rams scored with a 1
Super Bowl Halftime Show. Combined, they have 44 Grammys. This
the Rams defense prevented the Bengals from tying the game or re-
Bowl is the halftime performance. Dr Dre, along with Snoop Dogg,             yard touchdown pass at the goal line to make the score 23-20. Then, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar, performed the          claiming the lead with a 4th and 1 quarterback sack from Aaron Don-
was a great way to celebrate Black History Month. Everything that
was performed on stage was Dr. Dre's work, from him rapping to his
production of the other 5 performers' music. The halftime show was
ald. Aaron Donald also ended the game with four tackles, three QB hits and two game changing sacks, alongside outside Linebacker Von Miller who had two sacks, three QB hits and one pass deflection. All of this
ing streak.
a collaborative idea between the NFL and Roc Nation, which is Jay-Z’s	led to a great win to make history, ending a 22 year championship los-

Page 8	SPRING 2022

n Phillips
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Deep Dive with Coach Jaylan a

BY RaeleCoach Jaylan Sharper is the beloved swimming coach at	c Farrell Area High School and has been since for about five years.
Coach Jaylan knew when he was younger that he wanted to be a swim coach. It had always been a dream of his to coach one day and his coaches from his early ages had a big influence on his deci-sion. When Coach Jaylan was in high school he
swam competitively and he thinks that when it comes to swimming it could affect a student's behavior because the frustration of a poor perfor-mance at a practice or swim meet could affect a students behavior at home or at school. Coach Jaylan enjoys many aspects of swimming, includ-ing the competition and learning the four main strokes and styles of swimming. Coach Jaylan believes that the swim team should be recog-nized and celebrated like any other sport at Far-rell High School, Coach Jaylan states, “My swim-mers are top tier athletes and their talents should be recognized just like every other sport at Far-rell.”
Coach Jaylan was asked how good a student has to be to join the team or if they come without knowing how to swim at all would they still be able to join the team. He answered,“I would still recommend everyone to join the swim team. It doesn't matter about skill level. I have taught and coached students of all levels and had success doing that. I feel that as long as the students have patience with themselves. The sky's the limit for them.” The biggest weaknesses for the swim team are that the team needs improve-ment with having confidence with themselves before practice and swim meets. Their strengths would be that they are loyal to the sport and coaches and do want to become better swimmers every year. The training philosophy for the swim team would be to train as hard as you can each day and have fun while doing it. A good atitude will have a very positive impact on a swimmer and their performance.
Coach Jaylan was asked about his experience when it
	
nd his coac

omes to coaching swi xperience when it co nowledge of the spor apport with his stude eep coaching for abo

many pool is wh Some to pa ship s schol trying Jayla prepa basis. kids b name
ack in June of 2021. I oard games and watc
According to tyle to teach and lear troke requires a lot o oach Jaylan wants m s that his swimmers a e recognized. They w orm well during swim
measures taken at pra y of swimmers are m wim, stays far away f wim lessons or traini
ow much he enjoys c wouldn’t trade the fun
oaching here for anyt
	
hing philosophy

mmers and he has a good amount of mes to coaching because of his
t and having experience with building nts and swimmers. Coach Jaylan plans to ut two to three more years.
In the past he was a lifeguard for years at the Buhl Club, Buhl Park, Farrell
and a pool in Youngstown, Ohio, and this ere most of his experience comes from.
goals set for the future of the team are rticipate in District and State Champion-wim meets and for his swimmers to get arships in the sport of swimming. While
to reach goals set for the team Coach n struggles with juggling and trying to
re two teams for competition on a daily Coach Jaylan is not married and has no ut he does have a girlfriend and a dog
d Pluto that he and his girlfriend adopted n his spare time, he enjoys music, playing
hing tv with friends and family. Coach Jaylan, the most dificult swim
n is definitely the ‘Butterfly Stroke’ ; this f patience and focus. Something that
ore people to know about the swim team re great athletes and their talents should ork hard everyday in practice and per-
meets. The most important safety
ctice and swim meets to ensure the safe-aking sure that anyone that is not able to rom the pool until they have completed ng. Coach Jaylan wants everyone to know
oaching at Farrell Area School District and and memories over the time of him
hing.

Pictured left is the 2022 Swim Team, (from left) Coach Jaylen Sharper, Ernest Latzoo, Cheyenne Felix, Landen Felix, Mac-kenzie Ulan, Jaden How-ell, and Assistant Coach Jenna Weiser. Seniors, Landen Felix and Jaden Howell are pictured in above article.

Spring 2022
		
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(Above) Boys’ Basketball Team , cheerleaders and coaches pose after the D10 win over Jamestown at Kennedy Catholic. (Right) Girls Basketball Team and coaches pose in support of Sanaa Brodie’s 1,000 point milestone. Congratulations to both groups of FHS Athletes! (Below) Winter sports’ Sen-ior Night photos, (left) Jaylie Green, Demariah Burns, Sanaa Brodie, Cyncere Harden-Mann and D’Eryah Stewart represent Girls’ Basketball, while Lavar Hightower, Demario Norris, and Jada Wil-liams represent the FHS Band and lastly, Boys’ Bas-ketball Seniors are Allen-Mychael Jackson and Omar Stewart Jr.

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Spring 2022

Upward Bound Program: GREAT but underutilized opportunity

BY Jada Williams

Going into high school, knowing about college, trades, armed services, and various other future opportunities, be-comes a main focus for many students. Unfortunately, like myself, many students do not know much about future options, colleges, or even how to explore their own personal interests. Many of us, myself in-cluded, know to focus on earning good grades and so that is what I did. Thanks to a free program called Upward Bound, I was able to better understand and inform my-self of my options which has, in turn, com-pletely shaped my future plans and goals.
Upward Bound is a TRIO program, one of three programs that was enacted due to the Reauthorization of The Higher Education Act. These programs help stu-dents from low income families and poten-tial first generation students develop skills and motivation needed for future success in college. This program helps students by giving them multiple opportunities to tour campuses, live and experience campus life, take college-like classes, and give them opportunities to experience many other things. They also give monetary checks to students that have good grades and partici-pate in program activities.
This program is always on the lookout to help give their students new experiences. They take tours to universities such as Akron, Cleveland State, YSU, IUP, Slippery Rock, and many more. Upward Bound also has a summer program that allows you to stay on Clarion University campus for a whole month. During that time, you stay in a dorm and have all of your meals paid for. You also take classes to help you with the next school year.

Throughout the sum-mer program, they will have trips packed in there so you will never be bored and there is also one big trip where you will spend three days somewhere outside of Pennsylvania. During my time at the summer pro-gram, they had trips planned on Fridays. We went hiking, canoe-ing, went to see plays, took a trip to Erie, and one of our big trips was to Cleveland, Ohio. This program was especially useful to me because I learned about college, scholarships, and dorm life. I had experiences that I thought that I would nev-er have and it also helped pre-pare me for the next school year.
The regular UB program through-out the school year involves a weekly meeting and a campus day. Meetings usu-ally last about an hour where financial aid, grades, and career choices are discussed. At this time, students may also bring up and discuss anything else that they may be having trouble with. This is a time where you can get some really good ad-vice and learn more about things that can help you in the future. Campus days are usually once a month on a Saturday and take place on Clarion University campus. Transportation is provided for all of their trips and campus days. This is a time where people from a bunch of other schools that also participate in the pro-gram get together for educational purpos-es and team building exercises. Upward bound gives $30 stipends to students, each month, who have above a 2.5 GPA,

UB students visit the Center of Sci-ence Innovation in Columbus, Ohio, during the Trio Summer Pro-gram.

went to the meetings, and took part in the campus days. This might not seem like much but this was a lot to me back when I was too young to get a job and didn’t get any allowance.
In my opinion, this is the best program that Farrell has to offer, but sadly, if the program doesn’t get at least three people to sign up by next year, we will unfortunately lose this program. So, if this program interests you, you can talk to me or Ms. Titus for further information on how to get in-volved. There are no special require-ments, all you have to do is sign up.

SO much to CHECK OUT! If you haven’t been in the FHS Library lately,
what are you waiting for?!? In addition to cool activ-ities for Read Across America Day, an interesting BookFlix Bulletin Board and great new reading dis-plays, our Librarian, Mrs. Tota, just won a financial grant for even more new book purchases! The Math inspired book monies are sure to yield some fun new titles. Integrating Math and Literacy can be especial-ly great for those students who traditionally struggle to connect with Mathematics content.

SPRING 2022	Page 11

FHS StuCo Hosts 1st Annual Soul Week

(Left) Traditional African Attire participants, Bray-lon Harrison, Je’Mya Jack-son, Advisor, Mrs. Latzoo, Ja’siah Williams, Jimarion Husband , Senora Torres, Nikasha Marcella, Keyon-na Lockhart, and Sanaa Brodie. (Left, below) Nia Allen, Nevaeh Husband, Activist Dress Day (Right, below) Shalea’ LaCamera, Sydney Peterson, Leena Weidner, Mrs. Latzoo, Alaysia Kirby, and Khole Summers

In 8th Grade Family Consumer Sciences, Zaniyah Thomas and Damien Gordon prepare tacos (above), along with classmates, Daniel Odem, Darnell La-Camera, and Amir Pinkins (right). Franklyn Dulin (above) shows off his Farrell Bear and Irovi Elerby (right, top) poses with her twin bed cover quilt.

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We caught up with Senior, Tyree Odem, showing off his African head-wear during Soul Week.

SPRING 2022