Falconidae

John A. Ferguson Senior High, Miami, FL Mr. Rafael A. Villalobos, Principal

Volume 18 October 2015 No Goal’s Too High Where Falcons Fly!

A new honor society at our school, Psychology Honor Society, under the sponsorship of Ms. Michelle Vigoa, had the privilege of attending an informative presentation on peer victimization on October 23rd at F.I.U. They were able to hear a research team re-port its latest findings on peer victimization and how it contributes to adolescents inter-nalizing symptoms. This in turn has better prepared PHS for one of its primary purposes, to oversee a committee providing awareness throughout the school about relevant is-sues such as stress, anxiety, mental illness, etc. The committee, titled, The Awareness Committee, is creating school posters that have information on these issues. The posters utilize a "Did You Know?" format and define the actual issue, state a fact about how it affects adolescence, and provide tips for how to improve the issue. “The PHS members learned key elements involved in peer victimization , including types of peer victimizations as well as risk factors. They also learned about the need for school-based anti-bullying program to be implemented in the high school settings (since these programs are primarily in elementary and middle schools),” ex-plained Ms. Vigoa. PHS members are also in the process of creating a short video for FBN news and a more thorough video to be presented to specific classes. Stay tuned!

The Awareness Committee

Two of our business students, Gabriel Martinez and Valerie Chapman, participated in an eight-week train-ing program as part of the NFTE South Florida Startup Summer Program. During the program, they received expert advice on developing their business models. Valerie Chapman created an app called iModel that combines outfit and pose ideas for both male and fe-male models. Gabriel Martinez created a vending ma-chine for school supplies called GAM-V. We are thrilled to announce that on October 1st, Gabriel Martinez won second place in the regional competition titled, “Investment Panel,” at the Miami-Dade College--Idea Center for his business plan. He received $3,000 in startup funds for his business! Look out for one of his machines in the near future on our very own campus.

Emerging Entrepreneurs

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Volume 18

October 2015

Cross Country Champions (For Over A Decade!)

Last school year, Mr. Moreno’s Film 4

Honors class produced a short film titled, Un-

derground Artist. This school year, the film

will be screened in Hollywood as part of the

International Family Film Festival! The Inter-

national Family Film Festival (IFFF) is the first

and longest running family film festival in the

United States. The screening date for the film

is November 7th.

Movie Stars

Luana Yamashita received sec-

ond place for Best News Anchor at

FIU's Journalism District 6 event on

Saturday, October 17th. She com-

peted against anchors from over 20

schools in our district and will go on

to compete in the state competi-

tion in April of 2016.

Awesome Anchor

The girls’ and boys’ cross country teams became dis-trict champs on October 23rd! This marked the fifth consecu-tive district championship for the girls’ team, and individually, it was the first district championship for junior Jazmyn Mar-tinez.

District Champions...

And...

Regional Champions!

On October 29th, at the Cross County Regional Cham-pionships, our girls’ team brought home the regional victory and now advance to the state championship for the 10th con-secutive year! The boys’ team brought home runner-up hon-ors and now advances to states for the 12th consecutive year.

director, and studio vocalist. During the festi-

val, students attended informative seminars

on vocal technique and performance, as well

as learning about potential careers in the

music field. “It truly was a once in a lifetime

experience that privileged me with

knowledge and memories I’ll never forget,”

commented senior Nicole Arguello.

Master Class

The weekend of October 31st, Ferguson chorus stu-

dents had the exciting opportunity to work with musician

Ben Bram at The Betsy A Cappella Festival. Ben Bram is a

Grammy award-winning arranger, music director, pro-

ducer, engineer, and educator and is best known for cre-

ating the famous a cappella group, Pentatonix. Bram also

worked extensively behind the scenes of Pitch Perfect 1

and 2, The Sing-Off, and Glee, providing expertise as an

arranger, coach, vocal producer, on-set music

Falconidae, Page 3

Volume 18

October 2015

Ferguson’s T.V. Production teachers, Ms. Nancy Ozon and Mr. Alberto Martinez, had the honor of meeting professional photographer Robert Zuckerman at a workshop on October 23rd titled, T.V. Production: Staging for On-Location and Stu-dio. Attendees of the workshop were treated to a viewing of Zuckerman’s photos from his illustrious career. Zuckerman also shared great techniques of light usage for both photo and video shoots.

Meeting an Icon

One of Ferguson’s community service clubs, Pass It On, took part in a Friends of Grenada project aimed to collect toiletries for a country in desperate need of them. The club collected over 350 items including shampoo, conditioners, hand wash, soap bars, razors, shaving cream, and baby wipes. After the collection, the coordinator of Friends of Grenada, Jackie Biscoito, picked up the items to ship to needy families there. The club is far from done with helping those in need. They are currently collecting cleaning supplies for the Bahamas, recently hit by Hurricane Joaquin. Their next project, which starts next week, is for Domi-nica. Members will collect used clothing, toys, non-perishable food items, and household items needed by a partner organization there currently building 1,000 family homes. The toys, which may seem frivolous in the face of so much need, are Pass It On’s way of providing the children with a joyful holiday season. “It was very heartwarming to know that I can help and make an impact by simp-ly providing items to individuals my same age, and of other ages, who don’t have these basic necessities and should really have them. I hope to keep making an impact in the lives of those who appreciate the efforts we put into collecting items for them,” said the club’s president, Mariana Paredes. “I can’t wait to see the pictures of the individuals of Grenada receiving the toiletries!” she added.

Collecting Because They Care

John Lennon’s Legacy

United Way Campaign

The entire month of October was dedicated to rais-ing money for the United Way. Thanks to all of our stu-dents and faculty who participated in our fundraising “days,” such as Breast Cancer Awareness Day, Sweat-pants Day, Jersey Day, and Disney Day. A very special thank you to our principal, Mr. Villalobos, for being our target in the dunk tank! Together we were able to raise over $3500.00!

Seven Ferguson music students, Jennifer Davalos, Gabriel Martinez, Ryan Bello, Alexa Lugones, Natalie Sosa, Davion Tomlinson, and Humberto Mendez, had the opportunity to write and perform an original song and create a music video with the producers who work on The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. The students were selected based on teacher recommendation, mu-sical talent, and G.P.A. The bus is equipped with an ad-vanced mobile recording studio that allows for expert sound engineering, which allowed the musicians to pro-duce the highest quality sound and video. “It was an incredible experience. It was a once in a lifetime oppor-tunity. Not too many get to see the bus, and even fewer get to work with the producers to create music,” said base and guitar player Davion Tomlinson. As a follow-up to the event, and in true paparazzi style, the seven students were interviewed on October 29th at the Adrienne Arscht Center by various local news agencies.

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Volume 18

October 2015

The

Ferguson’s Thespian Honor Society’s Falcon

Troupe 6822 performed at the One Acts Festival

held at Hialeah High the weekend of Oct 31st and

November 1st. The festival included 24 troupes of

District 8 thespians. The honor society’s entry was a

parody on Medea by Christopher Durang. They re-

ceived an Excellent for their performance and pro-

duction. Ninett Llorente received an All Star Cast

award and the troupe received the Best Costumes

award. The troupe will be performing this award-

winning act as well as other pantomimes and im-

provisations on November 12th and 13th beginning at

7:00 P.M. in the school auditorium. “We guarantee

there will be lots of laughter,” said Ms. Elizabeth

Loffredo, drama sponsor.

Activities Team Plans Action-Packed October

Activities Assistant Principal Kathy Guerra,

Activities Director Tanya Rae Schulze and

Senior Class Sponsor Jose Andion had a busy

month planning enjoyable events for the

students while keeping everyone safe.

For Assistant Principal Ms. Kathy Guerra,

Activities Director Ms. Tanya Rae-Schulze,

and Senior Class Sponsor Mr. Jose Andion,

October was an action-packed month. Help-

ing our Student Government Association

plan and implement Homecoming, Spirit

Week, the United Way fundraising drive,

and Falcon Fright Night kept them very

busy. During Homecoming Week alone, our

school had a pep rally, a halftime show

where the Homecoming court was present-

ed, a hallway decorating contest, daily

lunchtime performances and contests, and,

of course, the Homecoming dance. Despite

the hectic schedule, every event was a suc-

cess. “We love the excitement, spirit, and

participation of the student body. Students

are the most spirited I’ve seen n a long

time. Thanks to the teachers who partici-

pated and those who were patient,” com-

mented Ms. Guerra.

Halloween Happiness

Our school was transformed into a

“Halloweentown” on Tuesday, October 27th,

for Ferguson’s annual Fright Night. Fright

Night is a Ferguson community service event

during which our clubs and organizations

offer games, treats, and other spooky hap-

penings free-of-charge to local area children.

Children are able to experience the thrill of

trick-or-treating in a safe, secure environ-

ment. The event included a petting zoo and a

haunted house and, judging by the size of the

crowds, was a huge success once again.

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Volume 18

October 2015