Frederick Douglass Arrives in Phoenixville
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VOLUME 14, ISSUE 1 “HOME OF THE PHANTOMS” OCTOBER 2017 Frederick Douglass arrives in Phoenixville Written by: chetype for young people today, because he shows Miles them that if you have that Noecker spark, that motivation, then you still have a chance. The more he believed in himself, the more successful he be- came. I want to impart a message that people really At this point in the school year, we do have that option, that are all aware of the building theme: they really are important. “If there is no struggle, there is no Every individual, no matter progress,” a quote from one of the where you come from or most famous Frederick Douglass how little you might think speeches, given on August 3, 1857. you have, you have the As the driving force behind the power and the inner 2017-2018 school year, this theme strength to become every- PEOPLE (pages 2-3) is designed to demonstrate “the thing you want to become.” Conor McQuiston importance of students being resil- Morsell’s presentation covered several of Freder- Sadie Park The book that students received ick Douglass’ experiences Fred Morsell imparts wisdom to the for the school and community depicted in Narrative of the Life student body on October 5. New teachers study of Douglass. of Frederick Douglass, as and members of the Photo: Sandra Claus a well as excerpts from Chamber of Commerce CLUBS (pages 4-5) Douglass’ “Fourth of July” participating alongside the high Douglass-inspired mural. Foods speech and “West India school. classes are planning on preparing 40 club descriptions! Emancipation,” the Colin Hanna, a producer of the Southern dishes from the Civil War speech which contains upcoming film, hopes to have the era. Discussing the year-long study, OPINIONS (pages 6-7) this year’s building screenplay completed by the end Dr Parkinson said, “the goal is to Staff Editorial theme. During the in- of this year and begin filming dur- provide a little bit of Frederick tense, gritty, impactful ing the summer of 2018. “There’s a Douglass in every class. Those who Wawa vs. Sheetz performance, Morsell lot of wishing and hoping,” Hanna read the book and engage in the demonstrated the hor- said, “but if you can’t maintain a lessons will benefit greatly. I think Ask the Nurse rors of slavery and the positive attitude, you’ll never get a there is so much to be learned importance of education. film made.” through all of his works that can Chick-fil-A unify the building. At the very end “This topic becomes very Alongside the book study, Phoe- raw, harsh, and un- Kneeling for Anthem pleasant, but it is NEWS (page 8) exactly what has to be faced to get to the PAHS changes 2017 other side of peace,” Morsell said, in refer- Vocal Fusion ence to his one-man show. “Douglass un- Reading Buccaneers derstood that until your mind is free, ENTERTAINMENT ient and overcoming adversity,” your body never will be.” (pages 10-11) according to Dr. Parkinson. How- Throughout the day, Morsell ever, the building theme has taken traveled all over the building to “It” on a life of its own and has been share his experiences and some “The Good Place” expanded to become a year-long of the wisdom of Frederick study on the life and lessons of Douglass. The event culminated Brockhampton Frederick Douglass. with a luncheon in the library, The program kicked off on Octo- where staff, students, and com- Khalid ber 5, with a one-man show from munity members got a chance Fred Morsell, a veteran actor who to meet Morsell and pose for SPORTS (pages 12-13) performs as Douglass to help pictures. spread the message of the power The event was made possible Fred Morsell, as Frederick Douglass, poses alongside Girls’ Tennis faculty, administrators, community members, and of of education and acceptance. Mor- through the help of Enduring Im- nixville will Boys’ & Girls’ Golf sell, a graduate of Dickinson Col- pact Productions, a group currently also begin members of Enduring Impact Productions with copies lege, was motivated at a young age working on a major motion picture implementing of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. MLB playoffs by the Civil Rights Movement. His about the life of Frederick lessons re- Photo: Sandra Claus family had close ties with many Douglass. They generously provid- volving Premier League soccer influential leaders, with his father ed PAHS with copies of Narrative around Fred- serving as the associate executive of the Life of Frederick Douglass erick Douglass into the school cur- this, I hope the works of Frederick FOR FUN director of the NAACP. It was not riculum. The English department is Douglass will connect us all and for every student, which will allow until the 1980’s that Morsell began for a community-wide book study, planning on studying Douglass’ create stronger respect, trust, and Speak Out—pg. 9 love within the school and commu- his study and performance of Fred- with many local organizations, such most influential works and creating Horoscopes—pg. 14 erick Douglass, citing former Presi- as Diversity in Action, Phoenixville a living museum, while members of nity.” dent Ronald Reagan’s Area Positive Alternatives (PAPA), the art department are developing This year’s building theme has Fall quiz—pg. 15 “understanding about the spiritual paved the way for what should be undertones of this nation” for ignit- an in-depth, comprehensive study ing his patriotism and as the moti- of Frederick Douglass. Mr. Mor- vation to explore the historically sell’s engaging performance offi- significant depiction. Though Mor- cially kicked off the program. Of- sell does not perform as Douglass fering a final takeaway for students “If there is as much as he used to in the 90’s, and community members, Morsell he still does around 20 perfor- said, “At the end of the day, you mances a year for schools and com- want to make sure you’ve done one no struggle, munities. more positive thing than negative Regarding the importance of his thing. It may be something small, performance, Morsell said, but it’s very critical to be able to do there is no “Douglass’ life is a wonderful ar- more good than bad. I think that Douglass understood that. I don’t think it’s right to speak on progress” - Fred Morsell, as former slave turned Douglass’ behalf, but I do think Civil-Rights activist, Frederick that he would want you to know Douglass. that it all begins with you, that Frederick unity begins with you.” Douglass *PEOPLE* Conor McQuiston: Physics and beyond NCAA Football 14. In the past he has Written by: traveled to quite a few exotic locations, Benjamin Armstrong such as Punta Cana. His many, many siblings include his oldest brother Travis, who has a PHD in cellular biology; Matt, who used to be in the military and now works in Real Estate; Alec, who lead the football team to their only district playoffs win in 2011 and is now working on his doctorate in Marine Biology; Sam, who works for a pharmaceutical compa- Most teenagers would think that traveling ny; his sister Ainsley, who just graduated halfway across the world during the sum- last year; and his younger brother De- mer would mean a break from school work Left to right: Singaporean tour guide Zhankhang (aka ZK), US Team clan, who’s now attending Manavon and a chance to relax. This wasn’t neces- Captain Anna Cassidy, Emily Solomon, Japnidh Thakral, Conor ple. He said, Elementary in fourth grade. sarily true for senior Conor McQuiston, McQuiston, Skylar Jeoung, and Matt Popplewell. “Our tour guide In terms of colleges, Conor doesn’t have who went on a trip last summer to [who showed us anything set in stone yet, but he has visited Singapore -- not to take in the sights and around] once Villanova and is considering applying to sounds, but to take part in IYPT, or the to get a handle on at first, because you said ‘Sometimes I worry that Singaporeans Penn State, Stanford, Duke, and a few Ivy International Young Physicists Tourna- don’t want to focus too much on one point, work too hard and don’t play enough.” The League schools. One thing is for sure: ment. but if you don’t hit that point hard enough meals provided by the university ranged whether it’s an international physics tour- Involving around 30 different countries you’ll get points docked,” Conor from Spam, noodles, sausage hot dogs, nament, dealing with a massive amount of from around the world, high school stu- explained. and rice, and Conor was able to get out siblings, or working hard during his senior dents received 17 physics problems during Much of Conor’s interest in physics comes and taste a little Thai food and fried chick- year, Conor McQuiston seems to be on the the school year beforehand and worked to from taking the class with Mr. Jennings and en. ball this year. solve them. There were even a few prob- how interesting and enjoyable he made it. While not traveling the world, Conor lems involving building set ups and experi- After joining the USA’s Young Physicist enjoys subjects involving history, science, ments, like making a “Vacuum Bazooka.” Tournament on a whim, Conor did well calculus, and had fun taking Computer The US team together for a group Afterwards, a team from each country was enough to participate in a selection tour- Science with Mr. McNaughton. While photo. flown to Singapore to partake in some- nament, and he ended up going to Singa- Conor used to play Photos courtesy of: Conor McQuiston thing called “Physics Fight,” where three pore from July 5th to July 12th.