Falconidae Revisited: Issue #1

The Falconidae was an in-school newsletter that aimed to recognize achievement among students and staff. It was led by a team of students and their dedicated sponsor, English teacher Ms. Brito. The original Falconidae stopped producing newsletters shortly after Ferguson’s change in principals. The Talon has decided to revive the Falconidae as a series for our publication with the intent to keep the spirit alive.

MAO Does It Again!

MAO members pose for a picture during the FGCU Invitational Competition.

On December 16, MAO (Mu Alpha Theta) went up to Fort Myers to compete in the FGCU Mathematics Invitational Competition and returned with impressive positions:

Statistics Individual: Julianna Ngo, 13^th place

Precalculus Individual: Daniel Duarte, 8^th place

Calculus Individual: Josh Lian, 9^th place & Saul Balcarcel, 10^th place

Precalculus Team: Daniella Payan, Ugo Okwuadigbo, Daniel Duarte, Anthony Orozco, 4^th place

Aspen Challenge Inspires Business-Oriented Students!

From left to right: Salma Mohammed, Casaundra Williams, Adrian Conde, and Taylor Lin.

For the first time in its history, the Aspen Challenge will be taking place in Miami and Ferguson will be 1 of the 20 schools that will be competing. Each school will craft a competitive team of students that each represents a range of skills. Teams gather to hear from leading thinkers who tackle some of our world’s toughest issues. The leaders propose challenges to the teams, asking them to create innovative solutions. Teams will select a challenge of their choice and draft their ideas, and choices to solve the issue at hand. On Feb 25th, an Opening Forum will take place where teams will be presented with challenges that will affect our society. On April 20, the competition date, they will present their solutions to the challenges. The three teams that present the best solution and meet all criteria will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Aspen, Colorado.

The students on the Aspen Challenge team representing Ferguson are:

Nicholas Arcay, Fatima Chang, Adrian Conde, Sylvia Golindano, Pablo Hernandez, Taylor Lin, Salma Mohammed, and Casaundra Williams.

Good luck Falcons!

Building a Brighter Future…

Nalaevbrie Duriman in her senior portrait.

Nala Duriman applied for the Human Resources Construction Council (HRCC) Scholarship, although a bit of a long process, in the end, was worth it. These types of scholarships especially in this field are not common, so she took the chance. By receiving the outstanding HRCC Scholarship centering around NCCER, she was provided the unique opportunity to receive financial aid to seek training in the construction field. Duriman recommends this scholarship to all Ferguson students in the NCCER program stating that it “looks great alongside your resumé and shows your interest in your future career!”

Singing their way to the top!

From left to right: Santiago Cacciaguerra, Andi Gonzalez, Mia Ramirez, Abdiel Diaz, Elijah Rosado, Camila Collante, Amanda Lopez, and Michael Avila performed at the Coral Gables Caroling Competition.

On December 4^th, Ferguson took part in the Merrick Festival Caroling Competition, where 30 middle and high schools from Miami Dade and Broward counties competed. Andi Gonzalez won a solo singing award and earned a prize of private voice lessons with one of the top operatic vocal coaches in Florida through his performance of “Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera, amazing the judges with his range. In addition, Ferguson’s mixed-voice choral acapella group ‘Uncaged’, consisting of members Santiago Cacciaguerra, Abdiel Diaz. Michael Avila. Elijah Rosado, Mia Ramirez, Camila Collante, Amanda Lopez, and Andi Gonzalez won second place in the “Small Ensemble” category receiving an $800 prize.

Ferguson Artist featured in Exhibit…

Promotional poster for the Coral Gables Museum exhibit, Medieval Marvels: Wonders of the Middle Ages, featuring Melany Rodriguez’s artwork ‘Padre’.

After two weeks of hard work on an art project for Garrigo, Melany Rodriguez’s watercolor artwork, Padre, has been selected for the Small Art Exhibition: Medieval Marvels, Wonders of the Middle ages at the Coral Gables Art Museum. The exhibit took place on November 1st. She was blown away when hearing of this invitation, stating that of all her pieces Padre wouldn’t be on the top of her list, due to the choice of materials. Nonetheless, she was quite excited and loved the experience.

Congratulations Melany!

If you know of any student or faculty achievement, send a tip to our email [email protected] to see it featured on the next issue of the Falconidae!