#thedarrowschool

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With the beginning of a new school year, we see new faces in new places! To meet our new Faculty and Staff, check out our “People” below! 

https://www.darrowschool.org/about/people

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Earlier this week, Darrow had its Opening of School Convocation celebrating the moving up of the Senior class and Academic Recognition from both the 3rd and 4th Quarters of the 19-20 Academic Year. There was a lot to be happy about, and a lot to look forward to as we begin our school year. Every day with Students and Faculty safely learning and discovering on campus is a step in the right direction. 

Student Body President, Jaskaran ‘20, inspired the student body to use their voice and create change on campus, not letting his peers dwell on what they don’t like, but instead seeing within something where they have the power to create positivity. Head of School, Andy Vadnais, asked the students to think of the mark the want to make on Darrow as a place and the community within it. In “Beginning the year with the end in mind,” Vadnais motives the student body to set goals and make plans for how to get there, no matter the greater challenges we all currently face. Impressed upon the community is the tireless notion that positivity and a plan can get you far. 

The ceremonies ended with a rendition of Simple Gifts safely sung by Trudy ‘22, Taylor ‘22, and music teacher Marissa Massery. Though too bright for candles, there sentiment of “Turning Round Right” felt tangible as the community joined around Tannery Pond. 

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Darrow student leaders have returned to campus! Check out our reopening plan on our website, but know safety is they key! 

There is a buzz in the air as we know classes will begin soon, new and returning students will arrive soon, and our community will once again feel whole. 

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If I’m Pretty, I’m Pretty

Meita  believes that no matter what color you are, if you’re pretty you’re pretty. Nobody should tell you different. She is a pretty dark skin , more on the skinny side of things, Meita Fofana doesn't agree with society’s views on what's “pretty” as in being a fair complexion and “Thick”. Though many focus on having the “perfect body”, she thinks everyone is unique. She believes that  in this society “being dark and having bumps is terrible.” That doesn't stop her from knowing that she is beautiful and perfect the way she is.She was always an advocate for herself and without a doubt the best dressed. 

A strong minded and independent young lady, Meita was born into a family of four, with two older brothers and a younger sister. Coming from Newark, New Jersey, Meita was always bright and top of her class. She enjoys putting  a smile on everyone’s faces with her outgoing personality.  She loves the company of and loves meeting new people. She sees herself as “a creative and ... a visual thinker.” One thing that I know about Meita is that she loves fashion. Meita was part of a program called NJ SEEDS. This program helps bright students with the process of applying to private high school. 

Even though she was never bullied about her body or skin tone, she still believes that dark skinned people are undervalued. The funny part is that the people who discriminate against Black women are from the same race. I asked her, “Do you still see yourself as pretty even though you're dark?” With a quick comeback she said, “To me a color doesn't matter, I can be orange for all I care… if I’m pretty, I’m pretty. A color doesn't define your prettiness.”Furthermore,  One song that was mentioned was “Melanin” by Secrett.  The lyric “ Ahah, I got melanin” shows that finally black women have something to boast about being black. The main purpose of this song is to say “We have every right to be proud of our colleges, features, skin, and everything good that comes with being a black woman.”

Another negative that Meita sees as positive is body image. In the olden days(Back in the days) and now, there was something called the Thin Ideal.  This is the concept of the ideally slim female body. Everyone loved females that were skinny, this is the era of body shaming. Often being the friend being targeted for jokes, she doesn’t take it to heart. She enjoys being her body size. She has nothing against it and appreciates who she was born to be. 

One thing that I admire  is how strong spirited Meita is . She didn't hesitate to keep mentioning that everyone was beautiful in their own way. She is confident in who she is and isn't worried about anybody else.  She says, “Why should I have to worry about others when they don't do anything for me.”

Written by Eyram Dzokoto ‘23 for Nancy Dutton’s Writing and Literature I

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Student Artist Neshima Vitale-Penniman ‘20 for the Senior Art Exhibition

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The Place I’m From

“There was this one kid, they found him in a bodybag by the river and he was beheaded and his body parts were just found in different bags littered across the street” said Kwadere “KD” Decayette, talking about the area where he grew up. “In areas, Lawrence is full of community and then in some areas, it just simply isn’t safe.”

So many people believe that the place you’re from determines who you are. They believe that if you live in an unsafe place, you’re bound to become an unsafe person. KD is a sophomore here at Darrow who serves as a counterexample to that myth. People can branch so far from the place they grew up and become contributing community members despite living in places viewed as undesirable or dangerous. “There are good people everywhere, absolutely everywhere. Like there is people in the school I went, just teachers that made sure...I knew I was talented, and I didn’t even know that,” explained KD.

“In Lawrence...The things I seen and the things I heard about were just things you don’t even wanna’...think that’s possible”. KD was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, an 80% Hispanic neighborhood according to the US census and a crime rate higher than 86% of cities in Massachusetts according to  neighborhood scout. These statistics are enough to scare someone away from Lawrence, but there is so much more to the city. 

KD attended Community Day Charter Public School, and there, faced significant challenges. However, he also discovered his love for academics and realized he could rise above the violence and negativity he saw around him. KD is a multiracial Hispanic and Black person, and he grew up in a Spanish speaking household. Despite this, KD was classified as only “Black” by his peers and teachers in school. Because he couldn’t speak fluent Spanish, he was made fun of and subjected to the categorizations society imposes on people of color. For instance, someone from “the hood” might be categorized with “a hoodlum” and nothing more.

Although he had difficult experiences at school, his time was also filled with many opportunities, which led KD to discover his love for academics. “I didn’t know I had talent in me….I didn’t know I had the ability to...write poems or essays or...the ability to solve complex math problems.” His school let him discover that he has potential, and he began to develop a love for learning and branch out beyond the limited ideas of what he thought he could be. He was even recruited for a program that included a trip to New York where he saw Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. “There is good people everywhere and someone is gonna help you...if you truly need it.”

In 2018, KD was admitted to The Darrow School. At Darrow, KD explored as many opportunities as he could. He enrolled in theater and basketball, and excelled in both. He also was able to branch out socially, making friends with a diverse group of people and making himself known. “Everybody knew who I was….I was the loudest person in the dining hall….I was always screaming, I was always saying something.” KD performed in his first real play, Peter and the Starcatcher as a comedic role “Ted, the fat orphan”, and loved it deciding to continue theater into the next year as well. “I like putting a smile on people’s faces. So if I have to act stupid or out of character...to get people to laugh, I think it’s all worth it.”

Although his year was full of amazing and impactful experiences, those stereotypes and categorizations still followed him to Darrow. Right before a school break, KD was framed for threatening to “shoot up” the school senior vs. faculty basketball game. When questioned by the police, they asked him the same questions over and over for hours. “They...try to get me to confess something when my dad wasn’t around. Unfortunately for them, I wasn’t lying.” Things like this happen to many young Black men who are questioned for hours on end and, unlike KD, many end up admitting to a crime they did not commit just to end the questioning. For example, the “Central Park Five” were black teenagers who were questioned for hours without their parents and told to confess to rape just so they could go home. KD was questioned for hours but also took something positive from the experience. During the questioning, he met this young police officer who he talked to and related to. The officer helped him calm down and not feel so alone and scared. Although most would look on this situation as all bad, KD took the good away from it. “I can have something life-changing happen to me and be like ‘this is a blessing in disguise.’”

KD found a love for Darrow in his freshman year and despite a major challenge, he worked to be able to return sophomore year. He faced the challenge that he would not be re-enrolled for the next year if he didn’t receive a history credit. KD credits his sister AnneMarie with making sure he was able to come back to Darrow. “My sister put up a white board….And the goals were: 10th grade, positivity, time management, and confidence.” KD became more motivated and focused; he was set on getting his history credit to come back. This year, he came back even stronger, taking his diet, athleticism, and basketball more seriously than ever. KD acted in Hamlet and showed incredible leadership in the basketball season, helping the team go further than ever before to win the Hval and the Nepsac championships.

People can be so distinct from the stereotypes cast onto them based on the place they’re from. They can accomplish things no one would ever think they could. “I’d be most proud of my heart….I’ve been through a lot, and it’s usually the things that have broke me down the most that get me going to the next situation as happy as possible….And that sort of understanding that life will move on and I can do this….that’s my best quality, my heart,” concluded KD.

Written by Emet Vitale-Penniman ‘23 for Nancy Dutton’s Writing and Literature I

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Student Artist Sophie Plaut ‘20 for the Senior Art Exhibition

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Life is not a Straight Line

For basketball coach Assane Sene, life is a rollercoaster! He thinks life is not a straight line, everyone could never know what the future would be.        

Assane Sene is a basketball coach at The Darrow School. He is 213 centimeters tall, just like most of the professional basketball players. He started playing basketball when he was 15. He was playing soccer before and he was not bad at it. Everyone told him to play basketball because he is tall, and after he saw his favorite basketball player on TV, he started loving this sport. He moved to the U.S. to play basketball in high school in 2006, he worked very hard and got the chance to become a professional player. He played overseas in 2012 and was liked by basketball fans, but one thing that he has never thought about was becoming a teacher. 

Assane Sene was born in Saint Louis, Senegal. College basketball players from Africa are like other people: they have a dream. But to achieve this dream can be harder for most of them. Assane Sene was a very special kid: he is very tall, and his mom died when he was fourteen. He was in a very bad position but he still worked hard. At a very young age, he had a chance to play in Spain, but his father didn’t agree with that because he wanted him to work on his academics, his father thought that he should work on basketball and academics at the same time. At high school in Connecticut he kept improving his basketball skill and continued his education. His hard work was shown by the games he won. He played very well in college and became a professional player in Asean Basketball League. His first game was in Dubai, where he started. He has been playing basketball overseas since 2012 and he was a very famous player at that time.

He hoped to become a professional basketball player after his college days, in the States or overseas, but his real goal is to be a coach, one that follows in the footsteps of Basketball Without Borders and a program that helps kids who don’t have the opportunity to play basketball: SEEDS, because he was taught by them before. He wanted to stay in the sports industry and never thought about being a teacher, but because of being a coach in a boarding school, he also became a teacher. He came to Darrow because he could have the chance to coach a basketball team and also teach here although he is young. For a young coach to teach, he is very good at it and I know that because he taught me before. He will always make sure that the students get the information they need and help them get better. He is very happy that his job can help kids achieve their full potential because he was that kind of kid. He wants to tell the young people now, don’t just focus on one thing, like basketball: if you want to get in the NBA, you need to go to college, so you should also work on your academics. He always tells his students that it’s not only what you do on the basketball court, it’s also important what you do in the classroom, how you treat people, your morals. "Better an empty purse than an empty head." Don’t just do what you like, or you would be a boxer that only knows how to use your right hand.

Assane Sene said: “ Life is a rollercoaster. Life is not all roses, sometimes you have a hard time, sometimes you have a good time. When I have a hard time, I will keep pushing myself, I wouldn’t give up, because good things will happen to you after you have a hard time.”  The successful religious teacher John Piper who also did his best to give students the information they needed shared that, “Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback.” Assane Sene uses his interesting basketball trip to show this is right, and he gets the beautiful flower on the steep road by his hard work and a kind heart.

Written by Daniel Chen ‘23 for Nancy Dutton’s Writing and Literature I