The Drakkar: Summer 2026

LABRAE LOCAL SCHOOLS

THE DRAKKAR SUMMER 2026

LaBrae Hires Two New Coaches for Cornerstone Programs A longstanding area assistant coach and a 2019 LaBrae graduate and basketball standout have been chosen to lead the Viking varsity football and basketball programs. The LaBrae Board of Education hired Chris Marsco as the district’s new head varsity football coach and Elijah Whiteside as the new head baskeball coach.

Marsco has 11 years experience as an assistant football coach. His football coaching experience includes Jackson-Milton, Mineral Ridge, Mathews and Niles-McKinley high schools, serving in an array of posts from defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, associate head coach and head junior varsity coach, among others.

At Youngstown State University, he served as a secondary coach, ran the scout team offense and was head of gameday recruiting operations. Marsco currently serves as a high school resource room teacher at Lordstown High School, teaching mathematics and English language arts to students in grades 7-12. Marsco has a Bachelor of Science Degree in education from YSU a Master of Science Degree in health, physical education and coaching from Emporia State University.

Whiteside, a former starter and letterman for LaBrae, was a graduate assistant coach at Tiffin University for three years before returning to LaBrae to be an assistant coach on Chad Kiser's staff during the 2025-2026 season. He earned a walk on spot as a freshman at Tiffin in 2019, where he continued his basketball career through his senior year. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass and Strategic Communications with a minor in marketing and a Masters of Leadership and Change from Tiffin. Whiteside was a graduate assistant coach at Tiffin August before returning to the Viking basketball program in October 2025 as an assistant coach.

Elijah Whiteside

Chris Marsco

INSIDE

Molly the Cow, p. 5

Student Art ........................ 2 Challenge 24 Winner ......... 4 Power of the Pen .................... 6

Spring Sports ................... 8 Speech & Debate ...............10 YSU English Festival ..........11

Artists at Work The 2025-2026 school year was an outstanding one for creativity at LaBrae as works by several student artists stood out and garnered recognition and accolades from various fine arts organizations and outletes.

Nine LaBrae students were showcased in January at the NE Ohio Scholastic Exhibition at Youngstown State University’s Bliss Hall. LaBrae students earned an American Vision Award (top five of show); three gold keys; five silver keys; and 22 honorable mentions. Additionally, Katie Kistler was recognized as an outstanding art educator.

Rhylin Barker American Vision Gold Key 2 Silver Keys 2 Honorable Mentions Rhylin's Gold Key/American Vision Art work will move on to be Juried at the National Scholastic Competition in NYC. Truly Jacops 2 Gold Keys Silver Key 6 Honorable Mentions Truly's two gold keys will move on to be Juried at the National Scholastic Competition in NYC. Mars Bustard Silver Key 2 Honorable Mentions

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State chooses LHS Senior Truly Jacobs’ artwork for Governor’s Youth Exhibit For the second year in a row, senior Truly Jacobs’ artwork was selected as part of the Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition in Columbus.

Truly Jacobs

One of Truly’s pieces was selected as one of the best 300 in the state and hung in the Rhodes Tower in downtown Columbus. The exhibition ran from April 12 to May 14, 2026. at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower.

A second piece was selected to appear in a digital cameo show within the Governor's office as part of the Governor's Office Cameo Show.

Girl Overtaken by Water

by Truly Jacobs Medium: Acrylic paint

Sunform

by Truly Jacobs Click on the picture above for LaBrae 2026 student art highlights.

Medium: Clay, acrylic paint, hot glue, shiny coat

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LMS Student Johnny Bustard Scores Championship at 7th & 8th-Grade Challenge 24 Math Tournament LaBrae Middle School 8th Grader Johnny Bustard was named the 7th- and 8th-grade champion of the 2926 Challenge 24 event held March 12.

The annual math tournament is sponsored by the Trumbull County Educational Service Center and the Tribune Chronicle.

Challenge 24 tests the math skills of students in grades 4-8 by having them look at cards containing four numbers of any combination of 1 to 9, and then requiring them to use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to come up with the final number of 24.

Johnny Bustard, shown above third from left, was named the 7th- and 8th-grade champion of the 2026 Challenge 24 event held March 12th.

Other LaBrae mathletes competing in the challenge included: 6th graders Case Sutliff -semifinalist Kaydence Collins -semifinalist Blake Vasbinder 6th grade Alternates Lennon Harsh Hailey Young

Competitors may use each number on the card only once.

Four students at each table compete to win the highest number of cards by the end of each round.

7th-8th Lucas Sutliff-semifinalist Ian Holleran-semifinalist

The first student to come up with an answer taps the table and recites the steps they took to arrive at the number 24.

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Udderly Wisdom:

Molly the Cow Teaches Dairy at Bascom

To celebrate National Cheese Lover's Day, 2nd graders at Bascom learned a little bit about the dairy industry from none other than Molly the Cow. Molly also visited students during each lunch period at Bascom and brought cheese sticks for everyone to enjoy.

Kenny Yoho

High school students Kenny Yoho and Liam Fiest were on hand to assist!

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Liam Fiest

LMS student Ella McQuain qualifies to compete at 2026 Power of the Pen State Tournament LMS 7th-grader Ella McQuain qualified to compete at the 2026 Power of the Pen State Tournament in May at Ashland University.

To qualify, Ella competed on January 31st at South Range Middle School against 12 other schools in the Eastern Power of the Pen Region, two of which were Trumbull County schools.

Ella advanced to the regional tournament on February 21st that was held at Lake Local Schools in Hartville. At the Regional level, Ella competed against 34 schools and qualified to advance to the state tournament. There were nine regions across the state that compete throughout the season, and Ella now represents the top 20 percent of writers.

R E W PO

R E W O

7th-grader represents top 20% of writers

OF THE OF

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THE

PEN

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LaBrae Senior Wins $1,500 Scholarship for Goodwill PSA Gage Haslar, a member of the LaBrae Class of 2026, is this year’s winner of the Tom Holden Memorial Scholarship contest. Gage placed first with his PSA showcasing the Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries and received a $1,500 scholarship.

He said his experience as a kid donating clothes and other items to Goodwill inspired him to want to show what the organization is about. Hasler’s 30-second PSA shows one man donating clothes at Goodwill and another man finding a shirt among them that he wears to a job interview.

“Give clothes a second life.

Give people a second chance.

“Goodwill. More than a donation.”

– From Gage Haslar’s winning PSA –

The award is part of the WKBN Caring for Our Community program. The winner and five runners-up, who each received $100, were announced in April. There were 230 entries this year.

Gage, who played Viking football and was in the high school concert band, heard about the contest through speech and creative writing teacher Regina Helmick. He said he plans to continue his football career at Westminster College and study international business as well as participate in ROTC.

Watch Gage Haslar’s Goodwill PSA HERE 7

Spring Sports Standouts LaBrae’s spring sports season was marked by outstanding student achievements and recognitions. Landon Brunstetter was named All MVAC (Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference) Player of the Year, 1st Team, in baseball. Riley Rowe Riley Rowe was named MVAC Player of the Year, 1st Team, for softball. In all, 20 LaBrae sudent-athletes were All-MVAC, AllNEO, All-Ohio, All-District and Regional standouts with Brayden Clark and Matt Kujala state qualifiers in track.

BASEBALL All-MVAC Landon Brunstetter - Player of the Year, 1st Team Austin Rowe - 1st Team Lucas Glaser - 2nd Team Eric Reibold - 2nd Team John Kinkade - 2nd Team Jacob Simpson - Honorable Mention Ed Anthony, Coach of the Year All-NEO Landon Brunstetter - 1st Team Austin Rowe - 1st Team ALL-OHIO Landon Brunstetter - 2nd Team Austin Rowe, Honorable Mention

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MVAC, NEO, District, Regional Athletes TRACK

Softball All-MVAC Riley Rowe - Player of the Year, 1st Team Shelby Bragg - 1st Team Mariah Jones - 1st Team Madison Johnson - 1st Team Leah DeArmitt - 1st Team MaKenzie Lichty- 2nd Team Isabella Michael - 2nd Team Morgan Thompson Honorable Mention

All-MVAC Wyatt Brundage 1st Team - 1st in the 800, member of 4x400 relay 2nd Brayden Clark 1st Team - 1st in 400, member of 4x400 relay 2nd Matt Kujala 1st Team - Shot and Disc Zack Freeman 2nd Team - member of 4x400 relay 2nd Remy Brundage 2nd Team member of 4x400 relay 2nd All-District Track Brayden Clark - 1st in the 400 Matt Kujala - 1st in Disc - 2nd in Shot Regionals Brayden Clark - 2nd in 400 Matt Kujala - 2nd in Disc - 3rd in shot Brayden Clark and Matt Kujala are State Qualifiers. Brayden placed 8th in the 400m race, and Matt Kujala placed 3rd in the discus.

All-NEO Riley Rowe - 1st Team Shelby Bragg - 1st Team Mariah Jones - 1st Team All-Ohio Riley Rowe - 2nd Team, Pitcher Shelby Bragg - H.M. Infield

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Inaugural season for LHS Speech & Debate launches team into strong competitive start The 2025-2026 school year saw the inaugural, and incredibly successful, season for the LaBrae High School Speech and Debate Team.

LaBrae students competed in 12 tournaments in the Youngstown District and at Canton’s McKinley High School. The team was coached

by Mr. DiMuzio, Mr. Michl and Mrs. Bustard.

One member named state debate semifinalist; 4 qualify for state speech tournament

Four students - Mars Bustard, Liam Fiest, Brenna Pascute and Daisy Peace - qualified for the OSDA (Ohio Speech & Debate Association) State Speech Tournament. Robert Stevens qualified in debate and earned State Debate Semifinalist.

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LaBrae students display reading & writing skills, earning accolades at the annual YSU English Festival On Wednesday, April 22nd, the 48th annual YSU English Festival, a celebration of reading and writing, was held for 10th-12th grade students. Approximately 1,000 students attended the 48th annual festival.

LaBrae students earned placements in four events: Connections, Not-SoTrivial-Pursuit, Impromptu, and Writing Games.

Connections is based on the New York Times game of the same name. The clues required students to make connections to the seven English Festival books. The NotSo-Trivial Pursuit revolves around small details in the seven English Festival books. Impromptu is an essay competition. Some 450 essays were written and judged the day of the festival. Writing Games requires students to convey through both writing and art their in-depth knowledge of multiple characters from the seven English Festival books. Hundreds of students competed in "Writing Groups" at the festival.

The following LaBrae High School juniors and sophomores won awards: CONNECTIONS Cayman Haynie, a junior, First Place Kayla McAdams, a junior, Third Place NOT-SO-TRIVIAL PURSUIT CaroleAnn "CiCi" Yoder, a junior, First Place Rhylin Barker, a junior, Second Place IMPROMPTU Kyndra Chabek, a junior, Honorable Mention WRITING GAMES Khloe Kephart, sophomore, Second Place Kassidy McAllister, sophomore, Honorable Mention

Kyndra Chabek

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Cayman Haynie

Kayla McAdams

CaroleAnn Yoder

Rhylin Barker

Khloe Kephart

Kassidy McAllister

LaBrae Educators Retiring

Lisa Aldridge

Tina Toumazos

Mrs. Aldridge is a LaBrae graduate and is completing her 28th year as a LaBrae teacher. Prior to LaBrae, Lisa was a teacher for four years at TCTC.

Ms. Toumazos is a LaBrae graduate and is completing her 29th year as a LaBrae teacher. Prior to LaBrae, Ms. Toumazos taught for four years at P.V. Local Schools.

Melanie Wolke

Martin Kelly

Mrs. Wolke is a LaBrae graudate and is completing her 32nd year as a LaBrae teacher. Prior to LaBrae, Ms. Wolke taught at Warren City Schools.

Mr. Kelly is completing his 17th year as an administrator at LaBrae. Prior to assuming the duties as L.I.S. principal, Mr. Kelly served 14 years as the M.S. principal.

Once A Viking, Always A Viking 12

LaBrae Staff Retiring

Teresa Frederick

Debbie Lynch

Mrs. Frederick is a LaBrae graduate and lifelong community member. She is a Title 1 Aide at Bascom Elementary and is completing her 30th year of service. Prior to her current role, Mrs. Frederick was the Bascom library aide.

Cheryl Anderson

Mrs. Lynch is currently the head custodian at the LaBrae Complex and is completing her 29th year at LaBrae. She has been a custodian since 2001. Mrs. Lynch started as a bus driver at LaBrae in 1997.

Deborah Borawiec

Mrs. Borawiec is a LaBrae graduate and a lifelong community member. She is the LaBrae M.S. secretary and is completing her 29th year of service. She previously served as secretary to the treasurer and secretary at Bascom Elementary.

Mrs. Anderson is an afternoon custodian at LaBrae Intermediate School and is completing her 20th year of service to LaBrae. Prior to becoming a custodian, Cheryl served LaBrae as a bus driver.

Once A Viking, Always A Viking 13

LaBrae Staff Retiring

Terri Gorrell

Debra Burns

Ms. Gorrell is retiring from her role as a bus driver at LaBrae Local Schools. She has been a steadfast employee of the district since 2016. Prior to LaBrae, Ms. Gorrell worked as a driver in the private sector.

Ms. Burns is retiring from education after 34 years of service. She has served as the coordinator of the Viking Learning Center for the last six years. Prior to LaBrae, she served as an educational aide for the Trumbull ESC.

Once A Viking, Always A Viking 14

Senior Citizen Athletic Pass

LaBrae H.S. Departing MVAC for the NAC

LaBrae will again offer a free senior citizen athletic pass good for the entire school year, to all senior citizens residing in the LaBrae community. Resident senior citizens, who are age 65 or older, will be able to sign up this summer for a free athletic pass on the LaBrae website. The request form will be available by the end of July. The passes will be available for pick up at the athletic office in August.

Seniors will be asked to provide proof of residence via an Ohio Driver’s License or a state I.D. LaBrae will still offer the Red Card for sale for those who don’t qualify for a free senior athletic pass.

Last winter, the MVAC Gray division saw the official departure of James A Garfield H.S. and Southeast H.S. effective after the 2026-2027 school year. This started a domino effect of league changes, and after an inability to expand and configure the Gray division in a manner that suited the needs of its remaining members, Brookfield, Champion, LaBrae, and Liberty pursued, and gained admittance, to the Northeastern Athletic Conference beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.

Senior citizens need to complete the request form each year. Passes will not automatically be printed and distributed based on the prior year’s requests.

The move to the NAC provides our athletic programs with a league affiliation of similar schools, comparative athletic programs, and shared educational and athletic values. While LaBrae looks fondly upon our years of membership in the MVAC, we are excited to build and strenghten bonds with the schools in the NAC.

Look for details at https://labrae.school in the near future.

LaBrae Band Shell Update

The construction of the LaBrae band shell was completed this spring, and the facility will be ready for use in August.

LaBrae is excited to get our marching band in the band stand this coming fall. The first opportunity for use will the the traditional Trumbull County kick-off to the band show season, the LaBrae Band Night, which is scheduled for Monday, August 10th.

Prior to band night, LaBrae will conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony commemorating the new band shell.

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Labrae Teachers Present at SECO Conference The Science Education Council of Ohio hosts an annual science symposium in Columbus. This symposium is a professional development conference for K-12 science educators. The symposium acts as the Ohio state chapter event for the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). It is designed to equip educators with classroomready strategies, innovative curriculum tools, and networking opportunities with regional peers. The conference traditionally centers around design and engineering principles, resources for inquiry-based L-R: Brice Harris, Trumbull ESC Curriculum Specialist, Cory Hinzman, and Greg Schuster. learning, primary scientific content, i.e. earth, life, and physical sciences, and the integration of STEM technology and mathematics.

LaBrae 6th grade science teacher Cory Hinzman, and 7th grade science teacher, Greg Schuster were selected to present at the March 2026 professional development conference. Brice Harris, the science curriculum supervisor for the Trumbull Educational Service Center, noted the passion that Mr. Hinzman and Mr. Schuster have for science education, and their commitment to inquiry-based learning, and he identified them as ideal candidates to be presenters from who other Ohio science teachers can learn. Hinzman and Schuster presented on instructional design and delivery of the science curriculum. LaBrae commends them for their pursuit of professional growth and their willingness to share with other Ohio educators!

2026 LaBrae Board of Education Mr. Russell Sewell, Email: rusty.sewell@labrae.school Mrs. Karen Ancell Email: karen.ancell@labrae.school Mr. Bradley Gamlin Email: bradley.gamlin@labrae.school Mr. Tim Gibson, Email: tim.gibson@labrae.school Mrs. Julia Shutt Email: julia.shutt@labrae.school

Board Meetings LaBrae Board of Education meetings are scheduled for the second Monday of each month. The meeting schedule can be found on the LaBrae website. The July and August meetings will be held in the Auditorium. Meetings typically start at 6:00 p.m.

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2026-2027 LaBrae Local Schools Calendar August 27th - 28th (Thursday/Friday) August 31st (Monday) September 7th (Monday) October 8th (Thursday) October 9th (Friday) November 25th-November 27th November 30th (Monday) December 21st-January 1, 2027 January 4th (Monday) January 18th (Monday) January 22nd (Friday) February 11th (Thursday) February 12th (Friday) February 15th (Monday) March 26th – March 29th March 30th (Tuesday) May 31st (Monday) June 2nd (Wednesday) June 3rd (Thursday) June 4th (Friday)

Grading Periods August 31st – October 30th {Early Release} November 2nd – January 22nd {Early Release} January 25th – April 2nd {EarlyRelease} April 5th – June 3rd {Early Release}

Calendar Board Approved: Revised:

Teacher Professional Days First Day of School for Students NO SCHOOL: Labor Day Parent-Teacher Conferences/Early Release NO SCHOOL: NEOEA Day NO SCHOOL: Thanksgiving Break Classes Resume NO SCHOOL: Christmas Break Classes Resume NO SCHOOL: Martin Luther King Day End of First Semester/Early Release Parent-Teacher Conferences/Early Release NO SCHOOL: Compensation Day for Parent Conferences NO SCHOOL: Presidents’ Day NO SCHOOL: Easter Recess Classes Resume NO SCHOOL: Memorial Day Holiday Graduation @ Packard Music Hall Last Day for Students/Early Release Teacher Professional Day

1st GradingPeriod 2nd GradingPeriod 3rd GradingPeriod 4th GradingPeriod

Progress Reports September30th December9th February24th May 5th

February 9, 2026 1.

2.

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Student Days 43 46 46 43

Lower Permanent Improvement Levy Rate Maintained In 2026, the LaBrae Board of Education continued to keep the rate of taxation on the three mill permanent improvement replacement levy at a reduced rate of 2.75 mills. The P.I. replacement levy was originally approved in November of 2023. The levy passed and the assessment began on the values of 2024, with the tax payable in 2025.

Twenty-twenty three was also a year when Trumbull County was undergoing a property reevaluation. Prior to the vote of our community, the LaBrae Board promised to re-evaluate the mills of taxation and committed to reducing the millage to a level that would be approximate to the revenue originally requested prior to the implementation of the anticipated higher property values of 2024. The LaBrae Board of Education decided to reduce the rate from 3.0 mills to 2.75 mills, and has chosen for a second year to maintain the reduced rate of taxation.

HAVE A SAFE & HEALTHY SUMMER!

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LaBrae Local Schools

"Home of the Vikings" labrae.school

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