The Drakkar: Summer 2026

LABRAE LOCAL SCHOOLS

THE DRAKKAR THE DRAKKAR

SUMMER 2026

LaBrae Hires Two New Coaches for Cornerstone Programs

Alongstandingareaassistantcoachanda2019LaBraegraduateand basketball standout have been chosen to lead the Viking varsity football and basketball programs. The LaBrae Board of Education hiredChrisMarscoasthedistrict’snewheadvarsityfootballcoach andElijahWhitesideasthenewheadbaskeballcoach.

Marsco has 11 years experience as an assistant football coach. His footballcoachingexperienceincludesJackson-Milton,MineralRidge, Mathews and Niles-McKinley high schools, serving in an array of posts from defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, associateheadcoachandheadjuniorvarsitycoach,amongothers. AtYoungstownStateUniversity,heservedasasecondarycoach,ran the scout team offense and was head of gameday recruiting operations.Marscocurrentlyservesasahighschoolresourceroom 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 EmporiaStateUniversity.

Whiteside,aformerstarterandlettermanforLaBrae,wasagraduate assistantcoachatTiffinUniversityforthreeyearsbeforereturning toLaBraetobeanassistantcoachonChadKiser'sstaffduringthe 2025-2026season.HeearnedawalkonspotasafreshmanatTiffin in2019,wherehecontinuedhisbasketballcareerthroughhissenior 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 basketballprograminOctober2025asanassistantcoach.

ArtistsatWork ArtistsatWork ArtistsatWork ArtistsatWork ArtistsatWork

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 Kistlerwasrecognizedasanoutstandingarteducator.

RhylinBarker

AmericanVision

GoldKey

2SilverKeys

2HonorableMentions

Rhylin'sGoldKey/AmericanVisionArtworkwillmoveontobeJuriedat theNationalScholasticCompetitioninNYC.

TrulyJacops

2GoldKeys

SilverKey

6HonorableMentions

Truly'stwogoldkeyswillmoveontobeJuriedattheNationalScholastic CompetitioninNYC.

MarsBustard

SilverKey

2HonorableMentions

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 ExhibitioninColumbus.

One of Truly’s pieces was selected as one of the best 300 in the state and hungintheRhodesTowerindowntown Columbus.TheexhibitionranfromApril 12 to May 14, 2026. at the James A. RhodesStateOfficeTower.

Asecondpiecewasselectedtoappear in a digital cameo show within the Governor's office as part of the Governor'sOfficeCameoShow.

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

Girl Overtaken by Water

LMS Student Johnny Bustard Scores Championship at 7th

& 8th-Grade

Challenge 24 Math Tournament

LaBrae Middle School 8

Grader Johnny Bustard was named the 7 - and 8 -grade champion of the 2926 Challenge 24 event held March 12. th th th

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 7 - and 8 -grade champion of the 2026 Challenge24eventheldMarch12 . th th th

Other LaBrae mathletes competing in the challenge included:

6 graders th

Case Sutliff -semifinalist

Kaydence Collins -semifinalist

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.

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

Blake Vasbinder

6th grade Alternates

Lennon Harsh

Hailey Young

7 -8th th

Lucas Sutliff-semifinalist

Ian Holleran-semifinalist

Udderly Wisdom: Molly the Cow Teaches Dairy at

To celebrate National Cheese Lover's Day, 2 graders at Bascom learned a little bit about the dairy industry from none other than Molly the Cow. nd

Molly also visited students during each lunch period at Bascom and brought cheese sticks for everyone to enjoy.

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

Bascom

LMS student Ella McQuain qualifies to compete at Ella McQuain qualifies to compete at

2026 Power of the Pen State Tournament 2026 Power of the Pen State Tournament

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LMS 7-grader Ella McQuain qualifiedtocompeteatthe2026 Power of the Pen State TournamentinMayatAshland University.

To qualify, Ella competed on January 31 at South Range MiddleSchool against12other schoolsintheEasternPowerof thePenRegion,twoofwhichwere TrumbullCountyschools.

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Ella advanced to the regional tournamentonFebruary21 that washeldatLakeLocalSchoolsin Hartville.AttheRegionallevel, Ellacompetedagainst34schools andqualifiedtoadvancetothe state tournament. There were nineregionsacrossthestatethat competethroughouttheseason, andEllanowrepresentsthetop 20percentofwriters.

7th-grader represents top 20% of writers top 20% of writers

POWER POWER OF OF THE THE PEN PEN

LaBrae Senior Wins $1,500 Scholarship for Goodwill PSA

“Give clothes a second life. Give people a second chance. “Goodwill. More than a donation.”

GageHaslar,amemberoftheLaBraeClassof 2026,isthisyear’swinneroftheTomHolden Memorial Scholarship contest. Gage placed first with his PSA showcasing the Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries and receiveda$1,500scholarship.

He said his experience as a kid donating clothes and other items to Goodwill inspired himtowanttoshowwhattheorganizationis about. Hasler’s 30-second PSA shows one man donating clothes at Goodwill and anothermanfindingashirtamongthemthat hewearstoajobinterview.

TheawardispartoftheWKBNCaringforOur Community program. The winner and five runners-up, who each received $100, were announced in April. There were 230 entries thisyear.

– From Gage Haslar’s winning PSA –Watch Gage Haslar’s Goodwill PSA HERE

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 businessaswellasparticipateinROTC.

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, 1 Team, in baseball. Riley Rowe Riley Rowe was named MVAC Player of the Year, 1 Team, for softball. In all, 20 LaBrae sudent-athletes were All-MVAC, AllNEO, All-Ohio, All-District and Regional standouts with Brayden Clark and MattKujalastatequalifiersintrack. st st

BASEBALL

All-MVAC

Landon Brunstetter - Player of the Year, 1 Team st

Austin Rowe - 1 Team st

Lucas Glaser - 2 Team nd

Eric Reibold - 2 Team nd

John Kinkade - 2 Team nd

Jacob Simpson - Honorable Mention

Ed Anthony, Coach of the Year

All-NEO

Landon Brunstetter - 1 Team st

Austin Rowe - 1 Team st

ALL-OHIO

Landon Brunstetter - 2 Team nd

Austin Rowe, Honorable Mention

MVAC, NEO, District, Regional Athletes

TRACK

All-MVAC

WyattBrundage1 Team-1 inthe 800,memberof4x400relay2 st st nd

BraydenClark1 Team-1 in400, memberof4x400relay2 st st nd

MattKujala1 Team-Shotand Disc st

ZackFreeman2 Team-member of4x400relay2 nd nd

Softball

All-MVAC

Riley Rowe - Player of the Year, 1 Team st

Shelby Bragg - 1 Team st

Mariah Jones - 1 Team st

Madison Johnson - 1 Team st

Leah DeArmitt - 1 Team st

MaKenzie Lichty- 2 Team nd

Isabella Michael - 2 Team nd

Morgan ThompsonHonorable Mention

All-NEO

Riley Rowe - 1 Team st

Shelby Bragg - 1 Team st

Mariah Jones - 1 Team st

All-Ohio

Riley Rowe - 2 Team, Pitcher nd

Shelby Bragg - H.M. Infield

RemyBrundage2 Teammemberof4x400relay2 nd nd

All-DistrictTrack

BraydenClark-1 inthe400 st MattKujala-1 inDisc-2 inShot st nd

Regionals

BraydenClark-2 in400 nd MattKujala-2 inDisc-3 inshot nd rd

BraydenClarkandMattKujalaare StateQualifiers.Braydenplaced8 in the400mrace,andMattKujala placed3 inthediscus. th rd

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 SpeechandDebateTeam.

LaBrae students competed in 12 tournaments in the Youngstown District and at Canton’s McKinley HighSchool. Theteamwascoached by Mr. DiMuzio, Mr. Michl and Mrs. Bustard.

Four students - Mars Bustard, Liam Fiest, Brenna Pascute and Daisy Peace-qualifiedfortheOSDA(Ohio Speech & Debate Association) State SpeechTournament.RobertStevens qualified in debate and earned StateDebateSemifinalist.

One member named state debate semifinalist;4qualifyforstatespeech tournament

LaBrae students display reading & writing skills, earning accolades at the annual YSU English Festival

On Wednesday, April 22 , the 48 annual YSU English Festival,acelebrationofreadingandwriting,washeldfor 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,andWritingGames.

ConnectionsisbasedontheNewYorkTimesgameofthe 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 thedayofthefestival.WritingGamesrequiresstudentsto convey through both writing and art their in-depth knowledge of multiple characters from the seven English Festivalbooks.Hundredsofstudentscompetedin"Writing Groups"atthefestival.

ThefollowingLaBraeHighSchooljuniorsandsophomores wonawards:

CONNECTIONS

CaymanHaynie,ajunior, FirstPlace

KaylaMcAdams,ajunior, ThirdPlace NOT-SO-TRIVIALPURSUIT

CaroleAnn"CiCi"Yoder,ajunior, FirstPlace

RhylinBarker,ajunior, SecondPlace IMPROMPTU

KyndraChabek,ajunior, HonorableMention WRITINGGAMES

KhloeKephart,sophomore, SecondPlace

KassidyMcAllister,sophomore, HonorableMention

LaBrae Educators Retiring

Lisa Aldridge

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

Tina Toumazos

Ms. Toumazos is a LaBrae graduate and is completing her 29 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 32 year as a LaBrae teacher. Prior to LaBrae, Ms. Wolke taught at Warren City Schools.

Mr. Kelly is completing his 17 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. th

LaBrae Staff Retiring

Teresa Frederick Debbie Lynch

Cheryl Anderson

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

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

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

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

Once A Viking, Always A Viking

th

Debra Burns Terri Gorrell

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

Senior Citizen Athletic Pass

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.

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.

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

LaBraeH.S.DepartingMVACfortheNAC

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.

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.

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 10 . th

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

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 learning, primary scientific content, i.e. earth, life, and physical sciences, and the integration of STEM technology and mathematics.

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LaBrae 6 grade science teacher Cory Hinzman, and 7 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.

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!

LaBrae Local Schools