Dear Falcon readers,

Thank you for another wonderful year. From breaking countless COVID-related administrative updates to the FSS community, to profiling many of our beloved teachers like Cynthia Vainstein, Sarah Kelly, and Dan Cappecci for teacher appreciation week this May, we have been honored to continually provide information and stories to you all.

For all of our original and personal interest-based content, the 2020-21 school year was a period dominated by COVID-related news. Whether the school’s latest announcement concerned school closings, positive tests, or vaccine rollout, The Falcon was relentless in breaking the story in an approachable manner as quickly as possible.

Our Instagram page has grown to 457 followers. Not only have we gained new readers, but our team has also added many new writers, editors, artists, and photographers. We made publishing in the newspaper as easy as possible and gained new journalists from various history classes who expanded on topics they researched in class.

We covered amusing and concerning social developments, both at school and from home. From perilous situations like the escape of Perry Zanki’s pet snake Milky and the proliferation of “tea” Instagram accounts to lighthearted events like the rise of skate culture and the introduction of absurd clubs, we didn’t miss a beat in keeping the community posted.

Research pieces on sundry topics gifted knowledge and interesting questions to students, faculty, and families. Papers covering the effect of social media on political polarization, the cons of the electoral college, and the malicious intent behind the relocation of baseball teams went the extra mile to uncover truths about our local and national communities.

In a year of tumultuous politics, The Falcon shared relevant hard news and well-researched opinions with the Friends Select community. Between breaking the school’s closure for Election Day, documenting the city of Philadelphia during polling, and analyzing the events of the capitol insurrection, Falcon writers stayed in touch with the pulse of the nation.

We also began The Fun Cave and The Pigeon sections of our website, introducing new content including satire, quizzes, editor roundtables, crossword puzzles, book and music reviews, and podcasts.

The Falcon’s editorial staff is deeply grateful to serve a community so eager to participate in and contribute to a schoolwide culture of active journalism. For all of us, it has been an honor to share the news and work with you all to optimize our reporting and publishing over the last year. Have a great summer, and keep reading both locally and across the world.

-The Editorial Staff