Have you ever seen someone walking around in a shirt that says SWB? If so, they are probably part of one of the Soccer Without Borders teams.
Patterson has more than 90 students playing on one of the three different SWB teams, including a girls team. Soccer Without Borders is an organization that supports newcomer refugee and immigrant youth in Baltimore and across the world — SWB operates in 122 different countries!
The organization uses soccer to help students find a community in a new country, get support with schoolwork, see new places through field trips and practice English.
The spring season will start soon. All teams practice two times each week and play games in different leagues on the weekend. If you are interested in joining one of the teams, or would like more information, please reach out to Ms. Moschelle in room 352.
Advisor’s note: The January/February 2026 print edition of the Patterson Press is being distributed in school during Advisory today. All of the articles in this issue will be posted to the online edition soon (hopefully within the next 24 hours) along with additional photos. Please check back tomorrow.
Patterson’s growing Arts department presented us with a strong cultural performance in our small auditorium on Tuesday, September 30th for our students. The event celebrated our predominantly Hispanic student body here at Patterson, to help non-Hispanics and those of Hispanic origin understand their identity by doing something fun. This also encourages students to be comfortable with taking pride in their culture without fear or judgment.
Food was served in the cafeteria from 5:00-6:00. There were plenty of pupusas packed with a variety of dips while Latin music played in the background as we waited for the show. At 7:00, the audience entered the darkened auditorium to watch the informative showcase.
The opening performance was a passionate stride of about 30 students representing their countries, draped in cultural flags and attire, marching to the beat of our marching band’s introduction of a Hispanic song. Each student was smiling ear to ear, just happy to be sharing their country’s story with the world.
Soon after the flags went on stage, a slide show presentation shared some of the values appreciated in Hispanic culture. These slides showed the importance of spice in Hispanic foods, gave insight into the lives of Latinos in America, jobs, racial stereotypes, and the importance of rhythm and dance. Learning about the unspoken hardships of Hispanics as well as their potential for success informs students to become more aware of similarities between their own culture and other cultures.
So many neighbors of students, primos, abuelas, and more familia came together to support and cheer on their people, no matter their country.
“With all the turmoil happening in America it’s important to celebrate whenever we can”, said City School employee Mr. Richard, sharing the importance of pride and happiness in Latino lives.
Jeanileyshka Rodriguez, a student performer, said the best part of her performance was “being able to dance together with my friends and classmates”.
The student performance was well received by the audience, including parents, many of whom expressed hopes for more Hispanic heritage celebrations in the future.
Baltimore City Public Schools began enforcing a new policy this school year where mobile phones are banned from being used in schools from bell to bell during the school day. The ban is being enforced in every public school in Baltimore City and is part of a growing trend that is spreading to many school districts across the United States.
Many teachers are against this policy and a lot of students are as well. Many students will get sneakier with using their phones, but their phones will be taken away if they are caught using them.
This phone policy has gotten out of hand. Let’s say if I had an accident in my pants and needed to text my father to tell ask him to bring me a new pair. An administrator would take my phone away from me. No matter how many times I tell them why I need to use it, they do NOT care.
Phones are not even allowed during lunch. As someone who cannot handle loud noises, I need headphones to help me in noisy environments like the cafeteria. Sometimes I feel too mentally drained to even communicate with other students. If I were to text my father about something, I would need to go into the bathroom stall, which I hate, since bathrooms aren’t always the cleanest.
I am a student who struggles with school, not because of my phone or headphones, but because it’s hard to focus in some classes due to how poorly the teachers teach me and how boring the classes are. I personally think that the students who struggle like I do should have music playing in their headphones during individual work time or should be allowed to just glance at their phone to look at the time without their phones being taken by the administrators.
I feel like people focus on the wrong thing rather than the actual bad stuff out in the world like students taking their own lives, school shootings, our rights being stripped away, and so much more, and yet they’re worried about phones being a “distraction”? I really think this is so damn unfair. I abhor everything about the phone policy and I abhor how people focus on phones rather than on traumatizing things that cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There are other distracting things out there–for example, there is this one student in my class who can never shut up.
Phones aren’t the problem. The School Board should end the ban on cell phones and start focusing on the issues that really matter.
by Genesis S. Machuca, Tiffany A. Martinez, & Jamaal McFadden
Baltimore City Public Schools will require students to keep their cell phones and other personal electronic devices powered off, put away, and secured throughout the school day beginning with the 2025–2026 school year. The policy applies to all students in the district and was approved by the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners
Under the new rules, students may still bring phones to school, but they cannot use them from the time they arrive until dismissal unless permitted for specific educational or emergency reasons. City Schools officials say the policy is intended to reduce distractions, improve student focus, and support academic performance.
“This policy is designed to create a better learning environment by limiting disruptions and helping students stay engaged in class,” said a representative for Baltimore City Schools.
The policy not only covers cell phones but also tablets, smart watches, and wireless headphones. Devices must remain powered off and out of sight during instructional time, lunch, passing periods, and recess. Exceptions will be made for approved classroom activities, emergency communication, and circumstances approved by school administrators.
School district leaders encouraged families to prepare for the new rules and to communicate with their child’s school if necessary. While many parents and educators support the policy as a way to improve classroom engagement, some have raised questions about communication and access during non-instructional times.
The new policy reflects growing nationwide efforts by school systems to balance technology use with academic priorities.
The Patterson High School Varsity Football team has shown heart, hustle and hometown pride this season. Even with the doubts of others they kept pushing to be greater. Under the leadership of former coach Shauq, Coach Black and Coach Shonny, the team battled challenges and even won their first game against RFL. they kept the fans cheering from the first kickoff to the final whistle.
This year, the Clippers showcased grit both on offense and defense with standout performances from players like Devon Brown, an 11th grader who scored the first touchdown of the season for 33 yards. He played two positions–wide receiver and safety. Alongside Brown was Christian Jackson, an outstanding Quarterback who threw some amazing touchdowns. The Clippers football team has a lot to be proud of this school year and the coaches and players have aspirations for even greater things next Fall.
The administrative team at Patterson High School asked us to share this message about the January 2025 print edition of the Patterson Press.
“We are so proud of our students’ efforts in producing the January 2025 Patterson Press publication. In this edition, our scholars have captured their school level experiences, academic and athletic successes, issues that are germane to them and their peers, cultural and seasonal celebrations, political and social issues, and many successes and experiences of students and teams in the Patterson family.
As you read today’s Patterson Press publication, please read it through the lens of our scholars. You will find that our students captured data through their lens and the lens of interviewed staff who do not have access to formal data portals, so data is estimated. Please know that by law, there should be no/limited alteration of student writings/messages as students voice their perspectives. These journalism students’ perspectives may or may not be shared by fellow students, teachers, staff, or administration, but as always, we celebrate and encourage the efforts of our scholars. They are budding journalists.”
JV standout Sophomore Antonio Jones (Photo: Quaron Walker-Bey)
The Clipper basketball program looked to kick the season off in Patterson’s boys’ basketball home opener against Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly) on December 10, 2024. The team was coming off of a great season last year when a very talented point guard, Sincere Barfield, led the team to win the regional title.
The JV game started off quickly with the help of sophomore guard Antonio Jones pushing the tempo of the game, pushing the ball on fast breaks, running through sets. Zarion Steppe played a big role down bottom for the JV clippers. The JV game came down to the wire but in the end the JV offense couldn’t hit shots and they lost 44-48.
The varsity Clippers were there to set the tone for the school despite having a whole new roster and being without a 4 year returning senior Quaron Walker-Bey, but they looked to win the season opener. The game started off hot with threes from both teams, from the jump we all knew it was gonna be a good game. Going into halftime, our Clippers had the lead. It was back and forth all through the second half. Late in the fourth quarter, the Clippers had a 7 point lead but later blew it with a good late Poly run forcing overtime. Unfortunately, in overtime the Clippers couldn’t pull out the close win making them 0-1 to start the year.
After this upsetting loss to Poly, the Clippers bounced back and grabbed two wins against Friends and Carver before suffering a string of losses in early January. On January 16, Patterson pulled off another win, defeating Lake Clifton 63-51. However, the Clippers suffered another loss the next day when they fell to City College by a score of 71-40.
Despite these setbacks, Coach Baseline has very high hopes for this team. “We might have a rocky start due to us having a lot of new players and them not being used to our system but I’m looking forward to it”, he said. The coach is hopeful that the team can overcome the loss of many veteran players because he believes the group that he has now is very athletic and talented.
This year’s Patterson Indoor Track and Field team has been marked by records and milestones.
The boys’ team has set several school records. The 4 x 800 relay team of Joel Lukoo, Zawadi Dungi, Rancel Corporan Lagombra, and Vema Maneno set a school record. The 4 x 400 relay team of Zawadi Dungi, Joel Lukoo, Rancel Corporan Lagombra, and Marshall Mallory also set a school record and are 5 seconds away from making it to the high school indoor track national championships. Joel Lukoo set a school record in the 500 meters. Vema Maneno set a school record in the mile and a half mile and is 5 seconds away from making it to the high school indoor track national championships.
The girls’ team is very close to its first ever trophy for being in the top 3 teams in Baltimore City. They have the best distance runners in the city. Najah White AKA “Little Nae” and Nathalia Espino are the best 2 milers and milers in Baltimore City. Nyagarare Kuiy, Libni Colocho, and Annaelle Letono round out a very strong distance contingent. The relays are very strong. The 4 x 200 relay team of Dereon Taylor, Dayvia Weaver, Kamayah Daniels, and Indira Solomon is rapidly improving. The 4 x 800 relay team of Najah White, Nyagarare Kuiy, Dayvia Weaver, and Nathalia Espino are on the cusp of winning a medal in Baltimore City Championships. Mark January 22nd on your calendar for Baltimore City Indoor Track and Field Championships at the 5th Regiment Armory. It will be a historic occasion.
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