By Shivali Shah, Digital Editor
River Hill is beginning the 2024-2025 school year with a fresh start by introducing a new assistant principal, Ms. Farwah Jawhar, who is excited to embark on her first year as an administrator.
Ms. Jawhar joined Howard County Public School System in 2017 and has been working with them for 7 years. She began her career as “a math teacher, [working] at a couple schools in the county” including, Mt. Hebron HS, Reservoir HS, Guilford Park HS, Howard HS, and Elkridge Lane MS. During her time as a math teacher, Ms. Jawhar took a break from educating to work as a research analyst at NASA for a year, before returning to teach.
As a teacher, Ms. Jawhar’s favorite moment was getting to see her students come together and form genuine friendships. Reflecting on this, she shared, “As a teacher, my proudest moment was when my class all became friends. They were different groups of people, they weren’t necessarily friends outside of class, but they really bonded and supported each other in class and it was just amazing to see that happen over the [school] year.”
Carrying this love for connection into her administrative career at River Hill, Ms. Jawhar describes how she’s most “excited to get to know the students and the staff and to be a part of [the River Hill] community.”
In fact, it’s the high school community that inspired Ms. Jawhar to become an assistant principal saying, “As a teacher you work with your kids in your classroom. I wanted to make that positive impact with the whole school, not just with my classroom.” Ms. Jawhar aims to “make sure every kid feels that this is a positive environment for them and that they feel a part of this community.” She plans to do this by encouraging the involvement of students within the school. “High school is supposed to be a great time, not just to learn but also to figure out who you are and get involved, and I want to see that continue to grow in this school.”
When asked about specific policies she would like to establish or change at our school, Ms. Jawhar emphasized the importance of understanding what is already working before making any adjustments to the rules. She noted, “I’m still getting to know the River Hill community, but as issues arise in the future, I plan to work with my team to address them.”
As an administrator with ample expertise in teaching and working with high schoolers, she truly understands what a student needs to succeed. Her advice for the students of River Hill can be summarized with just two words: “Enjoy it. High school goes so fast, so enjoy your classes, enjoy your extracurriculars, whether that’s sports being a part of the play, or being a part of a club. Just enjoy this time because it’s going to be gone in a blink of an eye.”