Our Clippers have not missed a beat this week coming off of February break. From their ongoing work in the classroom to their involvement in extracurricular activities, the building has been abuzz with healthy energy. Below is a highlight of academic work currently happening by grade level.

• Our seniors with limited time left are digging into their Book To Film Project through which they blend media and literature to plan and create a movie trailer around the themes of a chosen book.

• Juniors are continuing to develop their writing portfolios and taking time to reflect on their areas for growth particularly as it relates to the nuance of writing. Additionally, they are beginning to prepare for the spring semester History Argumentative Research Essay (HARE)

• Sophomores have received feedback on their midyear history essays and presentations and will further develop, their reading, research, writing, and presentation skills through their Exposition Project in English and History classes. Additionally, the scientific podcasts they are developing in Chemistry are quite impressive as well.

• The Freshmen also are working on portfolios to reflect on their writing and reading. Alongside this, it has been great to hear their use of academic vocabulary in classes, which has been a primary focus for our grade 9 teachers.

Please see below for updates in the following areas:

• School Safety Drill - Tuesday, March 5
• Portrait of the Graduate

• Advisory This Week
• Guidance Newsletter

• High School Policy Review
• Peace Prize Ceremony - International Culture Night - March 6 - Congrats Mission Sox
• Theater Program and Athletics Updates
• Course Spotlight - Communication and Public Speaking

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024 we will have a safety drill which will include a Secure-In-Place.

A Secure-In-Place means there is a possible threat in the surrounding areas outside of the school- for instance, a bank robbery or home invasion or someone evading law enforcement that may be near the school. Students will stay in the classroom. Staff and police will monitor all entrances and exits.

The District's Portrait of a Graduate emphasizes skills students will develop across their schooling. Across the school year, teachers have worked to make skills taught in class more explicit. To make the Portrait of a Graduate come more to life across the school system, recently some of our upperclassmen students presented their stories of skill development to the 8th grade class. Additionally, 8th graders then had the opportunity to interview our students to better understand their growth as a student over their time in Newburyport Schools. I'd like to commend the following students on their successful presentations at the Nock Middle School this week:

Lucy Cameron, Caden Eiserman, Claire Fehlner, Nora Geerlings, Zoe Kakuba, Sasha Leydon, Fiona Marino, Bridgette Mellet, and Michelle Seznec.

Gr. 9 Peer Mentor Activity

The freshmen class worked with their mentors who led them in an activity to see what kind of community they have become within their advisory, their grade level, the school, and even outside of school.

Gr 10 PLANNING ACTIVITY

Students viewed a brief career video through their College Guidance Network (CGN) account and then develop goals. Don't forget families can register with CGN which functions like a college/career coach for families. To take advantage of this resource, please click here for details on how to register.

Gr 11 Credit for Life Fair Presentation

Each year the Institution For Savings runs the regional credit for life fair in late May. The bank explains, "The intent of Credit for Life is to prepare students to survive financially in the everyday world BEFORE they leave high school. Students choose professions, assume the roles of 25-year old 'professionals with paychecks' and use their monthly ‘salaries’, ‘credit cards’ and ‘savings accounts’ to purchase everything they will need to live as adults. The goal of the day: to balance their budget and not overspend. This event is organized and underwritten by the Bank." Video About the Fair

Gr 12 Scholarship Planning

Students used time to explore scholarships in Naviance and receive support in the College and Career Center.

The spring addition of the Guidance Newsletter is here. Be sure to take some time to read through it. It has great information and updates regarding next year's scheduling and course registration process. You will find links to new courses, workshops, and information about upcoming dual enrollment opportunities.

As a reminder, a primary focus of the School Council over the next 2 meetings will be to review and recommend changes to the student handbook.

Here is the February 6 Meeting Summary for the HS School Council and below are the policies the team has started to focus on.

• Breathalyzers
• MIAA Chemical Health Policy
• Attendance Procedures
• Attendance Policy - Withholding Course Credit for Too Many Unexcused Absences

If there are policies/practices you would like the council to discuss for potential changes, please complete this form.

If you would like to discuss any policies with any member of the council, use this link to see your parent, student, and teacher representatives.

Next Wednesday, the Human Rights Commission will hold its annual Peace Prize Ceremony at 6:30 PM in City Hall. The Human Rights Commission presents this award annually to recognize students at each Newburyport school who reflect the values of kindness, helpfulness, and tolerance in their treatment of other students and the adults in their lives, as well as their work on behalf of their community.

After the Peace Prize ceremony, I am looking forward to attending the International Culture Night that will happen at the high school. This event is sponsored by the Global Scholars and the International Culture Club. This will have a variety of music and cultural experiences representative of different regions of the world. Additionally, students will have presentations that share their own cultural traditions as well as experiences with travel.

Congratulations to Isla and Jackson DeVivo. They are both recipients of this year's Youth Service Award. They were recognized by Mayor Reardon during his State of the City Address this past Tuesday. Both Isla and Jackson developed and run Mission Sox which recognizes how "socks are often overlooked but actually one of the most important items for people in need." They collect any size or style of new socks to donate to homeless shelters and NPOs.

Our theater program is putting on the finishing touches for this year's musical, Legally Blonde. It will be a fun show for all ages. Opening night is March 15 at 7:00 PM. Be sure to check it out. The theater program will give a sneak preview to our students during the Spring Spirit Week Rally in a couple of weeks. Scan the QR code in the picture to order your tickets and see the other times and dates for the show.

It has been a great winter season for our athletics program with Boys and Girls Hockey and Basketball teams all qualifying for the tournament. Good luck to Girls Basketball tonight, and Boys Hockey tomorrow in their next match. The next game for Boys Basketball will announced soon. Great win last night.

The track teams as typical performed at a high level across the season. Some impressive feats are listed below:

• Girls 4x400 placed 4th in the state (Devin Stroope, Morgan Felts, Blake Parker, and Reese Bromby)
• The 600 - Devin Stroope finished 5th in the state, all divisions, Morgan Felts finished 6th in the state, all divisions and Jalen Wise finished 8th in the state, all divisions.
• Michael Mohoric - Cape Ann League Male Athlete of the Year. His 1 mile and 2 mile runs are the fastest in the area.

Along with the above, the swim team had a strong season and finished in the top 10 in their state meet while the ski teams also excelled this season and wrapped it up with a strong performance at the state competition. Last it is exciting to see the wrestling team grow and next year we are looking forward to having even more Clippers will take this on.

Be sure to see Thursday's Daily News for highlights of many of our student athletes. This highlights many of your younger athletes who will be a force in years to come.

• Newburyport Ski wraps up breakthrough season at State Championship
• All-State Track: Local athletes shine amongst the best in Massachusetts
• Daily News Area Track Leaders
• State Championship Swimming

Today students part of this course along with their teacher Lisa Zaleski were down at the Bresnahan school reading to their younger peers. Over the past few weeks, students have practiced enunciation, posture, tone, and expression techniques to help them immerse and engage first graders in their stories.

The overall goal of this course is to help students with their public speaking skill set. The class meets students where they are at with this vital life skill. Also note, this class hits every area of the District's Portrait of the Graduate.