NHS Principal Communications - March 28, 2024
First and foremost, I want to commend all our sophomores for the hard work they put in this week while taking the MCAS. In walking around the past few days, it’s clear students maximized their time as they persevered through the test.
I'd also like to acknowledge our grade 9 students for their active participation in Tuesday and Wednesday's activities. They engaged with the District's Portrait of a Graduate and began to make connections around their schooling, skill development, and interest areas. I'd like to extend special thanks to parent Meghan Kinsey who launched the grade 9 activities with a motivational talk around the "Magic of the Morning." Also additional thanks to Laruen Gee, Lynne Cote, Tim Mahan, Tom Abrams, and Amy Heath for their efforts to these engaging and meaningful experiences for the Class of 2027.
Please see below for updates in the following areas:
- School Council - Handbook and Policy Discussion
- High School Driveway - Reminder One Way
- Arts Events
- All State Concert - Way to Go!
- College Guidance Network - Register for Family Account - Why This Matters to You!
- College and Career Fair - April 4th @NHS - 6 - 7:30 PM
- Mission Sox is Back
- Checkout the Investment Club on the Morning Show
- Course Spotlight - Arts Program + Blended Learning 1:1 Program
- March Clippers of the Month
Over the past 2 months, the school council has reviewed and discussed policies either brought forward by administration, teachers, students, and/or parents.
Here is a link to the discussion from the March 12 meeting around each of the policies and topics below.
- Breathalyzer Policy
- MIAA Chemical Health Policy
- 10.9 Spectators/Fans
- Attendance for Extracurriculars
- Nurse Dismissals
- Attendance Policy
- Weight of Dual Enrollment Courses (See March 12 Discussion)
- Course Waiver Policy (See March 12 Discussion)
To comment on any of the policies above, please use this form. The next School Council meeting is April 9.
Please note that the high school's driveway from Toppans Lane to High Street is ONE WAY. This applies during and after the school day.
Turning from the high school's driveway onto Toppans Lane is dangerous as oncoming traffic does not expect a car to come out from that location. Thank you for your attention to this.
National Art Honor Society
Congratulations to all of the students who are participating in tonight's National Honor Art Society Induction Ceremony. 11 new students will be inducted alongside existing members. This will be a great celebration of our students' artistic creativity.
NAHS Senior Art Exhibit
Please take time to check out pieces of art created by students part of the National Honor Art Society. This artwork is on display at Newburyport Art Association and there will be a closing reception this Saturday, March 30th from 12:30 - 2:30 PM.
District-Wide Student Art Display
Artwork from across the school system is on display at the Senior Center. This will be up through next week with a reception taking place on the afternoon of April 4th at the Senior Center from 4-6:30 PM. I am always amazed at the creativity and skill our students have in their photography, paintings, drawings, and 3d pieces of art.
All State Concert - Way to Go Cedar and Evan
This past weekend Cedar Schumacher and Evan Lagueux participated in the All State Concert at Symphony Hall. Being a part of this event is a highly selective process. We are very proud of Cedar and Evan for their accomplishment and ability to represent Newburyport at the highest level.
Why it matters to you:
- This resource provides a roadmap and a variety of support for our families as you help your student through the College and Career planning/application process.
- This program happens in conjunction with the support provided by our guidance counselors and college and career center.
- Ultimately, the College Guidance Network functions like a college/career coach for families.
- To take advantage of this resource, please click here for details on how to register.
Here is this week’s College Guidance Network Clip of the Week:
- Family Dynamics: Who's in the Driver's Seat? As high-schoolers begin to evaluate post-secondary options, parents assume a new role — shifting from driver to passenger — and their teens take the wheel. The road to college is a rite-of-passage, one that is both exciting and challenging. This toolkit gets you started in the right direction with suggestions for how to support your teen and key resources.
This will be as large as the fair the NHS College and Career Center held in the fall. This will be a great opportunity for grade 9, 10, and 11 students to start exploring their options for after high school. We encourage students to come with their families.
Register for this event here and see the flyer below for more information.
We are so excited to announce the dates of our second annual Mission Sox sock drive.
Mission Sox is an organization that students Jackson and Isla DeVivo began last year to raise awareness for clothing insecurity, beginning with the most overlooked clothing necessity, socks! Over 1500 pairs of new socks were collected last Spring by putting “sox boxes” around town and in the high school.
This year's goal is to gather over 2000 pairs so be on the look-out for the "sox boxes" at the high school around town. The collection drive will begin on April 9th, the Red Sox home opener, and finish on May 9th.
INTEGRATED ARTS
Thanks to the support of the Newburyport Education Foundation, students who take part in the visual and media arts program have benefited from using state of the art equipment. This technology has been transformational for the arts program as students have been able to use their artistic talents across the disciplines. Most recently students in the video production class worked alongside students in music technology to integrate musical scores into theatrical video productions. Students initially worked separately but when they merged their work (music and video) they were able to explore shifts in tone, emotion, and energy in the production.
BLENDED LEARNING - 1:1 PROGRAM
As students and teachers become more proficient in their use of the iPADs, it has been great to see the device become used in less traditional ways in the classroom. From podcasting in ELA and Chemistry, creating interactive lab reports in science, and creating a dialogue exchange with peers overseas during Spanish class, more lessons are offering a creative way for students to explore content and construct greater meaning around ideas and concepts being taught.
The following students have been recognized as Clippers of the Month for March. Accomplishments for these students range from embracing learning and demonstrating growth in the classroom as well as collaborating and persevering through difficult tasks in and out of the classroom.
Quinn Daniels, John DeJordy, Leiah Goodwin, Aine McManus, Mark Mosesian, Miguel Nye, Arthur Pereira, Madeleine Rhoden, Cady Seaton, Isla Trail, and Lilly van der Zyl.