NHS Principal News

I hope you and your families are having a great summer thus far. Preparation for the start of the school year has been taking place throughout July. I want to give special thanks to our custodial and buildings/grounds staff for the work they are doing to ensure the building is ready to go come the first week of September. Alongside building prep, I’d like to update you in a few areas and based on teh volume info to share, its clear that 241 High Street does not slow down much in the summer.

Please see below for information regarding:

• NHS Opening Dates to Know
  
• Update from the Fitness Center
• Community Service
• Fall Endicott College Course (Dual Enrollment Opportunity)
• Summer College and Career Workshop - Juniors and Seniors
• Summer Reading Reminder
• School-Based Trips + German American Partnership Program Trip
• Augmented and Virtual Reality Course Wraps-up - Thanks NEF
• Good luck and Congratulations
• Follow-us

Have a great night and Go Clippers!

Be sure to check out this one page summary of important dates starting in August. This summary highlights key dates part of the opening of school which includes athletics registration and team meetings, Summer Coffee Session for New Families, New Student Orientation, Back to School Night, Homecoming, and Parent Conferences.

It has been great to see so many of our Clippers taking advantage of the fitness center this summer.

7:30 - 10:00 AM Monday - Thursday, this resource has been quite active. Managed by Coach Yameen with support from Coach Smolksi, this is a great way for students to learn healthy and effective weight training techniques. Additionally for new students, this is an opportunity to meet new peers.

With some extra time available in the summer, participating in community service is a great way to support the local community, make new social connections, practice networking skills, and work towards additional high school credit. In just over week, many of our students will be engaged in community service at this year's Yankee Homecoming. Whether face painting their younger peers faces or helping to manage the many activities of the week, our students love being able to support and promote Newburyport.

• For every 75 hrs of logged service, a student can earn 2.5 credits on their transcript.

The Interact Club is our largest student organization in the school. Students part of the club learn about many service opportunities throughout the year. Here is a link to more information about this group and it also contains opportunities for the summer. Below is a list of other service organizations part of NHS that meet during the school year.

Community Service Clubs

• Best Buddies: Jessica Buchman
• Environmental Club: Graciela Cummins
• Interact: Jill Moran
• Leo’s Club: Catherine Taggart
• Student Ambassadors: Melissa Potter and Aaron Smith

Yankee Homecoming Opportunity

• Seacoast Good News is looking for volunteers to help with their booth during Yankee Homecoming from Saturday, July 27 through Saturday August 3 from 9-5. Volunteers will do simple crafts with kids. If your student is interested they can reach out to Mary Beth at 979-360-5746.

The next Fall Endicott class offered will be: Child and Adolescent Psychology. This foundational course provides a basis for understanding behavioral and psychological development of the child from conception through adolescence.

This course will be taught in-person at the high school on Mondays from 6:00pm-9:00pm starting Sept. 9 and concluding December 16. Here is the COURSE REGISTRATION INFORMATION Ms. Gee (Dir. of Student Support) sent out earlier.

Reminder: This is a Dual Enrollment course. This means students taking the class earn high school and college credits. Thanks to the support of the Newburyport Education Foundation, students can take this class for $25 plus the cost of books.

As a gentle reminder, we are offering free college and career workshops this summer. Our college and career counselor, Mr. Smith, will be hosting the workshops.

The workshop is designed for seniors, to cater to your individual needs, guiding you through the college application process with advice on when, where, and how to apply.

This is also a great way for juniors to get a head start on your junior year college and career exploration.

Overall the college and career workshop is an excellent opportunity to ask questions and get personalized guidance to set yourself up for success before the start of next school year.

The workshop dates are as follows:

• Thursday, July 25th: 8am-2:30pm
• Wednesday, July 31st: 8am-2:30pm
• Wednesday, August 7th: 8am-2:30pm

All workshops will take place in our college and career center. If you're interested in signing up or have any questions, please use the link here: Sign-Up Form.

Information for summer reading can be found on the library portion of our website. As always, we encourage students to read beyond what is expected for the summer.

Students part of our German Program have returned from a successful exchange trip with Heir Wolf and Ms. Fitzgerald. They spent a few weeks with students and families part of our partner school, Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium which is located in Waldkirch, a town approximately the size of Newburyport in the Black Forest. This cultural exchange has existed for multiple decades and allows our students to become immersed in German culture. During the trip, Theo Roberts and Will Massey gave a presentation in German to a class at the school about the American school system and specifically what school looks like at NHS. They knocked it out of the park!

From cooking your way through northern Italy to examining artwork around museums in France and Spain, there are various upcoming school-based trips that students can sign up for during the 2024-2025 school year. Spots are limited; Please take a peek at the linked information below to learn more about each trip. Email the corresponding group leader with any questions or for sign-up information.

Artists of France and Spain (Limited spots left!) - Mrs. Rakoski

April 2025 | https://www.eftours.com/2639987te

Central Europe and the Holocaust - Dr. Matloff

April 2025 | https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2648125HC

Cuisine and Culture of Northern Italy - Mrs. Cochran

June 2025 | https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2672141YD

The XR Foundations Academy wrapped-up this past Friday. Participating students had a hands-on experience building an interactive Augmented Reality (AR) application using the industry leading 3D Engine Unity.

Alongside learning the Unity platform, they delved into image and face target tracking, AR project setup, animation, user interactions, material design & lighting, and building a video demo and presentation deck.

Overall, this was an amazing experience for our students who have an interest in this area of development and technology. Thank you NEF for sponsoring this opportunity for our students.

Good luck to alumnus Gavin Obey. If you missed this week's article in the Newburyport News, he is part of the semifinals for the American Ninja Warrior competition. You can see how he fares tonight at 8:00 PM on NBC.

Congratulations to junior, Madeleine Jackman. She was selected earlier this summer to serve as the Class of 2026 Student Representative to the Newburyport Education Foundation Board of Directors. Here is a link to the press release.