NEWBERG HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Newberg High School Newsletter     
    September 12, 2014
Week 2 at a Glance (and a peek ahead to week 3)!!!
This week at Newberg High has been filled with energy and excitement as Newberg Nation has taken off! Our Twitter account, #NewbergNation, has absolutely exploded with Tiger spirit, our halls are alive with a vibrant pride and our student attendance at last Fridays home football game exceeded 600 students! Suffice it to say that it is a great time to be Tiger!

Next week NHS ASB students will be leading our next effort to boost school spirit and Tiger pride as they launch “Neon Week!” “Neon Week” will culminate on Friday as students will be challenged to a Newberg Nation Neon Costume Contest! Encouraged to wear neon and NHS Tiger apparel, a costume contest will be held on Friday during each lunch and the lunch winners will then be forwarded to the finals that will occur at halftime of the varsity home football game on Friday night!

Arguably the best part of the Newberg Nation Neon Costume Contest, however, is that the crowd in our stands next Friday night, including you, will get to pick the overall winner of the contest at halftime of the game! But please also know that the festivities Friday night will not be limited to the Newberg Nation Neon Costume Contest either. There will be prizes given away throughout the game, secret treasures hidden in the stadium and contest tweets galore at #NewbergNation!

Furthermore, on behalf of the student body here at school, we would like to challenge all attendees at next weeks football game to wear either Tiger gear or blue in honor of your Newberg Nation spirit! So get ready Newberg Nation, and bring the energy to Loran Douglas Stadium next Friday night so that we can make it the loudest and proudest “12th Man” venue of high school football in Oregon!

SPARC DAY

Wednesday, October 15th, is NHS SPARC Day! This day is dedicated to providing a variety of college and career ready opportunities/exams that we provide students with in an effort to not only measure their readiness, but to also give them a sense of their post high school direction and the skills they will need to pursue their post high school endeavors.

SPARC Day is also a day in which we offer every senior at NHS the opportunity to take the SAT, or the Scholastic Aptitude Test. It is our hope that 100% of our seniors will take the SAT on October 15th as the SAT has many benefits for our students and their families. SAT scores indicate a student’s reading, writing, mathematical and analytical skills but do so in a formulaic way that provides students, parents and staff with several indicators of the student’s current academic readiness. SAT scores are also used in pursuit of scholarship opportunities, for access to certain schools, they can be used as an essential skills check off for graduation and they demonstrate to our students how they compare to national norms.

Thus, we cannot encourage our seniors enough to sign up for the SAT in their small school office and take it right here at NHS. Please have your senior see their counselor as soon as possible to get registered!

Late Start/Early Release

Newberg High has several students that have earned the privilege of not having a class to begin their school day, or to end it. We would like to ask students and parents to assist us in maintaining a safe and orderly school environment in this regard by having students that have a “late start” arrive at school no earlier than 10 minutes before their first class of the day or those with “early release” to be off campus within 10 minutes of their final class of the day dismissing.

In the event your student needs to arrive earlier or stay later than our “10 or 10” expectation please know that “late start/early release” students are always allowed in a supervised classroom (with teacher permission) or the library (please have them sign in) during their free period. We appreciate you and your students support in helping us maintain our learning environment here at NHS!

Get on the Bus?

NHS offers a Homework Club Bus on school days that will bring your student home in the event your child remains after school for additional help with their academic endeavors! The Homework Bus leaves NHS at 4pm and students wanting to ride the bus simply need a note from their teacher to get on the bus. This is a great tool to support your child in our efforts to provide additional help and support in their studies so please encourage your child to take full advantage of both our help, and “The Bus!”

Where do I find out what’s happening at NHS?

Turn your browser to https://www.newberg.k12.or.us/nhs where you can find our yearly calendar, bell schedule, activities/athletics schedules and much, much more all in one stop!

“Fatal Combination?”

Come check out the latest production straight out of Newberg Nation’s highly accomplished drama department, “Fatal Combination!” Produced and directed exclusively by NHS students, the play opens tonight, Friday, September 12, at 7pm, with subsequent showings on September 13, 19 & 20! Don’t miss this one Tiger fans, as Mrs. Ferguson and her gifted thespians produce yet another great show in the NHS Auditorium!

Are you or your child curious about the Do’s and Don’ts at NHS?

Go to the NHS website and check out the “Welcome to Newberg High School 2014” video made by our very own Associate Student Body representatives….It includes many “Do’s,” “Don’ts” and some fun messages from NHS staff and students!

What’s coming my way from NHS in the near future?

Monday, September 15: Schedule Change Surveys
Monday, Sept. 22: Back to School Night, 6-8pm in the NHS commons

• Informational presentations will be conducted for parents and students with opportunities to ask questions and meet our new and old faces!
• We will also be discussing the 2015/16 school year schedule change process that has already gotten under way in our effort to meet state requirements

2015/2016 Daily Schedule Survey

In an effort to meet the State of Oregon’s 130 instructional hours per credit requirement NHS is reviewing its daily schedule and moving toward adopting a new schedule for the 2015-2016 school year. A staff team has been formed to address the issue and come up with potential solutions.

After establishing criteria for best practice and reviewing numerous schedule options, three schedules were chosen by the staff committee to move forward for discussion amongst staff, parents and students. All three of these allow enough time for students to earn 26 credits for regular diplomas or 28 credits for an honors diploma while also meeting the 130 hour per credit requirement.

In the next few days you will be receiving a communication from Claudia Stewart, Newberg School District Director of Communications, as to how to take the survey and respond as to which of the following three options you prefer for the new Newberg High School daily schedule. We would ask that prior to submitting your ranking on the survey that you thoughtfully consider all three options and rank them in order of preference: 1 for the top choice, 2 for your second preference, and 3 for the one you feel is the least optimal.

Here are the three schedules with some analysis provided by the scheduling committee;

A/B Block: eight semester long classes that meet every other day with longer periods.

• Consistent yearly schedule.
• Most scheduling options for enrichment and support.
• Thirty two class options over four years to meet graduation requirements.

Trimester: five trimester long classes that meet every day with medium length periods.

• Daily classes.
• Optimal daily instructional time.
• Thirty class options over four years to meet graduation requirements.

Straight 7: seven semester long classes that meet every day with shorter periods.

• Daily classes.
• Consistent yearly schedule.
• Twenty eight options over four years to meet graduation requirements.

Tiger Boosters Need Your Help!

In an effort to raise funds for the Tiger Booster Club the Boosters will be holding a Drive 1 For Your School event on September 19th from 8am-7pm in the Elliott Street parking lot south of the school. Since the boosters receive $20 per test drive from Ford they are asking you to bring all your friends, colleagues and relatives as anyone over the age of 18 with a valid driver’s license can participate! Please come out and support our booster club and in term support our Tigers!

The Tigers Booster Club is also busily raising money in other ways as well. With their recent enrollment in the Fred Meyers Community Rewards Program the boosters are raising money every time you spend money at Fred Meyer! To help them out simply go to www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards and link your Fred Meyer rewards card by using NPO #86700, which is number the Fred Meyer databases uses to link to Newberg High School! It’s that simple! Thank you again for your ongoing support and to our boosters for continuing to help provide funds for our beloved Tigers!

How else can I help?

Join the Tigers Booster Club! Their next meeting is Wednesday, September 17, at 7pm in the NHS Commons. For more information, email nhstigermail@gmail.com!

Dress Code Help?

We would like to ask for your help and support in our efforts to maintain a professional learning community here at NHS in regards to our student dress code and appearance. With the warm summer weather continuing we have many students attending school dressed for casual summer days versus for a school setting. If you would be so kind as to visit with your student about the importance and value of wearing school appropriate attire while attending school or school events we would really appreciate it!

Off Campus Passes?

Wondering how your Junior or Senior student can get an off campus pass during the lunch period? Well look no further! Newberg High does offer off campus passes as an incentive for students to get good grades, maintain exemplary attendance and to demonstrate excellent citizenship through positive behaviors. To this end a Junior or Senior student can earn an off campus pass by maintaining a 2.5 or higher GPA in the previous semester of school and having no attendance or behavioral issues. In our efforts to partner with parents a parent signature is also required for your student to receive an off campus pass. Your Junior or Senior student may pick up an off campus form in their small school office for you to sign in the event you would like them to pursue the opportunity to enjoy lunch off campus!

On behalf of the faculty here at NHS, have a great weekend and thank you
for entrusting us with the education of your children! ~Principal Mark Risen