Weekly Newsletter

December 5, 2014

This week in Newberg Nation….

Final Five Weeks of the Semester!

This week reminds us that we are a mere five weeks away from the end of the first semester for this school year. With that in mind, it is time to make sure that all of our academic affairs are in order. From assignments being done to prepping for tests and completing large projects, now is the time to gear up and start driving hard toward the finish!

In support of our academic endeavors we also wanted to share some tips, insights, strategies and suggestions so that you and your child know where they can turn for extra help.

When is extra help available?

Homework Club! NHS offers an after school homework club where students can stay after and get assistance with their homework, study for tests, etc. We even have a bus that will bring them home after Homework Club!

Lunch Club! NHS has teachers available during lunch periods to assist with homework help, etc.

Before/After School! Making an appointment with a teacher before or after school is yet another great way to connect with a teacher and get help.

The NHS Library! The NHS library is a great resource for students to access materials, books and online resources in support of their efforts. The library is open during lunch and before and after school, while also available to students with early release/late start.

                                                                Have questions about help? Contact your small school office…

Success Tips, Tricks and Strategies?

Your health! One of the key indicators of a student’s academic success is their health. Eating a healthy balanced diet, getting adequate rest and budgeting your time to include homework time are all strategies known to help improve academic success!

You are your own best advocate! A great lesson that high school teaches is for students to advocate for themselves! Go see your teachers, speak up as to your needs, seek help and support, manage yourself and your time to give yourself every opportunity to be successful! Remember, you won’t ever get help unless you have the courage to ask for it, and it is your education, so ask away!

Timing is everything! As there are five weeks left in the semester we are a little ahead of the game, on purpose! Timing our own interventions into our academic affairs is a great trick to utilize as if you get to work on getting assignments in, preparing for finals, completing projects early, etc.,  you leave extra time to make sure that you are completely ready and to focus your final days of the semester on finishing the term out strong! So get ready, get caught up, and get after those books, starting now!

Get Organized! Making sure that we have all of our academic affairs in order is a critical skill in helping ourselves be successful academically! From making sure you have the right tools for your studies to mapping out when you will do school work, utilizing a planner or calendar, studying for finals, completing group projects and being a copious note taker during classes, having a plan is always much more effective than not!

Phone a Friend! Remember, this is your education! Don’t be shy! Call others, make study appointments with them, ask them questions, and don’t be afraid! Truth is, we are all afraid to ask questions at times but the reality is that others most often have a similar question as we do, and more importantly, a friend in need is a friend indeed!

Model Yourself After Others! No one has to look any further than across a room to see students that are successful in whatever class you find yourself in! So identify those folks, ask them for clarification, suggestions, etc. on how to be successful in that classroom or subject area. Or, ask your teacher who in your class they would recommend you ask for extra help and support, they will most certainly tell you! So find an expert and then do the same things that they do! All you have to do is ask them!

Communication, Communication, Communication! Talk to your counselor, teachers, administrators and know what is going on, when it is happening, what you need to do to be ready, where help is available, what help it is you need and where your current standing is in your classes! Don’t allow yourself to be surprised, expect yourself to know! Utilize not only the tools available to help you communicate (StudentVUE, ParentVUE, etc.), but more importantly utilize the people around you to help you! Talk to them, follow up on things, communicate with them, and be in the know so you can act on your own behalf!

So get out there Tigers and make this five weeks matter the most in your academic career!

How about those Tiger Scholars?

Newberg Nation received news this week from our SAT proctors about how our Flying Tigers performed on this year’s battery of SAT’s! With 47% of the class of 2015 having taken the SAT so far we are still striving to get to that magical number of 60% for all seniors and want to continue encouraging all of our seniors to sign up and take the SAT soon!

Meanwhile, our Flying Tigers that have tested to date have done quite well with 22% of the entire senior class (or 68 total seniors) scoring at, or above, the 50th percentile on the nationally normed test! The 50th percentile is important as it is the indicator of all students nationally that finished in the top half across the country!

Individually speaking, the following students surpassed the 2000 score on their SAT’s and we wanted to make sure and congratulate them on this impressive accomplishment; Dylan Beam, Margaret Halstead, Joseph Holtan, Micah Sharp and Zoe Vanderwater each scored at or above the 2000 mark. Way to go!

Kudos to all our seniors for their outstanding performance to date and let’s keep encouraging those that have not tested to get out there and take that SAT! Go Tiger Scholars!

News From the NHS Career Center:

Financial Aid Night

The staff at NHS would like to invite all senior and junior students and their parents/guardians to Financial Aid Night this coming Tuesday, December 9th, at 6:30pm in the West Commons. NHS counselors will be on hand to share important information, suggestions, tips, tricks, strategies and field questions to help you get the most financial aid information possible as you pursue your post-secondary education!

• A representative from P.C.C. will be at N.H.S. December 9th @ 9:00 A.M. to help students apply for P.C.C. related scholarships.  Sign up in the College and Career Center.
• HPr3 students planning to attend the Chemeketa Community College Healthcare fieldtrip, please turn in your permission forms to the College and Career Center no later than Friday, Dec. 12th.

NHS Structure Forum

Newberg High School is continuing to discuss what its permanent structure will look like in an effort to meet the needs of all students at NHS and would like to invite parents and community members to an input forum on Tuesday, December 16, at 6pm in the West Commons. This forum will be an opportunity for community stakeholders to share insights, suggestions and pose questions around the future of Newberg High as we try to determine how to provide an exemplary high school experience for every student in Newberg Nation.

The focus of our conversation on Dec. 16 will center on the following three questions; 1) If you could build the perfect high school that provided an exemplary schooling experience for every student, what would that school look like? 2) What are we currently doing well at NHS that we should do our best to ensure continues at NHS into the future? 3) What suggestions do you have of things that we could do better as we move forward at NHS?

                We hope you can join us on Dec. 16th and share your thoughts, suggestions and questions!

The Breakfast Club

We would like to extend an invitation to all parents to join us on Friday, December 19, for our second Breakfast Club meeting. We will meet at The Coffee Cottage at 8am and talk all things Newberg Nation! Hope to see you there!

Homework Help

Students needing additional academic support can come to the following after school sessions beginning next week:
Wednesdays: 2:45 - 4:00 Mrs. Atkinson’s room A101 (Math Support)
Thursdays: 2:45 - 4:00 Mrs. Light room E109 (English Support)
Please note:
Students need to arrive no later than 3:00 pm to be admitted, and students need to stay the duration of the session to receive a bus pass home.

Newberg High School
Toy for Joy Drive
Dec. 8-19

The holiday season is a time for giving and good will towards others.  Newberg High School is participating in a toy drive for the holidays to support the Newberg Fire Department and the Toy for Joy drive.

We are looking to collect items for children ages 11-15.

Suggested Item Ideas:

Girls - makeup, socks, hats, gloves, scarves, lotion, bubble bath, anything warm and cozy that is not clothing.

Boys- hats, gloves, socks, water bottles, sports equipment, cologne 

*For either - gift cards

Advisory classes will be collecting the items for families wishing to participate.  Please send unwrapped gift items to school with your student. 

We appreciate for any donation from your family.  Items collected will support local children in the Newberg and Dundee area

NEXT WEEK’S ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE:

Monday, Dec 8th - 'A' Day

Tuesday, Dec 9th - 'B' Day

- Financial Aid Night (6:30pm, West Commons)

- Girls Varsity Basketball at HOME vs Wilsonville (6:45pm, Main Gym)

- Girls JV Basketball at HOME vs Wilsonville (5:15pm, Main Gym)

- Girls JV2 Basketball at HOME vs Wilsonville (5:15pm, Aux Gym)

- Boys Varsity Basketball @ Glencoe (7:15pm)

- Boys JV Basketball @ Glencoe (5:45pm)

- Boys Freshmen Basketball @ Glencoe (5:45pm)

- Boys Swimming @ McMinnville (3:45pm, McMinnville Aquatic Center)

- Girls Swimming @ McMinnville (3:45pm, McMinnville Aquatic Center)

Wednesday, Dec 10th - 'A' Day

Thursday, Dec 11th - 'B' Day

- Band Concert (7:00pm, Auditorium)

- Boys Swimming at HOME vs Tigard (4:00pm, Chehalem Aquatic Center)

- Girls Swimming at HOME vs Tigard (4:00pm, Chehalem Aquatic Center)

- Wrestling Frosh/Novice Tournament @ Oregon City (5:15pm)

Friday, Dec 12th - 'A' Day

- Choir @ the State Capitol (1:00pm)

- Boys Freshmen Basketball at HOME vs Gresham (5:15pm, Aux Gym)

- Boys JV Basketball at HOME vs Gresham (5:15pm, Main Gym)

- Boys Varsity Basketball at HOME vs Gresham (6:45pm, Main Gym)

- Girls JV2 Basketball @ St Mary's (4:00pm)

- Girls JV Basketball @ St Mary's (5:30pm)

- Girls Varsity Basketball @ St Mary's (7:00pm)

- Wrestling @ Rose City Tournament (2:30pm, Westview High School)

Saturday, Dec 6th

- Boys Varsity Basketball @ West Albany (5:00pm)

- Boys JV Basketball @ West Albany (3:30pm)

- Boys Freshmen Basketball @ West Albany (3:15pm)

- Wrestling @ Rose City Tournament (9:00am, Westview High School)

Newberg NationThoughts…

~Principal Risen

            As we enter the final five weeks of our semester I am reminded of both the power and importance of education. As the quote below suggests education is powerful, liberating, uplifting, unlocks our access to the world around us and gives us the ability to become critical thinkers with the skills to independently problem solve thus improving our lives and the lives of those that we find ourselves ultimately responsible for, including our own!

            Meanwhile education is also critically important! Not only for our future, but for our present! As we enter these final five weeks of the term and we strive to finish strong and get great grades, we must also remember that education is not all about the completion of our courses or our educational journey, but it is with us in all that we do, in any context or setting, and it lies within us as we interact with the world around us. It is, omnipresent!

            So as the proverb below suggests, work hard at your education Tigers, and you too, shall fly!

Flying Tigers…

“A child without an education is like a bird without wings!”

-Tibetan Proverb