Weekly Newsletter

Newberg High School Newsletter   
December 12, 2014

This week in Newberg Nation….

What a STEM Week in Newberg Nation!

This week was a great week for Newberg Nation’s STEM program! From hosting community members and business partners that work hard to support NHS CTE and STEM programs, to the completion of the new STEM lab in H101 on our campus, the grant dollars we received this past summer are clearly starting to materialize in real terms of impact on our students, courses and curriculum!

We wanted to thank our community partners that had an opportunity to visit this week as well as for their support in helping our students find internships and mentoring opportunities in the community and within their businesses. Whether The City of Newberg, the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce or the many business partners that continue to assist us, we are very thankful for your ongoing support and taking to come out to NHS this week and see everything that is happening in our STEM and CTE programs! Now there are some Flying Tigers!

Are you a STEMMIE?

If you are one of our Flying Tigers that loves engineering, math, science robotics, drafting or manufacturing have we got an opportunity for you! We are excited to announce that Sherwood High School has invited NHS students and parents to attend a special presentation being held at Sherwood High on Wednesday, January 7th, at 630pm!

                Here is the invitation from Sherwood High:

Intel Visionary Tony Salvador to Present at Sherwood High School

Dr. Salvador is a prolific speaker who directs research in the Experience Insights Lab at Intel Corporation.  He graciously agreed to visit Sherwood High School for a TED (Technology, Engineering, and Design) style interactive talk, titled “Real Make Belief”.

This event will take place in the SHS Performing Arts Center on Wednesday January 7th, 6:30 to 8:00 pm, with a reception and book signing following. The event is open to High School students and their parents at no cost.  Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!

                So if you are a STEMMIE you should jump at the chance to go to this presentation and hear Dr. Salvador talk about the future of American industry, how make the “make believe,” a reality in the decades to come! An inspiring, engaging and entertaining speaker, Dr. Salvador’s message is that we are creating our own futures from our very own imaginations! Don’t miss this event if you have any interest in pursuing a career in these fields!

Newberg Nations very own Vickie Peterson, NHS School to Work Coordinator, is leading our campaign to help get students and parents to this incredible opportunity at Sherwood High! For more information on the event please contact Mrs. Peterson at petersonv@newberg.k12.or.us or at 503-554-4400.

News From the NHS Career Center:

Get free help with filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on Tuesday, January 13th in the West Commons from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m.  Bring your 2014 IRS tax return and 2013 or 2014 W2 Forms.  Si Habla mosen Espanol.

• The Burger King Scholars application deadline is December 15th.  This scholarship ranges from $1,000 to $50, 000.  Recipients are selected based on their grade point average, work experience, extracurricular activities and/or community service. Apply online: http://bkmclamorefoundation.org/

• Create a 90 second video and you could win a $10,000 scholarship; a fun, new way to pay for school!  Must be a high school senior with a 3.5 GPA or higher.  See website for details and application: http://www.bbb.org/alaskaoregonwesternwashington/charities-donors/about-us/bbb-foundation/bbb-students-of-integrity-scholarship/. Deadline is January 30, 2015. 

Check out the College and Career Center website for more scholarship opportunities and college resources.

 “Testing…Testing…Testing…”       Is anyone listening?

                We wanted to take a moment and share with Newberg Nation how we are transitioning from OAKS to Smarter Balanced and MAP testing so that you had a little more information as to what, how and why we are conducting these tests in an effort to assist your student.

                Beginning this spring Smarter Balanced exams (SBAC) will replace OAKS as our measurement tool of student acquisition of their essential skills (reading, writing and arithmetic). As you know, students in Oregon are required to demonstrate proficiency in these skills as currently measured by OAKS, and now to be measured by SBAC, in order to receive a high school diploma.

                In our efforts to support both our students growth toward their successful completion of the SBAC requirement we have implemented a set of periodical exams we call MAP testing. MAP testing will occur for students in the fall, winter and spring of their freshman and sophomore years in an attempt to not only measure their readiness for the SBAC, but to also measure their essential skills growth between each testing interval and provide teachers with immediate feedback on their student progress. That feedback will then help teachers with planning instruction that is aligned to the students test results.

                As we entered the winter testing window for MAP this week we wanted to take a moment and inform you of the nature of these tests, their benefits, and encourage you to visit with your student about providing their best effort on these exams as they are an important indicator we will use in helping shape their instruction.

                So as the title to this segment of the newsletter says, yes, we will be testing, and yes, we will be listening to those results in an effort to help our students! Thank you for your help and support in this endeavor!

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

Newberg NationThoughts…

~Principal Risen

            What a week for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, manufacturing and the dreams of a world ahead for our students here at Newberg High! With ever abundant new technologies and markets to be had in the future, we merely need to unlock our student’s imaginations and develop their skills to express them in defining their future careers, aspirations and dreams!

Whether taking advantage of the Dr. Salvadors visit to Sherwoood High on January 7th or referencing Dr. Fabiola Gianotti’s quote below, imagination, innovation and foresight are all skills that our future industry leaders are going to need as we transcend the 21st century and open up even more technologies!

Furthermore, in the spirit of Dr. Gianotti’s quote below, the beauty of STEM and providing these types of opportunities for our Flying Tigers is that they too, our students and our children, can enjoy this great scientific adventure and through our support pursue their dreams of furthering our technological capabilities, all the while contributing to what we all know to be a “great human adventure!”

Flying Tigers…

"This job is a great scientific adventure. But it's also a great human adventure. Mankind has made giant steps forward! However, what we know is really very, very little compared to what we still have to know."

Fabiola Gianotti,  Higgs Boson physicist