Find out what’s going on at NCHS.
Sara McCloskey
Editor-in-Chief
Rain or shine, snow or sleet, Principal Tony Pavia stands at the front entrance, with coffee cup in hand, greeting every student by name. “When other principals are focused on scores and grades, he’s focused on creating an environment that is safe where [students] feel inspired, challenged, and nurtured,” school psychologist Sandera Warkentin, who works on the Names Can Hurt program, said.
Kelsey Anspach
Managing Editor
From the ability to pursue a Senior project to being able to use phones in school and to go off campus, students here are allowed a wide range of freedoms that students at many other schools don’t have.
There are other privileges that are not so obvious and may be taken for granted by students. “We’re unique in that we’re one of the few schools that has open access to social media,” Library Department Chair Michelle Luhtala said. “It’s very unusual. There are lots of principals that would have said ‘No way are we allowing this.’ We’re not one of those places.”
These freedoms are not a recent development. “[Principal] Tony Pavia has continued a long, proud tradition of trusting kids to do the right thing at NCHS. We’ve rarely ever been disappointed,” Social Studies Department Chair Richard Webb said.
Students have been allowed these freedoms because of a prevailing trust between the administration and students. “Mr. Pavia lives by Lincoln’s dictum,” Mr. Webb said. “He assumes that kids will be guided by ‘the better angels of their nature.'”
Answers to the “Mr. Pavia’s Favorites” crossword puzzle featured in the December issue.
Audrey Piehl
Reporter
On Thursday, December 2, Spanish IV and V students ventured to Brookside Elementary School in South Norwalk.
The journey included several weeks of preparation, beginning with groups of four to six students. Their mission: assemble various activities designed around a book translated in both Spanish and English, and read it to students spanning from ages Kindergarten to fifth grade.
Kelly Saiz
News Editor
Thirty minutes before the start of school on Tuesday, November 30th, the semi-annual Rising Above award ceremony was held in the College and Career Center. Rising Above certificates were awarded to eight individuals nominated by staff for their contribution to the school community under difficult circumstances. Attended by administration, staff, honorees, parents and relatives, the ceremony lasted twenty minutes.
