Emily Brand
News Editor
As the 2012-2013 school year begins today, students can be sure to expect an event-filled year with many well-known, and new, traditions and policies.
This year, students received their schedules a week early. According to Principal Dr. Bryan Luizzi, getting schedules early will help to minimize first day of school confusion. “Hopefully people have talked to guidance already and gotten any issues resolved,” he said. “There will still be home room so that everyone can get the updated schedule and planner, but it would be great if I could walk by guidance tomorrow and not see a line of people there.”
Dr. Luizzi emphasized that the new portal should be “first and foremost student-based” and hopes that it will trigger a line of communication between teachers and students regarding student progress in a class. “If there is an area of struggle or weakness it can be identified to work on,” he said. “Parents can also sign up for notifications so parents can be reminded once a week to check on their child’s grades.”
In terms of traditions, NCHS is known for its annual festivities such as Homecoming, Spirit Week, the bonfire, and senior car paintings, as well as senior t-shirts that are worn for the first week of school. “Certain things that help bring the class together such as the car paintings and the t-shirts are very valuable and important because it’s an indicator of the school’s strength and culture and I love that,” Dr. Luizzi said. “Traditions and things that we do that bring us together as a school are great. Anything that creates tension between folks is a negative thing, like initiation. Anything that singles out people because of their age or gender aren’t needed, we’re better than that.”
In addition to Spirit Week and other fun events, returning students may also be familiar with the sports storage room which is mainly referred to as the ‘bag drop.’ This area is used as a place for athletes to keep their equipment during the school day. Starting this year, the bag drop will be locked at 8:30 a.m. and unlocked at 2:00 p.m.. Dr. Luizzi encourages students to keep anything they might need during the day, such as sneakers or gym clothes, in their locker. “What happened [last year]was that people would just shop in there and use other people clothes and sneakers and then not put them back,” he said. “We’re going to ask people to put things in there only that they don’t need.”
Another announcement that students and staff should be aware of is the construction that is going on in the back parking lot, referred to by students as Band Land. A new Bus Operations Building is being built, and the trailer on Farm Road will be removed once the project is finished. Dr. Luizzi said that the construction shouldn’t interrupt NCHS life, but asked that students stay away from it.
More events taking place this year are the Names Can Hurt assembly, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges visit in April, and talks with the senior class about improving the cleanliness and appearance of our cafeteria. Overall, Dr. Luizzi is excited to get back to school and have a great start to a new year. “I’m most just looking forward to everyone coming back and the excitement and the energy that comes with it. Seeing people re-engage with what we do- It’s exciting to get something new started.”
