March 2014

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Mar 1, 2014 ... the high school we added 20 minutes to the school day (10 before and 10 ... field trips after spring break which allows students to be pre- sent for the .... were seen welding, working on CAD drawings, ... Baseball- March 17.
March 2014 Gerald Rasler, Principal Changes—Some Chosen, Some Dictated I have heard the phrase “I’ve had enough of this snow and cold for this year” from so many of the students, and probably more from the adults in our community. This strong and unusual snowy winter that won’t seem to quit has many of us ready for the spring break, even if we aren’t fortunate enough to go south for the sun and sandy beaches. Those few people who don’t have to shovel may have actually enjoyed the pretty white blanket that had most of us caught captive. The snow clinging to the pine trees does have a beauty all of its own. Well, whether we like it or not, we did not get to choose it, much like we do not get to choose all of the changes that have happened, or are now going to happen as a result of the large amounts of snow and the very cold temperatures. As you probably know by now the school calendar has been altered to address all of the days school was canceled due to the weather. We had school on February 17th to make up one day, and we will have school on three more days that were originally scheduled as vacation days for the students. Friday, March 21st, Friday, April 18th, and Friday, May 23rd will now be regular days of school. Also on March 10th, at the high school we added 20 minutes to the school day (10 before and 10 after) which will continue for the remainder of the school year. All of these measures will reduce the number of school days added to the end of the year. So now as of this writing, the last day for students will be Tuesday, June 3rd. This means that final exams will be given on Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday, May 29, 30 and June 2, 3. Also all student laptop computers and power cords will be collected on Tuesday June 3rd. This year the students will need to power up the laptop at collection to indicate that the laptop is fully functional when it was turned in to the school. Also, as we have done the past two years, there will be no field trips after spring break which allows students to be present for the many standardized tests that we are required to administer to the students.

Continued on P.2

Dates to Remember March 18 School Board Meeting 4:00 PM 18 Winter Sports Awards 7:00 PM 21 End of 3rd Quarter 26 Book Rental Due 29 Band Pancake Breakfast April 7-11 Spring Break 12 ACT Test Date 15 School Board Meeting 4:00 PM 18 School in Session 22 Academic Super Bowl - Area 25 NR Hosts Band ISSMA Contest 26 Prom May 1 Senior Banquet - Cafeteria 3 SAT Test Date 5 Teacher Appreciation Week 6 School Board Meeting 4:00 PM 9 MCS Art Show 9 ACT Registration Deadline 12 Underclass Awards Night 7:00 PM 19 Senior Class Awards Night 6:30 PM 20 School Board Meeting 4:00 PM 23 School in Session 26 Memorial Day - No School

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Guidance Department News

Senior Happenings Each senior will receive 8 tickets for graduation. These will be dispersed in May.

Guidance Evening Hours The guidance department is holding evening appointments for families who cannot meet with a counselor during regular business hours. Two of our counselors will be able to assist you with various questions and parent concerns. Please call to schedule an appointments and give a general idea of the needs, so that the counselors can gather materials specific to the questions. Evening appointments will be 15 minutes each and the hours are from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Monday, May 19.

Graduation rehearsal has been re-scheduled for Friday, June 6th at 9:30. Make sure you have this day open and available. It is MANDATORY for participation in graduation.

Junior Class of 2015 Fundraiser

Summer is a great opportunity for students to explore new adventures. Check out summer camps, consider a class or workshop at various colleges. Volunteer in the community. Job shadow a person. Visit college campuses. Seek employment. The guidance office has materials for options in our college library for student review.

The Junior Class is selling “discount cards” as their fundraiser for Prom and future graduation. The cards are sponsored by ten different area businesses, offering various discounts. Cards are reusable and will cost $10. Please consider purchasing one of our $10 cards to enjoy, while supporting the Class of 2015.

Any questions regarding graduation should be sent to Mrs. Smeltzer-the senior class sponsor [email protected] Summer Opportunities

Continued from P.1 - Mr. Rasler This includes the End of Course (ECA) assessments for Algebra and Language Arts 10 students, the Accuplacer exam for juniors to indicate readiness for graduation, the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams for selected students. Lastly, let me mention some dates that have been changed for one reason or another to meet the needs of the altered calendar. Monday, May 12th will be the Underclass Awards night at 7 pm in the auditorium. Monday, May 19th will be the Senior Awards night beginning at 6 pm with a reception complete with refreshments and music, followed by the awards ceremony at 7 pm. Also the rehearsal for commencement for all graduating seniors is now set for Friday morning, June 6th at 9:30 am in the Middle School gymnasium. Any senior planning to participate in the 2014 commencement program is required to be at the rehearsal. Please note these changes on your personal calendar and remind the students of the new information. If you have questions, I welcome your call or email to me. As always, thanks to the many parents who are active in one or more of the parent organizations that support our students. The time, energy and finances that you give are deeply appreciated.

The Anatomy of a URL

https://sites.google.com/a/mcsin -k12.org/mcsstudent-links/student-links/nhs-student-links Above is the url - universal resource locator or more commonly known as the web address – for the students links page on the Middlebury Community Schools website. To understand what all those letters, symbols, and words mean, let’s break it apart. NHS Yearbook https: (hypertext transfer protocol) indicates it is a web document or directory (place to save something) This year will definitely be one to remember, so don’t miss the chance to order your copy of The // and / are symbols to indicate a separation SHIELD, the NHS yearbook. There is a limited supply available so order now! Sites.google.com is the domain name of the web page origination. This page was created using the April 25th is the deadline for ordering a 2013-2014 website building component (sites) from yearbook. To order a book or place a senior baby Google.com ad, see Mrs. Miller, a yearbook staff member, or go on the Northridge High School website to link to /a/mcsin-k12.org/mcs-student-links/student- Jostens. links/nhs-student-links represents a series of folders within folders with the final listing being the current webpage name. Distinguished Young Women of Middlebury .pdf or .htm, or .html – sometimes you will see these extensions at the end. They indicate either a webpage or document (.pdf). These are not al- Distinguished Young Women of Middlebury, formerly known as Middlebury’s Junior Miss, will be ways displayed anymore. holding an informational meeting on Wednesday, And what happened to www? It is the indicator April 16th at 8:15 am in the high school auditorium. that the page was on the World Wide Web, but this Distinguished Young Women (DYW) is a national scholarship program that provides scholarship opindicator can be optional. portunities, develops life skills, and encourages positive values. DYW also teaches interviewing As websites become larger and more intricate, skills that can help with college interviews. these urls can become very long and complicated. Some urls include things like 20% (which is usually a filler indicating a space), series of numbers and letter/word/number combinations. These are a result of how the page developer named their folders and files while creating their website. Now we even have other webpages that will take a long url and create a shorter one that is easier to input. These are often used at meetings and/or conferences in which a presenter wants their audience to be able to quickly and easily access a website without having a clickable link.

Contestants can earn scholarship money for college while making friends and having lots of fun! DYW is open to all girls in the junior class. This is a great opportunity, so come and find out what Distinguished Young Women is all about.

Students Finding Success at EACC One of the great opportunities for Northridge High School juniors and seniors is having the chance to attend the Elkhart Area Career Center as part of their educational program. Students attending EACC plan ahead so that when they get to their last two years of high school, they are able to make the commitment to attending the career center every day during the morning. There are a wide variety of programs offered at the EACC, ranging from automotive technology to health careers to cosmetology. Most are two year programs and often times students can complete important industry certifications as well as gain experiences that are second to none for high school students. All the programs at the EACC have dualcredit opportunities available and most students can finish with at least 15 college credits. Northridge students are often very successful in their programs and are usually given a lot of praise when Mr. Troyer, the Assistant Principal at NHS, makes his monthly visits. Mr. Troyer explained that he’s always surprised at how many positive comments he hears about the Northridge students, and those comments are usually followed by “send us more just like ‘em if you can”. On a recent visit to the career center, NHS students were observed doing a wide variety of things including cooking and distributing a break snack to others as part of the culinary arts program, completing a new hair style on a mannequin for cosmetology, and working diligently on a hovercraft in the engineering design classroom. Other students were seen welding, working on CAD drawings, practicing life-saving techniques in the EMS, Firefighting, and Law Enforcement classes as well as many of the other great things that take place every day at the EACC. Many of the NHS students attending the career center go on to become members of the Technical Honor Society as well as pursue a variety of scholarship opportunities as they seek ways to continue their education in their chosen field after high school. In fact, several NHS students will be participating in the Skills USA state competitions at the end of March and are looking forward to the great opportunities these will bring. Any NHS student interested in attending the Elkhart Area Career Center should get with their counselor as soon as possible to begin preparation for attendance. This has become a great way for students to gain technical skills and knowledge in collaboration with the great educational opportunities already at NHS.

Raider Band News

NHS Students Take to the Slopes

On Valentine’s Day 2014, 30 students and staff from the sport and recreation classes went on a skiing field trip to Swiss Valley in Jones, Michigan. About 1/3rd of the group had never been skiing before and received free lessons. The students (and staff) were extra motivated to ski well since they had been watching the Olympic coverage of The Pan Cake Breakfast Concert will take place on the ski events. Unlike some Olympians, the group Saturday, March 29th with breakfast being served was able to walk away from a fun day with only a from 7:30am-11:00am. Tickets are $5.50 for adults few bumps and bruises. and $4.50 for Senior/Children. The performance schedule is as follows... Sam Meier, Libby Grossman, Abby French, and Tristan Swihart all earned Gold ratings at the ISSMA Band State Solo Contest. To qualify for State, each musician must perform music of top level difficulty and earn a Gold rating at the ISSMA District contest.

7:45 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:45 10:15 10:45

Winter Color Guard in Field House Concert Band Symphonic Band 6th Grade Band 7th Grade Band 8th Grade Band High School Percussion Ensembles NMS Jazz Band Northridge Athletics

For all the latest up-to-date Northridge Athletic Information please visit our website: http://www.NorthridgeAthletics.com Spring Picture Day- March 27 @ NHS Auditorium Start Dates: Softball- March 10 Girls Tennis- March 17 Boys Golf- March 17 Baseball- March 17

Tori Bloomer Selected to Participate In MMIA

Northridge High School Junior, Tori Bloomer was Spring Sport Parent Meeting – March 6 in the NHS one of 50 students selected to participate in the Molecular Medicine In Action symposium being Auditorium @ 7pm. held at the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Cancer Research Institute at Indiana Winter Sport Award Night- Tuesday, March 18, University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. 2014 7pm in the NHS Auditorium. The event was held on March 9-10 and provided her with hands-on experience with the techniques used in modern biomedical research. Congratulations to Tori for being chosen for this select group and representing NHS well on the state level!

ON SLATE—On Line or On Paper The ON SLATE is a communication tool from Northridge High School to the students, parents, and supporters of the school. The staff is instructed to provide information that the public needs and wants to know about the NHS students, their activities, and their successes. The goal of this publication is to provide current information so that the students and parents know what events are happening in the near future and who is likely to be involved. Also this is our opportunity to brag a little about the efforts and accomplishments of the students and staff of Northridge High School. Until approximately two school years ago, each household with students in the high school was mailed a copy of the ON SLATE. Now the times have changed. Many of the parents prefer to receive this information electronically rather than as a paper copy. As a result, Northridge staff now produces the on line edition of the ON SLATE which is accessible to all who want to see the articles. However, if a parent wants to receive a paper copy of the ON SLATE monthly, please call Patti Miller, the Northridge High School building secretary, at 825-2142 and request that the school send a printed copy of the ON SLATE to your home whenever a new edition is available.

Northridge H.S. Newsletter March Issue

ON SLATE