On September 7, Nutley High School opened for full, in-person instruction after being virtual or hybrid since March of 2020.  This opening made students more excited than ever to return to school and learn normally again.

In Nutley, every corner you turn there is another locally-owned business. From the many restaurants, coffee shops, salons, bakeries, shops, and many pizza places, the local businesses are what make the Nutley community so special. This past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses across the United States with the continuous changes in restrictions. Small local businesses have especially struggled after closing temporarily or even permanently.

The Class of 2021 celebrated the last four years, except with a twist. On Thursday, June 11, the class of 2021 gathered together during their last couple of weeks as seniors at Owens Field. Instead of the traditional prom hosted by the district, seniors were able to close this chapter with their classmates within COVID guidelines at the Senior Celebration. 

With the 2020-2021 school year coming to an end, teachers were asked to speak on how this year went. The Coronavirus pandemic caused schools all over the country to shut down for months on end, causing lesson plans to change and students to miss out on a year of learning. NHS students and teachers are able to finish their school year with in-person instruction. After asking three NHS teachers how they felt about this unusual year, each had a lot to share.

The academic year of 2020-2021 will definitely be unforgettable. With switching back and forth from virtual to in-person instruction, students have been through much adjusting. Now that the school year is coming to an end, students from grades 9-11 state how they’ve been impacted by this year as a scholar and person. All attending Nutley High School, Ava Iannitelli (a freshman), Ally Garcia (a sophomore), and Natalie Spina (a junior), share their personal experiences and thoughts on this year as a whole. 

In the United States, all individuals, 12 and older are eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID - 19 vaccine. While some parents and children are skeptical about this, president Biden is recommending it to as many people as possible. There has been a lot of talk regarding whether the vaccine is safe or not.  Interviewees Aneesa Yassin, who is vaccinated, and Angela DeVito, who is not vaccinated, share their feelings about the vaccine. 

Nutley is filled with many different restaurants, but the new Sugar Tree Cafe sticks out from the others. Local owners, Jack Bermeo and Sophia Sandoval Bermeo, opened the cafe as a new spot for people to escape reality and enjoy the delicious menu in a unique atmosphere. On May 1, Sugar Tree Cafe officially opened as customers come from all over to experience a cafe like no other. 

The Grab and Go meal distribution system was put into action by Nutley Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Julie Glazer in March 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic and the shut down of in-person instruction. With the help of the Nutley Family Service Bureau and prepared meals by Pomtonian, this program has been successful and helpful to the community for more than a year. As a way of getting food to students who may need it, the Grab and Go was originally not open to all students. Yet due to the current circumstances of the pandemic, Dr.

With summer coming up, many teens start looking and applying for jobs. However, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, the process of getting a job could be difficult for teens this year. After speaking with Allison Huelbig and Laina Giella, both of whom attend Nutley High School, there are challenges of getting a summer job in these circumstances.

The 2020-2021 school year has been a year of continuous changes of not knowing what is going to happen next. Due to the changes in COVID-19 restrictions and the crawl back to normalcy, the school year in the Nutley Public School District has been reliant on technology to educate students. Mr.

Parents all over the United States have been forced to help their children with remote learning for more than a year. Now, as schools begin to reopen, many parents are eager and excited to send their children back to in-person learning.  

With over a year of virtual learning under America’s belt, schools across the nation have made an effort to give students both a fun and informative school year despite the restrictions of the pandemic. In a huge step towards normalcy, the Nutley Board of Education recently announced that elementary school students would return to school five days a week for in-person instruction. Mr. Michael Kearney, the principal at Radcliffe Elementary School, discussed the details of the return in a virtual interview. 

On March 11, 17-year-old senior, Taylor Carnell was interviewed by the journalism class at NHS. Carnell is the face of Nutley High School’s Student Council and has been committed to student government since his high school years in a small charter school in Idaho where he grew up. Although Carnell was not formally a member of the Student Council, he was an active member of his school’s community. Leadership motivates him and that's why he enjoys being president as much as he does. He moved to Nutley NJ and started his junior year at Nutley High School.

The Nutley High Schools Key Club’s job is to be actively involved in fundraising and helping out the community. Tyler Chang, a senior at NHS and the club’s president works with teachers, officers, advisors, and members of the Key Club. This club will teach important skills such as leadership, courage, and compassion which are all important in the real world.

Junior year is often referred to as the hardest and most stressful year of high school. It is a  year that’s filled with preparing for the next step into the future, and for many that regards college. Juniors are on the constant grind to focus on the different steps they have to take towards their future education. The SATs are usually taken junior year of high school, where students study and use preparation courses to get their goal score.

Easter is a very important holiday for Catholics and Christians. This year, like last, many chose to celebrate differently and more safely.  Jessica DeVito, Angela DeVito ,and Katherine Hannon shared what they are doing for Easter. They are all Nutley residents and are freshmen.  

The job of teacher has been completely altered by COVID-19. Educating face-to-face and creating bonds with students, has now turned into instructing through a screen and often being faced with technical issues.  Now that Nutley has moved  into hybrid learning, current high school English teacher, Jessica Coppola, explains how she’s been adjusting to this new teaching environment and its challenges.

Going back to school during COVID-19 has been a topic of discussion for many months now. Debates on whether it is safe to go back to school and how was a challenge that sparked many disagreements amongst the NHS community. After going back and forth, the NHS has decided to finally send students and staff back to school in a hybrid manner. NHS students will return in person for one or two days out of the five-day week. 

Nutley High School’s Director of Bands, Vincent Vicchiariello, was nominated and placed on the 2021 Yamaha “40 Under 40” list of top music educators in the United States. The “40 Under 40” was established by Yamaha to celebrate 40 of the highest level music educators under the age of 40. Hundreds of educators, nationwide, were nominated by students, teachers, parents, and administrations.

Among the many clubs and activities provided at NHS, the Nutley Youth STEM club was recently created by three juniors interested in STEM. Garv Goswami, Adam Benali, and Karam Youssef created this club in order to not only get high school students involved with STEM, but begin to get interested elementary students learning about STEM.