by Cynthia McNulty

My nine-year-old son, Matthew, is an addict. Matthew is addicted to video games and electronics. And although it might not sound like a big deal, it is. 

On Super Bowl Sunday, I allowed my son to binge play on his iPad so I could watch the game without being disturbed. He was out of my hair, quiet and happy, so why not? What happened after that is why I will never allow that to happen again.

When March rolls around, you will most likely start to see the Nutley High School’s yearly musical’s posters around the town. Mr. Michael Gurrieri, the director of the NHS musicals and an English teacher, chooses the performances each year. The 2019 NHS production was Newsies, which was performed on March 7, 8 and 9.  Eric Sebek, an 18-year-old senior with a passion for theater, was cast as the lead role, Jack Kelly.

Think about the first time someone showed you Google Maps. You have the world at your fingertips; you can go and see almost any street in the world. Yet, if you’re like me, the first place you dragged your little orange person to was your address, or at least somewhere in your town.

With Mrs. Tarquini going maternity leave, Mr. Christian Sousa the 24-year old physical education teacher from Newark, New Jersey, attempts to solidify his position at Nutley High School as her leave-replacement teacher. Mr. Sousa attended Kean University for four years and he was set on being a physical education teacher since his freshman year there. Prior to college, Sousa attended Elizabeth High School in Newark, New Jersey for four years. At Elizabeth High School, Sousa played for the school’s varsity soccer and tennis teams for multiple seasons.

With the school year winding down, there have been some changes at Nutley High School. Mr. Gaines is one of the many new additions to the staff. His current position is the new choir teacher. He is a leave replacement for Mrs. Monte while she is on maternity leave.

Mr. Gaines previously taught at The University Heights, a charter school in Newark. He taught there for four years, teaching general music to elementary and middle school students. Now, he is a teacher here at NHS and it has been a great experience for him.

Nutley High School is introducing something new to the students and staff this spring: NHS Games Day. Mr. Williams, the NHS principal, and the NHS Student Council have been preparing for this event for quite some time now. Once the final exams schedule is determined, a date will be set for NHS Games Day.

The Wall of Honor in Nutley High School is a new wall in remembrance of local veterans who gave their lives fighting for United States. This wall was unveiled on November 30, 2018 with the help of Principal Denis Williams, art teachers Ms. Melchionne and, Ms. Lappostato, and Nutley High School students. “The big piece is to remind citizens of the sacrifice men and women made for our freedom. It is important for students to be reminded of this everyday,” said Mr.Williams.

On January 4, 50 NHS students, along with students from 45 other high schools, took part in the DECA competition held at Kean University.

Olivia Grzywinski is Ready to Take the Stage in Newsies

The Nutley High School musical theater program has seen its fair share of talented students. Next to pave the way to success is senior Olivia Grzywinski, who will take on the lead female role of Katherine Plumber in the 2019 spring production of Newsies.

It is a well-known fact that we, as students, need some time to ourselves doing the things we love as a break from school. For some, it’s art or music. For others, it’s something physical. Rarely does our escape involve more work than the thing that causes us stress. But if you are committed to this activity, it’s not work, it’s fun. For 17-year-old NHS senior Vishva Rana, this is her exact situation. With a course load including five AP classes, Rana does have a full plate.

In the beginning of October, Nutley High School introduced Mr. Joseph Bevacqua to the students and staff as the new financial literacy teacher. The other financial literacy teacher, Ms. Hart, is new to the district as well.

As the 2018-2019 school year began back in September, the students of NHS were introduced to new history teachers, including Mr. Seth Laskin and Mr. Nick Ritacco. Both have a lot to offer the NHS students.

Graduating from Temple University, Mr. Laskin has always had a love for history, but didn’t always know he had a passion for teaching.  “I have always liked history, even when I was in school, so I pretty much wanted to study history in college, but I didn't know that I was going to teach it until the end of college,” he said.

In December, Mrs. Meredith Gerckens, a Nutley High school counselor, was appointed to the position of Coordinator of School Counseling for grades Pre-K-12. As Coordinator of School Counseling, Mrs. Gerckens is in charge of the school counseling program in Nutley for all grades in the district, creating programs and services to benefit all students. She is responsible for designing a comprehensive district-wide program. 

On Tuesday, November 20, 2018, the Nutley High School Key Club was at Nanina's Park in Belleville, New Jersey. A total of 19 students, along with the key club advisor, Ms. Denise Mazza helped out needy families for Thanksgiving by preparing food baskets. The group prepared 600 laundry baskets, filled with frozen turkeys, potatoes, vegetables, stuffing,  sparkling cider, pepperoni, cookies, candy, and pumpkin pie.

 On November 12, the Patriots Club, under the direction of Mr. JD Vick presented their fifth annual Veterans Day Program. The Nutley Patriots Club has been active at NHS and John H. Walker Middle School for five years, since the fall of 2013. “We wanted to have a club that would give us a platform to recognize our Veterans and to promote patriotism,” says Vick, a social studies teacher at JHWMS.

Ms. Lauren Parness, 23, is one of the newest teachers to Nutley High School. She is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, in Allentown Pennsylvania, and she now works in the history department of NHS. All her life she has lived in Livingston, NJ with her parents. Last year, Ms. Parness covered as a maternity leave teacher in West Orange and East Brunswick. Ms. Parness then began teaching at NHS in September. She teaches ninth grade social studies and an honors course.

“Congratulations! You’ve been accepted!” These are the words that many seniors were excited to hear on November 29th when Nutley High School held its annual Instant Decision Day. Every year, Nutley High School seniors have the opportunity to hear instant college decisions, which makes this day one of the most exciting on campus.

This past summer Mr. James Kelly, former Nutley High School Radio/TV Broadcasting teacher, suddenly retired to take on a new journey in his life as head football coach at Caldwell University. Once Mr. Kelly retired, NHS Principal, Mr. Denis Williams, and a search committee went on the hunt for a new teacher for this role. There were very specific requirements that needed to be met for someone to be hired for this position since they needed specific broadcasting skills and familiarity with production equipment.

As the 2018-2019 school year began in September, Nutley High School introduced new teachers to the students. New business teacher, Ms. Samantha Hart, joined the NHS staff. She began teaching students in Accounting, Marketing, and Financial Literacy.

NHS Senior Attends Science and Technology Conference