Written by Jada Garcia and Sarah Nugiel

On March 19th, the NHS music program will open the doors of the large gym, decked out with tables and stages to offer performances in jazz, orchestra, pop, and more. Students from both Nutley High School and John H. Walker Middle School will be performing in groups that they chose themselves.  

The Women’s Activism Club and the Key Club  are partnering up together for the first time to host a hygiene drive throughout the high school, where the collected supplies will be donated to an organization in need. Women’s Activism member Silia Dimasi said, “While there have been school-wide drives where the proceeds go to organizations helping women, this is the first drive created with the intention of using Women’s History Month as an opportunity to give to those less fortunate.”  

Due to recent discoveries of asbestos in the school’s library, renovations have been halted on a space that the students of Nutley High School need. Principal Dennis Williams said, “I can’t give an exact estimate on when it’ll be open, but after talking to contractors and architects; it shouldn’t take long, maybe a couple of renovations and mostly cosmetic things.” 

As the largest extra-curricular student participation day at NHS comes closer, the preparations have begun. Raiderfest is three months away and student council members and the advisors are going to make sure this is a day no one will forget. Advisors are doing everything they can to improve this year's Raiderfest based on last year's.

Last Friday, two clubs at NHS collaborated with the common goal of spreading joy and love within the school for Valentine’s Day. The Community Outreach Representatives for Education (CORE) program and Student Council (StuCo), two clubs who are always trying to spread school spirit, did just that with this event. “Our goal was to highlight love and positive energy in honor of Valentine’s Day,” StuCo advisor Melissa Petrillo said.

The NHS school year consists of 183 days with three snow days built in. In the event that none of the snow days are used, the school will close for students on the 180th day of school. High School Graduation is currently set for a single session day on June 15, 2023.

With about half of the 2022-2023 school year completed, NHS counselors are going to start scheduling for the 2023-2024 school year. On top of elective choices students also have to consider taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Just like an honors course, AP courses also offer a weighted GPA but they also can offer college credits that can help defray tuition costs for students attending college in the future. 

          One of Nutley Township’s oldest traditions lights up the town of Nutley with the holiday spirit. The annual celebration of the lighting of the tree and menorah took place on Sunday, December 4, 2022. Franklin Avenue was closed between Chestnut Street and New Street from 4:30-6:30pm. The event organized activities in the John H.

On Wednesday, May 25, 2022, Nutley High School had its annual art show. The show took place from 6PM to 8PM and included art from students throughout the school, the National Art Honor Society induction ceremony, music by the NHS jazz lab, and food made by the NHS Culinary Department. “I am so happy with how well everything turned out, everybody did a great job. I am so proud of the students for doing such a great job setting up and preparing for the show,” said Angela Melchionne, one of the art teachers at NHS. 

2022 has set global tension at the highest it’s been in years. Around the globe conflict has sparked, from the war in Ukraine, the rising tensions between the USA, China, and Taiwan, and Sweden and Finland joining NATO and reversing their neutrality. The world is the closest it’s ever been to World War 3 since 1962 and the Cuban Missile Crisis.   

NHS art teacher, Mrs. Theresa Lappostato, is retiring from NHS at the end this school year. The 16-year veteran art teacher from NHS has had an undeniable impact on students and future artists since acquiring this job. She also kept the Amy Bonadonna memorial scholarship alive, in memory of a former NHS art student who passed away.

Climate change has been sweeping throughout the world, especially in Middle Eastern countries. Despite only causing 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions, India is currently in one of its worst heat waves in a while, temperatures shooting up to 113° Fahrenheit. With an average temperature of 73° Fahrenheit, people are left reeling at the temperature change. 

In America, 45 million former and current students are in debt, owing a grand total of $1.6 trillion in student loans. In more than seven million people, one of every five borrowers fails to pay off the loans they owe, which are commonly left unpaid for a decade or longer in some cases. Student loan debt can cause a recession in the economy and cause mental distress to those who have yet to pay off their loans.

On May 26th,  the annual Junior Olympics took place in the Park Oval. The Junior Olympics are a variety of physical activities that students from each school compete in. Mrs. Moscaritola, the Washington Elementary School PE teacher, helps with hosting and putting together the Junior Olympics. All five Nutley Elementary School PE teachers play a part in the Junior Olympics and prepare to make the day a fun and active time for their students. 

On Friday, May 20, 2022, Nutley High School had its first-ever Wellness Day. The event was in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness month which takes place each May. The theme was "Together for Mental Health" and the Wellness Day focused on both mind and body health and wellness. The event included breakfast, Yoga, dances, music, a Walk-A Thon, and each student received a shirt. “I am very excited about the event, it is the first of its kind. Mr. Johnson and I hope to make this a new tradition if all goes well,” said Mrs. Lewis, a NHS school counselor.

As tensions rise around the world amid the war in Ukraine, the countries neighboring Russia have all sought after different forms of security. Thrown in the spotlight are the peaceful and neutral Scandinavian nations of Finland and Sweden. Their desired form of security is an application to NATO to join the defensive alliance. However, Putin and the Russian government have seen this as a threat to their national security, claiming that NATO is aggressively expanding and planning on invading Russia. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has set off a domino effect of predicaments leading to the inflation rate exceeding the national 40-year high previously set in December. Supply chain issues, high demand, production costs, and relief funds all play a role in the surging inflation.

U.S. employers delivered 431,000 jobs in March, according to the Labor Department in April. The unemployment rate decreased to 3.6%, down from 3.8% a month in advance.

On April 28, 2022, the Oklahoma legislature  gave final  approval for a bill that would allow private citizens to take action against abortion providers to enforce the law. It comes as one of several bills passed this month by the state’s government to limit abortion access and amid a Republican-led agenda to curtail the procedure. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently the Ukrainian President. He was born on January 25, 1978, and grew up in a city in Ukraine called Kryvyi Rih. He became the President of Ukraine in 2019, and is the 6th ever President in their history.