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

After the retirement of guidance counselor Dr. Mitchell this summer, Nutley High School gained its newest addition to the School Counseling Department, Mrs. Lauren Birnbaum. Her transition from John H. Walker Middle School has been well received as she meets with her new students and helps them prepare for life after high school. Recently, Mrs. Birnbaum met with students from the Nutley High School journalism class to talk about her new position at Nutley High School.

This 2018-2019 school year, the Special Olympics Unified Sports program will be the newest club in Nutley High School. This is a national program and NHS has decided to integrate it into its club offerings. This is an inclusive sports program that combines an equal amount of Special Olympic athletes and partners on teams for training and competition. There will be different types of team sports for players to compete in such as basketball, football, volleyball, bocce, golf, and tennis. With club advisors Miss Caithness and Mrs.

On October 7, 2018, members of Key Club, an international student-led organization where students develop character and leadership skills through community service and volunteering, went to Six Flags Great Adventure to kick off to the new school year. This event is held every year during Columbus Day weekend. Members from all around New Jersey attended the Six Flags trip, giving students an opportunity to meet other members involved in Key Club from the state. During the event, the "Key Clubbers" discussed the volunteer services they will take part in during school year.

The senior cruise is a Nutley High School tradition, celebrated annually to honor the start of senior year. It is a night where students can enjoy the company of their class, dancing, and good food. For this event, seniors got dressed up and many girls got their hair and makeup done.  The class took a school bus out to the Hoboken docks to catch a cruise for the night.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day took place on April 26, 2018 across the country. Many kids go to work with their mom or dad or the day. To me, I thought April 26 would be a regular day, until 1a.m. when my mom woke me up.

“Armani,” my Mom whispered. “I’m leaving to Los Angeles for work."

“Okay Ma... Love you,” I mumbled.

As I walk into the classroom, I see a young, energetic man sitting at a desk. With a humble smile on his face, and charismatic eyes, I could tell that he would be exactly the way some of my classmates described him. We introduce ourselves, and I begin my interview to learn more about the well-spoken and respected, Mr. Joseph Dwyer.

The world of journalism is a complicated business. Throw in the politics of sports and the difficulty of live television, and you will find yourself in the realm of Jack Curry. Curry is a reporter and analyst for the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, or YES Network. The 53-year-old covers all things New York Yankees, from player interviews to pre and post game analysis. On Friday, April 27th, Curry visited the Nutley High School journalism class.

On June 1, the results of the student council and class elections were announced after weeks of preparation and campaigning. For those who may have missed the announcements the results are as follows:

Student Council:

President: Zawar Ahmed

Vice President: Faith Bartell

Corresponding Secretary: Kevin Zhang

Recording Secretary: Jillian Garner

Treasurer: Eric Palomino

Student Council Advisor: Ms. Melissa Brady

NHS Promotes Safe Driving 

Nutley High School’s Radio/TV III students were able to engage with the entire student body on Thursday, June 5th, maintaining the “Raiders Ride Safe” message. This message is one that delivers and emphasizes the importance of safety when driving, as well as pedestrian and passenger safety. Raiders Ride Safe helps remind people of the importance of speed limits in school zones, staying off the roads when under the influence, and staying undistracted while at the wheel.

Most people usually begin to receive an education when they enter elementary school. After passing through their first few years of education, they move onto middle school and high school, where it becomes more challenging.  Once people enter college, they begin to focus on the things that interest them the most. The things that they decide to focus on will lead them to a career.  We each go through many years of schooling, and by the end, we hopefully earn the jobs that we have always strived for.

Richard Pitts, a sophomore at Nutley High School, seems far older than he looks.  On Tuesday, March 6, 2018, he visited the Nutley High School Journalism class and spoke about foreign policy, politics, and his writing background.  “My political leanings are left wing,” said Pitts.  “And I advocate for the expansion of healthcare and an overhaul to our educational system. I also have quite the interest in foreign policy.”