Welcome Mr.Nord

Tommy Lupo

Staff Writer

 

 

Welcome Mr. Nord to the New Hope Solebury High School faculty! This year has introduced many new faces to the staff, and one of its newest faces is Mr.Nord. Mr.Nord teaches English, but is also eligible to teach Social Studies.

 Last year, Mr.Nord taught English at Klinger Middle School in Centennial School District. Before that, he had taught Social Studies to students from Philadelphia, and taught 11th grade honors Modern United States History for students teaching placement at Pennsbury High School. Mr.Nord’s lifelong goal is to get his own short story published, and he is also a huge film buff. He enjoys Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Carol Reed’s The Third Man, and quite possibly his favorite may be Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy.

 Mr. Nord made the switch from long and impersonal halls of a large school district to the intimate and close halls of New Hope. His view on this was “New Hope is a smaller school district, which enables me to get to know more of the students and staff.”  This is great to know as a fellow student, because it means there would be more time of interaction with the teacher helping the student(s). Mr. Nord looks for certain qualities in a student, and some of these traits consist of students respecting each others work, working hard, and believing in themselves.

 One thing that Mr.Nord does not like coming from a student, is when somebody tells him that they are just not a good writer.  “I would like students to have a positive attitude.  All students are capable of becoming good writers when they believe they can do it and they are willing to work at it.” Everybody needs somebody else to help them reach a goal, and the person who helped Mr.Nord along the way was his wife Michelle. “She has always supported my dream to become a teacher.  Everyone needs a positive, encouraging person in their life and I truly believe I could not have made it without her.”

 Mr.Nord dreamed of becoming a teacher his whole life, his career goal has always been to become a teacher or an author.”I am teaching English right now, so it all worked out.” Lastly, when Mr.Nord was asked what inspired him to become a teacher, he replied “I have always wanted to share my enthusiasm for literature and history in a classroom setting.”  

No Shave November

Christian Oliveira

Staff Writer   

With the arrival of November also comes one of the most anticipated holidays for many males (and females) at NHS, No Shave November. November is truly the height of beard and facial hair growing season and both seasoned facial hair growing veterans and rookies will look to participate with one goal in mind, to grow an awesome beard. When asked about what the experience of No Shave November was like, rookie facial hair grower Matt Steele said, “It’s a great experience, even if I can’t grow out the full beard. The whole experience is just fun and I look forward to it every year.”

 The fun of not shaving is not limited to males and facial hair though. At NHS many females are also participating in this holiday. When female No Shave enthusiast Chloe LeMunyan was asked about the female participation in the holiday she replied, “I think that equality matters and women need to step it up to hang with the men. One day I hope I can get to the point where I too, can grow out a beard for No Shave November. I think this ability will come with age. In the meantime though, I have seen many men who drop out of No Shave November after the first two weeks, this shows lack of commitment and enthusiasm.” For both males and females perseverance is key in order to achieve success and the ultimate goal of growing out as much hair in a month as possible.

 Along with being a fun holiday and an opportunity to showcase body hair, No Shave November also teaches life lessons to all those who participate. When asked what the importance of staying dedicated was, long-time No Shave November veteran Frank Covino said, “Hard work and perseverance pays off always. No Shave November teaches life lessons to all those who participate. Quitting is never the answer and each year I look forward to November because of the opportunity to improve myself.” Frank accredits many of the life lessons that he has learned to be directly related to No Shave November.

 Whether you’re growing out your leg hair, a lengthy beard, or are simply experimenting with peach fuzz for the first time, No Shave November is truly a holiday that embraces everyone of all genders. What was first believed to be a male only celebration has changed drastically as females have stepped up their game in recent years, truly proving that you don’t need to be able to grow out facial hair in order to not shave.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct?

Katie Steele
Staff Writer

It’s Friday, and you’re getting ready for your football game. You’ve been practicing for months, waiting all week to play. Your nerves are starting to kick in as you walk onto the field and see the other team warming up, along with almost 5,000 of their fans in attendance. As soon as the game begins, you can tell that they’re way better than you. The game goes on and on, and they keep racking up points until it’s hard to tell one touchdown from another. It seems like it will never end. You can’t seem to score, and they can’t seem to stop. You don’t even have a field goal under your belt. After a while you simply stop looking at the scoreboard because it’s not doing anything but making you feel worse. By the end of the game, you walk off the field more beat up than you’ve ever been, take one last look at the bright red numbers on the scoreboard, and see that the game ended up with a total score of 91-0. You go home more deflated than ever. You wake up the next morning with it still in the back of your mind. Apparently, the question to ask yourself then is whether or not to file a bullying report. That’s what parents of a student on the football team at Western Hills High in Fort Worth, Texas did after they saw the game on October 18th.

After the Aledo High Bearcats thrashed the Western Hills High Cougars in a game with an end result of 91-0, a parent from Western Hills High filed an official bullying report on the school district. According to the Texas Education Agency, “Bullying occurs when a person is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions. Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time. Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength.” Many people are questioning whether a football game could fit into these guidelines. Despite the fact that it might fit some of the characteristics, it is undecided whether or not it was over a long enough period of time to be considered bullying. However, the Aledo Independent School District must investigate the complaint filed against the coach of 21 years, Tim Buchanan, a three-time Class 4A State Champion. This year, the Bearcats have outscored their opponents in each of their games by a 77-point average.

While the game obviously got out of hand, with Aledo scoring eight touchdowns on rushing yards, two on passes, two on punt returns, and one on a fumble recovery, the Western Hills coach, John Naylor, does not agree with the parent who filed the bullying report. He knew going into the game that it would be an uphill battle- his team was outmanned from the beginning, with only about 30 players on their varsity team. Naylor acknowledges that the Bearcats are ranked number 1 in the league for a reason. Buchanan told reporters, “I looked around [after Friday’s victory] and asked, ‘Is there anyone here that feels good?’”

Freshman...How Well Do You Really Know Them?

Lexi Anderson and Bailey Hendricks

Staff Writers

    Freshman year: Everyone was there once...and some still are.

    The middle school teachers prepared students for years. Everyone talked it up. But what’s Freshman year really like?

    We asked around and found out how everyone really feels about the class of 2017. From freshmen to seniors, we all have our opinions. Everyone is looking forward to the year to come, whether it be sports or social events, this year is going to be great!

    The first day of school was a big day for the freshmen. Besides going to the beach and hanging out with friends, many students spent some time stressing over the year to come.

With so much new to encounter, there were a plethora of emotions and thoughts running through every student’s mind.

    On the first day, most of the freshmen said they felt nervous, lost, intimidated, anxious, tired, and even stupid.

   “I was nervous and lost because I didn’t know where any of my classes were the first day” said freshman Matt Firth.

   Students were expecting the day to go worse than it did,  one major change between the middle school and the high school is that the classes are completely different. The curriculum’s different and all the teacher’s are people you’ve never met. According to the new freshmen, the classes are good, but a lot more difficult than expected.

   “The teachers are really nice, they don’t stress you out.” said freshman Heather Borochaner.

   Some of the classes are stressful, but they’re a nice change from the classes in middle school in the way that they focus on more interesting topics and the classes are taken more seriously.

    The upperclassman are always a reason to feel nervous in high school. Freshman Cassidy Smith says: “I feel intimidated and small around them."

    They are older than the freshmen and there are so many of them. This is why many of the freshmen said they had not associated with any of the upperclassman yet, and don’t intend on doing so. The only way the freshmen have made inroads with upperclassmen has been through sports and after school activities. One of the drags about high school is the amount of homework and classwork. The workload is such a big change from middle school that it is almost overwhelming. The freshmen said that there is definitely more homework this year. It is a lot to handle with sports, it is bothersome and there is too much at one time. Although the students do not like the amount of homework, it is helping them understand the material in class more.

   Freshman Victoria Kalinovich has a more positive outlook, “All the homework is pretty relevant. There’s more but it serves its purpose and helps me do well on tests.”

  The freshmen have been in the middle school for three years. Entering high school is a big adjustment. The freshmen said that high school is much better. You aren’t treated like children and there is a lot more freedom. Also the teachers aren’t on your case about everything you do.

   “I like high school better, there’s more freedom and in general everything’s better.” says freshman Hannah Reszka.

     Finally, we wanted to know what the freshmen were looking forward to this year. There are so many more events to partake in and people to meet! The freshmen said they were all looking forward to Homecoming, especially the dance. They were also hoping to make some new friends and to get involved with clubs.

   Freshman Elizabeth Both said: “I’m looking forward to see how I will change over the course of four years.”

   Of course the freshman know the freshman, but what about the upperclassmen? From sophomores to seniors we got some very different answers.When asked how they feel about the new freshman we heard everything from “Annoying!” from the sophomore guys to one of the most common answers from Arian Behpour: “We don’t really know them, but they seem very nice.” So, Class of 2017, get out there and get involved! Let everybody know who you are!

   With one of the biggest grades in New Hope history, in terms of sheer numbers, there is much to anticipate.

If you missed them on the field, the freshman girls brought a lot to the soccer field. Another person to keep an eye out for is the group of freshman girls coming to the basketball court this winter. According to the sophomore and junior players, the freshman girls will be a big boost to both teams!

    What would we do without a little more advice to top of everything we’ve gotten so far?

Freshman, listen up because the upperclassmen have some good stuff: Stay on everyone’s good side, don't make any enemies, do all your homework, and keep your head up. And pay attention to this advice from Aaron Nagg: “Ignore all distractions, especially pressure concerning doing drugs and alcohol.”

    Welcome the class of 2017!

Sophomores and Juniors take PSATs

Jackie Gouris

Staff Writer

A few weeks ago, the sophomores and juniors took the PSATs during the first half of the day. Although it was met with complaints by various students, it was a great opportunity for students to test their abilities and effectively gauge their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to standardized testing.

The PSAT stands for Preliminary SAT, and its purpose is to prepare students for college admissions tests and become familiar with the testing style. The PSAT questions cover math problem solving, critical reading skills, and writing skills. It was a great way to assess a student’s capability before the test is counts as your SAT grade that is submitted to colleges.

Although the PSAT grade does not affect someones SAT grade, students can earn scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The PSAT also gives students important information regarding colleges and planning tools.

While some students were complaining about having to take the PSAT and then be in school for the second half of the day, many schools in the area do not even offer the PSAT. Those students take it on Saturday, just like the SATs. Kerry Leonardi compared the SATs with the PSATs saying “They have very similar content, but the actual situation is so much more stressful. The environment is completely different because you know that the SATs count so much more.” Although there are mixed opinions on the PSAT, it is still an effective form of assessment for the SATs.