“It’s going to be so much fun!” said Kyndall McCollum, a junior, standing at the front doors of Newberg High School on the evening of March 6 with junior Elise Steffen, graduating junior Esther Muthiah, and junior Brooke Faucher. The four all wore fluorescent yellow shirts with the phrase “Ask Me” in bold print.
Dozens of student and staff helpers were stationed throughout the school to guide visiting eighth-graders and their families during the annual Newberg Nation Night. The event established a network of support, offering new students a sense of community, possibly even, of family.
“It seems like it sometimes,” said Mountain View Middle School Teacher Marisa Teesdale when she stopped in to chat with incoming freshmen at the event.
After all, it is a close community, and NHS administrators and staff created the event to make it more helpful than ever to our local families.
The Changes to the Event
In past years, there was a presentation in the Auditorium and a set of informational tables in the Commons. But this year, administrators incorporated a campus-wide tour. Students received a Bingo card with a map on the back, collecting stamps at various classrooms.
“This year, we wanted students and families to explore the campus,” said Mark Brown, NHS Athletic Director/Assistant Principal. “We had the departments spread out so that students and families could see most of the campus, especially the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) spaces that were remodeled during the bond.”
The event was popular and full of cheer. More than 200 of the 300+ eighth-graders enrolled at Mountain View and Chehalem Valley Middle Schools traversed the NHS campus for the first time. The crowd hummed with laughter and the air was sweetened with the scent of fresh cakes wafting from the Culinary Department’s kitchen.
The Classes and the Campus
Being present on the NHS campus meant a great deal to Tyler Gardner, whose parents and siblings have also gone to NHS, and who has been taking online classes for the past two years.
Gardner says he has so much to look forward to, such as “socializing, having more classes, and being able to do higher-up stuff like computer science — I like coding.”
His parents were eager to prepare him for his reintroduction to a brick-and-mortar school.
“The biggest thing is getting him excited about next year,” said his mom, Krista Gardner.
Besides stoking excitement, scoping out the departments and classes at NHS was another major factor. Charles Wallin brought his sons to the event, MVMS eighth-grader Charles, Jr., and Mabel Rush fifth-grader Maxwell, to check out the school, specifically the Career and Technical Education building.
“He wanted to see the welding shop,” Charles Wallin said, nodding toward Charles Jr., who agreed emphatically.
CVMS eighth-grader Stella Sisk was also considering all of the many options at NHS, including the electives, but what has been on her mind is how to prepare for what comes after graduation.
“Jobs, colleges, that's definitely a topic that’s been brought up at school,” Stella said.
The Next Step — for Now
Newberg Nation Night was a great step in that direction. Like all of the families who had taken the time to support their kids by attending the event, MVMS eighth-grader Diego Lopez-Garcia’s mom, Angelica, noted that everyone wanted their students to get excited about next year, explore their options, and become familiar with the large campus.
“I’m still looking around, trying to figure it out,” Diego said.
He was in good company. On this night, families and NHS staff teamed up to help eighth-graders start to figure out high school and what comes next, building a life and finding a passion, whether it is in welding, cooking, digital arts, or computer coding.