Dear Newmarket Families,
As we transition from November to December, I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving and is all looking forward to the upcoming winter holiday season. Here at NJSHS, we had a very busy November, and I wanted to take a moment to provide a summary and offer thanks to the many participants at all our past events.
As mentioned by the superintendent, we had a team of visiting educators from around New England in the building Nov. 18-20, taking part in our decennial accreditation visit. The team talked to staff, students, administrators, and parents about their experiences here in Newmarket and how those experiences aligned with their accreditation standards. I am happy to report that the visiting team was extremely positive in their initial thoughts on the visit and will have a full report in early 2025. I am very thankful for the parents who took time out of their days to volunteer to speak to the team. I know that their voices and thoughts will be reflected in the final report.
In addition to our NEASC visitors, several others joined us during the week of Nov. 18. Our library media specialist coordinated a visit from an author, Jarrett Krosoczka, who spoke to the entire student body about his life and experiences as an author. During this presentation, Jarrett took questions from the students while sketching one of the main characters from his book. Check out this time-lapse video of his creation.
On Thursday, local astronaut Scott Poteet came and spoke with our 6th- and 7th-graders about his experiences in space and life as an astronaut. Scott is a very engaging speaker, and our students were fascinated by his experiences.
As we transition from the outdoor fall sports season to the indoor winter sports season, I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone that the doors for all sporting events open half an hour before the first scheduled event of the evening. For example, if we are hosting a doubleheader and the first game is at 5 pm, the event entrance doors will open at 4:30. The event entrance is the only door that will be accessible for the event, so please do not come to the front of the building. Per our handbook, students who are not in attendance for school are not allowed to attend any athletic events on that same day and will be turned away.
As the weather has gotten colder, we’ve had an uptick in parents dropping off and picking up their students at the beginning and end of the day. As a result of more traffic, we’ve had several close calls of vehicle accidents and students nearly being hit by speeding parents. If you are in our drop off/pick up line, please be aware of your speed and the surroundings. To this point, we’ve been a bit lucky, but if we continue to have excessive speed and aggressive driving in the parking lot, I’m fearful we will have a major accident.
In closing, I just want to again express my gratitude and excitement on behalf of all our staff for entrusting us with your students daily. As always, my door is open, and we welcome your input. Please feel free to contact me to discuss any ideas or concerns.
Thank you, and have a great weekend.
Andrew Korman, PhD
Principal
Newmarket Junior Senior High School
kormana@newmarket.k12.nh.us