Ghost and goblins (and KPop Demon Hunters characters) walked our halls as students dressed up for Halloween. Then, before Thanksgiving, many of our students got into the festive spirit inside the classroom. In Dr. Hartman’s chemistry classes, students learned the chemistry behind turkey timers (the spring is held down by a layer of metal or wax, which melts at a specific temperature) and perfect mashed potatoes (over-cooking or over-mixing ruptures cells and releases starch, leading to potatoes that are too sticky). They then constructed Thanksgiving-themed molecules, such as tryptophan, out of common Thanksgiving ingredients like cranberries and marshmallows.

In Mr. Haines’s Historical Leadership class, Grade 8 and 12 students worked together in a historical re-enactment game set on the eve of the first Thanksgiving. They played as either Wampanoag or English, who met in separate rooms with limited communication, and had to decide whether to cooperate, isolate, or fight. The game produced a rather sad outcome—the Wampanoag came bringing gifts of friendship, and the English turned them away—but it also provided insight into the lives of early settlers and just how close that first Thanksgiving was to never happening.

We are now gearing up for a week of celebration before Winter Break, including dressing up for Spirit Week, music and drama performances from our middle and high school students, and the NHS Coffeehouse (i.e., talent show). And, to top it all off, we will end with our annual Winter Fest celebration. It’s going to be a great end to 2025!

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