Goodbye flex Friday, hello hybrid Hawks Soar; Next school years expectations

     Students around the world have been plunged into a whole new sea of learning styles over the past year. For some, the new learning situations have left them thriving but for others, it has been a rough year. 

     Something positive that has come from this year according to Principal Bryan Pawlicki is, “a lot of learning and new instructions went on when it came to teachers’ new styles of teaching online.

      A lesson learned from this for many teachers is how to make their classes more thrilling and engaging.” During the time of figuring out the virtual platforms, “many of the different departments were brought together. English was helping science, science was helping history, history was helping art, and so on.” 

     Pawlicki believes many students have learned, “lessons about themselves on how to persevere and find what is good for their learning techniques.” As a principal, he has discovered how to, “be creative, expect change at any time, and be flexible.” 

     He explained that many of the tools that teachers have depended on this year will likely be sticking around like, “Itslearning, Microsoft Teams, and Quizlets.” If you are “absent or sick for a day you will still be able to get your work

and do it from home through Itslearning.” 

     There are some students who are doing better with online learning and for them, “Harford County is providing a new program named Swan Creek which is an all-virtual learning option.” 

     Pawlicki revealed that we can expect, “our learning at NH to return to what we consider normal next year and that there is a high chance that there will be a Homecoming dance and Spirit Week.”

     “We can also expect the return of Hawk Soar in which we had an extended homeroom to complete make-up work. There will be a cross between Hawk Soar and the Flex Friday we have now,” claimed Pawlicki. 

     When it comes to schedules next year the principal says to anticipate, “the old order of the schedules to accommodate students taking classes at HCC while still attending NH.” 

    Another change for next year is the addition of new career and technology courses including, “media and communication, video production, imaging, and internet classes. Teachers already at NH will teach these classes for the new pathway students can explore.” 

      Another course that will be coming next year is, “the exclusive small animals’ program which will create the option to have more students in the magnet program.” Pawlicki revealed, “that it could possibly mean new animals added to the barn. Who knows, maybe NH does need a mascot bird.” 

     Junior Kyle Fannin feels that some of the learning applications we had to adapt to this year, such as Itslearning, “made learning more organized.” Despite the ways he has done well with the new teaching styles he, “does not feel like attending all-virtual school next year would be a good option for […] [him].” Fannin prefers the “availability of teachers assistance in person.”