The Bi-Weekly What: Friday, April the 23rd, 2021

April 28th, 2021

The Bi-Weekly What:
Friday, April the 23rd, 2021

EOC Testing!

 Dear parents and families,

During the next 2 weeks (April 27 – May 14), EOC testing will be taking place. All students enrolled in English I, English II, Algebra I, Geometry, U.S. History, and Biology will sit for an exam. Please click here to see detailed information regarding scheduling, COVID safety, transportation, and breakfast/lunch plans. The schedule for EOC testing is below. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you!

New Harmony’s GiveNOLA Day Campaign

Be the first to support New Orlean’s premiere environmentally-focused high school this GiveNOLA season! You can schedule an early donation TODAY!
Click here to schedule your donation.

New Harmony High School is a publicly funded charter high school. The “high school” part of New Harmony High School– earning credits in specific courses towards graduation– that part is minimally funded through per-pupil and grant funding from the state and federal government. But the “New Harmony” part of New Harmony High School goes above and beyond traditional school. The New Harmony part is helping students uncover their place in a new and always evolving world battling climate change. The New Harmony part is connecting students to incredible fellowships and service-learning projects with community-based mentors from all over the region. The New Harmony part is Outdoor Adventures as our anchor PE class, Algebra II for Sustainable Development as our 3rd math course, gardening projects incorporated into course work, student-created podcasts and published books, and a Senior Capstone with Project Management training. It’s about meeting students where they are. It’s about creating and maintaining authentic relationships so that students have the support they need when challenges arise. And the New Harmony part requires funding above and beyond allocated per-pupil funds.

We know that the world has changed and that high school education has in many ways stayed the same in the realm of funding. Schools shouldn’t have to ask for additional funding to provide students the education they deserve. Your help will bridge the gap from being just a high school to being New Harmony.

Click Here to Donate Early!

A New Harmony High x New Orleans Photo Alliance x NOMA 

Photo Collaboration

Last Spring, the New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA) collaborated with a small group of local high schoolers to teach the fundamentals of photography and curation culminating with an exhibit called Raw Emotion at the NOPA Gallery. As students literally reframed how they saw the world around them through photography, they also got the chance to show and sell their art to the larger community in a professional gallery. This Spring, we look to do the same, but now with the entire New Harmony High sophomore class and on a larger public platform with NOMA.

Vision

Through the lenses of Things Fall Apart and lessons from local artists focused on photography, ecology, community engagement and mental health, students will look to re-see the world around them, ask questions, and share their perspectives on how people can reconnect with themselves, their communities, and nature to sow a more sustainable future.

With weekly workshops and artist-led photo prompts from Monique Verdin, Nic Aziz, Bruce Sunpie Barnes, Aubrey Edwards, Lisa Cates, Brittany Lindsey, and Cody Ainey, students will create a photo narrative exploring these themes around harmony, and then curate an exhibit that will be displayed this Summer along the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park.

Mission

To explore and reflect on what it means to connect and find balance with ourselves, our communities, and the natural environment through the medium of photography. To inspire and empower students to create and share art that can affect the change they want to see in themselves and the world.

Please consider supporting this project on GiveNOLA Day by clicking here.

We’re Hiring! 

Check out our Join Us page for all available positions

Advisor/Content Teacher for the following subjects:

9th Grade:

10th Grade:

  • Physical Education/Health

11th Grade:

  • Chemistry

  • Media Arts

  • US History

  • Algebra II for Sustainable Development

12th Grade:

  • AP Environmental Science

Diverse Learning (Special Education)

Click Here to Join Us!

New Harmony Student Art Work at the
Ogden Museum

Ogden Museum of Southern Art presents the Teen Intern exhibition, Coming of Age, the culminating art show for Ogden Museum’s 2021 Teen Intern season. The young, aspiring artists have been working together and with visiting artists through transdisciplinary conversations and workshops to cultivate their knowledge and artistic skill set.

Three New Harmony K’shawn Cheneau, Mei Miller, and Robert Richardson are interning with the Ogden and have their works on display!

The exhibition is curated by the Ogden Museum Teen Interns and includes their work as well as a selection of works or collaborations with their contemporaries. The show runs April 19 through May 31, 2021, and will be on view at Ogden Museum. Go out to support this program and our young artists!

New Podcast Alert!

Me In This Moment Podcast! 

We are thrilled to announce the Me In This Moment Podcast — a partnership between 826 New Orleans, Be Loud Studios, and New Harmony High School.  In each episode, students will share stories about a significant moment in their lives, centered around a common theme.  The first episode, “Growing Up,” will premiere on May 15th in conjunction with a listening and reading event a Baldwin and Company Books (@baldwinandcompany) for the soon-to-be published book of student writing, I Heard A Voice Echo, part of the 826 New Orleans Me In This Moment series.  Please stay tuned to @newharmonyhigh, @826neworleans, and @beloudstudios for more information about the podcast, book release, and publishing events!

Nature Writing in English III 

Last week students in Jeff’s English III pondered the mysteries of the natural world through a collection of writing ranging from the early Transcendentalists (Thoreau, Emerson) to the modern naturalist masters (Annie Dillard, Margret Renkl).  Each class concluded with an outdoor field work assignment that involved observation, analysis, and a much needed chance to “New Harmonize” after a long year of staring at screens.

Biology Highlights 

This quarter students’ had to create a creature with favorable adaptations that would help it survive in a chosen environment. Check out some of their creations below!

“Funky” a frog and a monkey

Some adaptations featured:-mushroom on back to blend in with ground- two stomachs to digest potentially poisonous mushroom-long hoppy legs to be able to jump through forest,-big ole monkey ears to hear his surroundings.

“The Wanderer” The Wanderer is a tall, slender, human-like creature.

They have a mostly dark, black and slightly blue complexion with long arms and legs for reaching up for things on tall trees and long legs to run faster, they have no fur but have a high resistance to the cold. They live in small packs (called hoards) that are themself, their mate, and children, they live either in caves or on the land. Pairs mate in the spring and once pairs are made, they are mated for life. The Wanderers are also very passive until provoked and have a language that sounds like reverse english.

OWFISH

A combination of an owl and fish that has webbed hands. The predator of this organism is the alligator. Using its tail it will be able to swim away swiftly from its predator. By giving it webbed hands while it’s swimming it will be able to push the water back making it the strongest swimmer in the swamp

New Harmony Students at Roots Camp LA

Last month, New Harmony High was out in force at RootsCampLA, an annual virtual conference that convenes community leaders, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and others from around the state who are interested in building a better Louisiana through grassroots organizing and skill-sharing.  Two amazing groups of NHH students designed and facilitated their own panel discussions, “The Dangers of Supremacy in Curriculum and the Need to Change” (Austin Crews, Mei Miller, Salem Maison, and Sanjay Jones) and “Project-Based Learning to Support Activism and Engagement” (Emery Kaczmarek Johnson, Josh Gibbons, Alyssa Poche, Zoey Miller, Mervin Smith).

The virtual format challenged students to create engaging presentations that would stimulate interest and conversation, and feedback for NHH students was overwhelmingly positive:

“It’s really inspiring to see how much y’all enjoy your school and the program.”

“Best wishes to all the students in your future studies and work lives.  I wish such a school had been available to me when I was in school!”

“It’s wonderful to see students who are happy with their school and who experience learning in such a meaningful way.”

And, put more simply-

“These kids are AWESOME!!”

Fine Arts Highlights

In Fine Arts we have been learning about photography fundamentals, and utilizing photographic tools to share the way we uniquely see the world with a wider audience. 

Kayla, 11th Grade

Julien, 11th Grade

Phineas, 11th Grade

Ashley, 11th Grade

Liam, 11th Grade

JoJo, 11th Grade

Josh, 11th Grade

Josh, 11th Grade

Upcoming Student Opportunities

The NORD Teen Career Camp offers teenagers ages 13-15 career exploration and job preparation skills as well as financial literacy training and character development. Breakfast, lunch, and field trips are provided. Additionally, teens earn a stipend of $75 per week over six weeks. Limited spots are available.

To complete the pre-register for the camp, click here.

Liberty Kitchen Summer Program for NHH Students

New Harmony students with an interest in culinary arts and hospitality, our partners at Liberty’s Kitchen are interested in facilitating summer programming for a cohort of 15 New Harmony cohort students.

Liberty’s Kitchen is a career preparation program for 16 to 24 year-olds that provides training in professional, culinary, and service skills while supporting participants’ personal career goals. Participants receive the following: training stipend (pay), access to employers, hands-on experience, professional skills, transportation & more. To learn more about the organization/program, check out their website.

Summer program logistics:

  • Duration/Dates – 6 weeks, June 25th through August 5th.
  • Time/Days – 8:30am to 2:00pm, Monday – Thursday
  • Paid – bi-weekly
  • Number of Students – 15 per class
  • Eligibility of Students – 16 to 24 years old

If you are interested in the program and meet the eligibility standards, discuss the details with your parent/guardian to ensure you’re available during the dates, days and times described above, and then complete this SURVEYThe deadline to complete the survey is next week on Wednesday, April 21st.

Through April 23, 2021, The Historic New Orleans Collective (THNOC) is accepting applications for the Summer 2021 Derven Scholar. The summer 2021 Derven Scholar(s) will work with THNOC education staff to plan, create, and/or facilitate Virtual Field Trips (learn more about our VFTs here).

The internship will be fully remote, including mentorship from education staff and opportunities for informational interviews with THNOC staff in other departments. Typically, the summer internship term runs for 8 weeks between June and August (exact dates will be decided upon by the intern and THNOC staff) and interns will be expected to devote around 10 hours each week to this position. Summer Derven Scholars receive a total stipend of $1500, paid in monthly increments during their term.

To apply for a position as a Derven Scholar, please fill out the online application. The application deadline is April 23 and all applicants will be contacted about their status by May 7. 

The City of New Orleans Summer Programs

NOLA Youth Works provides quality summer work experiences for local youth ages 16-21. The focus of the summer employment program is to expose participants to careers of interest with the intention of creating a career-ready workforce. This is a great opportunity that could help define your career goals. 

To meet with a city representative who will walk you through the application process, register for an application session by clicking this link.

Earth Day Art from the Class of 2024

Have a great weekend!

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