By Marisa Geary, Staff Writer

As the year comes to a close, it feels as if 2019 was a year of highs for Norwood High School, and although the mini successes of this year are plentiful, these may be the most notable ones. From the French exchange to yet another marching band win, these are Norwood High’s finest moments in 2019.

3 Norwood Sports TVL Wins 

Over the course of 2019, girls basketball, gymnastics, and softball teams all won their Tri-Valley League championships. After the 2017-2018 school year, Norwood High School switched from the Bay State League to the Tri-Valley League, and it definitely proved to be a change for the better. With the help of inspiring coaches and packed fan sections full of school pride, Mustang sports experienced many wins this year.

Ms. McDonnell Becomes Boys Basketball Coach 

You may know Ms. McDonnell as a guidance counselor, or as that one faculty member that gets hyped up at all of your class meetings. However, this year she took on another title. Boys basketball, having been in need of a coach for their 2019-2020 season, welcomed the guidance counselor to take on the role. She proved to be a perfect candidate, being extremely qualified through her previous coaching position in which she brought the Braintree Wamps girls basketball team to win a whopping four MIAA division 1 titles, and ended off with a 211-32 record (girl power!). Not to mention, the Norwood boys basketball team has started this season 3-1.

The Creation of the ‘A World of Difference’ Program 

During the summer of 2018, teachers Mrs. Lowe, Mrs. Connolly, and Mr. Reyes founded the ‘A World of Difference’ program here at NHS. Over the course of this school year, students involved with this program have gone through extensive training in order to become knowledgeable about how to confront topics like racism, sexism, homophobia, and stereotypes against certain minority groups. Allowing students to become educated in subjects like these was an absolute win for our school, and to our benefit, this is only the first year of many that this program will be offered to students.

The Implementation of the Innovation Pathway 

In 2019, incoming freshmen were given the opportunity to become extensively educated in Healthcare and Social Assistance through the newly-implemented Innovation Pathway. Students in the program dedicate all of their study periods for the entirety of their four years to make time for the self-paced online curriculum. We’re super lucky to have this program at our school, as there are only 16 schools in MA that offer an Innovation Pathway. 

The Publication of the Mustang Gazette 

Not to toot our own horn, but Oct. 18, 2019 marked the publication of The Mustang Gazette online school newspaper. Since then, Mrs. Colahan’s Journalism students have managed to pump out 46 articles (including this one), keeping students updated on school news, book reviews, student opinions, and just about everything else. We’re happy to continue this newspaper for years to come!

French Exchange 

Only two days before Halloween night, the French exchange students landed in Boston to move in with our Norwood students. Needless to say, we made sure that our new French companions had a spooky and fun-filled first Halloween. For the nine days that they were with us, the students visited places like Boston and New York, attended our school, and made many new American friends. Although we were all collectively sad to see them go, the French students were a wonderful presence at Norwood High School, and we can’t wait for our students to visit them in April!

Thanksgiving Day Win 

With the help of the new coaching staff, the Norwood High School Varsity football team prevailed as underdogs to win their first Thanksgiving game since 2014. With a large portion of the school going out in the freezing weather to watch the game, it’s safe to say everyone had a good Thanksgiving morning celebrating their much-deserved win.

2nd Annual Class Act 

For the second year in a row, NHS’s Student Council organized a successful school talent show. A number of different acts performed in front of a large crowd of students, family, and faculty, and the talents of Norwood High’s most gifted students blew everyone away. This year’s winners were a group of 3 dancers--Aidan Flaherty, Ben Jackson, and Solomon King-- who called themselves “We Can’t Rock Americano.” Good job winners!

Marching Band and Color Guard Win 

For the third year in a row, Norwood High School’s prosperous marching band and color guard won the NESBA Division IV Championship. Although we’re definitely not surprised, the Norwood community is still in awe after every victory they attain. Go Mustangs!

The Creation of the Hype Team

As if Norwood High School students’ school spirit hadn’t been enough already, Ms. McDonnell, Ms. Nottebart, Mrs. Matchak, and Mr. Goncalves just recently organized a group of excited students called the Hype Team. This group carries the responsibility of getting the crowd excited at basketball games and hockey games by both cheering and shooting t-shirts into the crowd. By the way, it’s not too late to sign up, and it is a wonderful opportunity to get service hours and get involved!