I am excited about all that this year has in store for us here at NorthStar Academy. This will once again be an incredible year full of excitement and community, for which God has created us. It is your faculty and staff’s desire to be known by you and for you in turn to know God and each other.
Read MoreWhether or not you are a new or returning student, the start of a new school year always brings mixed emotions. It might be nerve-racking, exciting, or challenging! Even though I became a student at NorthStar Academy three years ago, each year brings new obstacles and circumstances to adapt to along with things to look forward to. I would say that a student at NorthStar, Ruthie, summed it up well. “School years is [sic] like a great adventure and you have to defeat monsters, giants, etc to reach the destination which is summertime.”
Read MoreThe Drama Club is a very well known part of NorthStar. It’s a fun, low stress way to learn a bit about theater, and is a great place to make friends! But, in February of 2021, a new branch of it was launched called the Aspiring Filmmakers Team. The AFM is a section of the club for those who enjoy making and learning about movies. It was created by a high school student named Sophia, who is now one of the managers. “I love all aspects of filmmaking,” she said, “and being able to facilitate and lead a team that I get to share that love with others is a true blessing.” The AFM is a place created for all ages and levels of expertise, whether you’re a professional producer or just a beginner, there’s a place for you!
Read MoreIf I were to summarize my NSA story in a single word, I’d like to consider my experience as extraordinary. Homeschooling, or what I would later come to recognize as virtual learning, was something my family had become familiar with years before enrolling at NorthStar. When I was approaching my first day of second grade, our local public schools had given my parents no other option but to consider online schooling due to medical reasons. This led to me being enrolled in another online school for many years. Similarly to NSA, their teachers and students were based around the globe. Looking back, these teachers would serve as my early mentors, which I feel strongly contributed to my interest in writing.
Read MoreThis article is not going to be strictly about how I came to NorthStar Academy, mainly because the reason I’m here doesn’t make for a very exciting article. So let us put it briefly:
My dad was looking for an accredited way to homeschool so that my sister could go to the Naval Academy. While searching for schools, he saw that a NorthStar graduate had gone on to the Naval Academy. He looked into NSA, liked it, and signed my sister up. Pretty soon I followed with a couple of courses and then my younger sister got some courses, and soon we were near full-time students.
Read MoreI’ve written for the Navigator for three years. I started during my sophomore year, in 2018. Back then, it was all done on First Class. I submitted my articles and pictures to the editors each month. Every writer was able to choose their own topic, and then write articles on it. The newspaper was completely student-run. However, that began to change in 2019. By the start of my junior year, the Navigator had become an NSA class with a teacher advisor.
Read MoreFrom using dial-up internet to having a meeting with teachers across the world in an instant, NSA’s rich past is worth a review. The history of submitting school work and talking to fellow students at NorthStar is quite extensive and something many people are unfamiliar with. How did NSA begin as a school? What was the FirstClass system? Where will we be in the near future? A look back at the ancient memoirs of students and teachers answers these questions. The Navigator staff invites you on a journey through time (or the ages) showcasing NorthStar’s spectacular history.
Read MoreI wanted to share myself with NSA. My real self. Not the “ahhhhh xd xd bahahhah” texting Izzy. I wanted to share the actual face behind those quirky, cute messages. The broken, sometimes sad, thoughtful Izzy that loves her dog like crazy and is really passionate about life. I loved writing. I love making blogs. Everything seemed simple. I started a Blogspot blog and began writing. I made an introduction and shared that introduction with the Student Body.
Read MoreA lot of people hate school. I… am not one of those people. Now, I don't like EVERYTHING about school… *ahem* quadratic equations… but I do find information, and learning in general, fascinating!
Read MoreThe 2020-21 school year was full of uncertainty and adventure for many brick-and-mortar students around the globe. With so much still going on in the world, teachers, students, and staff alike found themselves still learning how to adjust to an online learning environment. Here at NorthStar Academy, students continued to relish in their own personal academic successes. This success is largely due to the teachers -- whose patience and dedication inspires their students, no matter the situation. One of these teachers is the Navigator’s own faculty advisor: Mrs. April Meyer.
Read MoreWhen I look back on my time at NSA, a string of mundane decisions truly changed my time as a high school student. Today, I am beyond honored to be the Editor-in-Chief of the NorthStar Navigator for the 2020-2021 school year.
Read MoreI’ve always been one of those weird kids who loved school and (almost) everything about it. I love learning, asking questions, writing essays, completing assignments, and having the general productivity of working. I have never been more aware of that fact than I have been since starting NSA. As a big extrovert, I greatly miss the social aspects of a brick and mortar school, but my competitive nature is satisfied by still having classmates, my desire to go at my own pace has been fulfilled, and the flexible schedule that NorthStar provides is the best option I could have ever found for the number of dance classes and rehearsals that I have to work around during the day.
Read MoreHave you ever been afraid to step out of your comfort zone and venture into something new? Have you ever felt the Lord nudging you in a direction you have never gone before? Maybe He is calling you to join a club/organization, start a Bible study, reach out to a new friend or neighbor, or apply to a certain university.
At NorthStar, I felt the Lord moving us to start a podcast. Fear began welling up inside me, and I began thinking through the “what if” questions. However, I truly believed this was the path we were supposed to walk down, and I deeply desired to be obedient. We took the leap!
Read More“I can’t wait until I’m in high school!” I remember saying to my parents after a long and tiring day of second grade reading. “I’ll get to stay up later and do so much more!” As I was reminiscing, I began to wonder if I was the only one who felt this way. I decided to reach out to my fellow NorthStar students to get to the bottom of this memory-riddled mystery.
Read MoreA day in life looks different for every single person, and that could not be truer than it is here at NSA. Every student is different and holds a unique place in the diverse and very special student body we have. To demonstrate the sheer uniqueness of the students here at NSA, one student from each section of NSA’s student body: two high schoolers, a middle schooler, and an elementary student, were asked questions about what they feel their place is at NSA as well as general inquiries about their daily life.
Read MoreIn my last article, “One Student Two experiences,” I learned about a student’s perspective of both high school and middle school, as Elizabeth is in BOTH 8th and 9th grades at once! This article is going to focus on the teacher’s perspective of teaching students in both middle school and high school. Give it up for Mrs. Anderson!
Read MoreEver since students first came together in FirstClass, adventures and role plays have been a prominent part in the lives of NorthStar students. In the beginning, it almost all consisted of knights, pirates, swords, magic, and dragons, but recently those adventures have evolved into more modern things, to mafia organization, federations, communists, light-brigades, and full-blown war between student-led factions, with bombs, guns, tanks, missiles, and other modern weapons. Some people still cling to the old ways of magery and knighthood, but those students are few and far between, and they are clinging on to the old ways by their tips of their fingers, loathing to let go but knowing the doom of ancient places such as the Mages Guild and the Noble and Ancient Thread is at hand.
Read MoreNorthstar Academy houses many students of all different grade levels. Some students have been with NSA since they were in elementary school, and others have only experienced the high school or middle school version of Northstar. Today I’m going to be telling you the story of an NSAer who is experiencing both middle school at NSA and high school… at the same time!
Read MoreMy family has been at North Star for a long time. When I started, Brainhoney and First Class were the platforms that I used. A few years after I started, my younger brothers joined NSA. At that time, I was in my junior year. My brothers were in eighth and seventh grade. I was the NSA veteran, the one who knew what to do and how the system worked.
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