New Year, New Me: The Resolutions of the Navigator Staff
New Year, New Me: The Resolutions of the Navigator Staff

I know what you did on December 31, well, not exactly, but a rough idea. You probably toasted a chilled glass of something sparkling, and resolved to some sort of ritual that would lead to a better you in 2024. Well, you aren’t alone. Millions of people around the world participate in this tradition, either scribbling resolutions down on a crumpled napkin, or in an embellished notebook they purchased for the occasion. Well, the Navigator staff also participated in this ritual, and shared some of the resolutions they made for 2024. 

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👤NSA People, 🗞️Staff StoriesEIC NSA2023-2024, February 2024 Publication
Life After High School
Life After High School

Life after high school can seem incredibly overwhelming for many. The newfound freedom that comes with stepping into adulthood can be exhilarating, but it also comes with more responsibility and more decisions to make. For years, NSA has organized a college fair and career fair. Traditionally, they were two separate week-long events, featuring college admissions officers in the college fair or career specialists in the career fair. The point of these events was to help students explore options for their future, taking away a little bit of that doomsday feeling high schoolers get. We are excited to say that we are bringing these events back!

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🎉NSA EventsEIC NSA2023-2024, February 2024 Publication
Catching up with a Previous Editor-in-Chief
Catching up with a Previous Editor-in-Chief

From 2018-2020, the editor-in-chief at the Navigator was Savannah L. Not only was Savannah the editor-in-chief, but also one of the founders of the Navigator class at NorthStar. Since graduating, Savannah now attends Mount St. Mary’s college in Maryland. It has been four years since Savannah left NorthStar, and now is as good a time as any to catch up.

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👤NSA People, 🗞️Staff StoriesEIC NSA2023-2024, February 2024 Publication
The History of Valentine's Day
The History of Valentine's Day

As many people finish putting away their Christmas decorations, a new holiday is just around the corner. Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on the fourteenth of February. The holiday is centered around love and being romantic; cupid, hearts, flowers, and chocolates are just a few examples. You will commonly see the color pink or red around this time. Local craft stores supply your every Valentine's Day need. While this holiday is enjoyable to celebrate, the question often arises of why we celebrate it. Where did the idea of Cupid or hearts originate in connection to this holiday?

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🔎Informational, 🗓️SeasonalEIC NSA2023-2024, February 2024 Publication
Visual Arts Club Contest Winner
Visual Arts Club Contest Winner

The first ever NorthStar Academy Christmas Art Competition is officially over! We’ve kicked off the first competition with so many wonderful art submissions. They were everything we wished for, and more! We were overwhelmed by the number of entries we received – each one creative and inspiring in its own way. Ultimately, there was one submission that stood out from the rest and had earned the judge’s hearts. Never the less, the large amounts of creativity that we were able to see in each art submission, was astonishing. This was a tough decision to make, to which had sparked some debate between the judges. 

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🧑‍🚀NSA Culture, 🏘️Clubs, 🔗Companion Articles, 🗓️SeasonalEIC NSA2023-2024, January 2024 Publication
Living Secure: How to Have Peace In Times of Chaos
Living Secure: How to Have Peace In Times of Chaos

Waves cascaded over the small cracked wooden boat, which keeled under the weight of the breakers. Salt water filled the men’s nostrils, and heavy rain splattered onto their already soaked tunics. “Turn the boat!” screamed a man with brown curly hair and flashing eyes. Although he had screamed with all his strength, his voice was picked up by the wind and carried far away, tossed on the waves and drowned in the sound of cracking thunder. A huge lightning bolt raced across the sky, followed by a split of thunder that seemed to come from the heavens themselves.

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Popular, ✝️Spiritual Life, 🗣️AdviceEIC NSAJanuary 2024 Publication, 2023-2024
The Mind Games
The Mind Games

Sports are often affiliated with the physical aspects of it. For example, the strength of football players, the agility of soccer players, and the precision of basketball players are commonly attributed aspects inside of the competitive world. With the rise of eSports however, many people feared this would take away from the definition of Sports. People might think that eliminating the physical aspects of sports would be like taking the pumpkin out of a Jack-o-lantern. It just would not work! But the one thing not often considered was the mental attributes of sports. 

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Popular, 🔎InformationalEIC NSA2023-2024, December 2023 Publication
Preparing for the SAT
Preparing for the SAT

The Scholastic Assessment Test, SAT for short, is one of the most important tests for college applicants to take.  However, some students have trouble on the SAT because they do not prepare for it.  This article will go over how a student would prepare for the online format of the SAT, which will be used from the spring of 2024 onward.  The SAT is split into four main sections with two going over reading and English concepts, while the other two handle math concepts.  This test can be extremely daunting to students since it lasts two hours and 15 minutes (College Board).  However, with the correct preparation a student can go into the SAT well-equipped.

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Popular, 🔎Informational, 🗣️Advice, 🔗Companion ArticlesEIC NSA2023-2024, December 2023 Publication
Seeds4HOPE: Building Resilience
Seeds4HOPE: Building Resilience

Depression is “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest” (Mayo Health Clinic). “Approximately 280 million people in the world have depression” (World Health Organization). Anyone can get depression. It can come after the death of a loved one, anxiety from school, or other external circumstances. However, depression is not the end of the road. It can be battled with hope and resilience.

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👤NSA People, 🧑‍🚀NSA CultureEIC NSA2023-2024, December 2023 Publication
Mercy Ships: Hope On the Horizon
Mercy Ships: Hope On the Horizon

This year, two Northstar students are living onboard one of the Mercy Ships. You might be asking, “What is a Mercy Ship?” Mercy Ships is a Christian charity that was established by Don and Deyon Stephens. Currently, there are two Mercy Ships known as the Global Mercy (GLM) and the Africa Mercy (AFM). Zara explains, “Mercy Ships provides free surgery to people in Africa. They do surgeries for people with tumors, bowlegs, cleft palates, and other diseases.” Zara also mentioned, “The organization aims to 'Follow the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor.’”

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Popular, 👤NSA PeopleEIC NSA2023-2024, December 2023 Publication
Christmas Around the World
Christmas Around the World

Do you and your family have specific traditions you do every year around Christmas? For me, my family and I always go to the tree lighting on our square and go look at Christmas lights. Just like this tradition is unique to my family, so are other traditions to other countries. For example, France, Germany, and Australia all have different practices. Those countries will be our main focus. All of these countries have unique customs surrounding Christmas. Some of these practices are unique to one country or shared by many.

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Popular, 🧑‍🚀NSA Culture, 🗓️SeasonalEIC NSA2023-2024, December 2023 Publication
Credit for Experience: NSA’s Pre-Professional Portfolio Course
Credit for Experience: NSA’s Pre-Professional Portfolio Course

NSA's Pre-Professional Portfolio course (PPP100), also known as PPP, was launched in August of 2023. It is designed to allow high school students to earn credit for skill-building through instructor-led extracurricular activities they participate in. The course also teaches skills for reflection and goal-setting. A student can take this semester-long course up to eight times during high school, earning a maximum of four elective credits for extracurricular activities.

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👤NSA People, 📓Class SpotlightsEIC NSA2023-2024, December 2023 Publication