From baking profiteroles with the French Club to attending the Franklin High School Model United Nations conference, October has been an eventful month for the students at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
Starting off strong, the month began with an anti-bullying assembly on October 1 to address various bullying issues occurring in schools throughout the nation. Officer David D’Amico, the Chief Investigator for the Middlesex County Department of Corrections and Youth Services, detailed the challenges that high school students face and accompanied his narration with pictures. This presentation was held in school for freshmen and sophomores to convey the dangers of bullying and its diverse impacts on a student’s life. D’Amico pointed out how victims often find it hard to talk about their experiences, thus facing continual issues. For this reason, he encouraged students to take action rather than being bystanders, and through this assembly, Bridgewater-Raritan High School worked to create a welcoming environment for all students.
As the month progressed, the school went on to host one of its biannual college fairs. The fair helped students explore various colleges and speak with representatives from over 100 schools throughout the country. The admissions process can be overwhelming, and as students look for suitable majors, they often feel confused. However, the college fair helped many students organize their interests and gain experience without having to visit every college. Though the event focused on helping upperclassmen gain perspectives of potential colleges it was open to students of all grades.
Shortly after, Bridgewater-Raritan High School served as the host to Hackathon on October 12. It was held by the CODE Club to help students experience real-world STEM problems. The program included over 100 high school students from across New Jersey, encouraging students to develop environmentally friendly and innovative solutions to problems. Organizing the event was a great deal of work, but students from the CODE Club were happy to gain coding experience.
As the month concluded, BRHS freshmen, sophomores, and juniors took the PSAT on October 23. Students tested for the first half of the day, dropping their morning classes to do so, while seniors were able to come in late. Freshmen completed the PSAT 8/9 while sophomores and juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT. The latter gave juniors the opportunity to receive the National Merit Scholarship, should they achieve a specific score. This scholarship is awarded to recognize bright minds, and the test in general allows students to understand their strengths and weaknesses BRHS gave this test to help students get an idea of their abilities and think about what to prepare for in the future.
Overall, the month of October has been very exciting for the high school students who got a chance to participate in various events. Throughout the month, students got involved in the events hosted by the school, as well as many club events, such as FBLA Regionals, the State Competition for Marching Band, Model UN’s Parents Night and the Phillipsburg Debate Tournament. As students took part in club events, they explored their interests and were able to have a lot of fun.
