Imagination, or the ability to think beyond reality to come up with new ideas, is a vital skill in life, though different from academic skills that are normally taught in school. However, it is often difficult to think creatively, especially for those who have not had practice. Enter the world of roleplays.
Read More...Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (NIV Bible, 1 Kings 19.11-19.12)
Read MoreImagine being a full-time student at NSA, but schoolwork is not all you do. Apart from studying at least five hours per day, you also spend between one to three hours per day training for your sport. This is the reality of a few select NSA students, to whom their sport is just as important as their studies. Student-athletes are a unique group of students who demonstrate how useful NSA can be, and who show a level of dedication that is hard to come across. Let us dive into the most popular sport practiced by this group of people: football, better known in the US as soccer.
Read MoreAbout a week ago I met up with a friend over coffee. While she was working on her laptop across from me, I drafted the outline of my recent English essay. My friend said something that caught my attention: “Wow, it’s like you’re living as a college student already.” Surprisingly, it seemed true. Within the past twenty minutes I had booked a taxi, paid the driver, ordered my drink, and begun to work off my phone’s Wi-Fi, all on my own. It got me thinking, what similarities are there between online high school and college students’ day-to-day? What freedoms and responsibilities come from online schools that are carried into college? How can attending an online school prepare students for college life outside academics?
Read MoreThe year 2024 is an election year, which means that politics is something almost all US citizens are aware of. Whether one wants to hear about what is going on in the political realm or not, it is relatively unavoidable. This means that this is not something only adults care about, but many teenagers and NSA students are involved in politics and keep up with it too. After all, the youth are the generation responsible for shaping the future of the US – so why not explore the policies that matter most to NSA students?
Read MoreImagine being a young explorer, sailing across the high seas to a new uncharted territory. This is what the Pilgrims probably felt like when crossing the ocean to America. Their ship, the Mayflower, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts on November 11, 1620. The first year was long and arduous. However, in 1621 the Pilgrims had their first successful harvest. This is where the story starts.
Read MoreWhat foods are most commonly associated with Thanksgiving? Perhaps turkey? Mashed potatoes? Or maybe even pie? If you are a NorthStar Academy student, you might associate fried rice with Thanksgiving. NSA students come from all around the world. This means that when it comes to the holidays, in many ways a lot of their celebrations look very similar, but in some ways they may look different.
Read MoreHere at the Navigator, staff members can hold many student positions in addition to being a writer. One set of these positions is the publication team consisting of the editor-in-chief, the assistant editor-in-chief, and the PR representative. These positions are not really known to anyone outside the Navigator, so this article is here to change that. Come aboard today and learn about each of the publication team’s positions.
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence, commonly known as AI, is continually being integrated more and more into society, including schools. NorthStar is one of the few schools that actually has an AI policy. This policy is brand-new, and students might have been surprised this year to see the AI acceptable use scale explained in an orientation video. Like all things, Artificial Intelligence can be accepted, rejected, or redeemed. The faculty at NSA “witnessed the rapid development and adoption of AI technologies” (Shafer) and decided not to ban AI, but redeem it.
Read MoreHere at NorthStar Academy, there are quite a few different kinds of courses for students to choose from, such as normal, Honors, Advanced Placement®, and Dual Credit (College Board). So let us dive into them together! (This article will only be addressing the difficulties and types of high school NSA Flex courses rather than their NSA Live counterparts.)
Read MoreThe 2024 Paris Olympics began on July 26 and ended on August 11. In those sixteen days, thousands of athletes competed in different disciplines such as swimming, wrestling, and archery. More than 30 million people watched these events (Reilly). Among these viewers were many NorthStar students, and this fall, they were surveyed on what they liked best about the Paris Olympics.
Read More“I just wanna be adopted by anyone and everyone willing to adopt me. I wanna see how many NSA parents I can have.” Yes, you have read that sentence right. No, it is not talking about actual adoptions. Confused yet? Do not worry, we all are. Join me in my quest of trying to explain NSA families in a way that makes sense - and based on the fact that even the main participants are confused, it will not be an easy one.
Read MoreThe 96th Academy Awards ceremony took place on March 10, 2024. In this exciting event, many films from 2023 were honored for their performances, screenplays, and technical effects. So we decided to ask NorthStar students which of last year’s movies they loved best.
Read MoreEducation is a big topic of debate. Whether it’s going to school full-time, part-time, or being fully homeschooled, you have probably heard your family discuss the topic of school. It is a major part of children's lives. It is essential that a person's education is solid. A biblical education is also important, but how did Christian schools come to be? How did the Reformation play a part in that?
Read MoreThe Protestant Reformation began on October 31, 1517, in Wittenberg, Germany (“The Protestant Reformation”). Martin Luther was a monk, who became a Christian after a terrible storm. He survived the storm and devoted his life to Christ.
Read MoreOne thing that we all use here at NSA is an electronic device. Whether it be a tablet, phone, or computer, we often need to use our electronic devices for our schoolwork as well as to communicate with our classmates. This article will be the technical section of a two-part guide to buying a laptop, but many of these ideas and tips can apply to buying a PC as well.
Read MoreWhat is worship? This may seem like a simple question, but it really is not. When asking NorthStar students what they think worship is, I received a wide variety of responses. Most students described it as “the act of praising God.” But is that all it is? What many people fail to realize is that it is more than that.
Read MoreAs 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?
Read MoreSports 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.
Read MoreThe 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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