Shakespeare Shorts Shakespeare Shorts is an annual tradition at NCHS. The theater group performs many short skits, all Shakespeare. SophiaRose Brown, a senior and director of Shakespeare Shorts, said, “I love [Shakespeare’s] language and being able to make it into whatever you want it to be it to be since there is no copyright on his work.”

The Diary of Anne Frank The NCHS Theater Program will be performing The Diary of Anne Frank, the first and second weekend of March. They will be reenacting the life of Anne Frank during her hideout for 2 years with her family from the Nazis and the writings in her diary.

Big 12 dance conference The NCHS dance team has brought home another win. The team hosted the Big 12 dance conference on Saturday January 14, here at NCHS. The team performed their lyrical piece against several other teams and won 1st place. The NCHS dance team will be performing at the state finals competition on January 27 and 28, 2017.

Black light dance The annual black light dance was held Friday, January 13, following the boys basketball game. Junior Preston Love said “The dance could have been better, and there could have been better music selection.” Students look forward to, hopefully, a better dance next year!

“Big Fish” Broadway musical “Big Fish” is an award winning broadway musical based upon the book Big Fish: A Novel Of Mythical Proportions, and the film Big Fish. “I am really looking forward to learning new music and dances to perform” said Corissa Small, a senior. You can catch the musical at NCHS on April 19-23, 27-28, 2017.

Iron’s Got Talent Normal Community High School will be hosting a talent show for students to show off their talents on Thursday, February 9th at 7:00 PM. Students participating will only have between 5-8 minutes to prove to the judges why they should win and and get to perform their act in the Spring assembly.

Mindful Iron Meditation Club The Meditation Club is meeting again before school at 7:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and after school at 3:45 on Wednesdays. The objective for the Meditation club is to practice more mindful ways of living through learning meditation. “Practicing awareness helps us more clearly understand the present moment and how we can respond effectively. ” said club sponsor Mr. Robinson.

Culture Club Culture Club, headed by Mr. Thomas, meets every Tuesday after school from 3:35 to 4:15. When the club meets, discussions are usually headed around community service, problems that the members deal with, and social issues. Meet with Mr. Thomas for further details.

Youth Action Board The Youth Action Board consists of students from NCHS, NCWHS, BHS, U-high, and Central Catholic HS. This group works to encourage the prevention of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs in schools. Talk to your counselor today to see how you can get involved!

“What’s your superpower” campaign The “What’s your superpower” campaign, brought by Bloomington-Normal parents, is to help bring in more positivity into NCHS and to students. This campaign also wants to show students that they each have a unique characteristic or trait about themselves that set them apart from others.

New water fountain During winter break, a new water fountain were added into the school. Pacha, the head custodian said “The first one put in is by the teachers lounge near the vending machines and two more are supposed to be added by February/March. The other new water fountains will be upstairs across from the elevator.”

New Spanish teacher Mrs. Toering is a new Spanish II teacher at NCHS. She taught for 12 years in Iowa before deciding to return to Normal to be near her family and continue her career. Toering decided to wait until after first semester to begin teaching, so that she could spend some time with her family before jumping into her new job.

Track and field The track and field team is entering another year of excellence. The boy’s track team is bringing back a number of talented athletes to compete in this next season. Head coach Marcus Mann, is looking forward to “participants with a high work ethic and quality attitude” to join the girls team. Coaches are looking forward to a great season!

Lady Iron softball tryouts on deck The potential varsity softball players are already back in full swing before tryouts even begin. Softball open gyms are being held all throughout the month, schedules are posted throughout the school. The open gyms allow players to slide safely into tryouts on February 27. See the athletic website for more details.

Red out game Come support the American Heart Association by attending the red out basketball game Friday, January 27, at West! Don’t forget to purchase a t-shirt during your lunch hour, so you can join in on the red! The game starts at 7:30; we hope to see you there!

Baseball Tryouts The Ironmen 2016-2017 baseball season is right around the corner. Tryouts for sophomores, juniors and seniors begin Monday, February 27 after school. Freshmen tryouts start a week later on Monday, March 6. Tryouts should last 3 days for all grades. Coaches are looking forward to a great season! Go Iron!

Underground plays This year’s underground plays took place this past weekend and “went surprisingly well,” senior Nathan Fryer stated. There were five shows total, and each featured students from all grades. Fun fact: this year’s senior class were the first students to ever be a part of underground, as it was established during their freshman year.