50th Anniversary Open House - Alumni from Everywhere

JOEL MATHEW, Contributing Writer

The 50th Anniversary of NBTHS marks a momentous occasion in the school's history. From its construction in 1973 to its continuous progressive development in 2024, NBTHS has grown into a community for all students, providing the resources and education they need to prepare for their futures. The event was organized by the NBTHS administrative team alongside Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Doyle, and Mrs. Pineiro, teachers from the Social Studies Department.

In preparation for the event, invitations were sent out via Google Forms, calling alumni from all over to come to the school for a time of fellowship, refreshments, and a trip back into the past. Mrs. Wright stated, “We wanted to provide a way for alumni to learn about the new parts of the school and jog our memory as we go down memory lane; to see how things are different now to back then." The Jazz band was set up to perform for a little while also including snacks and beverages for people. Banners from previous sports years were displayed along with the display case in the Commons being decorated with memorabilia from the past 50 years at NBTHS. Even yearbooks dating back to 1973, when some of the teachers were students, were set up for alumni to look through.

Photo Courtesy of Joel Mathew - William Brown, Graduate from the Class of 1975

One of the alumni who had come back to the school was William Brown, a graduate of the Class of 1975. He was one of the students from of the first graduating senior class from NBTHS. Brown recollected from his younger years as he went on the tour around the school elaborating, “it’s different from how I remember....it’s huge. I worked at college and you got the entire college atmosphere. It’s very impressive what has changed and improved over the years. They have given you kids what they couldn't provide for us back in our time. "

The school has changed a bit over the years, so much so that even during the tours the alumni were shocked by all the new sights while they reminisced about their younger days in parts of the school they remember such as the MRC. Even while remembering their youth, the alumni had such a good time that the tours was lesser in number and larger in duration. Mrs. Pineiro stated, "tours did take much longer than anticipated, however the NHS, SGO and Key Club members were all so incredible for helping out through everything."

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Rouantree - an early painting of the Raider Bird by alumnus Vanessa Taylor

Overall the entire event was a success with numerous alumni having come out to the event. Mrs. Doyle proclaimed, "it was great, with the alumni who came being very happy with the tours. The alumni were reminiscent of their pasts and all the things that happened. Lots of people were happy to see how the building has changed and what parts were still there." All in all, the alumni had a wonderful time learning about the school's latest addition and felt nostalgic happiness from having a chance to see their school and fellow classmates again.