As NWLHS students shed their winter layers, anticipation for the end of the school year is sizzling.

Summer seems closer than ever.

The grueling window of standardized tests is coming to a close, with the Pennsylvania Keystone Exams behind us, and the last Advanced Placement tests on May 19th.

With the culmination of the 2025-26 school year upon us, it’s been an eventful past few weeks.

Focusing on athletics, track has come to a close after a season of successes.

The girls team went undefeated in the district in the regular season, and are now ranked second overall in the Colonial League.

In the throws category (javelin, shot, and discus), the girls swept the podium spots at Lehighton, scoring nine points in each category.

The boys team only had one loss, against Jim Thorpe.

Their victories are clear evidence of all their hard work.

Outside of sports, the LGBTQ+ alliance club recently hosted a schoolwide Pride Week, for the purpose of appreciating diversity and protesting discrimination in high schools around the country.

Participating students wore different colors on each school day to represent certain messages – such as teen mental health awareness.

However, most academic clubs are winding down, following various club officer elections to shift leadership from graduating seniors.

In clubs that have leadership structures, members all vote during “election windows” on whoever signed up to run.

The elected students will fill the roles and responsibilities dictated by the incumbent officers and staff club advisers.

The results of the high school library and English department’s March (now May) Madness competition have arrived – The Hunger Games came out of the bracket on top, showing its reigning status as a favorite among teens.

Once school lets out, maybe the absence of clubs will allow students time to read it.

The annual Student Council-run Mr. Northwestern pageant took place on May 2, with Logan Mesics taking the title despite the fierce competition.

Senior boys who apply for the lighthearted show are expected to perform in various segments – which included an entertaining talent show, funny skits, and interview portions in front of a panel of judges and an audience.

The judges crown the winner based on stage presence and school spirit.

The pageant creates a very fun last few weeks for its competitors.

The finality of this school year is dawning on our seniors as they reach the end of their days at Northwestern.

They will have more days off than regular students before school officially lets out, and their younger friends will be forced to cope without them.

Bittersweet moments between friends are visible all throughout the school as our students begin to move up through NWLHS and into the next important phases of their lives.