The Senior Volleyball teams were in Whitecourt over the weekend competing in the A&W Tournament hosted by Hilltop High School and St. Joes. 

The Senior Girls started off pretty shaky against a strong Glenmary team. After losing a tough game, they came back strong with two wins to finish pool play in second place. This put them in the top 8. After coming out strong and then losing momentum against the home team Hilltop Chargers, the girls rallied and were able to pull off an exciting win over GP Vanier, which put them in the consolation final against Peace River. This match was a back and forth battle between Peace River and the Grizzlies. After pushing Peace River to a 3rd set, the girls ultimately fell short and finished in 6th place.

The Senior Boys started the tournament strong with two wins and a loss on Friday night against GP Vanier, Harry Collinge and Onoway. The night ended with a three way tie for first. It came down to points for and against and the Grizzlies finished pool play in 3rd place, dropping them down to tier 2.

In the first playoff game on Saturday against Swan Hills, the boys came out focused and showcased what they have been working on in practice. Grade 12 Nathan Narcisco gave the boys a good start, serving 16 unanswered points. The Grizzlies played disciplined and solid defence. They took the first game 25-2 and 25-12. After taking their second playoff game to a 3rd set and ultimately winning, the Grizzlies went up against Mayerthorpe in the Consolation Final. The boys got crushed in the first set of the match. They lacked enthusiasm and engagement, dropping the first set 25-12. They promptly forgot about the first set and went back out, worked for every point and played the ball until the whistle blew. The Grizzlies took the second set 25-13. In the third set they were the first team to 8 for the switch; however, both teams pushed hard to win the championship. It came down to the boys battling point for point all the way to 15-15. From there the Grizzlies dropped the next two points for Mayerthorpe to take the championship.

Overall, the boys played some amazing volleyball. They have improved immensely from day 1, and are only going up from here!

The Juniors Girls were at home this weekend at the Dr Kearney tournament. The girls played well and had many opportunities to put new skills into action. The Grizzlies won all of their games in 2 sets, finishing the tournament in first place. 

We also had an inter-club cross country meet. Our seniors ran well finishing a gruelling 6 km. Jordynn Mcpherson’s time was 36:03, Carter Collins finished with 35:11 time and Colby Snider finished with a time of 35:10.

Up Next: All three volleyball teams will be in Dawson Creek for their next tournament October 18th and 19th. The Cross Country team will also be in Dawson on the 19th for their Zone Championships. 

Athlete of the Week: Megan Salinas (Gr. 12, Sr Girls Volleyball) – Megan was solid all weekend in her passing and was an excellent leader on the court in tight game situations. She made key defensive contributions all tournament, but especially against strong outside attackers from Peace River in the 5th place match. Congrats Megan!

NPSS is open and the power is on. Don’t let a little snow hamper your learning……….

The 2019-2020 yearbook is available for pre-order. The book is purchased directly through the publisher’s website, and the link to the site can be found in the ‘Links’ directory on the school web site. You can also create an account and order a book with this link.

The School passcode: 1015136335723231

The yearbook is $27.10 USD, with an option to upgrade to a hardcover yearbook for an additional $6.95 USD. 

10% Off Yearbooks Purchased by Oct. 31.

Custom Pages: Students and/or parents can add their own photos and memories into their copy of the yearbook. You can add pictures of friends, favourite music, etc., all of which is printed in your personal copy of the yearbook. Every yearbook includes two custom pages for free and you can add more personal pages for a small fee. Photos can be uploaded from your computer, Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, and more. Your customized pages need to be completed by April 15, 2020. To get started, create an account with this link.

The NPSS Yearbooks will continue to be available for purchase through the company after the delivery date in June, and can be shipped directly to your home if you wait to order the book once school is closed for the summer. Books delivered to your home will include a shipping charge. Pre-order your yearbook by May 1 to avoid the shipping charge.

Last year’s 2019 NPSS yearbooks are also available for order from their site. If you are having issues with ordering the book, you can contact customer support directly 877-755-8733.

The NPSS Student Council have sent a cohort to Abbotsford this week to attend the Canadian Student Leadership Conference. There are over 1000 student leaders from across Canada, participating in workshops, cultural experiences and community service.

All three volleyball teams kicked off their season this past weekend at the GPRC Super Red tournament.

The main goal of the weekend for the Senior Boys was to see those skills that they have been working on progress, and that is exactly what happened. Although the boys didn’t win a game, it was a successful weekend from the coach’s perspective. Shout out to Grade 10 Devon Lee for his versatility and solid defensive play.

Senior girls won their first game of the tournament in a close 3 set match and continued to compete well against high caliber teams for the duration of the tournament. Shout out to Grade 11 setter Megan Davis for her consistent play throughout the tournament.

Junior girls had a great weekend, going to three sets in almost every game. The girls played hard and brought intensity and positive energy to every set.

Grade 12 athlete Jordynn McPherson was the lone North Peace athlete to compete in the Steve Burgess Memorial race in Grande Prairie on Saturday. Jordy finished in 2nd place in the Senior Girls Category with a 4km time of 21:32.

Athlete of the week:
Devon Lee, Grade 10, Senior Boys Volleyball – Devon started the first round-robin game at setter, moving into libero and then outside hitter. Devon was versatile for the team all weekend. He played both of the playoff games as starting libero, making crucial defensive plays to keep long rallies going and was solid on serve receive.

Up Next:
The cross country team is in Beaverlodge this weekend. All volleyball teams have the weekend off, with the next tournament Oct 4/5 (Whitecourt for the Seniors and Dr. Kearney for the Juniors). 

Check out this new resource: