This year, North Point High School received a NOAA banner for the third consecutive year of being an Ocean Guardian School, and have plans to go on to receive their fourth, and fifth, in upcoming years.

An Ocean Guardian School is one that commits to the protection and conservation of its local watersheds, along with other protected aquatic areas. A participating school makes this commitment by proposing and implementing school and/or community conservation projects. The main goal is to help keep oceans safe and communities clean. The program is administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and has been alive for 8 years, as it began in 2009.  

This is North Point’s third year being an Ocean Guardian School. In 2015, Ms. Kiorpes, an environmental sciences and biology teacher, made the decision to start an Oceanic Guardian club. Immediately the club took off, and year by year, its popularity would flourish. North Point, along with its Ocean Guardians group, have taken part in many community events, such as trash clean up at Mallows Bay and Mattawoman Creek, tree plants on school grounds along with Port Tobacco River Park, and last but not least, has participated in the foster and release of baby crabs and horseshoe crabs. 

10th grader Nihya Dejene  says that NOAA “is an amazing way to change our community in a tremendous way.” Like many others, she’s “very proud of everything that’s being achieved at this moment,” and knows that NOAA will “accomplish more and become even better in the future of everything.”

The students of NOAA are committed to making sure the environment is sustained and cared for. Each year, as the importance of keeping the environment protected increases, the Ocean Guardians continue to show their determination and passion for not just a cleaner campus, but also for an eco-friendly community for us all to take part and live in.