You’re looking for a place to eat lunch but you open a door and…wait, there is no door?!?! Is this a school nightmare or 9th grade anxiety? Fear not! At New Millennium Secondary School (NMSS), a tuition-free 9th-12th grade high school in Gardena, we make sure you know what to expect when you arrive at NMSS on your first day of school…especially where you eat lunch.

Are You Ready for High School

Our small, public high school is all about hard work and having fun. It’s difficult to learn though when you’re fretting about every new thing and when you’re a freshman that includes, oh, everything. Don’t worry, at NMSS, we’ve got you covered with:

Summer Bridge: A day of big welcomes, fun and information. We discuss sports you can play, graduation requirements, and yes, even start college planning. By spending time with our incoming 9th graders, we begin the work of creating community and safety together. Students meet one another, teachers and staff before school starts and start to build relationships. Contact information is exchanged so you know someone before the first bell rings.

New Student Orientation: This is a chance to Zoom in and ask questions and get school information like bell schedules, cover the Student Handbook, and know what to bring the first day of school.

Engaging Staff & Teachers: we have strong relationships with each of our students because we truly care about you and your future. Sure, high school is about learning in class, but just as importantly it’s about learning how to take care of yourself…with helpful guidance and support. 

Advisor: Speaking of guidance, to support our students, NMSS uses Advisory as another connection with our students. We make sure to check in with our students every day. Each student is assigned an advisory teacher that they work with through the entirety of their time here. Every advisory teacher advocates, promotes, assists and reinforces a student’s personalized path through high school. We assist parents and students in crafting an educational program tailored to accomplish academic career goals.

Block scheduling: Instead of rushing around every 50 minutes from new class to new class and unfamiliar methods, stay a little longer in each class so you can really focus on a subject. Take a breath and get ready to be creatively engaged!

Setting High School Up for Success

How does our small, public school set students up for success? Oh let us count (some of) the ways: 

  1. Creating a positive school culture. We love building connections! One way we do this is investing in community service. Students have a certain amount of hours to reach as part of their graduation requirements and can earn them many ways. A student-led blood drive through Red Cross is a regular one. Not into organizing? Giving blood counts too!
  2. Planning and advice for after graduation as early as freshman year as part of our commitment to you that you’re college and career ready. We also incorporate California’s UC A-G requirements so there’s no guesswork on what you need to go to college.
  3. Having all the fun with pop-ups. (Think of any kind of food and chances are we’ll make it pop-up. Pizza? Yep. Chicken and waffles? Yum and yes. Ice cream? Of course. Our ASB team slays!)
  4. Open Door Policy: remember the nightmare scenario at the beginning where you dreamt there was no door? It’s actually true at NMSS but it’s the opposite of a bad dream. We take having an open-door policy so seriously that our main office is just one big open room, ready to help you however you need it. The principal is there, as is our guidance counselor and office staff. We really mean it when we say we welcome you anytime. Have a question about your schedule or want to a little pep talk? We’re here for you.

Join the Club

Enjoying school and connecting within our community is what we’re all about at NMSS but that doesn’t mean just class and lunch time. We also have fun clubs led by students and teachers like cooking, gaming, GSA, working out, and dancing (also a work out!). And if you want to create one that we don’t offer? Great! We want our clubs to reflect our students’ interests so go ahead, put your passion into practice through forming a club!

Don’t forget sports. Play big CIF sports on Gardena High teams– it’s a perk of being co-located on their campus. Football, basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, we’ve got you covered with your favorite or a new one to try out.

Already a seasoned sports veteran? Super! Because we’re a small school, you get a very personalized education so you can excel at academics and your athletics!

Important Dates to Know

  • Freshman Orientation: Wednesday, July 24
  • Freshman Summer Bridge: Thursday August, 1
  • First Day of 2024-2025 School Year: Wednesday, August 7  

Date to Register: As soon as possible!

Ready to breeze into high school? Our WASC-accredited school is enrolling now.

About NMSS

The New Millennium Secondary School (NMSS) is a tuition-free charter high school in Gardena, CA committed to preparing students to become life-long learners and dynamic leaders in the competitive 21st century. Our public high school students enjoy a small school education with big school sports and accredited community college classes. Enroll today.