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E-News: March 26

Upcoming Events

March 29-April 2: No School (Spring Break)

April 5: Trimester 3 Begins

April 5: All Classes Remote

April 6: All Classes Remote

April 7: All Classes Remote

April 8: 9th/10th Grades On Campus, All Other Grades Remote

April 9: 11th/12th Grades On Campus, All Other Grades Remote

Important Trimester 3 Schedule Change Announcement

Due to recently changing guidelines from the CDC and Governor Inslee, we have made significant changes to our Trimester 3 schedule, specifically, how long each student will be on campus.

  • Please click here for a document detailing the NEW schedule for which grade levels are on campus in the coming weeks.
  • Please click here to see the daily timetable.

We will be releasing specific details as plans are solidified in the coming weeks.

House Specialty Program Says Goodbye

The House Specialty Remote Dining Program is ending with Trimester 2 as we transition to providing meals for students while on campus in Trimester 3. More details about how we will be serving students on campus and our safety and sanitation protocols will be communicated soon.

Please note that we will not be providing beverages at school and ask that all students bring a closed beverage container with them on a daily basis. For questions about this shift, please contact Amy or Sue.

It has been a joy to bring The Northwest School tradition of sharing a meal home to you for the past 23 weeks and we hope that the House Specialty meals have nourished your body, mind, and spirit. From our kitchen to yours, thank you for allowing us a place at your table! To our students, we will look forward to seeing you at 401 soon.

Updates from Health Coordinator Sierra Maxwell

Roadmap to Recovery Begins Phase 3

On Monday, the entire state of Washington advanced to Phase 3 of the Healthy Washington - Roadmap to Recovery plan. Phase 3 gives some businesses the ability to expand their current operating capacities and allows more activities to resume.

Travel Policy Update

Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. CDC recommends that you do not travel at this time. 

Governor Inslee recently modified the Nov. 13, 2020, Washington State travel advisory. Travelers must now comply with the CDC’s current COVID-19 travel advisory guidance. Due to the update, we have adjusted our travel policy to remain in alignment with current state and local guidelines. You’ll find our updated travel policy below.

  1. Get tested three to five days after your trip AND
  2. Quarantine for a full seven days (change from five days) after travel, even if your test is negative
  3. Confirm test results with Health Coordinator Sierra Maxwell

          OR 

  1. Quarantine for 10 days (changed from 14 days)

This policy does not apply to one’s usual commute to work, trips to neighboring cities, or the travel of a household member.

Magnus App

We will be using the COVID-19 Daily Health Screening assessment in the Magnus Health mobile app to track the health of our students and faculty members. In an effort to keep our community safe, all parents/guardians will be required to complete this daily health screening for each student attending in-person classes/activities prior to arrival at school or the event. Click here for more information on how to set up your Magnus Health account and complete the daily health screening.

Senior Prom Details

Parents and guardians of 12th grade students: Please encourage your senior to complete this RSVP form for Senior Prom, on May 8. Details about the prom can be found here.

Journalism Class Publishing New Stories

The journalism class has been hard at work all trimester creating stories for The Northwest School community. You can check out their work online here.

Welcoming Kai Davis for National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and we could not be more excited to welcome writer, performer, and teaching artist Kai Davis to Northwest on April 13-14. While at Northwest, Kai will engage with our Spoken Word class, present at Community Meeting, meet with our students of color, and participate in a Parent/Guardian Association event.

Kai Davis (she/her) is a Black Queer writer, performer, and teaching artist from Philadelphia. Kai received her BA in both Africana Studies and English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Temple University. Her work explores Blackness, Queerness, womanhood, and the many ways these identities converge. Kai’s work examines how power operates globally, nationally, interpersonally, and internally. She speaks about structural racism, misogyny, Black womanhood, ancestral trauma, mental health, intersectionality, Queer love, Black love, and more.

My BackPack Downtime

With the transition of Senior Systems (our student information system) to a hosted service model, our provider now performs all system maintenance and updates monthly. During these planned outages, My BackPack and the mobile app will be unavailable.

The next scheduled maintenance window will begin Friday, March 26, at 8:00 pm PT, and last until Saturday, March 27, at 5:00 am PT.

Urban Farm and Garden Volunteers Needed

Our chickens have been enjoying all the love from students, faculty, and parents! As we head into Spring Break, our chickens need a little assistance, and the plants in the greenhouse need watering. If you’re interested in helping out to replenish chicken feed and water, collect eggs, etc., and/or water the plant starts, please sign-up here and watch the chicken care training videos as well. Many thanks!

Questions? Contact Jenny Cooper.

Parent Training for Youth Suicide Prevention

Please join other Northwest School parents and guardians for a guided conversation about youth suicide prevention on April 7, 6:30-8:00 pm. Topics will cover:

  • Learning how to start and sustain conversations with your teen about mental health and suicide awareness.
  • Learning the signs that someone you care about may be struggling with thoughts of suicide, practice and role-play how to ask about suicide, and learn about resources and ways to support someone who may be hurting.
  • Connecting with other parents and guardians to build and strengthen your network of support and prevention.

Zoom link here. For additional resources and training on youth mental health, suicide prevention, and how we help demystify and normalize mental health matters, address discrimination and stigma, and encourage compassion through these challenging times, we encourage you to also explore the Well Beings website here.

Pizazz Begins April 27!

Mark your calendar for the 12th annual Pizazz! This four-day online fundraiser starts April 27 and supports The Northwest Experience Fund and the Raymond Taussig Terry Financial Aid Endowment. Together, we’ll raise awareness and financial support, ensuring access to a Northwest education that is inclusive for all of our students.

Contact Julie Lombardo to learn more.

Summer Camp 2021

We are planning an in-person Summer Camp experience focused on social connections and academic enrichment based on The Northwest School's liberal arts curriculum and social justice mission. We will have six one-week sessions, beginning July 5.

Due to ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and because of local restrictions, we will not be offering a boarding program. However, we will still welcome international campers who have alternative housing arrangements.

The schedule this year will look a little different. Campers will work in cohorts rather than having personally designed schedules, but we will have a range of class combinations that will hopefully offer something for everyone.

Registration will open Monday, March 1, at 8:30 am. Learn more about our camps here.


Virtual Tours for Families and Friends / 在线参观与访谈 / Sự kiện đặc biệt - tham quan trường trực tuyến

We are offering virtual campus tours for the friends and colleagues of our international families who are interested in sending their children to our school. During these tours, we will show them around the campus, talk about programs and community, and help with admissions questions. If you would like us to hold such an event for your friends and can help us organize it, please contact us at: international@northwestschool.org.

Alternatively, we encourage you to share the contact information above with anyone in your community who might be interested in considering our school for their children, or simply send them the link to the virtual meetings with our Admissions Office: https://calendly.com/nws-international.

Thank you for your help and continued support of our international admissions efforts.


我们现在提供在线参观与访谈给对西北中学有兴趣的国际家庭。我们会安排校园与宿舍介绍,并进一步说明我们的学程内容与申请程序。如果您有亲朋好友也对西北中学有兴趣,敬请与我们联系以特别安排: international@northwestschool.org.

您除了可以将上述讯息传递外,也可以让他们直接与我们在线活动安排的入学申请部门联系: https://calendly.com/nws-international. 非常感谢您对这活动的协助!


Hiện nay, nhà trường đang tổ chức các sự kiện trực tuyến dành cho bạn bè và đồng nghiệp của gia đình học sinh quốc tế, đặc biệt những ai mong muốn gửi con theo học tại trường. Tại sự kiện, nhà trường sẽ tổ chức tham quan khuôn viên, trao đổi về chương trình học, về cộng đồng nơi đây, và trả lời các câu hỏi về công tác tuyển sinh. Nếu quý phụ huynh mong muốn nhà trường tổ chức sự kiện như trên cho bạn bè và có thể hỗ trợ tổ chức, vui lòng liên hệ với nhà trường tại địa chỉ: international@northwestschool.org.

Ngoài ra, hy vọng quý phụ huynh có thể chia sẻ thông tin liên hệ của nhà trường với mọi người xung quanh, đặc biệt những ai đang cân nhắc cho con theo học tại trường, hoặc đơn giản là gửi họ đường link truy cập buổi họp trực tuyến với văn phòng tuyển sinh: https://calendly.com/nws-international. Chân thành cảm ơn sự hỗ trợ của quý phụ huynh trong công tác tuyển sinh quốc tế của nhà trườn

Community Fitness Sessions

Click here to join in live community fitness sessions every weeknight, at 5:00 pm PT.

Recordings of past workouts can be found here.

College Counseling Programs and Updates

Please click here to find other college counseling announcements.

About E-News: The weekly E-News covers a two-week period of upcoming events, parent reminders, and campus news.