Jan. 30: Seward Park Walk

Feb. 1: No School (Faculty In-service)

Feb. 2: Researching College Workshop for 11th Grade Parents and Guardians

Feb. 3: Woodland Park Soccer

Feb. 3: Volunteering in the Urban Farm and Garden

Feb. 5: Upper School Play Production Presents: Spirochete

Feb. 5: West Seattle Walk

Feb. 6: Cascade Range Snowshoe Trip

Feb. 7: Volunteer Park Walk

Feb. 7: Volunteering in the Urban Farm and Garden

Feb. 9: Researching Colleges Workshop for 11th Grade Parents and Guardians

Feb. 9: Graduation and Senior Spring Listening Session

Feb. 10: Volunteering in the Urban Farm and Garden

Feb. 15-19: No School (Mid-winter Break)

Roadmap to Recovery Update

On Thursday, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced the Puget Sound and West Regions will move into Phase 2. Find the full announcement here, and click here for the full Roadmap to Recovery plan.

COVID-19 Variant

Washington State DOH and the Snohomish Health District have detected two cases of the COVID-19 variant known as B.1.1.7. Here’s an article from Public Health - Seattle & King County with everything you need to know. Here’s what the Washington State DOH says about the new variant and how to keep yourself and others safe.

Mask Use and Care

Masks protect you and me and are here to stay with us well into the foreseeable future. Masks provide a barrier that keeps respiratory droplets from spreading and has been a proven measure to prevent people from getting and spreading COVID-19. The effectiveness of masks can range from 0-80 percent, depending on material composition, number of layers, and the way in which the mask is worn by the wearer. 

In order for a mask to be effective, it should be worn over your mouth and nose. If either of those are exposed it defeats the whole purpose of wearing one in the first place. A mask should fit snugly against the sides of your face and shouldn’t have any gaps. 

Reusable masks should be washed whenever they get dirty or at least on a daily basis. You can wash your mask in the washing machine or by hand in the sink. It’s best practice to have multiple masks for different days of the week. If you have a disposable mask, throw it away after wearing it. 

Tip: A mask should be removed by only touching the ear loops or ties. You should always wash or sanitize your hands before and after handling your mask. 

Wearing a mask is something we should all take significant pride in doing. It proves you not only value your own life, but also the lives of those around you. Here’s a link from the CDC for more information on masks.

Is double-masking effective? Here is what Dr. Paul Pottinger from UW Medicine has to say.

We are officially at mid-school year and would like to start providing programatic updates over the next few weeks. To that end, here is a Humanities Q&A that is reflective of the department's work this school year.

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.

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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!

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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

We are proud to announce the Upper School Play Production's presentation of Spirochete, directed by senior Isaac L-D., on Feb. 5, at 7:30 pm. The link will go live on Feb. 5. Click here for that link.

Here is a description of the play by Isaac, and his reasons for choosing it.

"Spirochete was written in 1938 by Arnold Sundgaard for the New Deal program, the Federal Theatre Project. The project created jobs for 10,000 unemployed actors, directors, writers, stagehands, and theatre creators.

Spirochete follows the progression of Syphilis, the sexually transmitted disease, over the course of 400 years. We watch doctors try to convince patients to isolate. We see people in power refuse to acknowledge the existence of a disease devastating the population. We see the voice of reason overwhelmed by selfishness.

Sound familiar? I sure thought so.

I chose to produce Spirochete because it opened my eyes to the repeating cycle of pandemics. Spirochete is also a comedy, because what can we do but laugh at the absurdity of these cycles? 'You’d think we would have learned by now' is the phrase I scoff at on the regular. Human society has done this dance before, almost to the letter! Noticing this cycle made me recognize others; racism (and the insufficient solutions provided by those in power) and war key among them. We have added our own original pieces throughout Spirochete to highlight these returning cycles and challenge them.

With a killer cast of five and the input and support of students and faculty across the school, Spirochete (NWS Edition) is a lucent diamond formed from the darkness and pressure of 2020.

I hope you’ll join us!"

Congratulations to one of our librarians, Alicia Kalan, who served on the American Library Association's William C. Morris Award selection panel for a debut book by a first-time author. Alongside a committee comprised of public, academic, and school librarians, Alicia helped select the 2021 award winner, If These Wings Could Fly, by Kyrie McCauley.

Alicia estimates she read somewhere between 80 and 100 books for the year. Awesome job Alicia and thanks for championing and celebrating young adult literature!

Another book delivery is coming your way the week of Feb. 8. Books can be picked up, along with your dinners, at locations across the city. Space is limited on each route, so get your requests in early. Fill out this survey with either specific titles that you’d like (browse the catalog first to see if they are a part of our collection) or tell us a bit about your reading habits so the librarians can pick out books for you based on your preferences.

The survey needs to be completed by Sunday, Jan. 31. You’ll receive an email reminder the day of your pick up. If you have books to return, bag them up and bring them to the bus for drop-off.

With the transition of Senior Systems (our student information system) to a hosted service model, our provider will now perform 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, Jan. 29, at 8:00 pm PT, and last until Saturday, Jan. 30, at 5:00 am PT.

The Outdoor Program's Neighborhood Adventure Series offers accessible opportunities for students and faculty to gather and be outdoors. These gatherings are led by faculty and will focus on exploring Seattle's parks, neighborhoods, and green spaces. Each trip will be a little different, but each will have elements of walking, so bring good shoes and clothes appropriate for the weather.

In general, Neighborhood Adventure sign-ups must be completed two days in advance. Parents and guardians will need to complete a permission form on My BackPack for each Neighborhood Adventure their students attend. All are open to Northwest School students in grades 6-12, no prior experience necessary.

New adventures will be happening every week. Check the Outdoor Program webpage for regular updates.

Upcoming Neighborhood Adventures:

• Jan. 30 - Seward Park Walk (Permission slips and sign-up due by end of day on Jan. 29)
• Feb. 3 - Pick-up Soccer in Lower Woodland Park
• Feb. 3: Volunteering in the Urban Farm and Garden
• Feb. 5 - West Seattle Walk
• Feb. 7 - Volunteering in the Urban Farm and Garden (open to parents and guardians as well)
• Feb. 10 - Volunteering in the Urban Farm and Garden
• Feb. 27 - Volunteer Park and Hidden Gems of Seattle

Ski Bus

The ski bus is back for a late-season run on Feb. 26. This ski bus trip will be a modified version of past trips. More information on the Outdoor Program website and the permission form will be uploaded to My BackPack soon.

As a reminder, we are unable to make up missed meal pickups due to the complex nature of the program. All meals that are not picked up are donated to local community dining programs.

The House Specialty will run as usual until Mid-winter Break and will then take the week of Feb. 15 off. Interested in what’s coming next week? Check out the menu here.

We invite the parents and guardians of all seniors to hear what planning is underway for the coming spring on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 6:30 pm. Come share your ideas with us to help us celebrate the Class of 2021!

• Meeting Link
• Meeting ID: 626 309 1838
• Passcode: 246290

Planning is now underway for our spring financial aid fundraiser, Pizazz! Care to join us and help out as an event planning committee member? Please contact Julie Lombardo to learn more.

• Tuesday, Feb. 2, 8:15-9:15 am
• Tuesday, Feb. 9, 7:00-8:00 pm

How can students and families best utilize the many resources available in the college search? The college counselors will lead parents through tools in SCOIR and Canvas, deconstruct college websites, and provide a list of resources that we’ve found most useful.

While student workshops will take place during the school day (both for juniors living in the Pacific Time Zone and for international students living abroad), we wanted to make this information available to parents and guardians as well.

Each session will be limited to 15 participants/devices. Families are welcome to attend together using one device. If demand exceeds our capacity, we will schedule additional workshops to accommodate participants. Sign up here for your preferred session. We will close registration for each session at noon, one business day prior to the session, or when filled, whichever comes first. Participants will receive a Zoom link and additional information about the program a few days prior to the workshop.

Season 2, running from March 29-May 15, will be for our traditional spring sports: boy's soccer, girl's ultimate, and track & field.

Season 3, running from May 10-June 26, will be for our traditional winter sports: basketball and mixed ultimate. (Please note the end of Season 3 is 15 days after our last day of school on June 11).

Registration for Seasons 2 and 3 will be sent to Upper School students and parents/guardians soon. Please contact Britt Atack if you have questions.

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

Recordings of past workouts can be found here.

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.