Jan. 5: Financial Aid Information Session

Jan. 7: Parent and Guardian Town Hall Meeting with Dr. John B. Lynch

Jan. 12: 11th Grade College Night

Jan. 18: No School (MLK, Jr. Birthday Observed)

When we started the school year online in September, Assistant Head of School Meg Goldner Rabinowitz wrote, "We have designed our schedule to be adaptable, to be accommodating, and to provide spaces for routine, reflection, and individual attention." As remote learning continues, we are making adjustments to our schedule to adhere to these principles.

When we return to school next week on Jan. 4, there will be a change to the order and timing of classes and gatherings on Wednesdays. Classes will continue to be 30 minutes long but will be concentrated in the afternoon. The shift allows for a dedicated two-hour block of time in the morning to allow students to engage in academic work or connect socially, while teachers meet together to plan lessons and participate in essential professional development. Office Hours and Interest Group times will swap on Thursday and Friday afternoons.

Click here to view the schedule that we will be following beginning Jan. 4, 2021.

Dr. John B. Lynch has graciously offered to follow up on the Town Hall meeting that he and Dr. Mithya Lewis-Newby conducted for parents, guardians, and faculty earlier this fall. Join us on Jan. 7, at 7:00 pm, as we work to fully absorb and understand all the facts, the Governor’s and local health authorities’ latest guidelines, the results of the vaccine thus far, the anticipated post-holiday spike in cases, and other related issues and questions.

Please submit your Town Hall questions by Jan. 7, at 7:00 am here.

• Zoom link
• Meeting ID: 536 333 3432
• Passcode: 994972

As we consider bringing faculty and students back to campus for activities and hybrid learning, it is important for the school to understand your needs and priorities.

Please take the necessary time to respond to the survey we have prepared for you to gauge your comfort level and hopes of having students gather in smaller groups to socialize and of returning to school in person when the time is right with all possible safety and precautionary measures in place.

If your family has a student in the current 8th grade and you receive financial aid (FA), or if you have a student in any grade and your family does not receive aid but you would like to request it for next year, the due date for submitting your application is Jan. 8th, 2021. If your family is not currently receiving FA and you wish to apply, please also contact Director of Financial Aid Jonathan Hochberg ASAP and notify him of your intent to apply.

The Jan. 8 date is four weeks prior to the general FA application deadline of Feb. 4, 2021, which is for families who already receive Financial Aid and have students in grades 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11. We understand that you will need to do some estimating in order to meet this deadline, and also that your taxes for 2020 will not be completed yet. This is normal. For questions, please contact Jonathan.

Due to the high volume of additional FA provided by the school in response to the impact of COVID-19 on family finances in our community, it is imperative that all requests for FA be received on time. Late requests may not be able to be considered.

Konstella is a new digital platform for our parent and guardian community to connect and share information.

All parents and guardians should have received an email from Konstella to join. If you cannot find the email, head to the Konstella website, click "Find Your School" in the top-left corner, and search for The Northwest School.

If you have any questions, you can email nwspga2021@gmail.com.

Each week we will be providing a COVID-19 update to keep you informed about our decision-making processes and safety protocols. For any questions, please contact our Health Coordinator Sierra Maxwell.

Our Planning and Operations Continuity Committee meets on a weekly basis to review all of the data and guidance and apply them in real time. Here is a complete rundown of the sources informing our decisions:

We access and interpret metrics and recommendations provided by epidemiologists and public health officials to develop an internal plan for responding to that data. We reference guidance provided at the county, state, and federal levels. We are in alignment with the K-12 Schools Fall Guidance, provided by the Washington State Department of Health. This guidance can be referenced regardless of which county or phase we are in of Governor Jay Inslee's Safe Start Plan. The K-12 Fall Guidance informs us how to return to in-person learning. In addition to this, we reference the K-12 Decision Tree for making decisions about if/when to resume school in person. This tool provides us with clear metrics to guide our decisions based on the COVID-19 activity in King County. To monitor these levels of disease activity in King County, we use this dashboard provided by Public Health - Seattle King County.

At the federal level, we can reference guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as the Indicators for Dynamic School Decision-Making; Operating schools during COVID-19: CDC's Considerations; and Considerations for K-12 Schools: Readiness & Planning Tool.

As 2020 comes to a close, so does our annual fund campaign. To all of you who have supported Uniquely Northwest, thank you!

Jerry Large is a current board trustee as well as an alumni parent. Check out his unique perspective and learn why he values the annual fund. Still haven’t donated? There’s still time to make a year-end gift. Click here to give or pledge now. Questions? Contact Julie Lombardo.

We invite all families of 11th grade students to join us for 11th Grade College Night on Jan. 12, at 7:00 pm. A panel of university admissions professionals will offer advice for the college search and application process, and the college counselors will lay out the plan for individualized support in the months to come. We encourage all 11th grade students and at least one parent/guardian per family to attend.

• Zoom link
• Meeting ID: 937 3188 1750
• Passcode: 211262
• International numbers also available

Our House Specialty Program is taking an extended Winter Break and will be back soon to prepare delicious meals for our community.

There will be no pick-up the week of Jan. 4. The program will resume the week of Jan. 11.

Community Fitness returns from the Winter Break to its regular Mon-Fri schedule on Jan. 4. Hope to see you there! Click here to join in live workouts 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.