A few weeks ago, we told you that we were going to try consolidating communications and include the weekly letters from Sue, Amy, and Joe in E-News. However, it has become clear that this Friday deadline is adding stress to an already full week. So, parents and guardians and students, the weekly letters from Sue, Joe, and Amy will be coming to you via My Backpack at various points over the weekend. Thanks for your flexibility and patience as we learn from experience and refine our processes.

Students and parents will receive emails today, Friday, May 1, with information on how to register for their 2020-2021 classes. Online registration forms are due Friday, May 8, at 2:00 pm.

Please contact Registrar Susan Kurlinski with any questions.

Have you seen the videos? There’s still time to view them and to support financial aid, all in one place!

The virtual happy hours (including grade-level or Mike McGill’s) will start this evening at 5:00 pm. If you’re interested in joining one of these fun events and still need the Zoom details, contact Julie Lombardo.

Thanks for making our first virtual event a success!

How do I order?

See this flyer for more information.

1. Go to www.treering.com/validate
2. Enter our passcode: 101572980633222

The yearbook will cost $44.41 (plus tax and shipping), and the deadline for ordering is May 1, 2020. Please note, The Northwest  Experience Fund (Xfund) will cover the cost of the yearbook. Via the Financial Aid Office, the yearbook advisor already knows who will have their yearbooks charged to the Xfund. Books will be marked as paid in TreeRing. Please contact Nathalie Hall with any questions.

Parent/Guardians, faculty, and students are invited to view and discuss Screenagers and Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER. While these films were relevant prior to our technological response to the pandemic, we hope viewing these films now and discussing them with other community members offers students and families more tools and support in meeting the challenge of remote learning, working, and socializing.

Please use this link to access the Screenagers films from April 28-May 12. Your registration will allow you to access each film three times. Discussion for the films, led by Sue Maul, Amy Berner-Hays, and other Northwest School faculty, will be held on Zoom on the following dates:

• Middle School: May 12, 6:00-7:00 pm
• Upper School: May 14, 7:00-8:00 pm

Learn more about the Screenager films here.

A huge thank you to all the students, faculty, alumni, and parents who joined us for Earth Day celebrations last week! There were 470+ people in the NWS community who attended the Zoom concert and Q&A with Connie Lim/MILCK, and students and faculty spent the rest of the morning engaged in activities and learning aimed at cultivating curiosity, joy, and an understanding of justice in the world around them. We wanted to share a few Earth Day follow-up ideas, reminders, and gratitude:

• Earth Day 2020 didn’t end last week. Keep on dreaming, creatively engaging in your community, and striving to create a just and sustainable world. Looking for a way to dive in? Or perhaps just a way to pleasantly pass an afternoon? Have a look at the Individual Adventures section of the NWS Earth Day 2020 website. There’s something for everyone in there! I also encourage you all to revisit the other NWS Earth Day activities and do them together as a family or individually.
• Into podcasts or looking for something beautiful and soul-filling to listen to? Check out Growing Old: Tales from an Urban Tree Canopy, a podcast about environmental justice, trees, history, and people in Seattle.
• Interested in seeing some of the reflections from Earth Day 2020 activities? Check out the NWS community reflection boards on the Connie Lim/MILCK concert, Community Art Build, Observation & Reflection activities, Civics activities, and Environmental Experiences.

Please reach out to Director of Environmental Education & Sustainability Jenny Cooper with questions or if you’d like to get more involved in environmental sustainability at Northwest.

On Tuesday, May 5, 6:00-7:00 pm, we invite 12th grade parents/guardians to join the college counseling directors from The Northwest School, Lakeside School, and University Prep for a virtual discussion. We'll share what is known and unknown about the transition to college in light of COVID-19 and discuss strategies for supporting senior students as they navigate this transition.

Click here to register for the event. To assist presenters in addressing as many topics as possible, attendees are encouraged to submit questions in advance here.

In addition to our scheduled morning counselor coffees, we are now offering biweekly evening parent/guardian Zoom calls to talk about parenting in these challenging times. We will be joined by parent educator Sarina Natkin and former Northwest School counselor and Little School Head of School Peter Berner-Hays. Please email thoughts or questions to JoAnna Hanks to help frame the questions.

Click here to join the biweekly Zoom meetings at 7:00 pm, on Wednesdays, May 13 and May 27.

My reading life, as of late, has been spotty at best. However, I cherish those moments when I am able to concentrate and lose myself within the pages of a novel.

If you’re feeling the same and have the capacity to read this short article, please do. It has some amazing tips on bringing the joy back to your reading life.

It also includes advice for supporting students who may be feeling the same.

Parenting Coffees with the School Counselors will continue virtually as we all work to make sense of the how's and what's of our parenting roles in the time of COVID-19. These events are intended to offer NWS parents and guardians a space to connect with other caregivers, build community, and have a safe and open forum to discuss the challenges and joys that come with parenting tweens and teens. Resources are shared, parent-to-parent advice is given/received, and we celebrate the successes (and challenges) that transform our homes.

On one of these dates, we will be joined by Sarina Behar Natkin as our co-facilitator. Sarina is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Certified Parent Coach, Speaker, Author, and parent of two Northwest School students.

Coffees will be held on Zoom. Parenting Coffees will be held on the following dates:

Tuesday, May 12, 9:15-10:00 am - Upper School Parenting Coffee with Megan and Erin

• Zoom link
• Meeting ID: 435 382 028
• Password: 014691

Tuesday, May 26, 9:15-10:15 am - All School Parenting Coffee with Megan, Erin, and Sarina

• Zoom link
• Meeting ID: 794 640 255
• Password: 010479

If you missed the last meeting, click here for a report from Erin North on the contents of the parenting coffee.

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, Northwest School support faculty are offering optional drop-in classes for students who are looking for more activities. The planned classes for next week are:

Tuesday

• Tips From the Kitchen with Bethany Fong
• Climate Change and Seattle with Jenny Cooper

Thursday

• Curly Hair, Don't Care with Kiara Littlejohn, Amina Loftin, and Charlotte King-Mills
• Sewing 101 with Leilani Nussman

All classes and times are subject to change. Students can access the most up to date schedule and Zoom links here. For the safety and security of our students online, we will only be posting the links to students with their NWS account. Parents are welcome to join the class with their student, with the understanding that the experience should be centered around the students’ learning and participation.

Do you have training as a lawyer and some free time to Zoom into a meeting or two with students in the 12th Grade Law & Society class? We're preparing a virtual mock trial (not part of a competition) for the end of the year. Time commitment is between 1-4 hours, depending on your availability. Help with direct, cross, opening, closing, and rules of evidence all welcome. Please email Scott Davis if  available.

Please click here to view additional college admissions updates and College Counseling programming.

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