Oct. 3-4: The Great NWS Campout

Oct. 7: Meet the Interim Head of School Zoom Forum

Oct. 7: Parent/Guardian Coffee with School Counselors

Oct. 8: College Counseling Financial Aid Hours

Oct. 9: No School - Professional Development Day

Oct. 12: No School - Indigenous People's Day

Oct. 14: Board of Trustee Reception for New Families

Oct. 14: Curriculum Night (Blocks A-D)

Save the date for Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7:45 pm (please note updated start time). The Northwest School Board of Trustees invites all parents/guardians to hear from Dennis Bisgaard, our new interim head of school. Dennis will share his goals for the year and more.

• https://thenorthwestschool.zoom.us/j/95573800476?pwd=M0pySWdieGtucEt1UFlKWWUxUGdmZz09
• Meeting ID: 955 7380 0476
• Passcode: 688329

We are excited to welcome Sierra Maxwell, our new health coordinator, to our community. Prior to this position, she worked with the Phoenix Fire Department on their Crisis Response Unit while attending Arizona State University, earning her degree in Nonprofit Management. Additionally, Sierra received her Emergency Medical Technician certification from Arizona Academy of Emergency Services, has experience working as a first responder, and has completed specialized training specific to the pandemic.

In her role, she will be focused on the prevention, monitoring, and management of health matters for the Northwest community, including:

• Strategies to prevent and reduce the spread of infectious disease through education and trainings.
• Implementing a surveillance system to detect outbreak by monitoring and tracking of usual rates of illness.
• Developing protocols for the school’s response to an employee, student, or family member with a COVID-19 diagnosis.
• Working in conjunction with operations support faculty on procedures of disinfection, cleaning, and proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce spread.
• Collaborating with program administrators on customized health and safety plans to support school operations, activities, and functions.
• Coordinating proper medication dispensing in compliance with doctor’s orders.
• Providing decision support to the school from a health and safety perspective and in conjunction with the broader expertise of Joffe Emergency Services.

On Oct. 14 and 21, at 6:30 pm, the Board of Trustees invites all new families to a virtual reception. The events will conclude by 7:00 pm, in time for the start of the Curriculum Nights.

• https://thenorthwestschool.zoom.us/j/99108965250?pwd=eEd0dlRqNXl1am1mVXZFZlcrSDYxdz09
• Passcode: 738334

Please join us on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7:00-8:30 pm, to hear from your students' teachers for their classes in Blocks A-D, the four classes your student attends on Mondays and Thursdays.

Join us again on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7:00-8:30 pm, to hear from teachers in Blocks E-H, the four classes your student attends on Tuesdays and Fridays. Here is the timetable, subject to change. Families will receive a customized schedule with Zoom links closer to the event.

Oct. 14

• 7:00-7:10: Opening Remarks from Division Directors
• 7:15-7:30: Block A Teachers Present
• 7:35-7:50: Block B Teachers Present
• 7:55-8:10: Block C Teachers Present
• 8:15-8:30: Block D Teachers Present

Oct. 21

• 7:00-7:10: Opening Remarks from Division Directors
• 7:15-7:30: Block E Teachers Present
• 7:35-7:50: Block F Teachers Present
• 7:55-8:10: Block G Teachers Present
• 8:15-8:30: Block H Teachers Present

Students, faculty, parents, guardians, and alumni are ALL welcome to join us outside this weekend for the Great NWS Campout 2020. You don’t need to go camping; any meaningful time spent outdoors counts. For more information, click here. Please, share your experience with the community on this padlet.

YAKISOBA!!!! It’s coming to you next week! Read all about it here.

Thank you to those who have inquired about reusing the paper bags used to pack the House Specialty program. Unfortunately for safety and sanitation reasons, we cannot reuse the bags. Please reuse, recycle, or compost them at your homes!

Finally, there are a few non-school days and holidays this trimester, including:

• 10/9- Faculty Professional Development Day (Friday)
• 10/10- Indigenous People’s Day (Monday)
• 11/11- Veteran’s Day (Wednesday)
• 11/20- Faculty Evaluation Writing Day (Friday)

Because of the complex nature of the dining program, we will continue to provide regular meal pickup on these days and will be unable to reschedule any skipped or missed pickups. If you do not intend to pick up on any of these days please email Leilani Nussman and let us know by Sept. 30. Thank You!

The Counselors are postponing their coffee to give the full opportunity for parents and guardians to meet with our new Interim Head of School. They will be offering a connection with parents and guardians as soon as they are able.

If parents or guardians have a desire to talk before the coffee, please reach out to Erin North (grades 6, 8, 10, and 12) or Lynn Heramis (grades 7, 9, and 11).

Are you looking for something new to read? Our library has a growing collection of digital audiobooks and e-books. You can access them following these directions:

1. Go to http://library.northwestschool.org.
2. Click on "The Northwest School."
3. Log in with your NWS username and the password Welcome2020/
4. Click "Catalog."
5. Search for ebook.
6. Click "Open/Play" when you find what you want to read or listen to.
7. To check out the book, click on the book icon with a checkmark in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

We also have content on Sora, where you can also access content from Seattle Public Library (SPL) and King County Library System (KCLS) on any Apple or Android device.

1. Open your device's app store and download the Sora app.
2. Search for "The Northwest School."
3. Sign in using your Northwest School email login.

If you have an SPL or KCLS card, you can also browse their collections by searching for any public library system and clicking on "This is My Library."

If you have any trouble accessing either of these resources, please reach out to our librarians, Charlotte and Alicia!

Because Associate Director of College Counseling Rachel Fumia will co-present on financial aid during the Seattle Area Independent Schools Summit on Oct. 18, we are repurposing our Financial Aid Program on Oct. 8, at 7:00 pm, to offer office hours/drop-in support for 12th graders and their families.

We also encourage families interested in learning more about financial aid to attend the SAIS Summit on October 18th, which will include a 45-minute overview of the financial aid process. The sessions at the SAIS Summit will also be recorded.

• https://thenorthwestschool.zoom.us/j/95234489373?pwd=KythL1lwYjk3b0pkVXJyZHhrYUNUQT09
• Meeting ID: 952 3448 9373
• Passcode: 775077
   

Thursday, Oct. 1, was the Mid-autumn Festival, celebrated by some of our students and their families in China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam, as well in the U.S.

The festival is a time for family gatherings while reflecting on the mid-autumn moon, which serves as a focus for thought and good wishes for loved ones near and far. The festival this year serves as an especially poignant reminder of those who are separated from us across the sea and behind our screens as we share a synchronous moon.

Our students who are currently studying remotely from China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the United States, prepared a short video reflecting upon what this holiday means to them and presented it at the Community Meeting.

Do you miss The House? You’re in luck! Dough & Joe, our yearly annual fund collection and gratitude event is still happening, but with a twist. Mark your calendar and then swing by Wednesday, Oct. 14, 11:00 am-1:00 pm. Faculty will be on hand midday to accept your annual fund donation envelopes (and will be passing out treats as well). You don't even need to get out of your car; we will come to you! Simply drive on Crawford Street and look for us at the Fanny Brice window.

Please contact Julie Lombardo at 206-816-6208 with any questions.

All students (as well as parents, guardians, and faculty) are invited to join Tyree Harris, our fit club/strength and conditioning coach, for NWS Community Fitness Online, weeknights at 5:00 pm PT. Workouts will be 20-30 minutes, as we very much appreciate the desire/need to limit screen time.

If you missed the latest workouts, here are the ones from Sept. 24, 25, 28 (passcode:VHOPNe4#), 29 (passcode: VHOPNe4#), and 30.

Want to start the new school year with some Northwest School athletics swag? Check out our new options here. Orders must be placed by end of day, Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Applications for admission to the 2021-22 school year are now live! For current families and faculty members with a child applying to 6th grade, please note Early Sibling & Faculty Child (ESFC) applications are due Oct. 22. Please fill out the ESFC interest form to be included in mailings about this process.

For more information about the ESFC application timeline and the admission process for siblings and faculty children applying to grades 7 and above, please click here, or contact our Admissions Office. We are excited to meet and work with you this fall!

Please click here to view additional college counseling announcements, upcoming visits and events, admissions updates, and scholarship information.

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