Tuesday, January 31 at 7:00 PM

This grade-level gathering time allows parents and faculty at each grade level to talk about how the year is going so far, some things coming up during the rest of this year, and attention to some topics specific to a grade level.

The 6th grade will be presenting their plans to teach students skills for more effective group work, and explaining how you can help. 

The 7th grade will focus on where 7th graders are in terms of their social, physical and brain growth and development and how we as adults (teachers and parents) remain connected and significant in their lives as their peer focus grows (explodes).

8th grade will, among other things, spend some time talking about our Upper School and the transition from middle to upper school with Ben Lee, Upper School Director.

For more information, please contact Tuney Kannapell, Middle School Director.

Wednesday, February 1 at 7:00 PM

The agenda will include upcoming trip information, advisor comments, college information and other important topics for each grade including the 11th grade rescheduled fall trip and the spring migrant farm worker trip, senior prom and post-prom, senior retreat, and graduation plans.

For more information, please contact Ben Lee, Upper School Director.

Be sure to check out Unity (1918) this weekend! The Upper School Play production is showing off-campus at the Eve Alvord Theater at Seattle Children's Theater. Tickets may be purchased at the theatre.  Performances are January 26-28, at 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, January 29, at 2:00 p.m.

The play is directed by Ellen Graham with original music by Sulo Turner. The set is designed by Bill Johns, and built by his Technical Theater class, with lights by Emma Wolf-Saxon

If you are interested in ordering a DVD of this or other arts performances from this year, please email Jen Schlobohm.

Reminder to all current families: Applications for Financial Aid for 2012-2013 are due by Friday, Feb. 3rd. If you have not yet received an information packet or you have questions, please contact Jonathan Hochberg, Dir. Of Financial Aid, at 816-6210, or jonathan.hochberg@northwestschool.org .

Please mark your calendars with these important dates. If you have any questions, please contact the Registrar’s Office (returning students) or Admissions office (new students) at (206) 682-7309.

Returning full tuition students:
Contracts mailed by February 1st 
Contracts due Wednesday, February 15th

Returning International students:
Contracts mailed week of February 6th 
Contracts due Friday, February 17th

Financial Aid Applications: 
Due Friday, February 3rd

Returning FA students:  
Contracts mailed week of February 27th  
Contracts due Thursday, March 8th

New Students:
Contracts mailed Thursday, March 15th
Contracts due Monday, March 26th

Get outside, while staying in the city! For the next Outdoor Program Trip we will be renting kayaks at the Northwest Outdoor Center (NWOC) on Lake Union,and we'll paddle, wind and weather permitting, from the lake through the Montlake Cut and the Arboretum before returning, or from the lake out to the Ballard Locks and back. Please visit the Outdoor Program on our website for detailed information, the trip permission slip and the NWOC waiver.

We have scheduled an Upper School Dance with a Valentine’s Day Theme. Students are encouraged to attend as individuals, with a group or as a couple.

When: 7:30 PM-11:00 PM  Friday, February 3rd 
Where: Upper Hall NWS
Cost: $10 or $8 with a non-perishable food donation to Downtown Food Bank

Is Your Student Feeling Stressed?

NWS, in partnership with Parent Trust of Washington, will be hosting a 1 ½ hour SMART (Stress Management And Relaxation Training) Workshop at NWS, on Tuesday, January 31. Open to Upper School students only, the workshop is designed to facilitate the learning of healthy coping strategies for stress management. The workshop will run from 3:45-5:15 p.m., the location is to be determined. Space is limited to 30 students, please RSVP to Megan Reibel.

Join us and ParentMap at Town Hall Seattle for an enlightening evening with Dr. Anthony Wolf. A practicing clinical psychologist, speaker, and author of many books on parenting, Dr. Wolf will talk about being marooned among volatile and seemingly incomprehensible aliens (aka teens and tweens), how to discover the drivers behind adolescent behavior, and offer insights for living together in peace at home.

Dr. Wolf’s books include the best selling Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent’s Guide to the New Teenager and his newest book, I’d Listen to My Parents if They’d Just Shut Up: What to Say and Not Say When Parenting Teens.

Known for rave reviews, knockout presentations and reassuring words, this is a great opportunity to make sure your parenting skills are keeping up with today’s teens.

Limited half price tickets, $10, available for purchase with NWS Coupon Code, see event details for more information.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 6:30 PM

Beyond Heroes and Holidays: Deepening the Conversation about Social Justice Education with Wayne Au, Assistant Professor of Eucation at UW, Bothell and an editor of the leading social justice education magazine, Rethinking Schools.

To RSVP and for more information visit:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094BA5AD2C7-beyond

Sunday, February 12 from 1:30 until 3:30 PM

More and more high school students are considering taking a “gap” year between high school and college.  There are many different organized programs around the globe that can provide meaningful, intentional experiences for recent high school graduates who wish to travel, immerse themselves in another culture, volunteer, or develop other skills before they begin their college career.  Representatives from roughly 30 gap year organizations will attend this fair to share information about their program offerings with students and parents.

This program is open to NWS families as well as to the Seattle community.  Please feel free to share this announcement with your friends.

An after-school Traffic Ed Program is offered at NWS, in coordination with Seattle Public Schools. It is a 7-1/2 week course, and includes classroom instruction and behind the wheel instruction. The cost is $599.00 per student. Students who are at least 15 years old by the first day of driver training class may register for a traffic education course. For the course to be held at NWS, a minimum of six students must be enrolled. Registration forms are available in the Main Office. When completed, drop them off in the Main Office and once we have a minimum of six registration forms, the course can be scheduled. Please contact Alice Dunlap for additional information.

Parents of members of the class of 2013 are encouraged to remind their students to schedule their individual conferences with their college counselor. Conferences began on January 17. Prior to meeting with their college counselors, students will need to complete the Initial Self-Assessment Survey found on Naviance.

Once individual students have completed their initial conference with their college counselor, their families may schedule the family college counseling conference.

Rescheduled to Thursday, February 9, 2012, 7:00–8:00 PM

Are you interested in learning more about the difference between the SAT and the ACT?  Please plan to attend this informational workshop hosted by Kaplan at NWS.  Parents and students of the Class of 2013 are welcome to attend.

Additionally, students who took the practice SAT/ACT exam on Saturday, January 28 at NWS will receive their score results at this program.

As of January 26, members of the class have indicated to the college office that they intend to submit 636 applications to 203 different colleges.  Additionally, 50 students have been awarded 76 offers of admission to 45 different colleges.  Offers of admission have been received from:

Academy of Art University Bard College Brown University Carleton College Clark University Colorado College Gonzaga University Haverford College Indiana University at Bloomington James Madison University Kalamazoo College Lewis & Clark College Linfield College Loyola University New Orleans Montana State University, Bozeman New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Pacific Lutheran University Pacific University Princeton University Reed College Rhode Island School of Design Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Santa Clara University

Savannah College of Art and Design Seattle Pacific University Seattle University Stanford University Temple University The College of Wooster The University of Arizona The University of Montana, Missoula University of Colorado at Boulder University of Denver University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Oregon University of Pennsylvania University of Portland University of Utah University of Washington, Bothell Utica College Washington State University Western Oregon University Western Washington University> Whitman College Willamette University

Please see Morgan or Peter in the College Counseling Office with any questions you may have.

It's time to hit the slopes with The Northwest School Friday Night Ski and Snowboard Program. Our program is different from other schools’ programs in that we take our own bus and we don’t limit ourselves to just six weeks. Upcoming outings are Friday 2/3, 2/10, 2/17, and 3/9. Please check the Outdoor Program online schedule for specifics on all of the outdoor trips including the ski bus. General information about the Outdoor Program including Friday Night Ski Bus Information, Guidelines and Expectations, Financial Aid, and NWS Student Season Pass Info can be found here.

For more information about the NWS Outdoor Program, contact Glen Sterr or Herb Bergamini. Contact Mike Mullen with any questions about the NWS Student Discounted Summit-at Snoqualmie Season Passes.

Nancy Highiet, NWS Librarian & Book Club Advisor, Cathy Friedman, Library Assistant, Suzanne Bottelli, and David Montero GLAM(Gay, Lesbian and More)advisors, took 15 students to Elliott  Bay Book Company during Interest Group meetings on Thursday, January 26, 2012. Fifteen students from grades 6–12 power shopped!  In 30 minutes, working within a budget,  each student picked out new books for the NWS Library.   We left with several shopping bags containing 29 titles to add to our collection! The students spent the money we raised at  Holiday in the Hood!

Be sure to check out Curtis Erlinger's Exhibition "After Another:" New works on paper and sculptures (with Carlyle Miller). The opening will be on Thursday, February 2, 6:00-8:00 pm. The exhibition will be showing from February 2nd to February 24th, M-F 8:30-5:00 at 4Culture (101 Prefontaine Pl S). View more details here.

Metro is currently conducting outreach for proposed transit changes that will go into effect in September, 2012.  If your student takes public transportation to and from school, or uses Metro to get to school activities, these changes could impact you.

Before they implement the transit changes, Metro will be gathering feedback and holding meetings with the public during the month of February. 

To determine if your family will be affected by transit changes, please visit Metro’s website at http://metro.kingcounty.gov/have-a-say/projects/route-information.html.  The website has a calendar of upcoming community public meetings and an online questionnaire that you can fill out about the proposed changes.

About E-News: The weekly E-News covers a two-week period of upcoming events, parent reminders, and campus news. For a complete listing of events and important dates, please visit the all-school calendar.