Northwest News
Mr. Smith's Newsletter for the Northwest Community
Sunday, December 5, 2021
NEW: A Message from Mr. Smith
Happy Sunday Evening! I hope this message finds everyone well. This week marks the middle of marking period two (2) which means interims are being entered by teachers. As we continue to move forward through the quarter, be sure to center your focus on academics. The end of the semester will be here before we know it!
This week, there are only a few new items including an opportunity to attend a "Choose Respect: virtual event, a PTSA Staff Gift Wrap and Dessert Event, a call for booster club help, this week's college and career information, testing updates and a holiday sweater contest. This Friday, December 10, we will hold our winter pep rally! There are some important reminders about an AP Chinese opportunity, MCPS quarantine procedures, our Toys for Tots drive and a few other items.
Let's make it a great week!
NEW: Choose Respect Sexual Assault Prevention Virtual Event
Choose Respect will host a sexual assault prevention virtual event for students in grades 8-12 on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, from 7-9 p.m. The title of the event is Choose Respect: Let's Talk Consent. The event will include our partners from VASAP (Victim Assistance/Sexual Assault Program), Montgomery County Police Department, and Family Justice Center. Attached are promotional images and information to be used on social media platforms.
Students will receive a link to the event when they register for the event using this link: bit.ly/consentsignup
Students will receive 2.5 SSL hours for attending.
NEW: PTSA Staff Gift Wrap & Dessert Event
On Friday, December 17th, the PTSA will be offering gift wrapping services for our amazing staff! Staff members drop their holiday gifts in the morning and by the afternoon, they return to pick up beautifully wrapped packages! As an added bonus, there will be a table of delicious desserts for all staff to enjoy that day. Please help show our appreciation for our hardworking staff by donating your time as a "wrapper" or by donating wrapping essentials and/or sweets for the dessert table! Thank you for considering! Click here to sign up to contribute: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044ba4af2da75-volunteersdonatio
NEW: Booster Club Winter Sports Concessions Help Needed
Winter sports contests begin 12/7. We cannot open concessions without our awesome parent volunteers so please consider signing up for an event or two. Click here to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4eaeaf2c7-winter2
NEW: This Week's College and Career Information
Updated College Career e-NEWS Bulletin (Google doc) link for this week's edition of the Northwest News Community Newsletter:
e-NEWS Bulletin Highlights:
NEW: Fashion Inst. of Tech. Virtual Portfolio Day. Dec. 5
NEW: Sisters in Education present College Essay Workshop. Dec. 8
NEW: Pearls of Hope Community Foundation, Inc. High School Scholarship Program. Apply by Feb. 28
REMINDER: Safeway Job Fair on Dec. 4
REMINDER: West Point Leadership Conference Opportunity for Juniors. Interest forms due Dec. 17
REMINDER: Scholarship Transcript Form on the web!
SAVE THE DATE: Virtual MCPS 14th Annual HBCU College Fair - Save the Date
e-NEWS Bulletin Content:
College Career Information Center e-NEWS Bulletin
Week Ending: December 3, 2021
For all college career information and resources, visit the college career webpage. Click on the e-NEWS link!
SAFEWAY / ALBERTSONS JOB FAIR! December 4 from 11 am to 3 pm. All STORE locations. To apply and for employment information, including benefits, visit safeway.com/careers.
Additional job opportunities posted in the latest Jag JOBS Bulletin.
From New York: Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Invites Students to Join the VIRTUAL PORTFOLIO DAY on Sunday, December 5, 2021 at 12 PM (EST). Our faculty from the School of Art & Design's associate degree programs will host live webinars on each major and review the portfolio requirements. Students can also join a live chat with representatives from Admissions and Financial Aid, and chat with our students about academics, student life, and living on campus. Register for this event here.
NEW EVENT! Sisters in Education presents 'College Essay Workshop and CAP Kickoff' on December 8 at 6 pm. Register on EventBrite!
Scholarship Transcript Request Form on the web! Counseling & College Career Financial Aid & Scholarships pages. Requests by electronic submission @ https://forms.gle/dNp4SSPQvFN83mHE6
The West Point Leadership & Ethics Conference (WPLEC) is inviting four Northwest juniors to participate in this year’s event on the campus of George Mason University (Arlington). Juniors must have a minimum 3.5 GPA and have demonstrated leadership both in and out of the classroom. Highlights of the 2020 conference can be viewed here. This event will be in-person on March 17, 2022. To express interest in participating, complete this form @ https://forms.gle/YvN8ZUTdqYRXYYT78 no later than December 17.
SCHOLARSHIP NEWS & ALERTS: Details on all the opportunities listed below, including links to apply, can be found on the College Career Financial Aid & Scholarships page of our school website.
- NEW OPPORTUNITY: Pearls of Hope Community Foundation, Inc. High School Scholarship Program. Seniors. Awards range from $1,500 to $8,000 over four years. Several opportunities available with varying criteria. Click here to download the scholarship packet. Click here to apply. Apply by February 28, 2022.
- REMINDER! Seniors: Javier Bardales Juaripata Scholarship. Seniors with a Peruvian heritage/background. 2.5 minimum GPA. $1,000. Apply peruviansofusa.com. Deadline: December 30, 2021.
For a complete list of available scholarships, download the latest publication of our Jag Scholarships ‘Apply Now’ Bulletin on the web. No time to download? Visit the QR-Code Board just outside the College Career Information Center (Room 126) and scan the ‘Apply Now’ Bulletin QR-Code for immediate access on your mobile device!
College Career NEWS & EVENTS:
Virtual MCPS 14th Annual HBCU College Fair. Friday, February 18, 2022 from 6 pm to 8:30 pm. On the spot admission interviews will take place Monday, February 14 through Thursday, February 17. More details to follow.
NEW: Testing Updates
Starting December 20, 2021, we will begin our Winter Administration of the MCAP/MISA Assessments. All 12th grade students who have been identified as not having yet met the state testing requirements will be required to test during this season. As a reminder this is a requirement for all students to graduate. Students will receive an information sheet through their homeroom classes the week of December 13th indicating which test they will need, the date of test administration, and testing room locations. Please refer to the testing calendar for dates of testing for Seniors and Early College Students. If there are any questions, concerns, or if a student does not receive an information sheet, please see Ms. Adia or Mr. Pegues in the Main Office.
NEW: Media Center Holiday Contest
Enter the Media Center Holiday Contest! Students can swing by the Media Center during school hours to pick up materials to design their own paper Ugly Holiday Sweater. Once they have completed their design and turned it in to the Media Center they will be entered to win prizes. Winners will be announced on 12/17 on Jag-TV. Visit the Media Center for more information and to get materials to enter. Remember to check out lots of books before winter break to enjoy while at home! Wishing you a happy holiday season!
REMINDER: AP Chinese Opportunity
Northwest is offering the AP Chinese test to ONLY Northwest students in May. If your student would like to take the test, please email our AP Coordinator, Ms. Amy Mason (amy_m_mason@mcpsmd.org) for more information.
REMINDER: A Student Opportunity(message from another student)
Hello Northwest students!!
My name is Katie Gardiner and I need your help! As a Leukemia Survivor, I have a cause that is dear to me as well as thousands of teens and children in our area! I have been nominated to be a part of the Student of the Year program, which is a community based program that raises funds to further research to find a cure and lessen the burden on families. LLS is a charitable organization which is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer in the world. The LLS's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS helped my family through the difficult time of my treatment, which is why I decided to be a part of the Student of the Year program. Student of the Year is also a leadership development program for teens. This program gives you opportunities to have more experience with fundraising, earn significant SSL hours and community-based recommendations for college and beyond while giving yourself to a good cause.
I will be leading one of the first teams ever from Northwest and the surrounding communities in an effort to raise money and compete for the team that raises the most!! I NEED YOUR HELP JOINING MY TEAM!!!!
The job of a team member is to raise money through people you know, community members, corporate sponsorships, etc! My goal is to raise $50,000 at the end of the fundraising period. The fundraising does not start until January 22, 2022 and goes to March 12th. Don’t worry, it’s not just about work, there are lots of fun opportunities and a gala at the end!! Interested? Curious?? Want to make a difference in our community?!?!
I will be holding an interest meeting on Zoom On Wednesday 11/17 8-8:30 pm that will go into more detail about the program and what to expect if you were to join. Here’s the zoom link if you are interested: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77950850233
And if you need to contact me my email is katiegardiner2005@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Katie Gardiner
REMINDER: MCPS Quarantine Changes
Based on the guidance from MDH and MSDE, and in collaboration with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), there will now be two categories for no quarantine or a shortened quarantine period for close contacts of an individual who tests positive with COVID-19. Close contacts are individuals who are less than 6 feet from someone who tests positive for a cumulative total of 15 minutes over the course of 24 hours, or less than 3 feet in a classroom setting.
Cases where the infected student and close contacts are wearing masks during the exposure and the exposure was not during a high-risk activity: The close contacts must be enrolled in, or must sign up for, the MCPS COVID-19 screening testing program. As long as they consent to participate in the screening testing program, they can continue to come to school each day. However, they cannot participate in high-risk school-sponsored activities and are expected to still quarantine outside the school setting. The state defines high-risk settings or activities as “indoor or high-contact athletics, and indoor forced exhalation activities, such as singing, exercising, or playing a wind or brass instrument.” Families can enroll in the screening testing program by filling out the form linked here.
All other situations, including when masks are not worn or when the infected individual is an adult: This includes identified close contacts during lunch or for exposure that occurs during high-risk settings or activities. In these cases, unvaccinated close contacts will be required to quarantine for 10 days, but can return to school after day 7 if the close contact submits a negative PCR test taken after day 5 from the last date of exposure.
What Has Not Changed:
Symptomatic individuals with a positive COVID-19 test must quarantine for 10 days, self-monitor for 14 days, and can only return to schools if free from COVID-19 symptoms, including fever of 100.4 or more, sore throat, cough, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, vomiting, and loss of taste or smell. As before, the quarantine guidance only applies to unvaccinated individuals. Asymptomatic vaccinated individuals will not need to quarantine, as has been the case throughout this school year.
REMINDER: COVID-19 Screening Testing
MCPS, in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health, is offering COVID-19 screening tests to students in PreK-Grade 12 at no cost. Testing is one of the significant mitigation tactics MCPS will use this school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends random asymptomatic COVID-19 testing because it detects and can limit the spread of the virus, even in the absence of visible symptoms.
This individual screening test requires that families “opt-in” and consent for students to be tested. A random sample of students in these grades will be identified and tested on a weekly basis with parental consent. Fully vetted and authorized contractors, not MCPS staff, will administer the tests. The opt-in form is necessary to allow your child to be a part of this testing process and can be found here. All parents are strongly encouraged to complete this form to increase the effectiveness of the testing program overall and increase the safety for all students.
Screening Testing will begin at Northwest High School this Wednesday, November 10 and will occur weekly.
REMINDER: NWHS Toys for Tots Drive
Northwest Gives Back is asking for your help! Each year hundreds of families go without, especially during the holiday season. This year, as a result of the Pandemic, the numbers are even higher. Through just a small act of a kindness, our school can brighten the holiday season for so many people, some of whom may even be in our community. That is why we have started a Toys for Tots campaign; starting this week there will be a drop off box in the main office. Please bring unopened games and toys for kids of all ages like “Operation” and “Guess Who?”. Let’s work together to not only show Jag pride, but to bring joy to individuals in our community.
REMINDER: Tutoring Opportunities
We are pleased to announce that our honor societies have tutoring programs to assist students in their different courses. Students should fill out the google form or contact the sponsor directly to receive this service. Students will have access to this information on our school website as well.
Below you will find the tutoring schedule:
Math Honor Society
Mrs. Krott - Rachel_M_Krott@mcpsmd.org
- Tutoring will be in math teachers classrooms at lunch or after school everyday.
- Math Tutoring Request
National Honor Society
Ms. Fowler - Samantha_L_Fowler@mcpsmd.org
Mrs. Pruchniewski - Sarah_J_Hinkey@mcpsmd.org
- NHS tutor and student must arrange to meet in a teacher’s classroom by appointment only
- NHS Tutoring Request
National English Honor Society
Mr. Bolesta - John_W_Bolesta2@mcpsmd.org
- English Honor Society will have tutoring on select Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in room 263
- English Tutoring Request
Rho Kappa - Social Studies Honor Society
Mrs. McDermott - Emily_F_Mcdermott@mcpsmd.org
- Social Studies Honor Society will host tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays during lunch in room 229
- Contact Sponsor
French Honor Society
Mrs. McKenna - Kathryn_McKenna@mcpsmd.org
French tutors will be available based on the level of the course:
- French 1, 4, and AP: Available on Tuesdays room 202
- French 2: Available on Thursdays room 214
- French 3: Available on Wednesdays and Thursdays room 219
- Email Mrs. McKenna
REMINDER: Late Arrivals and Sign-in/Sign-Out Procedures
We know that things happen, kids oversleep, need to go to doctors and dentists, etc. However, recently we have had a steady stream of students arriving at school late, not just by a few minutes but until mid-morning. Not only do those students miss instruction, but it is also disruptive to everyone else in the classroom (especially the teacher) when they enter late. Therefore, we would like to ask you to do your best to make sure that your children get to school on time. We most definitely understand the struggle and appreciate your efforts!
Additionally, we want to ascertain that you and your child(ren) realize that it is imperative that they sign in and out at the attendance office when they arrive late or have to leave school early. While it may not seem like a big deal when students skip this step, we absolutely have to be able to account for everyone in the building at all times. In case of an emergency, we might not be looking for your child in the building if he or she signed out early but didn’t sign back in upon return, because as far as we know, they left school. If students don’t comply with this rule their absence will not be excused, even if they bring in a note.
As long as we have written permission (email to Ulrike_robinson@mcpsmd.org or note, no phone calls) from you ahead of time to dismiss your child early, they are able to sign themselves out. If students don’t feel well they should report to the health room and can be dismissed from there.
Hopefully this will clarify some of the procedures. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Robinson in the attendance office.
REMINDER: Parents, we need YOU!
We hope that you and your family will join us for future events and that you will consider becoming a part of the Northwest Hispanic Parent Council, African American Parent Council and the Asian American Parent Council. Please take some time to respond to this questionnaire and let us know how you would like to become involved.
Please contact the following administrators for more information about the Hispanic, African American, and Asian Parent Councils at Northwest High School.
Hispanic Parent Council: Nyurka_I_Morales@mcpsmd.org
African American Parent Council: Edward_Pegues@mcpsmd.org
Asian American Parent Council: Danielle_M_Abdelsalam@mcpsmd.org
Northwest Class Spirit!
It's a long-standing tradition at Northwest for each grade to wear their assigned CLASS COLOR on Pep Rally days! Each class sits in a designated section at the rallies so make an impact for YOUR CLASS by wearing your grade level color and make your presence known! Although participation with wearing class colors is optional, we hope you will join in the FUN!
The grade level colors are as follows:
Freshmen (Grade 9): YELLOW
Sophomores (Grade 10): GREEN
Juniors (Grade 11): RED
Seniors (Grade 12): BLUE
You can wear any clothing and/or accessories in your assigned color as long as you adhere to the school dress code. You can opt to wear clothing that you already own in your grade level color, you can purchase a shirt from the PTSA/Booster Club website for $4: http://www.nwhsptsa.org/shop (available sizes and quantities are limited), or you can purchase a T-shirt in your color at Michael's or Joanne's (the cost is usually around $4) and personalize with fabric markers or paint pens! The possibilities are endless to show your #JagPride!
Class of 2025 (9th Grade): Yellow
Class of 2024 (10th Grade): Green
Class of 2023 (11th Grade): Red
Class of 2022 (12th Grade): Blue
Northwest High School
Email: Scott_E_Smith@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://northwestjags.org
Location: 13501 Richter Farm Road, Germantown, MD, USA
Phone: (240)740-7100
Twitter: @NorthwestJags