Northwest News
Mr. Smith's Newsletter for the Northwest Community
Sunday, December 12, 2021
NEW: A Message from Mr. Smith
Happy Sunday Evening! I hope this message finds everyone well. As we move into the last full week of school before winter break, I want to remind everyone of the importance of precautions necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19. This past week, we had our highest number of positive cases in a one (1) week period. Now more than ever, it is imperative that students are wearing their masks properly and washing their hands throughout the day. We want every student, staff and family member to be healthy as we head into the winter season.
In this week's newsletter, you will see an opportunity to join an MCPS virtual conversation tomorrow, Monday, December 13, a congratulatory message to our own QuestBridge Scholar, ways to access your PSAT score reports, a reminder about completing the equal opportunity schools survey, SGA's selling of CandyGrams and this week's college and career center information. As was announced last week, our winter pep rally has moved to this Friday, December 17. It will be held outdoors. Also, tomorrow begins our ten (10) days of Winter Spirit! There are some important reminders about this week's Choose Respect virtual event, the PTSA Gift Wrap event, various ways for both parents and students to volunteer, school-wide testing updates, MCPS quarantine procedures, our Toys for Tots drive and a few other items.
I hope everyone has a great evening. Let's make it a great week!
NEW: MCPS Community Conversation
Montgomery County Public Schools is committed to ensuring the safety of all students. Please join us for a virtual Community Conversation for caregivers and students on Monday, December 13, 2021, from 7-8:30 p.m. The event will include updates and information about MCPS's commitment to health-related safety, psychological safety, and physical safety. Caregivers and students will have opportunities to learn about resources, hear from a panel of experts and community partners, ask questions, and provide feedback.
The event will be live online at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org, the MCPS YouTube channel, on MCPS-TV (Comcast 34, Verizon 36, and RCN 89)
NEW: Congratulations to our QuestBridge Scholar!
Congratulations to Angel Apollos who matched @Hamilton College as a prestigious @QuestBridge scholar. As a Match Scholarship Recipient, Angel earned early admission with a FULL FOUR-YEAR scholarship to Hamilton College in Clinton, New York where she plans to major in biology on the pre-med track.
NEW: PSAT Score Reports
10th and 11th grade students your PSAT scores are available to view on your college board account. If you need assistance with creating a college board account, please follow this link to create your account. Northwest Counseling department will also be hosting our annual PSAT score interpretation night on January 6th at 7pm. If you have any questions about PSAT information, please email Mr. Pegues at Edward_Pegues@mcpsmd.org
NEW: Equal Opportunity Schools Survey
EOS supports our pursuit of equity and increase in the AP course enrollment for historically underrepresented student groups. The first step is our survey data. Please encourage your student to complete their EOS survey by using this link. The survey is due by December 20, 2021.
NEW: Northwest SGA Candy Grams
The Northwest SGA Leadership class will be selling Candy Grams for a dollar to be delivered during 4th period the week of December 20-22. You can pre-order using this form and pay in person, or just buy it and pay all at once. Cash only. Sales will be Wednesday, December 8, Thursday, December 9, and Monday, December 13.
NEW: This Week's College and Career Information
College Career e-NEWS updates below:
- e-NEWS PDF attached
- Google doc PDF link @ https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/k-q/northwesths/careercenter/enews-bulletin---google-docs---webpublication.pdf
- e-NEWS highlights below
- e-NEWS content captured below
e-NEWS Bulletin Highlights:
NEW: Elite Leadership Academy for Latinas. Grades 9-12. Apply by January 31
NEW: Summer Youth Teaching Assistant at Smithsonian. Apply by March 7.
NEW Scholarship: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Montgomery County Alumnae Chapter. Apply by March 14
NEW Scholarship: Princeton Review 40 Year Anniversary Celebration Sweepstakes. Apply by Dec. 31
NEW Financial Aid Resource: Maryland State Scholarship Webinar link.
REMINDER: West Point Leadership Conference Opportunity for Juniors. Interest forms due Dec. 17
REMINDER: The Coolidge Scholarship for Juniors. Apply by January 16
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 10, 2021
For details on all college career information and resources, visit the college career webpage. Click on the e-NEWS link!
LAST CALL! 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.
NEW! ELITE Leadership Academy for Latinas who have a desire to lead the future. Latinas in grades 9 through 12 are invited to apply. Program starts in March and meetings will be using the Zoom platform. Session topics include business and social etiquette 101, netiquette, personal branding, resume development and interviewing skills and public speaking. Learn more here. Apply by January 31.
Job opportunities posted in the latest Jag JOBS Bulletin.
NEW! SUMMER YOUTH TEACHING ASSISTANT at the SMITHSONIAN Summer Camp. Held on the National Mall. Applicants must be 15 to 18 years of age. Position commitment is from June 21 until August 19. The deadline for applications is March 7.
Visit https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/adventures/yta/ to apply.
Scholarship Transcript Request Form on the web! Counseling & College Career Financial Aid & Scholarships pages. Requests by electronic submission @ https://forms.gle/dNp4SSPQvFN83mHE6
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! Seniors: Montgomery County (MD) Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Scholarship. Three scholarship opportunities including the County-Wide Scholarship, MCAC Educational Program Scholarship, and Career/Vocational/Technical Scholarship. Click here for more information and to apply. Apply by March 14, 2022.
NEW! Seniors: The Princeton Review 40 Year Anniversary Celebration Sweepstakes. $40,000 in scholarships awarded. No purchase required. Deadline for entry December 31, 2021.
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.
REMINDER! Seniors: Montgomery College (MC) Montgomery Scholars Program. Two-year honors college tuition scholarship. Applicants must have applied to Montgomery College and have received the MC ID number. Apply by January 6, 2022.
REMINDER! Juniors: The Coolidge Scholarship. Applicants must be very strong academically and have an interest in public policy. Full tuition scholarship, including room & board and expenses. Apply by January 16, 2022.
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. In the building 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!
Financial Aid REMINDERS for the Class of 2022:
NEW: Maryland State Scholarship webinar hosted by Mount St. Mary's University. Click here to access the webinar on YouTube.
Resource REMINDER: Northwest fall 2021 Financial Aid webinar. Click here.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) filing period for the incoming freshmen class Fall 2022 opened October 1! The deadline to file for the state of Maryland is March 1. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) @ studentaid.gov
MSFAA (Maryland State Financial Aid Application) is available to students who are graduating Maryland high school seniors and are ineligible to receive federal aid using the FAFSA. MSFAA application is through the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) MDCAPS (Maryland College Aid Processing System) platform. MHEC is a resource for state financial aid. The MSFAA filing deadline is March 1.
Montgomery College FAFSA & MSFAA Days. Help with completing the FAFSA and MSFAA will be available by remote access. Registration is now open.
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: Winter Athletics Schedule for December 13 - December 19
NEW: December Message from Student Member of the Board
My name is Hana O'Looney and I am the current Student Member of the MCPS Board of Education.
In an effort to stay connected with students this year, I am creating short, monthly videos to be distributed. You can find this month's message linked below.
Google Drive (Only Accessible Through MCPS Accounts): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P3IQQncyPpGQPIAp9oBUhhMol-WbTq55/view?usp=sharing
YouTube: https://youtu.be/sW7ORLxmSds
REMINDER: Choose Respect Sexual Assault 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.
REMINDER: 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
REMINDER: 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
REMINDER: 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.
REMINDER: 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: 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: 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