NHS Senior Family Newsletter
April 16, 2020
Where do we begin?
We know that there are many questions in regards to plans and ways to celebrate our seniors, as well as button up the logistics of this year, and we want to answer them to the extent that we can.
All plans and ideas must ultimately pass through the district approval process, so as always, they are subject to change. We are working very hard to come up with alternative plans and will continue to communicate regularly. Thank you for your patience so far.
Caps and Gowns/ Graduation Announcements
Staff will be in gloves and masks of course, and we will maintain social distancing and safety guidelines during this process. Families should not exit their vehicles.
Any families unable to attend during the time slot given should contact Kelly Cooper ASAP for an alternative time slot.
Monday, Apr 20, 2020, 09:00 AM
Northgate High School, Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
What do we do then? (with caps and gowns)
We are asking that seniors put them on! And have families take a picture in the cap and gown, and submit them asap to our new Senior google classroom. These will be used in whatever video ceremony we put together for graduation (along with any physical ceremony involved)
The google classroom code will be emailed to seniors separately.
Did you get yours?
Most of the signs have been delivered except a few. We have reached out via text and email to all those Remaining, but in case we have the wrong information please email Jamie at Jamielap@gmail.com for delivery. If by chance you do not want a sign, please email and let us know so we can check you off our list.
Awards, Scholarships and Letters (oh my)
We are full steam ahead with the honoring of seniors that traditionally occurs, including Honor Roll, Principal's List, Department Awards, Scholarships, Biliteracy Seals, CA Golden State Merit Scholars, Graduation honors stoles and medals, Summit awards, and athletic letters and awards.
Honorees will be announced in several ways, and more on this will be announced as we work out the logistics. Some will be honored and announced with the graduation ceremony.
The awards, certificates, pins, plaques and letters will be available for a pickup event coordinated with textbook drop off and locker clean out.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020, 09:00 AM
Northgate High School, Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Graduation Speeches
- Speeches should be limited to 2-3 minutes
- Speeches will be auditioned by video submission and will likely be delivered by video as well.
- Video submissions for audition are due by 10pm on May 1. Email them to Ms. Cooper (cooperk@mdusd.org) or upload to the Senior Google Classroom (info on that below)
Senior Ball- Cancelled- Refund Requests and Donations accepted
Unfortunately, some of the costs incurred by the senior class cannot be refunded to the account, per cancellation policies and contract language.
Families may seek a refund for their ticket costs, or they may go online to donate these funds back to the senior class account to assist with the costs incurred. Please go the webstore on the school webpage to begin this process. Please note that all refund requests must occur before June 15.
Tickets purchased with a credit card will be refunded to the card used. Please allow 1-2 weeks for check refund requests due to reduced staffing during this time.
Friday, Apr 3, 2020, 07:00 PM
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All other Refunds
- Athletics- for team contributions in spring sports- while these are technically donations, and refunds are not generally allowed per fiscal management regulations, we fully recognize that these are dire and challenging times for many families. If you would like to request a refund for your team contributions, please contact your team booster representative.
- Field Trips- these are also technically donations, but we would like to honor refund requests for all. Please use the same link as above in the ASB Webstore on the main webpage to request. This includes the Cal Academy of Sciences and Ashland.
- Choir tour refunds should be requested through the music boosters. Grad night would be through the PFC.
Senior Circle and Summit Awards
Honorees will also be announced and celebrated on social media, our school webpage, and via the district social media where possible.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020, 07:00 PM
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Grading and Graduation
3rd quarter grades were based on work assigned before the closure on March 13th.
4th quarter will be credit/no credit based on work done during distance learning.
2nd Semester will also be credit/no credit.
Students are expected to communicate with their teachers and engage in the curriculum during this time in order to receive credit for the semester. Teachers and admin will be reaching out to families of students who have not or are not engaging in classes to help problem-solve where possible.
This credit/no credit will not affect the cumulative GPA.
Students can continue to do work during this time up until April 30 to raise the 3rd quarter grade.
Students who received D's or F's in classes 3rd quarter are in danger of receiving no credit for those classes and should be working with their teachers to raise these grades.
Students will be "held harmless" during this online learning time- their grades will not be reduced if they are unable to complete work during this time.
Seniors must still earn a total of 220 credits to graduate. Counselors and admin will be contacting families of seniors in danger of not graduating to work with them to get to the finish line. If you have any questions, please contact your academic counselor.
Locker Clean Out/ Textbook Return/ Award distribution/ Equipment return
We will assign families times and days to come by, and they will have the opportunity to clean out lockers, return textbooks, and retrieve any other items we have for the student, including awards and certificates from senior awards ceremonies.
We will send those assignments as this gets closer.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020, 09:00 AM
Northgate High School, Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Graduation 2020
- Physical celebration- This may be in the form of a car parade, a socially distanced commencement celebration with limited in-person audience, or one of several other ideas we are working through.
-Commemorative video celebration- We will be putting together a video commencement for all graduating seniors, with speeches, the reading of the names, and the senior photos, and perhaps a few surprises! This will be aired for a virtual "watch party" and available for repeated viewing.
We will share information as this plan is fully formulated and vetted by the district and county regulations.
Wednesday, Jun 3, 2020, 07:00 PM
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Grad Night- Likely Cancelled
Yearbooks
The bad news- the manufacturer is not considered an essential business, and production is hindered by this. We do not know when these books will be made and sent, nor when we can distribute them. It is very likely this will need to occur during the summer.
That is all for now! More details to come as they are available.
Who can I contact?
Last Name A-G ...................................Naseem Saremi~~~~saremin@mdusd.org~~~ext 3546
Last Name H-O....................................Kristen Bligh~~~~~~blighk@mdusd.org~~~~ext 3526
Last Name P-Z.....................................Mandy Kaur~~~~~~kaurm@mdusd.org~~~~ext 3539
Vice Principals
Last Name A-L.....................................Kelly Cooper~~~~~~cooperk@mdusd.org~~ext 3502
Last Name M-Z....................................Craig Bocks~~~~~~bocksc@mdusd.org~~~ext 3503
Northgate High School
Email: cooperk@mdusd.org
Website: http://northgatehighschool.org
Location: 425 Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Phone: 925-938-0900
Twitter: @northgatehs