NHS Family Newsletter
November 6, 2020
Hybrid Schedule to be discussed at Board Meeting Monday.
Dr. Clark shared a new model of a proposed hybrid schedule, and while negotiations still need to occur, as does district finalization of the proposed schedule, it does indicate some changes from what has been discussed before, and I want to take a minute to explain some of those changes. (Schedule from Dr. Clark shown below)
In this sample schedule, all students remain in distant learning in the mornings. All classes remain remote. After an extended lunch (which would occur at home), and time for transitioning to the site, students would come to a class in small cohorts on either Mon/Tues or Thurs/Fri, on campus, with a teacher. We will call this "homeroom" for now, for ease of understanding. Please know that what teacher, classroom etc, and what this will look like in detail are still being worked out, and we have some great ideas.
While this is different than what has previously been discussed, it does have some great positives:
- Students can retain their current schedule.
- Students can retain their teachers.
- Transition times and change of classrooms are eliminated, and there is only one cohort on campus for each student (no mixing of cohorts within the school day)
- Schedule provides some ease to transition to after school programs and extra curricular activities
- Students will be afforded the opportunity to seek in-person assistance and check in, work towards grade recovery.
- Students who remain in distance learning and those who choose hybrid will have the same basic schedule
- If the county or the state declares a shut down due to a rise in cases, the pivot back to complete distance learning is seamless.
As noted before, there are still details to work out, and I have meetings scheduled this week to collaborate with department leaders and the admin team to discuss possibilities for maximizing the time we have with our students.
As more details follow in the days to come, I will share out and be available to answer any questions. I am planning to host a parent night to answer questions live, hoping to time that before families have to make a binding decision with the district. This meeting is tentatively planned for Friday, November 13th at 4:30pm.
Yours in partnership,
Kelly Cooper
Principal
Planned Network Outage- Wednesday November 11
Parent Night- Q&A
Date has been changed due to postponement of binding survey, in an effort to have more information at the time of the Q&A!
Friday, Dec 4, 2020, 05:00 PM
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District Survey- Non-Binding
Graduation Update- Class of 2021
We are prepared to do ceremonies similar to last year, with students being scheduled with a cohort and a specific time, or, if we are fortunate enough to be able to hold one ceremony for all, we will do that and plan for 7pm.
Class of 2021 Graduation
Sunday, May 30, 2021, 07:00 PM
Northgate High School, Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Holiday HOPE Drive- gifts for our foster youth and homeless students
Intradistrict Transfers
The MDUSD intradistrict transfer window for students who are currently enrolled in grades 5-11 is open through November 15, 2020. More information and the application can be found on our transfer page.
Unassigned Area - Choice Paperwork
Tobacco Use Prevention Education - Parent Webinar (No cost to attend)
Contra Costa County Office of Education is having their second virtual TUPE parent/family event, Attending to the Needs of Oneself & Others, is scheduled for November 19 at 5:30 pm. This live webinar will focus on social-emotional learning, signs of stress and stress management and coping strategies, how TUPE services support young people, and local resources for families. Pre-registration is required to get the Zoom link.
Please share the attached flyer with parents, families, and community members and, if possible, post to your website. The event will be in English, with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish. Flyers Here
Driver's Education for students
MDUSD offers a FREE Drivers Education course! Please see the attached Drivers Education information for 2020-2021 school year. You are encouraged to share this with your school counselors. Upon completion of this course students can earn 2.5 elective credits.
Also, many students have been registering for the class without first emailing the driverseducation@mdusd.org email with their information. See highlighted area.
Send an email to: driverseducation@mdusd.org use your MDUSD email account to send the email. Your email needs to include full name, student ID number, birthdate and school you attend. Please type in Driver’s Ed in the subject line.
See the attachment for full instructions. The document is 2 pages and is in English and Spanish. The only students eligible for this course are students currently enrolled in an MDUSD school/program.
Makeup School Photos- 9-11th grade only
School photos will be taken with several precautions in place, and families will need to sign up for an appointment. Please sign up here.
Ordering information can be found here.
SENIORS- view further down for senior portrait information.
Thursday, Nov 19, 2020, 02:30 PM
Northgate High School, Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
SAT Tests
As schools continue to navigate uncertainties due to the coronavirus, the top priorities for College Board are the health and safety of students and educators. All weekend test centers are required to adhere to local public health guidelines and follow College Board requirements. Mt. Diablo Unified is hoping to have Ygnacio Valley High as a testing center on March 13, 2021 and May 8, 2020. Additional testing sites in our area include Campolindo High, Pittsburg High, Clayton Valley High, and Acalanes High. High school sites continue to post updates on college entrance exams on their websites.
Currently, a test is being offered at Ygnacio Valley HS on March 13. Families can sign up at
Senior Portraits
Current Seniors need to contact Studio One for appointments to take their Senior Portraits. Our goal date for these photos to be included in the yearbook is now the end of December. If you have any questions, please contact the Yearbook coordinator, Amber Lineweaver.
We urge families to make these appointments asap as they are limited!
Seniors can come by school to pick up their ID cards anytime between 8 and 3.
Senior Yearbook Ads- Parents submit!
Purchase before November 30th to get the best price!
NO ADS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER JANUARY 30TH.
Please see flyer below for information.
Study Buddy- Peer Tutoring Opportunity
Study Buddy is a student-led tutoring program founded in Northern California. We are a fairly new program, hoping to lend a little bit of additional help to keep students motivated and on track. Our tutoring program is completely FREE, and all students K-12 are encouraged to join. In addition, tutoring is completely online, making it easier for tutors and mentees to communicate in the midst of the pandemic. Our program is filled with a variety of academically strong high school and college students, devoted to helping your students academically succeed. We provide flexibility in terms of scheduling, and we try our best to find a tutor that can best accommodate your hours and subjects. Tutoring sessions are 30 minutes each, and a student can receive 1-3 online sessions per week. Because of our unique selection of high school tutors, we offer a wide variety of subjects! Ultimately, we hope to give students an additional tool to use during distance learning.
Study Buddy also serves as a volunteer opportunity for high school students! As juniors, we understand the difficult search for volunteer opportunities during the pandemic. With Study Buddy, tutors can receive hours virtually, without leaving their homes. Students can earn between 30-90 minutes of service per week through tutoring. We also ensure flexible scheduling for tutors, knowing they have additional extracurriculars to participate in. In addition, tutoring gives them an opportunity to interact and assist students throughout the US!
Contact Information:
Email: studybuddy925@gmail.com
Instagram: @studybuddy925
Application Website: https://linktr.ee/StudyBuddy
College Application Assistance?
Northgate Masks- available for all!
Northgate Athletics is entirely self-funded, and our teams are not able to raise funds as usual this year.
Get a mask, represent Northgate, and help fund athletics for when our kids are able to compete again.
$10 each for an adjustable one-size mask. Washable, comfortable, and two styles of great looking masks
Contact Boosters President - Sean Mayer - smmayer11@msn.com
Northgate Athletics in the News
Parent Education Opportunities
Online Teen Group for "Taming our Anxiety"
See the flyer below for information about the teen group with NG Alum Counselor, Simi Markar.
Classroom Donations
Click here for department donations!
Additionally, we have some great Bronco gear for sale- Click here for our online store of apparel!
Food Services- Community Meals
Our outstanding MDUSD food services department continues to offer meal services at select sites.
Athletics
Now is the time to start the registration process for athletics, especially for fall sports.
If you are interested in more information about a particular Sport, please contact the coach.
You can find all athletic information, including contact information for coaches, on our athletics website.
Additional Family Support Services
District Communications
Some important news and information recently released from MDUSD:
- New Page- 2020-21 School Year Guide
- See the latest Superintendent Letter Here.
- Roadmap to Reopen This website will be updated frequently with the latest district-wide announcements regarding re-opening our schools.
2020-21 Academic Calendar
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