August 3, 2018

It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down I had the radio on, I was drivin' Trees went by, me and Del were singin' little Runaway I was flyin'

Yeah runnin' down a dream That never would come to me Workin' on a mystery, goin' wherever it leads Runnin' down a dream

—Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1989)

Dear Upper School Students, Parents, and Guardians,

When I decided to make the song Runnin’ Down a Dream, by Tom Petty, Michael Campbell, and Jeff Lynne, the centerpiece of my summer letter, I was driving up from Highway 19, also known as the Belt Road, on my way to Waimea, a small cattle ranching and agricultural town on the southern slope of the Kohala volcano, the oldest volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. My cousin’s 2001 Toyota Camry, gold with tan interior, had two CDs in the glove compartment: Tom Petty’s first solo release Full Moon Fever, and Adele’s 21, two albums that I would have overlooked in the free box at a neighborhood garage sale. Tom Petty’s early videos on MTV with the Heartbreakers, what were nightmare‐provoking images of a creepy, nearly translucent, top‐hat‐wearing Tom Petty, along with his appropriation of classic blues riffs, most notably the Bo Diddley beat (the classic blues rhythm that gave birth to modern rock n’ roll), shaped my early impressions, fairly or not, of this rock legend. Adele has always appeared to me as a made‐ for‐the‐market pop star, someone who built a career softening the edges, and sweetening the sounds of more seasoned rock and country artists, perhaps best exemplified by her remake of Bonnie Raitt’s I Can’t Make You Love Me, a song that gave Raitt street cred with younger generations for its honest and genre‐crossing account of love and loss.

The thought of disrupting our island vacation with music that triggered bad memories of the 80s, and an almost rabid dislike of mainstream pop culture, meant that Petty and Adele would stay neatly tucked away in the glove compartment, at least until the feelings of escapism had become irreversible. Given a brief obsession three years ago with Adele’s chart topping Hello, a song that would bring my then three‐year‐old daughter to operatic climax in the back seat of a New York City cab, I assumed Adele would be the first to break into our daily routine. It turned out that I was wrong, and that Tom Petty would join late afternoon waves at Hapuna Beach, shave ice, and lilikoi soda as the idols of our summer vacation. After a week of listening to the island’s new R&B station, 106.9 Beach, I decided to give Full Moon Fever a listen. It was a tough audience, as the passengers in the backseat included my six‐ year‐old daughter, a fan of the musicals Hamilton, La La Land, and The Greatest Showman, and pop great Michael Jackson. My thirteen‐year‐old is a less discriminating consumer of music, with Ayo & Teo’s Rolex at the top of his personal playlist. He has also memorized the entire Hamilton songbook, listens to Miyazaki sound tracks, and has a special appreciation for hip‐hop legends A Tribe Called Quest, Tupac Shakur, and Eminem. Needless to say, their standards are nuanced, with little patience for sloppy artistry or superficial lyrics.

The first song on Full Moon Fever is Free Fallin’, a song that quickly grabbed my daughter’s attention with the opening lyrics “she’s a good girl, loves her mama.” My son was intrigued by the emphasis on “free,” which spoke to his desire for freedom from overprotective parents, not to leave out his affection for the way Petty belts out the verse FREE FALLIN in a life‐affirming pitch, and the second verse that starts with “all the vampires walkin’ through the valley,” lyrics that tickled his subterranean imagination. With Petty’s soulful voice and soothing blues riffs filling the sun‐bleached car, windows down, and the gold speckled undercoat still shining through months of accumulated volcanic dust, we drove day after day for over a week, up the 2500 foot climb to my cousin’s house, with thoughts of life, freedom, love, vampires, and most importantly, a shared appreciation for the journey.

Along the way, I became obsessed with the track Runnin’ Down A Dream, a captivating song, particularly for this mid‐life wanderer, that uses a road trip as metaphor for rock and roll, which for Petty, is all about storytelling, and the process of making sense of the ups and downs of a complicated life. The thought of a life in pursuit of a dream that would never be realized resonated with me, as I have often felt that life is a long and difficult negotiation, a series of bargains we make with ourselves and the world, bargains that often require that we surrender what we want, what we dream, for what is practical and acceptable to others. The pursuit of a dream that “never would come to me” is something we must all come to terms with, make sense of, and if we’re lucky, find acceptance with as our lives unfold. It can be a dark and depressing idea, but somewhere along the road up the volcano I discovered the beauty in this universal truth, a truth that is best learned from a master storyteller like Petty. It is, I’ve come to understand, the journey, not the fulfillment of the dream, that is most important as we stitch together a meaningful life. This is not to say that we shouldn’t pursue our dreams, but instead, to be present during the journey, to be there and aware of our lives, “goin' wherever it leads,” is just as, or more, rewarding as the desired destination.

A casual inquiry of my interest in Tom Petty prior to this trip would have been met with a sarcastic, and inaccurate, indictment of his credentials. My obsession with Runnin’ Down A Dream inspired a Google search that uncovered details on everything from Petty’s family history to the circumstances of his death. The trivia of his life is fascinating, as I suspect it is for most celebrities, particularly rock giants like Petty. But unlike other musicians who stole black traditions and aesthetics to advance their careers (e.g., Elvis, Led Zeppelin), Petty spent years giving back to the originators of his sound, people like Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King. Few artists have, to the extent that Petty did, publically acknowledged, through word and deed, the people who made their art, and the fame that came with it, possible. All of this history, the complicated facts of Petty’s life, would have remained unknown to me had I not chosen to listen, to risk disrupting the imaginary harmony of my beach vacation. As it is, finding calm and insight, harmony, that place where we can be present and reflective, to see plainly and honestly, often requires disruption. It is rarely in the keeping of old opinions, old ideas and feelings, that we are most creative and imaginative. New ideas often come from critique, revision, and in some cases, a repurposing of long‐held beliefs and orthodoxy —what we might casually call a process of deconstruction.

I decided to share this story with you because it captures for me what is possible when we have time to rest, breathe, to be present, to reflect, to see ourselves in the totality of experiences that become visible when we cut loose from ego and false attachments. A two‐week vacation in Hawaii is an extraordinary privilege, and one that I do not share as exemplary of what is possible for everyone. I have the generosity of a cousin and his family to thank for creating the circumstances wherein I could see the importance of the lessons discussed above. That said, despite the exceptional privilege imbedded in this story, the lessons do not belong to a particular set of circumstances, but to any context where we might confront ourselves, take notice, and where we are open to thinking differently.

When preparing to write this letter I went back to read what I had written last summer. As I stated almost exactly a year ago, summer break is an arbitrary period of time in the grand scheme of things, but it continues to serve, at least in the life of a school, as an important marker of progress and change, and for many students, as a romantic ideal of the revitalizing powers of free time. It is a time for both the discovery of a new idea, and a rethinking, or reimagining, of old ideas, the ideas that create the conditions of our lives. I hope this break has given you the opportunity to be disruptive, to seek and question, revise, and remake the world as you want it to be. We all have a Tom Petty that needs to be seen anew. If we’re lucky, like Petty for me, the ‘rethought’ might become a new source of inspiration.

I really hope you enjoy the last few weeks of summer and I’ll look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

Chance Sims Upper School Director

Please scroll down for important Upper School information and news. Upper School News and Information

Grade Level Leadership

Grade Level Coordinators work to promote communication and coordination among faculty at the grade level. They are an essential link between teaching faculty, students, families, and the administration.

I’m excited to announce that the following individuals will serve as the Upper School Grade Level Coordinators for the 2018‐2019 school year:

9th Grade Ryan Griffiths (Physical Education, Varsity Girls Volleyball) 10th Grade Priscilla Lindberg (Humanities) 11th Grade Clare Prowse (Science) 12th Grade Chris Talone (Math)

Chris Talone is joining the Upper School faculty as both a new math instructor and the 12th Grade Coordinator. Chris comes to Northwest from the Marlborough School in Los Angeles, where he served as the Math Department Chair. He has over 20 years of teaching experience and curriculum development in independent schools, with 14 years at Marlborough and eight years at Marymount High School in Los Angeles. Chris holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in mathematics and teacher education from UCLA. When describing his teaching practice, Chris reported: “Yes, I incorporate traditional teaching methods in my classes; however, I now view myself as an enthusiastic risk‐taker and cheerleader. I am willing to experiment, support innovations and creative student‐centered approaches, and some of these experiments have resulted in my greatest successes.”

Ryan, Priscilla, and Clare are already seen as leaders in the Upper School, with each representing a diverse range of experiences as classroom teachers, coaches, advisors, and grade level leaders.

Chinese Language Program We are very lucky to have Becca Jayne Levy returning this fall to join the Modern Languages Department as the Chinese Instructor. Becca is an internationally‐minded educator and scholar with particular passion for cross‐cultural empathy, intellectual courage, and student‐centered learning. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from Brown University, in International Relations and East Asian Studies, both with foci on China and Chinese Studies. She has been studying Mandarin for nine years. Before substituting in several independent high schools in Seattle, Becca served a Fulbright grant year as an English Teaching Assistant in Taitung County, Taiwan. Becca’s experiences in East Asia also include studying abroad through the Princeton in Beijing Intensive Mandarin Program and interning at the education consulting firm Active Learning in Tokyo, Japan.

Becca is a big believer in the power of language immersion. Her experiences include working as a Residential Advisor for Middlebury Interactive Languages, an all‐Chinese summer language academy for high school students, as well as managing and coordinating the Olneyville English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program, a small non‐profit that offers free ESOL classes for adult immigrants and refugees in Providence, RI. Becca has spent six total years teaching and training other teachers to conduct dynamic, culturally‐sensitive, and immersion‐ style language classes.

Becca will be working hard this summer to get up top speed on everything Northwest, with particular attention to her preparations to teach four levels of Chinese this fall.

Learning Support We are excited to welcome two new members of the learning support team in the Upper School:

Hillary French, Director of Learning Services Rachel Page, Learning Resources Coordinator

Hillary is coming from the Orchard School in Indianapolis where she served as the learning support department head and school psychologist and counselor for 600 students. Her previous roles were at Grosse Pointe Academy as a school psychologist, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where she served as a project coordinator. Hillary is accredited as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. She has presented nationally on organization skills for adolescents with ADHD.

Rachel joins us from the University of Washington where she served as an academic tutor. At UW, Rachel was a student athlete academic tutor and was responsible for coordinating support for at‐risk students with learning specialists and academic advisors.

Rachel also served as an adult basic education program coordinator at English for Action, where she created a pre‐GED program for advancing English language learners.

New Advisory Program Our Advisory Program is an essential component in creating an intentional community through authentic connections. In advisories, students and faculty collaborate during weekly meetings, special events, and community‐wide conversations. Through the advisory experience, students learn to practice healthy decision‐making, develop social and academic skills, engage in active citizenship, and foster intercultural understanding.

The Upper School will implement a new advisory program this fall, what is a continuation of our efforts to improve the quality of student support structures in the division. Starting this September, students will be assigned to a mixed grade level advisory group—unlike the old model, advisory groups will include students from all four grades. Students will stay with the same advisor for all four years, with new advisory members joining when the seniors graduate. Students will have the option to switch advisors in a process that will mirror course registration in the spring. We will provide more information about the new Advisory Program later this month in a communication from the grade level coordinators, and again at the Grade Level Parent/Guardian Meetings in September.

Grade Level Parent/Guardian Meetings As part of our efforts to strengthen the connection between the school and families, we, in partnership with the Parents Association, will host two Grade Level Parent/Guardian Meetings next school year, to take place in September and February (a total of eight meetings, two per grade). The meetings will replace the potlucks and mid‐year curriculum night, events that had proven ineffective at bringing a critical mass of families into conversation with the school. The changes to the meeting schedule aim to give more time to grade‐specific conversation, with the goal of empowering families by strengthening connections between our parents/guardians and school faculty and administration. You can expect to receive more information about these events as we get closer to the meeting dates.

Welcome to the 2018‐2019 School Year! Here is some basic information you may find useful as you begin your preparations for this year. Please note that 9th and 12th grade families will receive another communication from me by mid‐ August with information on the fall grade level trips which will take place in the second week of school.

Beginning‐of‐the‐year Schedule:

Sunday, August 19th, Dorm Opens for Fall Athletes

Monday, August 20th, Fall Sports Practices Begin: If your Upper School student plans to participate in Upper School 2018‐2019 fall, winter, or spring athletic activities, then you will need to complete the Fall/Winter/Spring Athletics Registration Waiver and Release form as soon as possible and no later than August 13th, 2018. These forms are found in My BackPack.

Thursday & Friday, August 23rd & 24th, College Jumpstart, 8:00 AM‐5:00 PM

Wednesday, August 29th, Dormitory Opens for New Students, SRAs, and Orientation Volunteers, 9:00 AM

Friday, August 31st, International Student Orientation, 10:00 AM‐1:00 PM. All new international families and students should attend. We will cover important topics – visa regulations and procedures, health insurance requirements, what to expect academically – specifically for international families. Lunch (from about 12:00‐1:00 PM) is included in the program.

Friday, August 31st, Dormitory Opens for Returning Students, 9:00 AM

Sunday, September 2nd, Bowling, Dorm plus interested 9th graders, 6:30 PM‐9:00 PM Monday, September 3rd, Dormitory Orientation, 11:30 AM‐2:30 PM

Tuesday, September 4th, New Upper School Student Orientation, 8:30‐10:00 AM. All students new to the Upper School, including students who attended the NWS Middle School, need to attend this orientation. Student orientation will be led by the Peer Mentors (a student leadership group) and their faculty advisors, Erin North and Megan Reibel, and Upper School administrators.

Tuesday, September 4th, Environment Training, 8:30 AM–10:00 AM. All seniors must attend in order to be fully prepared to assume their leadership roles in the Environment Program.

Tuesday, September 4th, First Day of School: All returning 10th and 11th Grade students should arrive between 9:45 AM–10:00 AM. Students will meet by grade level to sign in and have attendance taken by 10:00 AM. An all‐school meeting in the gym will follow at 10:20 AM. Afterward, students will receive their class schedules and locker assignments. All students will meet with their advisors, practice fire drill procedures, and have pictures taken for use on the wall boards. 9th‐12th graders will have school ID card photos and portrait photos taken on this day. Information from Yuen Lui for ordering photo packages is available in this Summer Mailing. Our first day of school will end at 2:00 PM.

Note: For families that opted to have their student’s books sent to the school, pick‐up will be on Tuesday, the 4th, and Wednesday, the 5th. Details regarding when and where students may pick up their books will come in a separate mailing.

Wednesday, September 5th, First Day of Classes: Regular classes begin on this day. The Upper School day starts at 8:10 AM and ends at 3:30 PM. Students must arrive at school, sign in, and be in their first period class before 8:10 AM. A copy of the 2018‐2019 Schedule PDF has been included in this mailing.

Fall Grade Level Trips: Thursday, September 13th – Friday, September 14th, Senior Challenge: Seniors will be away from school during these days, making plans and setting goals for their senior year. Information about this trip, together with links to online permission forms, will be sent the first week of school. The permission slips, together with the trip fee, need to be submitted prior to departure.

Wednesday, September 12th – Friday, September 14th, 9th Grade Fall Trip: This trip is an essential part of our program: it provides an important setting for bringing the 9th Grade together as a cohesive unit and for exploring parts of our curriculum away from the classroom. Information about this trip, together with links to online permission forms, will be sent the first week of school. The permission slips, together with the trip fee, need to be submitted prior to departure. Upper School Fall Grade Level Parent/Guardian Meetings and College Nights: Grade Level Parent/Guardian Meetings serve as community gatherings and provide opportunities for parents and guardians to get to know their fellow grade level parents and guardians better. The first 30 minutes or so involve socializing, followed by a semi‐formal agenda. Information about each grade’s program and activities will be shared, including Parent Association information. Please reserve the appropriate date(s) on your calendars, and check the flyer in this mailing for more details. The 11th and 12th Grades will be hosting College Nights during this time. The first half‐hour will be set aside for socializing; the program will begin at 7:00 PM.

Wednesday, September 5th, Twelfth Grade College Night: Both parents/guardians and students should attend this event in the Dining Hall of 401 East Pike, from 6:30‐8:30 PM. Erin Miller and Veronica Levya will lead seniors and their parents/guardians through the nuts and bolts of the college application process, reviewing important deadlines, paperwork, and resources. Seniors will also be given a “day off” from classes on October 16th, so they can do college visits and work on applications.

Thursday, September 6th, 9th Grade Parent/Guardian Meeting: Parents and Guardians are encouraged to attend this event in the Commons, beginning at 6:30 PM. More information regarding the 9th Grade Fall Trip (September 12th‐14th) will be presented.

Thursday, September 20th, 10th Grade Parent/Guardian Meeting and Study Abroad Info Night: Parents and guardians are encouraged to attend this event in the Commons, beginning at 6:30 PM. Information about the Study Abroad program will be presented from 6:30 PM‐7:30 PM. The grade level meeting will begin at 7:30 PM and conclude at 8:30 PM.

Thursday, September 20th, 11th Grade College Preview: Both parents/guardians and students are invited to attend this event in the Dining Hall of 401 East Pike, from 6:30‐8:30 PM. Erin Miller and Veronica Levya will provide an overview of the college search and application process, and tips to get started this fall.

Health Concerns: Our school counselors, Megan Reibel and Erin North, are our main contacts for families with regard to health issues. Parents with concerns about their students’ health should contact them to make appropriate plans for the school year.

Please keep in mind that we have several students in our school with serious nut allergies and others with compromised immune systems. It is important that we all work to protect our community’s health: • Students should stay home if they have a fever over 99 degrees, or coughs that cannot be easily contained by coughing into the elbow.

• Students should not bring food with nuts to school, and should wash their hands and faces if they have eaten any food with nuts at home.

Other Useful Information: The Northwest School Student/Parent/Guardian Handbook and Parent (Association) Handbook provide information regarding student life, academic rules and policies, parent programs and representation, and ways to engage in and with the NWS community. Both of these documents are available in My BackPack. The Student/Parent/Guardian Handbook was updated this summer and, thus, all Upper School Students will be receiving a hard copy of the handbook. We will review the most important policies and procedures with students during our first day, Tuesday, September 4th, but both new and returning families should take time to read through the handbooks before school begins.

The NWS Student/Parent/Guardian Directory is available through My BackPack and a web‐ based application, Senior Systems Advantage Mobile App. The mobile app will allow you to access the Student/Parent/Guardian Directory, your student’s class schedule, advisor contact, his/her attendance record, and contact links to the school. The Faculty Directory is available only through My BackPack. Please see the information sheet in this mailing for specific details on how to download and use the mobile app.

Families interested in exploring carpooling options can use the directory in My Backpack. The directory offers several search options, including by grade and zip code.

9th Grade School Supplies:

The 9th grade faculty requests that students come to school with the following supplies:

• Composition book

• Pencils, pens, and erasers

• Ruler with centimeters

• Small stapler (to keep in backpack)

• Three‐hole punch (to keep in backpack/binder)

• Thumb drive

• For Humanities: one‐inch three‐ring binder with paper, dividers; paperback dictionary

• For Modern Languages: one‐inch three‐ring binder with paper, dividers

• For Math: one‐inch three‐ring binder with paper; protractor

• For Physical Science: one‐inch three‐ring binder with paper Please note that the other Upper School grades do not have specific lists of required school supplies. Teachers will provide lists of materials needed for specific classes (calculators, special notebooks, reference materials, etc.).

9th Grade, New Student, and Others‐as‐needed Student‐Advisor‐Parent‐Guardian Conferences:

Looking ahead, this year we are having our 9th Grade, New Student, and Others‐as‐needed student‐advisor‐parent‐guardian conferences on Friday, December 7th. There are no classes for all students that day, though your child and you may be expected to participate in a conference with your child’s advisor. Please mark your calendars for this essential meeting time! Much preparation by students, advisors, and, I expect, families takes place to make these productive meetings. Watch for an ENews at the end of the October that will note when you can begin signing up for your meeting time.