Come Join Us for our Spring Performance!
Join us for our Zoom Performance of Minimal Contact! Wednesday, May 20th at 7:00 pm
Admin May 19th, 2020
Posted In: School News
News from our Administrator (5.18.20 Update)
Dear NHS Families and Friends,
We have heard the following reports from parents regarding OTHER local schools and their approach to online learning during due to COVID-19: “My child and I can barely keep up with the number of assignments posted for each class”, “My son is in direct face-to-face contact with his teacher for 30 minutes once a week…the structure is very inflexible…the schedule consists of many links to different websites that he is supposed to go to independently…”, “My children receive a daily email with 2 links to click on…there is no 1:1 provided”.
We know that NEW HORIZON SCHOOL is doing many things right during this period of continuous learning due to COVID-19. This past week, a NHS parent shared the following with a teacher: “We’re so grateful for New Horizon and the effect it’s had on our son. Most importantly, we’re so grateful for you and how you have played such a MAJOR role in his growth and development. We couldn’t thank you enough. And I know our son thanks you even more!” A NHS student shared the following in response to the question, if you could go back 3 years, what advice would you tell your younger self: “If I could travel back 3 years, I would tell myself that she would go through a couple obstacles but end up at an amazing school with very nice students and helpful staff.” A NHS parent shared the following: “New Horizon clearly sets the bar when it comes to keeping the needs of our son first, always… Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, COVID happened, and it became immediately clear New Horizon was setting the bar once again…They’ve been very organized in developing and supporting online learning…He doesn’t seem to have missed a beat in his learning progress and his ability to complete work independently may have actually accelerated! While it’s difficult to say what the future holds for our son, we are certain New Horizon has already made an invaluable difference in our son’s life!”
Classroom Updates:
So many fantastic things are happening in our classes, and I feel so lucky to be able to visit! Mr. Hines continues to work on stress management with his PE classes and values with his ASB class. Ms. Hillman and Mr. Carter are working on interpretation of non-verbal communication with their 7th grade homerooms. Ms. De Bruyn’s homeroom class is working on their career projects. Mrs. Beavers had 100% attendance in her classes, and students are adjusting well. Mrs. Hellum reported that she had 100% student participation in her classes. Mrs. Nordlander’s class is working on flexible thinking, writing captions for cartoons, and making sure all planners are signed. Mr. Nordlander is working hard on the recording of our Spring Performance. Ms. Schaefer is happy that she will have a 100% return rate for her THRIVE Transition Extension students next year.
Summer School:
We hope that you will consider enrolling your student in our Summer School 2020 program: “Celebrating Community”. We don’t know yet if we will be able to hold classes on campus, if we will be required to provide our program online, or if our program will be some combination of both. In any case, we strongly recommend summer school. Historically, our students tend to regress during the summer academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. They do best in the fall when they have attended summer school. The teachers and I see this in our anecdotal records as well as in testing data. Please help your child be better prepared for a good start to the school year with less regression and less time to recoup lost skills by enrolling him/her in summer school. Summer school will help your student be ready for the next level. See Summer School Enrollment Form.
Although we know that students, parents, and faculty/staff are working hard to provide ongoing learning while the NHS school campus is closed, we also know that this is very difficult for everyone. We know that many students are tired of being online and want to be back in school. We also know that some students are feeling isolated at home and missing their friends and their teachers. We’re aware that some students have a hard time asking for help in the online learning environment when they need it. Some are uncomfortable seeing themselves in the video or speaking in Zoom classes. While we work individually with each of these students who are struggling, and/or with their parents, we acknowledge that online learning is not easy for anyone. We hope that fun activities like our upcoming Spring Performance on Zoom and Mr. Nordlander’s Minecraft activity help lighten things a bit! See Minecraft flyer. We also hope that continuing services with our school counselor, SLPs, and OTs is also supportive.
We continue to monitor all of the news around the pandemic as well as all of the guidelines and recommendations from King County Public Health, the Washington State Department of Health, and the CDC. Most counties in Washington remain in Phase 1 of Governor Inslee’s 4-phase plan for re-opening the state. Last week’s guidelines from King County require that all residents wear a facemask or face covering when out in public. Last week’s CDC guidelines for schools require that before any school can re-open, it must:
- Protect children and staff from severe illness
- Screen all students and staff for symptoms or history of exposure
- Promote healthy hygiene practices (facemasks, handwashing, hand sanitizer)
- Intensify cleaning and disinfecting
- Encourage social distancing
See CDC’s guidelines for schools. If local authorities allow it, and if a school can meet these guidelines, it will be allowed to re-open. We don’t know when this might happen, but we are working hard to build contingency plans to allow us to re-open whenever we are able. We are currently planning to purchase facemasks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant spray/wipes, all of which are still difficult to find. We are also re-imagining what school might be like when we can re-open. We believe that when we re-open, it won’t be the traditional, on-site, face-to-face school that we’re used to. We are considering the possibility of split or rotating schedules, a phased in re-opening, a continually improving model of online learning, or a blend of some or all models, in order to meet the social distancing requirements.
We realize that this reinvention of our educational program will be different, regardless of the model we choose. Rest assured that the teachers and I will always have your student’s best interests at the top of our priority list: physical, social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health; academic and social/emotional learning; building and maintaining relationships; equity in learning; accessibility to learning; and being a school where students come first.
Zoom Link for Spring Performance, May 20th, 7 PM:
Be sure to join us for our Spring Performance of “Minimal Contact” this Wednesday evening, May 20th, at 7 PM. We will open the Zoom meeting at 6:30 PM. The performing and visual arts students and their teachers have worked hard to put this together and record it for you, and it will be aired live on Zoom. Below is the link, meeting ID, and password so that you can share it with your extended family and friends.
Here are some fun activities you and your student may wish to do together at home:
- Tic-tac-toe Products, a fun strategy game: Tic-tac-toe Products
- Google Earth Voyager, walk the Appalachian Trail or find Sea Dragons in Sydney: Google Earth Voyager
- Inspiriting YouTube videos from Varsity Brands “Believe in You” Program: Varsity Brands Believe in You Program
Sincerely,
Marla
Marla Veliz
Administrator
Admin May 18th, 2020
Posted In: School News
News from the Administrator (5.14.20)
As we complete  our 9th week of online learning, it’s important to know that students are doing well, continuing their educational progress, and interacting regularly with their classmates and teachers. We hope that they see themselves as learners every day!
In Washington State, we continue to see positive signs in terms of increasing our capacity to test for COVID-19, trace cases and contacts, and reduce risk to vulnerable people in our communities. Due to constraints on testing as well as the procurement and distribution of personal protection equipment, we are still not seeing a decrease in the spread of the virus. However, a large number of workers have been hired and trained to do case and contact tracing, which should help us reach the goal of decreasing the number of infections and deaths over time. COVID-19 is spreading more slowly in our state than it was before, but it is still spreading, so please continue to stay home and avoid contact with the public. The CDC has repeatedly stated that as a country we are still in a precarious position with regard to COVID-19, and has also broadened the description of the disease to include a wider range of symptoms than was previously known. For our part, we continue to provide continuous learning for our students while our buildings are closed. We know how challenging life has been these past 2 months for teachers, so we know that it has been challenging for you as parents too! Our normal routines are disrupted, we have feelings of uncertainty, and we are all in close quarters with the same people every day. We encourage you to work together with your family to take care of emotional health. In addition to having a consistent routine for sleeping, eating, exercising, and working, we encourage you to have a consistent routine for social emotional care as well. As stated in my most recent letter, the Spring Performance will go on! Visual and performing arts teachers and students are busy recording various parts of the performance, which will be edited together to be broadcast via Zoom on Wednesday, May 20th, at 7 PM. We will send you a Zoom link so that you and your family and friends can join us! Mr. Nordlander is facilitating a Minecraft Activity on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6 PM. Please see attached flyer if your student would like to join! Our Senior Graduation Ceremony will be postponed until a future date when we can gather together with our seniors and their families to celebrate, possibly in August. June 9th will be the last day of school for seniors who are in good standing with regard to grades and attendance. June 16th will be the last day of school for all other students. Remember, Summer School 2020 begins on July 6th and runs through July 31st. The theme is “Celebrate Community”, and we will teach math, reading, writing, and social skills through the theme. Ms. Schaefer, Mrs. Hellum, Mrs. Nordlander, Ms. Hillman, and Mrs. Beavers are teaching. We are uncertain at this time whether we will be online, a blend of online and on campus, or on campus. School hours will be determined based on this decision. As we learn more, I will let you know. The cost is $429 with an additional $75 fee for students applying for .5 credit. Please see the flyer and enrollment form attached to this email. You can register by mailing the form and your check to the school’s address, going to our website to register and paying through PayPal by clicking here: Summer School Reigistration , or by emailing Vikki Colson at vcolson@new-horizon-school.org to make arrangements. |
| Have a great week!
Sincerely, Marla Marla Veliz |
Admin May 14th, 2020
Posted In: School News