I hope many of you were able to come listen to Dr. Bransford last week. It was amazing! And it was also very cool to hear all those visitors ooh and ahh at our new school at the Open House!
Dessert Knight 2008
Friday, February 8th at 6:30 p.m. featuring performances by members of the NHS Choir, accompanied by scrumptious desserts. Proceeds benefit the Voices of Newport Choir Booster Club in support of the NHS Choir Program. Tickets are $10 and will be sold at lunch in the commons this week or contact Lisa Phelps at mjphelps1@comcast.net
All-School Parent information night (Registration)
Tuesday, February 12th at 7:00Parents of current 9th graders (10th in 2008-2009) will meet in the Theater. Grade level counselors will be present to discuss course selection options, graduation requirements and the registration process. Your student should have received their course catalog and packet yesterday.
Upcoming Drama Events
Follies Tryouts February 13-14th 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Follies Performance, 7:30 pm, NHS Theater
Contact Toni Seeker tbseeker@aol.com
Focus Day
"Focus Day" is an event sponsored annually by the Washington State PTA. On Focus Day (this year it's Wednesday February 13), citizens from all over Washington State converge on the state capitol in Olympia and meet face-to-face with their legislators to advocate for laws benefiting our children. The large numbers of parents (and students) who participate annually in this event send a very powerful message to our legislators, and this really does make a difference! If you want to go on the bus, please contact Eric Matson AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Eric is Legislative Director for the Bellevue PTSA Council. His contact information is: 425.822.7191; eric_h_matson@yahoo.com
Attention Spring Sport Athletes
Track & Field, Girls Water Polo, Girls Golf, Baseball, Fastpitch Softball, Girls Tennis - Packets can be picked up outside the ASB office in the commons. All packets due back Feb. 15th.
Mid-winter break: February 18th-22nd
PTSA Meeting: Party Awareness
The February meeting is devoted to Party Awareness. The NHS Resource Officer (SRO), Greg Mills and School Interventionist Trevor VanDanAcker will lead a discussion of what drug and alcohol issues they are seeing with Newport students. Substance abuse is more prevalent at the school than parents recognize and most all students have been exposed to the problem. This is your opportunity to ask questions of the experts on what to observe and what to do if your child tells you about someone they are concerned about. It is also a chance to talk to other parents and develop a network. Please put this important date on your calendar - Wednesday, February 27th at 7:00 p.m. in the library.
NEVAC Registration
NEVAC Registration for next school year, 2008/2009, is now underway. If you are interesting in taking
· Mr. Mason’s CISCO Networking Academy
· Mrs. Green’s Culinary Arts
· Mr. Kilcup’s Teaching Academy
· Ms. Nickels's Media Production Technology class
Applications are now available in the Career Center in the Library, the Counseling Center, and from the NEVAC teachers just mentioned. NEVAC registration is a first come first serve process, so completed applications should be returned to Ms. Mercier at the Career Center in the Library or in the Cisco Lab (Rm 1407) as soon as you have obtained all the required signatures. March 1st is the final deadline for NEVAC registration
Prufer's Art History Lectures
Mr. Prufer is inviting anyone interested to attend one or more lectures he will be giving at Newport. This is a way to support the fundraising efforts of a group of Newport students who will be on an art history tour in Europe, over the upcoming spring break, as well as bring some new learning to families. Please mark your calendars: Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, at NHS Mr. Prufer will be delivering a lecture about Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. As you may know, portions of this Italian Renaissance masterpiece will be at the Seattle Art Museum, opening Saturday (1/26). His lecture will aim to throw light on these remarkable sculptures--their stylistic achievement, their craftsmanship, their historical context--to enliven your visit to them at S.A.M.
He has planned this as a fundraiser for the trip (Anticipating a monthly "series" of such lectures through June). His hope is that NHS parents who are interested in art will attend, and then make a donation. Please consider coming!
In fact, a second reason for his lecture series is that he'd like to involve parents more directly in art history teaching/learning. Mr. Prufer is currently working on his National Board Certification, and this process rightly encourages the involvement of parents in their kids' learning. It is his hope that your attendance might lead to dinner table conversations with your student, and maybe museum visits together, and more conversations. That would be dynamite for our students and their experience with art history. If that kind of thing resulted and you were to let Mr. Prufer know about it, it would help his pursuit of National Board Certification. Please consider coming!
Also, a few days earlier, Friday, Feb. 8, at the Seattle Art Museum is its monthly "Art Attack" event for teens (from 6-9 pm, free for them). The location at SAM is the Grand Staircase area, where they have a DJ and hanging out and good clean teen events in the galleries. Mr. Prufer is encouraging all his Art History students to attend.
Class of 2012
As we get ready to welcome the parents and students of the Class of 2012, we would like to ask you to submit any ideas or information that you felt should have been presented at the "Making the Move to Newport" presentation. Any surprises this year for your freshman? Send any comments directly to me.
Julie Rooney
PTSA Class of 2011 Liaison
http://newport-ptsa-2011.blogspot.com/
