Friday 1/5 Message to Families

Beloved Families,

I hope you had a strong start to your week, and a great start to this new calendar year! It has been nice to have students back in our community, with our focus back on teaching and learning. Since first semester is coming to a close at the end of January, I want to remind all families to check in on student grades, and encourage students to read their syllabus, so they are aware of the difference between quarter grades and semester grades. This impact can carry consequences with credit attainment and on-time graduation. Parents/guardians are able to check their student’s grades by logging into the Source using the email address we would have in our student database system. If you have any questions after reviewing grades on the Source, please contact your student’s teacher for clarification.

I wanted to also share my appreciation to all of you for ensuring that students are wearing their IDs on their lanyard or clip. With your partnership in this effort, we have had a great start to our school year with our ID policy. As a reminder for next week, if a student arrives to school without an ID, they will be given a “day pass” by the Attendance/Counseling Office. This is part of our ongoing safety policy to be able to quickly identify our Nathan Hale students and community members.

Lastly, huge thanks to our custodial team for keeping our school warm and inviting during the Holiday Break. We came back to school with a great community ready to learn!

For Seniors: FAFSA, Yearbook portraits & Grad Ads

FAFSA Night

This coming Tuesday, January 9th there will be a FAFSA/ WAFSA informational session from 5:00-6:30pm for seniors and their parents or guardians. The presentation will be in the Performing Arts Center. There will be a presentation on how to complete the FAFSA as well as time for general college questions. Please remember that the FAFSA application is now open. It is required by many colleges/universities as well as to be eligible for the Seattle Promise.

Senior Portraits

The deadline for senior portrait submissions is approaching! Please follow the instructions below to submit a senior portrait and a senior quote: 

• Go to hjeshare.com 
• Type in the school code “nathanhale”, all lowercase with no spaces 
• Fill out the contact form 
• Select “Upload Your Portrait” 
• Attach the photo you wish to submit 

To be included in the yearbook, senior portraits must be submitted via eShare no later than January 22nd. It is a hard deadline and there will not be an extension. If you have any questions, please contact: yearbooknathanhale@gmail.com.

Portrait guidelines: 

• JPG format 
• Minimum 300 DPI 
• Dimensions: either 1.5 x 2” or 3 x 4.5” 

Senior Ads in the Yearbook

Senior grad ads are a way to honor your senior in the yearbook with a personalized message and photos. Grad Ads are on sale from now until March 25th. Space is limited, so purchase now to guarantee a spot for your senior. Sales will close early if we sell out of available ad space. Follow the instructions below: 

• Go to Yearbook Order Center
• Type in the school code “7408” 
• Click “Start Your Ad” 

To be included in the yearbook, senior ads must be purchased and created by March 25th. 

Dessert & Politics, Thursday, 1/11 – CANCELED

Unfortunately this event has been canceled. Look for it to hopefully happen in the spring!

On Thursday, January 11th from 6:15-8:00pm, parents and community members are invited to engage in student run seminars which will examine the important issues of the day. Student teams will have the opportunity to host a seminar and engage in civil discourse. This event is sponsored by the 12th Grade Political Science classes. Come join in the conversation while enjoying some dessert!

From Junior Class: Dance Chaperones Needed Friday, 1/19!

We’re looking for parent volunteers to chaperone at the upcoming Winter Ball! The dance will be held on Friday, January 19th from 8:00-10:30pm. Volunteers will be helping out with concessions, checking-in students, and supervising. Please contact Rae Keyes at rkkeyes@seattleschools.org to sign-up. Please follow SPS protocol for approval to chaperone school events; see the next entry. We would greatly appreciate your support!

Volunteer Application Process

For those interested in volunteering in any Seattle Public School, including Nathan Hale, or for school-sponsored events like the Winter Ball, the district has an application process which includes a background check. For new volunteers (who have never volunteered with a Seattle Public school previously) or returning volunteers, please follow instructions. Once cleared to volunteer, please sign-in at the Main Office before heading to your volunteer location in the building. You will be asked to provide your photo ID the first time you sign in to volunteer. If you have questions about the volunteer process or would like to confirm your volunteer status, please email Rae Keyes at rkkeyes@seattleschools.org in the Main Office.

Semester 1 Finals Schedule

Finals for periods 1, 3 and 5 will be on Thursday, January 25th and finals for periods 2, 4 and 6 will be on Friday, January 26th. The bell times for both days are different from our typical bell schedule. You can find it on the Nathan Hale website calendar.

VIBES at WSU, 2/9-11

VIBES aims to motivate and encourage high school students to seek higher education opportunities. Sponsored by the Black Student Union of Washington State University, they strive to give tomorrow’s youth a sense of direction with higher education and community-minded leadership through mentoring and volunteerism. It is their hope that the students see the value of ongoing learning and the need to always reach higher and dream bigger with the endless opportunities that await them with a solid educational foundation.

Students will get an opportunity to visit WSU Pullman and understand life as a WSU Coug firsthand through a series of workshops and activities on topics like financial aid, tackling student loans, applications, deciding the right major and more.

Participant Information can be found on the VIBES application website. VIBES student leaders have projected to host 75 students at Washington State University for their annual leadership conference. In order to participate in VIBES, all students must be at the junior or senior level of high school. Although, they do encourage sophomore and freshmen students to apply, priority will be given to upperclassmen.

Have a great weekend!

Much love,

William Jackson, Ed.D. (he,him)
Principal
Nathan Hale High School