Friday 12/1 Message to Families

Beloved Families,

I hope you had a great holiday weekend and a refreshing week! We kicked off our learning this December with a virtuoso West African drummer, who taught a workshop to our Black Lives in Music class. North Seattle College offers a West African Drumming class which is taught by Blake Cisneros and May Kesler who are Hale parents! Blake has studied West African drumming for the past 25 years and is a student of Mapathe and Thione Diop who are Griots from Senegal now living in Seattle. Blake’s workshop at Hale dovetailed into the current unit as students are exploring how the Griot musical characteristics and their social commentary are the roots of the Delta Blues. Shout out to Blake, May, and our Vocal Music teacher, Ms. Jessica Milanese, for leading the learning of our students by bringing in outside educators to lift our classrooms.

Learning was also engaging in 10th grade Humanities, as students completed their Civilization project, where they focused on creation of stories through maps and various artifacts. This learning lifts our project-based learning and 21st century skill building focus in our school community by situating students back in the center as the learner and leader of the learning while they engage in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills to lead their learning through the execution of the project. Much appreciation to our 10th grade Humanities team: Ms. Starr McKittrick, Ms. Kristina Volkman, Mr. Larry Uhlman, Ms. Jordana Hoyt, and Mr. Chris Mulder.

Music at Hale and in the Neighborhood this Weekend!

The Nathan Hale Instrumental Music Ensembles will be performing tonight at 7:00pm in our Performing Arts Center. This concert will have an eclectic program featuring the Concert Orchestra, Jazz Band and Symphonic Band. Come enjoy an evening of music performed by our students!

Nathan Hale’s Vocal Jazz and Concert Choir will be performing in our neighborhood this weekend. They would love to have you enjoy their performances.

• Luminaria Festival at Meadowbrook Pond – Saturday, December 2nd, 6:30pm. NHHS Vocal Jazz will be performing at this beautiful festival of lights.
• Winterfest, Lake City – Sunday, December 3rd, 4:30pm. NHHS Concert Choir and Vocal Jazz will be performing at the Winter Market in the old Chase Bank in the heart of Lake City, 12360 Lake City Way NE at the intersection of Lake City Way and NE 125th Street.

Yearbook Sales Open Again

Yearbooks may be purchased for $70 until December 16th. Purchase yearbooks online via Schoolpay (accessed from the parent’s Source account) or in-person during lunch and afterschool at the Fiscal window. Yearbooks will not be available for purchase again until March 16th when the price will be $75.  

For Seniors – Cap and Gown Orders Due 12/15!

Just two more weeks before cap and gown orders are due! Go to the National Achievers website to order. Order now to ensure your student’s size is available for graduation – and to have one less thing to think about at the end of the school year. You may order just the cap, gown, stole and tassel for $56 plus handling and tax. For other Senior info, please check the NH Senior webpage regularly for any updates.

FamilyWorks – Family Support Resource

FamilyWorks continues to come to Portable 6 on our campus every Wednesday (when school is in session) from 1:30 to 4:00pm. Families will be connected to staff who assist with: rental assistance information and referrals; enrollment in public benefits (Basic Food, Health Insurance, etc); free diapers, clothing, books, toys and other household items; weekly groceries at its food bank; connection to multilingual playgroups, parent support networks and other enrichment activities for families. Services are offered in English, Spanish and Somali, and other languages through translation services. No appointment needed.

Nathan Hale Website & Daily Bulletin

The Nathan Hale website includes a wide variety of information that you may be looking from Attendance or Athletics. to Volunteering Opportunities. If you are wondering who your student’s counselor is, the Counseling webpage would provide you with the answer. Never ordered your student’s portrait from Yuen Lui? Go to the School Photo webpage. The Daily Bulletin includes dates/times for athletic events, club news, college and scholarship news, and a whole lot more and can also be found on the website.

Safety Update: School ID & Lanyards

Due to an increase in school safety concerns, we are implementing a new school ID policy. Thank you to all the students who started wearing their School IDs on a lanyard this week. Lanyards were distributed to students during their Mentorship class this past Wednesday. Students who missed Mentorship or do not have a Mentorship class may stop by the office to get one. After Winter Break, IDs will be mandatory daily. Students who never had a photo taken this school year should stop by the Main Office to sign up for Security to take their photo.

Attendance – Leaving School Early

If your student needs to leave school early, you are not required to come into the building to sign them out. Please call or email the Attendance Office 206-252-3684, halehs.attendance@seattleschools.org as soon as you know your student needs to leave, and a pass will be delivered to them so they can leave class at the scheduled time. Make sure to pre-arrange with your student where you will meet them outside. It is very difficult to accommodate immediate requests for early dismissal so notifying the office in the morning at least two hours in advance of dismissal time will help ensure your student meets you at the desired time.

Enjoy the weekend!

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