Head’s Message

The Heart of The House

No one could have imagined that Northwest School would celebrate its 40th Anniversary in the midst of a global pandemic and within a remote learning environment for a significant chunk of the school year. As a relatively young school, Northwest has seen its share of challenges and complexities over the years. Yet the school has also experienced extraordinary highlights, unique moments, memorable successes and triumphs, and of course, a long list of remarkable, inspirational, and innovative educators.

One constant for the past forty years, and at the heart and epicenter of our wonderful school that came to life in 1980, is the imperative of good teaching, life-long learning, and deep dives into the curricular and cocurricular riches of the world. In this Spring Magazine you will be introduced or re-introduced to some of the teachers who made up Northwest’s inaugural faculty. From day one, it was always lucidly clear that the success of a new school, of any school, would depend on the exceptional quality of its faculty and a deep commitment and focus on student-centered learning.

Our faculty today not only continue to bring breadth, depth, commitment, exceptional experience, and skills, they have also demonstrated tremendous flexibility, resilience, care, compassion, resolve, and grit. In this pandemic year, they have been pivoting and moving nimbly between in-person, remote, and hybrid instruction, embracing new technologies and platforms with the landscape continuously shifting, all the while supporting one another, enriching the lives of our students, and continuing to build community among parents and guardians.

Innovative teaching, academic agility, community, and social justice have all been fundamental pieces of our school’s history and legacy. To the next forty years and our continued success.

Dennis Bisgaard Interim Head of School

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Our 40th Anniversary Story

The values of The Northwest School are seeded deep in its history, reaching back at least two decades before the opening day of school. Thanks to the dedicated work of archivists Alice Shahan and Amanda Demeter, this rich history is now available in The Northwest School Story 1980-2021, published this spring. If you have not received your printed copy, please notify Alumni Coordinator Svetlana Turetskaya at svetlana. turetskaya@nothwestschool.org and make sure she has your up-to-date mailing address. In the meantime, you can leaf through the digital version of the timeline on the school’s website under About the School > History and Culture. Enjoy!

01 Erica Bergamini, teaching a hybrid

class of 6th Grade General Science

02 Erica shows the results of a pH indicator to Benson R. ’27 (front)

and Lucas F. ’27.

03 Music teachers Jo Nardolillo (arm raised) and Ethan Sobotta teach

Middle School band and orchestra students on the West Court.

04 Center spread of The Northwest

School’s 40th Anniversary Story, published April 2021

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