Welcome to our house.
Contents Long Live Real Learning
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The Power of Creativity
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Global Learning in Action
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Preparing Body & Soul
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A Culture of We
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If you’re fortunate enough to attend a Northwest School home basketball game this winter, you might do a doubletake when our mascot—The House—takes the floor. But The House, modeled after our iconic main building, is not an accident. Rather, it’s a symbolic reminder that this wonderful old edifice is the intellectual home of an idealistic community of scholars who embrace learning, both for its own sake—and for its promise to change the world for the better. And the moment you walk in our massive but welcoming front doors you’ll find the joy in learning here is palpable. You’ll also discover that Northwest is a demanding place. It has to be. The world is shrinking, its challenges increasingly complicated. The pace of change is unprecedented. Here, we believe the kind of education that will prepare our kids to thrive in such a world must reflect these complexities. So we embrace paradox. Because the world is never merely one thing or the other, life in the House is both intimate and intense; supportive and challenging; improvisational and exacting; intellectual and playful; academic and creative. We celebrate the power of both individual and community. Here, among a truly diverse group of peers from around the world, students are encouraged—and feel safe—to wrestle with new ideas, express bold opinions, and take on novel challenges. Our interdisciplinary approach and unique interplay of academic and creative experiences are intentional. We believe this is how real learning happens—the kind that develops thinkers, activists, and innovators. But don’t take my word for it. Study these pages, and most importantly, please pay us a visit to see what life in the House might be like for you. We think it’s transformational.
Mike McGill Head of School
Long Live Real Learning Real life is layered and complex. There are intersections of experiences every day. At The Northwest School, we believe learning should be that way, too. Integrated, multi-dimensional, and sometimes a little messy, in a good way. That’s the idea. It’s real learning. At The Northwest School students experience the exhilarating chemistry between academics and arts, between Humanities and science, between politics and culture. They study with students from up to 15 different countries and immerse in cultures around the globe. They learn to see the interdependence of all aspects of life in the real world. The big picture comes into focus.
01
Real learning is seeing the big picture.
S CIENCE + HUM ANI T IE S
Imagining Darwin’s Mind In tenth grade, our students gain a deeper understanding of evolution through scientific, sociological, and artistic lenses. For two weeks they examine the work of 17th Century nature artist Maria Merian, as well as comparative anatomists Linnaeus, Darwin, and Wallace. They study prevailing societal and political attitudes of the times, and then they diagram bones of mammalian skulls. Through the process, students begin to more fully understand how the great questions of evolution arose.
C H E M I S T RY + E N V I R O N M E N T
Analyzing Real Data Advanced Chemistry students gain a better understanding of their impact on the environment by connecting chemistry lessons to their everyday lives. In one unit, they study the physical and chemical properties of plastics and then make their own bioplastics, burying them in soil and digging them up at the end of the year to see how much they have decomposed. In another unit, students conduct carbon footprint analyses of their own homes, gathering date on transportation, electricity, and food consumption. Moreover, they investigate King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan, research the fuels typically used by the county, and calculate the greenhouse emissions released by those fuels. Lastly, they synthesize their research to advise King County which fuels to keep using responsibly, which to eliminate, and what strategies might improve energy efficiency such as running all buses on biodiesel.
CIVICS + ACT IVISM
Learning Through Action Seniors start their final year by jumping into a political campaign. From city council to presidential races, students select a candidate or initiative, contact local campaign headquarters, and devote 18 hours to the cause. They must interview the candidate or someone closely connected to the campaign, write a transcript of the interview as well as complete an analysis of campaign literature and an evaluation of the election outcome.
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NWS opened the world to me in a way I never could have imagined. I was exposed to complex issues from both sides — it gave me such incredible information and a different life perspective and the confidence to ‘do,’ to go out in the world. Lynda Turet ’01, Master of Arts in Human Geography, University of Washington
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BIOLO GY + GENE T IC S + T ECHNOLO GY
Discovering High Tech Tools In our yearlong course Advanced Topics in Biology, students engage in exciting lab activities and discussions to discover how genetics can be used as a tool to improve human health. Students research a protein, cancer, virus, and an epidemic of their choice. Through labs, they use modeling (of insulin), transformation (of bacteria to explain insulin production), and electrophoresis (to detect genetic mutations). They also learn to use sophisticated scientific tools like BLAST to detect the BrCa1 gene, and ELISA to test for HIV. Critically, students gain the skills to understand, design, and communicate scientific research. As they push into areas at the forefront of scientific discovery, students debate and grapple with the ethical issues surrounding advancing genetic knowledge and technology.
Manipulating DNA Thanks to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Science Education Partnership, Northwest 10th graders engage in real-life DNA manipulation. Specifically, they conduct a lab in electrophoresis, one of the methods used in DNA matching for criminal investigations. This lab allows students to actually see the DNA patterns and discern which ones are matching. Visualizing these examples helps students better understand molecular structure.
R E S E A R C H + I M A G I N AT I O N
Embodying Role Models Every Northwest School sixth grader adopts the life of a scientist or mathematician. Choosing a scientist from ancient times to the present, they read a biography, gather research from print and online databases, create an outline, and complete a bibliography. Finally, they collaborate with other classmates to write and perform a scene in which four scientists from diverse disciplines, time periods, and nationalities meet and converse over tea.
M AT H + S E R V I C E
Engaging in Business In our Middle School micro-lending unit, students are given $15 to start a business of their own design. Through that business, they are expected to generate enough money to pay back the loan with a 10% interest rate. Examples of products have included lip gloss, hats shaped like animals, handbags, a fake mustache, and carnival games. On top of teaching math and financial skills, the course is a service project: Students donate their profits to organizations such as Goodwilll Industries and Farestart.
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One of the biggest reasons I went into chemistry as a career was my science class at Northwest. Chemistry was tied into everyday life and the class was structured with openended questions. We were told to go out and search for answers, go look it up. The labs were challenging and coupled with the freedom to try things out.
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Lewis Elwood Johnson ’03, Chemist and Nanotechnologist
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Developing Agile Mindsets
Every year, all of our students immerse in two-week multifaceted explorations designed to take learning to deeper levels. Known as Summits, these courses engage students and faculty in crosscurricular studies that are rooted in our school’s values, history, and mission. Students travel to sites off campus and connect with experts around the city, region, and across the country, learning from those who are grappling with the foremost issues of our time, such as civil rights, climate change, food justice, and the ethics of technology, social media, and the internet. Over the course of the two weeks, students experience new avenues for in-depth, creative, and action-oriented learning.
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The Power of Creativity
Complex challenges require creative thinkers. Asking the question is more interesting — and perhaps even more important—than having the answer. We encourage our students to pursue the things that challenge their minds and capture their imagination.
Inspiring students to continually ask questions, to step outside their comfort zones, to see things differently and be open-minded about outcomes, our faculty helps students prepare not just for college but to live life with meaning, purpose, and joy.
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P ERFEC T ING E X P RE S SION
Play Production Ensemble
Imagining. Experimenting. Creating.
Students perfect skills of expression, articulation, spatial awareness, and timing in Northwest’s sophisticated and professional theatre productions. Both Middle and Upper School students are challenged with comedic and dramatic plays, ranging from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Marcus Goodwin, to Radium Girls by D. W. Gregory and Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls. Through the demanding processes of rehearsal and performance, students acquire not only discipline but resilience and composure.
DE VELOP ING VOICE
New Media Art Learning how to harness technology as a creative and expressive tool, Northwest students use Adobe Photoshop, iMovie, Audacity, Spoonflower, laser cutters, and even sewing machines.to make and learn about video art, Internet art, sound art, installations, digital mapping, and sculptures. Each project explores a different theme or issue, ranging from the prison industrial complex to recording and analyzing dreams to power dynamics in economic trade. Through the process, students develop their personal and public voices and learn how to document their ideas through creating individual portfolios by using social media platforms.
A R T I C U L AT I N G I D E A S
Advanced Photography Through the camera lens and the school’s darkroom, students hone their ability to express ideas. Beginning with five shooting assignments, Advanced Photography students gain sophisticated composition and lighting techniques. In our fully equipped darkroom, they explore archival printing, alternative processes, and color inkjet printing. In class, they discuss contemporary concerns, social responsibility, and alternative presentations, and then synthesize their ideas into individual and group projects.
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The photo lab provides a safe place for students to work out ideas, I’m just a guide. I think of photography as being an indicator or catalyst for social change. I ask students, ‘How can your imagery facilitate a conversation?’ That’s where change comes from.
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Photography teacher Lyn McCracken
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HONING P ERFOR M ANCE
Upper School Jazz Band An integral part of the jazz band experience at Northwest is the thrill of performing on a professional stage at Seattle’s venerable Tula’s Restaurant and Jazz Club. Every spring, our Upper School Jazz Band opens for professional jazz musicians at Tula’s, and in the process, participate in the rich legacy of music rooted in Seattle’s jazz tradition. In the most recent performance, the 14-piece ensemble played a wide range of classic jazz hits, including “Straight, No Chaser” by Thelonious Monk, “Time Will Tell” by Art Blakey, “Strasbourg St. Denis” by Roy Hargrove, and “Boplicity” by Miles Davis and Gil Evans.
G AINING AGIL I T Y
Movement and Dance Focus, confidence, and collaboration are skills students develop through Northwest School’s dance classes, ranging from contemporary jazz and popular dance styles to modern, improvisational, and the new challenges of advanced ensemble work.
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Everything you dream can be made visible in clay.
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Ceramics teacher Randy Silver
P R AC T ICING P RO CE S S
Creating in 3D Nurturing the creative instinct is an essential part of learning at The Northwest School. Our ceramics students develop imagination, creativity, risk-taking, and patience as they sculpt, hand-build, and wheel throw pounds of clay in our state-of-the-art ceramics studio.
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Global Learning in Action In today’s interconnected world, a global perspective is critical. At The Northwest School, we build global learning into everyday school life. Our boarding program brings up to 60 students from other countries to live on campus and join our community. Domestic students team up with international students in science labs, Humanities debates, athletic teams, and arts productions. We also send students abroad for two - to three -week trips and for extended study. Students can choose to live and attend classes for eight weeks at our partner schools in France, Spain, or Taiwan.
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Global learning is real learning. Essential to developing a global perspective is the opportunity to immerse in the culture, history, and languages of other countries. At Northwest, global learning is built into everyday school life. Students pursue significant global studies in each grade and have the benefit of studying, playing sports, and forming friendships with boarding students from China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Ethiopia.
C O N V E R S I N G I N M U LT I P L E L ANGUAGES
Trimester Study Abroad In addition to learning to speak Chinese, French, or Spanish, Northwest students have the opportunity to travel abroad for eight-week student exchanges made possible through our network of partner schools: Centro Docente MarĂa in Seville, Spain, LycĂŠe Emmanuel Mounier in Angers, France, The Affilliated High School of National ChengChi University in Taipei, Taiwan, Dajing High School in Shanghai, China, and the International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
CROS SING B ORDER S
International Trip Opportunities Many of our students find that Northwest’s annual trips abroad, to places such as Spain, China, Taiwan, France, El Salvador, and Ethiopia are transformative experiences. A particularly powerful example is the two-week trip to El Salvador. Students prepare by studying the country’s twelve-year civil war and the 1992 Peace Accord. In El Salvador, they stay with host families, meet and talk with former refugees of the war, and visit historical and cultural sites.
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At Northwest, I gained a much broader awareness of things happening outside my life and the larger patterns of conflict in the world. I learned I can take an active role in doing something about them. NWS made me excited to be part of a solution and to want to make things better.
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Emma Fuller ’05, Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
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Participating Schools Lelt Foundation Ensemble Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
T R ANS CENDING B ORDERS
The Virtual Orchestra Project In an exciting collaborative experience, Northwest’s Upper School Orchestra students engage and perform with students from six other schools around the world: Colombia, Thailand, Israel, Ethiopia, Italy, and the eastern United States. The project begins with all students introducing themselves by sending each other “video postcards.” Then, in their respective countries, students practice and video record the same piece of music, adapting it to their available instruments. All of these videos are edited together and the final version, with students from all five continents playing in syncopation, is unveiled at our Spring Musical Concert.
Givatayim Conservatory Tel Aviv, Israel Colegio Salinari Montescaglioso, Italy Colegio Jorge Washington Cartegena, Colombia International School Bankok Bankok, Thailand Duke Ellington School of the Arts Washington D.C. The Northwest School Seattle, Washington
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If music truly is the universal language, then we should be able to transcend all barriers – our borders should disintegrate. That’s what happens with the Virtual Orchestra Project.
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Orchestra teacher Jo Nardollilo
G AINING GLOB AL P ERSP EC T IVE
Debating World Issues Eleventh-graders tackle some of the world’s thorniest and most controversial issues in our annual Eleventh Grade Debates. International and domestic students team up to research the pros and cons of issues such as using drones to combat terrorism, phasing out nuclear power, ending agricultural subsidies, and closing Guantanamo Prison. Leading up to the debates, teammates strategize both sides of the issue, practice arguing either side, and a few days before, they finally learn which side they’re on. On debate day, they argue in front of their peers and faculty. Students observing the debate are allowed to ask clarifying questions, provide critical analysis of the debate’s performance, and vote on the issue.
UNDER S TANDING P OL I T IC AL F ORCE S
Seventh Grade World Court Seventh-graders grasp the impact of politics on indigenous cultures through our annual World Court Debates. Representing England, France, Spain, the United States, and Native American cultures, students battle it out for land rights to the Pacific Northwest territory in 1810. The passion of these debates is often so intense it spills out into the hallway and reverberates through the House.
L E ARNING GLOB AL DIP LO M ACY
Model U.N. Student members of The Northwest School Model U.N. Interest Group participated in the 2017 Pacific Model United Nations Conference in Seattle. As participants, they adopted the role of a country’s delegate in the general assembly or committee of the United Nations, or a United States senator. After working through issues and proposing resolutions to solve global issues, the students took on an emergency crisis simulation. Past crises have centered around rogue nations and disease outbreaks.
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Preparing Body and Soul “
I stress that the score is only one aspect of the game – the bigger picture is your integrity. This is much bigger than winning or losing. It’s about getting knocked down, getting back up, and helping your teammate up. It’s about mindfulness: how you are responding to and living your life, both inside and outside of competition.
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Britt Atack, NWS Athletics Director
A strong healthy body is fundamental to emotional and intellectual well-being. At The Northwest School, we believe there is an athlete in every student, and when a student finds the right sport he or she thrives and excels. We offer a competitive sports program as well as a full fitness program and encourage students to participate on both school and recreational teams. At every grade level, students practice dedication, discipline, and sportsmanship, learning how to be fit for play and, most importantly, how to be fit for life.
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2016 Athletic Honors
2018 Boys’ Basketball Team opens the season with 14 consecutive wins and finishes fifth in the state tournament. Gabriel Roldan Barrios ’18 set a state tournament record, shooting 73 percent (11 of 15) from three-point range over the four tournament games. Isa Meyers ’18 captures her second consecutive 800m Washington State title. A school-record 13 Northwest track and field participants qualify for the Washington State Championships. Both Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country Teams are crowned winners of the Emerald City League. Scarlett D. ’19 is named the Co-MVP of the Emerald City League in volleyball. The Volleyball Team finishes with a 15-5 record.
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2017 Girls’ Cross Country Team wins Washington State Championship, leading all schools with an average race time of 19:44.4. Also named top D-II squad in the nation by the National High School Coaches Association. Tibs Proctor ’17 captures his second-straight Washington State Championship and is named best D-II boys runner in the nation. Boys’ Basketball Team wins first Emerald City League Championship in school’s history, earning a No. 5 seed in the 1A State Playoff. Boys’ Basketball Team named Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Winter Team Academic State Champions in the 1A classification with an average GPA of 3.843. Tibs Proctor ’17 wins the 3200m, and Isa Meyers. ’18 captures first in the 800m, at the Washington State Track & Field Championships. Both Boys’ and Girls’ Track Teams are crowned winners of the Emerald City League Championship.
At Northwest, athletics was about a commitment to preparedness, not just physical, but also mental and emotional. I learned not only how to be fit for play – I learned how to be fit for life.
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Chase Sparling-Beckley ’00, head coach of the USA Youth Ultimate Championship Team, 2014
Maya Jackson ’16 claims her third consecutive Washington state title in the 400m, and Tibs Proctor ’17 takes first in both the 1600m and 3200m at the Washington State Track & Field Championships.
2015 Four Northwest track athletes win first place in 400m, 800m, 1600m, and 3200m races in Emerald City League Championships.
2014 Boys’ and Girls’ Ultimate Teams capture both Washington State and Regional Ultimate Championships. Cross Country athlete Graham Peet ’15 wins Washington State Championship title in the 5k. Maya Jackson ’16 takes first in the 400m in the Washington State Track & Field Championships.
2010+ Close to 100 graduates have gone on to play sports in Division I Colleges. Alex Olsen ’14 and Owen Freed ’13 helped Carlton College capture the national ultimate title for the men’s division of the 2017 D-I College Championships. Sam Cook ’15 helped capture the gold medal for the Ultimate Team USA Men’s Junior (U20) National Team in Worclaw, Poland, 2016. Maddie Meyers ’12 won the National Sundodger Cross Country Invitational, 2014.
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Northwest taught me to be strong and believe in myself as an athlete, and to know that the work I put into practice was really going to help me.
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NCAA athlete Maya Jackson ’16, three-time Washington State Champion in 400m
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A Culture of “We” We’re a different kind of school. Creative, caring, unconventional. We call each other by first names in order to foster respect. We create opportunities for all grade levels, 6-12, to be together. We expect each and every student, no matter what age, to act with courtesy and common sense. We embrace our differences and don’t shy away from critical conversations. We clean our space together, whether it’s inside the building, out in the wilderness, or in other parts of the world. We create a safe environment in which to try new things, experiment and fail, and try again. And above all, we celebrate and honor who we are.
Community Meeting Every week, the entire school gathers together for Community Meeting. Students of all grade levels and faculty share news and announcements, perform arts pieces, and raise awareness about social justice issues and initiatives.
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Honoring Our House and Ourselves Eating to Save the Planet Lunches at Northwest are not only delicious, they are sustainable. We source our meat, fish, and produce as close to home as possible and, periodically, we serve vegetarian meals to raise awareness about the impact of large-scale meat consumption on the environment. Additionally, we compost all food scraps, recycle all recyclable packaging, and favor bulk packaging over individually-wrapped products.
Growing Food and Community Food is core to our lives both as sustenance and as a source of cultural identity. In that spirit, students and faculty designed, built, and planted the school’s first Urban Farm/Garden in 2017, complete with 14 planter boxes, an 8'x6' greenhouse, and a ‘treezebo’ (gazebo with a tree in the center). An adjacent pop-up garden later expanded the school’s growing space to 1,000 square feet. Now, year round, students and faculty enjoy seasonal vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, potatoes, kale, bok choi, mixed greens, parsley, and marigolds and other pollinatorfriendly flowers. The gardens are maintained and cared for by students from the Environmental Interest Group.
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Eating sustainably goes hand in hand with our mission. We want to eliminate waste; we want to be mindful of our carbon footprint; we want the think about social justice and ask if people growing our food are paid fair wages. Food provides that platform.
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Director of Dining Services Bethany Fong
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Community Conversations Northwest School students of all ages participate in a communitywide conversation about issues of diversity. Organized by Northwest students who attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), the event provides a forum to discuss identifiers such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and family structure.
Environment Program Taking care of the school is the responsibility of each and every student. Three times a week, everyone in the school cleans the school environment. It’s called the Environment Program and is designed to teach students respect and ownership of space, whether it be in school, out in the neighborhood, or in other parts of the world.
Interest Groups At The Northwest School, if you’ve got a passion you can start an interest group or join one. Some of the current groups include Environmental Interest Group, GLAM, Black Student Union, Feminism, and Social Justice Squad.
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NWS ensured you saw the bigger picture, whether it was an integrated science and Humanities curriculum, or Community Meeting, or eating lunch together in the Main Hall. One of the big lessons we all took away was that we were part of something bigger, and that, in whatever way we chose, we should be engaged in that community and contribute in a positive way.
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Josh Miller ’96, Conservation Paleontologist, Assistant Research Professor, University of Cincinnati
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ArtsFest Every spring, we honor the visual and performing arts with ArtsFest. Before hundreds of friends and family members, students light up the stage at Seattle’s Town Hall with dance, instrumental, spoken word, and a cappella performances.
Celebrating Together
Winterfest Every year, the entire school celebrates science and math with a day-long spectacle known as Winterfest. Middle and Upper School students thrill each other with chemical experiments, catapult competitions, math games, and rocket launches.
International Night Market Hundreds of students and faculty flock to our annual International Night Market, sampling the delicious array of culinary delights from all over the world, including Ethiopia, Korea, Russia, and Japan. This student-led event is a fundraiser for the junior class Migrant Farmworker Trip.
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A Home Within Seattle Our House Our main school building is lovingly called The House. In 1980, The Northwest School welcomed its first students through the majestic doors and into sunlit classrooms. The House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and has been declared an official City of Seattle landmark. A major expansion in 2006 added more classrooms, a computer lab, a library, a dance studio, and a photography lab.
Our Other House Our newest building, 401 E Pike, brings many elements of daily student life into one exciting space. This “vertical campus� makes smart use of every square inch, featuring a league-size Gymnasium, 175-seat Theatre, two-tiered Dining Room, and 6,000 square foot Rooftop Sports Field.
Our Home Away from Home The Northwest School is the only independent school in Seattle with an international boarding program. Our residential dormitory is located across the street from our new building, and houses up to 60 students on gender-specific floors. Common areas include lounges where students can relax and watch TV, laundry facilities, a computer lab, and a study room.
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Meet Our Alumni Naomi Strand ’97 Naomi graduated from Seattle University School of Law and, as an attorney, co-founded a non-profit legal clinic called Northwest Community Legal Advocates in Seattle. She and her colleagues believe everyone should have access to quality legal counsel, regardless of education, income, or citizenship status. They provide low-cost legal services for family law, immigration, disability law, trusts and estates, and mediation services.
Tani Ikeda ’05 Tani directed both the pilot and final episodes of the Emmy awardwinning TV series Wonder Woman, and went on to direct and produce the documentary TV series Resist, about the Black Lives Matter Movement. She is currently working on her first feature-length script called Sealskin Woman, which was accepted into the Sundance Screenwriter’s Intensive Lab. Additionally, she is the co-founder and executive director of "imMEDIAte Justice," whose mission is to educate, inspire, and equip high school girls to tell their stories through films that ignite positive change in the world.
Josh Miller ’96 As a conservation paleontologist and assistant research professor at the University of Cincinnati, with a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology, Josh is on a quest to unlock ecological secrets of the past. He is mapping concentrations of female caribou antlers across arctic regions to gain a better picture of living conditions and climatic changes over millions of years. This data can help drive better wildlife and land management policies today.
Patrick Campbell ’01 Patrick is busy creating the next generation of energy storage. At Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California, he and his fellow chemists are developing “supercapacitors”, new carbon-based materials that can potentially store electrical energy with much higher power and longer lifespan. These materials will mean people will never have to replace a computer battery and will be able to charge an electric car in the same time it takes to fill a gas tank.
Aaron Loux ’05 After graduating from Northwest, Aaron studied dance at The Julliard School, in New York, where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts. Currently, he is a member of the renowned Mark Morris Dance Group, and was recently recognized by the New York Times as one of the ten best performances by a male dancer in 2014 for his work in Morris’s Acis and Galate.
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Come visit our House! We look forward to seeing you in the House—either for a fall Open House, or a tour or visit for students who are applying for the upcoming school year. We invite you to continue your exploration of The Northwest School through the resources in the inserts to your right, as well as through our website and on social media. Our Admissions Team is happy to talk with you about the school application process, so feel free to contact us. Michele Sanchez Director of Admissions & Enrollment Management Dmitry Sherbakov Director of Global Programs & Marketing Alexis Ortega ’95 Associate Director of Admissions John “Jack” Lloyd Assistant Director of Admission International
Admissions contact info: admissions@northwestchool.org for domestic applicants international@northwestschool.org for international applicants 206.816.6032
northwestschool.org
Maggie Ball Admissions Coordinator
The Northwest School offers a faculty who engage each student in sequential, cross-disciplinary study in the Humanities, Sciences, and the Arts. We are a diverse community of people who challenge each other to learn in a healthy, creative, and collaborative atmosphere of respect for others, the environment, and ourselves. We graduate students with historical, scientific, artistic, and global perspective, enabling them to think and act with integrity, believing they have a positive impact on the world.
Nondiscrimination Policy The Northwest School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, use of service animals, national or ethnic origin, or any other trait or characteristic protected by law in admission of otherwise qualified students; in providing access to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at The Northwest School; or in its administration of educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid, athletics, and other school-administered programs.
Facts & Figures
1980
6-12
510
Year founded
Grade levels
Total school enrollment
151
359
14%
Middle School enrollment
Upper School enrollment
International students
34%
54
21%
Students of color (not including international)
Number of boarding students
Faculty of color
15%
$32,559
17
Families receiving financial aid
Average financial aid award
Average class size
19+
3
6
Number of outdoor program trips
Times per week students lead Environment teams to maintain campus grounds
Countries of Global Programs: China, Taiwan, France, Ethiopia, Spain, El Salvador
74%
3-4
61
Teaching faculty with advanced degrees
Number of international trips each year
Arts electives
1415 Summit Ave • Seattle, WA 98122 p 206.682.7309 • f 206.467.7353 • northwestschool.org