Future Bronco News c/o 2030

We are so excited to welcome your 9th grade student to Northgate next year and wanted to send out some information as we approach the new school year.

All students have full course schedules at this time, and there is a form available to request changes. Parents were sent course lists on June 9th, and again July 1st, and students will receive their actual schedules on August 4th via email before orientation, and at walk through with a physical copy. At walk through, they will also receive a chromebook if they don't have a district assigned one yet, textbooks, an assigned locker, a free student planner, and their Yondr pouches.

If you know your student will not be coming to Northgate, and you haven't let us know yet, please email cooperk@mdusd.org immediately so that we can accurately plan with our teaching staff and courseloads. Students may not have enrollment at two schools, so when information is received from CVCHS or other local options that your student is enrolled there, your student will be dropped - families must communicate both with their school of choice and the schools they might be declining to avoid confusion and to ensure better opportunity to receive their first choice in classes.

Next Steps for New Families:

• August 3rd- New Parent reception hosted by the PFC - Mike Hess Brewing Company, 5-7pm. Meet the admin and counseling team and fellow Bronco families!
• August 4th- Mandatory Freshman Orientation with Link Crew- 8:30am-12:30pm (students only) - Northgate Gym
• August 4th- Optional Freshman Parent Reception- 8:30-9:30am- Little Theatre
• August 4th- Walk through Registration (staggered by last name) 1:30-2pm A-F, 2:00-2:30 G-O, 2:30-3:00 P-Z, 3:00-3:30 All 9th grade
• August 5th- Walk through Registration second chance- 12:00-1pm
• August 6th- First Day of school!

Walk through registration, where students and parents get books, chromebooks, lockers, planners, Yondr bags, and schedules is on August 4th for incoming 9th grade from 9am-11am. Families will receive a checklist of steps to complete online in the next couple of weeks.

Reach out with any questions. Administrators are back on campus on July 20th.

There are a few more important dates ahead- take a look below for those, and more information about programs, and again, Welcome to Northgate!

Yours in Partnership,

Kelly Cooper

Principal

Here are some more helpful dates to put in your calendars for the upcoming school year. Northgate's event master calendar can be accessed HERE.

• August 6th- Sports Medicine - Athletic Physical Fundraiser- Northgate Gym- 6-8pm
• August 8th- ASB Color Run fundraiser 9am
• August 10th- Fall Sports Tryouts- Check the Athletics website here
• August 13th- 6-8pm- Back to School night
• August 25th - School Picture Day! Students will also receive their physical student ID's this day
• August 28th- Free Freshman Tailgate 5pm in the gym; First home football game, all 9th grade students attending tailgate enter in free!

Helpful Calendar Links-

Northgate Master Activity Calendar

Northgate Monthly Bell Schedule calendar

MDUSD 2026-27 Academic Calendar

School Counselors and College and Career

• Last Name A-D- Leanne Owen- owenl@mdusd.org
  
• Last Name E-K- Maria Torres Shahan- torresshahanm@mdusd.org
• Last Name L-Ri Khushnuma Driver driverk@mdusd.org
• Last Name- Ro-Z Lauren Mercado mercadol@mdusd.org
• Social Emotional/Wellness- Merritt Rollins- rollinsm@mdusd.org
• College and Career Advisor- Janine Santos- santosj@mdusd.org

Administration

• Principal Kelly Cooper cooperk@mdusd.org
• Last Name A-M Tucker Farrar farrar.tucker@mdusd.org
• Last Name N-Z Tyler Rosecrans rosecranst@mdusd.org

As a school, we use multiple tools to ensure that our parents and families are informed.

• ParentSquare- parents are enrolled on ParentSquare through Aeries/Homelink (the contact page) - if you are not receiving information on ParentSquare, please reach out to nhsregistrar@mdusd.org to check your contact page so that the settings are designated to receive messages. Parents can log into ParentSquare and go to their account (top right corner) and adjust notifications to receive emails or text messages. See screenshot below! Most schoolwide messages and classroom messages occur here.
• Homelink- Parents and students can create Homelink accounts after the school year rollover, in later July. We will send out verification codes, which are required to create a new account, and families can create accounts at that time. Homelink is the tool for parents and students to monitor grades, transcripts, test scores and attendance.
• Google classrooms- Students are added automatically to google classrooms for their classes once teachers initialize them, from their Aeries rosters. Students will also be added to the Google classroom for their graduating class, where we will post reminders and opportunities.
• Parent Facebook Page- This page is for parents and moderated by parents, a good place to get information and ideas, reminders of things to come. This is not a school-run page, but occasionally administrators or staff can chime in with answers.
• Konstella- This is the platform that our PFC uses to communicate. Parents will receive an invite in late July to join Konstella to stay informed of parent involvement opportunities.
• Websites- Information can often be found on our websites: northgatehighschool.org , northgatebroncos.org, College and Career
• Social Media- We celebrate our students and announce events on Instagram, with the two primary school sites being @northgatehs, @northgate.athletics, @northgateart, @northgateperformingarts. Most of our teams and many of our clubs have Instagram accounts, as does each graduating class. Generally our school accounts try to amplify our smaller group accounts where needed/beneficial for our students and community.
• Family Newsletters- These are released by Principal Cooper about once a month, with a goal of compiled communication and celebration of our schoolwide events and endeavors.

Contact: Duncan McElman, director- mcelmand@mdusd.org

Vocal Music- Auditions and Placement generally in May, working also with middle school programs

Contact: Georgia Friend, Director- friendg@mdusd.org

Dance- Auditions and Placement in April; 9th grade students may be placed in Dance I or II only.

Contact: Kourtnie Howerton- howertonk@mdusd.org

Drama- Auditions and Placement generally in May, working with middle school programs 9th grade students must take Drama I.

Contact: John Litten- littenj@mdusd.org

Visual Art- 9th grade students generally begin with Art Design A/B, Ceramics I, or Intro to Animation; contact department chair for more information

Contact: Carolyn Moore- moorec@mdusd.org

If your child is interested in playing a sport, please contact the coach and keep an eye on the website for announcements. Our Athletics Webpage includes information on how to register and important dates. All athletes must upload a current physical.

Our sports medicine program has a one day opportunity for athletes to come get their physicals, while also benefiting the program that will help to keep them healthy and playing all year round.

Any further questions, please contact the Athletic Director, Ben Ballard

- All enrollment is done by the district office, for residents coming from private or charter schools, and for transfer and unassigned area families. If you are from the Choice area or out of residency, please be sure to communicate with enrollment services and follow deadlines. The general timeline is in October for transfer requests.

We are pre-enrolled, now what?

- Course request forms should be submitted to nhsregistrar@mdusd.org.

- All 9th grade families will need to complete an address verification with the Northgate office during the last week of July, when contacted.

Are there any AP or Honors courses for my 9th grader?

- There are no honors or AP courses that 9th graders take. Many classes are prescribed 9th grade year, including Freshmen PE, Living Earth (Biology), and English I. Math classes are assigned based on 8th grade placement.

Once students begin AP and Honors courses, they are limited to a total of 7 AP courses- counselors will assist students in planning for their courses with a 4 year plan during their 9th grade year.

What is Link Crew?

-Link Crew is our freshman transition program, where junior and senior students are trained to be Link Crew Leaders, and freshmen are put into small groups with two leaders, who remain with them throughout the year. They will meet their leaders at Freshmen Orientation, and continue to interact and receive mentoring and assistance from them throughout the year in Strategic Support.

What is Bronco Block?

- Northgate has a unique bell schedule where built in two times a week are periods of time for students to study and work on homework. Bronco Block operates as a separate class, occurring after 3rd period and before 4th. 9th grade students are assigned to these classes by link crew for the first five weeks of school. After those five weeks, students are allowed to select their Bronco Block using the program Minga, allowing students to work with teachers before big projects or assessments, or makeup assignments as needed.

Families, alums, community members, and staff are all invited to put their "stamp" on Northgate's grounds by purchasing a legacy brick for our planned 'Legacy Lane.' This pathway will be installed from the stadium entrance all the way to our planned stadium bathrooms and concessions building that we hope to fundraise for with this project.

There will be limited availability on these bricks, with a finite space, and we have set a goal of 4,000 bricks. Bricks are available for purchase NOW in our webstore.

• Parents should sign up for newsletters and read all the updates/information pieces that come out, NHS does a great job of keeping parents informed.
  
• Drop off can get hairy. Allow for plenty of time, as the slow-down is real, drive through the drop off area (pull forward as far as possible before stopping) and do not stay after your child has left the vehicle. Please also remember students are all over the area- illegal u-turns and speeding are unsafe and put all of our children at risk.
• As a student, the best way to feel like you're a part of the big school is to be involved! Take a look at the club offerings, athletics and arts, and find something to do with your peers!
  
• Northgate is a GREAT school. 9th Grade Parents need to trust their children. As their child begins High School, realize it is the first step to growing a happy, productive adult. Don't shelter them and do things for them. Let your child navigate through everything high school has to offer - from Walkthrough before school starts, to their classes and extra curricular activities. Guide them, but let them choose! Both you, and they, will be happier!
  

Email: cooperk@mdusd.org
Website: northgatehighschool.org
Location: 425 Castle Rock Rd, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Phone: 925 938-0900
Twitter: @northgatehs