Happy Friday, Griffins!

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the halfway point of the first quarter. The first weeks of the school year can be difficult, especially for new students and seventh and ninth-grade students. Transitioning from the relaxed mode of summer to the more rigorous requirements of the school year requires developing or sharpening habits of body and mind, attentiveness to the dress code, and orientating oneself in body, mind, and spirit to the labors of learning. I am very proud of our scholars for the growth they have made these past weeks, and we are extremely grateful to their parents for the partnership shown in helping our scholars make the transition from summer to the school year.

With summer break fast receding in the rear-view mirror, our students have enjoyed building bonds with classmates and teachers. In these first three weeks we have formed many beautiful memories: welcoming our new students and parents at the New Student Orientation, welcoming back all our students at the first-day assembly, orientating our upperclassmen families at Senior and Junior nights, celebrating our eleventh-grade scholars at the Junior Class Blazer Ceremony, and most recently building up our community of learners at our eighth annual Upper School Curriculum Night. Right around the corner is our much-anticipated Homecoming Week (September 26-30), so please keep a look out for further details on that week’s events.

Also, The Griffin Forum (Parent Lecture Series) will kick off on September 21, 2022. This first lecture is entitled “When Should I Give My Child a Smartphone?” and will be presented by yours truly. There are a reserved number of seats that are given on a first come first serve basis, so if you are interested, please sign up here. For additional details see the Griffin Forum box below.

Finally, this past Thursday our Superintendent visited our campus to participate in a GHNO campus security walkthrough. Before walking the campus, he sat down with me, Headmaster Brogan, and our operations team to review several items related to campus security, including our specific security plans, faculty and staff training, rally points, drills, communication protocols, our relationship with local police and fire departments, and other important security items. We then walked the campus together and assessed the physical state of not only the lower and upper school buildings, but also the athletic facilities, our shared spaces, and the parking areas.

Thank you for helping make this school year such an excellent one. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our PSO president, Mrs. Wendy Kim, to inquire about how to get involved on our campus. Roar and Soar!

Warmly,

Robert Funes

Headmaster Upper School

The Griffin Forum (Parent Lecture Series) will kick off on Wednesday, September 21, 2022

What: "When Should I Give My Child a Smartphone?", presented by Headmaster Funes

When and Where: Upper School Library, 8:10 am-9:45 am

Who: Upper School Parents!

Why: The goal of the Griffin Forum is to communicate our mission to parents, cultivate friendships amongst parents, and support parents in their call to be the primary educators of their children. The Griffin Forum achieves this goal by giving parents a forum to mingle over coffee and then listen to a lecture presented by a member of the community.

There are a reserved number of seats that are given on a first come first serve basis, so if you are interested, please sign up HERE. Doors open at 8:10 am, coffee will be provided, and the lecture begins at 8:30 am.

Traffic Reminder

Greetings GHNO families!

Just wanted to remind everyone this week to please be conscious of “zippering” when it comes to lane merges. This occurs particularly coming off of Redland Road, onto Jones Maltsberger as it goes from two lanes to one.

What’s “zippering”? It is still too hot to wear a jacket in the summer!

Great Question! Here is a  video and a diagram! It’s essentially a “one-for-one” sharing of the lane or road when merging is necessary!

Thanks all for your continued patience as you navigate the joy of the GHNO traffic lines!

Our 2nd annual Homecoming Week is September 26-30th.

Here are some dates to save!

• JV and Varsity Girls Volleyball Games at Home against Monte Vista - September 30
• JV Flag Football at Home - October 1
•  High School Homecoming Dance - October 1

Mums for all Upper School students will be worn on Friday, September 30. For additional information on how to buy a mum, see the PSO section below.

Great Hearts Texas Board Mtg - September 7th-9 AM 

You are invited to the Great Hearts Texas Board of Directors meeting on September 7th, being held in person at Great Hearts Irving Upper School (3520 World Cup Way, Irving, TX). This year’s meetings are being held in both San Antonio and North Texas so that parents in each region have easier access to attending in person.

Though future Board meetings will eventually return to exclusively in-person commenters, Zoom access and full participation will be provided for September 7th for those parents unable to attend in person. You can access the meeting agenda and links on our website here. We look forward to the September 7th meeting and hope you are able to join us!

Funding Facts-Public Charter Schools receive less funding than traditional public schools.

GHNO and all public charters receive funding from the State only, meaning no local tax money comes to our school. We receive funding for attendance, and just recently began receiving facility funding with the passing of House Bill 3 in 2019. Now charters receive about $200 in facility funding which is much less than the traditional public school which receives close to $1,700 per student. This alone is a significant gap!

Here are two facts you should know:

Traditional public school receive about 55% of their funding from local property taxes

Public charter schools receive 100% of their funding from state sources. They have no authority to levy local taxes and receive no local tax funds. 

Great Hearts Northern Oaks does so much more, with much less funding. We continue to be committed to providing a rigorous and beautiful curriculum that includes art, music, language, and more! We do not cut out the extras.

Won't you join us on our mission of educating our children in Truth, Goodness & Beauty, and support GHNO today?

Won't you join us on our mission of educating our children in Truth, Goodness & Beauty, and support GHNO today?

Questions about giving to our Academy, or how you can increase your impact to GHNO, contact DeAnna Macias, Director of Community Engagement and Academy Giving

To learn more about Texas Charter Schools or to see how you can get involved with advocating for our charter school check out the Texas Charter School Association page. 

Join us for Headmaster Coffee!

Just as the name implies, join us for coffee, conversation, and a tour! Meet our headmaster, assistant headmasters, and maybe even the Deans along with other parents while we chat about GHNO!

7th Grade parents join us Wednesday, September 7 at 8:20 AM. To sign up, click here.

8th Grade parents, join us Wednesday, September 14 at 8:20 AM. To sign up, click here.

Save the Date High School Parents. We are hoping to host you October 5!

Great Hearts Northern Oaks invites all 7th Grade students and their parents to the 2nd Annual "Explore Like a Naturalist" event! Students and parents will be grouped into teams for a Photo Scavenger Hunt.

The day will be full of riveting competition, adventuring through the park, and photographing fun memories! We hope you can join us! *Please bring bug spray, sunscreen & a water bottle! We want everyone to be safe & healthy during the festivities.

RSVP Here

A very limited number of last year's yearbooks are available for purchase. Parents may order online through Configio. Books will be delivered to students in their classrooms. To buy one, click the Yearbook Link.

Let's CELEBRATE OUR SENIORS by bringing their favorite lunches! This year, we will host 2 "Adopt a Senior" lunch days. We need your help to bring them lunch on both Wednesday, October 19, 2022 & Wednesday, March 22, 2023. 

Please sign up here and we will be in touch with your Senior's lunch order, plus reminders as the date gets closer!

To access the Amazon wish list click the graphic above!

Parents who wish to volunteer, please remember that you need to submit a background check before serving our students on campus. A new background check needs to be submitted each academic year. All of the information needed for volunteering is available on our school website on the PSO page Additional information can be found on our PSO website including opportunities to help under the volunteer tab.

Uniform Issues with Shirts

Dennis Uniforms has discovered that some of the Great Hearts logos are failing to adhere to shirts after washing, specifically polo shirts. If anyone encounters this issue on shirts purchased at Dennis this year, please return them to the store for reapplication. There is no charge to reapply the logos in this instance.

Interested in working on the school yearbook? Yearbook is now a part of the Student Leadership Society. Interested applicants should fill out this application and return it to Mrs. DeAnna Macias. Please note any special skills, previous experiences, and other committees you are currently a part of.

If you would like your upper school student to receive the newsletter please click here!

Soon-to-be Student Drivers!

For students applying for a driver’s permit, please email Mrs. Thompson to request the verification of enrollment (VOE) form with at least a 48-hour notification.

Please make your appointment first, and then request the VOE. The VOE is only valid for 30 days from the issuance date. You do not need to send in the form, one will be issued to your student with the necessary signature and school information.

Please click here to learn more about the Breakfast and Lunch Program at GHNO.

• The 2022-2023 Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) Application is now available. Please apply online HERE.

• If you apply, please be sure to select the options for sharing your status with other programs if you'd like us to be able to apply benefits to Athletics, after-school programs, or other campus programs.

• All students, regardless of status, will be charged the full meal price when ordering seconds.

• Parents can load student Mealtime accounts online or send in cash or check payments to the front desk, payable to GHNO. Any of our receptionists will gladly load your payments onto your student accounts at no charge.

• If you are sending in cash or a check with your student for lunch, send it in an envelope, and please ensure their name, teacher, and class is written on the outside.

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For more information, visit the Great Hearts Texas Meal Service web page.

GHNO Tennis?

Interested in Tennis at GHNO? Please respond to this quick survey!

Upcoming Meets and Home Games:

• September 4: High School and Middle School Cross Country participating in the FEAST Invitational Meet at River City Community Church (races starting at 8:30 am)
• September 6: Girls’ JV Volleyball versus Stacey High School at 5:00 pm @ GHNO Gym
• September 6: Girls’ Varsity Volleyball versus Stacey High School at 6:15 pm @ GHNO Gym
• September 6: Girls’ Freshman Volleyball versus GH Forest Heights at 7:30 pm @ GHNO Gym
• September 8: Boys’ Middle School Flag Football (Team Crimson) versus GH Live Oak at 5:00 pm @ GHNO Field
• September 8: Boys’ Middle School Flag Football (Team Maroon) versus GH Forest Heights at 6:00 pm @ GHNO Field
• September 8: Girls’ Middle School Volleyball (Team Maroon) versus Winston at 5:00 pm @ GHNO Gym
• September 8: Girls’ Middle School Volleyball (Team Crimson) versus St. George Episcopal at 6:00 pm @ GHNO Gym
• September 8: Girls’ Middle School Volleyball (Team Griffins) versus St. George Episcopal at 7:00 pm @ GHNO Gym
• September 8: Boys’ High School JV Flag Football versus Brooks Collegiate Academy at 7:00 pm @ GHNO Field

Sports Registrations

Remember that you can register now for Winter and Spring sports. Please visit our Athletic website (www.greatheartsnorthernoaksathletics.org) and register for Winter and Spring sports if you have not done so already.  

College Rep Visits

We regularly host college admission visitors on campus to meet our high school students! Upcoming visitors include:

• September 6 - University of Houston
• September 8 - University of Rochester (NY)
• September 9 - Hillsdale College
• September 14  - Grand Canyon University

Naviance Email Reminder

Naviance is Great Hearts' online platform for everything college counseling. Emails from our office will go out to high school students and/or parents through our email database in Naviance. Please add mailer@email.naviance.com to your safe e-mail list so that you do not miss out on messages from the Office of College Counseling!

Contact Information

Our office is easily accessible to high school students before/after school and during school day breaks. We are also available for in-person, virtual, and telephone appointments with parents and/or students. To set up an appointment please call or email us!

• By phone, dial 210-888-9483 and enter the direct extension ‘303614”
• Email link for Mrs. Jessica Woods
• Email link for Mr. Guy Hanson
• College Counseling webpage
• Naviance Student homepage

Labor Day School Holiday-Monday, September 5

7th Grade Headmaster Coffee- Wednesday, September 7 8:20 AM

8th Grade Headmaster Coffee- Wednesday, September 14, 8:210 AM