New Families: Get Ready for the Fall

Between now and the start of the summer, these are your go-to folks:

• General Questions (Uniform, Lunch, How to…):  Contact: Nancy Kopecky, our Receptionist, at (847) 375-­0600 ext. 101. Learn more about being a Northridge parent here.
• Math Placement: FAQs and topics can be found here. For all other questions, please contact Mike Stangel, (847) 375-0600 ext. 445
• My son’s course schedule: Learn about the process and whom to contact here.
• onCampus (logging in, etc.): Contact our Registrar Carol Corter, (847) 375-­0600 ext. 101
• Tuition, Financial Aid or Billing Management?­ Mr. Hugo Chong, Director of Business Operations: [email protected], (847) 375-­0600 ext. 432. You can also get some general questions answered here.
• Athletics: To join sports over the summer, see here. For general questions, contact Pat Hunt (Middle School) or Will Rey (High School)

Once the School Year begins, see here for our general “Whom to Contact”

When will I find out my son’s advisor? We pair Advisors and students between the start of school and Back to School Night (in early September, see calendar for exact date), where we inform you of your son’s advisor, and you’ll have a chance to meet him. Learn more about the Advisory Program here.

How do I get a school tie, locker, planner, etc? You’ll purchase them at New Student Orientation (except the planner, which is given to your son on the 1st Day of School). You can learn about them here.

When will my son receive his textbooks? Textbooks will be distributed during the first few days of school in each class. All textbooks are the property of Northridge. Each student is responsible for the condition of his books, and will return it at the end of the year. Each student in Grades 6 through 9 will also receive a planner, to track assignments and events.

What are the lunch options for my son? The Northridge Cafeteria provides a daily lunch option for interested students. See here for more information. You will receive more information about the lunch plans through email as we approach the new school year.

What technology do you use?  We have laptop carts that teachers will use in class from time to time. Your son will receive login information for the student laptop computers at New Student Orientation. 

Your son will also have access to onCampus, a web-based education platform through which he can view his schedule, grades, syllabus, and (if a teacher desires) other class resources. Note: Parents already have access to onCampus with the same login credentials used during the admissions process. 

What time does school begin and end? Monday-Friday: 8:25 AM – 3:15 PM

How early can I drop off my son at school in the morning? The front door of the main building opens at 7:30 AM. 

How late can he stay? There’s no rule, use common sense. Every day after school we have co-curricular activities, sports, etc. with staff in the building, allowing students to remain on campus. In addition, there is a daily quiet study hall after school every day, including Fridays, for one hour, proctored by a Northridge faculty member.

How do I find out about other families who live near me so we can organize car pools? The School Directory is your best source, it lists each family and their addresses. In addition, the front office may be able to suggest families in your geographic area.

To get the School Directory or advice, please contact Mrs. Nancy Kopecky, Receptionist, at [email protected] or (847) 375-0600.

Is my son assigned a hall locker or gym locker? Every Northridge student is assigned a hall locker for the duration of the school year. Each hall locker contains a pre-installed lock.

Students in grades 6-9 will also receive a gym locker for physical education class. Your son will receive his locker assignments and be able to purchase a gym lock - required, ~$7.00 - at New Student Orientation.

How will my son find his lockers and classes on the first day of school? We’ll show these to him during New Student Orientation.

On the first day of school, students will find their locker by looking for an envelope taped to the outside with their name on it. Inside will be a copy of their class schedule, their locker combination, laptop login credentials, and OnCampus login information. Faculty and staff will be on-hand to help students (and provide new print-outs in the likely event they lose the originals).

How does Lost and Found work? Your son will be using it! Please do your best to label all items and clothing. If it’s labeled, we get it back to him.

If you lose something, contact Nancy (Mrs. Kopecky to the boys), at (847) 375-0600 or [email protected], for access to the Lost and Found.

Items that remain unclaimed are eventually sent to a charitable organization. 

What is the School cell phone policy? Essentially that cell-phones should not be used until after school, and then only functionally: for calls and texts. For more details, please see here.

Does my son need to carry his gym clothes back and forth to school every day? (Grades 6-10) All students in grades 6-10 will be assigned a gym locker. Many students choose to keep their gym uniforms and shoes at school, bringing them home on the weekend for washing. Others choose to carry a separate gym bag with their clothing in it back and forth each day.

What Parent Groups and activities are there? Every class has a few couples who serve as Class Coordinators. Their primary role is to foster a sense of community within your class. They’ll organize events, communicate with your class on a regular basis, and get the word out if any family suffers an illness/hardship and needs our help.

In addition, Northridge will often host Parent University Lectures and workshops for each grade level. And ofcourse, volunteering is a great way to get involved! Please see here for the opportunities.

How can I update my contact info? You can make changes yourself in onCampus - or just contact Mrs. Carol Corter, Registrar, at [email protected], (847) 375-0600 ext. 101.

Can you tell me more about the four Halls? Every student, faculty and staff at Northridge belongs to a Hall. The entire school, and each grade, is divided equally into four Halls. The four Halls are Cavalier, Paladin, Riddervon, and Vytis - each name means “knight” in various languages, and is significant for its relationship to gentlemanly and heroic actions.  The Halls foster camaraderie and school spirit through competition, as well as opportunities for leadership and service.

A new student discovers his Hall, and is inducted into his Hall, during the first week of school at an all-school assembly.

Several times each year, we take a break from classes and have “Hall Fests,” which range from a round robin of sports to tug of war, Giant Jenga, and re-creations of the game show Family Feud. The whole year is a competition, where grades, teacher points, Hall Fests, fundraisers and more are converted into points spurring on the Halls as they compete in various events. The school year culminates in the spring with the presentation of the Hall Trophy to one victorious Hall.

Please visit our general FAQs on our Parent Page.