Northwestern HS PTSA bus campaign
Donation protected
On Sunday April 22 a fire started in the wheel well of a bus carrying students from Northwestern High School’s Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) program home from a weekend trip to New York City. Everyone on board the bus got off the bus safely without injury. We are so grateful for faculty and staff who quickly helped evacuate students — but because they evacuated quickly many lost items on the bus.
Northwestern High School one of the largest high schools in the state of Maryland, with 2,576 students. Over 70% of the students attending the school are eligible for the Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs) program. The VPA program, where students major in Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts and Television Production is one of the jewels of the school. Students are required to attend an extra hour of classes each day and perform throughout the community.
The annual spring trip to New York City is both a reward for their hard work and a learning experience and the highlight of the year. This year the students saw the musical Wicked and attended a Jim Henson exhibit. The VPA program is named for and supported by the Jim Henson Legacy. Henson was an alumni of Northwestern High School.
Some students lost laptops on which they had written music for college auditions. We know of one student who lost everything he had taken on the trip but the clothes he was wearing, his wallet and his cell phone.
Awards from money raised will be granted by the officers of the 2017-2018 NWHS PTSA, after a yet-to-be-determined application process. We recognize that students may eventually be reimbursed by insurance, but eventually is a long time to wait if you are a teenager a few weeks from the end of the school year. If students are reimbursed we’ll encourage those students to contribute to the PTSA if possible. Likewise, any funds raised by not needed for reimbursements will go to PTSA funds to support the school and its VPA program.
Northwestern High School one of the largest high schools in the state of Maryland, with 2,576 students. Over 70% of the students attending the school are eligible for the Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs) program. The VPA program, where students major in Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts and Television Production is one of the jewels of the school. Students are required to attend an extra hour of classes each day and perform throughout the community.
The annual spring trip to New York City is both a reward for their hard work and a learning experience and the highlight of the year. This year the students saw the musical Wicked and attended a Jim Henson exhibit. The VPA program is named for and supported by the Jim Henson Legacy. Henson was an alumni of Northwestern High School.
Some students lost laptops on which they had written music for college auditions. We know of one student who lost everything he had taken on the trip but the clothes he was wearing, his wallet and his cell phone.
Awards from money raised will be granted by the officers of the 2017-2018 NWHS PTSA, after a yet-to-be-determined application process. We recognize that students may eventually be reimbursed by insurance, but eventually is a long time to wait if you are a teenager a few weeks from the end of the school year. If students are reimbursed we’ll encourage those students to contribute to the PTSA if possible. Likewise, any funds raised by not needed for reimbursements will go to PTSA funds to support the school and its VPA program.
Organizer
Rosanna Landis Weaver
Organizer
Hyattsville, MD
