News From the Principal

“Celebrate!” This is the name of our first musical performance of the year. This was held in the Weitz Commons on November 25. This year we selected to celebrate Character Counts. While it is very difficult for some parents to be able to take time off of work during the day, a daytime performance is one of the ways that we can guarantee a high percentage of students in attendance. If you have a preference regarding this event, please let me know. All other musical performances are held in the evening. It was wonderful to see so many families in attendance. Thank you all for navigating the chronic parking dilemma.

The student council food drive for Combat Hunger brought in more than 1,000 pounds of canned and boxed food.

Helping Hand donations this fall means that twenty children have received much needed winter coats. We thank you all for your generosity.

Hanawalt has been recognized as an Energy Star School. We have significantly reduced the energy use in the building even though the building is used almost every week night for community organizations and athletic teams. Last year’s student council arranged for recycling paper in every classroom and also asked that the food service department serve fruit and vegetable directly onto trays instead of putting the food in containers that would be thrown into the garbage. We welcome other ideas as we seek to become more environmentally conscientious.

Many parents have asked how Hanawalt will be affected by the across the board cuts. Our budget has been cut by approximately 4%. This will means we will need to use less paper and make substantially fewer purchases. The impact for next year is still unknown, but every school in the district (and the state, for that matter) will be affected.

We are committed to providing an education that focuses on rigorous academics, fitness and healthy living, and meaningful opportunities in the fine arts that enhance children’s lives.