News From The Principal

Thank you parents for your generous donations to Hanawalt in 2009. The PTA purchased coats, hats, and gloves for students who needed them. We have also received great classroom games for the endless indoor recesses we are experiencing this winter! In addition, we have purchased new microscopes which should be arriving soon. Science and social studies often become secondary subjects due to the emphasis on reading and math outlined under the No Child Left Behind legislation. I believe, however, that our students must be actively learning, exploring, and investigating subjects that take us beyond the fundamentals of reading and mathematics.

Any financial donation that you make can be designated for specific projects. For example, if you are a strong supporter of the Day in the Arts, your donations may go to that line item. As always, copy paper and facial tissues are welcomed!

Preparation for our second annual science fair for 4-5th grade students is underway. Display boards are available at school for any student who needs one due to the generosity of Laura Higgins who is spearheading this project. We thank Pioneer for their donation of $250.00 to our science budget to support the science fair. Each fourth and fifth grade student has received a detailed explanation of the science fair guidelines. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Hesse or Mrs. Thomas. Participation is voluntary, but students must pre-register by January 15, 2010.

Major Changes for 2010-2011
The school board has approved the calendar for 2010-2011. Each Wednesday will be an early dismissal at 1:30. The intention is to provide professional development and collaboration time for staff.

School will begin on August 26. Other important changes: School will NOT be held on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Winter Break will be from December 23-31st with school resuming on January 3rd. The last day of school (depending on the weather, of course) will be June 2, 2011. To download the district calendar, please go to www.dmps.k12.ia.us and click on the tab for District Calendar. The calendar is also on the last page of this newsletter.

LOST and FOUND
We have an amazing assortment of hats, gloves, mittens, sweatshirts, lunch boxes, and other items in the foyer. Please stop by and claim what is yours. I wish all of you a Happy New Year!

Julia Burton - Julia.burton@dmps.k12.ia.us or call 242-8411.

News From The PTA President

We are looking forward to finishing up the semester and moving into the Spring Semester at Hanawalt. I know that personally-- Spring cannot come fast enough!!

I would like to thank all the families that drop off their children each day, for adapting to the new drop off procedures-things have run so much better this year and I really think that the children are getting into school quicker and safer. We have had many comments from teachers about what a difference it is making to the classroom start time each day. There has been a decrease in the number of near miss collisions for both pedestrians and vehicles. Thank you everyone for your part in making this a success!! Thank you also to all the volunteers who stand out in the rain, sleet, snow and cold-We appreciate your dedication.

We have lots of fun lined up for the Spring semester including RIF distribution-look for your child to bring home a book of their choosing several times from now until the end of the year. These books are free of charge and for them to keep promoting the Fundamentals of Reading.

We will also have our Spring Carnival Celebration on April 9, 2010. Included by popular demand, will be the silent auction, which was so popular last year. We will also have our “academic challenge” the week leading up to the carnival. All are currently in the planning stages-watch for more information.

The PTA will also sponsor a plant sale-many people buy annuals each year. Why not buy them from Hanawalt this year? (We get a portion of each sale) The plants are delivered to directly to Hanawalt from the greenhouse. The plants last year were great, especially the hanging baskets. The prices are very competitive to elsewhere in town.

We also are in the planning stages for the Parent Appreciation Breakfasts. Last year we changed it up to overwhelming response. ~Muffins with Mom and Donuts with Dad~ We kept good notes from last year, so hopefully we can anticipate demand better this year. It is obvious that the time of the “Egg Strada” has passed. We are looking at new vendors for different options, if you have ideas or input feel free to email them to me. Warm thoughts, Cheryl

Attention 2010 - 2011 Kindergarten Parents

Kindergarten registration will take place on March 10-11 from 8am until 6pm. Please bring copies of your child’s birth certificate and your proof of address. Immunizations and physicals may be turned in before August 26th.

Reserve Wednesday, May 19 from 2:00- 3:00 to bring your future kindergarten student to Hanawalt to meet the teachers. Open Enrollment forms are due by March 1 to the district Open Enrollment office at 901 Walnut Street

Financial Update

As we start the New Year, I wanted to give you an update on how your generous donations are being utilized by the PTA.

Field Trips and Busing $1,695.25
Helping Hands $252.23
Library Book Supplement $1,500.00
Student Enrichment $1,090.84
T-Shirts $1,929.95
Teacher Appreciation $409.00

Hanawalt has numerous upcoming activities sponsored by the PTA that include Day in the Arts, more field trips and RIF week. Thank you for your ongoing support! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at kristiandjeff@aol.com or 255-7940.

Kristi Kiefer - PTA Treasurer

Third Grade News

With their passports in hand, the third graders boarded a plane and took off for Japan! While we are visiting, we are learning about Japan’s culture, history, government and economics. We have taken this trip because it ties into our Social Studies theme of communities. We are mostly learning about communities in the United States, but it’s fun to learn about different communities around the world as well!

In Writer’s Workshop students have finished up their fantasy piece of writing and have enjoyed some “open ended” writing time where they can write whatever they choose. Our next writing unit will be nonfiction where we’ll be researching and writing about a state! Let the research begin!

We are finishing up our unit in math on numbers and operations. The main areas covered were addition/subtraction with regrouping, estimation, and word problems with large numbers. We will be testing these concepts soon.
It amazes us every year to see our students grow and mature throughout the year. Your students are so much fun to work with and teach and we enjoy being with them!

Forth Grade News

Academically we are working hard and learning many new topics. In Reading theme 3 is called “It’s Amazing” this is all about the genre of fantasy, but it can build into many other amazing genres and ideas. We continue to work on all of the comprehension skills and strategies. Ask your child what we are working on this week.

For science we are finishing up Magnetism and electricity. The students will also be bringing home their science spirals and folders to help study. We are having a science fair in February, but this is not a required task. Contact your teacher if you do have any questions about the information that will be sent home. Next we will be studying our health unit.

If you have questions about Language Arts or Social Studies please contact Mr. Lovell or Mrs. Yeager. Thanks for all that you do for your wonderful kids!

Music Notes

Welcome to 2010 in the music room. We usually have some snow and cold weather during January, so we are singing songs about this great time of year. We are also singing songs in other languages, from other countries, and about different cultures. All classes are also working on a unit about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his special place in our own history.

We are also beginning to plan for the Spring Music Festival. This will be held at Merrill Middle School on Tuesday,
March 2nd at 7:00. Come and enjoy an evening full of music!

Spring Music dates
February 13 Piano Festival
February 27 Band & String Solo Festival
March 2 Hanawalt Spring Music Festival
April 16 A Day in the Arts
April 17 All City Honor Chorus
May 18 3rd Grade City Wide Sing-a-Long
May 20 Band Concert 6:00 p.m.
TBA Band Concert – (for the school)

News From The Art Studio

"The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create." -President Barack Obama

Welcome back to a brand new year! We begin 2010 playing in the mud! Our clay unit is always a favorite. It gives children an opportunity to think in shape and form as they take a simple lump of mud and create a work of art!

All Hanawalt artists will be working with clay for the next few weeks. Please make sure your child wears ‘art friendly’ clothes on art day. Clay and continual washing tends to dry out little hands. I provide hand lotion for students to use, however, please feel free to send a small container of lotion for your child, especially if they have allergies. Please write your child’s name on the container. They may keep the lotion in the art studio.

All students are learning Visual Thinking Strategies as they analyze and make connections to a number of works of art. VTS enables students to develop aesthetic and language literacy, and critical thinking skills. Students make meaning from the world around them, gaining confidence in their own ideas, while respecting those of others. It involves interacting with art, fostering cognitive growth and boosting academic achievement. Look for more information in newsletters to come.

Fourth grade students will visit the Des Moines Art Center the morning of February 23rd. They will travel by bus, leaving Hanawalt at 9:50 a.m. and returning at approximately 11:10 a.m.. All DMPS fourth grade students are able to experience the permanent collection due to the support of the Des Moines Art Center and DMPS.

Please continue sending your recyclables to the art studio. We love building and creating with a variety of shapes and forms! Please do not send glass items or cans with sharp edges.

If you are in the building, please stop by to see the fabulous pastel snow people in the fine arts hallway! They were created by 2nd and 3rd grade artists!

Thank you for your continual appreciation and support of arts education for our children. It is so rewarding to see their excitement as they discover something they did not previous know, or make a connection to something they did know!

Stay warm! Sincerely, Sally McKenzie

A Day In The Arts! - April 16, 2010

"The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation." First Lady Michelle Obama

Hanawalt’s Day in the Arts is April 16th. It is a day when our students have an opportunity to learn and create with community artists. It is made possible through the support of our wonderful parents, staff, and PTA.

Hanawalt is the only Des Moines Public School to provide such a learning experience for their students! The focus of the day is learning in and through the arts. Workshop experiences encourage students to think in new and different ways, while providing rich cultural and cross-curricular connections.

Many parents donate their time to help make the day run smoothly. You can be a part of the day in a number of ways:

• Facilitating a workshop for students—YOU can be a guest artist!
• Assisting a guest artist for the morning
• Setting up the rooms the afternoon of April 15th
• Donating supplies for the workshops

Our parent co-chairs are Kay Creger and Alissa McKinney. Please feel free to contact any of the following people if you have questions or would like to be a part of the day. You can reach us by email or call Hanawalt at 242-8411.

Kay Creger kay.creger@wellsfargo.com
Alissa McKinney alissamckinney@msn.com
Carol Looney carolyn.looney@dmps.k12.ia.us
Sally McKenzie sally.mckenzie@dmps.k12.ia.us

2010 - 2011 School Calendar

August
26 First day of school — no early dismissal

September
6 Holiday — no classes, offices closed
24 Staff development — no classes for students

October
13 Conferences — classes will be held; 90-minute adjusted dismissal for all students
14 Conferences — no classes
15 No classes

November
24 No school for teachers & students
25-26 Holiday — no classes, offices closed

December
23-31 Winter Recess — no classes
23-31 Holiday — no classes, offices closed

2011
January
3 First day of school after winter recess
14 End of first semester
17 MLK in-service day, no classes for students
18 First day of second semester

February
21 Staff development for teachers only — no classes for students

March
9 Conferences — classes will be held; 90-minute adjusted dismissal for all students.
10 Conferences — no classes
11 No classes
14-18 Spring Recess — no classes

May
30 Holiday — no classes, offices closed

June
2 Last day of school for elementary schools - dismissal after a half day, lunch will be served in elementary schools

* Additional inclement weather make-up days may be necessary.

Adjusted Dismissal Every Wednesday
Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, all schools will have an adjusted dismissal schedule on Wednesdays ONLY.