News From Principal Burg

Based on enrollment Hanawalt was granted a full time in-class math and literacy collaborator to work primarily in grades two and five. Tara Niesen’s preservice teaching experience occurred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Please help in welcoming her to the community.

Mr. Garner has been given the opportunity to work at another campus in Des Moines. We appreciate everything that he's done during his tenure at Hanawalt and wish him the best.

Various programs are beginning at Hanawalt including the Literacy Army, Spanish and French, Girl and Boy Scouts, Junior Great Books, Sally Foster Fundraiser, Book Fair, and much more. Thank you to all the parents, teachers, and community volunteers who have worked to offer these opportunities to our students.

Wednesday adjusted dismissal days have been extremely rigorous and productive for Hanawalt teachers. To ensure a focused and comprehensive professional development plan, Hanawalt has constructed a year-long agenda that specifically targets key concepts and strategies to improve the academic experience and performance of all students. To date teachers have:

• Analyzed student data in the areas of mathematics and literacy as collaborative teams to identify SMART goals that will anchor professional learning for adults and adjusted instructional practices for students.
• Examined the relationship between the Iowa Core Curriculum and the national Model Core Curriculum.
• Worked in collaborative teams to form the foundation of a multi-year focus on technology integration. Led by the technology committee (Mr. Garvey, Mr. Gillaspey Mrs. Hesse, and Mrs. Heemestra), staff began to highlight core objectives that students should acquire by specific grades.
• Collaborated with district technology leaders to institutionalize practices that allow teachers to instruct more efficiently using SharePoint, a content management system used to facilitate collaboration, provide content management features, implement business/educational processes, and supply access to essential information.
• Provided with access to a national spokesman (Jason Pittman) on contemporary methods to integrate technology into the classroom. His expertise has provided an innovative perspective on how information technology can heighten the educational experience of students while equipping them with employable skills as adults.

A big thank you to the parents, teachers, and students who were involved in organizing the Hanawalt Block Party. These events, united with the values and customs of Hanawalt, combine to define our culture which is a demonstration to the public that we value community, relationships, and unity. A sincere thank you for your on-going dedication and support of Hanawalt's mission to remain a holistically preeminent elementary campus.

– Andrew Burg, Principal

Thank You! In past month, we’ve thrown a lot at Hanawalt parents and you have responded beyond our wildest expectations! Make no mistake, parents are a key ingredient to making our school great and you are doing your part.

Block Party
On October 1, we hosted the first annual Hanawalt Block Party. It was a twist on the traditional Hanawalk but with less fundraiser and more fun. We had more than 50 parent and teacher volunteers, which truly demonstrates that many hands make light work. Thanks so much to all of you, particularly Kristen Hall who committed many hours alongside our presidents-elect Mary Mouw and Rose Green to make this an amazing event.

Some quick numbers. . .

• $900.00 was raised for our technology fund at the dunk tank. Thanks to teachers Mr. Garvey, Mrs. Hesse, Mrs. Carpenter, Mrs. Olivetta and Mr. Tutt who braved the beautiful, but cool fall night.
• $160.00 was raised in free will donations. This money will be deposited into the general fund and used for things such as field trips, Helping Hands, classroom supplies and Day in the Arts.
• $2,100.00 was raised in the book fair. Proceeds will be used to purchase new books for the library.

Sally Foster
On Wednesday, September 29, the Sally Foster Fundraiser came home with students. Students have been selling Sally Foster gift wrap with great success for several years. The program changed a bit this year, but it still offers the same quality gift wrap as always.

While the gift cards are a great idea for you to purchase and give to others so they may buy online, you do not have to buy a gift card to place an order. Simply go to www.sallyfoster.com to do that. You’ll need to use your debit or credit card to complete the transaction. You will be promoted to give a school code — 242651. Even if you forget our number, you can look up Hanawalt online. Either way, we will receive 40% of the proceeds from your order. So don’t forget to credit the school!

The idea behind the gift cards is to lessen load for students — no more schlepping heavy boxes home to deliver. All orders, except the cookie dough, will be shipped directly to the person placing the order. Cookie dough orders will be available for pick up on Nov. 12. We’ll need some help that day to hand out cookie dough. If you can help out, please contact Kay Smith at kayfentonsmith@msn.com

Upcoming events and clubs
New programs start in October. They include:

• Junior Great Books for grades 2-5
• Chess Club at 7:30 a.m. every Friday for all grades
• Literacy Army. Volunteers are still needed. Contact Jodie Yon at 249-4116 or Sue Hetherington at 255-1540 for more information.

Directories
If you ordered a school directory on Meet the Teacher night, we anticipate they will be ready for distribution in mid-October. If you did not place an order, but still would like to, please drop $5 with your student’s name and homeroom in the PTA box no later than Friday, October 8.

More Fundraising News
Thanks to all who participated in the Non-Fundraising Fundraiser. If you haven’t dropped off your donations, it’s not too late. Just put it in the PTA mailbox. We raised more than $2,500 to be used towards Day in the Arts, field trips, classroom supplies and much more!

Along with Sally Foster, these represent our fall fundraisers. We have two opportunities left — the Spelling Challenge following winter break and the spring flower sale.

Please remember that the Hanawalt PTA is a 501(c)(3), which means your contribution may be tax deductable. We also have the capability of completing matching funds forms from your employer. If you need a receipt or more information, please contact Lisa Russell at lisa@scubacreative.com or Martha Miller Johnson at marthamillerjohnson@gmail.com.

October - Dates To Remember

13 Conferences — classes will be held; 90-minute adjusted dismissal for all students. Teachers on duty from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. for conferences

14 Conferences - no classes. Teachers on duty from 12:15 p.m. until 8 p.m. for conferences.

15 No classes

Attendance Policy Reminders For Elementary and Middle School

You have been previously provided with a copy of the revised Attendance Policy. There are a few key points we’d like to stress. Please remember that you must let your child’s school know that he or she will be absent within 24 hours of the absence. Also, please carefully review the list of what are excused and unexcused absences. If you wish to take your child out of school for a vacation or non-related school event, the absence will be unexcused. You should also be aware that tardies and early withdrawals may accumulate toward a full day’s absence. Attendance in school is critical to a child’s education progress and the revised policy emphasizes this fact. If you need a copy of the policy or if you have questions, please contact the office. – Andrew Burg, Principal

School Supply Closet

This year, the PTA is managing a school supply closet. The idea is to provide supplies to those students who were unable to bring their own, as well as provide an "emergency supply" for all students. Hopefully this will mean fewer notes home to replace lost supplies. If you'd like to contribute to the supply closet, we are in need of ink pens -- blue, black and red. Contributions can be put in the PTA mailbox or dropped off at the office. For more information, contact Lisa Russell at lisa@scubacreative.com

Remember Your Box Tops!

Don't forget to clip your General Mills box tops. Box tops can be returned to the PTA mailbox any time you get tired of them floating around your kitchen. This is an easy way to contribute to the PTA. We gather all the box tops and submit them to General Mills for cash that will be used for things such as field trips, Day in the Arts and more.

News From The Classroom - 1st Grade

With the first weeks of school completed we are off to a wonderful start to a great year of learning in first grade. Students are getting back into the routine learning expectations and new responsibilities. One of the most exciting changes this year for students in K-2 is the additional instructional time in music, art, and physical education. In music, Mrs. Looney is integrating poetry learned in the classroom into the musical classroom, adding a new rhythm and movement. Mr. Baker is teaching new brain gym movements to facilitate learning that we will also use in the classroom to increase time on task. In art, Mrs. McKenzie teaches first graders how to utilize art to increase their comprehension of reading texts. By working together, we can learn from each other and grow more as learners.

News From The Classroom - 2nd Grade

Reader’s Workshop is a very important part of our morning in second grade. It gives each student the opportunity to read a book at their level and practice the reading strategies we are learning this year. We will be learning strategies to increase and improve our comprehension, accuracy and fluency. We are also learning that by reading each day we will expand our vocabulary and continue to become better readers.

News From The Classroom - 3rd Grade

The Hanawalt Third Graders are already busy learning lots of new things! We are working with numbers in math learning about place value and rounding. In reading, we are finishing up a unit on adventure. We have enjoyed reading several stories with characters who encounter adventures in a variety of ways. In Writer’s Workshop, the students are learning how to write good paragraphs. Ask them how hamburgers relate to a paragraph. Students are learning about water in science. We’ve learned that it is an earth material and have done an experiment to find out how water reacts on different surfaces. Later this fall we will take a field trip to Water Works Park to learn how we get our water that we drink. Here’s what a few kids have to say about third grade so far:
Kade says he likes math and learning his facts.
Elmin is excited about the Bloomcamp Relays this spring.
Cindy says she likes all of the reading time she gets.

News From The Classroom - 4th Grade

The fourth grade students are off to a terrific start. In science the fourth graders have been studying the Human Body. We were able to take apart an owl-pellet and see what was inside. Then we put the bones together and found out what kind of small animal the owls had eaten. It was stinky, but lots of fun. We used our joints in different ways to observe how an immobilized or stiff joint can affect everyday activities. We will soon be learning about our muscles and finally our coordination of eyes to hands and eyes to feet. The Human Body has been fascinating for all.

We are coming upon our first field trip to Living History Farms. We will be taking a walking tour of the farms and learning to understand historical patterns, periods of time, and the relationships among these elements. Questions we will ask would be how did towns in Iowa develop? Why did certain businesses appear before others? What does the blacksmith do for the people who would live in and around the town of Walnut Hill? LHF is a fun learning experience for everyone.

Parents/Guardians considering the use of the open enrollment option to enroll their children in another public school district in the state of Iowa should be aware of the following dates:

March 1, 2011 is the last date for regular open enrollment requests for the 2011-2012 school year. September 1, 2011 is the last date for open enrollment requests for entering kindergarten students and those students falling under the “good cause” definition for the 2011-2012 school year. To insure that the transfer of individual students does not adversely affect the diversity plan of the District, certain limitations to open enrollment have been established. Parents of kindergarten students are therefore encouraged to make application requests prior to March 1, 2011.

TRANSPORTATION:

Parents/Guardians of students open enrolled from another school district are eligible for transportation assistance if the household income of the parent/guardian is at or below the federal poverty guidelines for household size. The two districts must be contiguous. Assistance may be in the form of actual transportation or in the form of a cash stipend. Information regarding transportation eligibility and a complete copy of the District’s open enrollment policy and procedures may be obtained from the Open Enrollment Office, 901 Walnut St., Des Moines, Iowa 50309-3506

Bicycle Etiquette 101

When your student chooses to ride his or her bike to school please reinforce the following safety reminders:

• You must walk your bike at all times when on school grounds
• Helmets keep you safe and should be worn at all times
• Use a bike lock
• When riding your bike on the very narrow sidewalks always inform walkers when you are approaching them from behind. Politely stating, “On your left,” alerts a walker that you will pass them on the left side. This helps to ensure both individuals are safe.

Literacy Army

Literacy Army is a group of parents and community volunteers who work with Hanawalt students on building better reading skills. Time commitment – 30-45 minutes a week. Volunteers are assigned a student at the beginning of the year, and then work individually with that student utilizing reading materials and learning games that are provided by the teacher and Literacy Army coordinators. There is a brief training session all new Literacy Army volunteers are expected to attend. For more information please contact Sue Hetherington sahetherington@msn.com or Jodie Yon jodiesevier@mchsi.com.

Magical Musical Tour Day - Week of September 27

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will be starting Magical Musical Tour Day the week of September 27th. This is affectionately known as “Tour Day”. This special day happens 5-6 times a year. Students share music with each other during music class. There are 2 parts to Tour Day, performing and listening.

Performing – Students may; play a piece or song on an instrument, sing, read a poem, or dance. The piece must be performance ready (not just in the learning stage) and Mrs. Looney must OK dances (2 minutes). Students get a chance to learn how to be performers and how to be a good audience.

Listening – Students sign up to bring a CD, ipod, tape or record by a favorite group. The language and topic of the music must be appropriate. Students learn how to sharpen their listening skills. They listen for the type of music, the instruments playing, vocals, and much more.

Instruments and CDs may be stored in the music room for safe- keeping. Please do not leave instruments or CDs in the lockers.

Art Request - Your Trash Is Our Treasure

Please consider saving and sending your recyclables to the Art Studio! Young artists look forward to using the materials and their imagination to build sculptures. When sending materials, please make sure they are rinsed and dry. Do not send metal cans or anything with sharp edges. Thank you for helping us collect interesting materials to use! We can put any of the following materials to use:

• Egg cartons
• Cardboard cereal boxes
• Cardboard paper towel/toilet paper rolls
• Styrofoam meat trays
• Small cardboard pieces
• Plastic vegetable trays
• Small plastic containers and lids
• Ribbon, yarn, buttons, jewels
• Anything you think has creative possibilities!

Which Day Does Your Child Have Art?

Kindergarten Mrs. Genzen – Tues & Wed Mrs. Heemstra – Tues & Fri Ms. Revell – Mon & Thurs	1st Grade Mrs. Nordmeyer – Mon & Fri Mrs. Wade – Mon & Thurs	2nd Grade Mrs. Olivetta – Wed & Fri Mrs. Von Arb – Tues & Fri
3rd Grade Mrs. Carpenter – Mon & Tues Mrs. Esch – Thurs & Fri Mr. Tutt – Tues & Thurs	4th Grade Mr. Lovell – Tues & Wed Mrs. Thomas – Mon & Thurs Mrs. Yeager – Wed & Fri	5th Grade Mr. Garvey - Tues & Fri Mr. Gillaspey – Mon & Thurs Mrs. Hesse – Mon & Wed

Please note the day that your child has art, and help them dress with art in mind. Sometimes accidents happen, and children become very concerned if they are wearing a new, or special article of clothing. I appreciate your help in making their art experience a positive one!