Spring Plant Sale

April showers bring May Flowers.

Order you Spring Plants by Monday April 4th and they will be delivered on Friday May 13th.

This is a fantastic way to brighten up your spring garden and help out the PTA at the same time. What could be better.

Tired of your plants lying down on the job? Try a hanging basket! Your plants will love you for it and it will add a bright splash of color to any landscape.

Download the flier here. Return to the PTA mailbox with your payment. The mailbox will be collected Monday afternoon.

NO LATE ORDERS ACCEPTED.

Questions, contact Lisa Kenworthy (ajkenwo@earthlink.net) or Cheryl Thompson (cheryl@tasty-treats.com)

News from the Principal

For the second year, the Hanawalt Science Fair was a huge success! Students, teachers, and parent organizers put forth countless hours to ensure that a meaningful learning experience was created for all participants. In addition, Hanawalt’s Book Fair, Music Performances, Spelling Challenge, Silent Auction and Movie Night have added to the overall learning experience of students. These events have continued to connect the school and community in a partnered commitment that ensures a model educational environment. Many thanks go to the parent and teacher volunteers that have supported this rigorous dedication to student learning. Also, thank you to families that attend such events for respecting neighborhood parking policies. Undoubtedly we are limited in space so each homeowner appreciates families leaving adequate room to safely enter and exit driveways.

4th Grade – Experiment Division
1st Place: Emma Grimm and Sarah Smith (Which is better to dye a carnation beet juice of food coloring?)
2nd Place: Fasia Naseer (Which vegetable or fruit has the most electricity?)
3rd Place: Josh Thompson (Which water is cleaner (less impurities?))

4th Grade – Science Topic Division
1st Place: JaVonni Tarango (How does global warming effect penguins health?)
2nd Place: Brooklyn Starkey (Are cat's eyes better than humans?)
3rd Place: Emma Hall and Lydia Reed (How does the moon affect tides?)
Honorable Mention: Jamal Johnson (What are the differences between species of owls?)

5th Grade – Experiment Division
1st Place: Intisar Becic (Quick Sand: Is it a Solid or a Liquid?)
2nd Place: Anne Percival (Butterflies)
3rd Place: Mackenna Horstmann and Kylie Sly (Which water is cleaner (less impurities?)

5th Grade – Science Topic Division
1st Place: Sean Anderson and Nolan Pollard (Smelling Test)
2nd Place: Quinten Bickel (Forensics)
3rd Place: Otto Gunderson and Sam Knoshaug (How the Moon Affects the Tide)

Letter from the PTA Co-Presidents

It’s crazy to think Spring Break is almost here and once we return, there will only be about two months of school left. The halls of Hanawalt are and have been hopping. Here are some things that we’d like you to know about:

• The Spring Scholastic Book Fair was another successful event, both for the school and students. More than 325 books were purchased, which earned $1,953 in Scholastic bucks to buy library bound books and other school resource materials. It shows once again that our families know the value of reading. Thanks to all the parents that helped Dianna Thompson set up and sell books. As Dianna says, “Reading Rocks and you help make it happen!”
  
  There will be one last Book Fair before summer break. It is tentatively set to happen during Relay Days during the last two weeks of school. It’s a great way to send our students off with some great books for those long summer days.


• Movie Night was a big success. The school made $342 selling cookies, waters and accepting goodwill donations. A special thanks to Julie Brandt’s mom for the homemade chocolate chip cookies. The PTA also made a whopping $1,110 from the teacher auction. Thanks to all the AMAZING teachers who so generously volunteered their time and money. There are a few checks still outstanding so please be sure if you won the auction you bid on to please submit your check so your child can enjoy his special time with a teacher.


• Yearbook order forms will come home around Spring Break. Some orders were placed at the beginning of the school year during Meet the Teacher Night. If you can’t remember if you wrote a check, please contact Lisa Russell at lisa@scubacreative.com.


• Spirit Wear is coming! If you missed your chance to order Hanawalt school gear before Christmas, you will have another opportunity next month. We are selling T-shirts, shorts and other seasonal items to show off your school spirit. Look for information in backpacks in the next few weeks.


• School Supplies 2011-2012 - The form to sign up will come home in the 2011-2012 school registration packets that will be sent home in the spring. If you order the supplies, they will be on your child’s desk the day of Meet the Teacher and you don’t have to go shopping. The supplies are a PTA fundraiser and help pay for school functions throughout the school year.


• RIF Book distributions - there will be two more RIF book distributions before the end of the school year. The next one will be at the end of March and the final one will be in mid-May. Stay tuned for more details.

Again, thanks to all the parents who support Hanawalt and the PTA. We appreciate you taking time out of very busy schedules to enrich the learning environment for all our students.
Martha Miller Johnson and Lisa Russell, 2010-2011 PTA Co-Presidents

Kindergarten News

In honor of Black History month, the kindergarten students designed a bulletin board illustrating Black Americans who have made important contributions to the country. Included in our bulletin board were Joseph Winters, the inventor of the fire escape ladder. Mr. Winters included a safety feature on the ladder, Mr. Garrett Morgan, the inventor of both the traffic light and the breathing mask for firefighters, and Dr. Mae Jemison, the first Black American woman in space. Dr. Jemison joined NASA in 1987 and flew on the Endeavor space mission in 1992.

The kindergarten students added speech bubbles sharing their dreams for our world. We shared our ideas for making our world a better place for everyone.

First Grade News

If you “googled” the words math whiz, you just may see a picture of one of Hanawalt’s first graders. The first graders have been very productive this winter memorizing their addition and subtraction math facts. The children have been busy practicing with paper and pencil, playing games, and using flashcards. They have all learned strategies to solve the facts they have yet to master. Drawing pictures, using number lines, counting up or back in our minds, and using related facts such as fact families are just a few of the tricks of the trade. Money has even gotten in on the action as the children add and subtract coins. All future math is easier when you know the facts. If you see a first grader, ask them about their math strategies. But if you ask them their facts, you’d better stand back. Just like a cold March wind, they’ll blow you away!

Second Grade News

In second grade this month our genre focus was on biographies in our Houghton Mifflin reading series. We read several biographies in our anthology book. We read about the lives of Theodore Roosevelt, Wilma Rudolph and Ellen Ochoa. We discussed the difference between a biography and an autobiography. The students thought autobiographies sounded interesting because you write about your own life and can add details that an author writing about you might not know. We decided to write our own autobiographies and are currently working on those. We are writing them during Writer’s Workshop and hope to share them with parents at March conferences. This all fits nicely together because during Writer’s Workshop we have been studying how to do nonfiction writing in our Being a Writer curriculum. This is a good example how the different curriculum areas support each other.

Fifth Grade Celebration News

Mark your calendars!!! The 5th Grade Celebration will be at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, June 3rd at Hanawalt. Invitations will be sent out in May. You will be receiving different notes home about donations to the celebration, the need for pictures for the memory book/DVD of students’ kindergarten-5th and the need for either a copy of a baby, toddler or youth photo of your child for the entryway. The committee is already hard at work and excited about this year’s theme — 5th Grade Oscars — selected by the class. If you have any questions please contact co-chairs Alissa McKinney alissamckinney@msn.com or Beth Steffensen bethsteffensen@dwx.com.

Vintage Sculpture at Hanawalt

We are thrilled that Brad and Sundie Ruppert will be working with our fifth grade artists as they begin creating their gift of art to Hanawalt! The Rupperts own Vintage Sculpture in Norwalk Iowa. Their art sculptures are created using found and recycled objects. The objects inspire the idea behind each sculpture. You might have seen their work at the Des Moines Art Festival. Their web address is: vintagesculpture.com

Brad and Sundie will be visiting with our student artists the morning of March 7th from 8:25-10:40 a.m. They will share their art and their philosophy of creating art, and then return as guest artists for our Day in the Arts. You are welcome to stop by the morning of March 7th, and during our Day in the Arts to meet the Rupperts and experience their unique philosophy and art.

Special thanks to Hanawalt parent Alissa McKinney for introducing us to Vintage Sculpture!

Day in the Arts - April 15, 2011

“Even before the artist begins to dream, others have planted the seed in him.” -Lee Mingwei

You are invited to Hanawalt Elementary School’s Day in the Arts! We hope you can join us on Friday, April 15th. If you cannot spend the entire day, stop by for part of the day.

Hanawalt is the only Des Moines Public School to provide such a learning opportunity for their children! Thanks to our wonderful PTA, we have many guest artists offering a variety of creative and cultural experiences for our students, staff and parent community!

Workshop sessions will be throughout the morning, beginning at 8:30, with Frank Strong taking us on a musical history trip at 2:00 in the Gymnasium.

We are still recruiting volunteers to assist our guest artists from 8:15 to 11:30. This is a great way to volunteer, and you will definitely enjoy working with our children as they experience working with our artists. Please contact Alissa McKinney at alissamckinney@msn.com.

Camp Invention - June 13 - 17, 2011

CLEVER KIDS WANTED! Camp Invention® at Hanawalt Elementary School needs your sleuthing powers to find out who is sending mysterious coded messages to the Curious Cypher Club. Then, explore intriguing information about the inventors of the animal kingdom, and experiment with chemistry as you discover the science behind bouncy balls!

You’ll find lots more fun things to do at Camp Invention. Camp will be held on June 13-17 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and will be presented by local teachers for girls and boys entering grades 1-6. Camp director: Kerry Esch. This national, non-profit science and creativity enrichment program is offered by Des Moines Community School District in collaboration with Invent Now Kids and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Register by March 30th or with a friend and save $25! For more information, call
800-968-4332 or go to www.campinvention.org.

Music News

Congratulations to all the Band, String, and Piano students who participated in the Festivals. Your commitment to practicing and to excellence is to be commended. Well done! Thanks to the families for their support on this musical adventure.

We have one more Spring Music Program, Thursday, March 3.

Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Grades – 6:30 p.m.
Merrill Middle School in the gym

There are plenty of seats with a great view of the students, for our concerts. The program will be done by 7:30 p.m.

Our next big event is The Day in the Arts on Friday, April 15th. Happy Spring!

News from the Art Studio

“In art, one idea is a good as another.” -Willem deKooning

This is the time of year when our children make strong connections, and as one student said, “It all comes together!” Art experiences connect to personal experiences and previously learning knowledge. This ensures meaningful experiences and understanding.

Kindergarten Artists retold Aesop’s fable, “The Lion and the Mouse”. Using a crayon resist technique, students discovered properties of crayon and paint. Our literacy connection included sequencing.

First Grade Artists were into measuring after a classroom trip to see Inch by Inch at the Civic Center. Making connections to story and math, the children created inchworm puppets (actually ten inches long!), then measured anything and everything in the Art Studio!

Second Grade Artists have been learning about the art of Wayne Thiebaud, who loves desserts so much he uses them in a number of his paintings! Learning about horizon lines, cool colors, and shadows the children are created fabulous paintings of their own favorite desserts.

Third Grade Artists have been learning about value in art. They created value scales using black and white, and then added one color. Their new vocabulary word is monochromatic, as they apply their new knowledge to create self portraits.

Fourth Grade Artists participated in the District wide art assessment. They learned about the art of Grant Wood and Henri Rousseau, and then created a landscape painting using pattern, perspective, and color.

Fifth Grade Artists are redesigning the Google logo as they Doodle 4 Google. Using their knowledge about perspective and form, the letters are changed to reflect this year’s theme of “What I would like to do someday”.

Enjoy the change of seasons as the flowers begin to pop up! Sincerely, Sally McKenzie, Art Educator

Hanawalt's First Speed Stacking Competition

Did you know that cup stacking helps to develop hand-eye coordination? It also helps students use their right side of the brain which utilizes creativity, rhythm and helps you to focus better. Hanawalt is going to hold its very first speed stacking competition and all students can participate! Look on the Gym doors for your grade level and what you will need to stack, and start practicing! We will hold the competition during recess in April. The winning stackers will receive prizes! More information will come after Spring Break.

Yearbook Order Forms

Order forms for Hanawalt yearbooks have been sent home. Each grade level and class is represented in the book along with many other fun events from the school year. The cost is $15, or for $20 you can purchase a personalized one with your child's name and picture on the front cover. Many of you have already ordered one from the beginning of the year. You are already taken care of and will receive one when they arrive. If you have taken any great pictures from events that have happened at Hanawalt this year, please send them to Mrs. Carpenter at
kelly.carpenter@dmps.k12.ia.us. The yearbook is a great keepsake for your child's school year.

Food Drive

During the first two weeks of February, Hanawalt Fourth Grade Students organized a food drive for the Des Moines Area Emergency Food Pantry. They made posters and speeches to encourage whole school participation. At the end of the project, classrooms made structures with their donations and were awarded extra recess prizes!

The total contribution was 926 food items, 142 personal products, and 3 items of baby formula proving that Hanawalt has a Huge Heart!

Summer Opportunity Fair

Des Moines TAG has worked with 14 of the area’s leading providers of summer opportunities to put on an open-house format fair. This parent sponsored event is offered to both families and organization without charge.

Thursday, March 3, from 5:30-7:30pm is the Summer Opportunity Fair at Central Academy. This fair is an open house with many of the areas organizations on hand to answer your questions about their summer offerings. The Science Center, Blank Park Zoo, Living History Farms, Des Moines Playhouse, Girl Scouts of America, Polk County Conservation, and Camp Invention are only some of the participants. Come down to Central Academy and meet them all. Pay particular attention to Camp Invention that will be lead by Hanawalt and coordinated by Kerry Esch.

Spelling Challenge Update - Pledges due March 1

Spelling Challenge money is due March 1st. There was over $6,800 in pledges and 4,900 words spelled correctly. A HUGE thank you to all of the kids for working so hard!