April 23, 2018
Dear Hanlon Families,
I hope that everyone had a wonderful April Break. Did you know that our local cubs from Islington Pack 1 celebrated Earth Day by cleaning up trash around Hanlon and Downey Schools? Thank you for helping to keep our grounds beautiful and for involving the children in community service!
Spirit Day
The Hanlon Student Council would like to remind you of our next Spirit Day on Tuesday, April 24th: Crazy Outfit Day. Ideas suggested by students include:
- Style your hair in crazy ways!
- Wear mismatched clothes or crazy socks
- Wear your shirt inside out or backwards
- *Be sure to wear two of the same shoes.*
Science Fair
The deadline for registration for this year’s Science Fair is Tuesday, April 24th. The 3rd annual Hanlon Science Fair will be held on Tuesday, May 1st from 6:30-7:30pm. The Fair is for students grades K-5, and is supported by the Hanlon PTO. The aim is to get Hanlon students engaged in science and the scientific process, and have a fun time doing so! To participate, students/parents should identify a project that allows the students to generate a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, and share their results. Students are encouraged to work in small groups (2-3 students), but can participate individually as well. Please use this link to register your student and volunteer to help us make the event a success: 2018 Hanlon Science Fair Registration.
Math League
Congratulations to all students who participated in this year’s Math League for students in grades 3-5. Math League met every Friday morning at 7:45 in the Hanlon Cafeteria. Students worked hard with their teams to solve challenging math and logic problems. It is impressive to see such dedication and perseverance in the Math League students. We had a nice gathering on Friday to celebrate the students and to recognize their great performance at the district-wide Town Math Meet. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time to help out on Friday mornings, and thank you to the 3rd and 4th grade coordinators Joanna Blaney and Rab Shanshiry. Math League would not be possible without the organization and communication of Hongmei Xu, Math League Coordinator. We will be seeking a parent to shadow Ms. Xu as next year will be her last as Coordinator. We’ll also seek parent volunteers as well as coordinators for 3rd, and possibly 4th grade. For volunteers and coordinators, communication skills and enthusiasm are far more important than math skill. Email Ms. Cronin or reach out to Ms. Xu if you are curious to learn more. 
Class Placement
The placement process for the ‘18-19 school year will begin in May. Teachers work carefully to create balanced classes for the upcoming school year. If you have information about your child’s learning needs that you would like to share, please send it to Mrs. Cronin in writing (letter or email) by Friday, May 4th. Letters turned in after the deadline may not be considered in the placement process. Please remember that requests for specific teachers will not be accepted, and teachers’ grade level assignments for next year have not yet been finalized. If you are the parent of multiples (twins, triplets, etc), you may specify whether you want your children placed in the same class or different classes. Parents of current kindergarteners will be invited to a information session on April 24th to learn more about the K/1 multi-age classroom that will complement our first grade classrooms next year. Also, if your child will take the bus next year, please remember to register for the 2018-2019 school year.
Hanlon Arts Night
All Hanlon families are invited to attend the Hanlon Arts Show featuring the Visual and Performing Arts of our K-5 Hanlon students. The Arts Show will take place on Wednesday, May 23rd from 5:30-7:00 PM in the Hanlon gym. Throughout the night, we are asking students and parents to help us transform our gymnasium into an Art Gallery.
There are some expectations of behavior that we would like the Hanlon Community to keep in mind while attending this special event. Click on this short PowerPoint describing what we expect. Please look it over and talk with your children before attending the show. Ms. Goodwin and Ms. Pickering will be discussing these expectations in both Art and Music class prior to the show.
The students have worked hard throughout the school year. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our Visual and Performing Arts growth with you. Please feel free to email Ms. Goodwin and Ms. Pickering with any questions. We look forward to a successful event celebrating our talented students!
School Building Project
Many of you have received communications from Superintendent Parks regarding the school building project and the next steps in planning for the future of the Westwood Public Schools, especially as it relates to the elementary school buildings. Those of you who joined me on the Hanlon tours saw firsthand how our school has outlived its useful life, despite being clean and well-maintained. The concept of potential new buildings is exciting, but there is a long way to go and your input is critical as we move through the process. There is a link under the district tab on the Westwood Public Schools website - Elementary Building Project - where you can find information and any meetings or events related to the project. Stay informed and get involved. Exciting things are about to happen in WPS!
March 30, 2018
Dear Hanlon Families,
We occasionally hear that Westwood isn’t a very diverse town, and in some ways this is true. However, you might be surprised to hear that many of our students have parents and grandparents who immigrated from other countries. I was chatting with a teacher last week who told me that each of the four students in her reading group spoke a language other than English at home! We would like to recognize and celebrate the cultural backgrounds and rich traditions of our Hanlon families. Our PTO and Site Council are in the early stages of planning for Hanlon’s first ever International Cultural Fair, set to take place next spring. While our preliminary vision consists of families creating their own booths or tables with artifacts and interactive exhibits representing their cultural heritage (flags, art, food, clothing, music, games, etc.), we know that there are so many ideas out there. We would love to hear your ideas and what your family might bring to the Fair. Please join us on Monday, April 9 at 7:30PM in the Hanlon cafeteria for a PTO meeting and brainstorming session. Hope you can make it!
Teacher Luncheon
On behalf of the faculty and staff, I would like to thank all the families who donated to the Teacher Luncheon on Thursday. Teachers were delighted to come into school after a late night at Evening Conferences and find a beautiful spread of delicious lunch foods, desserts, and beverages. Thank you to Joanna Hamilton and Meredith DiBattista for organizing, to Pam Quinn for her famous apple pie, and to all the families to baked. We appreciate you!
BOKS
The before school movement program known as Building Our Kids’ Success (BOKS) ended this week. Students who participated enjoyed getting their bodies moving before school. Active Kids = Active Minds. Many thanks to our volunteers and parent coordinators: Amanda Drainville, Amy Meredith, Kathy Beggan, Anne Donahue, Ethan Philips, Liz Collins, and Emily Mohr. An extra-special thank you goes to Sue Foscaldo. A founding member of BOKS at Hanlon, this is Sue’s last year with the BOKS program as her youngest is moving on to Thurston next year. Sue will be greatly missed! We will be looking for coaches and leaders for next year’s BOKS program, so reach out to Amanda Drainville or Mrs. Cronin if you are curious about learning more.
Parent Event: No Such Thing as a Bad Kid
Westwood’s SEPAC is sponsoring a free parent workshop with Charlie Appelstein, author of No Such Thing as a Bad Kid, on Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:00 in the PD Room at Central Administration. The focus will be on understanding and responding to kids with emotional and behavioral challenges using a positive, strengths-based approach. Click here to see the flyer.
The Fairy Tale Network
Congratulations to the cast of the Hanlon School Play! The entire school was treated to a performance of The Fairy Tale Network, and it was fantastic! Despite several snow day cancellations, Director Catherine Starsiak kept things moving so that the children were ready to take the stage. Many thanks to the parents who volunteered to supervise the homework club, and to the PTO for their sponsorship.
Class Placement
The placement process for the ‘18-19 school year will begin in May. Teachers work carefully to create balanced classes for the upcoming school year. If you have information about your child’s learning needs that you would like to share, please send it to Mrs. Cronin in writing (letter or email) by Friday, May 4th. Letters turned in after the deadline may not be considered in the placement process. Please remember that requests for specific teachers will not be accepted, and teachers’ grade level assignments for next year have not yet been finalized. If you are the parent of multiples (twins, triplets, etc), you may specify whether you want your children placed in the same class or different classes. Parents of current kindergarteners will be invited to a information session in late April to learn more about the K/1 multi-age classroom that will complement our first grade classrooms next year. Also, if your child will take the bus next year, please remember to register for the 2018-2019 school year.
Science Fair
The 3rd annual Hanlon Science Fair will be held on Tuesday, May 1st from 6:30-7:30pm. The Fair is for students grades K-5, and is supported by the Hanlon PTO. The aim is to get Hanlon students engaged in science and the scientific process, and have a fun time doing so! To participate, students/parents should identify a project that allows the students to generate a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, and share their results. Students are encouraged to work in small groups (2-3 students), but can participate individually as well. Please use this link to register your student and volunteer to help us make the event a success: 2018 Hanlon Science Fair Registration. The deadline for registration is Tuesday, April 24th.
School Building Project
Many of you have received communications from Superintendent Parks regarding the school building project and the next steps in planning for the future of the Westwood Public Schools, especially as it relates to the elementary school buildings. Those of you who joined me on the Hanlon tours last weekend saw firsthand how our school has outlived its useful life, despite being clean and well-maintained. The concept of potential new buildings is exciting, but there is a long way to go and your input is critical as we move through the process. If you missed the Community Forum at Hanlon last week, there are two more, both on Thursday, April 12th. The morning Forum will be at 9AM at the Senior Center and the evening Forum will take place at 7PM at the Sheehan Elementary. There is a link under the district tab on the Westwood Public Schools website - Elementary Building Project - where you can find information and any meetings or events related to the project. Stay informed and get involved. Exciting things are about to happen in WPS!
March 14, 2018
Dear Hanlon Families,
I’m excited to tell you about an evening event for parents on Monday, March 19th. Dr. Nadja Reilly, Associate Director of the Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at William James College, is coming to Westwood. Dr. Reilly has been working with elementary staff around supporting social and emotional development in children. I’ve had the good fortune of seeing Dr. Reilly speak twice this year, and I am looking forward to seeing her again on Tuesday. The topic will be “Partnering with Schools to Raise Kind and Resilient Kids.” The evening also includes a panel discussion with several Westwood faculty. You can submit your questions for Dr. Reilly ahead of time through this link https://goo.gl/forms/dP6Fi5d6igkFkN2P2. I hope to see many Hanlon families at the WHS Little Theater at 7PM! Click here to see the flyer.
One School, One Story
You may remember from my last Post that Hanlon students participated in another One School, One Story: Stitchin' and Pullin' by Patricia McKissack. In all twelve of our classrooms, teachers read aloud selected poems from the book based on the incredible quilters of Gee’s Bend Alabama. As a culminating project, each classroom created a paper quilt, and families can view the quilts hanging in our hallways. Here are a few:
Many thanks to Mandy Taft-Pearman, Christina Martin, and Suzanne Nolan Vinson for their help with the quilt preparation and assembly.
Banners
Also lining the Hanlon halls are ten beautiful new banners with quotes, photographs, and biographies of influential African Americans. The quotes were compiled by Hanlon staff members Julie Fagone and Kathy McHoul. Banners were designed and donated by Jason Hatcher, with help from Mandy Taft-Pearman. Many students have been seen reading and searching for the banners as though they are part of a scavenger hunt.
Diversity Collection
Hanlon’s classroom libraries also got a boost this week. Westwood Public Schools funded a collection of picture books and novels with diverse themes and protagonists for Hanlon classrooms and our library. Click on the grade level span to see titles and descriptions of the books in each collection:
Kindergarten and First Grade
Second and Third Grade
Fourth and Fifth Grade
Many thanks to Jenny Slocum, Christina Martin, Olivia Carrick, Allison Borchers, Emily Parks, and Barbara Silverstein for their help in curating, ordering, labeling, and sorting these books.
School Building Project
Many of you have received communications from Superintendent Parks regarding the school building project and the next steps in planning for the future of the Westwood Public Schools, especially as it relates to the elementary school buildings. Those of you who joined me on the Hanlon tours last weekend saw firsthand how our school has outlived its useful life, despite being clean and well-maintained. The concept of potential new buildings is exciting, but there is a long way to go and your input is critical as we move through the process. I encourage you to get involved and attend some of the meetings. We’ll be having one at Hanlon on March 20th. There is a link under the district tab on the Westwood Public Schools website - Elementary Building Project - where you can find information and any meetings or events related to the project. Stay informed and get involved. Exciting things are about to happen in WPS!
Conferences
Parent/Teacher conferences will begin on March 28th. This is an opportunity for you to hear about the social and academic progress your child has made so far. If you have specific questions for your child’s teacher, please email the teacher ahead of time, so that she/he can set aside some time during the conference to answer your questions. Lastly, although it may be tempting to discuss next year’s teacher, it is too early to determine that. As always, I will invite you to share your insight about your child’s learning style in writing in April.
MCAS Testing Dates
If you have a third, fourth, or fifth grader at Hanlon, please make sure you have marked down the MCAS testing dates on your calendar. A complete list has been posted to the “News” section of this website since early November, and can also be found by clicking here. If you are making spring travel plans, please try to avoid testing dates.
School Committee
Did you know that Carol Lewis is Hanlon’s School Committee Representative? If you have questions, contact Ms. Lewis at cswjlewis@gmail.com.
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