The Hawk's Nest Hansen Community Newsletter April, 2025
A Note from Mrs. Jones
Welcome Back!
Welcome back from Spring Break! April is such an important month of learning. We want to really emphasize attendance this month. I want to remind you of our "Strive for less than Five" campaign we've talked about this year. We want to take on the challenge of students missing less than 5 days of school for the remainder of the year. Please make every effort possible to have your students at school and on time every day. The month of May will be a lot of yearly testing, and we will need students at school every day to be ready for that. April is a great month to really get back into the habit of being at school every day.
Ways to help with school attendance:
Use bus routes when available. Buses will almost always get kids here on time in the morning
For parent drop-off, have kids at school at 8:15 AM
Schedule appointments outside of the school day when possible
Unless kids are vomiting or have a fever, please send them to school
Please schedule vacations during regularly scheduled breaks from school
I am so proud of all the hard work our Hansen Hawks have done- we earned another 10,000 HAWK tickets just before spring break, and we got to celebrate with an all-school extra recess AND an assembly with a magician!
We will re-enter the month of April with plenty of practice and reminders of our school-wide expectations and procedures. Thank you for all the support!
Announcements
5th Grade Move-Up!
All current 5th grade families! Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 24th at 6pm. This is a night dedicated to incoming 6th graders at Thurgood Marshall Middle School. Families are invited to attend this informational evening to best prepare you and your student for middle school. The evening meeting will be located in the cafeteria and will conclude around 7:00pm. All 5th grade families, please plan to attend.
Our 5th graders will have classroom visits from the middle school sometime in April as well as a move-up day in June.
Class Picutres!
Class pictures will be taken on Friday, April 11th. Order forms were sent home the week before spring break. Check your child's backpack and Friday Folder from before break if you have not seen the order form. If you still need one, we have extras in the office.We are also looking for volunteers to help! We need adults who would be willing to be 'runners' to notify classrooms when it's their turn to get pictures taken, and we need adults who can help be extra sets of hands in the photo room. If interested, please email our front office at:bdurant@osd.wednet.edu
School Snacks
The school day is long, and kids tend to need a snack once a day. We are looking to help provide snacks to classrooms as much as possible. If you are able, please consider donating snacks to our school. We will distribute them to classrooms as needed. We are specifically looking for:
- Goldfish crackers
- Pretzels
- Smart Pop popcorn
Lost & Found
If your student is missing any clothing, lunchbox, water bottle, etc., please have them check the lost & found. Guardians are also always welcome to come in and take a look. All lost & found items will be donated by the end of April, so please come take a peek!
Yearbooks are for sale!
It's time to buy your yearbook! Presale pricing ends at the end of the month.
- Hardcover: $20
- Softcover: $15
Purchase your yearbook using this link.
Olympia Junior Programs
Our 1st - 5th grade students have the amazing opportunity to experience theater! Thank you, Hansen Community Council for funding all students and chaperones for this very important theater experience at the Washington Center. We love that our kids get this opportunity to see live theater. If you are interested in chaperoning, please reach out to your student's teacher. You must have an OSD volunteer background clearance in order to be a chaperone.
3rd - 5th grades: April 21st (permission slip was signed at your conference- if you did not attend a conference, teacher sent it home.)
5th grade Celebration Planning Committee
I am looking for 5th grade parents/guardians who would like to help plan our 5th grade celebration this year. Our first team meeting will be scheduled for either Tuesday, 4/22 or Wednesday, 4/23 sometime after 3pm. (Likely 3:30-4:30pm)
This team of adults will plan and execute any food, decor, community contacts/reservations, and other needed tasks to successfully celebrate our 5th graders completing elementary school. If you are interested in being a part of this 5th Grade Celebration planning team, please email me @ cajones@osd.wednet.edu
Reminders
Westside Choral Festival
All 5th grade classrooms and our 4/5 HAP classrooms will be participating in the Westside Choral Festival. This is an awesome community event! Students from all westside elementary and middle schools get to join Capital High School for a choral concert.
- Date: Wednesday, March 26th
- Time: 6pm
- Location: Capital High School auditorium
*Please have your student at Capital High School at 5:30pm.*
Parent Square
At this point, we hope you all have received email notifications to sign up for Parent Square. This is the platform that our school will use for school communications. If you do not sign up for Parent Square, you will continue to receive notifications based upon your Skyward preferences.
However, please sign up. This platform is amazing. It will allow you to keep track of all school communications and it will allow you to update your Skyward information with ease.
- Here is a link to sign up for Parent Square.
- Here is a link to learn more about Parent Square through the district website.
Financial Assistance Available
The Olympia School District Education Foundation provides support to families in need. With their support, we can help with:
- Rent and utility bills
- Clothing and shoes
- Eye exams and prescription glasses for students
- Transportation
- School Supplies
- School-related expenses
- Internet through Xfinity
- And so much more...
We can also provide grocery vouchers to Ralph’s or Bayview grocery stores and gas vouchers to help with transportation. Contact Family Liaison Lakia Hollis if you have questions. lhollis@osd.wednet.edu
HCC/HAP News
Monthly Meeting
Please join us every month for the HCC and HAP parent meetings. You will see a reminder in each month's newsletter about the meeting date and time.
- Date: Tuesday, April 8th
- Schedule:
- HCC @6PM
- Principal's Report @6:45PM
- HAP @7PM
Both HCC and HAP will hear the monthly principal's report at 6:45pm. Please consider joining HCC and/or HAP. This is an excellent way for all community members to be a part of the wonderful things going on at Hansen!
Visit the Hansen HCC website here or email hansencouncil@gmail.com to find out more information.
*If you cannot attend in person, please click here for either meeting to attend virtually
HAP email list
If you’d like to receive emails from the HAP Leadership Team regarding upcoming HAP events, donation and volunteer opportunities, please sign up by filling out our Google Form. We hope you will join us for the HAP parent meeting this month where we will be voting on our HAP Handbook during the meeting. Come at 6:45 to hear the principal's report and stay for the 7pm meeting.
For questions regarding HAP or how to be a part of the HAP lottery this spring, email hansenhap@gmail.com anytime!
Important Upcoming Dates
- April 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th: Early Release Wednesdays @ 1:55pm
- April 8th: HCC/HAP community meeting
- April 9th: Westside 5th grade Choral Festival, CHS, @ 7:30pm
- April 11th: Class Picture Day
- April 11th: HAP notification of lottery spot.
- April 18th: HAP spot acceptance deadline.
- April 21st: 3rd-5th grade Olympia Junior Programs
- April 24th: 5th grade welcome night at TMMS @6pm
- April 28th & 29th: HAWK Award Assemblies