A big shout out to: to all who purchased jog-a-thon shirts; to all who attended the PTSA meeting on Thursday; to Katie Thompson for coordinating the sale of our PTSA Love signs and to all who purchased one; to Bevin Wong for helping make copies of PTSA flyers; to April Bassett for spearheading the Spring Fling; to all who attended the dine out experience at Shake Shack; to Emily Selna for picking up and delivering the Color Me Hawesome jog-a-thon t-shirts; to all who attended the all school assembly on Friday; to our PTSA Corporate Sponsors - Command Comfort and Lionz Crew; and to the amazing Hawes staff who kept things moving as I was home sick.

We thank you for your time, dedication and hard work! We are appreciate your support and help!

#BeHawesome #HawesNation

Here are some of the key events and things to know:

Art class is this week.

Kids for Change continues this week: Congrats to Mrs. De and Mrs. Borns class for filling up their coin jars first! Please help our Student Council with their Kids for Change coin (or bill) collection drive to support the rebuilding of lives and schools in the areas impacted by the LA wildfires. Please consider supporting the rebuilding of hope as our student council mobilizes our students to make a difference in the world.

GATE Testing for 1st grade: is Tuesday, unless you opted out of this for your student. Please be sure to look back at a previous ParentSquare message for the specific time your child's first grade class will be taking this assessment.

Color Me Hawesome Jog-a-thon: is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 21 at 1:45. TK students are invited to join us after dismissal with their parents to participate in this fun color run! Based on feedback from YOU, this year there is a way to donate. Sign your student up to raise $ for Hawes at this year's jogathon: link: https://pledgestar.com/hawes/

Great Kindness Challenge: is this week. Please see the flyer below for specific dress up days.

PTSA Direct Donation Tile decorating: is Thursday, February 6 afterschool in the lunch area. Please see below for more details, but be sure to enter through the office and parents must be there to assist their child with the process.

Normally, we are reminding all about the importance of being in school consistently, but this past week, we experienced something very out of the ordinary. The number of absences due to illness was unprecedented. We started last week with 65 students with verified illnesses and ended the week with 73 verified illnesses. The percentage of students absent due to illness hovered around 14% of our school. Those numbers do not include the number of staff who were absent with similar symptoms. In light of this, we have been working directly with the district office and OC health department, additional staff was brought in to help with disinfecting surfaces and a communication regarding best practices for staying at home when one is experiencing symptoms was sent through ParentSquare on Thursday. We thank you for your support in following those shared guidelines to reduce the spread of this "bug". We will continue to monitor this situation until our absences return to normal levels.

Our school counselor, Ms. Samoniantz, will be teaching our Hawks about the importance of Good Sportsmanship during the month of February. Throughout the lesson, she will be discussing how to be a good sport at school, how to handle wins and losses graciously, and how we can resolve conflicts peacefully.

Parents can help with this lesson at home by discussing the importance of good sportsmanship with their child. It is helpful to give examples of how your child can be supportive of everyone involved in competitive activities during recess, in the classroom, and outside of school.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our school counselor, Ms. Samoniantz, at asamoniantz@hbcsd.us.

If your child is going to be absent from school due to vacation/or travel for four (4) or more days, please contact the school office to request an Independent Study Contract. Please understand that we need at least two weeks prior to the start date of the absence in order to prepare materials. Here are some key points to remember:

We encourage you to plan your trips over the scheduled breaks we have in place. As well, please make plans for day trips to Disneyland and other places for the weekend. We all understand how difficult it is when we are absent from work and the same holds true for students.

If your child is truly sick, please keep them home to recover. Students must be fever, vomit and diarrhea free for 24 hours prior to returning to school.

If your child is absent from school, please report this absence by emailing: Hawesattendance@hbcsd.us or by calling the school office at: 714.963.8302 then press 1.

To purchase your 2024-25 yearbook, go to: www.treering.com/1015616553293855.

If you have any questions or wish to send photos of class/school activities to the yearbook, please email hawesyearbook@gmail.com. 

The theme for this year is: Cheers to 50 Golden Years Hawes Golden Spring Fling to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary! Mark your calendars as you don't want to miss this celebration!

Donations large and small are welcome! At this time, we are also looking for volunteers to help fundraise for Spring Fling items. If you are interested or have any questions, please reach out to: April Bassett (April.bassett@outlook.com or 714.325-9847) for more information.

February 3: Great Kindness Challenge begins/Kid for Change Student Council coin collection continues

February 4: GKC - pajama day/1st grade Universal GATE testing

February 5: GKC dress up day: decades day/Site Council Meeting at 3 pm

February 6: GKC dress up day: rainbow day (see flyer)/TK Teddy Bear Parade/PTSA direct donation tile decorating at 1:30 in the lunch area/Early dismissal day - TK@ 12:10 pm; Kinder - grade 3 @ 1:26 and grades 4-5 at 1:35

February 7: GKC dress up day - super spirit day!

February 10: No School: Lincoln's Birthday

February 11: Open Enrollment window opens

February 13: Make up GATE testing/Hawes Choir musical at 4 pm

February 14: End of attendance month 6/Hawes choir performs for the students at 8:45 am/1st grade walking field trip

February 17: President's Day Holiday: No School

February 20: Harvest of the month

February 21: Hawes Jogathon at 1:45 pm

February 26: Last chance for PTSA direct donation tile decorating after school at the lunch tables

February 28: All school assembly: Unveiling the time capsule at 8:45 am

March 7: All school assembly (student recognition) at 8:45 am/PTSA Movie Night - Inside out 2

April 5: PTSA Spring Fling event at Harborside Pavilion

April 14 - 18: Spring break

April 30: 5th grade yearbook ads due today!