30 Days of Gratitude
Special Feature
Day 1 - We are thankful for our students!
Day 1: We are so grateful for each and every student at Hazelwood. We love to see how kind, respectful and caring our students are to each other and to adults. We see classes who work together to be a team, learning and growing together. We see students working through difficult things, using growth mindset to help them persevere! We see leadership skills practiced in many different ways and students helping to mentor those much younger than them. The kids are why do what we do and they are the foundation of our community!
Day 2 - We are thankful for our families!
Day 2: We are grateful for our Hazelwood families. Not only do we have mothers and fathers involved in the growth and well-being of our students, we also see aunts, uncles, grandparents and older siblings too. It takes a village to raise a child and the families are the village.
Day 3 - We are thankful for our community!
Day 3- We are grateful for our Hazelwood Community. Our community is made up not just of students and families but also teachers, staff, extended families, members of the neighborhood, local businesses and organizations within our community. When we put all this together, that is what give Hazelwood that warm, welcoming and supportive feel that makes us so special.
Day 4 - We are thankful for our office staff!
Day 4- We are thankful for the staff in the office. Mrs. Berry, Mrs. Frye, and Mrs. Lamb. You make Hazelwood such a welcoming place to everyone that walks through the door. You keep us all organized, help our sick or hurt kiddos, and are the backbone to getting things done at Hazelwood.
Day 5 - We are thankful for our Principal and Vice Principal!
Day 5- We are so thankful for Dr. Parnell, principal of the elementary school and Mr. Shaw, the vice principal. We know your job is not easy but you are amazing! You always put our students first! You push for strong academics, you keep our kids safe, support their emotional needs, encourage your staff to be their very best, and you do it all with a smile on your face.
Day 6 - We are thankful for our Specialists!
Day 6- We are thankful for our Specialists teachers in PE, Music and Library! Mr. Boyce you inspire our students to be healthy and active every day while learning good sportsmanship! You go that extra mile by providing extra opportunities such as Move 60, Move 60 Running Club, Cross Country, Track & Field and Running Eagles. Ms. Moyer you teach our students all about rhythum, tempo, lyrics, and moving our bodies with music to make connections in our brains. You go that extra mile by having programs like the Harmonaires and organizing special music concerts! Mrs. Whicker you open a whole new world for our students through the magic of reading and using their imaginations! You go that extra mile helping students discover the love of reading by introducing them to new authors, you inspire creativity providing Maker’s Space during recess, and you help push their skills by helping with Battle of the Books! You all show how much you care in how you make their world a bigger, more healthy place full of wonder, imagination and exploration!
Day 7 - We are thankful for our PE, Music and Library teachers!
30 days of gratitude: What are you grateful for?
Day 7- We are thankful for our very special teachers who work in Learning Support, Intensive Support and with our Visually Impaired students!! Mrs. Baggett, Ms. Bizer, Mrs. Fisher, Ms. Lundstrom, Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Reighter give 110% each and every day for some very special students. They give their never-ending support to make sure academic and social needs are met.
Day 8 - We are thankful for teachers/staff who provide extra support for our students!
Day 8- We are thankful for all the staff that supports the additional needs of our students; OT/PT, Speech Therapy, Mobility and ELL staff. Mrs. Skachkov, Mrs. VanHorne and Ms. Willsie are just a few who provide the extra support that some of our students need. You make the difference in these kids lives everyday and give them the tools they need to succeed!
Day 9 - We are thankful for our Kindergarten teachers!
Day 9- We are thankful for our Kindergarten Teachers - Mrs. Barta, Mrs. Hedges, Mrs. Lehman and Mrs. Hayashi! Not only do they teach our kids how to be students but they take them all over the world with the magic of reading. They incorporate science and social studies in the places they 'visit'. They give our kids the foundation in math, reading, and writing that they will continue to build on in each grade! They also support us as parents as we send our babies off to school for the first time!
Day 10 - We are thankful for our 1st grade teachers!
Day 10- We are thankful for our 1st Grade Teachers - Mrs. Engel, Mrs. Meenderinck and Mrs. Sellevold! They turn our kids into little writers, expanding on what they learned in Kindergarten. They help the kids become fluent readers. They teach them how to become proficient in addition and subtraction. They explore what they have learned in science with a field trip to the zoo. And they create some amazing art projects!
Day 11 - We are thankful for our 2nd grade teachers!
Day 11-We are thankful for our 2nd grade teachers - Mrs. Ginosatis, Mr. Burrows and Mr. Spurgeon (⅔). They help challenge our kids to explore new books and push their reading skills. They spice up their writing with using 'spicy' (descriptive) words. They dive into the world of word problems and applying all they have learned in math so far! They explore animal adaptation and weather and get ready to tackle the world of 3rd graders.
Day 12 - We are thankful for our 3rd grade teachers!
Day 12- We are thankful for our 3rd grade teachers - Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Senya and Mr. Spurgeon (⅔). They help our kids learn multiplication and division. They dig deeper into the kids writing by having them expand their thoughts and ideas. The learn about aquatic life by taking a field trip to The Aquarium which culminates in a project on a sea creature of their choosing. They prepare our youngsters to move into the exciting world of 4th grade!
Day 13 - We are thankful for our 4th grade teachers!
Day 13- We are grateful for our 4th grade teachers - Ms. Cingcade, Ms. Cuba and Mrs. Lindgren! They help our kids refine their writing skills by pushing them to go a little deeper with each piece that they write. The dive into multiplying and dividing multiple digit numbers and explore fractions. They learn organization skills and ways to discover how they can become leaders!
Day 14 - We are thankful for our 5th grade teachers!
Day 14- We are thankful for our 5th grade teachers - Ms. Harris, Ms. LaMont and Mrs. Masaoka! They help guide our kids through decimals, fractions, and basic geometry in math. They open their world to different genres of books with book projects. They dive into Science by doing a fascinating dissection project. They build further on being mentors and examples to all the younger students!
Day 15 - We are thankful for our 6th grade teachers!
Day 15- We are thankful for our 6th grade teachers - Mr. Gaines, Mrs. Iwasaki and Ms. Bromley. Their mission is to get these kids ready for middle school. They make their world a little bigger by having them read novels that teach them compassion and to be accepting of others. They do some amazing science experiments and go on some great field trips!
Day 16 - We are thankful for our Paras!
Day 16 - We are thankful for the paras - Mr. Atkinson, Mrs. Bainbridge, Mrs. Bartkowski, Ms. Chiqueval, Ms. Davis, Mrs. Gilbert, Mrs. Horton, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Lamb, Mrs. Lehnert, Ms. Mann, Mrs. McDonald, Mrs. Messer, Mrs. Mork, Mrs. Paynich, and Ms. Thorpe. These amazing people help our kids in the classroom, give them extra support when needed, supervise them on the playground and lunch room and help the teachers in any way they are needed. They provide support in every single area of our school. In general ed classrooms, learning support, intensive support classrooms, with visually impaired students, helping in the office, helping guide traffic during pickup and dropoff, and fixing boo-boos in the office. They are truly the heart of Hazelwood!
Day 17 - We are thankful for our custodial staff!
Day 17 - We are thankful for our custodial staff Ms. Thatcher and Mr. Levine . They keep our school clean, make our school grounds look great, maintain and repair things throughout the building and clean up some other messes we would rather not discuss. They are there when we have before and after school events to unlock doors for us and to help us clean up afterwards. They do this all with a smile on their face and a helpful attitude!
Day 18 - We are thankful for our cafeteria staff!
Day 18 - We are thankful for our cafeteria staff - Mrs. Joyner and Mrs. Wilkinson. They keep our kids fed for both breakfast and lunch each and every day! We know it is not always easy but it is very appreciated and they always have a smile on their face. They care about each student and make sure they are making healthy choices!
Day 19 - We are thankful for our Volunteers!
Day 19 - We are so thankful for all the volunteers that are the foundation of the PTA and Hazelwood. You make all the opportunities we provide for the students and staff possible. We couldn’t possibly do even a third of our activities without the help of our volunteers! Our volunteers come and make copies, cook and serve pancakes, help with math and reading timings, and go on field trips. They help plan, set up, run and clean up events such as the Fall Costume Party, Friendship Dance, Cultural Heritage Night and so many others! They help sell Frosty grams and collect money for Gallery of Lights fundraiser. They help sort cookie dough and prizes and help make our school play an event to remember. They help sort and mail in Box Tops, shelve books in the library, and make our Hungry 4 Hazelwood nights a success. They help on picture day as well as on days we do vision and hearing checks. Without our volunteers, we would be lost!
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” — Elizabeth Andrew
Day 20 - We are thankful for our committee chair-people!
Day 20 - We are so grateful for our committee chair-people. If it was not for your willingness to step up and run committees we would not be able to do nearly the amount of amazing things that we do for our school. Just in the last 3 months we’ve had people in charge of planning the details for Spiritwear, Fall Costume Party, Cookie Dough fundraiser, ACT Theatre school play, Hazelwood’s 50th birthday celebration, Food Drive, Frosty Grams and Gallery of Lights!
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
Day 21 - We are thankful for the PTA Board!
Day 21 - Today we are thankful for the PTA board - Katy Bernhardt, Mona McDonald, Luana Ryan, Eman El-Aarag, Tim Spurgeon and Jennifer Ferre. They are the backbone of the PTA. They do a lot behind the scenes to make sure that the PTA and their sponsored events run smoothly. Thank you for all you do!
Days 22 - 30
Day 22 - We are thankful for Winter Break! It is nice to rest and spend time with family. Have a safe and peaceful holiday season and we wish all your hopes and dreams come true in the new year!
Day 23 - We are thankful for the friendships that our children form at Hazelwood. Every day we remind students to show the Hazelwood way - That we are a community of learners. We are kind, we are safe, we are responsible.
"Friends are the sunshine of life." - John Hay
Day 24 - We are thankful for our future students, parents, teachers and staff. They will continue our legacy of excellence.
Day 25 - We are thankful for the bus drivers and day care providers that get our kids to and from school safely. This is a very thankless job but such an important one! Each of our drivers cares so much for our students and we appreciate them so much.
Day 26 - We are thankful for the memories that are made each day at Hazelwood! Each year we put as many of these memories into our yearbook thanks to many hours of work done by our yearbook volunteers. Our hope is that our students will look back fondly at their time spent at Hazelwood.
"Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future" -Corrie Ten Boom
Day 27 - We are very thankful for our counselor, psych intern, nurse - Mrs. Revoir, Ms. Tivera and Ms. Helgoe. You ladies give your all to make sure our students are safe and healthy! We know it isn’t easy and we appreciate all the care you provide our students!
Day 28 - We are thankful for our Band and Orchestra teachers - Mr. Allison and Ms. Schillen. You do so much work with our 5th and 6th grade students showing them the special art of playing an instrument. We truly appreciate the opportunity our students have to learn this skill early so they will have more success in middle and high school band/orchestra!
Day 29 - We are thankful for the building that houses our students. Our school was built in 1967 and we just recently celebrated it’s 50th “birthday”! It has had thousands of students pass through its hallways. We are proud of its history and the part of the story it plays in our student's education. Here’s to another 50 years! See article here!
Day 30: This has been so fun to reflect over the last 30 days about our school and community. As you can see we have lots to be thankful for! Our theme this year is Building Connections and we hope this reflection has reinforced that we are all connected in so many ways. None of these things listed each day could stand on their own to make Hazelwood such a special and wonderful community and school. So today we are thankful for all the things that come together to make Hazelwood what it is!