Dear Hawthorne Families,

Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year at Hawthorne Elementary School.  Our entire staff welcomes our new students and those that are returning to the “Little School with the Big Heart”.  I hope you had an enjoyable summer with family and friends, and we are excited to welcome students back on August 17^th (grades 1-5) and 18^th (Kindergarten)!

Technology as a tool for teaching and learning continues to be a priority for us and we look forward to incorporating new devices into all classrooms this year.  Students in grades 3-5 will have their own Chromebook in the classroom.  These Chromebooks will remain at school but will be available as a learning tool throughout the entire school day.  Students in second grade will have a set of Chromebooks that will be shared between the 2 classrooms.  Students in K-1 will have iPads available that will be shared between the classrooms.  Ipads will also be available for classroom checkout from the LLC for any grade.  We thank our PTA for helping us purchase new iPads this year, and our district for supporting the purchase of new Chromebooks! 

Please welcome the following staff members to Hawthorne:

·         Brittani Traynor, PM Kindergarten:  Mrs. Traynor is a Wheaton-Warrenville South HS graduate and taught Kindergarten and 1^st grade at Wiesbrook before joining us at Hawthorne.

·         Briana Gonzalez, 2^nd grade:  Miss  Gonzalez taught Kindergarten last year at Hawthorne and is excited to be joining the 2^nd grade team!

·         Angela Pisani, 2^nd grade:  Miss Pisani has taught 2^nd and 3^rd grade at Hawthorne and looks forward to working with Hawthorne 2^nd graders again!

·         Christopher Bork, 4^th grade:  Mr. Bork joins Hawthorne from Wiesbrook after teaching there for 12 years in grades 4 and 5. 

·         Margaret Moritz, 4^th grade:  Mrs. Moritz was a guest teacher at Madison last year and is a Wheaton North HS graduate.  She previously taught in Indiana before returning to Illinois last year.

·         Stephanie Schreiner, OT:  Mrs. Schreiner has worked in several schools throughout the district and will be servicing students requiring occupational therapy at Hawthorne. 

·         Gillian O’Byrne, EL:  Miss O’Byrne is a Wheaton College graduate and student taught with Mrs. Ahrenholz (1^st grade) last year.   She will be working with our second language learners.

·         Megan Wilson, Resource:  Miss Wilson is a Wheaton North graduate and student taught at Sandburg.  She was an aide at WNHS last year and looks forward to working with special education students at Hawthorne!

·         Kerry Mansour, PACE (gifted) instructor, grades 3-5:  Mrs. Mansour is a Longfellow parent and former classroom teacher.  She previously has instructed at The Center for Gifted.

·         Michelle Fitzenreider, Math:  Mrs.  Fitzenreider has moved from PACE teacher to Math Specialist. 

·         Tony Quarto, PE:  Mr. Quarto student taught PE at Bower and is excited to join the Hawthorne community! 

·         Teresa Novak, guest teacher in music:  Miss Novak will be subbing for Mrs. Heather Novak while on maternity leave.  They are sisters-in-law, and Teresa Novak will also be teaching orchestra in the district.

Parents of Hawthorne students are welcome to attend Curriculum Night on September 1st, at 6:30-8:00p.m.  Please join us as we discuss teaching and learning at Hawthorne.  Also, please refer to the Hawthorne website as we continuously post upcoming events, dates, and information. 

We welcome your questions, comments, or suggestions!  Here’s to a great school year!

Sincerely,

Danielle Moran, Principal