HAWES LEAVING WOODSDALE
Woodsdale Elementary School Principal Jonathan Hawes confirmed Thursday morning that he will depart at the end of the school year.
Hawes, who is finishing his fifth year at the helm of the town’s Grades 3 & 4 school, will become the new principal at East Elementary School in Hingham.
“I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to have led the students and staff at the Woodsdale School for the past five years,” he wrote in an email to the school community. “My goal was to build a climate and culture of positivity and high expectations, a place where our team of educators and students loved to come to work and learn each day-and I take great pride in the result of our collective efforts.
“Beyond the walls of my building, I have loved the work I’ve been able to do in our community. I truly enjoyed working with the families of our students. I have developed friendships and have been positively impacted by countless staff members and community members in Abington. You have made me feel good about the work that I do, and that will not be forgotten.”
The Woodsdale was a Grades 5 & 6 school until the Middle/High School opened in 2017. The school then became home for Grades 3 & 4 and Hawes was named principal. He previously served for a year as assistant principal at the Beaver Brook Elementary School.
“Jonathan is a passionate, compassionate, and highly effective educational leader,” Superintendent Peter Schafer told Abington News. “As a friend and colleague, I will miss working with him. I wish him the best of luck with everything the future holds.”
At the Woodsdale, he helped coordinate support services for 3rd grade students in 2019 after the deaths of two of their classmates, oversaw the construction of a new playground in 2020, and led the school through a pandemic that disrupted learning for two years.
“I’m very happy for Jonathan, personally. I’m also extremely thankful for all he’s done to transform Woodsdale from the Grade 5/6 school it was before he got there, into one of the most inviting places in our town to enter,” said School Committee Vice Chairman Chris Coyle.
The search for a new principal for the school is underway.
“I look forward to Superintendent Schafer finding a great replacement that can help continue to lead Woodsdale in the future,” Coyle said.
CHARITY HOCKEY GAME WITH BOSTON BRUINS ALUMS ON SATURDAY
The annual HUG Foundation charity hockey game against the Boston Bruins Alumni is this Saturday, April 9, at the Rockland Ice Rink at 1 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for kids. Bruins players scheduled to attend include Rick Middleton, Bob Sweeney, Tim Sweeney, Joe Mullen, Dave Shaw, Al Pederson, and Shawn McEachern. Money raised will support the HUG Foundation, which provides financial assistance to those in need.
ST. BRIDGET’S EGG DROP SATURDAY
St. Bridget School families will gather at Arnold Park Saturday morning for an egg drop fundraiser to benefit the school PTO. Maltby Tree will use its big crane to drop eggs on the field. The event, which will take place from 10 a.m. to Noon, is for families of students at St. Bridget School. The event flyer can be found here.
CHARTER REVIEW SURVEY ONLINE
Should Abington have a mayor? A representative Town Meeting? A 7-member Select Board? These are some of the questions the commission charged with reviewing Abington’s Town Charter is asking in its public opinion survey. The 10-question survey is available here.