A Community Celebration of Our WASC Self-Study Visit - written by Ms Amy Hou. Last week, from November 16 to 20, our school community reached a significant milestone as we hosted a visiting committee from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) for our second self-study. This visit was the culmination of more than a year of reflection, collaboration, and hard work by our entire community.

This process was especially meaningful as it marks six years since Hanova first earned its WASC accreditation in 2019. This self-study was a powerful opportunity for us to pause, look back on our journey, and thoughtfully plan for our future growth. Over the past year, our staff have engaged in a deep and honest reflection of our practices across all areas of school life, including school organization for learning; curriculum, instruction and assessment; student support and wellbeing; and child protection and community involvement. This is truly an ongoing process of learning and school improvement!

The success of the visit was a true testament to the strength of our community. The WASC visitors spent five days in conversations with our supportive Board members, dedicated staff, and insightful, caring students. A special thanks to our parent representatives who also met with the committee and to all of you who partner with us in your children's education. The open and constructive dialogue from all groups provided a genuinely multi-faceted view of the Hanova experience that is vital to our success now and for the future.

We can be very proud of Hanova as we continue to fulfill our vision to be a long-standing quality educational institution…well done Hawks!

Learning Together Through Thankfulness - written by Ms Julia Branch.  A heart-warming moment recently happened in our Primary corridor: Year 4 and Year 1B students came together for a special collaborative activity exploring the theme, “What I Am Thankful For.”

Armed with pencils, coloured markers, and big ideas, our mixed-age groups spread out across the learning space—on carpets, by the map, beside the sand tray, and even cozy corners of the hallway. Year 4 students took on their leadership role beautifully, guiding their younger buddies, asking thoughtful questions, and helping them turn spoken ideas into written reflections.

Our Year 1B learners proudly shared what matters most to them—family, friends, teachers, pets, food, books, playtime, and even “people who help me learn.” With gentle support, they illustrated and labelled their ideas, creating heartfelt posters full of color, laughter, and sincerity.

The older students modeled patience, responsibility, and communication, showing what caring collaboration looks like in the Hanova community. Together, both grades strengthened their writing, speaking, and social skills — all while celebrating the joy of gratitude. As one student perfectly put it: “I’m thankful because it makes me happy to think about people I love.”

We hope these moments of appreciation spark conversations at home as well. Thank you for continuing to nurture such thoughtful, reflective young learners.

Student‑Initiated Math Word Problems — Evidence of Action  - written by Mr Graeme Noble.  Recently, a provocation station was set up in the Year 2A  classroom to give students the opportunity to visit during inquiry station time. Year 2A students used the materials there to independently create addition and subtraction word problems, choosing contexts, numbers and formats—some drew pictures, others wrote stories—and designed challenges for their classmates, showing clear choice and ownership.

By producing problems for an authentic audience, children applied taught arithmetic and writing skills with purpose, transferring classroom learning into creative tasks that required problem design, calculation and communication. This student‑led work built agency and confidence while deepening their mathematical understanding.

Hanova Winter Concert & Christmas Market Coming Soon.