Students, faculty and parents are probably all wondering exactly who Mr. Chris Hunninghake is, the new vice principal of Hawthorne High School. HHS has had several temporary vice principals over the past year and are happy to finally have a permanent one. Clarion reporters sat down with Mr. Hunninghake to get questions answered and learn a little bit more about our newest HHS Bear.

Clarion reporter: What did you do before you decided to become a vice principal?

Mr. Hunninghake: I was a science teacher and I primarily taught different variations of biology. After about 10 years I decided to become an administrator.

Clarion reporter: What are your goals and expectations for the rest of this year?

Mr. Hunninghake: Because I came in the middle of the year, the primary goal is to get all the seniors graduated. To a lesser degree, we would like to make all the big important dates coming up run successfully. Session one of PARCC testing went very well; then there is prom, graduation, project graduation, and then we have testing again in May, and lastly final exams. If all of those things go well, I think we will have accomplished our goals.

Clarion reporter: What are your feelings towards the PARCC testing?

Mr. Hunninghake: I think it was very difficult to schedule, and the Department of Education doesn’t realize how disruptive it is to schools. I think going forward, all of the schools, including Hawthorne, will do better each time, but it was very much a challenge this first time around.

Clarion reporter: What are some of the most interesting things you have experienced here at the school so far?

Mr. Hunninghake: I went to the National Honors Society induction ceremony, which was very nice; I spoke at the Spanish Honors Society induction ceremony, which was also very nice; I haven’t been to any sporting events yet, but I plan to. I also plan on going to the musical in April. There are really a lot of great activities in this school.

Clarion reporter: What is the most enjoyable part about your job?

Mr. Hunninghake: My favorite part about this job is the students. You all are so nice. My first week here, a half-dozen teachers came into my office to introduce themselves, but also to tell me how great the students are at HHS. After six weeks of being here, I can say that this school has the nicest group of kids that I have met in the 27 years that I have been in education.