Page 16 - OCT 2024

Page 16 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM October 2024
Community
By Donna rhoDes
NEW HAMPTON – As students from New Hampton Community School settled in to their second week of the 2024- 25 School year, on Sept. 17th, they were asked to assemble in the school cafeteria for a sur- prise assembly. It turned out to be a double surprise as Principal Annmarie Holloran first greeted the boys and girls in grades K-5, then directed their attention to the front door where their class- mate Ella was wheeled in by her family to join them on her first
Community
not just the school community and PTO, but also from New Hampton Select Board and the New Hampton First Responders Association.
“They’re all on board with her,” said Holloran.
To show her strength and de- termination on conquering her cancer, Ella has since come up with a name for them. She even created a colorful logo that is now printed on a sign in front of NHCS proclaiming them all to be “Ella’s Army.”
The first major mission of the “Army” will be a Boot Drive over the busy Columbus Day Week-
end. On Friday, Oct. 11, the Boot Drive will take place at the Irving Station on Rte. 104 in New Hampton where they will collect donations from 3-8 p.m.. The following day Ella’s Army will reassemble across the street, outside the Mobil Station on the other side of Rte. 104, from 8 a.m. until noon. All donations will help provide Ella and her family with funds for any needs
she may have at home, along with transportation and other expenses the family will have as they travel to Boston for her on- going treatments. Plans for other fundraisers will be forthcoming, but who miss the Boot Drive yet would still like to make a dona- tion can contact the school at 603-744-3221 for more infor- mation.
Principle and Community Rally Around Student
day back at school. She was greeted with cheers and a big round of applause.
Ella is a fifth grade student at NHCS who was diagnosed with bone cancer just last month. Diagnoses such as this prompt immediate treatment and care to bring about the optimal re- sults and Ella has been receiving the best of care through Boston Children’s Hospital. Holloran said she has already undergone six rounds of chemotherapy and was finally ready to get back to her normal routine.
As many know, chemotherapy
can lead to temporary hair loss however, and while Ella is adapt- ing to her new look, her school principal Ann Holloran didn’t want her to feel alone.
“She said she was a little ner- vous to come back to school be- cause she didn’t have any hair so I thought I would join her,” she said prior to Ella’s arrival.
So, for the second surprise of the assembly that day, Holloran announced that they would all be watching her have her head shaved.
Caitlyn Danahy of The Galleria Salon in Laconia then seated the principal, covered her with a stylish leopard print cape and began cutting her hair. After the lengthy locks were cut, the shaving began and students looked on with their mouths open and their eyes opened wide.
“I hope your hair grows back,” one boy shouted.
Holloran assured he and the rest of the assembly that it would but confessed with a laugh that she was glad she didn’t have a mirror available to watch the process.
Once her hair was gone, the principal got up from the chair to show off her new look as she ex- plained to her students why she shaved her head. It was perhaps one of the more lessons she has taught over her years in educa- tion.
“One of the things Ella really wants is for you to treat her like
she is still the same (person),” Holloran said. “Now, am I still the same Ms. Holloran? Am I still the principal? Am I still the same person even though I don’t have any hair?”
Shouts of “Yes!” showed she had made her point. She then in- vited the children to come to her with any questions or to even rub her head if they were curious.
“There’s now two of us here at school with no hair. You can ask me about it at any time,” said Holloran before the chil- dren were sent back to their classrooms and get a normal day off and running.
As Ella, a fifth grader at New Hampton Community School, undergoes treatment for bone cancer, principal Ann Holloran shaved her head as well on Sept. 17th to show her love and support for the young girl.
“Normal” is the one thing Ella wants to sustain as much as she can right now as she battles to get past this temporary road- block in her life. She has already received a lot of support from
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