December 30, 2004

SCHOOL SCENEin Almaden Valley

Simonds fifth grader donates hair to Locks of Love

By Julie Davis Berry
Executive Editor

When Anna Hreha walked into an Almaden hair salon recently with her fifth grader, she assumed Caryn would just be getting a trim. After all, Caryn was always proud of having the longest hair at Simonds Elementary School. To Anna’s surprise, her daughter said that she wanted to cut off 10 inches of her hair to donate to the Locks of Love Foundation.

Pictured above: Caryn’s long hair before the donation.

Anna, who is a teacher at Simonds, remembers Caryn saying, “”Mom do you think I should get my hair cut short?” I responded no. Then she said, “Well I was thinking of donating my hair to Locks of Love.” I was speechless! Of course I agreed that cutting her hair in that case would be a very admirable thing to do. Jenny her hair dresser was shocked too!”

Caryn said she got the idea from a friend of her big sister Teri. “I thought it was a good idea,” she says modestly.
“She is a terrific kid,” says Simonds Principal Linda Kakes. “She is an excellent student and is incredibly creative. She’s the Student Council president and she came up with an idea to design and write a newsletter for classes so the students (and their parents) can find out about Student Council activities.”

Caryn’s other activities include playing the clarinet in the Simonds School Band, taking piano lessons, attending CCD classes at Holy Spirit, playing soccer in the fall, and softball in the spring.

“She’s responsible, trustworthy, and very socially aware for a 10-year-old,” said her proud mother.

“Like I said...she’s a keeper!”