A school principal bears responsibility for every policy in their school. A principal must be the keeper of our town’s common ideals. A principal speaks for everyone. Not for one class above the rest. The principal speaks for the common good. Ellen Quirk, principal of Hunnewell School spoke for our common good.
Every day, Ellen Quirk inspired teachers to provide the best for our kids. Today we will give her our best. The Wellesley Celebrations Committee, a standing committee of the Select Board, Town of Wellesley honors Ellen Quirk with its Dedicated Service Award.
Ellen Quirk joined the Wellesley Public Schools following her tenure as an assistant principal in Lexington. The redesign of the Hunnewell School is one of her greatest achievements. Over the past years, Ellen has been a steady presence throughout, especially during the years the 86-year-old Hunnewell School went from the planning phase to a completely new building.
Ellen Quirk said, “Teachers, administrators, town officials, parents, and others in the community brainstormed for years, arriving at an overarching vision “of keeping the neighborhood feel of the schools alive within the schools themselves.”
The Hunnewell School community will lose its beloved principal at the end of this school year. Ellen Quirk, who has led the school since 2013, has announced that she will retire. She will spend more time with her husband, Peter, her children Tucker, Grace, and Lexie and a 3-year-old labradoodle, Wilson.