VIDEO: Attea Principal Shaves School Logo Into Hair

Dr. Jim Woell, principal of Attea Middle School, shaved wings, a propeller and the letter A into the back of his head on Tuesday. You could even say the students made him do it. 

Last week, in honor of Character Counts week, schools in Glenview and Northbrook held a food drive to donate canned goods to the Northfield Township Food Pantry. Attea participated, but by last Thurday, only collected about 40 food items and around $60 for the pantry.

So Woell took matters into his own hands, or hair rather, and challenged Attea students to raise $500 or donate 500 food items.

A day later, the students brought nearly 1,000 edibles and raised about $500. So on Tuesday, Oct. 30, Woell got the spirited haircut in the Attea gymnasium, in front of more than 800 kids.

"It's a very small price to pay," Woell told Patch before the haircut. "It's a way for our kids to participate and give back."

As he stood before students and teachers on Tuesday afternoon, he praised the kids for their generosity. 

"This isn't about me getting my hair cut," Woell said. "This is about you and your willingness to give back to the community."

Alan Kossof from Northfield's Teddie Kossof Salon and Spa, along with stylist Cindy Murrin, were on hand to design the haircut and shave Woell's head. 

According to Kossof, someone asks the salon to shave a logo in their head about once a year. 

During this year's food drive, District 30, 34 and Our Lady of Perpetual Help School collected a combined 7,341 food items — a 1,590 item increase over last year's food drive. 

"We rely completely on the community," said Gayle Curcio, Northfield Township community coordinator. "Schools do such a great job of bringing in the food."

Evidently, schools can do a great job of teasing their principals too. In the moments leading up to the haircut, Attea staff members hovered around the principal's office, laughing about the stunt. 

"You're having way too much fun with this," Woell told his coworkers. "It's going to be all the rage, you're going to have all the boys at Attea shave the logo into their heads."

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