Hoover Highlights
A Publication for the Hoover Elementary School Community February 4, 2014
Upcoming Events –
Mark Your Calendars!
Feb. 3-7 Healthy Heart Week
Feb. 4 Family Fitness Night 6:30-8:00
Feb. 4 Hearing re-takes (K,1,2,4)
Feb. 5 Kindergarten Registration Begins 9:15 a.m.
Feb. 5 Market Day Pick Up
Feb. 11 PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 12 State Student Count Date
Feb. 17-18 No School Midwinter Break
Feb. 26 Neal Levin After School Program
Feb. 27 Skate Night 6:00
Mar. 5 Market Day Pick Up
Mar. 6-7 Star Lab
Mar. 7 Unhealthy Snack Spirit Day
Mar. 11 Spring Pictures
Mar. 12 PTA Meeting 10:00 a.m.
Mar. 19 Bingo Night 6:30
Mar. 24-26 Vision Testing (K, 1, 3)
Mar. 27 End of the 3rd Marking Period
Mar. 28 No School Workday
April 18-25 No School Spring Break
“Each day, our mission at
Hoover Elementary School is
to provide a joyful and
engaging environment,
which inspires a love of
learning.”
A note from the Principal
Greetings Hoover Families,
I hope you were able to spend a few minutes with your children reviewing their report cards. It is a great opportunity to celebrate the successes and acknowledge all of their hard work and effort. This is also a good time to set a goal or focus area for improvement, perhaps a content area like reading or math.
At Hoover, we believe that it takes a team of folks to assist all of our students in achieving our curriculum benchmarks. You will see students reading not only with their teacher but perhaps with a support staff member; Mrs. Jungwirth, Mrs. McMillion, Mrs. Bice, Mrs. Nowotny, or myself. We are so lucky to have such a dedicated team of professionals at Hoover.
Thank you to Mr. Tony, Mr. Trace and
Mr. Mike who have been working very hard on these cold mornings and evenings to keep our sidewalks and entry ways clear of snow. While we were staying inside on those snow days, they were at Hoover working outside in the below zero temperatures. Mr. Tony is often at Hoover before 5:00 a.m., turning up the heat, checking our pipes and ensuring that the building is safe, warm and ready for our students to arrive. We appreciate all that you do to keep Hoover safe. Every member of our staff puts the needs of our Hoover Rockets first.
Sincerely,
Julie Linn, Principal
Birthday Treats
At Hoover we, we understand the excitement which comes with a child’s birthday. To celebrate, he/she may bring in birthday treats to share with others, if so desired. We ask that these treats be: individual, hand-held, easy to consume treats which can be distributed and enjoyed with relative ease. Please do not bring cakes, pizza or other larger scale choices to the birthday celebration at school. We strive to acknowledge this special day in a way which honors each child, but does not disrupt the classroom routine for a lengthy period of time. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. For food allergy safety reasons, please, only send treats to share with your child’s class. Of course, your child can still come down to the office to get their birthday treat.
2014-2015 Kindergarten Registration
Begins February 5….
Parents of children who are, or will turn, age 5 on or before October 1, 2014 may register for fall kindergarten at Hoover, beginning Wednesday, February 5. We are very excited to welcome many new children and families to our school and look forward to having you join the Hoover family! To register for fall, 2014
kindergarten, stop by the office on or after February 5 for a registration packet.
Breakfast at Hoover
Hoover is still offering breakfast to our students beginning at 8:40. You do not need to pre-order or register. Menu items will include a few of the following:
· Assorted cereal & milk
· Fruit or juice
· Milk
· Bagels with cream cheese
· Whole grain toaster tarts
· High fiber cereal bars
· Mini pancakes
· Banana bread
The price is $1.75 and parents can pre-pay using Parent Connect or by sending in a check. Students may also pay in cash, but it must be in the exact amount as our cook will not be able to make change. Students who qualify for free lunch will receive breakfast free also. Students who qualify for a reduced lunch will pay .30 for breakfast. Please tell your children that if they are buying breakfast they should come directly to the gym upon arriving at school to get their breakfast. Depending on the time, they will either eat in the gym or take their breakfast with them to their classroom. Any questions, feel free to call our school office.
Parking Lot Reminders
Please remember we have 475 children who walk in and out of our doors every day. I know you want your child to be safe and so do we. Our rules are put in place in order to make this happen. When one of our staff members on bus duty asks you to do something, please honor their request. Please read the reminders below.
- Please make sure that you do not park in the staff/bus parking lot. We are very limited on our parking spots for our staff members, especially this winter. If you are dropping off after 9:00 a.m. you may drop off in the staff/bus lot loop in front of the school.
- Please make sure you slow down when you are dropping off or picking up your child. We have a lot of children coming and going and as always, safety first.
- When you are dropping off please pull up as far as you can. It may mean that your child has to walk a few more steps but we have had some cars lined up out on Levan and this is a safety issue. We need room for the buses to be able to move through the parking lot and out on to Levan as well.
- Please take a few extra minutes at home to zip backpacks, put on hats, provide lunch money and give lots of hugs and kisses. That way we you arrive at school, your child can say “good bye”, hop out and walk towards their lineup area.
- Once you drop off or pick up your child please continue on. When you sit and watch or wait it causes a back-up which again interferes with buses and others trying to drop off or pick up their children.
- Please make sure you are holding your child’s hand in the parking lot or you are right next to him/her when you are walking through the parking lot. Please cross in the designated area using our bus duty staff member.
- If you are going to get out of your car to drop off or pick up your child, please park in the parent parking lot, in a parking space. We use the staff parking lot for staff and for the buses.
Thank you for all your support in maintaining a safe school environment. We are a caring community for all of our Hoover Rockets. So please be aware, go slow and look one more time for a Hoover Rocket before backing up.
A Note from Mr. Mazzella, Building Supervisor:
Some areas around our school have sidewalks that are easy to identify. For other areas, mostly around the building, there is a yellow line and the word "walk" painted on the blacktop. The areas between the line and the building are designated walkways. When you are arriving at school, or exiting school, please use those cleared paths. These areas will be shoveled and in most cases, salted by Hoover personnel. The blacktop play pads will be plowed by LPS trucks as time allows; usually within a couple of days of snowfall, and in most cases, not salted. Please keep in mind that even ice that has been salted can still be slippery, so be very careful and do not run.
Boiler Exhaust
When our boilers are running an exhaust is emitted from the building. You might notice an odor as you are entering or exiting the front doors. This is perfectly normal.
Hoover Handbook Highlights
Each edition of the Hoover Highlights, we will summarize a selection of our student handbook. It is important to read and review the student handbook with your child. You can access it under the “For Parents” tab on our website at
http://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Hoover.cfm
Food Allergy
A food allergy is an immune system response to a food protein that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. When the individual eats food containing that protein, the immune system releases massive amounts of chemicals, triggering symptoms that can affect a person’s breathing, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and/or heart. Symptoms of food allergy can include hives; swelling of the lips, tongue, and face; shortness of breath; wheezing; abdominal pain; vomiting; and even cause heart failure. If left untreated, these symptoms can be deadly.
There are eight foods that account for 90 percent of allergic reactions: peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, etc.), fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, soy, and wheat. Currently, there is no cure for food allergy. Avoidance of the food is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction. Children should never approach students who have known allergies with the items to which they are allergic. This can cause a life threatening reaction on the part of the child who is allergic. Any action of this nature is considered to be a very serious infraction, will not be tolerated and will be subject to disciplinary action.
Food Allergy – Be a P.A.L. (Protect a Life)
P.A.L. is an awareness program designed by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) to educate children about how they can help their friends with food allergies, avoid risks, and what to do in case of a reaction.
How to be a PAL:
1. Never take food allergies lightly.
2. Don’t share food with friends.
3. Wash hands after eating.
4. Ask friends what they are allergic to and help them avoid it.
5. If a schoolmate with an allergy becomes ill, get help immediately!
State of Michigan Compulsory Attendance Law…
Hoover Elementary School Absence and Tardiness Procedures are attached at the end of this edition for your review.
WIDI Assessment
Under federal and state law, students who are English Language Learners (ELL) are required
to participate in an English language proficiency assessment annually until they are proficient on this assessment, including any ELL-eligible student not enrolled in the district’s ELL program due to parent refusal of services. Out state’s test for the purpose of English language proficiency is called the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS). This assessment will be administered to all ELL students, kindergarten through 12th grade, between February 10, 2014 and March 28, 2014. It assesses social and instructional English used within the school context as well as listening, speaking, reading and writing in language arts, mathematics, science and social studies.
Kid Connections
The Kid Connections page is a great resource for students, parents and teachers. It contains hyperlinks to the Hoover online library catalog, various reference sources, and many wonderful educational websites. The Kid Connections page can be accessed from the Hoover website. There is a link for it at the very bottom of the left-hand menu of our website. Many of the resources on the top portion of the page are used during library instruction in 3rd and 4th grades when students learn about online reference materials. The bottom portion of the page is divided into curricular subjects, containing links to many of the websites teachers use for extra practice such as CoolMath, XtraMath, Moby Max, RazKids, and Starfall as well as Everyday Math online. If your child’s teacher is using these websites, he/she has been given log-in information including usernames and passwords.
One of my favorite links is to the ALA Great Websites for Kids webpage put together by the American Library Association. It has great websites for every subject area. If you have a 4th grader, they have explored the "Languages & Literature" tab with me duringlibrary time to look for favorite author and illustrator webpages. Another new addition to the Kid Connections page is the "Hoover ABDO E-Books" link under "Online Catalogs". This link will take you to Hoover's ABDO Digital Bookshelf where you can access some recentlyacquired e-books! You will be asked to log-in to the ABDO bookshelf. The username is "Hoover1” and the password is "Rockets". These books provide another great learning resource that can be accessed from home or school, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year!!
I strongly urge you to check out the Kid Connections page if you have not already done so! I'll be highlighting some more of my favorite resources in upcoming issues ofHoover Highlights. Mrs. Jungwirth, Librarian/Media Specialist
Family Fitness Night
Join us Hoover Families! Family Fitness Night will be tonight from 6:30pm-8:00pm beginning right outside our gym. We’ll rotate through lots of fun exercises, activities, and games then end our evening with a healthy snack social. We’re looking forward to a fun night of fitness!
Waste-Free Lunch Challenge
OnFebruary 21st, Hoover Rockets will learn how to make their lunchroom waste free. BeginningFriday, February 28th, the last Friday of every month will be a Waste-Free LunchFriday. Students will strive to accumulate less than 20grocerybags of waste on Waste-Free Lunch Fridays until the end of the school year. Here is how you can help your Rocket meet the challenge: