Hoover Elementary School News

September 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We've had a great start to our school year so far! The students have settled into their new classrooms and have hit the ground running.

We kicked off our first week of school with a combined K-5 assembly to discuss the Lion PRIDE positive behavior program and celebrate our Summer Express program. We have set a school goal of collecting 2,000 PRIDE tickets and are close to reaching our goal soon. Ask your child how they can earn a Lion PRIDE sticker. When we reach our goal of 2,000 tickets, we will celebrate with a school-wide reward.

Your child’s academic growth and success are of the utmost importance to us. We appreciate the strong home and school connection that has been established at Hoover and look forward to continuing to build on this relationship to best benefit our students.

Thank you for sharing your child with us.

Mrs. Czarnecki

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Leader in Me

Leader in Me (LiM) is an evidence-based, comprehensive school-improvement model—developed in partnership with educators and FranklinCovey—that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in a global community.

Throughout the year, we will be teaching all students “The 7 Habits”. These habits will allow them to discover and develop their unique gifts and talents. As leaders, they become active, engaged partners in their own education, and their self-confidence, responsibility, and initiative grows.

As the family of a Leader in Me student, we believe that you are a valuable member of our Learning Team. You have an important role in the educational journey of your student. Research shows that when families are engaged in their student’s education, the student’s success, academically and behaviorally, increases significantly.

Partnering is about communication and relationships. We want to honor your family’s culture, beliefs, and circumstances. We want to communicate with you about what is happening in school, but that’s only one part of effective communication. We believe all of us have unique gifts and talents. If you are doing something at home that works well for your student, that you are proud of, or simply a fun fact about your family, share it with us. Your input and voice is so important!

Let’s keep the communication lines open! Let’s create space to ask questions and listen to each other. Just like you, we can’t do this alone. We must come together as a Learning Team to support your student and ensure they have every opportunity for success.

7 Habits at Home

You can encourage the 7 Habits language at home by asking your child these questions:

How were you proactive today?
What is your end in mind with this project/work/task?
How do you plan to put first things first in this situation?
What would be a win-win for us?
I want to hear what you think first and then I will share.
How do you know when you are being listened to?
How can we work together on this?
How would you like to sharpen your saw today?

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Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Program---Lion PRIDE!

What is Lion PRIDE?

P – Positive Attitude (Always look on the sunny side!)

R – Respect (Be thoughtful and kind.)

I – Integrity (Do what you know is right.)

D – Diversity (Be your very own you.)

E – Excellence (Do your best every time.)

Lion PRIDE at School

We incorporate Lion PRIDE to help students be their best selves in the classroom and in the community.

Your child will earn Lion PRIDE stickers and booster paws at school this year. Those stickers will take the form of paw print stamps on a 10-frame chart that your child may save to earn prizes and experiences at our new school store.

We are seeking family support in the form of donations to stock our PBIS School Store. (see button link below). Thank you for your support!

Lion PRIDE ROAR Store:

Can you volunteer in our Hoover Roar Store? Responsibilities would include helping students shop for incentives with the pawprints they’ve earned, organizing stock in the store, and counting the “spent” pawprints. For specific details click here.

Lion PRIDE in the Community

This year we are continuing to encourage our students to show their Lion PRIDE at home and in the community. Students showing Lion PRIDE in our community may be recognized at a few community locations (i.e. the library and Roberto's). If they are given a Lion PRIDE ticket for demonstrating one of the above attributes in the community, they should bring it to their teacher to be recognized at our school. Be on the lookout for additional ways to connect Lion PRIDE at home in the next update.

We are looking forward to bringing Lion PRIDE home and into the community this school year! Our little lions show Lion PRIDE everywhere they go and it’s exciting to be able to recognize them for their hard work.

Lion PRIDE School Store Donations List

Thank you for the donations we’ve received for our Hoover Roar Store! A flyer was sent home with information about how you can help support our Roar Store. You can also read the flyer on Schoology or visit Mrs. Carter’s website.

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Special Celebrations at School

Birthday Table at Lunch

To celebrate student birthdays this year, your child will be invited to eat their lunch with Mrs. Czarnecki at a "special birthday table" in the cafeteria during their birthday month. August birthdays were celebrated this week. June and July birthdays will be celebrated in May. Kindergarten students will be invited to eat their snacks in the principal's office during their birthday month. Each child will receive a birthday card and pencil from the principal too! September birthday celebrations will be held next week.

Birthday Treats and Class Parties

The Camp Hill School District Wellness Policy states that snacks brought in from outside the school must comply with “The Nutritional Standards for Competitive Foods in Pennsylvania Schools.” Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education Nutrition Standards for Classroom Parties and Holiday Celebrations,

Classroom parties should have individually wrapped and commercially pre-packaged snacks such as:

a fruit juice or water only as the drink
fruits
vegetables
low-fat dairy/cheese/yogurt (cheese cubes, frozen yogurt, puddings)
and whole grain snacks, (muffins, crackers, cereals, popcorn, pretzels)
With a maximum of 3 treats containing sugar

Birthday treats should never be of minimal nutritional value. Please avoid:

Candy
Iced cakes and cupcakes

Keep in mind that there may be food-allergic children in the classroom, particularly peanuts and tree nuts. Your teachers have this information.

Abiding by this policy may demand more planning time and creativity, but it is important for us to conform to the Department of Health, Department of Education, and Department of Agriculture Nutritional Standards with snacks, just as we do with foods prepared and served by the school to our students.

Thank you for your support for a healthier learning environment and student wellness in our school.

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Safety & Security

Nothing is more paramount to our mission than the safety and well-being of our staff and students.

Each school year Districts are required by State code to conduct routine drills of emergency procedures (i.e. fire drills, weather-related emergency drills, intruder drills, lockdown drills, etc.). These exercises provide students and staff with practice in knowing the best ways to conduct themselves in the event of an actual emergency. Students are taught the procedures for all drills at the beginning of the year, and they are regularly reviewed. We began these drills this first week of school.

We continue to make safety a priority. Camp Hill School District was recognized as an ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) certified organization. ALICE trains staff and students by using options-based and scenario-dependent strategies to prepare them to better address an actual threat should one present itself. ALICE is a nationwide best practice that we firmly believe is essential to enhance the safety and security of our students. All faculty and staff have now been trained in these principles. Over the next two weeks, we will begin to share these concepts with our students using the age-appropriate ALICE curriculum. While it is unsettling to think about dangerous situations happening in our schools, just as with fire drills, frequent review and practice of emergency procedures will help us all be better prepared in case of an incident in our District. We encourage you to talk with your child about these strategies to further process their learning.

Camp Hill School District remains committed to a comprehensive approach to increasing the safety and security of everyone in our buildings and the well-being of our students. These steps help produce an atmosphere where they can learn, thrive, and become their best selves. Thanks for your support in this critical issue.

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Counselor's Corner

What’s Happening in Guidance: All Guidance classes have kicked off the school year with a lesson about my job as the school counselor. Students learned about small versus big problems, and how I can be a helper at school. In September, K and 1st graders will dive into lessons focusing on Lion PRIDE, while 2nd graders will begin to learn about emotions and coping skills!

Interesting Article of the Month: Is your student struggling with the transition back into the school year? Check out the flier below with some tips to alleviate back to school worries.

Back to School Tips

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From our Occupational Therapist, Ms. Howatt

For information on how to help students adapt, function, and participate to the best of their abilities in all areas of the school setting

Monthly OT News

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News from CHEPTO

The Camp Hill Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (CHEPTO) is dedicated to serving Hoover, Eisenhower, and Lion Academy learners and their families, grades K-5. CHEPTO raises funds to support school activities and organizes events for our families to enjoy together, including Fall Fest, May Fair, and roller skating parties.

As we gear up for the 2023-2024 school year, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved! We are looking for 1-2 more board members (including a treasurer), as well as a yearbook coordinator. We are also forming several subcommittees, which will offer even more chances to have input and make an impact. Our ability to continue to offer programming and other events relies on help from volunteers. Without your help, we'll need to drastically cut back on what we can do.

Help us make this the best year yet!

Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 12, at 6:30 PM in the Eisenhower Library. There will also be an option to join via Zoom, if you prefer. Please join us to hear more about our plans for the 2023-2024 school year, and all the ways you can help! Free babysitting will be provided

If you are interested in filling one of our vacant board positions or would like more information, please stop by the CHEPTO table at Back to School Night or email us at chepto@icloud.com.