News and events

September 23, 2024

Our Character Strong trait for September is RESPECT. Check out what each grade level is working on:

• Kindergarten

• First Grade

• Second Grade

• Third Grade

• Fourth Grade

• Fifth Grade

Hello Hoover Families,

It is Fall Picture Day TODAY! Order forms were sent home already. We are excited to see all of our students and their beautiful smiles filling our hallways and classrooms today.

We are seeking donations for snacks to build our reserve for students who need nutritious snacks at school. If you are able and willing to donate, please send a box or bag of nonperishable individually wrapped healthy snacks to school with your student. Thank you for supporting our community of learners!

• Suggested Items: Crackers, goldfish, veggie straws, granola bars, pretzels, Cheez-Its, Nutri-grain bars, and pre-popped popcorn.

This Week's Events:

• Monday, September 23 - Fall Picture Day
• Tuesday, September 24-Wednesday, September 25 - Gr 3-5 MAP Math Testing
• Thursday, September 26th - PTO/Schoolwide Title Family Bingo Night (5:30-7:30)

We have the following position open at Hoover. Click on the position for more information:

• Literacy Intervention Teacher (LIT) - Part time and teaching license required
• Long-Term Kindergarten Sub - Starts mid-October and goes through end of February and a teaching license is required
• Special Education Para - Full time, 6.5 hours - will be posted this week

Best,

Mrs. Strusz

P.S. In case you missed the last Hoover Family Updates. Click here to view.

• Tuesday, October 1 - PTO Dining Night - Davanni's (4:00-8:00)

• Friday, October 4 - No School for Students/Staff PD Day/Para Flex Day

• Monday, October 7 - No School for Students/Staff PD and PLC Day/Para PD Day

• Monday, October 7 - Fall Conferences (4:30-8:30)

• Tuesday, October 8 - PTO Meeting

• Wednesday, October 9 - Fire Prevention Assemblies for Gr K-5

• Wednesday, October 9 - Last Day of PTO Fall Fundraiser

• Thursday, October 10 - Fall Conferences (7:35-8:35 am, 4:30-7:30)

• Friday, October 11 - PTO Family Dance Night (6:00-7:30)

• Tuesday, October 15 - Gr 5 STEMH Field Experience - Exploradome Onsite

• Tuesday, October 15 - Fall Conferences (4:30-8:30 w/6:30-8:30 Virtual Conferences)

• Thursday, October 17-Friday, October 18 - No School/MEA

• Tuesday, October 22 - Fall Picture Retakes

• Wednesday, October 23 - Gr 5 Orchestra Hall Field Trip

• Friday, November 1 - Classroom Fall Festival Celebrations

• Please say your goodbyes and give hugs before dropping off at school or at the main door. We will have staff available to help walk students in to school and get them to their classrooms.
• All guests to Hoover must have an ID and be scanned in before entering the building.
• Parents/Guardians picking up students during the school day will be asked for ID and to wait in the vestibule until the student meets them there.
• 3:30 p.m. is the cut-off for students to be picked up/dismissed from school by a parent/guardian. Please plan accordingly to communicate with the teacher or the main office about this change.
• If you have questions about bus transportation for your student(s), please call the district transportation office at 763.506.1125.
• Absence Reporting - Please call our Attendance Line at 763.506.2806 to report any absences that your child(ren) will be out of school every day.
• Don't forget to return your Summer Express Activity Book completed certificates to your teacher to receive a special reward!

Coming Back to Hoover This Year:

• Take Home Folders
• Starting the week of September 9, all Hoover students will receive and use a common Take Home Folder to build a strong and effective communication process with our families. Please look through the folders nightly with your student(s) and ensure it is returned back to school daily.
• Replacement folders will be available to purchase for $3.00.
• Student/Family Handbook
• During the first week or two of school, our teachers will spend some time reviewing our Hoover Rules and Expectations. We ask that you also review it with your child(ren) at home. A copy of the Student/Family Handbook will be sent home to the youngest child or only child in each family to keep at home.
• You can also access our Hoover Student/Family Handbook here (and moving forward, will be linked in each week's Hoover Family Updates. Please make sure to specifically review the following items this year at Hoover (aligned with the district's guidelines).
• Cell Phone, Smart Watches, and Electronic Devices (pg. 17)
• Classroom and Birthday Celebrations (pg. 19)

• Stay in your car and keep pulling forward. Students will walk to your car with the guidance of staff.
• Have students exit/enter your vehicles on the passenger/sidewalk side to avoid walking in the parking lot. I know this part is not easy due to many factors (other children in the car/carseats, etc), but this is very important for safety reasons.
• Please park first if you want to walk your student to/from the main door. Do not exit your car while in the drop-off/pick-up line. Do not have your student cross traffic to walk to you in the parking lot.
• When exiting the parking lot during arrival/dismissal times, please ONLY TURN RIGHT. This is to keep the traffic flow moving smoothly and to keep staff directing traffic safely.
• THANK YOU for your help with this process to keep our students and staff safe!

Continuing this school year, starting the first day of school, Sept. 3, 2024, every student may receive one breakfast and one lunch at no cost during the school year. The state’s Free School Meals program will cover the cost of one breakfast meal and one lunch meal for every student daily, however the cost of a la carte items, such as milk, other drinks, or extra meal items will not be covered. Students will need to have funds in their meal accounts to purchase any additional food items.

If your family needs access to any other educational benefits available to your student, please visit ahschools.us/freereduced to complete an application.

The enrollment window for the 2024 Applications for Educational Benefits begins Aug. 1, 2024.

Anoka-Hennepin asks that ALL families complete an online application to provide additional school funding to support all students in the district. By filling out this application, your school can earn funding and you can save money.

Educational benefits include:

• Athletics fees: Eligible students may qualify for fees to be waived or reduced.

• SAT, ACT, AP Fees: Students may be eligible for discounted fees for academic tests

  and some lab fees.

• Other high school activities: Students may qualify for discounts on speech, debate,

  theater, band and others.

• Additional benefits and cost savings: Chromebook device protection, Comcast Internet

  Essentials discount, Amazon Prime membership discounts, discounted bus fares with Metro Transit, Xcel Energy account assistance, discounts at museums and theaters.

Please send an extra pair of pants and underwear for your child in case there is an accident (bathroom, breakfast/lunch spill, etc.). The health office loves donations of gently used sweatpants and leggings sizes 5-10. We also appreciate new packs of underwear for boys and girls sizes 5-10.

The health office has free at home Covid tests. Email Darlene.Anderson@ahschools.us and we can send them home with your child.

Wondering if your child is well enough to come to school? Click here for more information.

If your child goes to the doctor or dentist, please request a doctor's note and send it with your child for attendance purposes.

We have so much going on at Hoover and we need your help!

Our Every Meal Distribution program starts this week on Thursday and we are looking for 1 to 2 people to come in anytime after 10:00 but before 1:00 preferably to place food bags in children's backpacks that are signed up for the program.

PTO and Schoolwide Title I Bingo Night is on Sept 26th and we are looking for volunteers to help assist us throughout the event with set up, clean up, serving food, verifying Bingos and more! This is a great opportunity for high school students and for middle school students to get involved!

Conferences are right around the corner and our teachers work long days and nights during conferences. To help them through those long days, PTO is planning a taco meal for the staff on Oct 10th. We are hoping to get some help from our wonder families and volunteers with donations for the meal. Items can be dropped off by students or parents to the office leading up to the conference meal. We do ask that any refrigerated items be donated no sooner than Oct 9th due to storage space.

Our workroom is booming with project requests from our staff. If you are available to come in to help make copies, laminate and do other miscellaneous projects, we would greatly appreciate your help!

Sign ups for all these opportunities and more can be found here.

Just a reminder that any volunteer 18 years or older must complete the volunteer application and background check each school year. Those 17 and younger only need to complete the volunteer application each school year.

Thank you so much for all you do for our school!

Please reach out Tina Fletcher, Volunteer Service Coordinator, at Tina.Fletcher@ahschools.us or 763.506.2830 with any questions.

Hoover PTO would love to increase participation! ALL parents/guardians are welcome to join our PTO. Please check them out on the Hoover PTO Facebook page and like/follow them to learn more about what's going on! PTO also has a website with additional information. Please bookmark our PTO's website and check it for updates.

Also, please like/follow our Hoover Elementary Facebook page too!

Another option is to go to https://www.boxtops4education.com/ to learn more about downloading the app to scan receipts for box tops for Hoover Elementary.