Hanover Herald

Hello Hanover Families!

October was a fantastic month at Hanover Elementary! Our theme for October was Responsibility, and our students truly embraced it. Throughout the month, they explored what it means to be responsible and found meaningful ways to practice responsibility both at school and at home. We hope you had some great conversations as a family about the importance of responsibility and ways it can make a difference in everyday life!

November’s Theme: Gratitude

This month, we’re focusing on Gratitude — recognizing and appreciating the people and things in our lives. During November, students will explore ways to look beyond what they don’t have and reflect on the things they are thankful for. We’ve included some family talking points on gratitude from our Character Strong: Purposeful People program. These are designed to spark family conversations, and we hope you enjoy connecting around this special theme at home!

College & Career Readiness: Military Focus

As we work to prepare our students for bright futures, we are dedicating each month to a college or career focus. In November, we will focus on the military, recognizing the college and career opportunities it can offer. We also will take time to honor and appreciate the service of those connected to our Hanover community. If you or a family member has served in the military, thank you! Teachers may reach out to invite you to share your experiences and discuss how your military background has contributed to your career journey.

We are grateful for each of you and the support you bring to our school community. Your partnership makes all the difference in creating a positive and nurturing environment for our students. Here’s to a month of gratitude and togetherness!

With the colder weather settling in, here are a few helpful reminders to ensure a safe and comfortable season for everyone:

• Weather Alerts: Our district’s automated system will notify families of school closings, delays, or early dismissals via call, text, and email. If schools remain open and you feel the conditions warrant you keeping your child(ren) home, it will be marked as an excused absence. Please note, if you did not receive messages regarding our late start last Friday, October 25th, you can contact the main office at 763-682-0800 to ensure your contact information is set-up for school notifications.

• Early Dismissal Plans: If we need to close early (typically around 12:30 p.m.), please be sure your child knows where to go if they arrive home to an empty house. Also, let the office and your child’s teacher know of your end-of-day plans in case of an early release.

• Winter Gear: Please help your child dress warmly as they’ll be going outside for recess unless the temperature or wind chill is below -5°F. All students should have hats and gloves or mittens. Boots and snow pants are needed to play in the snow covered areas and are encouraged for students in grades 3-5 and are required in grades K-2. If your child needs to stay indoors due to a medical condition, please send a note to their teacher.

Thank you for helping us ensure every Hanover student is safe, warm, and ready to enjoy winter activities!

The month of October has gone well and quickly! We started the month off finishing up soccer and kicking skills. We transitioned into spatial awareness and chasing, fleeing, dodging, a pumpkin game, and have now started underhand and overhand throwing in K-2nd grades.

For those of you who are working on the GET FIT Timberwolves sheets, thank you! Remember the due date for these is November 5th.

For 3-5th grades we started off October in our football unit. It was a wonderful fall for being outside! We have now transitioned into Collaborative games. This unit is a long unit and will take us the entire month of November to complete. All grades enjoyed the Bounce House Obstacle Course on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of the month. What a great celebration for doing an amazing job raising funds for Hanover! I hope your child came and told you about the fun they had.

In Kindergarten we have started focusing on the underhand and overhand throw. We use the cues of Point, Step and Throw when practicing in PE. It is very important to learn to throw correctly so students have the best results and don’t injure themselves.

In first and second grade we did a few station days, working on various skills, introducing the climbing wall and are now focusing on the underhand and overhand throw as well. Looking ahead, we will continue to practice throwing and catching and will also be starting the parachute.

In grades 3-5 we focus on collaboration. Collaboration is a part of WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading). WICOR is a part of AVID and the area that we focus on the most in PE. We don’t do much writing in PE, but we do inquire by asking questions. It takes organization to make PE beneficial and students do some reading in PE by reading the daily learning targets and lesson focuses. The largest amount of time and the most natural fit is Collaboration. What a great skill for students to learn! We can achieve and accomplish more when we work together. That skill takes practice and we get to play a ton of fun games that focus on Collaboration in PE.

Lastly and with excitement, the Hanover Athletic Association has once again been super generous and have donated funds for us to purchase new PE Equipment. What a gift they are to Hanover Elementary! Thank you so much!

Please remind your child to always have tennis shoes for class.

Actively yours,

Mr. Turner

(763)-682-0865

joeturner@bhmschools.org

Hello from the art room! I hope you and your families have been enjoying fall.

3rd grade : For the month of November, we focus on gratitude. As a showcase of gratitude for staff at HES students work in groups to draw portraits of staff members. These are hung up and put on display in the hallways at school to show appreciation for all.

2nd grade : Our focus for the month of November is all about the artist Wasilly Kandinsky. We learn about the artist and then create our own art inspired by one of his most famous paintings, Squares With Concentric Circles. His artwork is a great way for 2nd graders to understand abstract art!

1st grade : First graders get to spend the month learning about 3D art and sculpture. The first sculpture we make is out of paper and then we will make one using cardboard. First graders have also started to use their sketchbooks on a daily basis which has been fun to start, as it is something we didn’t practice as kindergarten students.

Kindergarten : We recently ended our study on the artist Piet Mondrian, who helps us learn the primary colors. Our next big projects all revolve around the element of art texture. Kindergarten students get to make a clay medallion that we will turn into a necklace that has texture from their shoe. Kindergarten students also talk about gratitude for this month and help create a display for the hallways, showing their gratitude by making a poster with “high fives” for all the staff at HES.

I hope your student has been able to share some of the fun things we’ve been experiencing in the art room with you at home. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please reach out.

Take care,

Mrs. Rausch

Art Integration

(763)-682-0867

krausch@bhmschools.org

November Music

November Music Activities will include a lot of performance

rehearsal (especially for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders!) and some

instrument playing, too!

5th graders are working on learning about many composers as

well as the instruments of the band and orchestra. In early November,

fifth graders will take a listening assessment in music class to prepare

them for their music choices next year at the middle school. We

will also be learning about the songs from each military branch in

observance of Veteran’s Day.

4th graders are working very hard on their musical, “Candles” We will

present this musical on Thursday, November 14th

to our students and staff in the afternoon and to family and

friends at 6:30 p.m. in our Hanover cafeteria.

3rd graders are working on many patriotic songs and adding

some instruments, too. We will be practicing more rhythms and

the djembe drum also. This month will also include many

Thanksgiving musical activities.

Kindergartners, 1st and 2nd graders will be learning more

about rhythm (one and two sounds to a beat and quarter rests),

singing (the four ways to use our voice), and this month will

culminate with some Thanksgiving activities.

Mary Bolton

(763)-682-0855

mbolton@bhmschools.org

http://sites.google.com/a/bhmschools.org/dotzler

2024-2025 Flu Season Update

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated the flu season is just getting started (typically runs October-May; peaking between December and February). Per the CDC, it’s not too late to get vaccinated. Flu vaccination is always the best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications. If you and your children have not had a current vaccination for influenza, you may want to contact your healthcare provider to determine if your family should receive a flu shot. It is not too late!!

Tips for Staying Healthy, Happy and Safe as we approach the holidays

Give the gift of being healthy this holiday season with a few simple tips to keep you, your family and your friends, healthy this time of year and all year round!

• Wash your hands. By washing your hands often will help limit the spread of germs that can make you and others sick. Wash your hands with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds.

• Eat healthy and get plenty of exercise! Enjoy the holidays the healthy way with balance and moderation. Skip the tempting sweets and heavy side dishes by mixing in fresh fruits and seasonal vegetables. With the kids off of school, be active as a family everyday.

• Bundle up! Stay warm and dry by wearing appropriate clothing for being outdoors. Dress in layers of light, warm clothing and remember to wear hats, scarves, mittens and warm boots!

• Handle and prepare food safely. Follow these four simple steps to decrease your chance of getting sick from holiday eats. Wash your hands and food preparation surfaces often, avoid cross contamination between raw and cooked foods, cook foods, especially meats, to proper internal temperatures and refrigerate leftovers promptly.

• Stress management! Amongst all of the hustle and bustle, remember to take time for yourself. Take a moment to do some deep breathing exercises or meditation. Get plenty of sleep and don’t over-commit yourself to prevent anxiety and pressure.

For more ideas to keep the whole family healthy, happy and safe during this holiday season, visit healthpoweredkids.org.

Our Annual Fundraiser reached above and beyond our goal of $35,000.

With your generosity we raised over $41,000!

Thank you for supporting your students!

Help less fortunate children in our community experience the joy of the holidays by donating

From Monday, November 25th – Tuesday, December 3rd the PTO and HES 3rd graders will be collecting donations of toys to help families in need that live in the local area.

The Hanover Elementary School families have always been very supportive of our

community. Thank you for all of your generosity and for spreading the joy of giving this holiday season!

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Collection boxes will be by the “Giving Tree” in the HES front hallway. Cash donations

should be given to the office. Third graders will be sorting, packing, and recording

all donations to be delivered to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hanover. These will be used

for holiday gift shopping for parents in need that live in the area.

3rd Grade Parent? Consider helping out your student in the collection and sorting

of donations. Sign-up link will be coming via email soon.

Thank you for your time and donations!

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Upcoming Dates

1: Early release, 12:25 pm

1: Dress up day-Comfy clothes

4: Teacher Workshop, NO SCHOOL

5: Election Day

11: PTO Meeting, 6:00 pm

11: Veterans Day

12: Hearing and Vision Screening

14: 4th grade Musical, 1:30 pm & 6:30 pm

27-29: Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL

· If your child will be absent, please call the attendance line at 763-682-0822. Leave a message with why you’re child is absent and if ill, what their symptoms are. You can also enter it in the parent portal or send an email to our attendance address at hesattendance@bhmschools.org with the information.

· Any correspondence about attendance to your child’s teacher - sickness, vacation, coming in late, leaving early, end of day plans, etc. - should also be copied to the
attendance email hesattendance@bhmschools.org so the office knows the plans or where a child is going if there are any questions.

· If there are any changes to your child’s end of day transportation, please call the office at 763-682-0800 by 1:00 pm. We will make sure your child and their teacher know where they are to go. If you email the teacher, be aware they may not get the message because they do not always check their messages in the afternoon, so also copy hesattendance@bhmschools.org

· Any correspondence about attendance - sickness, vacation, coming in late, leaving early - can be communicated by using the attendance email linehesattendance@bhmschools.org so the office knows the plans as well.

Pop tabs may be small in size, but they have a big impact. Your aluminum can tab donations help light the way for families at Ronald McDonald House. Ronald McDonald house helped our family so very much when Gracie was hospitalized. Please help our family give back to other families in need of help. Please collect your pop tabs in honor of Gracie Heinz. Our collection will take place the rest of the school year and through the summer. We will be turning all the pop tabs collected in at The Back to the 50s event. There they will be weighed and taken to the recycling center. Those funds will go straight to the Ronald McDonald house in Gracie's honor.

There will be a dropbox located in the front office for donations. Thank you!

Interested in being a substitute teacher or ESP? The district is looking to hire substitute teachers and ESPs (health office, special ed or instructional/supervision) for the school year. If you are interested, go to the BHM Website to see the qualification requirements and to fill out an application. Feel free to contact the HES office at 763-682-0800 if you have any questions.