Hovatter Elementary

Greetings Hovatter Families!

We are keeping things buzzing at the Hive with only one week of school remaining in 2024!

Our school office will be closed during Winter Break and will reopen on Monday, January 6th when school resumes.

We wish our Hovatter families and loved ones good health, peace, and joy during the holiday season and into the new year. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad, and Happy New Year to all who celebrate!

Calendar Reminders for Upcoming Student and School Holidays:

December 23rd -January 3rd: Winter Break

Monday, January 6th: School Resumes

January 20th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 27th-28th: Teacher Workdays/Professional Learning Day

January 29th: Lunar New Year

Wishing you and your family a wonderful week!

Congratulations to our Honeybees who were recognized this past week for their outstanding demonstration of Readiness, Respect, Responsibility, AND Kindness across learning environments during the month of November!

Grade 3: Divi Sumreddy, Bobby Brayden, Leina Toure, Chinmaya Malladi, Reese Wright, Arya Patel, Kayleigh Cavenaugh, Madelyn Hood, Changaiz Hussain, Leah Dial, Macklin Stokely, and Ameya Guruprasad

Grade 4: Ella Farmer, Kylie Ghaemi, Cole Hamacker, Sophia Kalifa, Maya Mohammed, Emilie Morrison, Sid Rallabhandi, Dhruv Krishnamaneni, Diya Soni, Vira Patel, Henry Rhodes, Nikhil Vinodh, and Thrijal Vuppala

Grade 5: Colton Eways, Ray Sundaram, Elia Kim, Aadhyan Sunil, Cyrus Betthauser, Liron Ansong, Beckett Liddle, Jacob Chung, Jay Botlagunta, and Lana Nguyen

Sharing Your Culture

Hovatter is committed to sharing the cultures of our families and learning from each other. Please consider sending in a video or artifact we can share on our internal morning news show or display in our locked showcase which might teach others about your customs and traditions. Each month we celebrate different cultures. For example, September 15th-October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. Ideally we would like to play the videos and display the artifacts during this time period from our Hispanic families. During other months, we could share other customs from other cultures. Some examples of videos could be a recipe, dance, or story. If interested, please complete this form to submit an entry.

MONDAY

HAMBURGER

CHEESEBURGER

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

COLD OPTION

SUN BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH

YOGURT, STRING CHEESE, & BAGEL MEAL

TUESDAY

PIZZA CRUNCHERS

FAJITA CHICKEN & RICE BOWL

COLD OPTION

CHICKEN SALAD MEAL

SUN BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH

WEDNESDAY

BEEF TACO

FIESTA TACO

SPICY CHICKEN SANDWICH

COLD OPTION

SUNBUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH

YOGURT, STRING CHEESE & BAGEL

THURSDAY

MACARONI & CHEESE W/DINNER ROLL

CRISPY POPCORN CHICKEN W/DINNER ROLL

COLD OPTION

SUNBUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH

FRIDAY

FOUR CHEESE PIZZA

PEPPERONI PIZZA (TURKEY & BEEF )

MINI CORN DOGS

COLD OPTION

YOGURT, STRING CHEESE BAGEL MEAL

SUNBUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH

Breakfast and Lunch are served daily during the school year. You can create your student's lunch account on LINQ Connect or send in cash/check. Meals include a main entrée, fruit, veggie, and a milk. Meal costs are $3.05 for lunch and $2.50 for breakfast. There are many different a la carte items which can be purchased additionally with the meal, including ice cream (coming soon). You are able to limit extra items in your student's LINQ account. https://linqconnect.com/

Welcome back to our cafeteria manager, Ms. Binni Gandhi, who can be reached at binni.gandhi@lcps.org.

Occasionally, students will forget items at home (chromebook, lunch box, water bottle) and a parent or guardian will need to bring these items to school. We have office volunteers who help deliver these items to the classroom. We are unable to accommodate deliveries from Grub Hub, Door Dash, etc. for students who forget their lunch. These vendors are not permitted access into the school, and our staff cannot ensure the safety of the contents of the delivery. Our staff will ensure every student is offered a lunch choice in the event they do not have a packed lunch.

Please use the form on the Hovatter ES webpage to make a change to your student's normal dismissal method for one day only. For example, they are going home with a friend for a playdate or need to be picked up in the car line for an appointment. All changes must be received by 2:00 p.m. as the form will not be accessed during dismissal. If an urgent change after 2:00 p.m. is necessary, please call the office at 571-367-4120.

Each month our staff receives an email presentation, The Buzz, which highlights important information for the upcoming month.

This year, we would like to continue monthly (individual) shout-outs to our amazing staff members, who are dedicated to the success of our students every day.

We would like to invite you to nominate HOV staff members, who you feel should receive a spot in our monthly Hovatter Hall of Fame. The nominee will have their picture posted in The Buzz, as well as a description of why they were selected and by whom.

You can nominate as many times as you would like! Click the link to nominate today!

We need your help during lunch! From now through the end of the school year, we have set up one-hour shifts to volunteer in the cafeteria (if you can do longer, please sign up for back-to-back shifts). "Duties" include: Talking with students, passing out materials, and monitoring the coming and going of students to the restroom. This allows our staff to focus on managing the room, behavior, clean-up, etc. These slots will continue through the end of the school year. Thank you to this amazing hive--we appreciate the ongoing support!

Sign up here!

A family liaison serves as a resource person for the families within our school community to bridge the communication between school and home by helping parents get the information, help, and support they need to ensure their child's academic and social success in school. Help is provided to families with a variety of information about programs, resources, school requirements, special events, and/or activities. Please contact our Hovatter Family Liaison, Jill Teague, jill.teague@lcps.org if you need assistance with anything.

Staff Favorite Things/Wish Lists🐝

Staff Favorite Things Forms with classroom wish lists are now up on the PTA Website! Missing forms will be added as we receive them! These are great resources to help with classroom needs and to spoil our staff for all they do for our honeybees! https://hovatterpta.givebacks.com/w/StaffAppreciation

The Hive Squad! 🐝

Thank you to all of our volunteers who took the time out and participated in the Hive Squad!

We appreciate all that you do for our school community and are truly grateful for your help !

Upcoming School Spirit Ninja Camp Days Jan 27th-29th 2025!

We have EXCITING news to share with our Honeybee Families!!!

Always in Motion (AiM) Ninja & Parkour is a 20,000-square-foot ninja and parkour gym opening in January 2025 at Dulles Town Center!

To celebrate the opening, AiM Ninja and Parkour will be hosting School Spirit Ninja Camp Days from January 27th–29th, coinciding with LCPS school holidays. They will be offering a special 15% discount to families of Hovatter and Henrietta Lacks Elementary School. As an added benefit, AiM Ninja Parkour will donate 15% of the participation fees from your families directly to the PTA

How do I get a discount on Jan 27th-29th?

To get a 15 % discount from Jan 27th-29th, use the QR code provided on the flyer. Use the discount code 'SCHOOLCAMP15'

How do I ensure 15% of the fee is donated to our school PTA?

All you have to do is remember to mention our school Henrietta Lacks Elementary / Hovatter Elementary at sign up for a 15% donation made to our PTA!

For further questions, please reach out to president@hovatterpta.org

Spirit Wear Store

Attention All Honeybees!!

We are super excited to announce our New Winter Inventory is ready and available to purchase online ! New products include Squad Gear Fleece Sweatshirts; Outerwear; Infant Wear; Accessories; Homegoods and so much more!!

Click to access our Spirit Wear Store today! https://bit.ly/hivespirit

This year, our spirit wear store will stay open throughout the school year and your order will ship directly to you!

Business Sponsorships!

We are currently looking for Business Sponsors for the PTA! Do you own a business or know a business that may be interested ? Click for more information and to become a sponsor! Sponsorship Form

My name is Leah Macchiarolo, and I am the LEAF (Loudoun Education Alliance of Families) Representative for Hovatter Elementary School. LEAF is an advisory group voice for parents to elevate educational concerns and provide feedback to the board on current or proposed policies or issues facing the School Board.

LEAF is continuing to explore best practices to effectively disseminate information to LCPS families and ensure we are a well-informed community. Outside of newsletter updates, one potential means for communication is via a LEAF specific facebook group(s). Hovatter and Henrietta Lacks are part of the Dulles South District Facebook Group. There is also the Lightridge Pyramid Schools Page to find information regarding upcoming community events for Lightridge and its pyramid schools (Willard MS, Pinebrook ES, Buffalo Trail ES, Aldie ES, Goshen Post ES, Hovatter ES, Henrietta Lacks ES). I recommend connecting to these two groups to stay in contact with our amazing district.

Let's advocate for our children and have our voices heard! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me directly at hovatterleaf@gmail.com.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through the details of dismissal. Day 2 improved from Day 1, and we are continuing to review our plans to ensure the most safe and efficient processes.

A few details to note:

• NO cars may park and walk students through the moving car line into the school. If you are dropping your child off at school by car, you must enter the car line.
• If you are a walker or bike rider, it means you are walking from your home, not from your car parked in any of the school parking areas.
• There are no left turns into the Hovatter school campus during arrival times. The cones are placed on Collaboration Drive at 6:45 and removed at 7:33.
• Please pay close attention to the staff supervising the car line by keeping cars moving and encouraging drivers to pull up as far as possible.

“2023 All Rights Reserved – Loudoun County Public Schools

Email: Hovatter@lcps.org
Website: https://www.lcps.org/hovatter
Location: 41135 Collaboration Drive, Aldie, VA, USA
Phone: 571.367.4120
Twitter: @HovatterES