Hovatter Elementary

Greetings Hovatter Families:

This week, our students have been engaging in a variety of exciting learning activities. From interactive science experiments to creative art projects, our classrooms have been buzzing with enthusiasm and curiosity.

We're committed to fostering an environment where students can explore, discover, and grow. Thank you for your continued support in making our school a vibrant place for learning and fun.

We have a short week ahead, let's make it a great one. Eid Mubarak to all who are celebrating!

Calendar Reminders:

• March 31: Holiday (Eid al Fitr)
  
• April 2nd: World Autism Awareness Day - Wear Blue or Red
• April 3: End of 3rd Quarter
• April 4-April 7: Student Holidays- Teacher Workday/Professional Learning Day
• April 8-11: Month of the Military Child Spirit Week (see schedule below)
• April 14-18: School Holidays: Spring Break
• April 18: Last Day to Order a Yearbook
• April 24th - Family Traditions Night

April is a very special month for us at Hovatter Elementary and within the LCPS community. It is the Month of the Military Child. This month, we recognize and celebrate the remarkable resilience and courage displayed by children whose parents actively serve in the military.

Military life can be demanding, and our students often deal with unique challenges. Frequent relocations, family separations due to deployments, and reintegration following deployments can make school, home, and community life difficult. Despite these circumstances, our military-connected students continue to inspire us with their strength and resilience.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025, is Purple Up Day! We are inviting all students to wear their favorite purple outfits in support of our Military Connected Students. This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to show our solidarity and appreciation for the sacrifices made by military families. And
to all of our military families, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your service. In addition to Purple Up Day, we will celebrate our Military Connected Students with a Spirit Week April 8- April 11, 2025

Monday, April 7- No School for Students

Tuesday, April 8- Wear red, white, and blue.

Wednesday, April 9- PURPLE UP day! Wear purple.

Thursday, April 10- Wear camo or stars and stripes.

Friday, April 11-HATS OFF TO OUR HEROES! Wear your favorite hat.

First, thank you to our drivers who are consistently following the established morning car line procedures established for both Henrietta Lacks and Hovatter. As we continue to strive to ensure the safety and efficiency of our morning car line, we kindly ask all parents and/or guardians to carefully follow the established procedures. These guidelines are in place to ensure the safety of all students and staff, and to maintain a smooth flow of traffic.

Please avoid taking shortcuts to bypass the long line. The only road which should be taken to access the car line is Collaboration Drive. Additionally, children should never be dropped off on either side of Lightridge Farm Road. While we understand mornings can be hectic, adhering to the procedures helps us create a safer environment for everyone. Your respect and cooperation are greatly appreciated and make a significant difference.

Click here to view the student created video advertising our upcoming Family Tradition Night!

Credit: Student Equibee Committee

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.

4-1-25 TO 4-3-25

TUESDAY

HAMBURGER

CHEESEBURGER

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

COLD OPTION

SUN BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH

2YOGURT, STRING CHEESE, & BAGEL MEAL

WEDNESDAY

PIZZA CRUNCHERS

TERIYAKI CHICKEN RICE
COLD OPTION

SALAD MEAL

SUN BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICH

THURSDAY

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.

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!

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!

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.

Upcoming Spirit Night: BRUSTERS!🍨

Mark your calendars for our upcoming BRUSTERS SPIRIT NIGHT!!

Details are as follows:

🍨Date: April 23rd

🍨Location: Brusters, Stone Ridge location

🍨Time: 5:00-7:00pm

🎉More details to come in the following weeks!

Volunteer Opportunity: Join the HIVE Squad!!🐝

Thank you to all of our wonderful Honeybee Parents/Guardians who took the time out to volunteer for our Hive Squad! We hope you had a wonderful morning helping out!💙💚🐝

Our next HIVE volunteer day will be on April 28th

• All volunteer slots for Henrietta Lacks Hive Squad are booked for 4/28th! If anything changes, we will be sure to send an update!
• We have only ONE volunteer slot available for Hovatter!
• Thank you to all who have signed up for the HIVE Squad thus far!

We are looking for volunteers to join us in making a difference at our school! HIVE Squad members will assist with morning drop-off, help in the classroom, support recess and lunch duties, and more. Volunteering is a great way to get involved and spend time with your child!

Volunteers must be a relative of a student (mom, dad, legal guardian, aunt, uncle, grandparent) and can sign up for one volunteer slot this school year to ensure opportunities for other families.

To sign up, visit the links for upcoming available dates for the year!

• Henrietta Lacks - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FAEAA28A5FAC70-52524110-hovatter?fbclid=IwY2xjawIe0KlleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHYolaW_AF5EMktSSz-Ze_95eT1uacEKBrNq7F4Ojt2i2QDCyM0eBQTF0nA_aem_hvwLTpBkN1PUgxFP8Ofxvw#/
• Hovatter - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FAEAA28A5FAC70-52524058-hovatter?fbclid=IwY2xjawIe0O1leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHftM52pMevQAIim7A0ToSo4YQbtqFA-lM3TVS3h_Kku0_71SHu9-3j_qMQ_aem_jZzoH6PnXd5PXs2G1__WOA#/

Spirit Wear Store 🐝

📢Attention All Honeybees!!

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

Staff Favorite Things/Wish Lists🐝

Attention Honeybees!

• The Front Office at Henrietta Lacks needs some supplies to help make each day at the school run smoothly. Let's help them get these much needed items!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Z1TIZAM8LS03?ref_=wl_share&fbclid=IwY2xjawI6MNtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQoOOu_HOT9_lxWqOeIJlSGJeYj6Dw5uLvCRHqPZLRC5UPAa95i-zpYhXA_aem_DPXvu9gM9xnL9z0pKlLyxg

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

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.

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.

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