Hoover Sunshine!

Hello Hoover Rockets!

Last week we celebrated Poem in the Pocket Day.  During lunch, students volunteered to read their poem into the microphone during lunch.  Our Hoover Rockets were so proud to share their skills in front of their peers.  It was such a positive time in the lunchroom seeing students cheering for each other.

M-STEP

The 3rd Grade Students started the M-STEP this week!  They are doing an awesome job taking an assessment on the computer.   This requires a lot of stamina, focus and persistence.  Please make sure our students are getting enough sleep and a healthy breakfast on these assessment days.

Mrs. Cowher's Class using GoNoodle

Brain Breaks

At Hoover students take Brain Breaks in the classroom.  You might see them stopping and moving at various times throughout the day.  Research says that taking Brain Breaks increases blood flow, improves focus, attention and listening skills.  This week, as I walked through classrooms I saw students participating in a program called Go Noodle.  Students stand up and move their bodies to short, catchy songs.  Go Noodle is a free program that you can also access from home. You do have to sign up which takes only a couple minutes.  My children (Griffin and Sydney) 

enjoy it when they need a movement break while doing homework or on a rainy day.   Here is the link to the site:  https://www.gonoodle.com/

*Everyone had a great time at the Tiger game on Sunday!  Thanks for supporting both our Hoover Rockets and the Detroit Tigers.

*Our last PTA meeting for the year will be next Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.  We will be voting for our Executive Board for the 2016/17 School Year.  Please join us if you can.

*Next Friday is Unhealthy Snack Day ($1 to eat an unhealthy snack)

*  Look for the Hoover Sign the next time you go to the Detroit Zoo to visit the Lion.

*Spirit Wear

We have a great new company provided our Spirit Wear this Spring.  Please click the link below for more details. Free shipping if you order between 5/2-5/15.  

https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#inbox/154411fe7f3d4158?projector=1

Check out the latest edition of Live from the Dumpster.

In the last two decades, childhood has moved indoors. The average American boy or girl spends as few as 30 minutes in unstructured outdoor play each day, and more than seven hours each day in front of an electronic screen.  

The National Wildlife Federation has researched outdoor play and has found the following benefits:

Body

• Outdoor play increases fitness levels and builds active, healthy bodies, an important strategy in helping the one in three American kids who are obese get fit.
• Spending time outside raises levels of Vitamin D, helping protect children from future bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues.
• Being out there improves distance vision and lowers the chance of nearsightedness.

Mind

• Exposure to natural settings may be widely effective in reducing ADHD symptoms.
• Schools with environmental education programs score higher on standardized tests in math, reading, writing and listening.
• Exposure to environment-based education significantly increases student performance on tests of their critical thinking skills.

Spirit

• Children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces.
• Play protects children’s emotional development whereas loss of free time and a hurried lifestyle can contribute to anxiety and depression.
• Nature makes you nicer, enhancing social interactions, value for community and close relationships.

4/25-5/13 3rd Grade M-STEP
5/2-5/6 Staff Appreciation Week
5/3 PTA Meeting 1:00 p.m.
5/4 Door to Door Pick Up
5/6 Unhealthy Snack Day Spirit Day ($1)
5/9-5/27 4th Grade M-STEP
5/12 Volunteer Tea
5/26 Music Concert
5/30 No School Memorial Day
6/1 Kindergarten Orientation
6/7 Field Day
6/16 Last Day for Students (1/2 day)
6/17 Building is closed and construction begins

I look forward to working with you to continue this exciting, educational, and safe school year at Hoover. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Julie Linn
Growing Green with Hoover
(734) 744-2730
jlinn2@livoniapublicschools.org.

Hoover Martians and Artists

Hello Hoover Rockets,

Congratulation to the Hoover students, parents, grandparents and siblings who ran/walked in the Martian Marathon last week. 

Hoover had 14 people from the Hoover community that included staff, parents, or older sibling that participated in the 5K or 10K events.

We had the largest group (121 students) registered for the Kids Martian Marathon.

Everyone met at Dearborn's Ford Field Park where they did a large group warm-up before moving to the start line for the 1.2 mile race.  The students logged 25 miles with their families before the day in order to complete an entire marathon (25 + 1.2 = 26. 2 miles for a marathon)

This event is a culmination of our February Heart Month Celebration and is one of the classroom extensions offered through our Physical Education Program.  Congratulations Hoover Rockets, Staff and especially Mr. O.

It was great to see all the amazing art work last night!  A huge thank you to Mrs. Gordon.  She spends weeks preparing for the show and organizing all of our student's projects.  The school looks beautiful!

 

Eco-Action Update:

This week's Live from the Dumpster was filmed by some of our 3rd Grade Hoover Rockets!  Great job!

*Thank you for all the donations and help preparing for the Art Fair.  It was a huge success.

*GO TIGERS!  We sold over 200 tickets for the Tiger Game.  Hoover earned $987!! 

 The arts provide new challenges for those students already

considered successful.

- The arts connect learning experiences to the world of real work.

- The arts enable young people to have direct involvement with the

arts and artists.

- The arts support extended engagement in the artistic process.

- The arts encourage self-directed learning.

- The arts engage community leaders and resources.

 Taken from a review of the federal report "Champions of Change."

The author of this review is N.M. Weinberger.

4/25-5/13 3rd Grade M-STEP
4/26 YMAD at Churchill High School 6:30 p.m.
4/28 No School Professional Development Day
5/11-5/27 4th Grade M-STEP
5/12 Volunteer Tea
5/26 Music Concert
6/7 Field Day

End of the 3rd Marking Period

Hello Hoover Rockets!

Today was the last day of the 3rd Marking Period.  Tomorrow, the students do not have school.  Our Hoover staff will be preparing report cards for you to review next week.  Look for them to come home on Friday, April 22, 2016 through back pack mail.  

This spring our student’s will be taking the M-STEP test.  The staff continues to work hard at preparing our students for these tests. First and foremost, we believe that our curriculum is strong, the instruction students receive is excellent, and that good curriculum and instruction will prepare our students for any test.

What can you do to help your child be successful on the M-STEP? Make sure that they get a good night's sleep.  Elementary children need up to 10 hours of sleep each night to do their best in school.  It is also important for them to eat a healthy breakfast while cutting back on high-sugar cereals, pastries, and undiluted juices (which can have the same sugar content as sodas).  Most importantly, ensure that your child attends school every day. This is especially important during the M-STEP testing windows (3rd Grade 4/25-5/13

4th Grade 5/11-5/27).  Thanks for all your home support!

*Please join us tonight for our April PTA meeting.  It will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Little Theater.

*Thank you for visiting Cebella's Pizza.  We raised over $250 for Hoover.

*Youth Making a Difference Celebration will be on April 19th 6:30 at Churchill.

*Come enjoy the Hoover Art Fair on Thursday, April 21st for ice cream and art.

* Friday, April 22 GREEN OUT for EARTH DAY!  Wear green!  

Did you know the State of Michigan requires all schools to conduct three lock down drills each school year, in addition to the mandatory five fire and two tornado drills. Hoover staff have been given specific directions on their individual and collective responsibilities during our emergency drills. They  will speak to their students prior to the drills to explain and practice the procedures.  They will also prepare the students emotionally by reminding them that:

• Schools are safe places;

• Teachers and staff work with parents and public safety providers (police and fire departments) to help keep students safe; and

• These drills help us to keep students safe, the same way fire and tornado drills help keep students safe.

Parents, please review these same points with your child at home.  Remember that children take their cues from you and will feel comfortable with our various safety drills if you reassure them that they are necessary to help keep them safe in the event of an unlikely emergency or crisis.  Any visitors at Hoover during the course of a practice drill are required to participate in applicable drill.  You may want to visit http://www.ready.gov/kids and http://goo.gl/VGe08y for some kid friendly safety information brought to you by agencies of our Federal government.

4/14 End of 3rd Marking Period
4/15 No School Work Day for Teachers
4/20 Door to Door Pick Up
4/21 Art Fair 6:00-8;00 p.m.
4/22 Earth Day, Green Out Spirit Day, Report Cards Go Home
4/25-5/13 3rd Grade M-STEP
4/26 YMAD at Churchill High School 6:30 p.m.
4/28 No School Professional Development Day
5/11-5/27 4th Grade M-STEP
5/12 Volunteer Tea
5/26 Music Concert
6/7 Field Day

Celebrating the Earth at Hoover!

Hello Hoover Rockets!

As part of our Eco-Action Efforts this week we learned about our amazing planet Earth. Our Hoover Rockets enjoyed a musical assembly from Joe Reilley. He is a singer, songwriter and environmental educator from Ann Arbor. His way of working with children is empowering, inspiring, and educational. Mr. Reilley teaches ecology and environmental science through original songs. 


Mr. Reilley has recorded seven albums of his music, including two children’s albums of environmental songs, Children of the Earth (2007) and Let’s Go Outside (2011).  Children of the Earth was featured on National Public Radio’s Living OnEarth program in 2008.  The title song from Let’s Go Outside was selected as the official song for National Get Outdoors Day in June 2011.  Thank you to our wonderful PTA for providing this enriching assembly. 

*Thank you to Mr. Tony and Mrs. Gregg for painting the Spring scene on our lobby windows over Spring Break!
*April 11, 2016 we will be having a dinner out fundraiser at Cebella's Pizza.
*We were able to adopt the Lion at the Detroit Zoo thanks to all the donations. The sign is currently hanging in front of the exhibit.  If you go to the Zoo, be sure to stop by the Lion exhibit and take a picture.  Please email me the picture so I can add it to our Hoover Proud Blog.

10 FUN FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH!

1. When you are standing, you are actually moving through space at 1,000 miles per hour.
2. The Earth moves around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour.
3. Earth is approximately 4.53 billion years old.
4. The Earth and its rocks recycle themselves by transforming from magma to rock to sedimentary rock to metamorphic rock to magma again.
5. Like the Earth experiences earthquakes, the moon experiences “moonquakes”.
6. The largest earthquake in recorded U.S. history was the magnitude 9.2 earthquake in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 2011.
7. The hottest reported spot on Earth is in El Azizia, Libya, where NASA recorded a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. The coldest reported spot on Earth is in Antarctica, where temperatures reach as low as minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. The lowest temperature ever recorded was in Russia’s Vostok Station, where temperatures reached minus 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
10.  The Antarctic ice gap contains 70 percent of the Earth’s fresh water and 90 percent of its ice.

4/11 Fine Arts Festival
4/11 Cebella's Pizza Fundraiser
4/12 Mrs. Cannell's Class Field Trip
4/14 End of 3rd Marking Period
4/15 No School Work Day for Teachers
4/19 YMAD at Churchill High School 6:30 p.m.
4/20 Door to Door Pick Up
4/21 Art Fair
4/22 Earth Day, Green Out Spirit Day, Report Cards Go Home
4/25-5/13 3rd Grade M-STEP
4/28 No School Professional Development Day
5/11-5/27 4th Grade M-STEP
5/26 Music Concert
6/7 Field Day