March is Reading Month at Hoover!

Acting out famous books.

Hello Hoover Rockets,

We kicked off March is Reading Month this week.  Thank you to the Hoover PTA for sponsoring the Magic Carpet Theater Assembly on Friday.

Clara Barton

Sir Isaac Newton

Wax Museum
Mrs. Skibinski and Mrs. Lipinski's 4th graders held their Wax Museum this week.  The students read a biography and dressed as thefamous person.  They shared important facts as the audience guessed the
person.  Great Job!
                           

Professional Development

On Wednesday afternoon, our staff analyzed our Staff Climate Survey results and learned more about Standards Based Grading.  We are preparing for the future shift of a Standards Based Report Card.

Thank you for sending in all those pennies!  We will announce the winning animal next week.
Thank you for purchasing pizza from Cebella's on Monday.  We work hard to find local businesses that support Hoover!
Please join us on Wednesday evening, in the Multipurpose Room, for our March PTA meeting, at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, we have our next Spirit Day.  Donate $1 to wear PJs to school.
We are collecting gently used books for Book Bingo Night (3/15).  We will use the books for prizes.  Please send in any Elementary Level books or adult books (appropriate for a school function).  We have bins in the lobby by the Welcome Table.

What is Standards-Based Grading? Standards-Based Grading communicates how students are performing on a set of clearly defined learning targets called standards. The purpose of SBG is to identify what a student knows, or is able to do, in relation to pre-established learning targets, as opposed to simply averaging grades/scores over the course of a grading period, which can mask what a student has learned, or not learned, in a specific course. Standards Based Grading reports what students know and are able to do within each content area. 

3/8 Kindergarten Information Night 6:00-7:00 p.m.
3/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
3/9 PJ Spirit Day, All School Read In
3/10 Marking Period Ends
3/10 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/15 Book Bingo Night
3/17 Report Cards Go Home, Teachers Swap and Read
3/23 Spring Picture Day
3/24 Guest Reader Day
3/25 & 3/26 Girl Scout Cookie Drive Thru at Hoover
3/27 Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser
3/31 Career Spirit Day, Author Assembly, Ice Cream Sundaes

Healthy Hoover!

Hello Hoover Rockets,

Wow!  What a warm weather week!  Thank you to Mr. O'Loughlin for a great Family Fitness Night. Students exercised with their parents and enjoyed healthy snacks at the end.  Thank you to the Family Fitness Night Committee for all their hard work!

Professional Development Afternoon

Hoover Rockets have a half day of school on Wednesday, March 1, 2017.  They will be dismissed at 12:10. Our staff will be working together to prepare for the new Standards Based Report Cards next year.

Wax Museum

Mrs. Skibinski and Mrs. Lipinski's classes will be having their Wax Museum on Thursday and Friday between 9:15-10:45.  The students have been researching and writing about a famous person. They will be in costumes and ready to share their factual information with you.  Everyone is invited to attend.

*Don't feel like cooking tomorrow?  Order a pizza from Cebella's and support Hoover.

37625 Five Mile Road, Livonia, MI 48154

Phone: (734) 542-0800

Menu: cebellaspizza.com

Hoover collected 15,819 Box Tops!!!

The winning classes for the contest are as follows:

First Place: Mrs. Lipinski's class with 2,541

Second Place: Mrs. Hawker's class with 1,943

Third Place: Ms. Moritz's class with 1,356

Honorable mention goes to all the parent volunteers for the contest. They were fantastic and detail oriented and this contest would not have been a success for Hoover without their help!!!!

Did you know that our Hoover Family will be growing?  We will be getting approximately 50 new students from Cass next year.  Our Hoover Transition Team met last week and we have begun making plans to welcome them and provide a smooth transition.  If you are interested in helping, please join us at our next Hoover Transition Team meeting on Wednesday, March 15th at 4:15 in the Community Room.

2/27 Cebellas Pizza Fundraiser
3/1 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/2 Mrs. Lipinski's Wax Museum 9:15-10:45, Lock Down Drill 2:15
3/3 Mrs. Skibinski's Wax Museum AM
3/3 Magic Carpet Theater Assembly
3/8 Kindergarten Information Night 6:00-7:00 p.m.
3/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
3/9 PJ Spirit Day, All School Read In
3/10 Marking Period Ends
3/10 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/15 Hoover Transition Team 4:15-5:00 p.m.
3/15 Book Bingo Night
3/17 Report Cards Go Home
3/23 Spring Picture Day
3/24 Guest Reader Day
3/25 & 3/26 Girl Scout Cookie Drive Thru at Hoover
3/27 Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser

Valentine's Day, Hundreds Day and Founders Day

Hello Hoover Rockets,

Mrs. McPherson and Mrs. Mitchell

We had a great week at Hoover.  Students enjoyed their Valentine's Parties in the classrooms.  We celebrated Hundreds Day and PTA Founders Day!  Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. McPherson received a special award at Founders Day.

Mrs. McPherson, Mrs. Dant, Mrs. Schenk, Mr. Tony and Mrs. Haberlack

Mrs. Testa, Mrs. Tiernan, Mrs. Gregg

Mrs. Holmes, Ms. Fortier and Mrs. Mitchell

Mrs. Horgan's class counting to 100!

We celebrated 100 Days of school on Thursday!

Hoover has Character

During the months of February and March, Hoover students and staff are focusing on Kindness and Empathy.  Each day during morning announcements, we hear a short suggestion of kindness.  It could be "Give someone a compliment" or "use a friendly voice with everyone".  Ask you Hoover Rocket what they did today to be kind.

Eco-Action

Our Eco-Action team at Hoover has many exciting projects in the works as we continue to work towards our green certification through the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools program. While we’ve gotten off to a good start, there is still a lot of work to do and we are greatly in need of more interested Hoover community members to sustain our efforts. Please take a moment to look over this list of some of our projects and let us know if you’d be interested in helping out! These projects will not only enhance the learning environment for our current students, but for generations to come!

We are hoping to have a meeting sometime in late February/early March and would love to have as many people as possible join us. If you are interested, please click here to fill out a survey regarding your availability to help us best plan a day/time for our upcoming meeting.

Our current areas of focus include:

*Recycling/Waste

-Classroom bins

- Lunchtime - reduce waste & reinstate foil pouch/lunchable recycling

- Bins in lobby - recycling toner cartridges, markers, caps, batteries, etc

*Butterfly Gardens - maintaining and increasing our habitat for swallowtail and monarch butterflies

*Biodiversity Gardens - this is part of an NWF global education project with a sister school in Taiwan; gardens will be planted in front of the library windows and in front of Mrs. Skibinski’s classroom windows in hopes of attracting birds, butterflies and pollinators

*Outdoor Classroom - plans are underway to create an area on the playground where classes can participate in gardening and nature study

*Eco-Action Ambassador Program - train select students in grades 2-4 to become leaders

We’d love to have your help!

The Hoover Eco-Action Team

Purchase a Carson's Community Day coupon booklet from the link below and Hoover will get 100% back. The coupon booklet is just $5 each and is good during Carson's Community Day Sale February 23 - 25, 2017. The Carson's Community Day booklet is filled with great savings coupons and exclusive offers!

Simply follow the link to order and it will be shipped to your home free of charge.

https://www.bonton.com/product/311676.htmlutm_source=premiere&utm_medium=email&utm_content=291893&utm_campaign=17SCMDAYBK&ICID=17SCMDAYBK291893

• It's nomination time for the 2017-2018 Board! Information will be coming soon!

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.   The History Channel

2/20 No School Presidents Day
2/21 Cyber Safety Assemblies
2/22 Family Fitness Night 6;30-8:00 p.m.
2/23-2/25 Carsons Community Day Book Usage
2/24 Inside Out/Backwards Day
2/27 Cebellas Pizza Fundraiser
3/1 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/2 Mrs. Lipinski's Wax Museum 9:15-10:45, Lock Down Drill 2:15
3/3 Mrs. Skibinski's Wax Museum AM
3/3 Magic Carpet Theater Assembly
3/8 Kindergarten Information Night
3/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
3/9 PJ Spirit Day, All School Read In
3/10 Marking Period Ends
3/10 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/15 Book Bingo Night
3/17 Report Cards Go Home
3/23 Spring Picture Day
3/24 Guest Reader Day
3/25 & 3/26 Girl Scout Cookie Drive Thru at Hoover
3/27 Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser

Hoover Love

Hello Hoover Rockets,

4th Graders practicing their recorders during indoor recess

We had a great week at Hoover.  Our 4th graders are improving their recorder skills each week.  We can hear them practicing down the halls and on the playground.  Save May 23, 2017 on your calendar for the Outdoor Music Concert.

Valentine Tattoo Sale

Mrs. Skibinski's class and Mrs. Jungwirth will be selling Valentine Tattoos on Monday and Tuesday for .50.  Students can come to the LMC after lunch to purchase the Tattoos.  The funds will be used for our Biodiversity Garden.  Thanks for supporting Hoover.

Lunch Menu

Thursday we will be serving Pizza Bites and Corn Dogs instead of Lasagna Roll Ups.

How Much Paper Do we Recycle at Hoover?

As part of our paper recycling efforts, we will be collecting data on the weight of the paper that we are recycling.  We are looking for bathroom scales.  If you have a working scale, that you would like to donate to Hoover, please send it in to Mrs. Jungwirth or Ms. Cannell. Thank you!

*Thank you to everyone for supporting the Winter Blast.  We profited $4500 from the event. We will be using these funds for the teachers wish list Items, assemblies, Family Fitness Night, Book Bingo Night, transportation for field trips and new lobby furniture.
*Thank you for all the Box Tops that were collected.  Now our parent volunteers are busy counting!  We will announce the wining class soon.
*This week we have Skate Night on Thursday at Riverside from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
*Purchase a Carson's Community Day coupon booklet from the link below and Hoover will get 100% back. The coupon booklet is just $5 each and is good during Carson's Community Day Sale February 23 - 25, 2017. The Carson's Community Day booklet is filled with great savings coupons and exclusive offers!

Simply follow the link to order and it will be shipped to your home free of charge.
https://www.bonton.com/product/311676.htmlutm_source=premiere&utm_medium=email&utm_content=291893&utm_campaign=17SCMDAYBK&ICID=17SCMDAYBK291893

Mrs. Skibinskis's class is receiving post cards from a variety of states.This week they got one from Alaska. Did you know that in Alaska students go outside for recess when the temperature is -20F?

2/15 Cyber Safety Assemblies
2/16 Skate Night 6:00-8:00 p.m.
2/20 No School Presidents Day
2/22 Family Fitness Night 6;30-8:00 p.m.
2/23-2/25 Carsons Community Day Book Usage
2/24 Inside Out/Backwards Day
2/27 Cebellas Pizza Fundraiser
3/1 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/2 Lock Down Drill 2:15
3/3 Mrs. Skibinski's Wax Museum AM
3/3 Magic Carpet Theater Assembly
3/8 Kindergarten Information Night
3/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
3/9 PJ Spirit Day, All School Read In
3/10 Marking Period Ends
3/10 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/15 Book Bingo Night
3/17 Report Cards Go Home
3/23 Spring Picture Day
3/24 Guest Reader Day
3/25 & 3/26 Girl Scout Cookie Drive Thru at Hoover
3/27 Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser

Winter Blast Fun

Hello Hoover Rockets,

Thank you for all the donations for the Winter Blast!  Thank you to our PTA for an amazing event. Everyone had a great time!  Congratulations to the winners of the baskets!  I am sure you are looking forward to enjoying those treasures!

Ms. Charochak and Mrs. Hawker making Cotton Candy

Cake Walk

i-READY DIAGNOSTIC
As you know boys and girls recently finished their second round of the i-Ready math and reading diagnostic. As a reminder, students take this diagnostic three times a year. We use the data from the second diagnostic as one of several measures to analyze student's growth in reading and math. Based on the results of this second diagnostic, instructional practices in math and/or reading may need to shift or individual interventions for struggling learners may need to be implemented.

We will not be sending home parent reports for the second round of diagnostic testing for those students in 1st-6th grade.. If you are interested in your child's progress, please contact your child's teacher and they can send home a parent report.
​

i-READY LICENSES
If your child has an I-READY license you can continue to encourage them to use I-READY at home. The lessons on I-READY are selected for each individual student based on their performance on the Diagnostic.  These lessons target the weaknesses and are designed to build skills in the areas that each particular student is missing.  This is an amazing opportunity that we have this year for students.  Please make sure your Hoover Rocket is using the license if they have been assigned one.  Thank you!

DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

First graders learned the importance of good Dental Health this week.  Thank you to Dental Smiles of Livonia for the toothbrushes and fun assembly.

Thank you to Mrs. Gregg, Mrs. New, and Mrs. Stempeck for decorating the windows.

Thank you to the Winter Blast Committee for a great event!

Please join us Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m for our next PTA meeting.

WE HAVE EXTENDED THE BOX TOP CONTEST!  KEEP CUTTING AND SENDING IN THOSE BOX TOPS!!!

Did you know that they are installing a huge screen and projector in our Multipurpose Room?  This is part of the funding from the Bond Renovation.  We are looking forward to using the new screen! Thank you for supporting the Bond Renovations!

Did you know that we have over 75 4th grade students who are a part of our Service Squad team? They assist younger students, manage recess equipment, help in the lunch room, work in classrooms with teachers, raise the flag, recycle, and turn off computers.  These students give up some of their recess time to make a difference at Hoover.  Thank you Service Squad students!

2/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
2/16 Skate Night 6:00-8:00 p.m.
2/20 No School Presidents Day
2/21 Cyber Safety Assemblies
2/22 Family Fitness Night
2/23-2/25 Carsons Community Day Book Usage
2/24 Inside Out/Backwards Day
2/27 Cebellas Pizza Fundraiser
3/1 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/2 Lock Down Drill 10:00
3/8 Kindergarten Information Night
3/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
3/10 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/25 & 3/26 Girl Scout Cookie Drive Thru at Hoover
3/27 Buffalo Wild Wings

Hoover is Wild About Stars

Hello Hoover Rockets,

Star Lab

On Thursday and Friday, Mrs. Lipinski facilitated the Star Lab in the Multi-purpose room.  Each class had an opportunity to visit the Star Lab to learn about our stars.  Thank you Mrs. Lipinski for sharing your love for Science with our Hoover Rockets.

Crazy Hair Day 

Thanks for supporting our Crazy Hair Spirit Day!

More Hoover Rockets with Crazy Hair.

2nd Graders with Crazy Hair

Mrs. Holmes and Mrs. Christensen who did your hair?

*Please continue to shop for those Winter Blast Basket items.  Please see the theme list below.

Winter Blast Basket Themes
Mrs. Lempke: All about Girls –dolls, diaries, hair accessories, nail polish, jewelry, Justice gift cards
Mrs. Christenson: Movie Night- DVD’s, AMC gift card, popcorn, candy, pizza gift cards
Mrs. Hawker: Sweet and Salty Treats Basket- sweet treats and salty snacks
Ms. Moritz: Sundae Basket- everything to make a fantastic sundae, toppings, ice cream scooper, fun bowls, spoons, Baskin Robbins gift card.
Ms. Charochak: Family Game Night – board games, card games, snacks
Mrs. Eckerle: Cooking Basket -apron, cookbook, bowls, timer, thermometer, baking pans, anything a chef would need to be successful in the kitchen!
Mrs. Poteracki : All about Boys – Minecraft, Star Wars, action figures, Beyblades, Pokemon,
Mrs. Horgan: Gift Card Basket- gift cards to anywhere, loved by EVERYONE! Combine them with your classmates to create larger ones.
Mrs. Flak: Money Tree- cash donations make this basket everyone’s dream!
Mrs. Harris: Lottery Ticket Basket- any type of scratch off tickets, here’s your chance to be a lottery winner!
Ms. Stack: Arts and Crafts Basket- paint, paint brushes, beads, ribbon, Michael’s gift card, markers, kits, arts and craft books
Mrs. Cannell: Mexican Basket- all things Mexican, chips, salsa, taco kits, quesadilla maker, rice, beans, hot sauce, sombrero, gift cards.

Mrs. Cowher: U of M and Michigan State Basket - all things MSU and U of M

Ms. Fortier: Snow Day Basket- all things to have a fun filled snow day, hats, gloves, games, hot chocolate, movies, blankets, and books.
Mrs. Skibinski: Mystery Basket - Shhh! No one will know until the night of the Winter Blast!
Mrs. Larabell: Sports Basket- sports equipment, sporting event tickets, water bottles, sports memorabilia, sporting event tickets, etc.
Mrs. Lipinski: Made in Michigan-Includes products from Kellogg’s, Better Made, Faygo, Traverse City Pie Co. gift card, Jiffy, Kilwin’s, Morley’s, Keebler, Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory, Sander’s, Awrey Bakery, Cottage Inn Pizza, Detroit Popcorn, Books about Michigan-the list goes on!

 Did you know the following facts about stars?

• There are approximately 400 billon stars in the galaxy. With as many as 500 billion galaxies in the Universe, it is almost impossible to count how many stars are there in the Universe.

• Stars are made out of dust clouds scattered throughout the space. The turbulence within these dust clouds gives rise to knots which later on develop mass, allowing gas and dust to collapse. While this cloud collapses, the object that is present at the center starts to heat up. This hot core becomes a star later on.

• The stars do not twinkle. In fact it is the turbulence in the sky that makes the stars appear that they are blinking.

• The closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri. It is located about 4.2 light-years away from the Earth.

• There are many different colors of stars. There are red, white, as well as blue stars. Hot stars give away blue lights and cool stars look white.

• The sun is the smallest star. It is referred as a G2 yellow dwarf star. Most other stars are red dwarfs.

Facts from the Starlab website.

2/1 Kindergarten Registration Begins for 2017/18 School Year
2/3 Winter Blast 5:30-8:30 p.m.
2/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
2/16 Skate Night 6:00-8:00 p.m.
2/20 No School Presidents Day
2/22 Family Fitness Night
2/24 Inside Out/Backwards Day
3/1 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10
3/2 Lock Down Drill 10:00
3/8 Kindergarten Information Night
3/8 PTA Meeting 7;00 p.m.
3/10 Half Day of School, students are dismissed at 12:10

First Week of 2017

Hello Hoover Rockets,

We had a great first week of 2017 at Hoover.  Students will begin taking the I-READY Diagnostic Assessment this week.  The I-READY instruction is turned off while students finish their diagnostic.  All students Kindergarten through 4th grade will take the math and literacy portion of the assessment.  We will be using both computer labs and our new Chromebooks!  The best way to help your child prepare for these assessments is to encourage reading at home, completing math home links and of course getting a good nights sleep.  Our Hoover Rockets need  9-11 hours of sleep a night!  So if they wake up at 7:30 am, they should be asleep by 9:00 p.m.

Mrs. Cannell's Party Fun!

Mrs. Cannell's Holiday Party

REMINDER:  NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017 due to the Martin Luther King Holiday.

*100% of our Hoover Staff are members of our PTA.  We won $50 from the Livonia PTSA for achieving this goal!  Thank you Hoover Staff!

* Thank you for participating in the Dearborn Ham Fundraiser.  We made over $800!  Look for another opportunity to order near Easter.

*The Winter Blast is coming up quick.  This is our largest event at Hoover.  Please consider purchasing an item to donate to your child's class basket.  The themes are listed below.

Winter Blast Basket Themes
Mrs. Lempke: All about Girls –dolls, diaries, hair accessories, nail polish, jewelry, Justice gift cards
Mrs. Christenson: Movie Night- DVD’s, AMC gift card, popcorn, candy, pizza gift cards
Mrs. Hawker: Sweet and Salty Treats Basket- sweet treats and salty snacks
Ms. Moritz: Sundae Basket- everything to make a fantastic sundae, toppings, ice cream scooper, fun bowls, spoons, Baskin Robbins gift card.
Ms. Charochak: Family Game Night – board games, card games, snacks
Mrs. Eckerle: Cooking Basket -apron, cookbook, bowls, timer, thermometer, baking pans, anything a chef would need to be successful in the kitchen!
Mrs. Poteracki : All about Boys – Minecraft, Star Wars, action figures, Beyblades, Pokemon,
Mrs. Horgan: Gift Card Basket- gift cards to anywhere, loved by EVERYONE! Combine them with your classmates to create larger ones.
Mrs. Flak: Money Tree- cash donations make this basket everyone’s dream!
Mrs. Harris: Lottery Ticket Basket- any type of scratch off tickets, here’s your chance to be a lottery winner!
Ms. Stack: Arts and Crafts Basket- paint, paint brushes, beads, ribbon, Michael’s gift card, markers, kits, arts and craft books
Mrs. Cannell: Mexican Basket- all things Mexican, chips, salsa, taco kits, quesadilla maker, rice, beans, hot sauce, sombrero, gift cards.

Mrs. Cowher: U of M and Michigan State Basket - all things MSU and U of M

Ms. Fortier: Snow Day Basket- all things to have a fun filled snow day, hats, gloves, games, hot chocolate, movies, blankets, and books.
Mrs. Skibinski: Mystery Basket - Shhh! No one will know until the night of the Winter Blast!
Mrs. Larabell: Sports Basket- sports equipment, sporting event tickets, water bottles, sports memorabilia, sporting event tickets, etc.
Mrs. Lipinski: Made in Michigan-Includes products from Kellogg’s, Better Made, Faygo, Traverse City Pie Co. gift card, Jiffy, Kilwin’s, Morley’s, Keebler, Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory, Sander’s, Awrey Bakery, Cottage Inn Pizza, Detroit Popcorn, Books about Michigan-the list goes on!

Did you know over the Winter Break, we got new carpet installed in Computer Lab #1?  They also came and repainted the stripes on the floor of the Multipurpose Room.  Thanks again for supporting the Livonia Bond Renovation work.

Lunch Menu Update

We will not be serving Lasagna Roll Ups.  This week we will be serving Popcorn Chicken instead!

1/16 No School MLK Day
1/26 & 1/27 Star Lab
1/27 Crazy Hair Spirit Day (We are using the funds to adopt a lion at the Detroit Zoo)
2/1 Kindergarten Registration Begins for 2017/18 School Year
2/3 Winter Blast
2/8 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
2/16 Skate Night 6:00-8:00 p.m.
2/20 No School Presidents Day