Get involved and stay up to date on all things Hoover!
- Join the Hoover PTA here and the Hoover PTA Facebook Page.
- Read Hoover Notes (located under the "More" tab), the PTA's weekly e-newsletter that provides important PTA, Hoover, Cluster Schools and MCPS news and information. If you are not receiving Hoover Notes by email, please contact Ms. King at PresidentHooverPTA@gmail.com.
- Link your Harris Teeter VIC card to the Together in Education program to earn money for Hoover. Click here for more detail.
- If you would like to support Hoover's wonderful staff, please consider buying something from their Amazon Gift Registry. New items include support for staff appreciation. Donations should be delivered to the "Gift Registry Address".
- Hoover will email a monthly Principal's Message and a weekly Assignments Summary. If you are not receiving these emails, contact Sandra N. Nesbit, Administrative Secretary at Sandra_N_Nesbit@mcpsmd.org.
- Check out the Hoover Website for up-to-date information from the staff and faculty.
NOMINATED 2024-2025 PTA EXECUTIVE BOARD
The PTA's Nominating Committee is pleased to put the following 2024-2025 Executive Board slate for a vote in the PTA General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, May 7th. In preparation for this vote, and in accordance with our bylaws, this is being shared with general membership and posted 10-days in advance of the meeting.
Board Position Nominee
President Marlan Laurenzi
Exec Vice President Shila Mashhadishafie
VP of Membership Cindy Chi
Treasurer Kun Xu
Recording Secretary Meaghan LeNard
Corresponding Secretary Karla Romero
MCCPTA Delegate Martin Stuermer
MCCPTA Delegate Soumya Sengupta
The Nominating Committee is still looking to fill committee and event positions. They include Spirit Night Chair, Halloween Party Chair, Book Fair, and Skate Night Coordinator as well as many more positions. Interested parents should email Edith Deng at edithdeng@gmail.com, Golru Ghaffari at g3emdoc@gmail.comg3emdoc@gmail.com or Anne Glynn at anne.glynn@gmail.com.
Board Position Nominee
President Marlan Laurenzi
Exec Vice President Shila Mashhadishafie
VP of Membership Cindy Chi
Treasurer Kun Xu
Recording Secretary Meaghan LeNard
Corresponding Secretary Karla Romero
MCCPTA Delegate Martin Stuermer
MCCPTA Delegate Soumya Sengupta
The Nominating Committee is still looking to fill committee and event positions. They include Spirit Night Chair, Halloween Party Chair, Book Fair, and Skate Night Coordinator as well as many more positions. Interested parents should email Edith Deng at edithdeng@gmail.com, Golru Ghaffari at g3emdoc@gmail.comg3emdoc@gmail.com or Anne Glynn at anne.glynn@gmail.com.
PTA EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
PTA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
May 7, 2024 (NEW DATE), 7 pm - PTA General Membership Meeting (Zoom) SECOND ANNUAL READ-A-THON Hoover students and staff met the Read-A-Thon challenge to read as much as they can in March and exceeded our fundraising goal of $6,000 by raising $6,655! Click on the "Read-A-Thon" tab above to find out the winners, prizes, and more details. SKATE NIGHT This annual fundraising event was held on April 13, 2024 from 6:30-8 pm at the Cabin John Ice Rink. Eighty-eight students had a lot of fun skating the night away! 2023-2024 NATIONAL PTA REFLECTIONS CONTEST
Click on the "Reflections Tab" above to see the creative submissions and the list of the winners that represented Hoover at the MCCPTA (County) and the Free State PTA (State) levels of the competition. Below are photos from the February 16, 2024 party held for all Hoover participants. INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
We are fortunate to have such a diverse Hoover community. On February 1, 2024 families were able to take a tour around the world and "visit" 27 countries from Afghanistan to Vietnam. Below are photos from the special event. HOLIDAY STAFF APPRECIATION & GIFTS
Thanks to everyone who made cookies and pies for Hoover staff, and the holidays brighter for two Hoover families! HALLOWEEN PARTY
Our Halloween Party on October 26, 2023 was so much fun for the 180 students who attended! |
PI DAY STAFF APPRECIATION
Thank you to everyone who donated pies and gave Hoover staff a boost and put a smile on their faces! SPIRIT NIGHTS The PTA offers Spirit Nights throughout the school year to raise funds for PTA activities and support local businesses. Special thanks to California Tortilla, Chipotle, Fire Wok, Ledo's Pizza, Potomac Pizza, and Shake Shack for participating. OUTDOOR RECESS We are thrilled that we successfully advocated to provide outdoor recess at the end of lunch every Friday. We need YOUR HELP to make it happen. We need at least four parent volunteers per grade to cover any last-minute cancellations. Sign up to volunteer here. SAFETY COMMITTEE The PTA Safety Committee was successful in getting a second crossing guard on Tuckerman almost immediately after formation. And, Corporal Edward Rodriguez, School Safety Section-Traffic Operations Division was at Hoover on March 20, 2024 to talk to all grades about safety. The Committee is working with the MCDOT Safe Route to School (SRT) to address concerns about the clogged roadways, poor driver visibility, inexperienced Churchill and St. Andrews drivers, and safe walkability for Hoover and Beverly Farms students. The Committee's first meeting with the SRT Representative was on 12/11. The meeting was extremely productive. SRT plans to do the following: Short Term Plan
We will be provided details shortly. They do plan to address sidewalks the length of Tuckerman from Falls Road to Seven Locks. Additional Meeting between SRT and MC Police The SRT Team will be meeting with Sergeant Kerry Moore, from Montgomery County Police School Traffic Safety Office (Not Part of MCDOT) to discuss his team's observations/ recommendations to see if they should be incorporated into the short or long term plan. Those requests are as follows: Tuckerman is identified by county roads as a primary road, with high traffic volume. Both crosswalks on Tuckerman at Post Oak & Duryea are mid-block crosswalks, with a marked crosswalk but no pedestrian signal or traffic signal present. In the interest of public safety, we are requesting consideration of the following engineering enhancements in this area (studying any/all of these options):
SRT will be ordering a "Walkability Study" for all roadways within one mile of Beverly Farms and 1.4 miles from Hoover and Churchill. They will continue to involve the PTA in this process. Property Owners Notification & Feedback In early February 2024, MCDOT distributed flyers to neighborhood property owners outlining these changes and requesting feedback by 2/9/24. In person or virtual meetings will be held after that deadline to hear from residents about their safety concerns. MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL OF PTAs (MCCPTA) MCCPTA, of which the Hoover PTA is a member, has released its advocacy priorities for 2023-2024. If you have any questions about the advocacy priorities, please contact the Hoover delegates to MCCPTA, Martin Stuemer (martin.stuermer11@gmail.com) and Jennifer Nordin (hhmsdelegate1@gmail.com). BOOK FAIR & ART CONTEST
Thank you for your support of the Book Fair, which ended November 16, 2023. Students picked their favorite character or scene from their favorite book and created a "turkey undercover" for the art contest. Here are some of the wonderfully creative entries! |
PTA SHOUT OUTS
A huge thank you to our PTA members for a tremendous 2022-2023 school year! Your support and the hard work and dedication of our PTA Board and Hoover Staff made it possible for the PTA to accomplish so much. Highlights from the year are located under the "More" tab.
- Thank you to the families and staff who have already joined the PTA!
- Congratulations to the Pegu Family (6th), Miller Family (7th) and A. Family (8th) who are the winners of the free basket of Spirit Wear. Members who joined the PTA by September 17th were entered into the drawing.
- Spirit Wear sales have already surpassed last year with $2,620 raised!
- Thank you to everyone who attended the first PTA General Membership Meeting on October 10.
- Special thanks to Anne Glynn for planning the Halloween Party and the parent volunteers and staff.
- Thank you to the parent volunteers and staff for a successful Book Fair, and the students who participated in the "Turkey Undercover" contest.
- We are so grateful for the families that provided 48 sweet treats and 5 floral arrangements for our staff dinner and Thanksgiving give away.
- Thank you to everyone who bought items for the Hoover Holiday Gift Drive and baked cookies for the staff holiday lunch.
- Thank you for exceeding our MLK Day National Day of Service projects' goal of 100 Valentine's Day cards for homebound or seriously ill adults and children. We got 250! The organization that coordinated this project, Valentines By Kids, was founded by a high schooler. About 30,000 cards (double last year) were distributed to people who otherwise might have felt forgotten.
- Thank you to the families who made sure that the 8th Grade Field Trip to the Museum of African American History and Culture had a lot of snacks.
Hoover News
- Dr. Kim's April Message is available here. Important information about testing dates, April 22 Asynchronous Day, extracurriculars, and end of year activities are provided.
- Please click here to view a letter from Dr. Kim regarding the upcoming Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention Program that will be implemented by Hoover Counselors.
- In accordance with Maryland State Law, students in MCPS are screened for possible vision and hearing problems. Trained hearing and vision screeners will be screening students new to MCPS, students in 8th Grade, and students referred by teachers because of possible signs of hearing or vision problems. The screeners will be at Hoover on 4/25, 4/26, and 4/29.
- Save the Date for Hoover's Community Equity Night on 5/16 from 5-7 pm. More details will be shared soon.
- Hoover's Career Expo Night will be on 5/30 from 5-7 pm. Click here for the flyer which advertises the event and includes a QR code to recruit presenters.
- Churchill HS is offering two WCHS Local Summer and Prep Program opportunities for rising 9th graders. Click here for more information.
- Please use turn signals when entering and exiting the Hoover parking lot at drop off and dismissal. This will help Hoover's Security Staff better direct the flow of traffic.
- The Media Center is looking for volunteers. Here is the link to sign up. Sign up is till the end of February. Volunteers will need to complete one module: Online "Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect Training" via your MCPS Classroom/Canvas Account. You can read the user guide here. Questions? Contact Saumya Sharma-Bhardwaj at avi.guh@gmail.com.
- Congratulations to Mr. Linwood Pumphrey, Hoover's Building Service Manager for winning third place in the MCPS Top Supporting Service Employees Award! MCPS employs more than 10,000 supporting services staff members who work in more than 450 job classifications supporting operations and instruction. Mr. Pumphrey's nomination was supported by the PTA, Dr. Kim, and the teachers and staff at Hoover.
MCPS Community News
- The April 18 MCPS 5 Things to Know provides information about Asynchronous learning day, newly elected Student Member of the Board (SMOB), how students are spreading awareness about bullying and hate-bias, how you can watch this year's Champions for Children event, upcoming events, a Covid-19 reminder, and good news this week.
- Read the latest edition of MCPS QuickNotes, which includes a calendar of events and MCPS news and information.
- Learn more about the MCPS Superintendent Search here.
- Save the Date for a Cluster-Wide Event! The Churchill SGA is sponsoring a Community Carnival on Saturday, April 27th with games, rides, bounce houses, face painting, a petting zoo, free sports clinics, food, music, and more. Along with all of the fun - there will be information booths about clubs and groups, services for our community, the schools and PTSA's from each of the individual schools will be there - and registration information for Kindergarten will be available. Come out and join the community for this fun for all ages event!
- Will you have a student at Winston Churchill HS next year? The Winston Churchill HS PTSA seeks candidates to serve on the PTSA Board for the 2024-2025 school year. This is an amazing opportunity to get involved in the school and work with students, parents, teachers, and school administrators to advocate and engage the robust Churchill community. To learn more and express your interest, please complete this Candidate Interest Form. Deadline to submit the form is May 1, 2024.
- Nominations are needed for Churchill Cluster Coordinators for the upcoming school year (2024-2025). Up to three coordinators can represent the Churchill Cluster. Past PTA Presidents as well as those who are interested in education advocacy and policy serve as excellent candidates. Candidates must have served on a PTA Board in any role and be current dues paying PTA members. Questions? Contact Susan Lifsey,Winston Churchill Cluster Coordinator at susanlifsey@gmail.com.
- Multiple elementary and middle schools in Maryland are among the best in the country, according to new rankings released by U.S. News & World. Montgomery County dominated the rankings with Herbert Hoover ranked #2 in the top 10 middle schools in Maryland!
- Review the MCPS Parent Message on the Importance of Student Attendance here.