Hoover Parents
1 August 2015 Herbert Hoover Middle School 8810 Postoak Road Potomac, Maryland 20854 Telephone: (301) 968­3740
Office of the Principal August 2015 Dear Hoover Students and Parents: Summer greetings! I hope that your summer has been relaxing and enjoyable. To those of you who are new members of our Hoover family, Welcome! To those of you, who are returning, Welcome Back! On behalf of the entire staff, we are looking forward to a wonderful, challenging, educational experience at Herbert Hoover Middle School in the 2015–2016 school year. The building is in the process of being scrubbed, painted, and waxed in anticipation of the arrival of our students on August 31, 2015. Our building service team, led by Ms. Lancaster, has gone above and beyond preparing, cleaning, and painting our building for the first day of school. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to our building services team. th
All 6​
graders are invited to Mini Day from 8:15 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Thursday, August 27, th
2015. ​
Mini Day will provide the 6​
graders with an opportunity to walk through building and meet their teachers. The school buses will operate that morning and at the end of Mini Day. This is an important program, but students who are unable to attend will participate in th
many orientation and team building activities the first two weeks of school. 7​
or 8th grade students NEW to the Hoover community are invited to attend an orientation meeting from 11:00 th
th
a.m.–12:00 noon that day. Please call (301) 968­3750 to RSVP if your new 7​
or 8​
grader th
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plans to attend new student orientation. Returning 7​
and 8​
graders will receive schedules on the first day of school and they should ​
not​
attend Mini Day. The first day of school is ​
Monday, August 31, 2015​
. This will be a regular full­day session with buses running their regular routes (for specific routes, please click the appropriate link on our website). A complete calendar with all the scheduled school holidays and early release days is posted on our website. ​
Please keep these pages accessible for your reference ​
throughout the school year. ​
Students are expected to be in their first period class ready to learn BEFORE the 8:15 a.m. bell. Students who arrive to school before 7:40 a.m. will remain outside the building. Students will be permitted in the cafeteria from 7:40–7:55 a.m. Students will be dismissed to go to their lockers and prepare for the day at 7:55 a.m. A reminder bell will ring at 8:10 a.m. and all students are expected to be in first period by the 8:15 a.m. bell. Hoover Parents
2 August 2015 Staffing Update Please join me in congratulating Mr. Jon Green who is now the new Principal Intern at Francis Scott Key Middle School. He is going to be a great administrator. We wish him the very best. th
We welcome back Mr. Paul Ajamian, who will be supporting the 6​
grade team as their administrator. As you know, Ms. Katrina Brown has been promoted to Assistant Principal and th
she will continue to support the 7​
grade team. We officially welcome Mr. Darshan Jain to the th​
Hoover Administrative Team. He will be supporting the 8​
grade team. We are fortunate at Hoover to have staff members that are dedicated to our students and skilled in delivering a high quality education. As you know, the new school year will bring changes in staffing. Most of these changes were announced prior to summer vacation. This year, as we say goodbye to a few of our friends, we have the opportunity to welcome others to our team: The Fondest Farewell to … ▪ Sharon Barry ▪ Paul Donnelly ▪ Judy Glassman ▪ Obed Hernandez ▪ Jonathan Hunger ▪ Pam Luhowy ▪ Michele McMahon ▪ Diane Nason ▪ Linda Panchura ▪ Jennifer Puglisi ▪ Anne Rubinovitz ▪ Judy Warshof ▪ Anneka Wiersma We will miss them and we wish them all well. The Happiest Hello to​
… ▪ Rehana Ahmed, our long­term substitute teacher, will be joining our Science team on a permanent basis. ▪ Annie Amantea will be supporting the administrative team and leading the front office team. I know that she will do a great job of supporting you as well. ▪ Nancy Averill will be our new Resource Counselor. She comes to us from Wayside Elementary School, our feeder school. Her understanding and intimate knowledge of the community and our students will be an asset to our school. Hoover Parents
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3 August 2015 Amanda Brooks will be joining the Math team. ​
She comes from White Oak Middle School and is excited to share her experiences. Katie Caldwell will be teaching Bridge Social Studies. She comes to Hoover with years of experience working with special needs population. We are thrilled to formally announce that Barbara Carlstrom will be leading the Bridge SPED team as the new RTSE and Director of the program. Collin Cunningham will be joining the World Studies team. ​
He comes with years of experience from high school and alternative education. Allison Finn will be our new English Resource Teacher. She comes to us with numerous leadership experience and with a high school perspective. Gretchen Glick, full time contracted social worker with Foundation will be joining the Bridge team. YunJu Jung, who formally supported the Bridge team as the administrative assistant, will be teaching Bridge math. Karen Megary will be taking over the job of the Staff Development Teacher. She has been working closely with Barbara Carlstrom to ensure a smooth transition. Finally, we welcome Heidy Rodriguez, who will be supporting the Bridge program as their new secretary. School Improvement Plan This year, we look forward to collaborating with you to implement our School Improvement Plan (SIP). Per our instructional focus, we will continue to explore ways in which we can increase student achievement by continuing to grow professionally through our Universal Design for Learning Professional Learning Community (UDL­PLC), addressing the issue of equity in our classrooms and nurturing our students’ social emotional well­being while maintaining our high expectation for academic excellence. Please review our vision/mission statement and our instructional focus. It is our plan to provide quarterly updates on our progress. Also included for your convenience is our SIP linkages chart on our website. Vision​
: To foster an environment where each student is successful. Mission​
: To provide each student a rigorous and engaging program of instruction in an environment where students are supported academically, socially, and emotionally so they can maximize their academic and personal potential to become lifelong learners and productive members of their community. Instructional Focus​
: In order to increase student achievement for all while reducing the achievement gap, the staff of Hoover middle school is committed to improving student learning through the effective implementation of: ● equitable teaching practices Hoover Parents
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4 August 2015 Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Instructional Framework strategies instructional strategies and school­wide initiatives that address students’ social and emotional needs as measured by MPAs, MAP­R & MAP­M, formative/summative assessments, and student/staff/parent feedback. Testing in Middle School The MCPS Board of Education voted at its business meeting Tuesday, July 14, 2015, to eliminate middle school final exams in middle school for the 2015­2016 school year. The board policy management committee will look at the policies involved in the possible elimination of high school final exams (Algebra, Geometry, and World Languages) in middle school. As we receive more information, we look forward to providing more clarity on the matter. New Bell Times The Montgomery County Board of Education voted Tuesday (Feb. 10, 2015) to change school starting and ending times in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for the 2015­2016 school year—moving middle and high school start times 20 minutes later and elementary school start times 10 minutes later. Please review the updated bell schedule for Hoover Middle School on our website. Immunization th ​
All current 6​
grade students, regardless of the date of entry into the school system, are required to have one tetanus, diphtheria, and attenuated pertussis (Tdap) and one meningococcal (MCV4) vaccination before beginning Grade 7 in the 2015­2016 school year. Students not in compliance with the new requirements will be excluded from attending school until they are in compliance with the State law. Students may receive these immunizations through their health care provider or they will be provided FREE at the MCPS Back­to­School Fair on August 29 at 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, Maryland from 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Appointments are necessary. Respecting Religious Diversity in Montgomery County Public Schools MCPS is committed to promoting respect and appreciation for the religions, beliefs, and customs of our diverse student population. MCPS believes that multiculturalism is one of our greatest strengths and should enrich our community as we learn together in our schools. Respect is a core value of MCPS and, therefore, fostering a culture where all families feel respected is of utmost importance. ​
The guidelines will be distributed to all students during the first week of school. Families will also be notified about the guides via ​
MCPS QuickNotes, ​
Hoovernotes and through our website. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/religiousdiversity/ Hoover Parents
5 August 2015 FERPA Annual Notification of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment and Directory Information​
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Each year we are required by law to inform parents of the Family Educational Rights.and Privacy Act, P.L. 93­380 (FERPA), as well as their rights under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, 20 U.S.C. 1232h: 34 CFR Part 98 (PPRA). Please take a moment to click on the link below for the information regarding you and your child’s right regarding this matter. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/studentprivacy/ Student Code of Conduct During the first few weeks of school, administrators and counselors will be reviewing the Student Code of Conduct with our students. A Student’s Guide to Rights and Responsibilities is an overview of the rights and responsibilities students enjoy in MCPS and a summary of the laws and regulations that affect students. The MCPS Code of Conduct provides an overview of discipline procedures and protocols and the range of consequences students could face for violating various policies, regulations, and rules. The guide also discusses the MCPS philosophy to discipline and defines the various disciplinary responses. We would love to have your support. Please review the discipline policy with your child and provide a time for them to ask/answer follow up questions. PE Uniforms Hoover P.E. uniforms are only sold online​
. Visit the Hoover Online Store to purchase P.E. uniforms and optional Hoover apparel. Items purchased prior to 9:00 a.m. on August 11 will be distributed at school during the first few days of school. Items ordered by noon on August 27 will be delivered to school the week of September 15. No shipping or handling charges will apply to these orders. All items purchased online after August 27 will be shipped home in late September and shipping charges will be applied. Access to the online store is on the Hoover webpage. ​
Birthday Celebrations!​
In recent years, parents have brought cupcakes, doughnuts, and other sweets into the lunchroom to celebrate their children’s birthdays. While many of the students enjoy the treats, a growing number of parents have expressed concern that this practice promotes unhealthy eating habits, contributes to childhood obesity, diabetes, and puts food­allergic children at risk (or else excludes them). We kindly ask that you refrain from bringing in treats for your child’s birthday. Hoover Parents
6 August 2015 Transportation The MCPS bus schedule (which will also be used for Mini Day) is posted on the Hoover website. Please note you should look for the ​
route number, ​
not the bus number. The route number will be displayed in the second window behind the driver on both sides of the bus. If you choose to drive your child to school, please use caution and patience as you enter and exit the parking lot. Traffic flows in only one direction and is designed so students will be curbside as they exit or board your car. Please wait patiently and drive your vehicle as far as possible towards the back of the school when dropping off children. Reminders ● The first day of school is Monday, August 31, 2015. ● A complete calendar with all the scheduled school holidays and early release days can be found on our website. th
● Mini Day ​
for 6​
grade students ​
will be held on Thursday, August 27, 2015, from 8:15 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Grade 7 and Grade 8 students new to Hoover will be joining us from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. ● Our instructional program will be explained at our Back­to­School Night, which is scheduled for​
Tuesday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. During the school year, I also encourage all of you to check your students’ Edline account, Hoovernotes and the Hoover website for important notices, reminder, and information. Please look for other information related to the opening of school in the links under School Opening 2015­2016. A hard copy of this letter and all important information will be available in the main office. Feel free to call or email me if you have any questions. Enjoy the rest of the summer! I look forward to seeing all of you soon. Sincerely, Yong­Mi Kim, Ed.D. Principal