Hanover Herald
April 2026
Dear Hanover Families,
I hope you all have a wonderful and refreshing spring break! It’s hard to believe, but when we return, we’ll have just nine weeks left in the school year. The past few months have been fantastic here at Hanover, and we’ve seen so much growth in our students! These final weeks are an important time for learning, and we look forward to seeing even more progress. Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in your child’s education—it truly makes a difference!
After spring break, students in grades 3-5 will be taking the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs). Your child’s teacher will share the specific testing dates with you. While these assessments are just one way to measure learning, they are state-mandated, so we encourage students to be well-rested and present so they can do their very best!
Students at Hanover Elementary have historically scored above the district and state average on MCA assessments. One recent acknowledgement of our students' success was that Hanover Elementary was again recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as one of the Best Elementary Schools in Minnesota. Our student success is a direct result of the strong partnerships our teachers have with you as families. Thank you for your continued support and collaboration.
Our April character theme is Courage! Courage means “choosing what is helpful, right, and kind, even when it’s hard or scary.” We encourage you to read the Purposeful People family newsletter on courage and have conversations with your child about ways they can demonstrate courage at school and in their daily lives. We will be exploring this theme all month long!
Our College and Career theme is Developing Future Readiness. Students will be reflecting on what it looks like to be a successful student as well as review their current progress towards the academic goals they set in the fall. Please feel free to ask your child what their academic goal is and how they are doing. If they have already reached their goal, be sure to celebrate with them! If they haven’t achieved it yet, ask them what steps they are taking in order to reach their goal before the end of the school year.
Looking ahead, we are already making plans for the next school year. If your family is moving this summer, please contact our office at 763-682-0824 as soon as possible. Also, if you know of any new families moving into the area, please encourage them to stop by or call to enroll—we’re always happy to welcome new students and provide tours!
Spring is sure to fly by, so let's make these last few months a great finish to the school year!
Sincerely,
Brad Koltes, Principal
HES Elementary School
763-682-0823
Volunteers!
If you are new to volunteering at Hanover Elementary, please start your Background Check here.
Volunteer Background Check Investigation
Thank you!
Jill Mischke
Hanover Elementary Principal's Secretary
(763)-682-0824
Accepting all Kindergarten and new student registrations for 2026-2027.
For questions or concerns about enrollment contact Jill Mischke at jmischke@bhmschools.org or (763) 682-0824.
Only have a couple hours a day to spare here and there?
We have positions at Hanover for Supervision Substitutes. You would be helping with 🏃🏻♂️recess and 🍱lunch supervision. This is an hourly paid position, hours vary between 10:10-12:45.
Please inquire with Jill Mischke @ 763-682-0800 or email at jmischke@bhmschools.org
We have A LOT of goodies at the lost and found!
~Headphones, jackets, water bottles, LOTS of sweatshirts and MORE!~
Have your student check the Lost and Found boxes across from the Health Office
📍 Parents: You’re welcome to stop by too!
🕒 Office Hours: 6:30 AM – 3:00 PM (Mon–Fri)
Let’s reunite those lost items with their owners! 🧥🧤👟
🎵What's Happening In Music This Month?🎵
March sure flew by quickly! Students in grades 3-5 have been sharing songs, improvised melodies and rhythms on the ukulele.
Second graders have been hard at work learning music and movements for their musical, 🐼“Pandamonium!”🐼 Second graders performed their musical on Thursday, March 19th at 1:40 p.m. for the school and 6:30 pm for family and friends. They did an amazing job! We’d like to thank our Hanover PTO for donating money for costumes and props for our musical.😊
In 🪷April, it’s back to the basics for 1st and 2nd graders. We will continue learning about and performing quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests. We are learning about sixteenth notes,
too. Many of the songs we sing will include student performance on our instruments: (xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels).
🎶We will also focus on the pitches mi, so and la by listening and identifying them in the music.🎶
Kindergartners will continue to listen for musical concepts, responding by moving their bodies and playing instruments with the music.
🎸All 3rd, 4th and 5th graders will begin guitar in April. 🎸
Mrs. Bolton
April is all about skill development, collaboration, and teamwork! As spring continues, students are building confidence, improving coordination, and practicing positive sportsmanship in every lesson.
🎈 Kindergarten Physical Education
This month, our youngest learners are excited to begin a “learning to bike” unit! Thanks to the organization All Kids Bike, Hanover Elementary received free Strider bikes and a full curriculum to guide students as they learn to ride. They will be coming to Hanover to reveal this program. Students will focus on:
Developing balance, pedaling, and steering skills on a bike
Learning to share space safely with classmates
Encouraging peers and celebrating small successes
Biking is a lifelong activity, and our kindergarten students are gaining confidence and independence while learning skills they can enjoy for years to come. They are building the foundation for physical literacy while moving safely, listening, and supporting others in group activities.
👟 Grades K–2 Physical Education
This month, students in grades K–2 are focusing on:
Collaboration through partner and group activities
Developing spatial awareness and moving safely in shared spaces
Encouraging classmates and practicing teamwork skills
Building coordination while participating in fun, cooperative movement games
Students are learning how to work together, share space safely, and support one another while developing foundational movement and social skills. They’ll play a game called Floor is Lava.
💪 Grades 3–5 Physical Education
This month, students in grades 3–5 are focusing on:
Fitness testing to track strength, endurance, flexibility, and overall physical development
Applying collaboration skills during partner and group activities
Reflecting on personal effort and improvement in fitness activities
Team-based challenges that emphasize communication and supporting classmates
Students are building both physical fitness and teamwork skills. Fitness testing helps them see their growth, set personal goals, and work together to encourage classmates toward improvement. They will also enjoy kickball as a fun way to apply teamwork and game strategy outdoors.
❤️ Fitness & Health Focus: Collaboration & Skill Development
Students are practicing proper technique while also learning the importance of teamwork, communication, and encouraging others. Emphasis is placed on effort, improvement, and working together in positive ways. Fitness testing provides a measurable way to track progress and celebrate growth.
👟 PE Reminders
Please wear tennis shoes on PE days
Comfortable clothing helps students move safely
Water bottles are encouraged
📅 Looking Ahead to May
Kindergarten & Grades K–2: Cooperative games and teamwork challenges outdoors
Grades 3–5: Fitness challenges, collaborative team activities, and kickball
Spring is a great time to get outside, enjoy fresh air, and combine movement with fun learning experiences!
💡 Family Fitness Tip
Take advantage of the warmer weather by trying spring activities outside, such as family walks, biking, playing catch, pickleball or jump rope. Even short bursts of outdoor activity together make a big difference for fitness and family fun!
Thank you for supporting Hanover Elementary Physical Education!
Actively yours,
Mr. Turner
(763)-682-0865
🌸Happy Spring from the Art Room!🌸
I hope all HES families are able to enjoy time off during spring break and come back ready to finish the school year.
It was so fun to have the Art Adventures curriculum from the Minneapolis Institute of Art for the month of March. Thank you to HES PTO for bringing this to our school and allowing students to experience this amazing resource.
4th Grade : As a nod to Earth Day 4th graders are going to focus on repurposed materials and recycled art. Students will be using recycled material such as magazines and cardboard to create sculptures and purposeful objects like bowls.
2nd Grade : 2nd graders will be learning about French artist George Seraut. The focus of this artists work is pointillism; 2nd graders will also be creating their own artwork inspired by pointillism.
1st Grade : In 1st grade we are reading the book “Tops and Bottoms.” This book connects us to two lessons we will be working on this spring. Our first project is a watercolor painting we will be creating of a garden. The second is a perspective drawing inspired by the tulip fields of the Netherlands.
Kindergarten : Students are going to use shapes, lines and patterns to design a castle. We’ll spend time learning about castles from England, Germany and other European countries for inspiration. After drawing our castles we’ll also utilize texture to make our castles even more interesting and unique.
Take care,
Mrs. Rausch
Art Integration
(763)-682-0867
We celebrated National School Breakfast Week with some important people in our community 💜 First responders joined our amazing kitchen staff in serving our students breakfast the week of March 2nd.
We appreciate the extra effort that was put in to make it a fun week for the students!
Health Update:
🌷Greetings from the health office!🌷
Parents of Preschoolers and soon-to-be Kindergarteners
If you have a child who is 3 ½ to 4 years old or one who is entering kindergarten in September and you have not been contacted for Early Childhood Screening, please visit https://www.bhmschools.org/early-childhood-screening and click the green Registration button to choose a screening date/time. If you have any questions, please call 763-682-8408. Early Childhood Screening is a mandated early intervention program for all children entering kindergarten in the public schools, but is targeted for all children ages 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years old.
Parents of Kindergarten Students Starting ’26-’27 school year: If you have a child beginning kindergarten in September, please consider taking care of their immunization needs now. It is the law that all students must submit an updated immunization status before starting kindergarten. Please submit one of the following: immunization record, notarized non-medical exemption form or physician signed medical exemption form.
Required vaccinations for students include:
5 DTP
4 Polio (IPV or OVP)
3 Hepatitis B (HBV - not to be confused with Hib, which is the Haemophilus Influenza)
2 MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella)
2 Varicella (Chicken Pox) – If your child has had the chicken pox illness, the school will need a statement from your health care provider indicating one of the following:
The signature of a provider along with the date of the child’s varicella illness
The signature of a provider along with a statement that the parent’s or legal guardian’s description of the child’s varicella disease history is indicative of past varicella infection.
If you have questions, please contact Timarie Leahy, RN, at tleahy@bhmschools.org or 763-682-8818.
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Seasonal Health Reminder from the Health Office
Cold and flu season is still in full swing! We kindly ask families to keep students home if they have a fever of 100.4°F or higher, vomiting, diarrhea, or are feeling too unwell to participate in school activities.
***Students should be fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication before returning to school.***
Frequent handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and getting enough sleep are simple but effective ways to help prevent the spread of illness.
✅Check your student to make sure an itchy scalp is just a dry scalp. Occasionally it can be head lice-which is very treatable, but needs to be addressed with a lice shampoo treatment and the removal of the white nits. **For more information, contact the Health
Office for handouts on what to look for and how to go about treating head lice.**
Thanks for making HES a very safe and healthy place to be.
Best line of defense against illness - wash hands, wash hands, wash hands one more time!
Timarie Leahy, LSN K-5 -763-682-8818
Tammy Bjorklund, HES Health Office - 763.682.0864
Hi Everyone!
Living in Minnesota, elementary and middle school students have a wonderful opportunity each year to read well-written chapter books through the Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award Program. Maud Hart Lovelace is the author of the Betsy-Tacy books, fictional books set in the fictional town of Big Valley around the early 1900s. Big Valley is actually based on Maud Hart Lovelace's hometown of Mankato, Minnesota. If you visit Mankato, you can tour the "Betsy-Tacy" house, near Mankato West High School. (While you're in the area, you should check out Wanda Gag's house in nearby New Ulm as well. Ms. Gag is the author of the book Millions of Cats, a classic children's book right up there with Goodnight Moon!)
Each year, ten books are nominated to receive the Maud Hart Lovelace book award. While each book is amazing, only one book per year wins the award. Students all over the state of Minnesota vote for their favorite MHL book after having read or having listened to at least three of the nominated books. Every vote counts, not just the winning title from each voting classroom. Every year I read all of the nominated books aloud to my class so every year my students vote for their favorite. The latest couple of years have included a graphic novel in the nominees. I do not read the graphic novels as it would be cumbersome to read and then project the pages via my document camera (and also because I am a firm believer in chapter books for promoting vocabulary and imagination rather than looking at an artist's rendition of what the students should see while reading the book through illustrations).
This year, the books were again fabulous reads, but one book, about a boy with ADHD and his friend with Celiac Disease, really stood out for my students. The name of the book was Honestly Elliott, by Gillian McDunn. Without going into the plot too much, the main characters work together to sell pies to make money for a broken window and to help a neighborhood in need. At first, they make a strawberry pie, but the ingredients are much too expensive. After visiting a local grocery store, they stumble onto some old church cookbooks and read about pies that were made in the past with ingredients found in most pantries. You may have heard of some of these recipes which were popular in times of dire need for something sweet when grocery prices were out of reach due to rationing in times of war or economic depressions. Some of these pies are: Mock apple pie (made with crackers, sugar, water, and cinnamon), green tomato pie, water pie (made with flour, salt, sugar, butter, vanilla and apple cider), and one called Desperation Pie, which was the pie that the characters made in order to stay within budget. Since the girl in the book had Celiac Disease, they had to use almond flour in place of all-purpose flour in the crust, since she could not eat gluten, found in wheat products. Spoiler alert: They do marvelously well on their pie sales! The recipe was included at the end of the book, which brings me in a roundabout way to our subject of Friday's Forest Friday activities: Pi(e) Day!
I used the recipe in Honestly Elliot to bake two Desperation Pies on Thursday night. I brought them into the classroom for a taste test with my class--but first, a little math. We do all kinds of math with 2-dimensional shapes like triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, etc. We focus on circles primarily while working with new-to-them protractors with determining angles. Pi Day's math lesson was on something that is normally a few years' off for fourth graders: Circumference, diameter (with radii and chords thrown in for good measure), and pi.
First up, was cutting the Desperation Pie so that each student would get the same amount and we would have enough for everyone to have a slice. I drew a circle on the board. We determined that I should cut the pie into fourths first, noting the perpendicular intersection of those first two cuts, at the pie's center (another math term). From there, we determined that each pie should be cut into 16 pieces, so the next cut was to slice those fourths in half, creating 8 pieces. We were half-way there, so they determined that I should then cut those eighths in half to get 16 slices per pie, enough for all to share. But we were not done with math yet. Long division, B I G groan, was up next! 360 degrees, divided by 16 pieces, equalled an acute angle of 22 1/2 degrees per slice of pie for everyone!
Time to cut and eat Desperation Pie! After I distributed it to everyone, we all ate at the same time. All but one REALLY liked it! One student commented that it tasted lemony and I told her that there were no lemons in the pie, so I asked her what ingredient she thought was giving it that lemony flavor and she guessed right when she said apple cider vinegar (They had a copy of the recipe, so knew the ingredient list). I told the class that both lemons and vinegar of any sort are acids, so that is what gave the pie some of its flavor!
After the Desperation Pie taste-testing, I turned their attention to a pi-related activity that we would be completing for Forest Friday in our School Forest. After talking briefly about dendrochronology, or tree ring dating, I told the students that we would be aging trees by using pi! In our classroom, to get the hang of using calculators, we completed a worksheet together in calculating a tree's diameter at breast height (referred to DBH by foresters) by measuring the tree's circumference (in inches) and dividing by pi (3.14). After a diameter was determined, we took that number and multiplied it by the tree species' growth rate, which varies from tree species to tree species, to determine an approximate age for each tree (in years). After the age of the tree was determined, we simply subtracted that age from 2026 to figure out when the tree was a seeding!
After the indoor lesson, it was time to go outside and actually measure trees to determine their relative ages. The students worked together--cooperation is our character trait of the month--either by measuring or calculating, using the formulas we had used inside our classroom to determine the ages of two trees, the cottonwood tree found on our playground, and a sugar maple tree located in the Hanover School Forest.
We tramped through the School Forest to show a new student all of the great aspects of the School Forest, and I think he really liked it.
When we returned to our classroom, we looked at the data we had collected and I asked why the cottonwood tree, which was a great deal larger than the sugar maple tree, was actually half the age of the sugar maple. They came to the right conclusion that cottonwood trees, with a Growth Factor of "2," are much faster growing trees than sugar maples, with a Growth Factor of "5.5." When we looked at the years when each tree was just a seedling, I told them that the cottonwood tree started out as a wee bit of cotton with a tiny seed attached around the time of World War I. The older sugar maple tree was planted via "helicopter seed" back in the time around when Abraham Lincoln was president!
As we were walking from one tree to the next, a student told me, "This math is fun!" I responded that her dad, who is an ichthyologist, works with math and nature all of the time and that I thought her dad's job sounded like a lot of fun too.
Our forest cameras picked up a couple of gems featuring a male pileated woodpecker as well as a couple naughty raccoons playing with a suet feeder while conducting science experiments on pendulums!
Speaking of gems, a student approached my desk at the end of our Pi Day to show me a rock he had picked up along the trail and wanted my help in identifying it. To my shock it was a sizable Lake Superior agate with a nice chunk of quartz crystal on one end! I would call that a cherry on top of an exhausting, but in a good way, Pi Day!
Over and Out(side),
Jenny Boldt
4th Grade Teacher
Hanover Elementary School
(763) 682-0858
Hanover School Forest @facebook.com
📞 Reporting an Absence
If your child will be absent, please do one of the following:
- ✅ Call the Attendance Line - 763-682-0822
Leave a message with:
- Your child’s name
- Reason for absence
- If sick: list symptoms
- ✅ Use the Parent Portal-by clicking on Absence Request
- ✅ Email: hesattendance@bhmschools.org
🚌 Changes to End-of-Day Transportation
If your child’s transportation will change:
- 📞 Call the Office: 763-682-0800
- 📅 Please call before 1:00 PM
Teachers may not see emails in the afternoon.
✅ Always copy hesattendance@bhmschools.org on any change.
If you would like to review our parent/student handbook,
it is available online at
https://www.bhmschools.org/hes-studentparent-handbook-25-26
It is an excellent resource to see what our policies and
procedures are.
🐝 Show Your Hornet Pride with New Spirit Store Styles! 🐝
Hanover families,
Get ready to show your school spirit in style! Our Online School Spirit Store just got an exciting update with brand-new apparel options that make perfect gifts for the holidays!
What you need to know:
1. New Designs & Gear
We’ve added two fun, modern designs featuring updated styles and comfy, brand-name apparel your whole family will love. Plus, explore new merchandise, including zip-up and crew neck hoodies that are sure to become fast favorites.
2. A Touch of Purple
Several designs now come in the color purple as a nod to our Buffalo School District. It’s a small touch with big meaning, helping Hanover feel more connected to the larger district community while keeping our Hornet identity front and center!
3. Order
Shop Now: https://jjathletics.chipply.com/buffalobison/store.aspx?eid=329623&acid=1629714
🐝Shop now and show off that Hornet pride 🐝
Dear family, friends, and community,
We are collecting aluminum pop tabs to honor the life and memory of our precious daughter, Gracie Heinz, who passed away at just 11 years old. Her beautiful spirit and giving heart continue to inspire us every day.
💖Why Pop Tabs?
Pop tabs may seem small, but when collected in large amounts, they help support families through organizations like Ronald McDonald House Charities—which provide a home away from home for families with hospitalized children.
The Ronald McDonald House supported and cared for our family during Gracie’s time at Children’s Hospital, and we are forever grateful.
📦How You Can Help:
Please save your aluminum pop tabs from soda cans, soup cans, and similar items throughout the year.
🏫Have your child bring the pop tabs to the Hanover Elementary office, where there will be a collection bin during your child's school hours.
OR
🎪Bring them to the final collection during the Hanover Harvest Festival on August 1st, 2026, where all donations will be weighed before being brought to the recycling center.
️✋You may also give your pop tabs to the Heinz Family anytime throughout the year anytime before August 1st, 2026.
✨Last Year’s Impact (2025):
Thanks to our family, friends, and communities incredible generosity, we collected 567 pounds of tabs, totaling over $400 donated to the Ronald McDonald House!
This will be an annual collection in Gracie’s memory, a way to turn love into action and keep her light shining in our community.
Thank you for your continued support and love—especially over the past two years since Gracie went to be with her Savior.
Your kindness means more than words can say.
With gratitude,
The Heinz Family
Brent, Missy, Vivian, and Norah
Interested in being a substitute teacher or ESP? The district is looking to hire substitute teachers and ESPs (health office, special ed or instructional/supervision) for the school year. If you are interested, go to the BHM Website to see the qualification requirements and to fill out an application. Feel free to contact the HES office at 763-682-0800 if you have any questions.
Hanover Elementary School
Hanover Hornets