The Weekly Update #14

Dear Hoover community,

Welcome to the first week of December! Can you believe how quickly the first half of the school year is flying by? We are looking forward to welcoming the PTA Board and Student Leaders to our Instructional Leadership Team Meeting on December 9th to review our goals and data as part of our School Improvement process. This is an exciting and busy time, and I want to take a moment to reflect on our achievements and set a positive, focused tone for the weeks ahead.

📚 Focus on Finishing Strong: Academics & Effort

As the winter break approaches, it's easy for focus to shift, but the next few weeks are critically important for academic success. Our teachers are covering essential material and often assigning major projects or assessments before the break.

• Students: Now is the time to check your grades, utilize after-school help sessions, and manage your time wisely. Let's make sure the effort you put in now pays off in strong semester grades.

• Families: Please continue to support your student by providing a quiet place for homework, checking in on their academic planner, and encouraging consistent, on-time attendance right up to the last day. Every lesson counts!

🧣 Winter Safety and Attendance Reminders

With the change in weather, we need your help to ensure a safe and successful learning environment.

• Dress for the Weather: Please ensure your student comes to school dressed for colder temperatures, including jackets, hats, and gloves. We still utilize outdoor time for PE and Friday Recess. Being prepared is essential.

• Safety in Transit: As it gets darker earlier, please remind your student to be extra vigilant when walking, biking, or waiting for the bus. If you are dropping off or picking up, please follow our traffic procedures closely to keep all our Chargers safe.

• Delayed Opening and Early Dismissal: Please make sure you are receiving messages from both MCPS and Hoover regarding weather delays and closures.

🤝 Giving Back and Community Spirit

December is the season of generosity and goodwill. We are so proud of our students who are embracing a spirit of service.

• A huge thank you to everyone those who contributed to our SGA Drive/Canned Food Drive! There is still time to participate and make a real difference for families in our community. Please see the message below regarding Hoover's Holiday Giving Program.

I am looking forward to a wonderful start to the month!

Dr. Kim

The Holiday's are here and so are Spirit Days! Every purchase of spirit wear helps support our After School Programs, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to fund enriching opportunities for our students.

Can't wait for a Hoover school event to purchase your swag? Contact the main office for purchase directions and we will send the clothing home with your child!

Our PE Department held the Hoover's Annual Staff/Student Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament and everyone had an amazing time! Great teamwork Hoover Staff and Students!

Congratulations to our Instrumental Music and Choral classes on wonderful Winter Concerts held this week at Churchill High School. We are so proud of Ms. Winters and Mr. Masaki and their classes on two special nights of extraordinary performances.

We are pleased to share that our Holiday Giving Program will once again provide food assistance for families during the Thanksgiving and Winter holiday seasons. This program is designed to ensure that all families have the opportunity to enjoy a special holiday meal together.

If your family would like to participate, please reach out to Molly Kim , molly_s_kim@mcpsmd.org,

our family engagement specialist or your grade level counselor. Together, we can make the holiday season a little brighter for everyone in our community. These programs are first-come, first-serve, so please reach out as soon as possible.

Role- French Teacher

Education -University of Delaware, BA Three Languages; University of Maryland, MA French Language, Literature, and Culture; UMCP MAT

Years of Service - 5 years at college level, 11 years in middle-high school education

Free Time/Hobby - exercise, cooking, travel, reading

Favorite Coffee/Snack/Dessert - I like black coffee or an oat milk latte and of course I love good French pastries.

Bucket List Item - Visit Francophone Africa, learn to paint or draw, learn more languages!

Role-ELA Teacher- 8th Grade, SGA Co-Advisor

Education -Masters of Arts, Gifted and Talented Education, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Baltimore MD and Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education with a concentration in history, Towson

Years of Service - 21 years in Education

Free Time/Hobby -Running, Gardening, and Reading

Favorite Coffee/Snack/Dessert -Reese's Cups and Diet Dr. Pepper

Bucket List Item - Travel to all 50 states!

Date change: due to a conflict with the Churchill counselor visits for high school registration, the competition will now be held on Tuesday, January 27th.

Hoover is hosting the AMC 8 math competition in January. Only current Hoover students are allowed to participate. Register using this link. Spaces are limited. (Sign into your MCPS account to access) No cost to students! Registration deadline: Friday, December 5, 2025.

Students must be signed into their MCPS google account to fill in this form. Parents, if you would like to register your child, please have them log into their MCPS account, then access this form from there.

December 9- Winter Sports Tryouts Begin

December 12- Hoover Academy

December 15-23- SGA Spirit Week- more details to follow!

Hoover Academy on Friday, December 12 at 8:15 am is an interactive session with Hoover Staff to review strategies to support students, improve attendance, and academics.

8th Grade Families: Please click here to view all upcoming dates and important information regarding High School Programs.

Parents, we are not able to issue bus passes for students to ride a different bus than their assigned route, either before or after school. This includes requests for students seeking to ride another bus for Student Service Learning (SSL) hours at the local elementary school. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!

Winter sports registration opens on Monday October 27th, 2025. Please check the Hoover MS website to learn about registration.

Winter sports (basketball) tryouts start on Tuesday December 9th, 2025. All registered students must complete the registration process and have a valid pre-participation physical in order to tryout. Here are a few links that might be helpful:

Hoover MS Athletics Webpage:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/hooverms/homepage/athletics/

ParentVue Portal for Registration:

https://md-mcps-psv.edupoint.com/PXP2_Login.aspx

MCPS Pre-Participation Physical Form SR-8:

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/forms/pdf/SR-8.pdf

Registration Guidance:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/district/departments/athletics/parent/athletic-registration-pages-from-parents_guardians---getting-started-with-parentvue3.pdf

https://www.hoovermspta.org

Potomac Pizza Spirit Night- December 10th