News and events

September 27, 2026

Our Character Strong trait for September is RESPECT. Check out what each grade level is working on:

• Kindergarten

• First Grade

• Second Grade

• Third Grade

• Fourth Grade

• Fifth Grade

Hello Hoover Families,

We are just about done with the first month of school. We are proud of our students, as they have worked hard reviewing and relearning the routines and expectations of school after having three months off (or, in the case of our kindergarten students, learning them for the first time). During September, our Hoover staff taught and modeled the following items:

• Common Spaces Expectations (classrooms, hallways, bathrooms, cafeteria, playground, etc)
• Bus/Transportation Safety Lessons
• Bus Evacuation Drills
• Respecting Body Boundaries
• Fire Drills (will complete 3 out of 5 required for the school year)

We would appreciate your continued partnership in reviewing these with students at home. Ask them about what they've learned and how it's helped them be successful at school. During the month of October, our Hoover staff will teach/review the importance of kind words and why the words we choose to use with others matter. We will continue with practicing fire drills and include lockout and lockdown drills.

Best,

Mrs. Strusz

P.S. - Did you know that you can access all of our Hoover Family Updates Smore Newsletter on our school website at https://hoover.ahschools.us/about-us/news? Scroll down to the bottom and locate the E-newsletter archive for this year and previous years' newsletters.

• Monday, September 28 - October 2 - CRHS Homecoming Spirit Week
• Tuesday, September 29 - CRHS Varsity Football Guest Readers in Classrooms
• Tuesday, September 29 - Gr 4 & 5 Capti Testing Part 1
• Wednesday, September 30 - Fall School Pictures (a flyer will be sent home with more info)
• Wednesday, September 30 (families - it's up to you to decide how your student dresses on this day; the activities are all optional)
• Orange Shirt Day
• Homecoming Spirit Week Jersey Day
• Wednesday, September 30 - Bus Evacuation Drills
• Wednesday, September 20 - Trapper, Therapy Dog, Onsite
• Thursday, October 1 - Gr 4 & 5 Capti Testing Part 2
• Monday, October 5 - CRFD Fire Safety Assemblies
• Thursday, October 8 - Trapper, Therapy Dog, Onsite
• Thursday, October 8 - Gr 2 & 3 Family Welcome Night
• Monday, October 12 - Indigenous Peoples' Day
• Thursday, October 15 -Friday, October 16 - NO SCHOOL - MEA
• Monday, October 19 - Playworks/Coach T Onsite
• Wednesday, October 21 - Trapper, Therapy Dog, Onsite
• Thursday, October 22 - Trapper, Therapy Dog, Onsite
• Thursday, October 22 - Fall Conferences (4:30-8:30 - more info will be shared)
• Friday, October 23 - PTO Fall Family Dance
• Monday, October 26 - NO SCHOOL for Elementary Students - Staff PD Day and Fall Conferences
• Friday, October 30 - Fall Celebration/Parties - In classrooms

Picture Day is coming on Wednesday, September 30th!

You can place your order on mylifetouch.com using your Picture Day ID: EVTKX3R6W. Order before midnight on Picture Day to get FREE shipping!

Your child can also bring their completed flyer with cash or check on Picture Day. Orders after Picture Day must be placed online only on mylifetouch.com.

Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots movement that raises awareness about the history and legacy of residential and boarding schools. It is a day to honor survivors and to remember the children who never returned home. At its heart is the message that “Every Child Matters.”

As the school year gets underway, we want to share a couple of quick reminders to help us keep our students safe, healthy, and supported.

• Injury Notifications If your student is injured off school grounds—whether before/after school or over the weekend—please reach out to our health office and their classroom teacher via phone, email, or Reach My Teach. Young students aren't always able to fully explain what happened or what hurts, so hearing directly from you helps our staff document the injury and provide the right support throughout the day.

• Illness & Staying Home With cold and flu season starting, please keep your student home if they have a fever or have vomited. Students must be fever-free and symptom-free (without vomiting) for 24 hours—without the use of fever-reducing medication—before returning to school.
• Wondering if your child is well enough to come to school? Click here for more information.
• If your child goes to the doctor or dentist, please request a doctor's note and send it with your child for attendance purposes.

Please send an extra pair of pants and underwear for your child in case there is an accident (bathroom, breakfast/lunch spill, etc.). The health office loves donations of gently used sweatpants and leggings sizes 5-10. We also appreciate new packs of underwear for boys and girls sizes 5-10.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep our school community safe and healthy! If you have any questions, you can reach out to:

• Dar Anderson, Health Office Para, at Darlene.Anderson@ahschools.us
• Michelle Erickson, School Nurse at Michelle.Erickson@ahschools.us

Hello from your VSC, Volunteer Services Coordinator

Did you know that Anoka Hennepin schools reported 196,046 volunteers for 2025-2026 school year? Our volunteers are so important for the success of our schools. We had over 2,000 hours at Hoover this past year, and we hope you will join us. Whether you are able to help in our work room making copies for teachers, reshelving books in the library, chaperoning field trips, or using your leadership skills on a PTO board, we appreciate your service to make our Hoover dreams come true.

We have logged 66 volunteers, and 61+ hours of service for our 2026-2027 school year.

A huge THANK YOU to the PTO members and their families for putting on a fantastic Back to School Bingo Night. Because we have volunteers like Julie, Christina, Hannah, Janice, Ken, Heidi, Steve, Jake, and Tim, we are able to give back to our Hoover community. Please consider joining us for future events. We cannot build our community without you.

"A community's greatness is measured by its compassion." Coretta Scott King

Please complete your volunteer application as soon as possible so you are eligible to volunteer, including to volunteer to chaperone and join your kid on field trips. It takes less than 2 minutes:
https://app.betterimpact.com/Application?OrganizationGuid=dea213fd-f64a-4f91-a11e-927011a8f073&ApplicationFormNumber=1

We use Trusted Employees for a criminal background check for 18+, so please consent here:
https://www.rhris.com/ApplyNowV3/ApplyNowV3.cfm?MgmtCoIDParm=299&SiteID=10299s&PNbr=1&OriginalURL=

Both of these pieces need to be completed to be an eligible volunteer.

New Sign Up Geniuses Added (you must have your volunteer application completed to sign up. Sign up with a friend, sibling or grandparent to amplify your fun!)

Book Fair Help
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0445ADAC29AAF9C07-65758613-book#/

Hang Student Art
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0445ADAC29AAF9C07-65883093-display

October School Dance help
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0445ADAC29AAF9C07-65914786-hoover

Looking ahead to conferences, it has been a tradition for the PTO to provide a meal for the teachers and staff during conferences. If you own a business and/or restaurant, and you are looking for a write off, I'd love to connect with you to serve our hard working crew here at Hoover.

Hoover Volunteer Home Page
https://hoover.ahschools.us/involvement/volunteer

I am part time, and email is the best way to connect with me.
beth.berzelius@ahschools.us

Hoover PTO

Please engage with our PTO, Parent Teacher Organization for Hoover Elementary on social media! We have a PTO to help fund Hoover to support our kids, teachers and staff.

PTO on Facebook - like, share & comment
https://www.facebook.com/HooverCoonRapids

PTO on Google
https://sites.google.com/ahschools.us/hoover-elementary-pto-cr

Next PTO Meeting: Tuesday, October 13th in our media center, or attend virtually 6:45 pm - 7:30 PM
We have high school students who will be available in the gym to play with your kids, if you need to bring them.
Questions about Hoover PTO? Email: hooverpto@ahschools.us

Hoover PTO would love to increase participation! ALL parents/guardians are welcome to join our PTO. Please check them out on the Hoover PTO Facebook page and like/follow them to learn more about what's going on! PTO also has a website with additional information. Please bookmark our PTO's website and check it for updates.

Also, please like/follow our Hoover Elementary Facebook page too!

• Stay in your car and keep pulling forward - follow the staff's direction.
• Have students exit/enter your vehicles on the passenger/sidewalk side to avoid walking in the parking lot. I know this part is not easy because of many factors (other children in the car/car seats, etc.), but it is very important for safety.
• Please park first in the parking lot if you want to walk your student to/from the main door. Do not exit your car while in the drop-off/pick-up line. Do not have your student cross traffic to walk to you in the parking lot.
• When exiting the parking lot during arrival/dismissal times, please ONLY TURN RIGHT. This keeps traffic flowing smoothly and allows staff to direct traffic safely.
• THANK YOU for your help with this process and for keeping our students and staff safe!

For our families who access our before/afterschool childcare program, Adventures Plus (A+), please review the following procedures and inform friends/family members that may be dropping off/picking up for you throughout the school year:

• Park in the provided parking lot spaces when dropping off or picking up your student
• DO NOT park along the curb and peninsula; these are fire lanes (painted yellow), and vehicles can not park here unattended
• A+ families have their own access to enter the building provided by A+; if friends/families are picking up students at the end of the day, they need your access
• Our office staff will not be able to let them in
• A+ staff will have to come check in to ensure there's been communication for the pick-up

Another option is to go to https://www.boxtops4education.com/ to learn more about downloading the app to scan receipts for box tops for Hoover Elementary.