ISATS start NEXT WEEK!

ISAT Testing begins
next Monday, March 5^th and will run through March 16^th

• ISAT testing will begin on March
  5^th and will run thru March 16^th if students are
  absent. This is an extremely important assessment for our
  students in 3^rd thru 6^th grades. The focus of the first
  three days of testing will be on reading while the final three days of testing
  will be on math. In addition to this our 4^th grade students will also
  take two science tests. Samples of the ISAT test are provided by the state and
  can be found via the following website: http://www.isbe.net/assessment/htmls/sample_books.htm

You can also help your
child do his/her best on the ISATs by:

1. Making sure that your child attends
   school on the days of testing and that they are on time
2. Making sure your child gets a good
   night sleep the night before testing
3. Providing breakfast on the morning
   of testing
4. Reminding your child to ask the
   teachers questions if he/she does not understand the test
   directions
5. Letting your child know that you
   have confidence in his/her ability to do his/her best on the
   test
6. Advising your child not to worry
   about the test – just do the best he/she can

• Attendance: If your
  child is going to be absent, it is very important that you let the main office
  know before 8:30am. This will minimize the number of phone calls
  we have to make on a daily basis.
• Tardies: School
  starts at 8:40am. We let students into the building at 8:25am. It is very
  important that students arrive on time as we
  start instruction almost immediately after the bell rings. Students coming in
  late not only get a hurried start to their day but they also disrupt the
  learning of other students in the class.

• Lunches: Please make
  sure to send your child to school with their lunch in hand. This will expedite
  the lunch process and ensure that your child eats with all of their friends.
  This is also a great way to further encourage your child to be responsible for
  their own lunch. If you must bring a lunch for your child you must do so before
  11:40am. If a child is waiting for a lunch they will likely miss their
  recess

Hanover Highlands Scholarship: Hanover
Highlands offers a $1,000 scholarship for any former Hanover Highlands student
who will be attending a technical college, community college, or university next
academic year. So if you know of any high school seniors who attended Hanover
Highlands and will be attending a higher education institution next year please
encourage them to apply. We will make the applications available via our school
website by the end of the week and the application deadline will be April
15^th.  An application may also be picked up here at Hanover Highlands
beginning today.

I hope you have a wonderful week! Remember to encourage your
students to do their best on next week’s ISATs.

David Negron

Hanover Highlands Principal

Important Information

Notice from DISTRICT 54 STC of PTA

PTA is partnering with the Illinois State Board of Education to host several public meetings about the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) flexibility waiver. Illinois is applying for a waiver
and wants to provide information and gather feedback from parents, general
community members and school personnel. One of these meetings will be held in
School District 54. The meeting is scheduled for 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. on
Wednesday, February 15, at Addams Junior High School. Attached is the
meeting announcement that contains more information. Individuals planning to
attend are asked to RSVP by completing the registration form available on the
PTA website at www.illinoispta.org.

Our PTA is encouraging parents to attend and to RSVP by Monday, Feb. 13. The direct link to the registration form is:    http://www.illinoispta.org/Legislation/WaiverRegistration.pdf

If you determine at the last minute that you will be able to attend but have not registered, you are still welcome to attend the meeting.

More important information:

• ISAT testing will begin on March 5^th and will run thru March 12^th. This is an extremely important assessment for our students in 3^rd thru 6^th grades. The focus of the first three days of testing will be on reading while the final three days of testing will be on math. In addition to this our 4^th grade students will also take two science tests. Samples of the ISAT test are provided by the state and can be found via the following website: http://www.isbe.net/assessment/htmls/sample_books.htm

You can also help your child do his/her best on the ISATs by:

1. Making sure that your child attends school on the days of
   testing and that they are on time
2. Making sure your child gets a good night sleep the night
   before testing
3. Providing breakfast on the morning of testing
4. Reminding your child to ask the teachers questions if he/she
   does not understand the test directions
5. Letting your child know that you have confidence in his/her
   ability to do his/her best
6. Advising your child not to worry about the test – just do
   the best he/she can

•  Attendance: If your child is going to be absent, it is very important that you let the main office know before 8:30am. This will minimize the number of phone calls we have to make on a daily basis.
• Tardies: School starts at 8:40am. We let students into the building at 8:25am. It is very important that students arrive on time as we start instruction almost immediately after the bell rings. Students coming in late not only get a hurried start to their day but they also disrupt the learning of other students in the class.
• Lunches: Please make sure to send your child to school with their lunch in hand. This will expedite the lunch process and ensure that your child eats with all of their friends. This is also a great way to further encourage your child to be responsible for their own lunch. If you must bring a lunch for your child you must do so before 11:40am. If a child is waiting for a lunch they will likely miss their recess.

Have a great week everyone!

Sincerely, David Negron-School Principal

Parent-Teacher conferences and Important Info.

Wonderful Hanover Highlands Community,

It’s hard to believe but we are wrapping up our first full week of the new year already. Our staff and students started off the new year by working hard to prepare for our parent-teacher conferences next week. You will receive a conference reminder notice home today with your child with your designated conference time. Please look it over and if you have a scheduling conflict please contact the classroom teacher directly. Our teachers contact information can be found on-line via our school website at: http://hanoverhighlands.sd54.org/staff/.  Also, we know that many of our former students enjoy visiting their former teachers, however this is really a time for our current Hanover Highlands students to share their academic progress with you. If you need to bring siblings to conferences next week they must remain with you at all times. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We look forward to seeing you at conferences.

Below you will find a few reminders as well as information regarding upcoming events:

• Our next Fine Arts Enrichment Night will take place on Thursday, January 12^th from 5:30-7:30pm during conferences. Please make sure to attend your child’s conference first then feel free to participate in the Fine Arts Enrichment activities.
• Students will be dismissed at 11:40am on Thursday, January 12^th for
  conferences (kindergarten and pre-k students do not attend classes on
  Thursday, Jan. 12^th) and there is no school for students on Friday, January 13^th.
• The districts Open Enrollment Fair will be on Wednesday, January 25^th, from 6-7:30pm at Addams Jr. High.
• Attendance: If your child is going to be absent, it is very important that you let the main office know before 8:30am. This will minimize the number of phone calls we have to make on a daily basis.
• Tardies: School starts at 8:40am. We let students into the building at 8:25am. It is very important that students arrive on time as we start
  instruction almost immediately after the bell rings. Students coming in late not only get a hurried start to their day but they also disrupt the learning of other students in the class.
• Lunches: Please make sure to send your child to school with their lunch in hand. This will expedite the lunch process and ensure that your child eats with all of their friends. This is also a great way to further encourage your child to be responsible for their own lunch. If you must bring a lunch for your child you must do so before 11:40am. If a child is waiting for a lunch they will likely miss their recess.
• Many clubs have resumed or will be resuming soon here at Hanover Highlands. Please make sure that your child knows the plan for getting home after any school clubs or programs and communicate that plan with the classroom teacher. If your child is in KASPER, please let KASPER know as well. I want to make sure that all students get home safely.
• Now that the weather is getting colder (okay this week is an exception-its unusually warm for this time of year) please make sure that your children are dressed appropriately for the weather. We typically do go outside for recess on a regular basis even on cold days. In the event of extreme cold we will keep the children in from recess.
• There is no school on Monday, January 16^th in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday.
• Our next PTA meeting will be on Monday, January 23^rd at 6pm.

Thank you all for your continued support and we strongly encourage you all to attend your children’s conference, your children along with our teachers have spent a lot of time preparing for conferences. It is a great way to show your children that you value their education and want to be involved. Again if you have a scheduling conflict please contact the classroom teacher directly- our goal is to have 100% parent participation for conferences.

David Negron, Principal                 Maribel Taboada, Assistant Principal

Happy Holidays

We wanted to take a moment to say thank you to our school staff, our community, and PTA for the generous support that helped make this holiday season so special. Due to this generosity, we were able to support the following programs:

•  Our staff, students, and community collected 9 boxes of food for the Lion’s Club this year. In return, the Lion’s Club was able to support 6 of our families, providing a great meal for the holidays.
• Our Giving Snowman program was a huge success again this year. Our PTA donated all proceeds from the bake sale to the program, many families and staff members generously donated their time, resources, and purchased gifts, and our students
  sold candy canes in order to make money to support this program. As a result, we were able to support 26 Hanover Highlands families to make the holidays a little more special.
• Mission Church partnered up with our school this holiday and we were able to have our first ever Holiday Gift Mart at Hanover Highlands School. Mission Church was able to fundraise and bring over 1600 toys to school for our parents to buy at a drastically reduced price for their children. With their support, not only were we able to support 110 families, but Mission Church donated the remaining toys to our school for our students as well as to support the Giving Snowman
  program. The Gift Mart was a HUGE success! We had hundreds of people attend this amazing event.

We are lucky to be part of such a great community! Thanks to all for your help and have a wonderful holiday season!

MAP testing information

Wonderful Hanover Highlands Community,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break with your family and friends. I just wanted to remind everyone that MAP testing begins tomorrow here at Hanover Highlands.   Please keep the following in mind as you help prepare your child for MAP testing.  Students are most likely to perform at their best when they have plenty of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast.  Research has also shown that a positive attitude and setting a positive tone for test taking will reduce testing anxiety.  Please encourage your child to do his/her best on these tests.  We want the students to test in the best possible atmosphere so please try to schedule
appointments (i.e. dentist or doctor appointments) outside of the testing windows indicated below.   It is also very important that students arrive to school on time.

*The schedule below will help you in determining when your child will take their assessments, the schedule is by the teachers name in terms of when that class will take the assessments. The first day of testing will be for reading and the second day of testing for math.

5-6 Grade level team

Ms. Scaife: Tuesday- Nov. 29^th & Thursday-Dec. 1^st

Ms. Rojas: Wednesday- Nov. 30^th & Friday-Dec. 2^nd

Mrs. Fitzpatrick: Friday-Dec. 2^nd & Monday-Dec. 5^th

Mr. VanDeSampel: Tuesday-Nov. 29^th & Wednesday-Nov. 30^th

Ms. Graham: Thursday-Dec. 1^st & Tuesday-Dec. 6^th

Mrs. Cantu: Tuesday-Nov. 29^th & Wednesday-Nov. 30^th

3-4 Grade level team

Ms. Michel: Tuesday-Nov. 29^th & Friday-Dec. 2^nd

Ms. Giometti: Tuesday-Nov. 29^th & Thursday-Dec. 1^st

Mrs. Levato: Tuesday-Nov. 29^th & Wednesday-Nov. 30^th

Ms. Christman: Tuesday-Nov. 29^th & Wednesday-Nov. 30^th

Mrs. Byanna: Wednesday-Nov. 30^th & Thursday-Dec. 1^st

1-2 Grade level team

Ms. McGann: Friday, Dec. 2^nd & Tuesday-Dec. 6^th

Mrs. Garcia: Thursday, Dec. 1^st & Monday-Dec. 5^th

Mrs. Schmidt, Ms. Haselton, & Mrs. Sutton all 2^nd graders: Friday, Dec. 2^nd & Monday-Dec. 5^th

Mrs. Schmidt, Ms. Haselton, & Mrs. Sutton all 1^stgraders: Friday, Dec. 2^nd thru Wednesday-Dec. 7^th
(4-days of testing for 1^st graders)

Kindergarten team

Mrs. Moran & Mrs. Argueta: Thursday, Dec. 8^th thru Tuesday, Dec. 13^th (4-days of testing for kindergarten)

As always we appreciate your continued support! By continuing to work together we ensure that your child will have academic success and reach their academic goals.

David Negron

Hanover Highlands Principal

A few reminders

First and foremost, I would like to thank all of the parents and students for making our Halloween Bash as well as our Halloween parade such a success. We had the highest number of attendees at our Bash this past Friday than in the previous 3 years. Everyone had a great time! Below are just a few reminders that I wanted to remind everyone of:

• Attendance:  If your child is going to be absent, it is very important that you let the main office know before 8:30am.  This will minimize the number of phone calls we have to make on a daily basis.
• Tardies:  School starts at 8:40am. We let students into the building at 8:25am. It is very important that students arrive on time as we start instruction almost immediately after the bell rings. Students coming in late not only get a hurried start to their day but they also disrupt the learning of other students in the class.
•  Lunches:  Please make sure to send your child to school with their lunch in hand. This will expedite the lunch process and ensure that your child eats with all of their friends. This is also a great way to further encourage your child to be responsible for their own lunch. If you must bring a lunch for your child you must do so before 11:40am. If a child is waiting for a lunch they will likely miss their recess.
•  Many clubs have started or will be starting soon here at Hanover Highlands. Please make sure that your child knows the plan for getting home after any school clubs or programs and communicate that plan with the classroom teacher. If your child is in KASPER, please let KASPER know as well. I want to make sure that all students get home safely.
•  Now that the weather is getting colder please make sure that your children are dressed appropriately for the weather. We typically do go outside for recess on a regular basis even on cold days. In the event of extreme cold we will keep the children in from recess.
• Our next PTA sponsored event will be on Thursday, November 10th. Please join us for our Chuk E Cheese Night. Please refer to our Hanover Hilites newsletter for more specific information.
• There is no school on Friday, Nov. 11th, in observance of Veterans Day.

Thank you all for your continued support and for your involvement in your child’s education!

David Negron, Principal                                          Maribel Taboada, Assistant Principal

Exciting and Important information

Wonderful Hanover Highlands Community,

 Our school year is off to a great start! Our students are already hard at work and are setting academic goals for this school year. I just wanted to share some news with everyone as well as remind everyone of some important policies, procedures, and upcoming events.

•  The 2011 ISAT results show that we had the 3^rd highest one year gains in reading district wide with a 5.3% increase from the previous years ISAT inReading.  This means that the students met the challenge that I set forth for them and as a result they attended a very special assembly today in which they saw me get my head shaved because they reached their goal. The village mayor, Mayor Craig, was also in attendance at our special assembly. The students had a great time! we will have a different challenge for them for this years ISAT-we will reveal that challenge and the reward sometime in February!
• Last school year we had the 2^nd highest Fall to Spring MAP gains in Reading district wide. We had the 6^th highest Fall to Spring MAP gains in Math district wide.
• We will continue to be recognized as a No Excuses University by the TurnAround Schools Network this school year. There are currently just a little over 100 schools nationwide who have received this recognition.
• We will be a PBIS replication site for the school district this school year. We were also selected by the PBIS network as a wonderful school for state legislators and other school districts to visit as an exemplary school who has successfully implemented PBIS.
• We will have a “Homecoming” (Curriculum Night) on Thursday, September 8^th from 6 – 7:30PM.
• All parents visiting the school for whatever reason must check in with the office. All parents entering the building must enter through the main entrance and immediately check in with the office and must have a visitors badge on at all times. Staff members will not allow any parent entrance into the building from any other entrances. This is for the safety of all students.
• Lunch reminder:  Please be sure to send your child to school with a lunch. It can be very disruptive having lunches dropped off throughout the morning. Having students come to school prepared is one more way that we can reinforce student responsibility. As a reminder our lunch begins at 11:45am. If you must drop off a lunch it must be prior to 11:45am.
• Please read the important message from District 54 regarding transportation: “It is the District’s long standing practice that a student must have consistent pick up and drop off points to ensure student safety. In the past some student’s pick up/drop off location have changed weekly and sometimes daily which the District will not agree to. As you can certainly appreciate, the bus driver and other District personnel attend to multiple children in the bus pick up and drop off environment. A rotating pick up/drop off location is unsafe because it creates a situation where a mistake can easily be involved involving the route that your student is placed on. Please know that as a District we are totally committed to your student’s safety.”

We look forward to having continued success this academic year. We also appreciate your continued support and cooperation! Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

David Negron, Principal

Back to School Orientation

Hanover Highlands Elementary School is a No Excuses University. We follow the philosophy that there truly is no excuses and that all children are capable of being successful. College can be a part of everyone’s future. Keeping with our No Excuses University theme, this year we’ll be having a back to school orientation day. At many universities, there are days set aside for first year students to move into their dorms, have family tours, and get to know their campus.

On Tuesday, August 23rd from 1-2:30pm and again from 6-7:30pm, Hanover will be hosting its first Orientation day.  On this day you can drop off your children’s school supplies as well as meet and greet your child’s new teacher for the 2011-2012 academic year. On this day we will also have the PTA here along with other community agencies to share information regarding the programs they offer for students.

So, mark your calendars and be prepared to take the first step in starting off another fabulous year here at Hanover!

End of Year Information

Wonderful Hanover Highlands Community,

It is hard to believe but we are just a few days away from ending yet another school year. Our staff and students have worked very hard to ensure that our students achieved their academic goals this academic year. Below are just a few of the academic highlights from this academic year:

• Preliminary 2011 ISAT results show that we have again made excellent gains in Reading and Math. We look forward to sharing the official student results with everyone in August.
• We had the 2^nd highest Fall to Spring MAP gains in Reading district wide.
• We had the 6^th highest Fall to Spring MAP gains in Math district wide.
• 35% of our ELL students met the exit criteria on ACCESS state assessment this academic year. This was more than triple the number of students exited this year when compared to those exited from the previous academic year.
• 85% of our CD students met their Low Incidence Assessment goals for the year. 
• We continue to be recognized as a No Excuses University by the TurnAround Schools Network.
• We will be a PBIS replication site for the school district next school year. We were also selected by the PBIS network as a wonderful school for state legislators and other school districts to visit as an exemplary school who has successfully implemented PBIS.  

The above accomplishments would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of our staff, students, and community. I also wanted to make everyone aware of the following upcoming events as well as important dates for next school year.

• New Student Registration Day will be on Thursday, August 11^th. This day will only be for families registering new students to our school. If your child is already enrolled in our school you do not need to come in to re-register them on August 11^th.
• 2011-2012 School Orientation on August 23^rd, 2011 In keeping with our college theme we will have a school orientation day (open house) on Tuesday, August 23^rd from 1-2:30pm and again from 6-7:30pm. On this day you can drop off your children’s school supplies as well as meet and greet your child’s new teacher for the 2011-2012 academic year. On this day we will also have the PTA here along with other community agencies to share information regarding the programs they offer for students.
• Class lists will be posted in the main foyer of our school beginning on Monday, August 15^th, 2011  
• 2011-2012 School Homecoming: Our school Homecoming (curriculum night) will be on September 8^th, 2011 from 6-7:30pm.
• August 24^th, 2011 is the first day of school for 1^st thru 8^th grade students. August 29^th is the first day of attendance for early childhood and kindergarten students.
• The PTA Back to School Social is tentatively scheduled for Friday August 26^th, 2011 from 6-8pm.  

Finally, as you begin to prepare for next school year please read the important message below from District 54 regarding transportation for next year. When planning childcare for next year, please plan accordingly.

 “It is the District’s long standing practice that a student must have consistent pick up and drop off points to ensure student safety. In the past some student’s pick up/drop off location have changed weekly and sometimes daily which the District will not agree to. As you can certainly appreciate, the bus driver and other District personnel attend to multiple children in the bus pick up and drop off environment. A rotating pick up/drop off location is unsafe because it creates a situation where a mistake can easily be involved involving the route that your student is placed on. Please know that as a District we are totally committed to your student’s safety.”

Have a great rest of the week everyone and a great summer!

David Negron, Principal

AMAZING!

Hanover Highlands Community,

Last night our community was treated to our school musical, ‘Get Ready, Get Set for College!’ and Amazing was the word that many parents used to describe the performance.  Our students wowed the audience with their performances and music. Our musical directors, Mrs. Quinteros & Mrs. Wrobel, did a great job with organizing and preparing our students for the musical. Our music was produced by our very own music teacher, Mrs. Ross. The backdrop design was designed and painted by our Art teacher, Mrs. Illingworth, with the help of some of our students. Many of our staff members, parents, and PTA members were involved in helping to make our musical the success that it was. So on behalf of our students and school I would like to thank all of the people who helped make the musical such a smashing success.

Also, just a friendly reminder that we will be starting our MAP testing this coming Monday, 4-25. Please encourage your child to do his/her best on MAP. We look forward to sharing our assessment results with you later this year.

David Negron, Principal