Mr. Crable’s Update�January 2022

Table of Contents

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Principal’s Message

Introductions

Hoover Happenings

Health and Safety Information

Daily Procedures

Schedules and Calendars

Team Highlights

Parent Engagement Opportunities

After School Activities

Communication & Expectations

Counselors, Social Emotional, and Wellbeing Resources

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Principal’s Message

Dear Hoover Community,

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Welcome to the new year! I hope all of you had a restful and rejuvenating winter break. The last several weeks have certainly been a whirlwind of activity. I wanted to take a moment to reassure our community that the health and safety of our staff and students remains our top priority. We continue to follow all health and safety protocols: including ensuring that all students are wearing a high quality mask; continuing to offer outdoor lunch as an option for those that feel more comfortable eating outside; and reporting positive cases to MCPS. Throughout it all, our staff and students have shown a tremendous amount of grit and resilience. They have adapted to the ever changing circumstances and risen to the occasion. I feel truly fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful learning community.

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Although we remain firmly focused on this year, it is also time to start thinking about registering for classes for next year. In the coming weeks, students will have an opportunity to learn about their course options for next year and begin the registration process. As we help our students plan for the transition to the next grade level, take the opportunity to speak with your students about the current academic year and set goals for next year.

We look forward to the second half of the year and the successes it will bring. Thank you for your support and cooperation during these times and for helping to make Hoover such a wonderful school.

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Sincerely,

Mr. Crable

Principal Intern

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Meet Our Administration

Dr. Yong-Mi Kim

Principal

*on special assignment 12/13 - 1/28 while Mr. Crable serves his internship as principal.

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Ms. Jeanni Chin

Assistant Principal

Grade 6

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Mr. Peter Crable

Principal Intern

Grade 8

Ms. Barbara Carlstrom

Assistant School Administrator

Grade 7

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Our Counseling Department

and Team Leaders

Our Resource Teachers

Hoover Happenings

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• Articulation / Course Registration
• 3rd Marking Period Reminders & Quarterly Rotations
• Yearbook
• Parent Teas
• Restorative Justice
• Connect Time SSL Opportunity

Hoover Middle School

2022-2023 Articulation/Registration Events

CURRENT 5th GRADERS

Counselor Visits to Elementary Schools to complete HHMS Google Registration

Hoover Rising 6th Grade Parent Night

Jan. 18, 2022 at 6:00pm

Special Education Optional Meeting 5:30pm

Flyer: https://bit.ly/HHMSIncoming6thFlyer

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CURRENT 6th - 7th GRADERS

Students will register for next year’s classes through Social Studies classes as listed below.

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CURRENT 8th GRADERS

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Winston Churchill High School Registration Events

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Marking Period 3 Reminders

• 3rd marking period starts Tuesday, January 25.
• Please review your students’ schedules for any class changes. In particular, please note if your child is in 6th or 7th grade quarterly rotations as they will be in a new class for third marking period.

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Arts Rotation

6th and 7th Grade

Quarterly Rotations

Sixth and Seventh grade art rotations change MP3.

Your updated myMCPS tile will appear on Friday, January 21. The next slides show the rotation order, but you can also find this on your student schedule.

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Studio Art

Ms. DeBoy

Coding

Ms. Chang

Music

Mr. Nagle

Digital Art

Mr. Baker

6th grade

Coding: Web Design

Mr. Baker

Studio Art

Ms. DeBoy

Music

Mr. Nagle

Movement and Wellness

Mr. Jung

7th grade

Buy Your 2021-22 Yearbook Today

Yearbooks are on sale now! Purchase your copy of the Herbert Hoover Middle School yearbook today at Jostens.com or by CLICKING HERE.

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8^th Grade Congratulatory ads are also on sale. Upload your photos and submit your text at Jostens.com or by CLICKING HERE. The final deadline to submit your congratulatory ad is 1/28/22.

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8th Grade Congratulatory Yearbook Ads

8^th Grade Congratulatory Yearbook Ads

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8^th Grade Congratulatory Yearbook Ads are also on sale. Upload your photos and submit your text at Jostens.com or by CLICKING HERE. The final deadline to submit your congratulatory ad is 1/28/22.

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PARENT TEAS

Parent teas are an opportunity to join administrators, teachers and counselors in conversations that will provide information and resources on a variety of topics.

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Here is the HHMS Parent Tea Schedule for Semester 1:

• September 9: 6th Grade Parent Tea
• November 9: 7th Grade Parent Tea
• December 15: 8th Grade Parent Tea
• January 19: Special Education/ESOL/504 Plan Parent Tea

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All parent teas are virtual and take place on Wednesdays from 9-10 AM. Invitations and registration information is sent out the week before each tea.

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Restorative Justice

MCPS is committed to implementing restorative practices at all schools. Restorative Justice is a mindset and philosophy toward school climate and relationship building that allows students to:

• build strong relationships to feel a sense of connectedness and belonging within a community
• actively engage and problem-solve issues that affect their lives and the community at large.

At Hoover we are focusing on building relationships among students and teachers as well as developing a sense of community within classes. Mrs. Karen Megary, Staff Development Teacher, serves as our Restorative Justice coach, providing training to staff on restorative practices and implementing community building activities during Connect Time.

Connect Time!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Learning Opportunity!

We are participating in a county-wide SSL opportunity in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Through Connect Time lessons on January 10 and January 31, students will be learning about the qualities and characteristics of a caring school/class community. Students will work in groups to create action plans to help make their classes more caring. The county requires that this SSL opportunity be completed under the supervision of staff and during designated class lessons. Students will discuss, create, and debrief all activities through Connect Time. At the completion of the activities on January 31, students will complete a county generated Google Form to reflect on their learning and apply for SSL Hours. The number of hours they earn is dependent on the number of activities completed and their reflections (roughly 2 hours).

Click here for additional SSL opportunities offered through MCPS.

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Health and Safety Information

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Contact Tracing Update

• To report a student has tested positive for Covid, please complete the MCPS form
• To give contact tracing information, please complete the HHMS form.
• Vaccinated staff and students do not need to quarantine following a direct exposure, recommended to test 3-5 days after exposure but can be at school during this time if they do not have any symptoms.
• Unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated (2 weeks past final shot) students are required to quarantine if identified as a close contact.
• To update vaccination status for contact tracing purposes, please complete the Confidential HHMS Vaccination Status Form.
• Any students displaying Covid-like symptoms in school may be given an rapid test with parent permission.

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Quarantine Student Instruction

• School will contact families individually to check in and share the quarantine instruction plan
• Students will have access to their teacher of record each day for live assistance
• Lessons posted to MyMCPS Classroom daily and all materials available online
• Weekly Preview
• Monthly Newsletter
• Quarantine zoom is reserved for students who have tested positive for covid or those required to quarantine by DHHS or MCPS.

Recent Covid Information

Listed below is the number of positive cases for Hoover in the past week.

• 1/10: 8
• 1/11: 5
• 1/12: 2
• 1/13: 1
• 1/14: 2
• 1/15: 0
• 1/16: 0
• 1/17: 0
• 1/18: 1

As of January 17th, there will be 19 students out on quarantine due to a positive test (1.8%).

As of January 17th, there will be 24 students out on quarantine due to a positive test or close contact (2.4%).

As of January 17th, there will be 0 staff out on quarantine due to a positive test.

School Safety Procedures

EMERGENCY DRILLS

Montgomery County Public Schools is committed to providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for our students and staff. Every year, each MCPS school conducts a number of emergency drills to ensure students are prepared in the case of an emergency.

TYPES OF DRILLS

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• Fire Drills
• Shelter in Place
• Lockdown
• Lockdown with Options
• Severe Weather
• Drop, Cover, Hold
• Evacuation
• Reverse Evacuation
• Bus Evacuation

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Daily Procedures

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Cafeteria Procedures

• Students have the option to sit indoors or outdoors
• Students may sit outdoors in defined areas.
• In the event of inclement weather, students will also have the option to sit in the main hallway.
• Free breakfast, lunch and supper is available to all students.
• Masks must be worn when not eating.

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Arrival/Dismissal/Carpool Reminders

REMINDERS

• Please allow sufficient time for drop off so students enter the building prior to 8:10. Classes start promptly at 8:15.
• Families should use the carpool lanes to drop students off. This means both the one in front of the school and through the first lane of the parking lot.
• All students crossing Tuckerman and/or Postoak Road should do so only at the crosswalk that is attended by a county crossing guard.
• To avoid carpool traffic, you can drop students off at Postoak and Bunnell Dr.
• When exiting the student drop off loop, please only turn RIGHT on Postoak Road.
• Families should not use St. Andrews entrance to U turn.
• Families should not drop off or pick up students in the side lot off Tuckerman Ln.
• For AM drop off, please stay in single lane in the carpool lane
• For PM pick up, once you have picked up your student, you may merge into the left carpool lane to exit.

Late Arrival & Early Dismissal Reminders

If a student is arriving late, or leaving early, please

• Email Ms. Tuttle in advance (if possible)
• Send a note with your student with their ID #, reason for late arrival/dismissal, and parent contact information
• Do not escort students inside.
• Students leaving early will meet their parents outside.

Schedules and Calendars

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January 2022

Connect Time (Mindful Mondays)

Connect Time (CT) is a time to…

• Get to know each other and create a safe and respectful community
• Develop strong relationships among our group
• Frequent check-ins with your CT teacher about your academic progress
• Talk about real life events while exploring how we got to this place in history
• Have courageous conversations around diversity and equity
• Mindful Monday Schedule - Meet after 6th period

Mindful Mondays

Bell Schedule

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Team Highlights

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Meet Our Team Leaders

Ms. Amalia Triantis 7th Grade Team Leader

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Mr. Josh Smith

8th Grade Team Leader

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Mr. Nic Mast

6th Grade Team Leader

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7th GRADE TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

The National History Day Project is being completed in all 7th grade Social Studies classes.

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National History Day

Theme: Debates and Diplomacy in History

NHD is a school, then county, then National competition where students demonstrate their knowledge and create an argumentative project through Global Humanities class.

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Parent and Student Resources

• Hoover Hyperdoc
• Project Calendar
• National History Day Website

8th Grade - Churchill Counselor and Resource Teacher Visits

• Counselors from Winston Churchill High School will be visiting Hoover MS on January 6th to discuss the class registration process with 8th grade students.
• Resource Teachers from Churchill will be visiting on January 7th to review the class options for students next year.

Parent Engagement Opportunities

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HOOVER PTA

Join the PTA: Your patronage enables the PTA to continue to advocate for our students and support the many teachers and programs that make Hoover great. We cannot do this alone. To continue to support and build our community, we ask you to join the PTA.

Support Hoover While You Shop: Amazon Smile, Harris Teeter, Boxtops

Check Out the PTA Website: HooverMSPTA.org for the latest and greatest concerning our Hoover community.

Subscribe to Hoover Notes: Receive weekly updates concerning the Hoover community.

Contact the PTA: Email HooverMSPTA@gmail.com for questions or if you would like to volunteer in any capacity.

PTA Meeting Schedule: All meetings will be virtual

• Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 7:00pm
• Tuesday, May 19, 2022 at 7:00pm

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Ms. Susan Lifsey

PTA President

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HOOVER PTA

PTA Board Members 2021-2022

After School Activities

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HHMS Extracurricular Activities

We will begin to host our after/before school, in-person extracurricular and co-curricular activity programs beginning Tuesday, January 18, 2022. In order to ensure that all participants are healthy and to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19:

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• Students should complete the COVID-19 home test provided by the school.
• Students should self-report test results to MCPS:
• MCPS COVID-19 Reporting Form (English)
• MCPS COVID-19 Reporting Form (Spanish)
• Students should self-report test results to their sponsor(s).

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The following slides outline the process of testing and reporting.

ECA - Covid Testing Slide Presentation

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Note: Once ECAs have restarted, should there be an activity where there are 3+ cases of COVID-19 related to the activity, all in-person activity shall be placed on pause for 14 days.

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Hoover After School Clubs and Activities

This year we are offering a variety of after school experiences for our HHMS students. Most activities take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 3:10-4:20. We have activity buses running each of those days at 4:30 to take students home. Details regarding specific clubs and activities, how to join them, and after school bus routes for 2021-2022, are available on the HHMS website.

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Extracurricular Activities Coordinator: Ms.Barbara Carlstrom

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HHMS Extracurricular Clubs

All Things Anime

Art Club

Book Wars

Bugs and Botany

Chess/Board Games Club

Churchill Tutoring Club

Global Citizenship

Herbert Hoover Theater

Heritage Club

Homework Club

Hoover News Network

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Jazz Band

Math Team and Mathcounts

Minority Scholars Program

Model UN

Rainbow Chargers

Science Bowl

Science Olympiad

SGA Club

Student Ambassadors

Trout Patrol

Yearbook Staff

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MS Athletics Program

The middle school interscholastic athletics program is available for students in seventh and eighth grade, and consists of three sport seasons including fall (cross country and softball), winter (basketball), and spring (soccer). All students participating, as part of the MCPS interscholastic athletics program, must complete the online registration process including the Pre-Participation Physical form and the Winter Registration available on our Hoover website. Each season consists of practices and games that occur on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Practices are held for one hour right after school. The schedule for games can be found here Middle School Athletics Schedule. For more information visit the Hoover website.

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Tryouts information for each season is below. Students meet in the gym for tryouts.

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• Fall: Sept. 9 - Nov. 4
• Winter: Dec. 7 - Feb. 17
• Spring: March 8 - May 12; Tryouts start on March 8 at 3 PM

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Athletics Coordinator: Ms. Laura Hamilton

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MS Basketball Schedule-Girls

NOTE: At this time, no spectators at games

MS Basketball Schedule-Boys

NOTE: At this time, no spectators at games

HHMS MS Intramural Program

The middle school intramural sports program is an extension of the physical education instructional program, including the development of movement skills, health-related fitness, and personal and social responsibility. It is conducted before and after school among students at Hoover Middle School. It is open to all students.

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Information on the WINTER season will be coming soon. Check the Hoover website for updates and information

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Intramurals Coordinator: Ms. Lauren Zucconi

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A Word from the SGA

(Student Government Association)

Thanks for your participation in:

• Creating blankets for those in need

Upcoming Events:

• Canned Food Drive → January 31 - February 4
• Stocking Cans at Manna → Date TBD
• Spirit Week → February 7 - February 11
• SMOB Campaigning & Elections → Ongoing
• Potomac Pizza Fundraiser → March 2 from 4-8pm

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Communication & Expectations

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Communication

• MyMCPS Classroom Consistency
• Weekly PREVIEW of major assessments and topics for the week.
• Homework is posted in MyMCPS Classroom on the Calendar.

Due Dates and Work Completion

• Teachers will indicate when all assignments and assessments are due through MyMCPS Classroom.
• Depending upon the course, some assignments may be submitted through MyMCPS Classroom or turned in via paper.
• To monitor your student’s grades:
• Always check ParentVue/Synergy.
• You can also check your students’ grades. Blanks, “Missing” or Z’s are indicators that the student may still turn in the assignment. X’s indicate a student has been excused from an assignment. Please be mindful that teachers will need adequate time to grade and provide feedback on work.

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Counselors, Social Emotional and Well Being Resources

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Counselor’s Corner

Debbie Velasquez

Resource Counselor

Mike Hopkins

7th Grade Counselor

Caroline Capoccia

8th Grade Counselor

Julie Mendelson

6th Grade Counselor

School Counselor’s Role

School counselors are vital members of the education team

and maximize student success

Help all students:

• Apply academic achievement strategies
• Manage emotions and apply interpersonal skills
• Plan for postsecondary options (higher education, military, work force)

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Counselor duties include providing:

• Individual student academic planning and goal setting
• School counseling classroom lessons based on student success standards
• Short-term counseling to students
• Referrals for long-term support
• Collaboration with families/teachers/ administrators/community for student success
• Advocacy for students at individual education plan meetings and other student-focused meetings
• Data analysis to identify student issues, needs and challenges

(For more information go to our Website: www.hoovermscounseling.org)

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• Students can email their counselor directly to let him/her know they would like to meet. Students should summarize concerns and/or indicate the reason they would like to meet in the email.
• Resource/504: Debra_M_Velasquez@mcpsmd.org
• 6th Grade: Julie_R_Mendelson@mcpsmd.org
• 7th Grade: Michael_S_Hopkins-Gross@mcpsmd.org
• 8th Grade: Caroline_B_Capoccia@mcpsmd.org

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• Students may also stop by the counseling office before or after school, during lunch, or during charge-up and fill out a COUNSELING APPOINTMENT REQUEST slip.

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• The counselor will either communicate with the student by email to set up a time to meet and/or will call the student down to their office when they are available.

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If you or your child are experiencing a mental health emergency, please contact the THE MARYLAND CRISIS HOTLINE: 800-422-0009 available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or Dial 2-1-1 and press 1. More details on counseling resources can be found on our counseling website at the following link: Herbert Hoover Middle School Counseling Department

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Need to Connect with your Counselor?

Student Well-Being Team

The Student Well-being Team (SWT) is a collaborative, comprehensive school-based team for all students and families. Their primary role is to support students to reduce barriers to learning, conduct outreach, problem-solve, and support students who are:

•Demonstrating mental health concerns

•Not engaging in their educational program.

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Meghan Grana, PPW

Maryam Zolecki

School Psychologist

Debbie Velasquez,

Resource Counselor

Message from our Pupil Personnel Worker

Welcome back to a new school year! We are thrilled to be seeing students in person. We know these past few months have been a challenging time. Please reach out, should your family need assistance in accessing community resources. While lunch is currently free for all students (as is breakfast and dinner), you may still complete the application for Free and Reduced Meals (FARMS) to document eligibility.

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https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application

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Sincerely,

Meghan Grana meghan_q_grana@mcpsmd.org

Important Links

Office of Family Support and Engagement Crisis Support Information

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Resources and Supports

Continue to access the Herbert Hoover Middle School website, the Media Center homepage and the Hoover Counseling website for updates and resources.

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We are Hoover!

Please continue to stay safe and

take care of one another.

We are all in this together.

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Sincerely, Peter Crable

Principal Intern, Herbert Hoover Middle School

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