Dear Parents and Guardians:

Now that we are all recovering from our Thanksgiving feasts, Hooper is very much excited and busy preparing for the holiday and working on all of our great class projects. With the help of the community, Hooper was able to provide 15 families with a full Thanksgiving meal, and with great participation in our Turkey Trot we were able to raise more than $800 for Muscular Dystrophy. This Saturday, December 3rd, will be our PTO’s Secret Santa Sale and on December 15th our 4th and 5th graders will be performing our holiday concert. With all of this holiday spirit in the air the children are still very hard at work in the second marking period. We hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday and a safe and healthy New Year.

Sincerely,

Michael Citta, Principal

Hooper Highlights Mr. Michael Citta, Principal

Mrs. Mallory Kennedy, Supervisor

December 2011

DECEMBER CALENDAR

3 Secret Sale

8 Chorus Concert @ 1144 Hooper

9 Parent Portal Open for Progress Reports

15 Holiday Concert

16 Grades 3-5 Writing Celebration

26-30 School Closed for Winter Recess

Winter Recess December 24th through January 2nd

School Re-Opens Tuesday, January 3, 2012 Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving Fun Day Over one hundred excited first graders

welcomed the Thanksgiving holiday together at

Hooper’s annual celebration of games, food, and

crafts. Thank you to our parent helpers for

making this day festive!

Veteran’s Day 2011

Hooper Avenue Elementary welcomed 39 visiting veterans to this year’s Veteran’s Day

celebration. Our guests represented the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, both active and

retired. Military experience ranged from one who participated in the Battle of the Bulge to one who

was scheduled to be deployed the following week.

Students, faculty and staff joined the veterans for the flag-raising and Pledge of Allegiance on the

school’s front lawn, followed by the reading of a poem by Hooper’s Cub Scouts and Webelos and a flute

duet by students Jessica and Adrienne Marler. At the conclusion of the outdoor ceremony, each class

was visited by a veteran who told his or her personal story of patriotism and service to the United

States. Many of the visitors brought photos, awards, and other memorabilia to share with the students.

A reception was held for the veterans in the library following their classroom visitations. We are

extremely grateful for their generosity of time and spirit to help educate and inspire our students.

Thank you to local sponsors which helped us to honor our veterans, namely: Manhattan Bagel of

Silverton, Narcissus Florist, Mr. Alan’s “the original” Florist, Obco Donuts, Foodtown of Toms River,

Shop Rite of Fischer Boulevard, Starbucks Coffee of Ocean County Mall, Flowers by Addalia, Stop &

Shop of Route 37, A.C. Moore, and TREA/NJEA.

Holiday Concert

Performances

On Thursday, December 8th, our Fifth String

Ensemble and Fifth grade Chorus will present its

annual Holiday Concert for students and faculty

at The Early Learning Center on Hooper Avenue.

The Fourth Grade Chorus and Fifth Grade Band

and Fifth Grade String Ensemble will give two

performances for students and faculty at “the

Hoop” on Thursday, December 15th. Musical

selections for all performances include holiday

and winter songs. The concert will be recorded

and broadcast on CAST TV, channel 21.

Ocean County Library Corner December Library Programs Main Branch, Toms River:

Sat, Dec. 3, 2:00PM: Farmer Jason Live at the

Library! Farmer Jason invites kids and their

folks to imagine his real, working farm in

Tennessee and brings it to life on the stage.

Lots of fun sing-a-longs and good-time songs!

Pre-schoolers through 4th graders with their

families. Register.

Thurs, Dec. 8, 6:30PM: Going Places: Italy!

Learn about the food and culture of Italy and

make a cool craft. Ages 8-12. Register.

Tues, Dec. 13, 7:00PM: Better Watch Out! A

fun-filled evening of Santa stories, songs, and

craft for children and their families. Register.

Sat, Dec. 17, 2-4:00PM: Drop-In Craft.

Children and their families are welcome to drop

in and make a craft.

Tues, Dec. 20, 6:30PM: Just Messin’ Around.

Make a last-minute gift! Art fun for children

ages 7-12. Register.

Wed, Dec. 28, 4:30PM: Ruff Readers. Come

read a book to our therapy dogs! Ages 6-12.

Register.

Thurs, Dec. 29, 6:30PM: Build It! Building fun

with Legos, Lincoln Logs, and more. Ages 6-9.

Register.

Register @ www.theoceancountylibrary.org

or call 732-349-6200, option 6

Look Who Had Lunch With the

Principal in November!

Sabrina Anderson

Ryan Bartels

Ashlyn Finley

Ava Fiume

Alexander Floros

Maya Gilmartin

Alexander Gorlin

Zachary Gorlin

Joey Grotkopf

Sabeen Kamal

Meghan Lord

Callum Lowe

Kate Lozzi

Ryan Lutolf

Natalie Mitchell

Victoria Moretti

Grace Pandolf

Jack Pesso

Nicole Platten

Devin Pullham

Alexander Romero

Julian Saar

Austin Sabol

Jaclyn Santos

Oscar Serrano

Joshua Tice

Freddie Torres

Joseph Watkins

Kylie Watson

Kristen Weppler

Character Trait for December

is

HONESTY

The school nurses would like to remind you to

keep all contact information updated with

their office.

Thank you!

Second Annual Husky Turkey Trot

Annual Food Drive Our school has been accepting food donations

throughout the months of October and November.

In all, we donated 739 pounds of food to the

FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties and

1017 pounds to Magic 100.1FM’s Share the Magic Food Drive. Classes with the most donations were

Mrs. Whitney’s 3rd grade, Mr. Hynoski’s 5th grade,

Mrs. Casselli’s 4th grade, Ms. Bishop’s 4th grade,

Ms. Gutierrez’s kindergarten, and Mrs. Brattan’s

2nd grade. Thank you to local sponsors of the food

drive: Sundaes Ice Cream, Dairy Queen of Fischer

Blvd, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Pizza Hut, Papa

John’s, Boston’s, and Magic 100.1FM. Most of all,

thank all of you for your generous food donations!!

Gobble gobble! One hundred seventy-two Hooper Huskies ran in this year’s Turkey Trot, which took

place in the rear of the school building on November 21st. Winners received.....what else? A turkey!

Through the combined efforts of students and teachers, $1065 was raised for Muscular Dystrophy.

Thank you to Shop Rite of Fischer Boulevard for donating turkeys for the event, as well as the 16

teachers/administrators, two family members, TEAM members, and HSE Cross-Country members who

helped out at the race.

Congratulations to fourth grader Richie

Monticello, who was voted an “Artsonia Artist of

the Week” for his picture of Oprah. Richie was

the top vote-getter in the Grade 4-6 division. To

view student artwork, cast a vote, or purchase

unique holiday gifts, visit www.artsonia.com.

Artist of the Week!

Dear Hooper Husky Family,

On August 1st, our lives changed forever, as our daughter was tragically taken away from us.

The past few months have sped past in a cloudy haze, but through the haze we’ve seen bursts of sunshine. The sunshine is from the kindness you have all shown to me and my family.

I can not thank you enough for the funds you raised for my grandsons Roy and Brody. And I definitely can not thank you all for the dinners and baked goods. It was so comforting to have home cooked meals and some delicious treats nearby. Everyone enjoyed them. We really appreciate the thought. It means more than you can imagine.

It’s during a time like this that we learn how much our friends really mean to us. We appreciate your sympathy and kindness.

Sincerely,

Jeanie Liston, Office Secretary

Students in Ms. O’Hara’s AM class show off their

Thanksgiving Turkey Hats!

Kindergartners Celebrate the Season

Students in Ms. O’Hara’s PM class are all dressed

up for their Wampum celebration!

Project Pajama This December, the staff and students of

the Hoop are collecting pajamas for

children of all ages and sizes! The collection will

be given to Project Pajama. With the help of

Scholastic Book Clubs and the non-profit Pajama

Program, we have joined forces with The Great

Bedtime Story Pajama Drive. The mission of this

drive is to provide brand-new pajamas and books

to 125,000 children in need—children who live in

group homes, shelters, foster care, and

orphanages.

I am so happy to report that we have been

receiving many p.j.’s from the families of the

Hoop, but we could always use more! Thank you to

everyone participating in this great collection! We

will be collecting until the 16th of December.

Sincerely, Mrs. Giannetti