The Monroe Messenger
Parent Newsletter
Our annual Winter Stroll on Friday, December 9th was a festive gathering including children's holiday crafts in our lit up garden, holiday train rides, delicious treats from our PTO, visits with Santa and the Grinch and our first storybook stroll with The Mitten. We were also treated to a performance by our school chorus. Please enjoy this video with highlights from the evening. Thank you to Mrs. Rommel and her elves for helping to make this special holiday tradition come to life, the PTO for supporting a family night and all the staff who volunteered.
Decked out in holiday lights, Niles the therapy dog, and his owner Joanne Markano, made a special visit to our SCA classes this month. Several research studies have found that children with autism show an improvement with communication and social skills after their interactions with the furry friends. They also found the children were more vocal and engaged during the sessions.
Seeing stars and reaching for the moon!
Families returned to school for a special Title I event that incorporated a STEM activity and a chance to visit a planetarium. Thank you to Mrs. Amin, our interventionist, for planning a meaningful learning experience including designing a rocket with items you could find around your home including straws, balloons and tape. Students applied the Engineering Design Model and made improvements or changes to their designs to see if their rockets could soar even further. Families toured the inflatable planetarium and enjoyed an informative explanation of our solar system. Everyone went home with their own take home science kit and a delicious pizza for dinner!
Drama Club News
School Play Interest Meeting for grades 3 - 5 will take place on January 9th at 2:00. Please complete this form and return to school if you would like to participate.
JANUARY HEALTH OBSERVANCES 2023
Read below for items of importance to the health and wellness of all students, families and staff members of James Monroe School. Click on links to review the health observances:
National Eye Care Month – January 2023
National Eye Care Month is celebrated every year in January for one reason: caring for our eyes. Every organ in our body has a unique function, and although it is hard to determine which organ is the most important, one can easily say that eyes serve a very important purpose i.e., to see! So to cherish our eyes, one must care for them.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL EYE CARE MONTH
Go for a check-up
This month, this is for sure, that many eye care hospitals and clinics will be offering discounted appointments for eye checkups. So why not avail of the discount and benefit from it by getting your eyes and eyesight checked?Give your eyes some rest
Myth or not, your eyes do need rest. People might say that it is their function to see, so why not use them to see. But never forget that excess of anything can have adverse effects. This month, try to give your eyes a break from excess mobile phone and computer usage and instead go to a park and relax your eyes.
4 FACTS ABOUT THE EYE EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
Focuses on 50 different objects every second
You may not realize, but your eye focuses on approximately 50 objects every second.A myriad of different colors
A normal eye can distinguish between around 10 million different colors.Complexity second only to the brain
The most complex organ after the brain is the eye, with a bundle of one million nerve fibers.Most of your learning
80% of all that you learn is obtained through your vision.
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WHEN TO KEEP A CHILD HOME WHEN THEY ARE SICK?
Sometimes it can be hard to decide whether to send your child to school or keep them home if they are showing symptoms of an illness or complain they do not feel well.
Edison Township School District, including James Monroe Elementary School, requires your child to remain home from school if he/she has a Fever of 100.0*F or more in the past 24 hours.
Parents and Guardians are recommended to keep students home with the following signs or symptoms to avoid the spread of illness to classmates and staff:
1. Vomiting in the past 24 hours
2. Diarrhea in the past 24 hours
3. Severe ear pain or drainage from the ear
4. Severe headache
5. Large amounts of white or yellow discharge from eye along with pink or red conjunctiva (white part of eye)
6. Sore throat that is severe and feeling ill for more than 48 hours or after known diagnosis of Strep throat.
7. Weeping lesions that can’t be covered with a dry bandage/dressing
8. Any suspicious rash or a rash in various stages including boils, sores, and bumps that may be chicken pox;
or a significant rash accompanied by other symptoms of illness.
9. Open blisters in mouth, along with drooling.
10. Honey-crusted sores around the nose or mouth
11. Large amounts of discolored (green or yellow) nasal discharge
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Quote for the winter break, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Anne Lamott
Please note the following links regarding Influenza, Covid-19, RSV and other illnesses. Middlesex County is in the “high” zone for circulating illnesses. Please exercise caution during the winter break when seeing family and friends. If you have symptoms that can spread illness to others - young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised persons can fall dangerously ill and be hospitalized from contact with you even when your symptoms are mild. When in doubt, get checked out. Please mask up to be considerate of others' health and safety.
RSV (Respiratory Synctial Virus):
