Back-to-School Update
September 7, 2021
Monroe Eagles and Families,
Here we go! As of tomorrow morning (9/8), we will welcome our first, second, third, fourth, and fifth graders back to Monroe for the start of our 2021/2022 school year. Our kindergarteners will join the following Monday (9/13) after their family/teacher conferences this week.
This is a special time of the year, one that we have thought about and planned for several months. Below are a few Back-to-School reminders including important upcoming dates, drop-off and pick-up procedures (for car riders), an introduction of several new Monroe team members, and other important notes.
Important Back-to-School Dates, Notes, & Links:
Wednesday, September 8th – First Day of School (grades 1 through 5)
- This is our first day of school for all students, except our kindergarteners (see below)
Friday, September 10th - 1:35pm Dismissal
- Our Learning Improvement Friday schedule begins this week. Please note the 1:35pm dismissal on Fridays for educator planning and professional development.
Monday, September 13th - First Day of School (kindergarten)
- This is our first day of school for all kindergarten students
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Important Back-to-School Notes:
- Mask-Ready: Please remember that face masks are required for all students, while inside and not eating. Additionally, all employees and visitors are required to wear a mask (regardless of vaccination status) when working in close proximity to children.
- How am I getting home? As this school year begins, it is exceptionally important that your child fully understands how they are getting home each day. This is especially pertinent if your child varies their transportation home, taking the bus some days and being picked-up on other days. It is a good practice to place a note in your child’s backpack and/or folder each of the first few days of the school year. This note should explain how your child is getting home after school. If we are unsure, we will call to make sure that we understand how your child is to be transported home.
- Breakfast & Lunch: Please remember that both breakfast and lunch are free this year. Should you choose for your child to eat our school breakfast and lunch each day, please know that we will assist them through our café line. Due to COVID procedures, breakfast will be eaten in the classroom as we cannot adequately distance our cafeteria seating each morning for breakfast. As students eat lunch by class/grade, we will use the cafeteria for our staggered lunch periods.
- Got Supplies? Thanks to the generosity of our community who donated supplies through the Stuff the Bus program, we have backpacks available in our school office for those in need of any assistance. Please feel free to stop by this week during office hours or during our Meet Your Teacher evening. Our office team looks forward to helping your child prepare for the school year.
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Important Links for Consideration:
- Our Monroe Back-to-School webpage (link) – This webpage includes a variety of pre-first-day resources including many of the below-noted dates for your calendar
- Our 21/22 Student/Family Handbook (link) – The resource includes a variety of Monroe-specific information, covering a range of topics from daily attendance to in-school medications.
- Kindergarten Specific Information (link) – Linked information is specific to Kindergarten and our welcoming of our newest Eagles (the class of 2034!)
- Back-to-School Resources from our Everett Public (link) – Our Everett Public Schools has shared a wealth of back-to-school information including transportation resources, student technology information, and details related to our health/safety protocols.
Our arrival (drop-off) and dismissal (pick-up) procedures are similar to previous school years. As a parent/guardian, please read through the below bullet points of information.
Drop-Off:
- Students arriving by bus will enter through the school’s side door, directly adjacent to our bus-loop.
- Students arriving by vehicle will enter through the school’s main door, directly adjacent to our car-rider, drop-off loop.
- Students will proceed to their designated arrival areas with kindergarteners gathering at the front of the school in our Eagles’ Nest, first graders in our cafeteria, second/third graders in our gym, and fourth/fifth graders under the covered area on our playground. All students will wait for their teacher, by-class, masked and appropriately distanced.
- Students will have the opportunity to eat a “grab & go” breakfast each morning.
- Parents/Guardians: Due to needed COVID procedures, we ask that all parents/guardians say goodbye each morning from their vehicle or the front of our school. Our front lobby is not yet open to welcome guests each morning but we hope to do so later this fall/winter as vaccines become available for children under age 12 and COVID procedures are relaxed.
Pick-Up (see below graphic):
- Students traveling home by bus will wait in our gym for their bus to be called. A team member will escort students to each bus for loading.
- Students traveling home by vehicle will exit our school’s main door, accompanied by their teacher, and wait in the designated pick-up location for their grade level/class.
- Parents/guardians picking-up will enter our Monroe parking lot through the center lot entrance (south entrance will be closed - north entrance is designated for exiting vehicles).
- Parents/guardians choosing to park will enter and turn left to park in available parking spots in the north part of our parking lot. Please note that parking spots may be limited and exiting the parking lot will require you to merge with others picking-up via their vehicle.
- Parents/guardians picking-up via their vehicle will follow the designated traffic flow (see below graphic) and pick-up their child at that grade level’s designated waiting area.
- To keep traffic flowing, exiting vehicles will need to turn right onto 27th Avenue.
- NOTE: We ask for your patience and cooperation, especially across the first few days of the school year. Drop-off and pick-up procedures will become more efficient within the first few days. While we are all learning/relearning these procedures, your patience and support will be appreciated.
Back-to-School Spirit Days!
Our first five schools days are celebrated as MOEtown Week! This week of welcome is designed to celebrate the return of our students and our collective start to the 2021/2022 school year. As part of this first week together, we will celebrate with two fun-filled "School Spirit Days" that may require some forethought and creativity.
- Flash-Forward Friday (9/10): On our first Friday together (1st through 5th grade), we are going to flash-forward and ask our Eagles to imagine their futures. Students (and faculty) are encouraged to dress accordingly. For example, I’ve always wanted to own my own bookstore. Maybe I dress the part including a nametag for my store. As part of our day, classrooms will be working to infuse this theme into their plans by asking students to imagine their futures as a part of our collective, educational journey.
- Team Tuesday (9/14): Classrooms and schools are teams in many ways. To celebrate our coming together, we are encouraging students and faculty to wear gear from their favorite team. This can be college gear, your favorite professional team, or (be creative) a non-sports-related team.
This year, we are welcoming several professionals to our Monroe Team including Andrea Albers (2nd/4th Grade Teacher), Catherine Freeburg (Music Teacher), and Tom Trexel (Academic Coach). Below is a bit about each of these wonderful educators as they head Back-to-School this week too!
- Andrea Albers: Andrea brings nearly two decades of teaching experience with her as she joins Team MOE. This includes serving as a teacher in the Edmonds Public Schools and most recently, San Diego, CA. Andrea has taught multiple grade levels including special education and a 3/4 combination class.
- Catherine Freeburg: Catherine Freeburg as our new, fulltime music teacher. Catherine brings several years of successful music education including, most recently, serving as a music teacher in Portland, OR. In addition, Catherine has taught music in Vancouver WA, and Kent, WA, and also served as the Choral Director for the Seattle Girls’ Choir.
- Tom Trexel: Tom Trexel joins our Monroe Team from the Edmonds Public Schools. Tom has a wonderfully diverse background including over a decade of experience as a highly successful principal in Edmonds. Tom’s passion is working alongside educators to collectively learn and improve which is a perfect match for the demands of our Academic Coach role.
Please Join our 2021/22 Monroe PTA
Thank you for taking your time in reading this Back-to-School Update. On behalf of our entire team, please know that we appreciate the opportunity to serve your family. As this 2021/2022 school year opens, we are thrilled to be together as part of our Monroe School Community.
Please take care, stay safe/healthy, and be well.
Best,
Tyler & Catarino
Principal & Assistant Principal
Monroe Elementary School
tream@everettsd.org - crodriguez@everettsd.org
Phone: 425-385-7300
Fax 425-385-7302 Fax
Missed an Update?
Below are links to previous Monroe Summer & Back-to-School Updates:
- September 1, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- August 26, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- August 18, 2021: English Version - Spanish version
- July 30, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version