Monroe Newsletter
January 2018
~IMPORTANT REMINDERS~
Winter Weather Information
- Students go outdoors every day unless it is colder than -5 degrees (includes windchill).
- Dress appropriately: This includes a warm coat, hat, snow pants, boots, and mittens. Have their name clearly marked on these items.
- Call the District Helpline at 507-386-4777 after 6:00 am for weather related news. You can also call this line to see if there is an early release.
- Please call the helpline, not the office.
- If school is dismissed early, Monroe is dismissed 15 minutes earlier than the announced time. Ex. Elementary dismissal time is 1:00 pm, Monroe will dismiss at 12:45.
- You may pick up your child earlier than the dismissal time. DO NOT park in the bus-loading zone. On a snow dismissal day, parents must come into the school to get students, unless your emergency plan states to walk home or ride the bus.
- Students will be held in school until a parent or other approved caregiver picks them up inside the building.
- If your family plans have changed from when you filled out your early release form at the beginning of the year, please contact the teacher to let them know of this change immediately.
Please take some time to review practices to keep students safe during morning drop off and afternoon pick up:
- When crossing the street, students should use the crosswalks and look both ways before entering crosswalk.
- When dropping off/picking up, parents should park on the school side of the street, when possible. If not possible, students should walk to the nearest crosswalk.
- Do not block the bus lane when buses are present.
- Do not pick up or drop off students in the staff parking lot.
JANUARY
Jan. 3- School Resumed
Jan. 8- EXCEL Resumes
Jan. 9- 2 Hour Late Start/Teacher PLC
Jan. 15- NO SCHOOL
Jan. 16-19- Jump Rope For Heart
Jan. 16- PTO Meeting 6:30 pm
Jan. 18- MSU Children's Play- Lunchroom
Jan. 26- NO SCHOOL
Jan. 26- Monroe Night @ MSU Women's Basketball
FEBRUARY
Feb. 2- Mankato Symphony-3rd Grade
Feb. 6- Monroe PTO's Night at the Museum & Bookfair at the Children's Museum
Feb. 13- 2 Hour Late Start/Teacher PLC
Feb. 15- PTO Meeting 6:30 pm
Feb. 21- Science Fair
Monroe News Cast- MNC
Jump Rope for Heart
We are kicking off our Jump Rope for Heart program this week in Physical Education class. The American Heart Association supports your child learning about healthy nutrition and being active. As your child participates in this program, they may wish to honor a family member or neighbor who is affected by heart disease. Your student will learn that being healthy is fun and helping others is rewarding.
We hope that you will consider creating an online fundraising page through the schools Jump Rope for Heart page. Follow these easy steps:
1. Go to www.heart.org/jump and search for Monroe Elementary – click “Log on to fundraise” OR Click here to be taken to the page
2. Download the app to watch your monsters come to life and fundraise on the go. Search jump/hoops in the android or apple store.
Not only are the students helping people with sick hearts, but your school will also earn gift certificates for physical education equipment.
Thank you for your support.
Family Academy
Please register to attend Mankato Area Public Schools' Family Academy on March 5, 2018 held at Rosa Parks Elementary. Family Academy workshops give families tips, tools and strategies to help their children succeed in school. Food and childcare will be provided. Click here for current session descriptions. Register online or call 507-387-5501 with questions or for assistance.
PLC- 2 Hour Late Start- January 9, 2018
On the second Tuesday of every month the teachers meet for a Professional Learning Community Meeting. Buses will run 2 hours late on late start days. Monroe School will begin at 10:00 AM, rather than 8:00 AM on these days. To accommodate parents that need childcare on late start days, we will provide supervision beginning at 7:40 AM for students needing this service. However, parents MUST complete the online form to sign your child up. There will be no charge but it is very important that we have an accurate count of students arriving early to plan for adequate adult supervision. You will be asked to complete a registration form for each month. To sign up for the January 9th PLC please, click here. Activities for students during this time may include such things as homework help, quiet reading time, and story time. Breakfast will be available serving from 7:40-7:50 AM.
**If you sign your child up and they DO NOT come, we ask that you CALL THE SCHOOL by 8:00 AM that morning as we WILL be taking attendance.
Children not needing childcare on the late start days should arrive at school between 9:40 and 9:50, with the tardy bell going at 10:00 AM.
Late Start Dates: The second Tuesday of Every Month
- February 13
- March 13
- April 10
- May 8
Students Starting Kindergarten in 2018
Early Learning Department
MAPS Preschool 2018-19 Registration:
Information will be mailed to families with age eligible children residing in the Mankato Area Public Schools boundaries. Preschool registration will begin on Monday, January 8th. Registration can be made online at www.mankato.thatscommunityed.com or in person at 820 Hubbell Avenue. For more information, please contact the Early Learning Department at 507-625-4620. Video link provides additional program information.
What does the I in Monroe PRIDE "Integrity" look like in all areas of the school?
~Special's Corner~
From the Media Room- Mrs. Hagen
From the Music Room- Mrs. Hopf
Spring Informances will be arriving for K, 2, and 4th Grades before we know it! Here is the schedule for your child's class. Please mark on your calendar!
Kindergarten:
- Mrs. Schemmel - Wednesday - April 11 - 11:55 a.m - 12:45 p.m.
- Mrs. Substad - Thursday - April 12 - 11:55-12:45
- Mrs. Shaw - Friday - April 13 - 11:55 - 12:45
- Mrs. Hammes - Monday - April 16 - 11:55-12:45
Second Grade:
- Mrs. Wennes - Thursday - April 12 - 8:55-9:45
- Mrs. Scruggs - Thursday - April 12 - 9:45-10:35
- Ms. Hoekstra - Friday - April 13 - 8:55-9:45
- Mrs. Peters - Monday - April 16 - 9:45 - 10:35
4th Grade Informances will be April 11th through the 16th (Wednesday - Monday) and April 18th - 23rd (Wednesday - Monday).
For each 4th Grade class, we ask that you attend the first Informance if your last name begins with A-M and the second informance if your last name begins with N-Z. We ask this because of the students performing in the music classroom and the comfort of all attending!
Fourth Grade:
- Mr. Blaisdell -
* Monday - April 23rd - 10:35-11:25 (families N-Z)
- Mr. Bjork -
* Wednesday - April 18th - 10:35-11:25 (families N-Z)
- Ms. Kaeter -
* Friday - April 20th - 10:35-11:25 (families N-Z)
From the Gym.- Mr. Carlson
From the Art Room- Mrs. Wingen
~News From the PTO~
Monroe PTO-Meeting Minutes
November 30, 2017
Welcome and introduction:
The meeting was called to attention by Co-President Shannon Anderson at 6:35 pm. Welcome and introductions were done by all present.
Secretary’s Report:
Rose Voss, presented the minutes from the last meeting. The report was approved by Steve Johanson and seconded by Tricia Anderson.
Treasurer’s Report:
Tricia Anderson, presented the treasurer's report.
The projector ($3,284.12) was paid for. The new projector is bigger than the old one and needed a new cage. This cost was covered by the school's Building Funds.
$1500 was paid to the district for movie licensing.
We owe $350 for unreturned coupon books.
The new McTeacher night brought in $881.04 and the Kwik Trip milk moola brought in $61.95.
The peer helper program was given $175 instead of the original $150.
The PTO will be receiving a check from Box Tops in December for $750.
The treasurer’s report was approved by Kirsten Lewandowski and seconded by Leon Murray.
Principal’s Report:
Steve Johanson, provided the following:
The MSU women’s basketball team approached Principal Johanson with an offer to do a Monroe Elementary school night at one of their games. This would be a community event, everyone would receive a free youth ticket with an adult ticket purchase. Athletes would come to the school to talk about sports and exercise. Alysha Smook will head this up.
Noise reduction panels for the teacher’s lounge will cost ≤$200. The panels are $144 for 96 panels. Different types of adhesives are being looked into.
A local company will be coming in next week to give an estimate on noise reduction panels for the cafeteria.
The report was approved by Trisha Anderson and seconded by Leon Murray.
Teacher Request:
Tiffany Hagen, media specialist, would like to purchase headphones with mouthpieces for recording on the Ipads. Right now recordings are very staticy and the children must remain very quiet while another student is trying to record something. The request was for 20 headphones, 12 for media and 8 for other teachers. This would cost $153. It was decided to double the amount to 40 headphones for $306. This was approved by Leon Murray and seconded by Shannon Anderson.
Committee Reports:
Color Run: The t-shirt design will once again be done by 5th graders. This time the t-shirt will not have a year printed on it. A suggestion was made to have a table at the color run where kids could put a year on it using puffy paint. Iron on patches with a year on it was also another idea. Last year there were 50 leftover t-shirts. The date for the run is being tentatively set for May 12th.
Carnival: A date of May 3rd was tentatively set but will be moved to April 27th. This will give us an opportunity to use MSU students for volunteers. A suggestion was made to have bingo as one of the games and prizes could be a book. As of right now the PTO has nowhere to store the games and other supplies for the carnival. The suggestion was brought up to get a shed. This will be looked into.
Water Bottles: The purchase of vinyl stickers, that have a Monroe Mustang logo, to go onto student owned water bottles was looked into. Harbor Hill Graphics could make these for $0.48. The sticker would not be dishwasher safe. A suggestion was made to have a white spot on the sticker so students could write their name. This will be talked about more at the next meeting.
Fundraiser: It was decided to do the coupon book fundraiser again for next year. Out of all the fundraisers Monroe has tried in the past it brings in the most money. Parents like that it is less time consuming that delivering items that have been purchased, such as pizzas or cookie dough.
Miscellaneous:
With a new more powerful projector in the gym the curtains might be taken down to let in natural light.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 pm.
~School Menus~
About Monroe
Email: me@isd77.k12.mn.us
Website: www.me.isd77.org
Location: 441 Monroe Avenue, North Mankato, MN, United States
Phone: (507) 387-7889
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MonroeElementaryPto/?ref=br_tf
Twitter: @MonroeMAPS
Phone Numbers
Mankato Public Schools Hotline 386-4777
Hours
Building Hours 7:30-3:30
Office
Secretary Mara Dehning
Clerical Asst. Mary Krueger
Health Asst. Madeline Veroeven