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February 1st, 2022
February greetings to each and every Monroe family! January was an interesting month, but we found our way forward and remain thrilled to welcome our Eagles each and every day. We thank you, our families, for your continued resolve as we work through each unfolding chapter of this pandemic. Absences were down last week, and we were thankful to see our classrooms looking more normal each day.
February begins a busy month here at MOE. As of today, we began our second semester of the 2021/2022 school year, and on campus, we started our schoolwide celebration of Black History Month. We also welcomed our youngest Eagles this morning as our Transitional Kindergarten class began their school year. It was an absolute joy to welcome our TK students and their families to Monroe today - As we say, "Welcome to MOE!"
Additionally, as of this week, we are implementing a new Test-to-Stay program for anyone not fully vaccinated who becomes a close contact here at school. Speaking of vaccinations, if you child is fully vaccinated, please make sure that our Monroe Health Room has a copy of your child's vaccination so we can enter the fully vaccinated date as part of our general immunization information. This "fully vaccinated" designation will keep your child from having to quarantine if exposed to COVID-19 here on campus (or on the bus).
Please read on for more information, updates, and important upcoming dates for your calendar. Thank you for your time in reviewing this information.
February:
- Friday, February 4 - Learning Improvement Friday (1:35pm dismissal)
- Friday, February 11 - Learning Improvement Friday (1:35pm dismissal)
- Friday, February 18 - Learning Improvement Friday (1:35pm dismissal)
- Monday and Tuesday, February 21 & 22 - Mid-Winter Break (No School)
- Friday, February 25 - Learning Improvement Friday (1:35pm dismissal)
March:
- Friday, March 4 - Learning Improvement Friday (1:35pm dismissal)
- Friday, March 11 - Learning Improvement Friday (1:35pm dismissal)
- Friday, March 18 - Learning Improvement Friday (1:35pm dismissal)
- Friday, March 25, through Friday, April 1 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (please note the earlier, 12:20pm dismissal on each of those school days)
Today, February 1st, marks the beginning of Black History Month and a collective opportunity here at Monroe to share, learn, and grow as we celebrate together. Black history is our nation’s history and should not be limited to a specific month or taught, learned, or celebrated in isolation. Rather, we continue to strive to ensure that we, as a school community, honor the sacrifices, achievements, innovations, and accomplishments of African Americans in every regard.
This morning, we began our school-wide learning with an introduction to Carter G. Woodson. In doing so, we sought to honor Mr. Woodson’s efforts to designate February as a month-long opportunity dedicated to honoring African American achievements across our county. As a school, we will continue to utilize our morning announcements and other school-wide connections to center our collective opportunities as a community of learners.
As cited in the 1/31 Proclamation on National Black History Month (link), “Black History Month is both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history, Black culture is American culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America — our faults, our struggles, our progress, and our aspirations.” We invite you and your family to join us as we celebrate Black History Month across February and throughout our 2021/2022 school year together. Please continue to check-in on our Monroe Twitter account across the coming weeks for updates related to our collective opportunities.
For additional information about either of these opportunities, please click here to access our district website. For specific information related to our school, please click here for details related to Monroe.
On behalf of our school and the Everett Public Schools, we thank you for your time and consideration! We appreciate your participation and encourage you to vote on or before February 8, 2022.
As a community, we continue to work together through the ongoing challenges of this COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, our Everett Public Schools announced our Test-to-Stay program (link). This new program is a voluntary, parent consent COVID testing program. It is designed for students who are unvaccinated and identified as a close contact of an individual at a school or school-related event who tests positive for COVID. The goal of the program is to allow these students to remain in school as long as they are symptom-free and test negative for COVID. This program is not available to students who are exposed at home or during non-school events or gatherings.
Below are steps within our Test-to-Stay program. Additional information is available via our district's website (link).
1. The school or contact tracing team notifies parents/guardians that their child has been identified as a close contact of a known positive COVID case while in school.
2. A parent/guardian completes consent (student consent) and registration forms giving permission for COVID testing for their child and agreeing to follow the Test-to-Stay requirements.
- Students must still quarantine from all social gatherings and community activities. They may participate in extracurricular activities at school, including sports, and can attend childcare or youth development programs provided before and after school.
3. COVID testing is performed at your child’s school on a rotational basis by trained staff.
4. Following the DOH Test-to-Stay protocol, the student will be tested twice within a 7-day period.
- If testing isn’t conducted per this schedule, students must follow standard quarantine guidance.
- Testing is recommended as soon as possible following recognition of the exposure (following consent from parent or guardian) and again 5-7 days after last exposure.
- Positive, student must immediately isolate at home.
- Negative, student may continue to attend school as long as they do not develop symptoms.
This Test-to-Stay program, combined with virus prevention strategies, can help schools detect new cases to prevent outbreaks, reduce the risk of further transmission, and protect students, teachers, and other staff from COVID.
Valentine's Day will occur on Monday, February 14th, and classroom celebrations specific to this day will remain limited as we can only accept individually prepackaged treats. These are often associated with Valentine's Day Cards but, again, cannot include opened or previously-opened (repackaged) goods. Any items exchanged at school will be saved and opened at home. As relevant, please look for additional information from your child's teacher. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.
Thanks to our wonderful Monroe PTA, our Monroe "MOE gear" has been updated to include school caps and beanies. This past week, your child brought home an order form, like the one pictured below. If you are interested in ordering new Monroe gear, including our new hats/beanies, please complete and return your form to school for our PTA.
Each month, our Everett Public Schools sends a newsletter to all of our families with information pertaining to all of our schools/programs. The February version of our newsletter is attached below for your consideration. In this month’s newsletter, you will find updates on each of the below topics.
- Reminder to Vote on/before February 8th
- 22/23 Kindergarten Registration Information
- EPS Job Opportunities
- Parent Safety Tips
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Thank you again for your time and attention in reading through this update - Please reach out for any follow-up requests and/or questions. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you and your children here at Monroe.
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 Updates:
- January 14th, 2022: English Version - Spanish Version
- January 1st, 2022: English Version - Spanish Version
- December 16th, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- December 1, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- November 5th, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- October 22, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- October 1, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- September 17, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- September 7, 2021: English Version - Spanish Version
- 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