The Monroe Messenger
Parent Newsletter
January 2024
A Message from the Principal
We hope you enjoy time together as a family over the winter break. Happy Holidays to those of you celebrating over the vacation. Our December was filled with memorable events and special holiday happenings. We hope to see our grade 3- 5 parents at our upcoming Title I event on January 25th which will focus on ways to help your child gain skills and strategies to prepare for NJSLA.
Wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2024! Please read our message from the nurse with reminders about preventing the spread of germs and when to keep your child home if they are sick.
Warmly,
Cynthia Tufaro, principal
Maggie Callahan, assistant principal
Reminder: Croc shoes are not a safe footwear for school. Do not wear to school.
Holiday Happenings at James Monroe
Holiday Sing-Along
Our Holiday Sing-Along was an engaging and spirited way to end our year! Thank you to our music teacher, Mrs. Meagan Sanchez for leading this fun and interactive celebration of the holiday. These video highlights are sure to warm your hearts!
Showing our Holiday Spirit
Winter Stroll
Our annual Winter Stroll on Friday, December 8th was a festive gathering including children's holiday crafts in our lit up garden, delicious treats from our PTO, visits with Santa and the Grinch and our annual storybook stroll with The Mitten. We were also treated to a performance by our school chorus. Please enjoy the photo highlights. 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.
Student Council CHOP Pajama Day Fundraiser
Thank you for all of the donations for our Student Council CHOP Pajama Day Fundraiser. We exceeded our goal of $500 and raised over $1200! Thank you much for your fun spirit, wearing pajamas, and your generous donations.
Candy Cane Grams
Our Student Council Candy Cane Grams raised $856 for our local pediatric patients at St. Peter's NICU. Thank you to all the students who helped to sort and deliver the sweet messages!
Whoo's in the News - December Edition
Stay tuned for our December edition of Whoo's in the News! We are so proud of our students for creating such a wonderful highlight video!
Monroe Project
Students in fifth grade made winter-themed crafts with their buddies in the SCA classes. This partnership is a positive social experience for our students to develop communication, empathy and friendship with students from different classes.
Professional Development
Therapy Dogs Visit SCA Classes
Thanks to a grant from The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, Sadie and her handler Stephanie, from Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, make monthly visits to our SCA classes. These visits promote socialization, physical skills and mental health. Their visits are always a highlight for our students and staff.
Herbert Hoover Music Program Performs
Herbert Hoover Band
Herbert Hoover Orchestra and Chorus
Save the Date - Winter Concert January 18th
NJSLA parent workshop- Jan 25th
Students Across the Grades Design Gingerbread Houses
January Calendar
Winter Weather Advisory
ARRIVAL - Students will enter the building at 8:45 a.m. on inclement weather days.
- DO NOT ARRIVE BEFORE 8:45 A.M.
- DRESS WARMLY
- ALL FAMILIES MUST WAIT ON THE SIDE BLACKTOP AREAS.
DRESS FOR PLAY - Please remember to check the weather for the need for WARM coats, gloves, scarves and hats. We will go outside for recess as long as the "real feel" is above 32 degrees for healthy fresh air and exercise!
Dine Out Night- Jan 24th
Why Music Rocks- Title 1 Event
Families returned to school for a special Title I event explained the connection between music and learning and then participated in a music class facilitated by our very own Mrs. Sanchez! Parents and students sang songs, played instruments and tapped out beats all while learning WHY music helps our brains.
PTO meeting - January 9th
Please join us in the cafeteria or virtually at or next PTO meeting on January 9th at 6:00 pm. A link will be shared to join virtually as well before the meeting.
Coffee Cart
Thank you to our parents for delivering some holiday cheer to our staff this month when the coffee cart visits classrooms and made deliveries. Staff appreciated being treated to hot drinks, cookies or healthy snacks to boost their morning.
Drama Club News
Drama Club News
“Just keep Swimming…”
These are the words Dory tells Marlin and words that our James Monroe community has continued to instill in our students- Nothing is too great when we come together and persevere!
This year, the James Monroe Drama Club, under the direction of Mrs. Meagan Sanchez and Mrs. Lisa Romeo, has decided to journey to the Big Blue World where we focus on teamwork and the power of believing in yourself .
We started out this year’s production of Finding Nemo, the Musical , in November at our interest meeting and received 119 responses from grades 3 through 5.
Students participated in a Q & A session with the directors to learn about the various Drama Club opportunities. 72 students decided they wanted to be considered for a featured role. This year, students had the opportunity to submit a FlipGrid audition reel and sing a few bars of The Big Blue World! From that group, many third through fifth graders participated in a 3 week-long audition process where they read some lines from the script and interacted with other actors. The directors listened to them perform dialogue and monologues from different characters. This intense process proved challenging this year as we had such a large pool of talent from which to choose.
When the leads were announced, the smiles on not only the faces of the actors but their fellow castmates were joyful beyond belief . The rewards are tenfold as this experience provides such a sense of community and truly speaks to our building mantra: #choosekindness.
We look forward to starting rehearsals in January, and working together to tell the story of Nemo and his friends!
Our first rehearsal will be Thursday, January 4, 2024 and we will share a detailed rehearsal schedule at that time.
Stay tuned for forthcoming information for interested students in grade K-2 to be a part of our opening numbers!
YMCA Aftercare
Specialized YMCA Program
Our goal is provide an aftercare program with a specialized staff & environment to accommodate students with disabilities from Kindergarten through 5th Grade. This will be offered Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 6:30pm. The program will require an intake form & interview where families will have an opportunity to ask questions, share behavior management & learning strategies, as well as set goals for their child in the program.
A Message from Mrs. Sclafani - School Nurse
JANUARY HEALTH OBSERVANCES 2023
National Eye Care Month – January 2024
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.
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.
https://nationaltoday.com/national-eye-care-month/
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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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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.
Influenza:
https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/documents/flu/surveillance/Flu_Report_Week_2023_50.pdf
Covid-19:
https://www.nj.gov/health/news/2023/approved/20230912a.shtml
RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus):
https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html
Human Parainfluenza Virus:
https://www.cdc.gov/parainfluenza/symptoms.html
Streptococcal Disease (Strep Throat): https://www.cdc.gov/groupastrep/diseases-public/strep-throat.html
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Edison Township School Age
Immunization/Healthcare Examination Clinic
(NOT SPORTS PHYSICALS)
Edison Residents with NO INSURANCE are eligible for vaccines.
Clinic is located at
(Edison Senior Citizen Center)
2963 Woodbridge Ave, Edison, NJ 08837
Next Clinic Date:
January 10, 2024
3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
This is BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Please call for an appointment at 732-248-7285.
PLEASE BRING A PAPER COPY OF YOUR CHILD’S IMMUNIZATION RECORD WITH YOU!!! *
* Ask your nurse for a copy of your record if you do not have one
Breakfast and Lunch Information
Snacks!
Children can purchase snacks after they eat lunch on Tuesday and Thursdays!