What's the Buzz?

Monroe Local School District will be implementing a take-home 1:1 Chromebook program beginning in the 2021-22 school year. The district chose Chromebooks because of their functionality, security, and flexibility in the school setting.

Monroe will provide Chromebooks for each student in grades 5-12. Students will be charged a $50 non-refundable fee each year to offset the device’s cost.

There will be a reduced fee ($25) for students on the reduced lunch program. There will be no charge for students on the free lunch program.

To better explain the new 1:1 program, the district has created both a brief overview video and comprehensive FAQs found at the links below. A virtual parent information session on our 1:1 program will be held before the end of the school year. Details about our virtual information session will be shared by our building principals. Please direct any questions on the 1:1 initiative to your student's principal.

1:1 Video

1:1 FAQ

Kathy Demers will be retiring as Superintendent of Monroe Local Schools on July 31, 2021. The Monroe Board of Education is working with the Butler County Educational Service Center to conduct the search for a new Superintendent. The Board expects to hire a new superintendent by the end of April, with an anticipated start date of August 1, 2021.

The Board's goal is to choose between five and ten candidates to interview in the first round. At the conclusion of the first round of interviews, two to five candidates will be asked to take part in a second interview.

“Although the goal is to have a person selected to present at the Board meeting on April 26, the number one priority is to find the best person to lead this great district,” said Chris Brown, Superintendent of Butler County ESC.

Monroe Elementary will be providing outdoor educational experiences on its school property dubbed the Hornet Land Lab. Plans are in the works to create this outdoor learning lab surrounding the pond which is located on school property.

"The pond is something unique we have on our campus and the perfect centerpiece to be surrounded by multiple learning stations,” MES Assistant Principal Pat Toscani said.

The proposed Hornet Land Lab would include:

• Floating Dock

• Outdoor Tables

• Terraced Boulder Seating for Outdoor Classrooms

• Fossil Exploration Area

• Tree Walk

• Interpretative Panels

The construction of the project will be broken down into two phases. The estimated cost of this project is $35,000. Monroe Elementary PTO is funding $25,000 for the initial phase of this project. Future funds to maintain the Hornet Land Lab will be secured through future PTO fundraising, grants, and possible community partnerships.

Weather permitting, the construction of the land lab will begin in late spring with the goal of opening phase 1 by the opening of the 2021-2022 school year. See below for photos of the current plans for the land lab.

Monroe Schools partnered with Smile Program, a team of mobile dentists who offer in-school dental care, to provide on-site dental care for our students. A team of mobile dentists visited Monroe Primary and Elementary school on March 28.

Monroe Local School district is committed to the overall health and well-being of our students and partnering with the Smile Program has been widely successful for the students in our community. A total of 42 primary students and 39 elementary students saw the mobile dentists at school.

The Smile Program started in 1997 by a group of dentists who understood and related to the barriers to obtaining dental care for children. Through partnerships with schools throughout the country, the Smile Program has provided its mobile dental services to millions of children.

This Spring, Monroe's athletics program will benefit from two facility improvement projects. At the March 22 meeting, Monroe's Board of Education approved a major contract to repair and resurface the school's running track which is well past its life expectancy. The track project is slated to begin in May and be completed in August. The track, which is open to the community when not in use by our athletes, will be closed over the summer during the renovation. The project is funded through the district's capital improvement budget, which is tax money that can only be used on facility improvements.

The second project is being coordinated through a partnership with Hands2Hope. A team of volunteers is building a press box behind the existing bleachers at Monroe High School's softball field. Hands2Hope is leveraging its community partnerships to help with constructing the new press box to provide storage and an enclosed area for our scoreboard operation. Hands2Hope is a faith-based non-profit that supports projects to help the community.

"We appreciate these improvements that will benefit our student-athletes. We are grateful for all the volunteers from Hands2Hope and the community support and collaboration that has enabled us to turn a plan into reality," shared Eric Silverman, Monroe's Athletic Director.

Monroe High School recently received clearance from the Butler County Health Department to hold prom, graduation, and a senior field day. The Health Department's specific directives must be followed by the district and all participants to hold these events safely. These specific directives and code of conduct have been shared with our parents of high school juniors and seniors.

Junior/Senior Prom

Friday, April 23, 2021

8:00 - 11:00 p.m.

Lake Lyndsay Lodge

Senior Field Days

May 19, 2021

Graduation

May 22, 2021

As we all know, with the unpredictability of this pandemic, plans are subject to change based on the most current health data. We look forward to celebrating these special milestones with our Monroe students.

Monroe Local School District's kindergarten registration is open for the 2021-2022 school year. To enroll in kindergarten a child must be 5 years old on or before August 1, 2021.

Go to monroelocalschools.com and click on the "Enrollment" link on the top of the home page to follow directions to the OneView Portal.

If you have any questions, please call the Monroe Primary Office at 513-360-0700 or email either:

• Mrs. Griffis jgriffis@monroelocalschools.com
• Mrs. Stevens hstevens@monroelocalschools.com

Monroe Primary School offers two AM and two PM preschool classes Monday through Thursday. Children must be potty trained and three years old on or before the first day of school, August 19, 2021.

Monroe Primary will hold its preschool registration on April 23, 2021. The registration link will be posted at 9:00 am. at monroelocalschools.com. The link will be posted on the right side of the main page under "District News.'' There are limited spots in our preschool program. Parents will be notified via email or telephone if their child has a spot for the 2021-22 school year.

If you have any questions, please call the Monroe Primary Office at 513-360-0700.

Our Virtual Learning Academy students have been busy working at home. Our Monroe VLA students are pictured below with some of their language arts, art, and science projects.

Thrive in the Hive is a monthly mental health newsletter produced by Access Counseling Services. The goal of this newsletter is to provide Monroe families with education, interventions, and self-care tips for you and your children to take care of your mental health.

Thrive in the Hive - April 2021

April 2: No School

April 23: No School

April 26: Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

May 22: MHS Graduation

May 24: Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

May 27: Last Day for Students

May 28: Teacher In-service Day

Visitors to our What's the Buzz e-newsletter can now translate our newsletter into multiple languages. The translation feature is powered by Google Translate. Once you access the newsletter online, go to the top right side at the Accessibility Bar, and click on the "Translate Newsletter" link. A dropdown menu will be provided to allow you to select your chosen language.

Ahora la traducción está disponible para el boletín informativo

Nuestro boletín electrónico se llama What's the Buzz ahora está disponible en varios idiomas. La función de traducción funciona con Google Translate. Cuando acceda al boletín en línea, vaya a la parte superior derecha de la barra de accesibilidad y haga clic en el enlace "Translate Newsletter". Se proporcionará un menú desplegable que le permitirá seleccionar su idioma.

Email: info@monroelocalschools.com
Website: www.monroelocalschools.com
Location: 500 Yankee Road, Monroe, OH, USA
Phone: (513) 539-2536
Facebook: facebook.com/MLSDHomeoftheHornets
Twitter: @MonroeLSD