MES Communication

Hello Moncure Community!

I hope I am finding everyone well! Although it has been very busy, this has been a very good start to the year. Thanks for sharing your kiddos with us. This past Friday, we had the opportunity to hold House Assemblies with all of our students. During these assemblies, we had a chance to review the meanings behind each of our Houses, but most importantly, we shared about how students who earn House Points will soon be able to purchase items from our school store with these points. We are very excited about this! On the flip side, we also reviewed behavioral expectations for areas such as our cafeteria, hallways, bathrooms, playgrounds, and classrooms. We also discussed our emphasis to increase student attendance this year. Unfortunately, since Covid, schools across the country are dealing with major attendance concerns. Moncure is not immune to this trend. In a recently released report by our state, Moncure was found to have 20.29% of our students chronically truant last year. This means that these students missed 18 or more days of school last year. To put this in perspective, 183 students missed approximately 1 month or more of school last year. This trend cannot continue! The state has tasked schools and school divisions to crack down on these numbers and involve the court system if necessary. I simply ask that you get your students to school. If your student is sick, keep them home. However, if your student is simply tired, get them up. The state has stated that attendance plans are mandatory for ALL students with 10 or more absences. Please help us help your students. We cannot teach them if they are not in our classrooms. Thanks!

Thanks for your partnership!

Greg Mach - Principal

FREE Breakfast and Lunch is available daily.

Students may decline a meal at any time.

Available Everyday: Hummus, or Sunbutter & Jelly

Moncure is operating on a six-day rotation this year. Please look for specific Specials information from your child’s teacher!

To help you to prepare for the year ahead, I encourage families to access the SCPS 2023-24 School Calendar. Please print or keep this link handy, as it will help you to prepare for holidays or periodic days off.

We invite all families to join our grade levels teams for short presentations about what to expect this year. Some of the areas that may be addressed include our required SOLs (Curriculum), Homework, Assessments, Field Trips, and Behavior and Attendance Expectations. All meetings will take place in our gym. Please see below for presentation dates and times.

Dates and Times:

Tuesday, August 29th - 4th Grade (5:00) / 5th Grade (5:45)

Wednesday, August 30th - 2nd Grade (5:00) / 3rd Grade (5:45)

Thursday, August 31st - Kindergarten (5:00) / 1st Grade (5:45)

Families are invited to learn about resources and opportunities available to ESOL students during two Family Engagement Nights. Both nights will take place from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and will feature the same information.

• Tuesday, August 22 (Moncure Elementary)
• Thursday, August 24 (Rocky Run Elementary)

Local organizations will be in attendance, and the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank will host fresh marketplace pop-up pantries. We encourage our families to attend and participate in this annual event.

We are excited to introduce a new way for you to stay connected with your child’s achievements at school through the RCA House Points system. You will now be able to receive real-time notifications whenever your child receives a House Point, helping you stay involved in their progress and accomplishments. This week, you will receive an email from “no-reply@rcahousepoints.com.” to set up your account. The directions in the email are simple and will only take a few minutes for you to create your very own account and ensure you stay informed about your child’s House Point achievements. Please click HERE for the Spanish translation,as their email will be in English. Once you’ve set up your account, you will also have the option to download the RCA House Points app on your mobile device. If you encounter any difficulties during the account setup process, do not hesitate to reach out to Tyler Newton. You can contact him via email at tnewton@staffordschools.net or by phone at 658-6300. For Spanish speaking families, please reach out to Princesa Rojas at rojassp@staffordschools.net or by phone at 658-6300. Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to seeing you actively participate in the RCA House Points system.

We would like to welcome our parents to our annual Title I and School Improvement Information Session. Our session will focus on what it means to be a Title I School, dive into our 2022-23 School Accreditation Detail Report, and share our goals for the year. This session is intended for parents and will last approximately 30. Should this interest you, we will meet in our Cafeteria at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, August 23rd.

To learn more, please click HERE! Each house team will be competing to see who can collect the most Pop Tabs! House points will be awarded each quarter!

We are seeing a lot of students arrive to and depart from school who are not following Virginia’s Child Seat Laws. To keep our students safe, we are asking that your read and follow the laws below.

VIRGINIA CAR SEAT LAWS

Virginia’s child restraint laws are found in the Code of Virginia Chapter 10 Article 13. Virginia car seat laws are based on the child’s age and proper use of a safety seat, which depends on the child’s weight and height and the seat manufacturer’s instructions.

Until they turn 8 years old, children in Virginia must be buckled into approved child safety seats when riding in motor vehicles. There are two types of child safety seats: rear-facing car seats and front-facing car seats. Children are to ride in a rear-facing safety seat until the age of 2 or until the child reaches the minimum weight limit for a forward-facing safety seat as prescribed by the seat manufacturer.

Car seats belong in the back seat of a vehicle. They may be placed in the front passenger seat only if the vehicle is either not equipped with a passenger-side airbag or the passenger-side airbag has been turned off.

INFANTS

Children must ride in a rear-facing safety seat until the age of 2 or until the child reaches the minimum weight for a forward-facing car seat as stated by the seat manufacturer. Newer car seats can handle children who weigh as much as 40 to 50 pounds.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the NHTSA also recommend using a rear-facing child safety seat until the child turns 2 or longer if the seat has higher weight and height limits specified by the manufacturer, the VA Department of Health says.

AGE 2 TO 7

After a child has outgrown their rear-facing safety seat, the child should ride in a forward-facing child safety seat with a 5-point harness until the child reaches the upper weight or height limit of the seat. The harness is the webbing portion of the car seat that adjusts over the baby to hold him or her in the seat. Its five points are where the harness webbing attaches to the car seat.

A child who is not yet 8 years old but has outgrown their forward-facing safety seat should ride in a booster seat. A booster seat raises and positions a child so the vehicle’s lap-and-shoulder belt fits properly over the child’s hips and chest.

AGE 8+

At age 8, a child in Virginia is permitted to sit in vehicles buckled up in seat and shoulder belts. However, if the seat belt does not yet fit a child correctly, the child should remain in a booster seat.

Seat belts fit correctly when:

• The child sits with their back against the seat and the child’s knees bend over the edge of the vehicle seat cushion and their feet rest flat on the floor.
• The shoulder belt rests across their chest midway between the shoulder and neck, usually requiring a child to be at least 4’9″ tall if not in a booster seat.
• The lap belt fits low and snug across the hips, touching the upper thighs.

There are assistance programs for low-income families who cannot afford child safety seats. Contact the Virginia Department of Health’s Division of Injury and Violence Prevention at 1-800-732-8333 for more information.

August 22 - ESOL North Stafford Family Night (6:00-7:30) @ MES

August 23 - 23 Title 1 Annual Meeting / SIP Information (6:30 PM)

August 29 - Grade Level Parent Meetings (4th Grade (5:00) / 5th Grade (5:45)

August 30 - Grade Level Parent Meetings (2nd Grade (5:00) / 3rd Grade (5:45)

August 31 - Grade Level Parent Meetings (KG (5:00) / 1st Grade (5:45)

September 1 – No School (Labor Day Extended Weekend)

September 4 – No School (Labor Day Extended Weekend)

Have you ever considered being a substitute teacher. Stafford County Public Schools is always looking for substitutes to support our schools. To learn about the application and hiring process, access the link below. We are always looking for energetic and positive substitutes to support our school. SCPS Substitute Hiring Information

Plans change and communication makes everything easier. Should you need to report an absence or adjust your BEAR’S dismissal plan, please contact our school. One way to communicate is by completing our “A Note to School” form and sending it through email to our office and your student’s teacher or by simply sending the form or a note to school. To access digital forms of this note, you can go to the parent portion of our webpage or simply use the link below. Thanks for keeping us informed. The earlier the better.

How to communicate with Moncure:

mefrontoffice@staffordschools.net -or- "A Note To School"

Please include in all emails:

It is not uncommon for our office and elementary schools across our county to receive multiple emails each day with dismissal changes from parents. The notifications require our office to contact teachers to prevent students from being dismissed incorrectly. Student office dismissals after 2:30PM only add to this confusion. Please understand that our “No Student Office Dismissal” restriction after 2:30PM is based on student safety. Thanks for your understanding!

“Caught Ya” Citations are a great way for students, parents, and staff to recognize adults in our building! These citations also provide students with an opportunity to earn House Points. Everyone wants to be a member of the “House of the Year!” If you would like to recognize one or more of our staff members, simply use this link. “Caught Ya” – Staff Citation Link Thanks for making someone’s day!