Happy mid October. Thank you to all the families who attended Fall Conferences either in person or virtually. It was so great to see you and partner with you to help our students learn and grow.

Here are a few things to remember for the rest of this month:

• There is no school Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 21. Have a great fall break!
• Picture day is Friday, Oct. 28 (see below for more information and to order).
• Field trips are back! If you are interested in chaperoning at any point this school year, please be sure to complete the volunteer application (see below to apply).
• Our classrooms need Kleenex. Please send a box to school with your child if you are able.

Lastly, we are so excited to share that Monroe was selected as a Distinguished PLTW (Project Lead the Way) School for the third year in a row!

Keep Being Amazing,

Mrs. Oliver

• Oct. 20 & 21- MEA Break No School

• Oct. 26th- 5th Grade Field Trip to Orchestra Hall

• Oct. 28- Picture Day

• Kindness Posters Due Back to the Building

• Nov. 1- 1st Grade (1L & 1S) Wargo Nature Center Field Trip

• Nov. 4th- 1st Grade David LaRochelle In School Experience

• Nov. 4- Kindergarten Field Trip to MN Children's Museum

• Nov. 8- No School- Staff Development

• Nov. 10- 1st Grade (1B & 1M) Wargo Nature Center Field Trip

• Nov. 15- Family Math Night

• Nov. 18- 2nd Grade Field Trip to Crayola Experience

• Nov. 23-25 No School Thanksgiving Break

• Dec. 1 End of Trimester 1

• Dec. 2 No School Staff Planning

• Dec.5 No School Staff PD

Please send a Kleenx box to school with your student if you are able. This item was not part of our StartPROUD backpacks and with colder weather, students are needing them more often!

School Pictures will be Friday, Oct. 28th. Pictures can be purchased online or with the paper order form send home in students folders.

To order online:

1- Visit lifetouch.com

2- Select Monroe Elementary School

3- Enter in picture day ID- EVTHNPSQC

Here are a few reminders from Child Nutrition:

• Meals are no longer free. Students are still able to get a meal from school but will need have money in their account. If you need financial assistance with meals, please use the link below to apply for the Free/Reduced lunches.
• Breakfast Cost: $1.50 (exception for K students, breakfast is provided for free)
• Lunch Cost: $2.55
• If you need assistance for breakfast or lunch, please complete the Free/reduced application. Click the image to the right to access the nutrition website.

We are excited to both be back at Monroe Elementary to connect with students and families this school year! As school social workers, we are able to support our students in individual meetings, groups and whole group classroom settings. Other support can include; food, shelter, clothing, financial, mental health, and other basic needs. Please reach out to your social worker to ask for more information or to talk about your student(s).

Is your family in need of food or toiletries? If so, you can use our school’s food shelf. It’s easy, fast, and confidential.
Here are some options:

• Reach out to a social worker to set up a time
• Scan or click the QR code to sign up to shop

We are excited to continue with our Character Strong program called PurposeFull People this year. It is all about helping schools weave simple, powerful, relatable content into everything happening at school and beyond!

Over the course of the year, you’ll be invited to join in the fun! We will provide letters home related to each trait. Each letter has some great conversation starters, books to read, activities to pursue, and some challenges (“PurposeFull Pursuits!”) that we encourage you to look at and try out with your family.

At school, our teachers will be role modeling this work by doing their own challenges! In the classroom, our educators will be integrating everything from 30 second strategies to longer activities designed to teach skills like Courage, Kindness, Empathy, and Responsibility.

November's Trait of the Month is Gratitude and the way that Monroe will be practicing this trait is by holding a food drive for our GEARS Shelf. Look for more information to come in the next weeks.

Hey Monroe Families,

My name is Liz Burgard and I am the Parent Involvement Coordinator for the Anoka-Hennepin School District. I will be covering the VSC roles at Monroe until a new person has been hired. In the meantime here are a few things to know about volunteering or chaperoning at Monroe:

• Field Trips are a GO this year. If you haven't already, please complete the volunteer application linked below! ALL grade levels will be going on field trips, so before you get the notice of your child's field trip, have the paperwork complete!
• Like working on random school projects? Complete the volunteer application and get involved with helping teachers with projects for their classrooms.
  

With winter weather approaching, please make sure to send your students in appropriate clothing. Changes of clothes are not readily available for students who get wet at recess. We also know that sicknesses occur with change in season. Please be sure to call your students in if they are sick. Students must stay home from school if:

• they have a temperature greater than 100 degrees
• or have thrown within 24 hours

Students may return to school when vomiting has stopped or the temperature has returned to normal for 24 hours without fever reducing medications.

Please consider the following for your student with the change in season:

• send in a water bottle for your student so they can stay hydrated
• have lip balm for chapped lips available in backpacks
• small bottle/container of lotion for dry chapped skin.

If you have any health related questions, please feel free to contact us @ 763-506-3624!

Attendance Information: Please be sure to call the attendance line if your student is sick, will be out of town or has a doctor's appointment. Absence number is: 763-506-3606.