On behalf of the Ruth Ann Monroe Primary School staff, I wish all of you a peaceful, happy and blessed Holiday Season. May you enjoy the warmth and love of family and friends!

Please be reminded that Winter Break is December 22nd - January 1st.

We will certainly miss seeing our families over the winter break!

School will reopen on January 2nd.

Happy New Year!

Regular school attendance is important and required by Maryland Law. Every child in Maryland five years old (by September 1) shall attend school daily unless the child is lawfully absent. When combined absences (lawful and unlawful) total twelve (12) days, the school requires a parent note AND official, legal documentation (i.e. doctor's note and/or legal summons) in order to be accepted as excused absences.

To earn a perfect attendance certificate your child must have been present in school from 9:15am until 3:45pm everyday that school was in session for the month. If your child is tardy or leaves early, he/she will NOT be receiving a perfect attendance certificate.

The Maryland accountability system measures the percent of students that are not chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism measures the percent of students at each school who are absent at least ten percent or more of school days. All absences -- including excused absences of any kind -- are included. Students are included in the measure if they have been enrolled in the school for at least ten days. The chronic absenteeism measure is part of each school's Quality/Student Success indicator on the State School Report Card.

The Attendance rate at Ruth Ann Monroe Primary is 93.38% and currently 19.2% of our students are considered chronically absent. Please make every effort to ensure that your child comes to school.

... Every minute and second of everyday counts!! Don't let your child miss out on any learning opportunity!

If you have questions regarding chronic absenteeism and/or you may be in need of assistance improving your child's attendance, please reach out to your child's teacher, school counselor or administrator.

Also, here are a few suggestions to keep those math and reading skills sharp over the holidays:

• READ! READ! READ! to your children and let them read to you and enjoy some daily independent reading time. Ask your children how their reading made them feel!

• Practice writing sight words in sugar or salt on a cookie sheet, gently ‘shake to erase’

• Play “Count Around to 100” (or higher!) while traveling in the car or while waiting for a meal, or standing in a line. One person decides on the ‘magic number’ and how everyone will count to that number (by 1s, 5s, 10s). First person starts and every member counts until one person reaches the ‘magic number.’ Start over again!

• Practice basic addition/subtraction to 20; writing numerals; counting/comparing sets, etc...Try some open ended problems, such as ‘The farmer sees 20 legs in the barn. What animals could be in the barn?’

• Cook with your child. Let them follow a recipe with you and count, measure, and enjoy the final product!

• Practice writing. Write a note to a family member or let your child write a grocery list and grocery shop with you

• Visit the library

• Play a board game, card game, tic tac toe, hangman etc…

• Take a walk outside with your child...observe nature (clouds, trees, sky, shadows, sun, etc…) and talk while you walk; look for patterns, ‘read’ the signs, count your steps, stop lights, mailboxes, and cars, etc..

With the colder weather upon us, please make sure students are wearing coats/jackets, hats, and gloves as appropriate. Please contact our Judy Center staff if your child is in need of a winter coat. Also, remember to place a winter change of clothes in book bags or backpacks.

This month, our school wide theme is problem solving. In our morning announcements and school assembly we’ll be reminding students to use the

Second Step Problem-Solving Steps:

• S: Say the problem

• T: Think of solutions

• E: Explore consequences

• P: Pick the best solution

As you can see, the first letter of each step spells the word ”step”. Remembering “step” helps students solve problems with each other in safe and respectful ways.

Second Step lessons specifically teach students to use each step and reinforce the message that solutions need to be safe and respectful. You will be receiving Home Links about the steps that describe why solving problems is important and including fun activities to do with your child to help him or her learn and practice the steps. We hope the steps will be helpful for you and your child when there are problems at home.

Please tell your child’s teacher if you would like more suggestions about how to use the Problem-Solving Steps at home.

Please be reminded that teachers may not distribute birthday party invitations at school unless the entire class is receiving an invitation. We are also unable to provide addresses for party invitations due to student confidentiality regulations. Also, due to WCPS Health and Wellness regulations as well as food allergies prevalent in schools, ‘food treats’ (cookies, cupcakes, cakes, brownies, etc…) are not permitted.

Alternatives to food treats that are acceptable include:

• Planning and pre-arranging with the teacher for a special game or activity at recess with the class on the child’s birthday.

• Sending in a non–food item for distribution to the entire class (pencils, note pads, stickers, etc...)

• Purchasing a book for the classroom with the birthday child’s name. Parents can send it in or arrange for a classroom visit to read the book to the class.

Just a friendly reminder that Ruth Ann Monroe is a Title I school. Title I is a federal program that provides financial assistance to local school systems and schools with a high percentage of Free and Reduced Meal (FARM) rates. Funds received from the state may provide additional academic support and learning opportunities to help low-achieving children master challenging curricula and meet state standards in core academic subjects. Title I funds support extra instruction in reading and mathematics, additional teachers, materials for instruction, as well as after-school and summer programs to extend and reinforce the regular school curriculum. For more information about Title I services, please contact our School Family Liaison, Cindy Hinkle at 301-766-8677.

• Please check your child's backpack and folder daily for important notes and reminders.
• In order to prevent loss, damage, and/or theft of students' personal belongings (i.e... phone, electronic device, toys, card collections, jewelry, etc.), please be sure your child leaves these items at home. Kindly speak to your children about this and check backpacks, coat pockets, etc... to ensure items are not brought to school.