Dear Monroe Families,

As the calendar turns to December, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude and wish you all a joyful and restful holiday season.

It's hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by. We've seen incredible growth, learning, and achievement within our classroom walls. Our students continue to impress us daily with their resilience, kindness, and dedication to their academic and social emotional success. This success is a true testament to the strong partnership we share between the school, our amazing students, and all of you—our supportive families.

The holiday season is a wonderful time to recharge, reflect, and reconnect with loved ones. I hope you'll find time during the break to make lasting memories, enjoy family traditions, and embrace the spirit of the holidays.

Important Reminders for the Break
• Winter Break begins on Saturday, December 20 and students will return to school on Tuesday, January 6. Please mark your calendars!
• Encourage your children to continue reading for pleasure over the break. Even 15-20 minutes a day can help maintain those vital literacy skills.
• The holidays are also a great opportunity for students to get involved in acts of kindness and service within our community.

Thank you again for your support of the Monroe learning community. We are incredibly fortunate to have such engaged and caring families.

On behalf of the entire staff, we wish you and your family a holiday season filled with peace, warmth, and happiness. We look forward to welcoming our students back, refreshed and ready for an exciting new year of learning in January!

Upcoming Events

12/4 - BBB v. Leman, Wrestling @ Leman
12/9 - BBB @ Franklin, Wrestling v. Franklin, Orchestra Concert 7pm
12/10 - 8th grade student leadership lunch w/ Organic Life, Drama trips to Jefferson, Band Concert 7pm
12/11 - BBB v. Hadley, Wrestling @ Hadley
12/13 - IPAC Wrestling Championships
12/16 - BBB IPAC playoffs
12/17 - Choir Concert 7pm

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season,

Ashley Huettemann
Principal

With the winter months upon us, we want to be sure everyone has a link to the District’s E-Learning Plan. This plan includes the schedule and expectations we follow should there be a need to close schools due to extreme weather conditions. We will review this plan with the students prior to winter break. 

Grab Your Monroe Spirit Wear!

Grab Your WNHS Spirit Wear!

As a proud Medal of Honor School, Monroe continued the tradition of celebrating Veterans Day with a special morning dedicated to honoring the brave men and women who have served our country.

The day began bright and early with a heartfelt Veterans Breakfast, generously hosted by our Student Council. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students and staff to personally welcome and thank the local community veterans for their service and sacrifice. The 6th grade MPR was filled with conversation and gratitude as our heroes enjoyed a meal prepared just for them.

Following the breakfast, students, staff, and honored guests gathered for a ceremony with a moving speech by Monroe counselor, Lincoln Estes.  Monroe Music students led in the playing of our national anthem, and students introduced their Veterans and shared thoughtful sentiments along with highlights of their service to our country. 

It was an inspiring day of respect, gratitude, and remembrance. Thank you to all the veterans who joined us and to our Student Council and Monroe Musicians for making this year's Veterans Day celebration one to remember!

CUSD 200 administers the FastBridge assessments in the fall, winter, and spring for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. These assessments measure academic performance and growth in reading and mathematics.  Your child will be taking the FastBridge assessments for reading on Dec. 4 and math on Dec. 10 & 11.  As always, we encourage students to:

• Get a good night's sleep
• Eat a healthy breakfast
• Bring a fully charged Chromebook to school.

Individual student scores will be available in ParentVUE starting January 9, 2026.  Teachers and administrators use the results to guide instructional planning at the grade, classroom, and individual student levels.

If you have any questions about the FastBridge assessments, please don’t hesitate to contact Monroe directly.  Good luck to our students!

We are excited to announce a fantastic new feature within our ParentVUE mobile app designed to make managing your student's attendance even more convenient!

While the traditional method of calling your child's school attendance line remains fully functional, you now have the ability to report planned absences directly through the ParentVUE app. This option will be available starting the week of January 12, 2026.

What This Means for You

This new digital option allows you to notify us in advance of any scheduled absences, such as illness, medical appointments, family travel, or other planned events. It’s a fast, easy way to communicate important attendance information without needing to make a phone call during busy hours.

How to Use the New Planned Absence Feature

Open the ParentVUE Mobile App on your smartphone or tablet. This can also be done via an internet browser on the web by going to this website.

Log in with your credentials.

Navigate to the Attendance section or click the Report Absences button.

Follow the prompts to enter the start date, end date, reason for absence, and any necessary comments. Note: leaving a note regarding the absence is required.

Submit the request.

Currently, ParentVUE can only record full day absences. If an absence will be a partial day, please note the time in the notes section (i.e. periods that will be missed for MS/HS) so that your child’s school can reflect that in their records.

Lastly, this attendance feature still adheres to adopted cut off times for excused absences as stated in each school’s student handbook.  

We believe this new feature will be a significant time-saver and enhance our communication regarding student attendance. If you have not yet downloaded the ParentVUE mobile app, please search for "ParentVUE" in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Thank you for your partnership in ensuring accurate and timely attendance records for all our students.

Sincerely,

Community Unit School District 200

For 8th grade students and parents of 8th graders - please click here to view the Monroe Bulletin for 8th graders.  We will continue to add items to this site that are helpful pieces of information from both Monroe and WNHS!

PURPOSE
Testing results will be used to qualify students for 7th grade Fast-Paced Language Arts, 7th grade Fast-Paced Mathematics, 8th grade Fast-Paced Language Arts, and 8th grade Fast-Paced Mathematics✪ for the 2026-2027 school year.

ELIGIBILITY
● Any middle school student who lives in the District 200 attendance area is eligible to participate*.
● Students are invited to test based on parent and/or teacher recommendation.

Specific dates and times will be determined at your child’s school for in-person testing.  Results will be made available in May 2026.

PROCESS
Should your student be interested in PACE testing for possible PACE placement for the following year, please complete the online parent referral form by January 30, 2026.  (Should this date be missed, the next possible testing time will be made available in the summer.)

✪ Entering 8th-grade students who qualify for A-Level Geometry in 8th Grade will also need to pass an Algebra 1
summer course with A or B level mastery and the District Algebra I Assessment as prerequisites for this class

*Students who currently attend a private school or are homeschooled, but reside in the District 200 attendance area, are eligible for the PACE Testing. If a student qualifies for the PACE Program under these special circumstances, it becomes the parent’s responsibility to provide transportation to and from classes. The parent must consider scheduling issues when making a decision regarding participation in the PACE Program.