November 5, 2025

At Fox Road Elementary, a case of the Mondays might just be a great thing, because at Fox, Mondays matter in a special way. This semester, Kate Gomas, along with the Tier 2 Team at Fox, launched Mondays Matter, a new program for students.

Gomas was inspired this summer while researching SEL lessons for the year. SEL stands for Social-Emotional Learning. Gomas is an intervention specialist, and as an intervention teacher, Gomas meets with small groups of students for more intensive intervention, facilitates the school’s PBIS programs, both Tier 1 and Tier 2/3, and coordinates 504 and Student Study Team meetings.

She also trains and facilitates the work of para-professionals, who work closely with students, naturally engaging them in those SEL skills.

Each month, with the help of school psychologist Ruth Ballard and counselor Rhianna Diep, Gomas leads monthly SEL lessons. She follows up with 30-minute classroom lessons in each of our 10 classrooms.

While researching, Gomas came across the organization Every Monday Matters. The message inspired her. “In a school setting, we consistently celebrate Fridays, the end of the week and leaving school. For some of our kiddos, school is their safe place, and Fridays are something they dread,” Gomas said. “I loved the idea of celebrating students and staff being there every Monday.”

Gomas met with Fox Road Elementary Principal Jeff Persons and members of the Tier 2 Team, which consisted of Ballard, Diep, the Resource Specialist Program teacher, the English Language coordinator, the district behaviorist, and the clinician, to develop ideas for celebrating Mondays.

The celebrations are simple but meaningful. “In our morning announcements, Dr. Persons highlights how important it is that students are there and how happy we are to see them. We try to add in simple activities each Monday,” Gomas said.

Thus far, students and staff have shown Mondays Matter with “Move it Mondays” by dancing at lunch, “Make it Mondays” with origami and coloring at break, “Move the Message” when the student council passed out positive message tokens to students who then shared them with other students, and Morning Greeters, in which staff, student council and Hughson High School leadership greeted the students enthusiastically during their morning arrival.

And that’s just the beginning. Plans are underway to bring in more greeters, including parents, the Sheriff’s Department, and maybe even Fox Road’s neighbors at Samaritan Village.

On November 17, students will create a poster welcoming parents to the conference by writing why they are thankful for their parents.

In December, students will go caroling.

“I am really pleased with the response from students, staff and families,” Gomas said. “It has really reframed the way I look at Mondays.”

Highlighting Mondays this way, Gomas and other staff are building the habit to joyfully welcome students, to show excitement for their presence at school, and to frontload students with what is coming that week. And with the activities themselves, for students and staff alike, Mondays Matter gives everyone a little something to look forward to at the start of the week.