Primary Pride 8/25/2020

It takes a good balance of helping when needed but knowing when to step back and let the student make mistakes and learn from those mistakes; to allow them to show what they know during assessments and lessons and let their personalities shine through on live Zoom sessions.

Thank you to our wonderful learning coaches as we are getting into our third week of distance learning. You are doing an amazing job at this new role.

We have faced some glitches and hiccups, but our wonderful teachers keep mentioning how great learning coaches are through it all!

Thank you!

-- Melissa Reese, Primary Principal

News and Updates

Attendance and Grading during 100% Distance Learning

How is my child counted present for the day?

A student is counted present for meeting any one of the following criteria for the day:

A student interacts with a teacher in a synchronous session (whole group, small group, or individual).
A student submits an assignment in Seesaw or Google Classroom.

Attendance vs Grading

A child can be counted present by simply interacting with the content; however, teachers take grades based on completed work. A student who is not completing all assignments is in danger of falling out of good academic standing.

Teachers will be reaching out to parents if students are showing a pattern of not submitting work. Additionally, teachers will respond to work that should be done in a more complete manner to help a child show a more thorough understanding of the content.

Zoom Expectations

Sitting in class on Zoom comes with many quirks, and we’d like to give some guidance to make sure all goes smoothly:

Background - Please try to set your child up with a neutral background. If possible, have a wall behind them. Please try to make sure things like alcohol and weapons will not show in a child’s video.
Virtual Background - We ask our students to not use virtual backgrounds, which can be a distraction. We want to keep the focus on learning.
Attire - Students should wear appropriate clothing. This is not a time to be in a swimsuit or pajamas. Students should come dressed for class.
Emergencies - If a child needs to use the restroom, they should leave their device in place and go quickly to take care of their needs. Please do not allow a child to take their device to the restroom with them. If another emergency occurs, leave the meeting to deal with the situation.
Sounds - Students wearing headphones may not be aware of sounds that are happening around them. Other noises and voices in the room will be picked up on the microphone and heard by all students in the class if the child’s microphone is not muted.

Triple A

Virtual Sticky Fingers Cooking classes begin on August 31, 2020. Learn more.

Virtual Orchestra classes begin August 26, 2020. Learn more.

Virtual Mandarin Chinese classes begin August 31, 2020. Learn more.

Last Chance to Buy the 20-21 School Directory:

Sale ends August 31

Each year, we offer a printed school directory for families to purchase. This includes names, emails, and phone numbers of Meridian families and can be used to help you communicate with one another. The directory will prove extra helpful this year, as we come up with creative ways to connect to friends and classmates.

The directory is only available for pre-order through August 31. Directories can be ordered on MySchoolBucks.com.

Do you want to support Meridian School and advertise your business to everyone purchasing a directory? Meridian families receive a great discount on ad space; it's open to non families as well!

Counseling Corner

Our Counseling mission is to guide students towards developing a positive self-concept as life-long learners and communicators. Through lessons, activities, and discussion, they will grow in their ability to problem-solve, to value diversity & to view their inner and outer world through the lens of compassion and creativity.

Our intention is for our IB scholars to stop, breathe, and enjoy success, but also to “fail effectively” by embracing mistakes as a means of growth.

Most information that you need can be accessed via our personal webpages (links below), such as lunch bunch sign-ups, how to contact your counselor, lessons etc.

By the way, your children are AWESOME! We missed our students so much and are jazzed to be working with them again.

What's new:

Mrs. Fox (Grades K-2):

Woohoo!!!! Lunch Bunches are now available M-W-F from 11:30-noon. Please sign up through the counseling K-2 portion of our website. If your scholar would like some one-on-one time to talk about anything weighing on their mind, please email me.

If a guidance lesson has an activity, I will let the students know. The activity will be listed under the rainbow bear icon for Counselor (K-2).

Mrs. Spence (Grades 3-5):

I now have SeeSaw classrooms (3rd grade) and Google Classrooms (4th & 5th grade) available so that your child has easier access to my webpage and contact information.

3rd Grade: If students are searching for my seesaw class activities/website links, have them look for the Rainbow bear.

4th & 5th Grades: I am sharing my entry code with students during class. If they need the code or link, please have them email. I will send it to them directly.

Any questions? Please email me.