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We assure you that your child's continued learning and emotional well being are a top priority. Please know that our teachers, administrators, and counselors are also available during this time to help with your concerns and questions. We can not stress enough for you to reach out so that we can assist as best we can during this time.
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This week's edition of the Lions Share includes information on:
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We are officially closed through April 12. We will continue to assess this situation as time passes, and we appreciate your patience during this time. As such, all events through this period are canceled. Given this situation, some events are also cancelled beyond the 12th because of our inability to adequately prepare for them. For example, the spring band/orchestra concerts scheduled for April 13, 14, and 21 are canceled.
At this time, we are unable allow visitors to pick up instruments, supplies, or books that may have been left in lockers. Due to the stay-at-home order, we have very limited personnel on campus, and must minimize the number of people coming to the campus buildings. More information will be shared when we are able to coordinate such visits.
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Medication pickup has been completed. Should there be a need to contact the nursing staff, please do so at
nurse@mwschool.org.
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Device Checkout (Deadline: TODAY)
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For students without access to a device (computer or tablet), parents were asked to contact Meridian at
tech-assist@mwschool.org to arrange a time to check out a device from school. Because of the need for our staff to also follow the stay-at-home order, today (3/27) is the last day to do so. Checkout times fall between 10am-2pm. Again, we've asked that these arrangements were made in advance by emailing
tech-assist@mwschool.org.
NOTE: As advised by our attorney, parents are permitted to travel in order to pick up education materials. This includes traveling to school for a device.
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Meals During School Closure
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In light of these unprecedented times concerning the COVID-19 Virus, Meridian has elected to support meal programs offered through the Texas Department of Agriculture from our surrounding districts. By pooling our resources across the greater Williamson County area, we are hopeful to make a bigger impact for families in need.
Please be sure to check out the links below for maps, locations, service times, and pick up areas for meals during school closures:
Should you have any questions regarding meals or locations, please do not hesitate to contact Chef Leslie Sterzinger at
chef@mwschool.org
.
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Distance Learning Statement to Parents & Acceptable Use Policy for Information Technology
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Our teachers and staff are working diligently to make decisions about how best to approach providing the highest quality of learning during the school closures. We recognize different families have varied situations and we support that you will do what is best for your family. We will continue to listen and take your input and we are trying to reach a balance and establish plans that are flexible, doable, and maintain high learning standards. We are providing opportunities for students to learn and engage via virtual platforms and you can also anticipate feedback related to student work. We encourage you and students to access and engage, interact, explore, and grow with us. We do expect students to participate in order to maintain their social-emotional as well as academic wellbeing. Please know that we will be flexible with individual students that have varied needs, special circumstances, and/or constraints during this time. Do not hesitate to reach out for clarification and support.
Please see the link below:
IMPORTANT:
Parents, as you may, at times, be 'present' in the classroom, viewing the teacher in live or recorded lessons, we ask that you respect the privacy of the classroom, students, and teacher. If you wish to share concerns or thoughts, please do so with the teacher directly. Do not post on any social media. The materials produced are proprietary and may not be reproduced for any purpose other than providing instructional material to Meridian students.
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Distance Learning Orientation & Etiquette/Expectations for Secondary Students
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We will review with all students what the plan is for distance learning, as well as what the expectations are for online learning etiquette. Please remind your child that we all need to do our part to finish the year strong. And, please remember all recordings and class sessions are for school purposes, our Meridian family, and not for the public. You are strongly encouraged to review the presentation we have created for the students here:
Distance Learning Student Orientation
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Secondary Distance Learning Schedule
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Secondary grades 6-12 will use the following schedule for Distance Learning:
Monday/Tuesday teachers will focus on new content delivery, generally through a live full-class Zoom session. Wednesday we have allotted this to be a workday for both students and teachers. Thursday and Friday will be more for clarification of content and small group follow up--students may not have a live Zoom session these days. Every afternoon our teachers will have office hours from 2:15-4:30, where they will be available to help in ways such as small group Zoom sessions. Each class will have and estimated 90 minutes of independent work assigned (i.e. work done outside of the Zoom session). Therefore, when students and parents are setting their work schedule at home, they should consider how to spread this work out over the week. 90 minutes times 8 classes is 720 minutes of work. One schedule might be to plan to complete all independent work on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, which would be about four hours of independent work a day (720 minutes divided by 3 days equals 4 hours a day). Of course, the distance learning format will give you freedom to determine what schedule works best for the students in your family.
We are aware that these are unusual times and that families may have special circumstances that make it difficult for them to consistently follow the schedule below. We are laying out this schedule for those who will benefit from the consistency it provides, and will post materials on ManageBac and Google Classroom (such as recordings of Zoom sessions, videos, documents, etc.) so that those who are not able to follow the schedule may complete school work according to their own pace.
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Weekly Lesson Plans on ManageBac
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In order to increase consistency for students, all teachers grades 6-12 will be entering their lesson plans for the week into a common Week Plan template.
In Middle School links to these templates will be gathered into a common spreadsheet for each grade which will be posted on ManageBac as a message to your grade level year group.
In High School, each teacher will post their template as a task at the beginning of each week. Students (and parents) will be able to view these Week Plan tasks from their ManageBac calendar, listed under either Monday or Tuesday for the week.
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Technology Platforms & IT Support
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Our teachers will be providing learning materials and pushing out assignments using Managebac. Most are continuing the usage of technology they exposed to students while in their classroom (such as Google classroom) and most will try out a few additional online platforms and resources. We encourage you and your child to reach out to teachers if you have any questions or initial difficulties or needs with accessing the apps and materials.
Please download and set up a
Zoom
account (encourage students to use their Meridian email).
Some teachers have already reached out to allow students to join test sessions of zoom classes for today and Friday.
For support with Managebac, please reach out to the coordinators:
For general IT support, please reach out to Jan MacWatters j.macwatters@mwschool.org.
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For the first week, we will have activities and opportunities for students to submit work, with feedback coming from their teachers. We believe students' grades should not be harmed given the current circumstance (e.g. lack of access, illness, and responsibilities).
For now, we will be recording Quarter 3 grades into Quarter 4. How we use the work submitted in Quarter 4 is yet to be determined. For any assessment for which we are providing feedback, we will input marks into managebac per the IB rubrics, but may not enter these into the TxGradebook system, Ascender. This is an area that we need to continue to study before making any definitive decisions.
Quarter 3 report cards should currently be visible through Ascender. If there is unresolved work left over from Quarter 3, such as a student who received an incomplete, or who did not receive an opportunity to retest on a major assessment at the very end of the grading period, the individual teacher will work out a plan for the individuals in their class who are affected. Please reach out to the teacher with inquiries and to learn more about the plan.
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State & IB DP Assessment Updates
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STAAR & EOC:
While the state has cancelled all STAAR and EOC exam requirements, we are still expecting students to show mastery of grade level content in order to be prepared for the coming school year.
May 2020 IB Exam Update:
The IBO has cancelled the May 2020 IB examination session. Ms. Holcombe has been in touch with the juniors and seniors who are affected by this circumstance. The good news is that the IBO is offering seniors a pathway to the IB diploma, but the details on this are still forthcoming. If you have questions about this please feel free to reach out to Ms. Holcombe directly at
s.holcombe@mwschool.org
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Meridian Counseling Support
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Counselors are still available for student support during this time of uncertainty. Students should email to set up a time to talk individually via Zoom. Both Ms. Gregg and Ms. Proctor will also be in contact to finish up the senior and sophomore individual conferences.
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Special Education Services
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Meridian Library Resources
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This document contains links to our video databases for parents and students:
All students and teachers have an account for Discovery Ed and Learn 360.
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Meridian Athletics follows school closures. While the school is closed and utilizing distance learning, all Athletics activities and in-person gatherings will be suspended. Please email questions to
Meridian-athletics@mwschool.org
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Junior/Senior Prom Update
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The junior/senior prom that was scheduled for April 4 was rescheduled for May 8, but the date has been moved again to June 5 (still at The Rabb House). Time will tell if this date will stick, but we are holding out hope that we will be able to have an event when it is safe for our students--even if this happens sometime in the summer.
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Meridian Yearbook Update: ORDER NOW!
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On the Friday before break, when we learned that school might be out for an undefined period of time, we were able to get into virtually every classroom to get the last pictures we needed for the secondary classroom pages. We were building and proofing pages during Spring Break and even this week because the yearbook must go on!
During this uncertain time we have been advised to order fewer books because it is hard to sell extras when you can't sell to customers face to face. Balfour has extended our "exacting" deadline which is the date that we have to decide on the number of books that will be published. Once this number of yearbook covers are printed there are NO re-orders.
All of this is to ask that you PLEASE pre-order a yearbook
HERE
as soon as possible. Do not count on getting one after delivery. Also, note that the yearbook price will increase by $5 on April 1.
The online yearbook store opened just about a month ago, so it should be fresh in your memory if you ordered a book or not. If you are not sure, PLEASE check for email confirmation from Balfour, and then your bank and credit card statements FIRST If you still aren't sure then feel free to email Nick Manuszak at n.manuszak@mwschool.org.
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Ascender Parent Portal & ManageBac Assignment Calendar Access
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If you have not yet signed up for parent access to the Ascender Parent Portal (previously txConnect) and ManageBac (for student assignments, and also some MYP assessment feedback), please see mwschool.org --> Students & Parents --> Online Grade and ManageBac Access.
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| Upcoming Dates Summary (additions or changes in bold) |
- April 27 (Monday): Secondary Principals' Coffee (9:00-10:00am) via Zoom: more details coming at a later date
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Thursday, March 19, marked the official astronomical start of spring, the Vernal Equinox. It is also central to the celebrations of many religions around the world, including the Shinto Spring Festival in Japan and
Noruz
, the start of the Persian New Year.
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The fourth Sunday in the Christian season of Lent is known as "Mothering Sunday" in Britain. According to the BBC website, for centuries domestic servants and other workers in the United Kingdom have been given this day off to travel to their home parish and visit their family. Along with this, the tradition developed for children to give their mothers flowers or other small gifts on "Mothering Sunday." This past Sunday, March 22 (2020), was Mothering Sunday. Please emulate the British and honor your mothers!
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Khordad Sal is the Zoroastrian celebration of the birth of the religion's founder, Zoroaster. It is particularly celebrated by adherents of Zoroastrianism in Iran, Pakistan, and India, immediately following the Persian new year,
Noruz
. The dates of its celebration vary in different countries, but it is most widely celebrated on March 28 (2020).
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Next Tuesday, March 31, is commemorated as Cézar Chávez Day in ten states, including Texas. This day honors Mexican American farm worker, labor leader, and activist Cézar Chávez (1927-1993) for his work towards social justice.
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April 1 is often celebrated as "April Fools' Day" by springing (hopefully good-natured) pranks on others. According to the
National Geographic
article "April Fools' Day Mystery: How Did It Originate," the origins of the day are shrouded in mystery, although one theory is that it began in France. In France, one fooled by an April 1 prank is known as a "poisson d'Avril" (April fish), and one popular April 1 prank among French children is to stick a paper fish on the backs of the unsuspecting. So be careful of becoming a poisson d'Avril next Wednesday!
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Sincerely,
Charles Ryder & Melina Berduo
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If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email the appropriate contact for support:
Counselors
Student or Curricular Concerns
Additional Contacts
Principals
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Charles Ryder
High School Principal
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Melina Berduo
Middle School Principal |
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