Lions Share Sept 9, 2021

Progress Reports

Progress reports from the first four weeks of school will be sent home with all students on Thursday. These reports only have the current grade average for each class. For more details on assignment grades, please check Ascender. If you have any questions about your child’s grades, please email the teacher of the class in question.

Secondary Principals’ Coffee Next Week

Join us for the first Secondary Principals’ Coffee of the year Monday, September 13! This is a time to meet with school leadership (principals, assistant principals, IB coordinators, and counselors), hear what is going on in the secondary school, and ask any questions you might have.

Sept. 13 from 9 am – 10 am

Join via Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 881 9809 3865

All participants need to be logged in under their name to be admitted, so please make sure that you have registered yourself for a Zoom account (it’s free) prior to attending.

Library exhibit, inquiry

Ms. Van Winkle has a poster display on exhibit in the library outlining the events of 9/11. As part of the exhibit, staff members have shared their own personal experiences during the 9/11 events.

We encourage students to take a few minutes to visit the display, which was provided to schools by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

There is also a new inquiry question posted in the library. Good luck discovering the solution to this month's riddle! Prizes will be distributed to students who were able to answer last month’s riddle correctly.

Counselors Corner: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

September marks National Suicide Prevention Month. Meridian will begin weekly educational and awareness lessons starting the week of September 13 during Monday advisory. These lessons and activities will be developed by the school counseling team and will include input from the High School Mental Health Awareness Club.

The month culminates with the school hosting a speaker from NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) for parents and guardians called, "Let's Talk," via Zoom webinar on Sept. 29 at 6 pm.

Quick Notes

Drinking Fountains

Just a reminder that our drinking fountains are turned off. The water bottle fillers are still on. Please remind your students to bring their water bottles (labeled with their names) to school with them. (Lose a bottle? Lost and Found stations are in the front hallway that leads to the library).

Take Paloma

Drivers continuing to use Jeffrey during afternoon dismissal are slowing down traffic on both Mays and Paloma. So please only take Paloma to get to Mays. Carline from first car to last is only half an hour; put on a podcast (like this Radiolab classic), be kind to drivers from nearby businesses, and take Paloma.

The Secure drill originally scheduled for last week will take place this week. It will be repeated during After School. PS. Take Paloma.

Household Close Contact? Quarantine now required

Per TEA guidance, Meridian requires students to quarantine if they are a close contact of someone testing positive for COVID-19 within their same household (for example, a sibling or parent). Read full quarantine/isolation procedures on page three of our COVID-19 protocols. Psst. Take Paloma.

Character Dare: Knowledge

As part of Meridian’s commitment to Social and Emotional Learning, we hold a monthly “Character Dare” linked to the Character Strong SEL curriculum that we implement through advisory and integrate with IB traits and values. This month’s Character Dare revolves around being Knowledgeable, and also Principled and Reflective.

Know yourself better by reflecting on your actions. (Like ... whether or not you take Paloma!) Being reflective does not happen on its own.

Have a conversation with your student about what respect looks like. Come up with ideas on how to be more respectful. Develop a plan to hold each other accountable for modeling respect in your household.

Being respectful can happen in many places and with many people. Ask your child the following questions:

Which situations do you find it easy to show respect in?
Which ones are harder to practice?
How can you plan to be more respectful?

Last Year's Yearbooks for Sale: Pay via My School Bucks

If you did not purchase last year's 2020-2021 yearbook, we have 20 left for sale for $60 each. Please fill out this form and we will bill you via My School Bucks and the book will be delivered to your student to take home! No trip to school required! Thank you for your support of the yearbook program!

Athletics & Extracurricular Activities for Grades 7-12

Please open Athletics and Extracurricular Activities for Secondary Students for more information on:

Cross Country Meet this Saturday, Sept. 11!
Home Volleyball Games Next Week!
2021-2022 Model United Nations - Annual membership registration for new and returning members closes at 10 pm tonight, Sept. 9! No late registrations accepted. Check your MUN registration status here.

Model United Nations News

2021-22 Model UN is open to 6th – 12th grade students. Everyone must register each year, including officers and past members. Please be sure to watch the Zoom video from our info night last week before agreeing to the stipulations in the registration process. We will uphold these as we move through the MUN year!

Save the dates:

First meeting will be held in the Design Wing of the Mays Building Friday, Sept. 17 from 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm. Please be prompt when picking up your kiddos!
Camp MUN will be held at school (Mays Building - Design Wing) Sept 18 from 9:30 am –11 am. Plan on being there if you are registering for MUN this year.