Middle School Mane September 8, 2021

FROM THE

PRINCIPAL

Greetings Marvelous Middle School Families,

I hope y’all were able to enjoy some quality time with your families during the long weekend.

We are excited that cross country and volleyball season has started. Please remember to check out the Meridian athletics calendar for upcoming game information and sport seasons.

We have a number of home games for our volleyball teams this month!

Crystal Lane,

Interim Middle School Principal

Secondary Principals’ Coffee

Mark your calendars – the first Secondary Principals’ Coffee of the school year is 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.

Encourage your student 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.

Last Years' Yearbooks for Sale

We have some extra 2021 Yearbooks for Sale for $60! This is a great keepsake from our 2020-2021 school year. We will deliver to your student to take home this week! No trip to school required. Fill out this form to order your yearbook and pay via MySchoolBucks.

Character Dare: Knowledge

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?

Learning in Action

The 6th graders are designing their own experiments with Alka Seltzer in science class.

Haddon and Jay want to know if Elephant Toothpaste will erupt longer if they add Alka Seltzer!

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, 9/11!
Home Volleyball Games Next Week!
2021-2022 Model United Nations - Annual membership registration for new and returning members closes at 10 pm tomorrow, 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. The athletics and extracurricular activities link above includes the Zoom recording from the mandatory info night. 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.