Merrill Minute
November 20, 2020
Merrill Middle School Homework Check-In
We are pleased to announce a new tool we launched this week to further support students and families during this time of virtual learning.
The Merrill Middle School Homework Check-In link can be found on the front page of our website and is your one-stop-shop to accessing the learning materials for each day and staying up-to-date on what is assigned and due. Click here to access the Merrill Middle School Homework Check-in.
A huge thank you to 8th Grade ELA teacher, Katie Johnson, and to the entire Merrill staff for making this tool a reality. We hope it is helpful.
Accessing the Homework Check-in Link
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Supporting Virtual Learning at Home
Electronic Devices Off and Put Away
Arrive on-time
Camera on
Encourage your student to turn the camera on during instruction and discussion. We have anecdotal evidence that students who are using their cameras are more engaged and thus meeting the learning targets at a higher rate.
I am thankful...
For Merrill students
- For Merrill students who, despite a global pandemic, still show up on our screens. We miss them terribly.
For Merrill staff
- For Merrill staff who are curious about the world around them, courageous in their actions, and caring in their words and deeds.
For the daily reminder
- For the daily reminder from colleagues and students that I am muted. “Kate/Mrs.Panek, you’re muted.”
For community partnerships
- For the leadership and partnership between Merrill and the community to help us transform classrooms, reinvent systems of support, and continue to meet the human needs of students, staff, and families.
For student voice
- For your engagement in strengthening our learning community by reading, writing, listening, and facilitating dialogue to empower student voice and disrupt current policies and practices. You are creating the space to change the course of systemic racism in this country - classroom by classroom, neighborhood by neighborhood.
For work from home outfits
- For work from home outfits – business on top, joggers on the bottom. Need new joggers? Click here for the Merrill PTA Apparel Sale.
For frontline workers
- For all of our friends and family members who are frontline workers who put themselves in harms way each day to make sure that we are all safe, cared for, and our communities keep going.
For our democracy
- For our shared belief and commitment to provide all students with diverse and challenging opportunities and to empower them to be active citizens in our democracy.
For the Merrill PTA
- For our PTA who is always right there with school supplies, transformative ideas, food, advocacy, a helping hand, and words of encouragement.
For public education
- For all of you reading this who continue to believe in public education. If we set aside grades, standardized tests, state mandates…what remains is the student and the teacher. Thank you to the Merrill students and staff for the tremendous amount of work you put in to ensure success. I promise to never lose sight of the weight you carry each day.
For technology
- For technology that keeps us connected to each other via text messages, video calls, chats, and the occasional butt dial. (This is middle school.)
For hope
- For Andra Day lyrics
All we need, all we need is hope
And for that we have each other
And for that we have each other
And we will rise
We will rise
Merrill Virtual Schedule
We've got spirit!
Below is a sample of items available through the Merrill Middle School PTA 2020 Apparel Sale. Click here to order today! The link will be active until November 29th with delivery expected a few weeks after that.
A few reminders...
Masks for Curbside Service
Private Chat
FAQ
Infinite Campus: You can check Infinite Campus periodically for updates on SRG topic scores. Be sure to select Term 12 for student scores and in-progress grades during 1st semester.
Teachers: Please don't hesitate to reach out to teachers with course-specific questions.
District Interim Assessment
These assessments were developed by Center Point and are being delivered through a new tool in Canvas called Mastery Connect. This change in assessments is driven by our DMPS Goal Action Plan. The new assessment:
- Measures our success in providing students access to high-quality grade-level core instruction
- Limits bias by utilizing shared experiences as background knowledge
- Directly aligns with the curriculum to provide true feedback and evidence of learning to teachers and students
We began administration of these assessments at Merrill on Monday and plan to wrap them up in the next few instructional days. Students enrolled in Prep Academy or 8th Grade Academy for English and/or Math took the assessments at Academy.
We will make the data available to you as soon as we receive it back from Mastery Connect.
Merrill Links - We are here for you!
Link to the Merrill Website
Link to Nurse Menke
Link to Merrill Counseling Office
Calendar
November 25: No School
November 26 and 27: No School - Thanksgiving Holiday
December 1: Tentative return to Hybrid Model
December 23-31: Winter Break
Merrill Middle School
Email: jane.schumann@dmschools.org
Website: merrill.dmschools.org
Location: 5301 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA, USA
Phone: 515-242-8448
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/merrillpta
Twitter: @MerrillMustangs