Meridian High School Newsletter
September 21st - September 25th, 2020
Our Mission:
Principal's Message
As we head into our 4th week of school, I am pleased to hear how students and staff are responding to learning in a remote setting. One thing I want to highlight is the staff use of new technology tools in their classrooms or expanding the use of previous tools to instruct, assess, and communicate with students. One of those tools is Google Classroom. With Google Classroom used by all teachers, we are able to make a feature called "Guardian" available to you. This will improve communication between MHS classrooms and you at home. I have added a couple of resources you may want to review to learn more about it.
* Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=120&v=Vl9ofDHkIpE&feature=emb_logo
* Written summary - https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6386354?hl=en
Later this week you will receive an email invitation from Joe O'Brien, the Meridian School District Technology Director, to sign up for Guardian. Here is a link to what that invitation will look like: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14jb3TtLp-e67mOSgfBbbVoXyHihOiK1lsBCsnllvAMA/edit
We hope you take advantage of this opportunity and find the information you see (whether daily or weekly) helpful in understanding what is going on in class and how you can support your student at home.
We also hope you find the information provided in this weekly newsletter informative as you learn about what we do at MHS, the people who work here, and the different activities/events/opportunities available. If there are other questions or comments, please reach out to me by email at dforbes@meridian.wednet.edu or by phone at 360-398-8111.
Stay Healthy, Stay Safe, and Go Trojans!
Derek Forbes
Weekly Tech Tip
Students spend a lot of time online these days. Not only are they engaging in zoom meetings as part of their formal schooling, many students are also spending a significant amount of time on social media. Unfortunately, not all of this social media time may be positive. Cyberbullying occurs. On Friday, September 18th, students spent their homeroom class time discussing cyberbullying—what it is, why it may exist, and some possible ways to counter it.
I want to encourage each of you to talk to your son/daughter about what they are experiencing online. Students may see cruel things being said about them or their friends. Who are they chatting with? Are they in a difficult situation that they don’t know how to get out of and may need your help? Do they know someone that needs help? Ask them what apps they are using. Do you know about TicToc? Instagram? Tellonym? Bigo Live? IMVU? Kik?
If you see something online that is inappropriate, you can usually report the site so that it can be looked into and possibly taken down.
Tips to talk to your student: https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-tips/k-12-cyberbullying-digital-drama-and-hate-speech
Apps to be aware of: https://www.familyeducation.com/mobile-apps/a-complete-guide-to-potentially-dangerous-apps-all-parents-should-be-aware-of
Help, I Can't Get On Zoom! I Can't Get on Google Classroom, Help!
You may think that calling the MHS Office would be the answer, but the best place to call is:
Meridian Parent/Student Tech Line. They can be reached at 360-318-2158.
They will be happy to answer any tech question you may have!
You can also reach them via email at chromebook@meridian.wednet.edu
Have You Moved? Has Your Phone Number Changed?
Upcoming Financial Aid Event
Friday, November 17th, 2020 - 11:00am - 2:00pm - Daytime Event for Error Fixing
Please save the date! Zoom will be used for these events. Each school will have their own breakout room with financial aid experts and other volunteers. Zoom link will be made available as the event gets closer.
Food Service Update
- Cordata Presbyterian Church 9:30am - 10:15am
- Pollman Circle 10:45am - 11:30am
- Meridian Middle School 10:30am - 12:30pm
For more information about meal distribution, please call our food services office at
360-318-2267
Class of 2021 Parents and Students
Senior Pictures and Senior Ads
Senior Pictures & Senior Ads
Due: January 5, 2021
Stay tuned for further details
Meet Our Staff
Brent Feller
Some fun facts about Brent:
- This is his 10th year teaching, all at Meridian
He teaches welding, woodshop, CAD, robotics, Intro to Agriculture
He started college wanting to be a history teacher
He likes to garden.
Bryant Michaelson
Some fun facts about Bryant:
- He has a 5 month old son named Cooper.
- He graduated from Meridian.
- He met Russell Wilson in person.
- He has Koi fish as pets.
ATTENDANCE INFORMATION
Being present in class is vital to be successful in school. We want to encourage all of our students to be at school every day! If you are missing school, you are missing out on learning!
MHS Points of Contact
Andy Donahue, Assistant Principal: adonahue@meridian.wednet.edu
Cheryl McBride, Counselor A-J: cmcbride@meridian.wednet.edu
Don McMains, Counselor K-Z: dmcmains@meridian.wednet.edu
Tami McMains, Attendance: tgmcmains@meridian.wednet.edu
Robin Brinkman, Registration: rbrinkman@meridian.wednet.edu
Chromebook Tech Support: chromebook@meridian.wednet.edu
High School Office
Stay Connected
The homepage has access to recent news.
Meridian School District on Social Media
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/meridianschooldistrict505/
Instagram: @meridianschooldistrict505
Twitter: @meridian505