Meridian High School

“To inspire and challenge active learners to positively impact a changing world.”

1. Principal's Message
2. T-3 This Week
3. Thanksgiving Bell Schedule
4. Thanksgiving Meals
5. Winter Wishes
6. High School and Beyond Plan
   
7. Cap & Gown Ordering Information
8. Comprehensive Sexual Health Education
9. Winter Driving Tips for Teens
10. The Meridian Minute
11. Hot Lunch Menu for Next Week
12. National Holiday
13. Bell Schedule
14. MHS Points of Contact

Coming out of the long weekend and getting the chance to spend time with my family, I want to share my gratitude for our Meridian families. We are so fortunate to have your support of not just your own student but also other students and the school. Cheering at events, attending performances, and participating in conferences are some of the large-scale ways that we feel your support.

I know there are so many other ways you specifically work alongside your own student. There are just too many ways to list that you impact your student's success at school. I am honored to partner with you during these high school years as your student moves into adulthood. I hope some of the tools we have put together have been useful to you These include:

* GoGuardian (google classroom daily or weekly reports)

* MHS weekly newsletter

* Parent Square for classroom, building and district information

* Skyward grade reports

If you need more or different tools, please contact me and we can work together to figure out how to further support your student on campus. You can email me at dforbes@meridian.wednet.edu or call the office at 360-398-8111. The information for our counselors and the entire MHS staff can also be found at the bottom of this newsletter.

Thank you again for letting us work with your students and Go Trojans!

- Derek Forbes

Winter Wishes gives everyone who is a part of the Meridian High School family a chance to make a wish for someone else. Every year for the last 10 years, the leadership class has raised money to grant the wishes that students and staff make for other students in our school. It is a unique and special opportunity for all of us to think of others when we wish. Because of the thoughtful wishing of students in our school combined with the efforts of our leadership students, Winter Wishes has provided gifts for hundreds of our students every year.

Here is the link if you would like to make a donation to Winter Wishes:

Meridian High School's Winter Wishes

The due date for your High School and Beyond Plan has been set for December 14. This is a graduation requirement for the state of Washington. Seniors are continuing in the existing plan that they have been working on during their time in high school. Your complete plan must have a resume’ uploaded. There is no specific resume’ template that you must follow, but it must include a minimum of one reference.

If you have questions regarding the plan, please make an appointment with your counselor.

Students in grade 10 will be taking part in comprehensive sexual health lessons beginning Jan. 4. Lessons will take place during health class. Students in grade 12 will be taking part in comprehensive sexual health on Jan. 6th during 5th and 6th period.

Parents and guardians may review the Positive Prevention Plus curriculum and may remove their children from these lessons with a written request. (RCW 28A.300.475). Families who wish to opt their children out of these lessons must turn in an opt-out form to the school office before the first day of lessons. Students who opt-out of the lessons will be able to work independently on material for another class in the library or in their Civics class.

Materials will be available for families to review at Meridian High School on Monday November 28th from 5:30-6:30 p.m in Meridian High School library. Materials will also be available for review in the Meridian School District Office during business hours 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

1. Get your car ready for winter. Make sure that your car has all the necessary winter equipment. Be prepared for cold temperatures and bad driving conditions. Here’s what you need;

• keep your washer fluid full
• carry a shovel
• store an emergency kit
• keep an ice scraper/brush in the car
• check your anti-freeze
• change to winter wiper blades
• mount winter tires on all four wheels

“All-season tires or summer tires are going to harden up at about 45 degrees,” says Kurt Spitzner, an instructor at Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. “When the rubber hardens up, you lose your grip on the road, even in the best of conditions.”

Winter tires are designed specifically for the rubber to stay soft and pliable and grip the road, even in extreme temperature conditions where it reaches 20 below zero.

2. Understand winter road conditions. Everyone must anticipate that less-than-ideal road surfaces will result in reduced grip, and drivers will need to brake earlier. “For a new driver who just got his license in April, that driver has become accustomed to driving on a nice dry surface with perfect grip,” says Spitzner. “Now you may be suddenly faced with less-than-perfect road conditions and grip.”

3. Drive for conditions, not posted speed. An obvious winter driving tip is that getting around in winter can take longer, so adjust your speed to conditions instead of trying to maintain the speed limit. Traction control, stability control, and anti-lock brakes help you control your vehicle. These tools “will not help you very much if you are exceeding speed for the conditions,” says Spitzner.

4. Learn how to brake on winter roads. It’s important to learn how to use the brakes safely during bad driving conditions. If you feel like you are going too fast, warns Spitzner, adjust your speed gently. Take your foot off the gas, as slamming on the brakes may cause the car to skid. When you do use your brakes, do so gently and earlier than you would in non-winter conditions. Driving slowly is important during the winter; drivers can lose control of a car when they hit the brakes hard on an icy road. This is true even on cars equipped with safety features, like anti-lock brakes and stability control.

5. Look where you want to go. Practice situational awareness, especially in bad driving conditions, and look up over the front of your vehicle instead of down at the road. “Sit back in your seat, with relaxed body language, instead of hunching up over the wheel,” says Spitzner. “Keep your eyes as far down the road as possible, scanning from left to right, so you have as much time as possible to respond.”

6. Practice with an adult. A new driver’s first experience with winter driving should not happen during a major blizzard. Under close supervision, let your teen practice slow speed maneuvers and braking on a wide open snow- or ice-covered parking lot. Consider limiting your teen’s driving on slippery conditions to daylight hours until your new driver has gained experience.

Source: www.yourteenmag.com

The Meridian Minute is the personal leadership project for students, Avery Neal and Hayden Claeys.

Monday - Nugget & Mashed Potato Bowl

Tuesday - Bean & Cheese Burrito

Wednesday - Grab-n-Go Lunch

Thursday - No School

Friday - No School

America’s Thanksgiving holiday, born in the 1500s, mythologized in 1621, and observed even during the bleakest hours of the Civil War, now stands as one of the nation’s most anticipated and beloved days — celebrated each year on the fourth Thursday in November (November 25, 2021). Perhaps no other nonsectarian holiday has more tradition. Family, friends, food, and football have come to symbolize Thanksgiving — a rare celebratory holiday without an established gift-giving component. Instead, the day urges all of us to be grateful for things we do have.

Derek Forbes, Principal: dforbes@meridian.wednet.edu

Shaun Doffing, Assistant Principal: sdoffing@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

Lori Blankenship, Registration: lblankenship@meridian.wednet.edu

Kelly Gookstetter, Head Secretary: kgookstetter@meridian.wednet.edu

Bonnie Kaemingk, Athletic Secretary: bkaemingk@meridian.wednet.edu

Chromebook Tech Support: techsupport@meridian.wednet.edu

Online Directory

Website-www.meridian.wednet.edu/mhs

The homepage has access to recent news.

Meridian School District on Social Media

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/meridianschooldistrict505/

Instagram: @meridianschooldistrict505

Twitter: @meridian505

The Meridian School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employee has been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Title IX, ADA, and Compliance Coordinator (RCW 28A.640/28A.642) Kurt Harvill, Director of Personnel, 214 W. Laurel Rd., Bellingham WA 98226. 360-398-7111. Section 504 questions