Meridian High School

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

1. Principal's Message
2. Early Release Schedule
   
3. New Assistant Principal Introduction
4. Scheduling Your Conference
5. Drive Thru Testing
6. Covid 19 Student Survey
7. Teacher Feature
8. Hot Lunch Menu
   
9. National Holiday
10. Counselor Information
11. Requesting Transcripts through Parchment
12. Attendance Information
    
13. Bell Schedule
14. Meridian Class Booster Club Information - Class of 2022 Senior Trip Info.
15. MHS Points of Contact

A message was sent last week to all households. Unfortunately, the phone message didn't seem to work, so hopefully you were able to read about those announcements in your email. I wanted you to know that our main entrance is fixed, we have a new assistant principal and conferences take place this week.

This week we have three days of conferences. I hope you have already signed up for a time for a conference on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, or on Wednesday evening. Students at each grade level will be participating in a twenty-minute conference with you and their homeroom teacher. If you haven't signed up yet, please follow the directions found in this newsletter to schedule.

This week's newsletter also has some information about Mr. Shaun Doffing who was hired as our assistant principal for this semester while Mr. Andy Donahue is on leave. He will be taking over the same responsibilities Mr. Donahue had this year.

We look forward to seeing you in the building for conferences and are excited to have our main entrance open for you to use when you enter.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Go Trojans!

- Derek

Next week is conference week. We will have Early Release day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Early Release Schedule is located below. A grab and go lunch will be provided for students to get before they leave school.

Hello Meridian! My name is Shaun Doffing and I am the new assistant principal at Meridian High School. I am so excited to work with Meridian students and the community. For the last 6 years, I have worked as a program manager for the Skagit STEM Network. My main job in that role was to find ways to connect students with businesses and the community to help students find a pathway to a happy and successful life. I am excited to bring some of the skills from that role to my new role here at MHS. I also taught business classes at Sedro-Woolley High School for 12 years. I advised the Future Business Leaders of America and coached basketball for a few years. One thing I can say about that experience is that I was 1-5 against the Trojans so I am happy to finally be on the winning side (that was an exciting 53-52 win over the Cubs this year!). I have worked in Skagit County most of my career, but have lived in Whatcom County for the last 12 years. This opportunity allows me to serve my own community again and I could not be happier about this!

Meridian High School will be on an early release schedule so winter conferences can take place on February 8th, 9th and 10th.

Parent/Guardians can go into their Skyward account to schedule a conference with their student's Homeroom teacher on the either one of those afternoons or the evening of the 9th.

Below are three different ways to review instructions for setting up your conference. There is a video, a tip sheet, and an instruction packet for you to use. Conferences sign ups will begin Monday morning, Jan. 31st, at 9:30am. The earlier you schedule your conference the more times available to pick from in the Scheduler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs2WKxHtAfc&authuser=0

A drive-thru COVID-19 testing site will be open from 3 to 5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at Meridian Middle School beginning Jan. 31. The testing site will be open to Meridian students, families and staff. No appointment is necessary.

Students will be able to participate in the COVID-19 Student Survey in their Homeroom classes on Monday, February 14th.

The COVID-19 Student Survey was created by OSPI and UW to help capture the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, students have had to adjust to new ways of learning, socializing, and living. The purpose of this survey is to help teachers, school leaders and parents understand how they can better help meet the needs of their students. The survey is anonymous, voluntary and will be administered to students in grades 6 to 12.

Families can review a copy of the survey ahead of time and students may opt-out of taking the survey. Families can also review this Information for Parents and Students with frequently asked questions.

Have more questions about the survey? Feel free to contact contact@wacovidstudentsurvey.org.

If you wish to have your child not participate on the 14th please email Katie Miller at kmiller@meridian.wednet.edu. Students who do not participate in the survey will be given an alternative activity during that time.

Mr. Brannon teaches in the math department here at MHS. This is his tenth year teaching at Meridian. He says his favorite thing about teaching at Meridian is how he feels like he knows most of the students. As he’s walking down the hallways he sees many students he knows. Mr. Brannon chose this career path because when he was a student school was a huge part of his life and so he wanted to participate in the discovery people make, alongside them. He wants to impact their lives and create a legacy with his teaching where everyone will know him and his teaching. He believes that the energy of teaching is in the people and knowing them. Mr. Brannon’s favorite free time activities include spending time with his wife, riding his bike, skiing, and doing things relating to his home. This last summer he painted his house. Speaking of summer time, Mr. Brannon goes to seminars/training camps to better his teaching skills. Which is also another reason why he loves teaching, he gets the summers off! The biggest reason why Mr. Brannon loves school and teaching is because all people are welcome no matter what. Whether you’re weird or “different” or whatever, you are welcome. He thinks of himself as a weirdo so he’s glad that he’s able to be welcomed at school. In his own words, “no matter who you are, you’re welcome.” Mr. Brannon’s highlight or highlights from working at Meridian is seeing students come in and struggling throughout school and Mr. Brannon thought they might not graduate high school. But then they actually graduated high school, which made him feel really proud and happy.

Students favorite thing about Mr. Brannon is that, “he tells us lots of stories, mostly about his childhood,” “he’s really funny,” and “makes it really easy to learn the material.

Teacher Feature is provided by Bhavnoor Dhatt. Bhavnoor is a leadership student that will be providing the Teacher Feature as part of her personal project for Leadership class.

Monday - Mandarin Orange Chicken Bowl

Tuesday - Dutch Waffle with Sausage

Wednesday - Max Cheese Sticks - Caesar Salad

Thursday - Pasta and Garlic Toast

Friday - Nachos

From the classic to automatic, and from collapsible to comical, there are dozens of types of umbrellas for countless types of scenarios. From ancient Rome, to China, and to Greece, umbrellas can be spotted in the artwork of many early civilizations. It's one of the many examples of a tool that was invented multiple times, in multiple places, as the need for it was so universal. The umbrella has been a part of many cultures since ancient times, umbrellas have a storied history worth commemorating. So on February 10, we celebrate National Umbrella Day!

Meridian High School has partnered with parchment.com to fulfill transcript requests for current students and MHS alumni. Transcripts are securely sent electronically to colleges and universities across the nation, resulting in a reduction of lost documents at the financial aid offices. The service is free of charge to current students. Alumni pay a small fee. Please make sure that your intended college accepts electronic transcripts.

Please find the “Order transcripts through Parchment” link under Families & Students/Resources on the MHS website. Current students may call Mrs. Brinkman or Mrs. Waterman to receive their Parchment access code at the MHS office 360-398-8111.

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!

If your kids miss a day or even part of a day of school for whatever reason, please contact our attendance secretary, Mrs. McMains by either phone (360-318-2260) or email (tgmcmains@meridian.wednet.edu)with the reason for the absence. If they are going to miss because of an illness, please call or email in the morning and let us know! If there is a planned absence, please contact her and she will take care of notifying teachers. If she is unable to answer the phone right at that moment, please feel free to leave the information on her voicemail.

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

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

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