Meridian High School

1. Principal's Message
2. T-3 This Week
3. Spring State Assessments
4. Bell Schedule Changes for Spring Assessments and Senior Presentations
5. Nominations for Annual Awards
6. Senior Presentation Panelists Needed
7. Hot Lunch Menu
   
8. Teacher Feature
9. National Holiday
10. Daily Bell Schedule
11. Requesting Transcripts through Parchment
12. Attendance Information
13. MHS Points of Contact

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

On the Wednesday before Spring Break I attended the track meet hosted at MHS. It was great to see our students performing in the track and field events. Beyond participation, I was impressed with seeing so many students trying something new. Coaches and other students were encouraging while helping with the steps involved. I knew our students will continue to improve throughout the season because of their willingness to try, struggle and persevere. It is a great trait to have in athletics and the classroom.

Roughly 1/4 of the school year remains as we return on April 11th. I am excited to watch our students continue to build skills and knowledge as they perform, whether that is in the classroom or in competition.

If you have any questions with the information provided in the newsletter, please email me at dforbes@meridian.wednet.edu or call the office.

Thank you for reading and Go Trojans!

- Derek Forbes

Spring state assessments will begin soon for students in grades 3 – 8 and 10. English language arts (ELA) and math are measured with Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA). Science is measured with the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) in grades 5, 8 and 11. There will also be additional 11th and 12th grade students who have not met their graduation pathway that will be testing for the ELA and/or math assessment.

The results from the state assessments will help us improve instructional practices and give families information about how their student is doing and where additional help might be needed. The assessments also give us a more accurate picture of whether students are on track to be ready for college or career by graduation. For students in high school, the Smarter Balanced tests can also be used as a graduation pathway.

Results are reported by September of each year. Final reports will be provided to families if their student participated in state testing.

Most students will take the assessments online using their district-issued device. On each of our testing days, our classes will begin at 9:25. Our testing schedule is as follows:

• April 19th and 20th - math for 10th graders (and some 11th and 12 graders)
• April 26th, 27th and May 3rd - ELA for 10th graders (and some 11th and 12 graders)
• April 27th and May 3rd - WCAS for 11th graders
  

The bell schedule for the 19th and 20th is shared in this week's newsletter. More information about future bell schedules and who is expected to be on campus will be shared after spring break on the website and in the newsletter.

For additional information about state testing:

• Smarter Balanced and WCAS Test Overview
• Try an online Smarter Balanced practice test or WCAS training test
• State Testing Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions about the state assessments, please contact your student's counselor.

On the week of April 18th, our bell schedule will be adjusted on three days to accommodate state testing and the senior presentations.

We are excited to celebrate the exceptional contributions of our staff and volunteers through our Annual Awards!

We are now accepting online nominations for the categories below through 5 p.m. Friday, April 29.

Award categories:

• Better Together Award
• Community Builder Award
• Early Childhood Champion
• Innovative and Inspiring Educator Award
• Outstanding Service Award
• Volunteer or Community Partner of the Year Award

You can learn more about each award and the Annual Awards process on our website.

It only takes a few minutes to recognize someone for going above and beyond this school year. Help us highlight the outstanding staff and volunteers who fill the halls of our schools everyday!

SOS! Support our seniors by serving as a senior presentation day panelist. Senior presentations are April 21st and panelists will join small groups of students via Zoom. Presentations will start around 12:45pm and will be done by 2:30pm at the latest. Please contact Shannon Waterman at swaterman@meridian.wednet.edu or via phone at 360-318-2279. Parents/guardians are not allowed to serve as panelists but are able to get on the list for next year!

Monday - Cheese Stix w/Marinara

Tuesday - Cheese Burger w/Fries

Wednesday - Corn Dog

Thursday - Pulled Pork Sandwich

Friday - Spicy Chicken Burger

Other Daily Offerings May Include:

Pizza

Variety of Fresh Made Salads

Variety of Fresh Made Wraps

Deli Sandwiches

Yogurt Parfait

This is Mrs. Canup's fifth year of working at Meridian. She says that her favorite thing about teaching here are the students and the community. Mrs. Canup's parents were teachers and she always said she didn't want to become a teacher but eventually she became tired of the other options she had. She says that she loves teaching because of seeing how the students grow, they may struggle at the beginning but then they get it. She also gets to create relationships with the students, and it's always something new and different. Mrs. Canup's favorite free time activities are playing golf, riding bikes with her husband, and traveling. Her top 3 places she's traveled are Spain, for a summer, Mexico, and Italy. She went to Rome for a four day weekend and she still remembers seeing a cliffside just full of lemon trees. She also has two huskies named Cedar and Riley. Mrs. Canup has coached fastpitch and womens rugby in the past. Mrs. Canup herself played in the Women's rugby team one level below the national team, she was asked to be on the national team but she didn't do it. Mrs. Canup highlights from working at Meridian would be during her first year of teaching the school had a welcome back staff meeting and a couple of kids did presentations or speeches about why certain teachers were important. A student had decided do one for Mrs. Canup and she started to cry from how sweet it was. Students say that their favorite thing about Mrs. Canup is that "she takes time to help her students learn the material," "is very passionate," and "is very willing to give you multiple chances."

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.

National Big Wind Day is observed each year in the United States on April 12. The day commemorates the recording of the highest natural wind gust measured on the Earth’s surface. It was on the afternoon of April 12, 1934, that winds blowing at 231 miles per hour were recorded by Mount Washington Observatory. Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft. It is said to be the most notable mountain east of the Mississippi River. While it is difficult to say if the day will receive strong winds as it did in 1934, one can still expect that it will be windy on Mount Washington.

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.

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

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

Robin Brinkman, Registration: rbrinkman@meridian.wednet.edu

Chromebook Tech Support: chromebook@meridian.wednet.edu