Meridian Elementary School

Picture Retake Day is Thursday, October 8th in the cafeteria. Please remember to return your original pictures in the original envelope, undamaged. Thank you.

Dear Mustang Families, Thank you for the patience you've shown as the district navigates the many changes due to COVID-19, and in particular, whether or not students in grades K-4 have to wear masks all day at school. Just yesterday I posted on our website and sent an email to families (please let the office know if you don't receive our emails) saying that K-4 students will not have to wear masks all day because the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the 9/25/20 Executive Order invalid. The latest word on this came last night, when the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued an Emergency Order stating that now students in grades K through 4 must wear masks all day. District officials from Meridian Public Schools will be meeting today (Tuesday) with the county health department to learn more about this. In the meantime, we will continue to follow our board-approved plan that we've used since the start of the school year until we can announce more definitive details from today's meeting. Once again, thank you for your patience. Sincerely, Josh Hook Meridian Elementary Principal

Dear Mustang Families, You may have heard that the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the Governor's Executive Orders are no longer valid after April 30th. However, as a school district, this will have no impact on our Board Approved "Return to Learn" plan. Every policy and procedure that we have been doing, we must continue to do. The only thing that will not take effect is the Governor's September 25th Executive Order that required all K-4 students to wear masks all day, starting today (Oct. 5). To reiterate, we will continue the same plan we have been using since the start of the school year. Our district will continue to consult with local health department officials in order to make the best decisions for the health of our students, staff, and community moving forward. Thank you. Josh Hook

Dear Mustang Families, Meridian Elementary has a few important pieces of information for our families. The first is that on September 25th, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-185, which expands the requirement to wear a mask in the classroom to all students kindergarten and up. Previously, wearing masks in our elementary school was not a requirement, but beginning Monday, October 5th, 2020, it will become a state-mandated requirement. We will have no option but to comply with this mandate. Please join us in discussing this with your children so that they can be prepared for this change. Hopefully it won’t be long until our region progresses into Phase 5 of the MI Safe Start Plan and we can move beyond masks. The second piece of information we would like to share with you is that our school will be having a Homecoming parade this Friday, October 2nd. Some high school students and the marching band will be participating in it and taking necessary health-safety precautions. Due to COVID-related health concerns, this parade is only for our students and staff. Meridian Elementary students may be viewing the parade through their classroom windows or in a specified zone on the playground. There will also be fire engines and police vehicles in the parade, likely making some noise as they participate in the celebration. I share this because last May many children in our community were roused from sleep to flee approaching floodwaters, were met with the sights and sounds of emergency vehicles, and devastation followed. If you think it might cause anxiety for your child to experience the sights and sounds of emergency vehicles in our Homecoming parade, please talk with your child in advance to help them prepare. If you don’t think it would be a good experience for your child to view the parade, please inform their teacher and we’ll have a different activity for your child during that time. Joshua Hook, Principal

Half day of school on Friday, September 25th. Early dismissal is 11:25 a.m.

The Health Department is still scheduling Hearing and Vision screenings. See flyer for details.

Meridian Public Schools is excited to announce that per a USDA Ruling, effective immediately ALL students enrolled at Meridian Public Schools will receive FREE Breakfast and FREE Lunch through December 31, 2020 or until USDA funding runs out. Please contact Food Service Director Melissa Gohl at melissa.gohl@merps.org or 989-687-3212 if you have any questions.

Picture Day is Thursday, September 10th. In-School learners will have their pictures taken in the morning and our Online Learners will be in the afternoon. Please see attached flyer for details.

Dear Meridian Elementary Families, Here we are, just a few days away from the start of the year! We look forward to having your children start a new school year with us! Below are a few ways you can stay connected to information and updates. First, you can access our website occasionally for new information that is posted. Once logged into our website (www.merps.org) you can locate Meridian Elementary School and view the ‘Live Feed’ and ‘News’ features. You can also check us out on Facebook. If you have yet to view it, we have a Frequently Asked Question document posted on our district web page that you can access here (https://tinyurl.com/y25pe6l7). And lastly, if you have yet to read our updated student handbook, it is extremely important that you do so. Our home-school partnership is more important than ever! You can find the student handbook here (https://tinyurl.com/y6a5r97g). In addition to these resources, below are some additional thoughts on what the start of the year will look like. 1. Families should have received notice of their child’s assigned teacher through the mail already, and with it received an invite to a class Zoom session. For those that can not attend the Zoom session, teachers can share an introductory video with those families. 2. On the first day of school, and across the first week, we will position many staff members throughout the building to welcome students as they get off the bus or get dropped off by parents out front. We will have an alphabetical list of all the students, along with the corresponding teacher name and class number. We followed a similar process last year and it worked out well. 3. Students might not have enough room in their backpack to bring in all of the requested supplies, and we understand that. We suggest dividing up the supplies over the course of the week and bringing in a smaller portion each day. 4. Students will eat lunch in their classrooms, and then go out to recess in their designated zone of the playground. The playground zones will rotate each week. While outside on their zone, they will not be required to wear their masks. Because students will be taking off and putting on their masks at various times across the day, we have purchased a lanyard that they can wear. The lanyard is designed to be a “break-away” material that when tugged on, it detaches. Students will clip their lanyard through their face mask so that the masks stay with them all day. 5. For parent drop-offs in the morning, please remember that we have a new drop-off time this year. The earliest students can enter is 7:40 a.m., and they will go right to their class. This will help us avoid crowding students together for a prolonged period of time. 6. If a child has forgotten something like their lunch or their gym shoes, we will have a system for dropping it off on a table located just prior to the office. There will be no need to enter the office for this. To accommodate, we will provide paper and a marker so that families can appropriately label it with their child’s name and their teacher’s name. We will check the table and deliver the items. 7. If a child has an appointment or a family needs to pick up their child from school early, please call the office in advance and we will try to have your child ready to go. We hope this update assists your family with planning. See you soon!

MERIDIAN ELEMENTARY VIRTUAL STUDENTS/FAMILIES ONLY! You are invited to a Zoom webinar: When: Aug 27, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: K-4 MERPS Virtual Online Academy Informational Meeting Please register in advance for this webinar at the following link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aXkxSG9ySleRO3FreQX9Qw After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. If you cannot attend this webinar, it will be posted on our Meridian Virtual Academy page the following week.

Dear Meridian Elementary Families, you'll notice in a previous communication I provided a link to view a Frequently Asked Questions document that answers many questions about the school year (https://tinyurl.com/Meridian-Ele-Info). I also encourage families to view the newly approved Student-Parent Handbook which can also be copied and pasted to a new window (https://tinyurl.com/y4bvguso). There is an appendix in the handbook that contains specific language related to COVID and related expectations or procedures. Please familiarize yourself with it, as there are many new expectations. We are regularly receiving questions regarding the fall, and most can be answered through these two documents. Some questions are quite specific, so we'll be collecting questions and compiling answers in a follow-up document that we'll post. For starters, here are a few items: since we can't do our usual back-to-school picnic, our staff will be considering new ways to connect with families and to welcome students to a new year. Parents should receive a letter early in the week of August 24th that indicates their child's teacher for the fall. Any student supplies will need to be sent to school with your child, and if needed, can be sent in across the first week or so. And lastly, for now, the new parent drop-off time in the mornings is 7:40 a.m. Thank you, and stay tuned! Josh Hook

Good morning Meridian Elementary families, if you have questions about returning to school this fall or enrolling in our Meridian Virtual Learning Academy, please check out our Frequently Asked Questions document below. It contains information regarding teacher assignments, back-to-school picnic, and much, much more. https://tinyurl.com/Meridian-Ele-Info

Good Morning, We are asking families to please fill out the form attached, so that we can have accurate information out to everyone regarding bus stop times. Please make sure to fill out the form before Sunday, August 16th. Thank you Transportation Information Update: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei5LNlS1qlVw-TvIZPwzGuCEgNE8fCJEcU42zfH3fcD_nsLQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Good Evening Mustangs, Thank you to those who attended our Virtual Academy Webinar yesterday. To find all of the information discussed, the presentation, information on how to sign up, and a recording of the webinar, please go to www.merps.org and click on MENU and Meridian Virtual Academy. Thank you Meridian Public Schools Staff

MERPS VIRTUAL LEARNING ACADEMY Learn as you like! Meridian Public Schools is committed to providing learning options for the fall that fit your family needs! The Meridian Public Schools Virtual Learning Academy affords your student the opportunity to learn anytime, anywhere through the use of online courses supported by highly-qualified, Michigan-certified teachers. Complete your schooling at home tuition-free, while maintaining the benefits of enrollment as a Meridian Public Schools student. Partnering with Meridian Public Schools Virtual Academy will ensure that your child receives the benefits of a Meridian education, support, and technology, with the flexibility of learning from the comfort and safety of your home. What to learn more? Attend our upcoming webinar on Tuesday, August 4, 6PM via Zoom. Register for this event here: tinyurl.com/merpsvirtual or connect with our Virtual Academy Coordinators: K-6th grade: Jared Goff, jared.goff@merps.org or 989.488.4662 7th-12th grade: Tara Mager, tara.mager@merps.org or 989.488.4662

The Midland County Health Department is scheduling Hearing and Vision screenings for children entering Kindergarten that have not yet been screened. The parent/caregiver can call the Health Department to schedule an appointment. If the child has been screened for hearing and vision at their preschool, or at the Health Department between the age of 3 and Kindergarten entry, the parent/caregiver can call them and they will fax a copy of the child's record to the school. To schedule an appointment, call Christy at 989.832.6673. If you need to schedule an appointment for immunizations, call 989.832.6665. Please see attached flyer for Hearing & Vision screening dates.

Good Morning, ​ The Sanford-Meridian Flood Relief Fund was designed to assist our students and their families affected by the recent flood. The Sanford-Meridian Disaster Relief Committee consists of several community members and agency representatives. Together the committee is working to distribute resources to residents in the Sanford-Meridian community whose livelihood and primary homes have been impacted by the 2020 flood and dam breach. The information you provide will be reviewed and used by the committee to help distribute financial support by means of a $500 in-store voucher for eligible primary households in the Sanford-Meridian community. Applications are due by Wednesday, August 5th at 3 PM. PLEASE NOTE: SUBMIT ONLY ONE APPLICATION PER HOUSEHOLD. Apply here: https://bit.ly/merpsrelief2​ Thank you

If you are looking to enroll your student at Meridian Elementary, go to our online registration link www.bit.ly/merpsenroll or stop in at the Administration office to pick up an enrollment packet. The Admin office is open Monday thru Thursday, 8:00 - 4:30pm.

July 15, 2020 Dear Meridian Mustang Families: The last few months have been very difficult for our community as we have faced the challenges of both COVID-19 and dam failure. No one could have predicted either of these events or provided guidance on how schools, families, and communities should respond. We are now asked to tackle the task of rebuilding our community and coming up with plans to return to learning this fall. There is still a tremendous amount of uncertainty as we head into the 2020-2021 school year. We face additional uncertainty due to the potential loss of students as a result of the flood and the certain loss of state funding due to COVID-19 that may result in historically large cuts in school funding. Fortunately, we are well-positioned to overcome these challenges. We will continue to support our students with one-to-one technology, provide free internet services, and be a statewide leader in education. On June 30th, the Return to School Advisory Council issued the 2020-21 Return to School Roadmap. The Roadmap provides schools with requirements and recommendations for returning to school depending on which MI Safe Start Phase the region is in (currently Phase 4). · Phases 1-3-Schools are closed for in-person instruction · Phase 4-In-person instruction is permitted with required safety protocols · Phase 5-In-person instruction with minimal safety protocols Schools are required to develop plans for each of these three phases which must be approved by the Board of Education by August 17, 2020. Superintendents have agreed to work cooperatively, and in consultation with county health department officials, to develop common plans. Those plans will include in-person instruction, a hybrid model, and virtual learning options. Meridian Public Schools will do everything in our power to return to in-person instruction in the fall with appropriate safety protocols. We know that this is the best option for learning. After what this community has endured, we know that our students need to return to school and have a sense of normalcy. They need to be surrounded by the familiar faces of their classmates and teachers. We know that many of our children are still suffering from trauma as a result of our community tragedy. School and normalcy is more important than ever for these children. We will also be offering a hybrid model in the event that we move between phases or are required to close due to illness or other issues that are outside of our control. The hybrid model will be similar to what occurred this spring. This will allow us the best return to in-person instruction with the least amount of interruption. The last option that we will be offering is a virtual learning option. This will be a K-12 available to all children. We will be hosting a virtual webinar on August 4, 2020, for those who are interested in learning more about this option. The registration link is: https://tinyurl.com/merpsvirtual There is still a lot of work and planning that will occur over the next few weeks, so more detailed information will be coming. Please know that many of the choices will not be within the control of local schools and both public and private schools within each region will be required to follow the Return to School Roadmap. Educating our children will bring us new challenges in the upcoming months, but the Meridian staff will ensure that learning and safety are always the priorities. Sincerely, Craig D. Carmoney

Grade level classroom supply lists are now posted on the website. Go to www.merps.org, Elementary page, click on MENU, DOCUMENTS, CLASSROOM SUPPLY LISTS. Happy shopping!