Meridian High School

Hawk Nation, we need you in the HS gym tomorrow night!

The evening includes:
Winter athletic program announcements
2 short, varsity level, scrimmages
Meridian Cheerleaders
Meridian Band
Opportunities to make half court shots
Free Pop-Corn and Drinks(PROVIDED BY BOOSTER CLUB)
Fun

See you tomorrow!

As Veteran's Day comes to an end, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all of our veterans. Your service to our country means more than you might realize. While I try to not typically share a lot of personal things on my school account, on this day, I hope you will grant me the grace to do so. My dad is a veteran. He went through ROTC at the University of Illinois and, from there, he and my mom lived in various places, including Germany, with the military. Dad became a Captain in the U.S. Army and, eventually, found himself in Vietnam. My mom, on the other hand, found herself back home in Stonington waiting for him to return. If I remember correctly, dad was in Vietnam until his tour finished in 1968 (mom will correct me if I'm wrong!) and then he came back home to civilian life. I remember growing up he didn't share a lot about his time in Vietnam but, the little he did share, seemed fascinating to me. As I have grown older, I have come to realize what I thought was sensational as a kid had to have actually been terrifying to him and, maybe more so, my mom. My dad, like so many others, was willing to risk his life for his country and the sacrifice he, and all our veterans were/are willing to make to preserve our great nation, is not lost on me. What has never wavered in me is that my dad has always been my hero. I remember looking at his official U.S. Army picture with pride and telling my friends how cool my dad was because he had served in the military. What I have probably never told him, though, is how proud I am to be his son. My dad has always exuded patriotism and, as I have shared before, his reason for serving was simply because his country asked him to. To me, that is a sacrifice that far exceeds any I have ever made in my life. What I have also come to realize, though, is that my mom is my hero, too. I cannot fathom what life was like for her during that time; worrying about my dad and wondering if he was okay on the other side of the world. As she fights a different battle with my dad today, one greater than an enemy in a far off land, I have seen the courage she undoubtedly displayed so many years ago. Mom, I'm so proud to be your son, too. On this day, and every day, I hope we will all celebrate our veterans and those who stayed behind; left to worry about, wonder about and love them. Happy Veteran's Day.

MHS S.A.D.D. will be taking part in the annual WAND TV Coats for Kids drive November 10 through November 24. Donations of gently used coats for all ages will be accepted and can be dropped off in the high school office or at the table set up during our lunch periods. If you have any coats you wish to donate, please consider doing so to help us support this drive.

McKenna Koehler represented Meridian in Saturday's swim sectional at Champaign. She was able to to achieve her personal best in her 100 fly and 500 free race. Hopefully, McKenna can take this post season momentum with her into collegiate swimming at Millikin.

Great work McKenna!

Here is this weeks' athletic calendar for the HS.

As we gear up for our boys' and girls' basketball season, please consider coming to the scrimmage on Green and White night scheduled for this upcoming Friday. This scrimmage will include announcements of our Winter programs.

See you there!

The Meridian School District would like to thank Melanie and Al Schelling with State Farm Insurance for sponsoring our October athletic attendance event drawing. We also want to thank all students (and the rest of Hawk Nation) who showed support this month.

Students who attended any Meridian home game had an opportunity to write their name on a ticket and turn it in for a chance to win at the end of October. Every game attended meant more chances.

We were able to draw 4 winners from each school. Each winner won a $25 Amazon gift card.

This Month's winners are: Wyatt L., Harrison N., Malachi W., Brooklynn Z., Jarrett K., Cali S., Lukas S., Qwyn W., Arianna H., Maggie S., Christian S. and Weston R.

We will continue our athletic attendance drawing for November. Stay tuned for our new sponsor.

Remember the more you attend games....the better your chances. Good luck and go Hawks!

Meridian has 3 swimmers that participate in the yearly IHSA State Series. McKenna, Colton, and Kellen all received their swim hats today in preparation. Tomorrow, McKenna will be representing Meridian in the Girls' Sectional. On behalf of all of Hawk Nation, we would like to wish her the best of luck!

Go get it McKenna!

Here are more Senior Day pictures. The credit for these pictures goes to our fantastic MHS Yearbook staff. They call themselves "The Talon," and they do a great job of covering our extra-curriculars. We are only able to post a few of the pictures they take. So, don't forget to buy your Meridian yearbook at the end of the year where you can get a comprehensive picture of our student portion of Hawk Nation. We are proud of "The Talon."

Go Hawks!!

At the end of October we celebrated Senior Day at the football game. It was a perfect Fall game where we took the win.

Before the game he recognized and honored our seniors for football, cheer, band, and swim. Here are the pictures for football and cheer. This is a 2 part post.

Fall Seniors: Christian Espiritu, Carly Fitzpatrick, Furie Fringer, Lily Jibben, McKenna Koehler, Carson Ryan, Alayna Bickel, Grace Gorden, Eva Snow, Ted Jones, Austin Merritt, and Jason O'laughlin.

At the end of October we celebrated Senior Day at the football game. It was a perfect Fall game where we took the win.

Before the game he recognized and honored our seniors for football, cheer, band, and swim. Here are the pictures for band and swim.

Fall Seniors: Christian Espiritu, Carly Fitzpatrick, Furie Fringer, Lily Jibben, McKenna Koehler, Carson Ryan, Alayna Bickel, Grace Gorden, Eva Snow, Ted Jones, Austin Merritt, and Jason O'laughlin.

Hawk Nation, thank you for all of your support leading up to Saturday's football playoff game. The atmosphere was fantastic. It was directly connected to our fans, coaches, cheerleaders, band, and community.

To the seniors; thank you for working hard to build momentum for our future at Meridian. Hopefully we can use the momentum that was created in the Fall and use it as fuel for our Winter sports and beyond! (Stay tuned for Senior Day pictures)

Keep it up Hawk Nation!!

Now that the football season is over, our school is looking for feedback and collecting data on this year's season and 8Man football. If you would like to provide feedback, open the link and take the survey. Thank you for your time!

https://www.cognitoforms.com/MeridianFootball/_8ManFootballSurvey

Here is the link to watch the high school football playoff game. https://www.youtube.com/live/TBSd7rq6QHQ?si=YKSKb0pvbYVzW2Er

If you would still like to order Meridian Hawks playoff gear, Minerva has reopened the online store through Monday. You can place an order at the link below. All orders will be shipped out next week.

https://orders.minervapromotions.com/meridian_football/shop/home

Pep Rally--Friday @ 1:30--MS Students, HS Students, and Community. Hawk Nation, if you are able, please come to our HS gym and be a part of the celebration and encouragement. WE NEED YOU HERE!!

Player Escort--Saturday @ 8:00am- The football players are being escorted out of town by the fire department and local law enforcement. Whether or not you are making the trip, please come park along Wall Street to honk your horns as the bus rolls by. Mattie's has given us permission to use their parking lot if needed. Let's pack the street as we send them off!!

Game Time--Saturday at 2:00 in Milledgeville. Use the link to watch the game on YouTube if you can't be there in person.
https://youtube.com/live/TBSd7rq6QHQ?feature=share

Playoff Spirit wear-- Orders should be available at the school during the day tomorrow (Friday). We will keep you posted.

Hawk Nation--Our football team is hungry for post season playoffs and we are trying to build community support. Please show up for our school. If you can't make the game, please show up for the pep-rally AND the team send off. Our players need to know YOU are there. Help make this a great day for our Hawks and let's build on this every year!

Let's Go!!!

Our Hawks play Milledgeville this Saturday. Here is a link to follow along with the coverage at 2 p.m.

www.youtube.com/@MilledgevilleMissileMedia

It's post-season time for Meridian HS. Volleyball plays up at Unity Christian on Monday. Football will play on Saturday.

Good luck to both teams!