Meridian Middle School

Our district’s request to extend the waiver that allowed for us to provide free breakfast and lunch to students in the spring has been approved! Starting tomorrow (October 1 - December 31), breakfast and lunch will be available FREE to all students. We will continue to take lunch count in the morning to ensure our numbers are accurate, but lunch accounts will not be charged for the purchases. For remote learners, please call the office by 9:00 a.m. if you would like to order a meal for the day.

If you forgot to order pictures yesterday, there is still time to order! Use the following link for our school - https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry/51355PL

We will return to our Blended Learning Plan on Monday, September 28. We are looking forward to the return of our students who were attending in-person instruction prior to the remote learning days. If your child was attending school remotely at the beginning of the year but would like to return to in-person instruction next week, please call the office (764-3367) or email mcguirem@meridianhawks.net. When students return, their Chromebooks should be charged and they should also bring back all books and/or materials needed for class.

Inter-State Studios will be here on Tuesday, September 29 for fall/yearbook pictures. To order, visit inter-state.com/order and use order code: 51355PB. Students who are remote learners can come in between 1:45 - 2:45 p.m. for pictures. Please stop by the office to check in first!

The hallways are quiet, but a lot of great things are happening behind closed doors. What does Remote Learning look like at your house? We’d love to see pictures of your MMS student at work. Email pictures to mmsyearbook@meridianhawks.net.

Updated Full Remote Learning Document & Schedule - https://5il.co/l1hd

Thank you for having patience with us while our teachers and staff members work hard to switch from our Blended Learning plan to our total remote learning plan. You will find the remote learning schedule we will follow starting tomorrow (Tuesday, September 15) attached to this email. If internet is an issue during this 2 week time period, please call the office at (217) 764-3367 with these concerns. At this time, we plan to return to our Blended Learning plan with the in-person instruction option on Monday, September 28. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the office or the individual classroom teachers. If you have Chromebook concerns or issues, please email Mr. Stielow and stielowp@meridianhawks.net. https://5il.co/l0j0

Because of multiple positive cases reported over the weekend, Meridian Schools will be switching to remote learning for the next two weeks. MMS & MHS will be open from 8:00 - 3:00 for students to come in and get supplies from lockers, if needed. A remote learning schedule will be provided to students and parents tomorrow via email.

During this time of year, we typically welcome and encourage our parents/guardians to come in for the MMS Open House. This not only gives you the opportunity to spend a few minutes following your child's daily schedule, but you can also meet the classroom teachers and hear of our expectations and curriculum for each subject. We aren't able to host our traditional open house under the current guidelines, so the middle school teachers have put together videos/presentations for a virtual open house. Please take the time to "get to know" your child's teachers by clicking on the links on the attached document. Videos are also available on each teacher's web page and can be accessed at www.meridianhawks.net. https://5il.co/kscp

We had a great first week back at MMS with our students! Do you want to know what your child is learning about during the day or what the homework assignments are for each class? Planbook links are accessible on teacher web pages and can also be viewed here - https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/901719/MMS_Planbook_Links_2021.pdf

Tomorrow - Friday, September 4 - is an early dismissal. The Macon campus will dismiss at 11:10 a.m. All transportation arrangements should be made prior to the students arriving in the morning. Students should be picked up promptly at the dismissal. There is no school on Monday, September 7.

It was so great to be back! #wearemeridian

Remote Learning students should stop by the school today between 8-3:00 p.m. to pick up materials for the beginning of the school year! Supplies are organized alphabetically by grade level in the MMS cafeteria. Only one person needs to enter the building. There is no need to stop in the office. Please wear a mask! *In-person learners will receive supplies/materials on Monday!

To self certify your child each morning before he or she comes to school (OR gets on the bus): 1) Download the App 2) Login as a parent 3) Click on the yellow link (one per child in your household) 4) Answer the questions The self certify link is now live for you to practice. Thanks in advance for testing this out!

Here is the app you will need to download to self certify your child(ren) daily if they are in-person learners. Once you login, there will be an announcement highlighted in yellow telling you that it needs to be completed. This will look just like the prompt for online registration. The self certification portion will be live tomorrow for you to test it out!

Our teachers returned to the building yesterday and are busy preparing for students to return next week. We'd like to welcome the following new faces to MMS! Mrs. Erin Janvrin - Secretary Miss Maggie Comerford - Special Education Mrs. Alyssa Holsapple - Special Education Mrs. Aidan Perrey - 6-12th Grade Art Miss Gracie Brookens - Long-Term 7th-8th Grade Science Substitute Teacher Mr. Carl Jones - Custodian Mr. Andrew Novak - Social Worker Go Hawks!

Our 2020-2021 school year with updated dates has been posted on the webpage. The bell schedule that will be used for our daily 1:30 p.m. dismissal is also available.  To limit the number of students in the hallway at one time, bus riders will be dismissed at 1:25 p.m. and car riders/walkers will be dismissed at 1:30 p.m.  All car riders/walkers should be dropped off/picked up at the MMS main entrance. Bus riders will be dropped off/picked up at the MHS main entrance. Your child must have a mask on before entering the building (or school bus), and you will need to self-certify that your child is healthy before he or she arrives to school in the morning. More information will be provided on the self-certification process before school begins.   If your child is registered to ride a bus, you should hear from your child's bus driver by noon next Thursday, August 27.  Any questions can be directed to Paula Ray (rayp@meridianhawks.net or (217) 764-3896) at the Bus Garage or myself. It is very important that your child knows his or her bus number before reporting to school on the first day.  The first day of student attendance for all learners is Monday, August 31. On this day, students who are registered to begin the year in-person will receive Chromebooks, textbooks, and the student planner. In addition, we will use core periods to watch back-to-school "boot camp" videos created to communicate overall school expectations that may look a little different this year.  I have included the links to those videos for you to review and discuss with your child prior to the first day.   Arrival/Dismissal to School Procedures - https://youtu.be/J64ShauB66c Office & Nurse Procedures - https://youtu.be/QNOdy2PgwZQ Hallway & Restroom Procedures - https://youtu.be/KMslRdVnci4 Lunch Procedures - https://youtu.be/pbU6wzSgbak Library Procedures - https://youtu.be/h3DlIToOX44 We are really looking forward to having our students back - both in-person and remotely. As you take your "First Day of School" pictures, we'd love for you to share them with us to use as we document the 2020-2021 school year.  Please email your middle school student's First Day of School picture to mmsyearbook@meridianhawks.net.     Updated Upcoming Events -  August 28: Remote Learners pick up supplies (MMS cafeteria) between 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. August 31: 1st Day of School for In-Person and Remote Learning Students September 4: 11:10 a.m. Dismissal September 7: No School - Labor Day September 9: Virtual Open House - More Information will Follow September 25: 1st Quarter Midterm  September 29: School Pictures *Remote Learning students can come in for pictures between 1:45 - 2:45 p.m. in the auditorium. 

With softball & baseball seasons currently underway, our goal at Meridian is to provide a safe playing field for all athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators. To maintain that high level of safety and to ensure that we can proceed with these seasons and those that follow, our conference athletic directors met to establish universal guidelines that were communicated to all players and parents/guardians. From those guidelines, it is important to note the following: -Players, coaches, and spectators should maintain social distance by being 6 feet apart. To help with this, we have removed the spectator bleachers from both fields. -Spectators are limited to 2 people per player and all non-participants should wear a mask at all times. This includes athletes while on the bus and while sitting in the dugout. -If an athlete, coach, official, or spectator has any of the COVID-19 symptoms, is currently suffering from COVID-19, or has recently been in contact with someone who has tested positive, that individual (and those in the household) should not come to the game. If someone who attends a game tests positive for COVID-19, a roster with head of household contact information will be provided to the host team for contact tracing. We know our sporting events look different today because of these unprecedented times. We are hopeful, however, that our kids can successfully play ball under these guidelines. Thank you in advance for not only cooperating with these guidelines, but for also discussing them with your child.

Good luck to both our MMS baseball and softball teams as they kick off the season tomorrow against Monticello! Per conference guidelines, spectators should be limited to 2 people per athletes, must wear a mask, and should practice social distancing. Go Hawks!

Click the link for more Google tips for parents. Our 6th - 8th grade students will use their district provided email address to join Google Classrooms. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xfgqtCi7hdo