Meridian Middle School

With the school year quickly approaching, I know many of you have questions about back to school activities and how they may look a little different than in the past. Please know that our building is currently open Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. If your child will be an in-person learner and would like to come tour the building before school starts and/or bring in supplies, he or she is welcome to do so. Your child's class schedule can be found using the SIS parent portal. The locker number and combination is also available on SIS under "Student Details" (left side of screen). If you are planning to come in during office hours and would like a printed copy of your child's schedule when you come, please call the office ahead of time or send me an email. Please remember that everyone who enters the school building must wear a mask at all times. To keep numbers down, it is also greatly appreciated if only those family members who need to come into the building do so at this time. Students who will be remote learning at the beginning of the school year may come in on Friday, August 14 between 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. to pick up textbooks and Chromebooks. If this time does not work, please contact the office to make other arrangements. Only one person should come in, and masks are required. Materials will be organized in the cafeteria for a quick pick up. Remote learners do not need to bring in school supplies until they return to in-person learning. Students who will be in-person learning at the beginning of the school year will receive textbooks and Chromebooks during homeroom/1st hour on the 1st day of school - August 17. The first few days of student attendance will be used for in-person student orientation to help students make the adjustment back on campus. Upcoming Dates: August 17: 1st Day of Student Attendance August 18: School Pictures August 25: Virtual Open House - More Information to Follow September 4: 11:10 a.m. Dismissal September 7: No School - Labor Day

If your child is a returning Meridian student, please complete online registration by August 7. Information being collected through the online registration is being used to help plan and prepare for the upcoming school year. Registration for NEW Meridian students will be held in person on Monday, August 3 from 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Please bring proof of residency when you come. We are asking that only one family member enter the building. Please remember to wear a mask! If you have any questions, please call 217-764-3367.

If you think you have submitted online registration documents but have not received a confirmation email from the administrative team, your registration forms may be incomplete. If the page includes a link (free/reduce form, medical exam, etc.), you must click the link to verify that you have "viewed" the page. If you have questions, please email either mcguirem@meridianhawks.net or stielowp@meridianhawks.net.

The IESA made the difficult decision today to cancel middle school baseball, softball, golf, & cross country for the 2020-2021 school year. While this is news we are sad to hear, the health & safety of all our athletes and coaches is our #1 concern. We are proud of our athletes and will continue to cheer on all students academically this year! Go Hawks!

An amended calendar for the 2020-2021 school year was approved at Monday’s Board Meeting. The following changes were made: November 3: No School - Election Day State Holiday May 18: Last Day of School (if not emergency days are used) May 20: Report Card Day May 25: Last Day of School (if all emergency days are used)

The Online Registration is now open for Meridian CUSD #15. You can access all the online forms for your family and students on the SIS Parent Portal - https://sdm.sisk12.com/MM360x3/login. If you are unable to login to the SIS Parent Portal, please contact Phil Stielow at stielowp@meridianhawks.net.

Online registration for the 20-21 school year will begin on Monday, July 13 in SIS (online parent portal) for RETURNING students. When you log in to your child’s account, you will see a yellow prompt & access link that will allow you to begin filling out registration paperwork. If you do not have access to the parent portal, please email our technology director at stielowp@meridianhawks.net. If you do not have access to the internet, please email the MMS office (mcguirem@meridianhawks.net) to make an appointment to register in person once the office reopens. New student registration (new to district) will still be in person on Monday, August 3 from 8:00 - 2:00 p.m.

The 2020 - 2021 MMS school supply list can be found using the following link - https://5il.co/i6dd

The Meridian Blended Learning plan for the 2020-2021 school year was sent out via email this evening. It is also posted on the district website until “documents.”

Congratulations to our Meridian Elementary School principal, Lori Guebert! She was named the IPA Abe Lincoln Region Elementary Principal of the Year. We are so lucky to have Mrs. Guebert as an administrator in our district! 💚

Mr. Hurelbrink will be sending out an email this afternoon regarding sports physicals offered this summer at MHS for 7th & 8th grade athletes. Incoming 6th grade students do not need a separate sports physical. The health physical required for all 6th grade students will cover athletes this year (the athletic physical does not, however, count as the health physical). Physicals (athletic/health) must be on file before the student can participate in the sport season. Please email mcguirem@meridianhawks.net or call (217) 764-3367 with any questions!

A Remote Learning Parent survey was sent out last week by Mr. Pygott via email. Through data collected, we are hoping to gain as much information as possible regarding the implementation of Meridian's Remote Learning Day plan. If you are a parent/guardian of a Meridian student and haven't already done so, please complete the survey by Friday, June 5. If you did not receive the survey link, please email mcguirem@meridianhawks.net. Thank you in advance!!

Currently, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA), Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Health are working on guidelines allowing for student athletes and coaches to begin in person workouts. As these guidelines have become more clear, our district administrative team, athletic directors, and athletic trainer have begun framing the necessary procedures and protocols to be followed. Once these are complete, student athletes and parents will be provided a copy along with a sign off sheet. Ideally, we will have these in place and ready for a June 1 resumption of in person workouts/training. When these in person workouts/training begin, they will, undoubtedly, be much different than they were before. It will be up to the student athlete and coach to ensure all of the proper protocols and procedures are followed in order for us to be able to continue through the summer months. Below, we are providing you with some preliminary information pertaining to these in-person workouts/training. This information has also been provided to coaches, as well. -No team or individual, under any circumstance should be required to attend any workout or training. These will be strictly volunteer -No team is to organize any workout or training until they have received consent from the proper district administrator. No workout or training should take place before June 1, at the earliest -Every effort will be made to ensure social distancing and limited, if any, contact with others. -There will be a symptom check component in place Groups of student athletes/coaches will be limited to a maximum of 10 at any one time. Once all procedures have been determined, these will be distributed amongst coaches, athletes and families. In the meantime, we ask for everyone's patience as we work towards this goal.

For the months of May & June, office hours are 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. If you are planning to stop by the school, please call ahead to ensure someone will be in the office! We hope all our MMS families have a great summer!

We will be collecting Chromebooks, textbooks, & library books from MMS & MHS students again today and tomorrow. We are also offering extended times both days to help accommodate working parents/guardians. All students are reminded to used the high school entry. Don’t forget - the deadline to turn in Remote Learning work is TODAY at 3:00 p.m. Today is also our last day for providing lunches.

The Meridian Middle School Volleyball Teams had successful 2019-2020 seasons. The 8th grade finished 20-6. The 7th grade finished 25-1 and were Meridian Round Robin Champions, Okaw Junior High Conference Tournament Champions, Okaw Junior High Conference Champions, and IESA Regional Champions. The 6th grade finished 12-1-3 and won the Argenta-Oreana Tournament. This was a great year to be a Volleyball Hawk! All certificates, letters, pins, and trophies were given to the players on the Meridian Drop off/Pick up days. Congratulations to the following Lady Hawks who received individual awards: Most Improved: Maggie Pritts & Madi Kapchinske Best Teammate: Naomi Matich & Anya Ireland Serve Award: Jolie Witts & Haley Hanson Most Kills: Anabelle Nailer & Ella Woolington Hawk Hustle: Kynzie Damery & Ella Woolington

Friday, May 8 is the last day for new Remote Learning instruction! MMS students ~ Until then, work hard daily to get all work completed and submitted to your classroom teachers. If you have questions, please contact the appropriate teacher via email.

Meridian would like to thank Lowe's for their generous donation of the lunch bags that we have been using for the meal distribution program. David Ozier, the manager of Lowe's, contacted area schools in late March with the offer to provide bags. THANK YOU!

Documents were emailed this evening from the district and building levels to explain how Governor Pritzker's most recent school announcement will impact the remainder of the 2019 - 2020 school year at Meridian. Important dates, a question/answer document, and the schedule for drop off/pick up of materials were included. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email mcguirem@meridianhawks.net. Thank you!

4/9/20 - All field lights will be on at 8:20 p.m. (20:20) for 20 minutes to honor seniors and all athletes who have had their seasons postponed. If you drive through, please start at the baseball field and make your way around. PLEASE stay in your vehicles. "Be the Light!"