Good Afternoon,

Due to recent flooding, our Meridian community and county as a whole have been through a difficult few days. I want to express my gratitude to our first responders, staff, students, and community for their help and support over the past week. I am grateful for the display of unity and community support to ensure those in need were and are safe and cared for. We will continue to support families, whose homes and livelihoods were affected by the flooding in any way we can.

Anyone who is facing hardship from the floods, I encourage you to communicate with your child’s teacher so accommodations can be made to help support your student. If you or your family have been displaced by flooding, please call the Whatcom County Hotline: (360) 788-5311 or visit the Red Cross shelter at the Lynden Fairgrounds for support. If you or your family is experiencing homelessness, please reach out to Alicia Roberts, the district’s Family Services Coordinator at 360-988-1949. If you are interested in helping, the city of Everson is asking volunteers to meet at the Everson Shopping Center Saturday, Nov. 20 at 8 a.m.

Thank you to our maintenance department for their proactive work going from building to building to check facilities for leaks amidst the heavy rainfall. They found a few minor issues they were able to address before any damage was done. They also provided generation power backup on Monday when the power went down so our technology department was able to keep their systems up. We appreciate the hard work they do to keep our buildings safe and operational for us all!

Additionally, I want to acknowledge our transportation department who worked diligently to assess roads and prepare alternate routes to ensure safe transportation to school for the remainder of the week. We understand flood conditions vary widely across the district and want to remind families that your safety is our priority. If at any point you are not able to safely get to school due to weather conditions, please stay home.

Thank you for your support and patience over the past week. Closing school is never ideal as we know students are best served in the classroom, but safety will always be our priority. We want to remind all families that Flash Alert is our first mode of communication for weather and other emergency messaging, please sign up if you have not already.

Welcome, Transportation Director, Michele Apeles

Congratulations to the district’s new Transportation Director, Michele Apeles. Michele joined the Meridian School District in September of 2016 as a substitute bus driver, student monitor, and paraeducator. Michele decided to become a full-time bus driver by the end of the 2016-17 school year. By the fall of 2017, she was working as the district Transportation Specialist and has been in that role since. We are thrilled to have Michele’s knowledge and experience as she moves into her role as Transportation Director. Please join me in congratulating Michele!