Greetings Meridian Students and Families,

Phew! We made it through this week without having to delay or close our schools. Thank goodness! Below are a few items that may be of interest to you as we wrap up this week:

2020 Graduation Date
I know many of you (particularly families of senior students) are eager to hear the final word on when graduation will be. As evidenced by this past week, we are still in what I would call the ‘danger zone’ where we may need to delay or close school due to winter weather conditions. We are scheduled to finalize MHS graduation and provide specific details for making up our three days of missed school at the February 26th school board meeting. I will be sure to provide details the next day.

National School Counselor’s Week

What an important role our counselors have in our schools! This week has been National School Counseling Week. We have enormous appreciation and respect for the incredible work, limitless grace, and vast wisdom they exercise every day! Please join me in thanking Stori Robertson, Catherine Mullett, Kathy Greshock, Katie Miller, Cheryl McBride, and Don McMains for all they do to provide support and guidance to our students and our staff as we help to support them, too!

Thank you, Coach Ames!

Many of you are aware of Coach Bob Ames announced his retirement from Meridian Football this week. I want to acknowledge our appreciation for his 46 years of dedication and service as a football coach and 34 years as a teacher to students in the Meridian School District. Even though Mr. Ames left the classroom in 2008 he has continued to serve as a substitute at our high school until recently. And, in case you weren’t aware, Coach Ames coached at Mt. Si for 7 years prior to coming to Meridian – resulting in 53 years of continuous coaching! It truly is an end of an era. Thank you, Coach Ames!

Upcoming School Board Meetings

I’d like to remind everyone of our two board meetings this month. The first in on Wednesday, February 12 at 7:00 pm. The second is on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm. We welcome your attendance. The Meridian School Board is a fully voluntary board. Our Directors volunteer their time and energy to support the children and families of the Meridian School District as they serve four-year terms. You can learn more about the Meridian School Board by visiting our school board web page. We invite you to participate in the meetings and hear the many things being planned for our great district. We meet in the PD/Board room in Building F (Band Building) on the MHS campus. We hope to see you next Wednesday!

Mark Your Calendar! Drinks w/ the Doc…

Please join me for Drinks with the Doc on March 12 from 9:00-10:00 am at Irene Reither Elementary School. I received a great suggestion about changing the time when these meetings occur. We will be alternating early times and later times moving forward. The March 12 meeting will be at Irene Reither because my guest will be Joe Rutan, Whatcom County Engineer and Assistant Director of Public Works. I have heard about the concerns and frustration with this intersection during my entry plan – and since. Some of our community members have been actively calling to address the problems and look for solutions, for which I am grateful. I reached out to the Whatcom County Public Works Department on behalf of the district and the community. I met with Mr. Rutan today where we discussed partnering and problem solving. He will be on-hand to share future plans and details about how we are working together to address the traffic issues at the Hannegan and East Hemmi intersection – and others. As always, I will have coffee and treats. We look forward to talking with you soon!