Welcome back Trojans!
A Great Start!
A Message from Interim Superintendent Dr. Kurt Harvill
Our theme this year is “One Team. One Purpose.” This week, I have seen that commitment in action across our district.
On the first day of school, students arrived excited to reconnect with friends and staff. At our schools, staff worked together to create a welcoming start to the year by greeting students by name, answering questions, helping students find their way, and stepping in wherever support was needed.
I saw office teams, school leaders, paraeducators, counselors, specialists and support staff working together to help students and families feel welcomed and ready for learning. Behind the scenes, bus drivers, custodial and maintenance teams, and food services staff played an equally important role in helping students start the year strong.
What stood out most was the way people supported one another. Staff answered a colleague’s question, reassured a nervous student, and jumped in whenever an extra set of hands was needed. Those moments reflect the strength of a team united around a common purpose of ensuring every student is ready to learn, grow and thrive. There was a wonderful energy throughout our schools.
That is what “One Team. One Purpose.” looks like. People with different responsibilities and expertise working together toward a shared goal of supporting our students.
I am honored to serve as your interim superintendent this year. I look forward to visiting our schools, connecting with families, and listening to our staff and community. If you have a question, concern, idea or story to share, I encourage you to reach out by phone or email. I welcome the opportunity to connect with you.
We are grateful you are here and look forward to a great year together!
One Team: Custodians
Supporting Health and Safety
When we think about the people who help our students succeed, custodians may not always be the first roles that come to mind. Yet at the heart of their work is something fundamental to every school day: the health, safety and well-being of our students and staff.
Our nine custodians care for more than 360,000 square feet of school facilities, helping ensure our schools are ready for learning each day. Their responsibilities go far beyond what most of us see. They maintain classrooms, hallways, restrooms and common spaces; respond to spills and unexpected messes; address sanitation and safety concerns; prepare spaces for activities and events; and keep a constant eye out for issues that could affect the people who learn and work in our buildings.
During the summer, custodians clean classrooms from top to bottom, including windows, blinds, walls, baseboards, whiteboards and ventilation registers; shampoo carpets and refinish floors; replace HVAC filters; pressure wash sidewalks and bus loops; help move classrooms and furniture; and maintain outdoor spaces, including playground areas. The work is physically demanding, often requiring custodians to walk 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day while lifting, moving and transporting materials and equipment throughout their buildings.
Custodians also play an important role in school security. Each day, they help ensure schools are locked, secured and alarmed, checking doors, windows and gates, turning off lights and helping maintain safe environments for students and staff.
Much of this work happens behind the scenes. It may take place before students arrive, after staff have gone home, or quietly in the background during the school day. When custodial work is done well, it can be easy not to notice, but that is often the point. Their work creates a healthy, safe and welcoming environment that allows everyone else to focus on teaching and learning.
Our custodial team is an essential part of one team, with every role contributing to student success. We are grateful to our custodians for the dedication and attention they bring to our schools every day.
Thank you to custodians Kaylee Ward and Alex Hosick for sharing about their important work and helping us highlight their roles in this newsletter.
(Photo: Custodian Jerry Hanson at IRE).
September: Attendance Awareness Month
Showing Up Matters: Start Strong, Stay Strong
September is Attendance Awareness Month, and with the first week of school now underway, it’s the perfect time to build strong attendance habits for the year ahead. Let’s challenge ourselves to make next week a perfect week of attendance and then keep that momentum going throughout the month.
Regular attendance is one of the strongest predictors of student success. Students who attend school consistently are more likely to stay on track academically, build strong relationships with teachers and peers, develop positive routines, and feel connected to their school community. Even missing just a few days each month can add up over the course of a school year and make it harder for students to keep up with learning. Being present matters.
We know that occasional absences happen, especially when students are sick, but whenever possible, we encourage families to prioritize daily attendance.
When is too sick to send to school? (English)
When is too sick to send to school? (Spanish)
Together, let’s make this a great year!
We have additional resources about attendance for our families and students on our website.
Meridian High School FFA
Our Meridian High School FFA students had an incredible showing at the Northwest Washington Fair, earning top honors across multiple livestock projects and showcasing the results of countless hours of hard work.
Top Honors:
- Dallas earned Overall Grand Champion Sheep Showman, Grand Champion Market Sheep, and Overall Reserve Champion Swine.
- Yazmin was named Grand Champion Rabbit Showman and earned Overall Reserve Champion Rabbit Type.
- Priscila earned Overall Reserve Champion Meat Rabbit.
- Emersyn S. earned Reserve Champion Market Goat, along with Reserve Champion Senior Goat Showmanship.
Additional champion honors went to:
- Estelle – Reserve Champion Rabbit Type,
- Alexa – Reserve Champion Senior Rabbit Showmanship,
- Aliyah – Reserve Champion Junior Goat Showmanship,
- Cooper – Reserve Champion Swine Weight Class.
Recap: MSD Back-to-School Fair
Thank you for joining us!
We want to express our gratitude to the staff, families, students and community partners who made our first-ever Back-to-School Fair on Aug. 19 such a success!
The Meridian Family Support Center connects families with resources and support services. This year, our family services team organized the Back-to-School Fair to help kick off the school year.
More than 20 community organizations attended, connecting families with local resources and support. Families could pick up school supplies and sign up for services. School and district leaders were present, including our food services coordinator and transportation director who were available to answer questions.
Children enjoyed activities including face painting, temporary tattoos, cornhole, jump ropes, hula hoops and more. A special thank-you goes to our high school volunteers, whose face-painting talents were such a hit they received requests for future parties!
Finally, a huge shout-out to our family services team, Alicia Roberts and Elvira Trautman, for their hard work and dedication in organizing such a fantastic event.
We are so grateful to be part of such a supportive community and are already planning for next year!
Welcome New Staff
Please join us in welcoming these new staff to Meridian School District. (These staff members were hired during the June, July and August board meetings).
- Nate Brar, CTE teacher, Meridian High School
- Dustin Chavira, paraeducator, Meridian Middle School
- Payton Glasser, PE/health teacher, Meridian High School
- Amanda Griggs, paraeducator, Irene Reither Elementary
- Marissa Hall, paraeducator, Meridian Middle School
- Anna Jacintho, CTE teacher, Meridian High School
- Hannah Jacobs, teacher, Irene Reither Elementary
- Shanda Morales, school counselor, Irene Reither Elementary
- Olha Osinnia, custodian, IRE and MMS
- Susan Peterson, school nurse, Meridian High School
- Taryn Potter, Special Education teacher, Irene Reither Elementary
- Rachel Reijm, teacher, Irene Reither Elementary
- Race Schultz, Special Education teacher, Irene Reither Elementary
- Dmytro Sielivanov, maintenance
- Summer Speer, paraeducator, Irene Reither Elementary
- Triaena Summerfield, teacher, Irene Reither Elementary
- Megan Viramontes, English Language Arts teacher, Meridian Middle School
- Anne Marie Zecher, paraeducator, Irene Reither Elementary
School Safety: Standard Response Protocol
Meridian School District, along with all school districts in Whatcom County, follow Standard Response Protocol (SRP) developed by the I Love You Guys Foundation. A benefit of Standard Response Protocol is that it creates a uniform response to an incident. Whether the incident is weather related, a fire, accident, intruder or other student safety scenario, students and staff will be trained and ready to respond appropriately.
SRP is not based on one individual scenario but on the response to any given scenario. It uses the same standard language all first responders use. The protocol allows for a predictable series of actions as an unpredictable event unfolds.
This brief video goes through each action: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate and Shelter. Each issue of the Meridian Monthly we will dive into one of these actions. Thank you for partnering with us to support student and staff safety.