Principal Message
IRE Families,
What an eventful week. We hope that many of you got to hear the stories of the Reptile Lady visit, and saw the photos on our social media site. The coming weeks we have many different events you will see below, we would love to see you at the art show and we also appreciate everyone’s diligence and support with state testing in Grades 3-5. This is one of the many opportunities to show how hard working and amazing our school community is.
Last, as mentioned in our last newsletter, our school staff comes together during the month of May to make thoughtful placements and pairing for the next school year. At IRE, we make classroom placements that balance classes academically and socially, with thoughtful intentions toward friendships. This approach is rooted in cultivating the strongest sense of belonging possible while also encouraging students to spark new relationships with other students. Further, we do not make placements based upon the teacher. The reason for this is that teachers may change grade levels based upon enrollment or for a variety of other reasons.
Our staff look forward to taking family and student input to inform our decisions. Please leave any comments you would like to share about your child, their experiences or other important information that you would like the school to know. Our teachers look at this information as a team, so if there is anything private you would like to share, please reach out to one of our school counselors, Catherine Mullett (Grades TK, 1, 3, 5) at
cmullett@meridian.wednet.edu or Sabrina Kalil
skalil@meridian.wednet.edu (Grades K, 2, 4).
If you would like to give us this information, please have the survey completed by May 1st.
Best,
Tyler Dockins, Principal
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| IRE Drills
In April, we conducted 2 make-up drills, SECURE and SHELTER. The following are examples of how we explained both:
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A SECURE will be called if there is something scary or dangerous happening outside our building. Sometimes we might SECURE if there is someone nearby who’s not allowed to be at our school. Sometimes law enforcement, like the police or fire department, might call and ask us to SECURE if they know something unsafe is going on outside.
A SHELTER will be called if there is an extreme weather event or a hazardous chemical exposure. An announcement will signal the need to start the SHELTER, and another announcement will signal the end of the SHELTER.
This month IRE students and staff will be practicing a LOCKDOWN Drill. The following is an example of how we explain a LOCKDOWN Drill to our IRE students:
A LOCKDOWN will be called if there is something dangerous happening inside our building. We might LOCKDOWN if there is a dangerous animal inside our school. We might LOCKDOWN if there is a dangerous person inside our school. Sometimes we might LOCKDOWN if there is a report of a dangerous weapon inside our school.
Schools in our county use the Standard Response Protocol from iloveyguys.org. You can learn more about the protocol here.
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SBA Testing
Grades 3-5 will be taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment May 14 – 25. Assessment is an important part of our overall learning at IRE. Our goal is for testing to be an authentic part of the learning process and accurate reflection of how students are performing. Home partnership plays a vital role. |
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- Please ensure that your child’s device is fully functional, charged, and arrives at school each day.
- Good sleep and breakfasts are always important!
- Questions? Reach out to Nate Beede nbeede@meridian.wednet.edu
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| Student Pick-Up Reminder
Please arrive between 3:25-3:40pm for student pick-up. If arriving before 3:25, proceed to the gravel lot. This will allow the end of the day traffic to flow smoothly and prevent backups. |
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| 2024-2025 Kindergarten Registration is open
Know a child turning 5 by Sept. 1?
Register for kindergarten in Meridian School District! Kindergarten registration for the 2024-25 school year begins Tuesday, Feb. 20. Children must be 5-years-old by Sept. 1, 2024 to be eligible.
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Children learn through play and engaging hands-on experiences. In kindergarten, children will learn how to make friends, share, and grow in many ways. They will learn to read, write and develop math skills.
Know a child turning 4 by Sept. 1?
Apply for our Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program! TK is a free, full-day early entrance kindergarten experience for children who are scheduled to enter kindergarten the following year.
To be eligible, children must turn 4 by Sept. 1, 2024 and demonstrate academic, language or social need and cannot be currently enrolled in another early learning program. Apply by registering your child online at
www.meridian.wednet.edu/ire/early-childhood.
Student Art Show at Meridian High School at 6 p.m. on May 6
The district student art show will be from 6-8 p.m. on Monday, May 6 at Meridian High School. Student art from every school will be on display in the commons. There will also be performances by our school choirs and bands, including IRE’s Marimba, Choir and Children’s Choir Clubs, and color guard. The event is free and open to all ages. We hope to see you there!
