Principal’s Message
IRE Families,
We hope you had a fun and restful Spring Break! We’re excited to see all your smiling faces back at school and look forward to a final stretch filled with learning, laughter, and time together as an IRE family.
With warmer weather ahead, please help us by checking that students are bringing their jackets home each day—this is our peak season for lost-and-found items!
As we move toward summer, now is a great time to explore GoGuardian to help monitor your child’s online activity on weekends and during break. If you’d like support getting started, don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re happy to help.
Best,
Tyler Dockins, Principal
GoGuaridan

Monitor Your Child’s Online Activity with the GoGuardian Parent App
Did you know you can help manage your child’s screen time and internet access at home? The GoGuardian Parent App gives families insight into their child’s online activity on school-managed devices.
With this app, you can:
  • ✅View your child’s browsing history
  • ✅Set internet filtering and restrictions during out-of-school hours
  • ✅Monitor screen time to support healthy digital habits
We encourage all families to download and explore the GoGuardian Parent App to help create a safe and balanced online experience for students. For more information or to get started, visit the GoGuardian page on our website!

Bond Information: How would a 5-8 middle school work?
By 2028, Irene Reither Elementary (IRE) is projected to have over 1,000 students, exceeding its capacity of 726. The Facilities Task Force, recognizing the need for a new Meridian Middle School due to its condition and future overcrowding, recommended rebuilding it as a 5-8 school. This will alleviate overcrowding at IRE by moving about 160 students to a new middle school, which will be designed with input from parents, staff, students, and the community.
Adding capacity at Meridian Middle School is more cost-effective than building a new elementary school, which would cost about $50 million. The task force’s recommendation addresses both the need for a new middle school and the overcrowding at IRE. These videos provide more details on these topics.
2025 Bond: Your FAQs Answered
mms hallway

PTA Meeting
Wednesday, April 16th, 6-7:30pm
IRE Library
Childcare provided

Spring State Assessments Begin Soon
Spring state assessments for students in grades 3–8 and 10 will begin soon. These assessments help us measure student progress.
  • Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) will be used for English Language Arts (ELA) and math.
  • Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) will be used for science in grades 5, 8, and 11.
The results from these assessments will provide valuable information for both the school and families. They help us improve instructional practices, gauge student progress and identify areas where additional support may be needed. For grade 10 students, the Smarter Balanced assessments can also serve as a graduation pathway. Results are typically available in Skyward by September each year.
How you can help:
  • Ensure your child arrives at school on time each day during testing.
  • Encourage your child to get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast before testing.
  • Most students will take the assessments online using their Chromebooks. Please remind your child to come to school with their Chromebook fully charged.
Your school will provide specific details about the testing schedule and any other relevant information.
For additional information about state testing:
If you have any questions about the state assessments, please contact your school.

Strengthening Social Health and Building Connections
A Message from Mental Health Coordinator Laura Lupo
Social health is about relationships and the well-being that comes from connection with family, friends, co-workers and community. The focus on social health has increased in recent years to the point that the US Surgeon General has raised loneliness as a public health priority, and the World Health Organization has established a global commission focused on human connection. Social health is linked to a 50% boost in longevity, making it as important to our lifespan as avoiding smoking, tackling obesity and regular exercise. How do you strengthen your social health?
Here are some ideas:
  • Start small: Call a friend to chat instead of messaging them. Short phone calls can decrease feelings of loneliness. If you’re more shy or introverted, stretch your social muscles by attending low-key social events or hobby based groups, start with texting and build up to face-to-face. Shyness isn’t a flaw – you don’t have to be loud…just connected!
  • More face-to-face interactions: Friendships grow from regular contact and shared experiences. Friendships tend to fizzle out unless you have regular communication and do activities together. Focus on quality relationships, not quantity.
  • 5-3-1: Try to interact with 5 different people, maintain 3 close relationships, and spend 1 hour a day connecting face-to-face.

Emergency Drill
In April, IRE students and staff will be practicing an EVACUATION Drill. The following is an example of how we explain an EVACUATION Drill to our IRE students:
An  EVACUATION drill is signaled by the fire alarm and results in all students and adults evacuating to the fields adjacent to each building.
Schools in our county use the Standard Response Protocol from iloveuguys.org.  You can learn more about the protocol here.