Meridian Elementary News

October

26th-30th: Red Ribbon Week

30th: Trunk or Treat - 2:30PM-3:45PM @ Meridian Elementary

30th: October Birthday Celebration

30th: Lost & Found items will be donated

November

3rd: NO SCHOOL - Professional Learning Day

5th: Picture Retakes

5th: PTO Meeting 4:15-4:45

20th: November Birthday Celebration

23rd-27th: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break

Detailed information will be provided below closer to event date.

Click the link below for the West ADA 2025-2026 Student Calendar:

District Calendar | West Ada School District

*****Absence Reporting*****

Please make sure you review our safety procedures below for visiting our campus or checking out students.

• CAMPUS VISITORS:
• Anyone coming onto the school campus needs to bring identification.
• All campus visitors need to sign in at the office.
• If a visitor comes onto campus without identification, they may not be allowed to remain on campus.
• STUDENT CHECKOUT:
• Only parents, guardians, and emergency contacts listed on PowerSchool are allowed to pick up students.
• Anyone checking out a student is required to show their identification.
• Anyone not listed on PowerSchool may not be allowed to check out a student.

Thank you for helping us keep our campus safe and secure.

Hello Meridian Families!

We have an exciting and BUSY week ahead! We will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week with fun dress-up days and our Trunk-or-Treat! Families are welcome to join us for Trunk-or-Treat. Please review the information below, including our student costume guidelines.

I also want to encourage families to make 15–20 minutes of reading each night part of their routine. Whether you're reading together or your child is reading independently, these moments help build vocabulary, strengthen comprehension, and develop a lifelong love of reading. I know evenings can be busy, but this small investment of time can make a lasting difference in your child's learning.

Thank you for your continued partnership and all you do to support our Trailblazers! We are grateful for our wonderful Meridian community!

Sincerely,

Courtney Parker
Principal

Come join us for a spooky Halloween celebration on Friday, October 30! Parents are welcome to join us from 2:30-3:45PM for our annual Trunk or Treat on the MES Playground.

Parents will need to sign in and will be allowed to go to their child's classroom at 2:30. Staff will be available outside to assist with sign-in starting at 2:15.

Please make sure to bring your ID any time you are coming onto the school campus. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe.

Could you help us make this our best Trunk or Treat ever? Sign up to decorate a trunk or help fill our candy stash! We need lots of candy! Trunk or Treat Sign Up

• Please make sure costumes are elementary school appropriate.
• No scary costumes.
• No blood or weapons.
• No face paint, heavy make-up, or face masks.
• Inflatable costumes are allowed for the Trunk-or-Treat only. Inflatable costumes may not be worn during the school day. Students will be allowed to change into an inflatable costume before the Trunk-or-Treat.

Monday, October 26: We are RED-Y to be drug free! Wear RED to kick off Red Ribbon Week!

• Daily Challenge: Write down one goal for yourself.

• Daily Challenge: Brainstorm some healthy choices!

• Daily Challenge: Get 8-10 hours of sleep tonight!

• Daily Challenge: Practice positive self-talk!

• Daily Challenge: Spend time outside in the fresh air!

• Please make sure costumes are elementary school appropriate.
• No scary costumes.
• No blood or weapons.
• No face paint, heavy make-up, or face masks.
• Inflatable costumes are allowed for the Trunk-or-Treat only. Inflatable costumes may not be worn during the school day. Students will be allowed to change into an inflatable costume before the Trunk-or-Treat.

Meridian Elementary School's Student Leadership Council is kicking off its Annual Food Drive on Friday, October 30th! Families are invited to bring one or more food items to donate at our Halloween Trunk-or-Treat, starting at 2:30 PM.

The food drive will run until Thursday, November 12.

Suggested Items

• Beans (dry and canned)
• Ravioli
• Cereal
• Chili
• Fruit (canned)
• Instant potatoes
• Mac n' Cheese
• Pasta noodles
• Peanut butter
• Rice (bag or box mixes)
• Soup
• Spaghetti sauce
• Stew
• Tuna or Hamburger Helper
• Tuna or other canned meat
• Vegetables (canned)

Your generous donations will help provide meals and pantry staples to the Meridian Food Bank for local families in need in our community. This will help support our families during the

holiday season. Thank you for helping our school community support others. We appreciate your generosity!

Frankenstein's Closet is a resource that provides Halloween costumes for kids. They are available Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10AM-3PM. They may have some appointments available. Please contact them at 208-384-2512. They are located at 1808 West Bannock Street in Boise.

Meridian Flying Squirrels Wrestling Club is open for grades K-5 and 6-12! Students will learn about wrestling techniques, hard work, self-discipline, and fortitude through the world's oldest sport! See the attached flyer for more information.

Please be sure to label your child's items with their first AND last name. This will help your child's items get returned to them if the item gets left behind. Label all coats, sweatshirts, hoodies, gloves, hats, scarves, water bottles, and lunchboxes.

Lost & Found is donated at the end of the month. Items will be hung up on the fence by the front parking lot for parents to view for a few days before the items are donated.

Cold weather is here, so please remind your students to come to school with a sweatshirt or jacket!

This month, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade students are learning about ways to keep themselves safe. This is a great opportunity to talk with your child about the safety rules your family has in place and why they are important.

Always Ask First Rule

• Always ask a parent or the person in charge first.

Ways to Stay Safe

• Recognize: Is it safe? Stop and think. What is the rule?
• Refuse: Use words that mean no. Be assertive.
• Report: Tell a parent or a trusted adult about what happened.

Never, Never Rules

• Never touch a gun.
• Never ride on wheels without wearing a helmet.
• Never use a sharp tool without an older person help.
• Never touch a dog without asking the person in charge first.
• Never play with fire.
  
• Never go in water without an older person watching.
• Never cross the street without checking all ways for traffic first.
• Never ride in a car without wearing a seatbelt.

Mornings are getting very cold! Please remember to send your children to school with warm clothing like jackets or sweatshirts. Please make sure you label anything your children might take off at school so that it can get back to them. Please include first and last name.

You may send your child to school if they:

• Have a runny nose or just a little cough, but no other symptoms.
• Do not have a fever over 100 degrees. They must be fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine.
• Have a mild stomachache. Sometimes, a child may have a stomachache due to anxiety. If you think this may be the case, please contact the school nurse or counselor by calling the office at 208-855-4335.
• Have not thrown up for 24 hours.
• Have a mild rash with no other symptoms.
• Have eye drainage WITHOUT fever, eye pain, or eyelid redness.

Keep your child home if they:

• Have a temperature higher than 100 degrees.
• Have thrown up within the past 24 hours.
• Have watery stool/diarrhea and/or may not make it to the bathroom in time.
• Coughing so much that it disrupts their learning or the learning of other students.

If you are unsure if your student should come to school, please call the office at 208-855-4335 to be connected to our nurse, Tambra Fry

• Make good choices
• Use kind words
• Show respect
• Involve yourself
• Care for our room and tools

We have also started using musical instruments and art tools to begin our journey as future musicians and artists. We are ready to make beautiful music and art together!

Over the last six weeks our students have been practicing responsibility with our laptops/equipment, learning digital citizenship and typing skills. Please review these expectations with your child and encourage them to follow them at school and at home when using devices:

• Sit down while using a laptop.
• No food or drink near laptops.
• Be respectful and gentle with laptops, mice, and headphones.
• Do not touch another student’s computer without their permission.
• Use the internet safely and appropriately for school — be a good digital citizen.

Thank you for your ongoing support in heling our students become safe, respectful and capable digital learners!

Throughout the year, students will develop their reading skills by discovering books that are just right for them. We will listen to stories, read stories, and share stories together. Students will learn to identify key book elements—title, author, illustrator, copyright, publisher, summary, preface, and genres—and explore story elements and characters. We will also study the differences between fiction and non-fiction, as well as biographies and memoirs.

In PE, we are learning about staying active and working on different skills for each grade level.

• 5th: Basketball dribbling skills
• 4th: Catching skills
• 3rd: Soccer passing skills
• 2nd: Catching skills
• 1st: Hopping skills
• K: Balance skills

So far, we have been establishing our Health classroom routines and expectations. Students are learning that being successful in Health means being present, participating, and giving their best effort. Students get to learn by participating in discussions, playing games, doing activities, watching demonstrations, and other hands-on learning experiences. At the end of the lesson, students receive a 1-5 participation and engagement rating, which gives students opportunities to think about their performance and identify ways they can grow.

My name is Brittany Mangini, I have been teaching for 9 years and I am excited to be teaching computers at Meridian Elementary School. I have a Bachelor's degree in Human Development from Washington State University. I love working with all the students and enjoy watching their progress every day.

If your child is going to be absent from school, please let the school know.

• Call the ATTENDANCE LINE at 208-855-4337. Your message should include:
• The student NAME and GRADE
• The REASON for the absence
• YOUR NAME and PHONE NUMBER
• Fill out the Absence Reporting Form online. You can also find this form by clicking on the Attendance button on our website here.
• The Absence Reporting Form is currently for full day absences. If you are using the form for a partial day absence, please include that in the notes portion of the form or call the attendance line.

If the absence is due to medical, dental, or other professional appointment, please provide the office with a note. Notes can be brought into the office by parents/students, faxed to 208-855-4344, or emailed to fenton.julia@westada.org. Once documentation is received, please allow 48 hours for PowerSchool Attendance Code updates.

We have a winner for the month of September!!!

In 1st place, and the winner of the Attendance Cup Trophy, is Tommy (Murphy) with 98.4%! Coo hoo! Congratulations!!

In a very close 2nd place, and entering the Winner Circle, is Garfield (Fleischer) with 98.2%! Great job, team!!

And in 3rd place is Raphael (Hylton) with 96.7%! Excellent work!

We understand that any concerns you have about your student are very important and we want to help you as soon as possible. Like most professional offices, our administrators and counselor have regularly scheduled meetings, classroom lessons, classroom observations, and school duties. We are unable to facilitate walk-ins.

To ensure we are able to help you quickly and efficiently, we have a form in the office for you to fill out for a meeting or phone call request. You can also call the office at 208-855-4335 and request that they fill out the form for you. This form will ensure that you can get your problem handled quickly and you don't spend unnecessary time waiting for at the school.

We thank you for your understanding and patience.

Thank you for your patience as our families get used to drop off and pick up routines up front! A few important reminders:

• No parking in the drop off loop! The drop off loop is for parents who are staying in their vehicles and dropping their student off. Parking in this area disrupts the flow of traffic. If you would like to get out of your vehicle with your student, please use the parking lot or street parking and walk your student to the front doors of the school.
• Pull forward in the drop off loop. Pull forward all the way to the sign. This allows for smooth flow of traffic.
• Do not pass vehicles in the drop off loop. Wait to pull forward. This is for student safety. Vehicles should not be parked here. If a vehicle is parked here, please inform a staff member.
• Students should exit on the passenger side. Please arrange your vehicle so your student can exit on the passenger side. This is for student safety. Students should not cross in front of vehicles.

All transportation is handled by the West Ada School District Transportation office. Click here to go to the transportation site.

• Please remind students to be at the bus stop 5 minutes before the scheduled arrival time. Drivers cannot wait for late students.
• Bus badges are required for all students riding the bus. Students will be allowed to ride the bus in the morning if they do not have their badge.
• Students that do not have their badge and have not received a temporary badge will not be allowed to ride the bus. They will be left at school and need to call parents for an alternate ride.

We love to celebrate our student's birthdays! Birthday Celebrations are held the last Friday of the month per district policy. Please read below for some rules & suggestions so your student's birthday celebration at Meridian goes smoothly.

• Birthday celebrations are only the last Friday of the month. We are not able to make exceptions.
• No balloons allowed at school due to allergies. This is a district policy.
• Healthy snacks and non-food items are suggested. All food items must be store bought. We cannot accept homemade food. For more information regarding birthday celebrations, please contact your child's teacher.

Parents/guardians are welcome to join their student for lunch occasionally.

• Only parents, guardians, and contacts on PowerSchool will be allowed on campus during lunch.
• Lunch visitors only in the cafeteria please. Visitors may not go out to recess.

All breakfast & lunch is free at Meridian Elementary! We would love for as many families as possible to use this program. Have your student stop by the cafeteria in the morning and grab a breakfast bag on their way to class! Check out the menu here (select Ustick and Meridian Elementary Breakfast. All schools have the same lunch menu.)

When sending a lunch to school with your student, please make sure it does not include soda, energy drinks, and/or candy. Please save these items for home.

Students may bring water bottles to class at any time. Please do not send your child class with other drinks (coffee drinks, Italian sodas, etc).

West Ada School District policy states, " Cell phones and other personal devices may not be kept on a student's person during the instructional period, which is defined as the start through end of the school day."

If you feel like your student needs to bring their phone/device to communicate with you before or after school, please make sure all devices, smart watches, etc. are turned off and kept in their backpacks during the school day. Students can turn their devices on as they are leaving for the day if they need to communicate with you.

If a student needs to contact home during the school day, these calls are handled through the nurse, classroom, or office.

If a student is found using their cellphone or device during the school day:

• 1st Time: Phone is brought up to the principal's office. Principal will contact parent/guardian to discuss phone use. Student will receive cellphone/device at the end of the day.
• 2nd Time: Phone is brought up to the principal's office. Principal will contact parent guardian to discuss phone use at school. Parent/guardian must come to school to pick up the cellphone/device.

Thank you for helping make Meridian Elementary a great, distraction-free place to learn!

Click here for the district cell phone policy.

Email: parker.courtney@westada.org
Website: https://www.westada.org/o/mes
Location: 1035 Northwest 1st Street, Meridian, ID, USA
Phone: (208) 855-4335