Dear Merrill Families,

What a fantastic, short week with our students! All of our Language Arts students took their second interim exam this week and worked so incredibly hard. As we approach the end of the quarter, it's important to review your student’s Quarter 3 grades and make a plan to address any missing assignments. Here are a few ways to support your child:

• Encourage them to check the grade portal together to identify missing work.
• Help them prioritize tasks based on due dates and workload.
• Provide a quiet space for them to complete assignments, free from distractions.
• Reach out to the teacher if your child needs clarification on any missing assignments or extra time to complete them.

Thank you for your continued support! Wishing you all a great weekend with your families.

Best regards,

Merrill Leadership

Dear Families,

We are seeing a large number of broken computers. Please go over this reminder about the expectations for Merrill technology with your student(s):

1. Proper Use: Students are expected to use Chromebooks responsibly and in accordance with school policies. This includes handling the device with care and using it only for educational purposes.

2. Charging: Please ensure that you arrive at school with a fully charged Chromebook. Students will not have access to charging facilities during the school day.

3. Breakages and Repairs: In the event of damage, repairs by the district (DPS) may take an extended period. During this time, students will be required to use paper and pencil for their assignments.

4. Financial Responsibility: Any loss or damage to the Chromebook or charger will result in a charge to the student’s account. We encourage students to be cautious to avoid unnecessary costs.

5. Inappropriate Use: To maintain a productive learning environment, the following actions will be taken if a student is found using the Chromebook inappropriately during class time:

• 1st Redirect: The student will be asked to return to the appropriate platform.

• 2nd Redirect: The Chromebook will be taken away for the rest of the school day and can be picked up from that class the following day (24 hours).

• 3rd Redirect: The Chromebook will be taken away for one week (7 days, including the weekend).

• 4th Redirect: The Chromebook will be turned in to the office for the rest of the quarter.

3/7 & 3/8/25- Spring Musical

3/21-3/31-25 NO SCHOOL Spring Break! Students return Tuesday 4/1/25!

5/2/25- Merrill Auction! Tickets on sale NOW!

https://merrill.bolder.bid

Do you have tickets to sporting events? A fantastic mountain retreat?

Connections to local businesses? We need your donations to make

the auction successful! Please reach out to Kathleen at

bookchambers@me.com

Good Luck to Boys and Girls Volleyball!

Basketball officially starts next week!

-Mr. Franklin

The Girls’ Volleyball team is looking amazing this year and is ready to bring the championship back to Merrill!

• Friday: The team will play at Bill Roberts at 4:00 PM.

• Saturday: The girls will play at George Washington High School at 9:30 AM. If they win, they’ll advance to the championship game at 12:00 PM. We look forward to seeing all of the Merrill fans in the stands to cheer them on!

The Second Annual Boys vs Girls Game will be held at Merrill on Friday, February 28th at 4:00 in the Merrill gym. This game will be a fundraiser for Special Olympics. Last year we raised $220 that was donated to Special Olympics Colorado. The funding supports all students who participate in Special Olympics activities such as Unified Bowling, Unified Basketball, Soccer and Track and Field.

The girls volleyball banquet will be on Tuesday, March 4th at 6:00 in the cafeteria. The banquet will be catered by La Garancha and will cost $20.00 per person. Flyers are in a blue folder outside of Ms. Wendy's room. Please RSVP by Monday, February 24th.

Boys Volleyball plays Hamilton today! If they win, they will play at GW tomorrow morning.

The Boys play the Girls next Friday at 4PM. All proceeds go to Special Olympics- come check it out!

We will have an end of season dinner at The Junction 3/3/25 at 4:30PM.

Upcoming Dine Outs - Remember to Mention Merrill When Ordering!

March 10 all day at Ester’s

April 29 from 4pm-10pm at Campus Lounge

Click to gear up your Jaguar with 20% off code: SAVE20

Quick links to support Merrill:

Donate your Longmont Dairy Caps

in the Merrill Office

Longmont Dairy supports Merrill by

giving 5¢ back for every milk cap!

Start collecting and tell your neighbors

that Merrill is a drop off location for

Longmont Dairy milk & juice caps!

Enroll Merrill as your Community

Rewards Recipient under My Account!

Over 100 Merrill students were treated to breakfast supplied by our gracious PTSA for working their hardest on the ACCESS TESTS!

Scrabble Day!

February is Black History Month. Here are some book recommendations that can be found on SORA.

The Yearbook Pre-Sale has begun! If you would like to order a yearbook for your student, you can order in the Office with cash or card, you may also order on MySchoolBucks, or you can order directly through the TreeRing website link - https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1015403108471048

All yearbooks will be delivered to Merrill and distributed to students during the last week of school.

Greetings #FAMILY! Merrill Meals pantry provides free groceries once a month to Merrill families that would like to receive extra food. We understand that everyone could use some support from time to time, and we are here to help.

If you would like to receive extra groceries one-time per month, please complete this private and anonymous survey, so we can provide the food items that your family likes to eat and match your preferences. Please mark the items that you would like to have potentially included in your pre-packed backpack.

***NOTE: Not all items are available, but we will match your request with whatever is in stock! Thank you.

Form can be found HERE

Are you interested in volunteering with Merrill Families Helping Families and the Merrill food pantry? The Spring signup is now open to help with the monthly backpack distributions. Our biggest need is on the first Friday afternoons helping pack the bags and distribute the backpacks. Don't see a time that works for you, but are interested in helping? Email sgrisinger77@gmail.com to be on the email list.

The Merrill Store is designed to promote positive behavior and encourages students to make good choices. They earn Merrill Money throughout their time at school and use it to "purchase" items at the store during their recess. Items include snacks, chips, candy, sports equipment, Merrill gear, fidgets, toys, stickers and most importantly- gift cards! Please see the Sign Up Genius below to sign up to donate items and to volunteer at the store. It's so fun seeing your student during the school day! We will have the store open 2 Fridays a month and hope to see you there!

MerrillStoreSUG

Club Offerings 24-25

From Denver South Student Leadership: Support our upcoming Wish Week 5k on Saturday, March 1st. All of the money we earn from registering for the 5k will go directly to fulfilling the Wish of this year's Wish Kid: Berkeley. If you want to know more about the route, here is access to our Wish Week 2025 website:

https://sites.google.com/dpsk12.net/dsouthwishweek25/fun-run

Form HERE

Tasty Food's After School Meal Program is now available providing FREE meals and snacks to youth ages 3-18. No ID or registration is required to participate.

Link HERE

This new pilot program will provide 4,000 eligible Denver Public Schools middle school students with $1,000 to enroll in afterschool programs. As students enroll in participating programs, My Spark Denver will also invest $4 million in afterschool activities.

My Spark Denver gives parents the agency to decide how they want to use the money, which is provided to them in the form of a restricted debit card that can be redeemed across 100+ afterschool providers, big and small. Every kid is different and what parents really need are the resources to help their children pursue their sparks, whether it's fencing, football or fashion design.