Dear Merrill Families,

Thank you for your continued support! We had another wonderful week at school, filled with excitement and celebrations. The 6th and 8th graders had a great time during their Skate City field trips as part of our Quarter 2 festivities. Looking ahead, the 8th grade will be visiting the Colorado History Museum on January 22nd—an excellent opportunity for students to dive into our local history.

As we head into next week, please be aware that the weather will be significantly colder. To ensure your child stays comfortable, please make sure they are dressed warmly and have a coat for outdoor activities.

We’d also like to remind everyone about our after-school parking zones. To help ensure a smooth and safe pick-up for all students, please avoid parking in the C3 pick-up spots before 3:50 PM. Additionally, please refrain from double parking in the Cory parking lot, as this has caused delays for staff members trying to leave after school. The attached map will help guide you to the appropriate areas and ensure a safer and more efficient pick-up process for everyone at the Cory-Merrill Campus.

Wishing you all a relaxing and enjoyable three-day weekend!

Sincerely,

Merrill Leadership

1/17-2/13/25- Multilingual Learner ACCESS Testing

1/20/25- No School Martin Luther King Jr Day

2/6/25- Merrill Dine Out at Postino 9th & Colo

The Lady Jags Volleyball team beat both Skinner and Bill Roberts on Tuesday. Next up on the schedule is an away game at Denver Green Northfield on January 21, 2025 at 5:00. Practice will be held on Wednesday, January 22 and Thursday, January 23rd.

Practice team will only have one practice next week on Friday, January 24th.

The sixth grade team met Slavens on Friday for a scrimmage and everyone had a great time showing off their newly learned skills. Practice will be on Tuesday, January 21 and Thursday, January 23rd. Please be sure to check the weather for Tuesday. If we have a late start due to the cold temperature we will NOT be having volleyball practice for the 6th graders before school.

Parents, as the weather is changing and becoming colder please be sure that your daughter is dressed appropriately. I do not want to see the girls in just shorts and t-shirts coming into practice in the morning and after practice in the afternoon. We need everyone healthy this season.

Boys volleyball will have practice Tuesday and a game vs. Slaves on Thursday @ 4pm at Slavens.

6th Grade at Skate City!

7th Grade at Sky Zone

8th Grade at Skate City

A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock n Roll!

Spring Auction Planning is Happening Now!

Join great group of people to help plan Merrill’s biggest party and fundraiser of the year!

We need volunteers to assist with:

 Decor/Set Up for Auction

 Request/obtain auction items (we have a list of prior year donors to

work off of).

 Auction site set up and listing of auction items

 Entertainment

 Ticket Sales

If you are interested in helping out, please contact Joanna at

joanna_shear@yahoo.com

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!

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.

Dear Family,

Beginning on January 13", Multilingual Learners (MLLs) in grades K-12 will participate in the ACCESS for ELLs state assessment. This assessment measures a student’s English language skills in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. ACCESS is used by classroom teachers to determine the level of language support that a student may need during instruction. With this information, we are able to monitor student progress on an annual basis and determine when a student is ready to be placed in

mainstream instruction.

Merrill Middle School will be administering the assessment between January 17, 2025 and February 13, 2025. Students best demonstrate what they know after getting plenty of sleep the night before testing and eating a healthy breakfast in the morning. To keep your child from missing instruction due to makeup testing, ensure that they arrive on-time for school and that appointments and vacations are planned for non-testing days.

Your support during ACCESS is appreciated as state assessments are vital tools that contribute towards student success.

If you have general questions regarding the assessment, please contact the school.

Thank you,

Patrice Underwood

School Principal

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

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.