Meadows Message
Oct 29, 2024
Promoting Empathy and Accountability - Update
All students engaged in some initial learning and reflection activities during humanities classes last week on the half days in response to an increase in incidents related to inappropriate language and name calling.
During the interactive presentation…
We reviewed the importance of accepting differences and being empathetic.
We defined the word ‘joke’ which is often overused by students when they are trying to explain their word choices.
We read through grade-level charters that students helped to develop at the start of the school year to see if we were following through on our agreements.
We educated students on portions of the parent-student handbook related to bullying, harassment, and potential consequences
We went through a few scenarios to give students the opportunity to problem solve, skill build, and reflect upon how to handle potential situations.
We plan to continue learning and practicing these skills over the course of the year.
Service Learning @ Meadows
On November 15, 2024, Meadows will participate in a state-wide IB day of service. This year Meadows will be hosting a teddy bear drive for Team Emery. Team Emery is a non-profit organization founded by Lori Miller and her son Emery Miller, who was diagnosed with congenital heart defects and underwent four open heart surgeries before the age of seven. Having experienced the reality of calling the hospital a second home, Emery had a simple wish of wanting to pay it forward and donate one teddy bear to a sick child. This wish has transformed into an organization located in 14 states and has impacted nearly 75,000 families since 2011.
We are excited to partner with Team Emery on a teddy bear drive. Team Emery is asking for new stuffed teddy bears (any price range or size). These bears will be delivered to children at the Mayo Clinic and to a hospital in an underserved area in Phoenix who are facing lengthy hospital stays. Our goal is to get at least 600 bears donated. Students can begin to bring bears into the front office, Ms. Vacanti’s room or Ms. Reiter's room starting Friday, November 1. Emery will be here on November 15 to talk to our students about his journey, his time playing baseball, and the powerful impact we can make in a child’s life. For more information, see https://www.teamemery.org/.
Step It Up - PTM Partnered Fundraiser
AMAZING! Hundreds of families answered the call to action sending thousands of emails/texts to friends and family! Students can still participate in the fundraiser, which runs for another week. The Day of Awesomeness will be held on November 19th and we will have a variety of activities for every student no matter their participation.
Athletics Update
Winter Sports Tryouts start next week! Flag Football starts Monday, Nov 4th for 7th & 8th grade students at 6:15 AM and we ask that students please arrive by 6 AM for check-in. Tuesday, Nov 5th are tryouts for 5th & 6th students (same time, show up at 6 AM). Callbacks are on Wednesday and Thursday at 6:15 AM. Please plan on attending all tryout days. Cheer and Basketball tryouts will occur the following week on November 11th. Be sure your student is registered for your sport in Aktivate and their physical is uploaded. Students won’t be able to try out unless registration is complete.
