Dear Merrill #FAMILY,

We hope you’re enjoying a wonderful long weekend with your loved ones! We’re excited to remind you about our upcoming Student-Led Conferences on October 8th and 9th:

• Tuesday, October 8th: In-person conferences

• Wednesday, October 9th: Virtual conferences-sign ups below

Please ensure your student joins you to share their learning journey so far this year. We look forward to a meaningful Fall conference!

Additionally, mark your calendars for our Fall Dance on October 18th! We hope to see many students join us for an evening of fun.

On October 7th, DPS will send out a Family Survey. We encourage all families to participate, as your feedback is essential for us to support our students effectively.

Attached are the October Newsletters. We hope you enjoy reading about what your students will be engaging in this month!

• 6th Grade Newsletters
• 7th Grade Newsletters
• 8th Grade Newsletters
• Elective/SSP/Newcomer Newsletter

Sincerely,

Merrill Leadership

10/8/24 - In Person Conferences (Open House Style)

10/9/24 - Virtual Conferences

10/10-10/14/24 - Fall Break No School

10/18 - Fall Dance "Highlight the Night"

There are 2 options for Fall Conferences this year. We will host in person Student Lead Conferences on Tuesday, October 8th from 4-8pm. This option is an "open house" style evening where families can go from class to class and students will present what they are learning. It is not a one on one with the teacher, however, the teacher will be present. Please see the schedule below for teacher breaks when the teachers will not be in their rooms:

Breaks for in person SLC: October 8, 2024

4:30-5:00

5:00-5:30

5:30-6:00

6:00-6:30

6:30-7:00

After students in Ms. DelaRiva’s class learned about Hispanic Heritage Month during advisement, they got the opportunity to play La Loteria with frijoles!

Some lucky Merrill Students got to go to Coors Field for a "Business in Baseball" event! They even made it on the jumbotron! Way to represent, Jaguars!

Hello Merrill Community,

Girls and Boys Flag Football registration is OPEN! Registration will close on Friday October 4th.

Merrill Middle School

Our Merrill athletic teams continue to thrive and be competitive in all current sports. XC has had multiple top 10 finishers, Girls Soccer and Boys Baseball all have winning records. We want to continue to thank you for your support of your students and our teams.

Thanks

Mr. Franklin

Thanks to all who came out to the first PTSA Meeting this week at Campus

Lounge.

If you weren’t able to make it, it’s not too late to get involved.

One thing that became clear, most board members and current committee leads

are parents of 8th graders. So we need parents of 6th & 7th graders to get

involved this year!

Sign up today to become a member and consider joining one of our committees.

Are you familiar with the Grant Writing? Raise your hand to help us out.

Spirit Gear. Would you like to take over this fun purchasing endeavor for school

spirit?

Reach out to ptsamerrillmiddleschool@gmail.com to get involved!

The Merrill PTSA is excited to launch the 6th Annual Merrill Movers Giving Campaign!

Our goal is to raise $77,777 by October 31st!

Give here to get us started!!! fundrazr.com/merrillmovers2024

Our goal this year is to raise $77,777. Why all the 7's?

Because we are supporting the Seven Habits of a Highly Successful Merrill!

What are the 7 Habits and what programs do your donations support?

1. Excellence in Academics Funds support Department Grants,

Apps/Software, Teacher Development, Learning Materials, ELA, GT, Special Ed, Learning Interventionists, and Continued Curriculum for and Literature Updates for Novels and Lit Circles

2. Varied, High-Quality, Electives, Enrichments and Clubs Funds support Extra Electives in dance and drama, Materials and Supplies, 3rd Party providers, Club stipends for teachers

3. Upgrading and Improving our Facility and Learning Environment Funds support Furniture Upgrades,

Outside Garden, Outdoor Tables, Trees for Shade, Tech in the Building and Classrooms

4. Providing External Learning Experiences Funds support school wide excursions and Field Trips aligned with Units of Study

5. Implementing Technology and STEM Funds support Updating/Maintaining Classroom Technology, Chrome Books, STEM Lab Upgrades, etc.

6. Promoting Athletics, Wellness and Mental Health Funds support providing more athletic opportunities, equipment and uniforms, advisement wellness education support, and additional Mental Health staff

7. Creating Community Funds support events like the Student Dances, Quarterly Celebrations, Teacher

Appreciation, 8th Grade Continuation

PTSA Membership Drive!!

Click HERE Now!

Please help support your kiddo and the amazing teachers and staff at Merrill by joining

the PTSA. The PTSA extends funding to each classroom, teacher and program offered

at Merrill and we cannot do it without the Merrill parent community, plus you get a closer

look into your child's school with PTSA involvement! Here are the initiatives where the

PTSA provides support:

 Teacher/Department Grants

 After School Clubs

 Student Council

 Merrill Store

 Field Trips/Grade Level Celebrations

 Grant Writing

 Teacher Appreciation

 Merrill Spirit Gear

 International Festival

 Attendance Reward Parties

 Families Helping Families & Merrill Meals

 Dads at Merrill (DAM)

 Monthly Dine-Out Socials & Grocery Shopping Fundraisers

 Fundraising for all of the above!

 If the PTSA can help with anything to guide you through middle school, please

reach out to ptsamerrillmiddleschool@gmail.com

Upcoming PTSA Meetings

Come hear about the exciting things Merrill has planned this fall!!

October 22 @ 6pm – Merrill Library

November 19 @ 6pm – Merrill Library

December 10 @ 6pm – Junction Food Hall

Dads at Merrill (D@M)

Are you a Dad reading this?

Connect with other Jaguar Dads by emailing john.hesse@me.com

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!

Jaguars Next Dine Out – Tuesday, October 8th at Reivers Bar & Grill

Join us ALL DAY on Tuesday, October 8th – 10% of all dine in and to go order sales will

be donated to Merrill. See you there!!

1085 S. Gaylord Street

October 8 @ Reivers

November 13 @ Beau Jo’s Pizza DU

December 10 @ Raising Cane's - Colorado Blvd 3:00 - 9:00

April 29 @ Campus Lounge - 4:00-10:00

Please help support Merrill's winter coat drive! If you have any new or gently used coats that might fit a middle school student (think youth medium/large - adult large), please drop off by October 1st in the Merrill front office. Thank you!

Please see the below sign ups for 5th Grade Shadows and Prospective Parent Tours! We can't wait to welcome future Jaguars to Shadow current 6th Grade Ambassadors! Contact Jordan Locklear with any questions! jordan_locklear@dpsk12.net

5thGradeShadows

ProspectiveParentTours

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

We’re excited to announce that our library resources and news may now be found on our school Website under the menu item “Parents & Students” which also provides other valuable resources for Merrill families.

Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15-October 15 focusing on recognizing the history, culture, and achievements of Hispanic Americans in the United States. Students and families can see

the Hispanic Heritage Month collection on the DPS Sora collections page.

Additionally, students may come to our school library during enrichment on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays and during recess on Thursdays to check out books. Highlighted Hispanic Heritage Month books are displayed in the front of the library surrounding the Newline board.

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

Destination Imagination Information Meeting

Could your student use a creative outlet to learn problem-solving, self-confidence, project management, critical thinking, team work, and risk taking skills? Come learn more about student led projects at Destination Imagination at Merrill!

When: Wed, Oct 2 from 4-5:30

Where: Merrill Room 105

Who: Interested students AND their parents

Contact Erica Ecklund (ericadeckl@yahoo.com) or Jessica Meehan (radishditeam@gmail.com) with any questions!

To learn about the Denver Schools Thrive Initiative and how DPS is addressing declining enrollment in Denver, attend one of the six regional community meetings from late September to mid-October. Interpreters for our eight most spoken languages (Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Amharic, Dari, French, Nepali and Somali) will be present at each meeting. Dinner and childcare will also be provided.

Below are the dates and locations of the six regional meetings. If you are planning to attend one of these meetings, please complete this form.

• Northwest Regional Engagement Meeting: Monday, Oct. 7, 6-7 p.m. at CEC Early College.

• Southwest Regional Engagement Meeting: Monday, Oct. 14, 6-7 p.m. at Abraham Lincoln High School.

• Far Northeast Regional Engagement Meeting: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6-7 p.m. at Montbello High School.

• Virtual Engagement Meeting: Tuesday, Oct. 22, 6-7 p.m. virtual via Zoom.

DPS is bringing back the Design Like A Girl Workshop Series. Through three immersive full day workshops, participants will team up with female professionals and students in architecture, engineering, and landscape architecture; diving into hands-on activities like sketching, model building, and site visits. We need your help recruiting 6th-8th grade girls that are passionate about design to help fill 20 exclusive spots for this FREE program. The workshops take place on 3 Fridays when DPS does not have school.

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.