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The Merrill Minute

April 13, 2020

The Merrill MinuteApril 13, 2020

Mustang Message

Hey, Merrill Mustangs! All of the teachers and staff love and miss you! We hope you and your families are staying happy, healthy, and safe during our time apart. Remember to keep being caring, principled, and reflective every day! ❤️

Moving forward...

Greetings, Mustang Families,


Thank you for completing the technology survey last week. We now know what we need to accomplish to be sure all of our Merrill students have access to our ongoing cadence of learning for the remainder of the school year.


This week district efforts are focused on getting computers in the hands of high school students. Once that is complete, the focus will shift to middle schools. We are scheduled to distribute computers at all middle schools on Wednesday, April 22. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.


As I've mentioned in earlier newsletters, every spring school administrators are balancing wrapping up one school year with planning and preparing for the next. This is still true even in the midst of a pandemic. Here is what you need to know about next year...


  1. Music Selections: Please have your student check their Infinite Campus student account for a survey to confirm their music request for next year. Incoming 6th grade families for 20-21 - Welcome! You can find the music selection survey in your Infinite Campus parent portal. The directions appear later in this newsletter. Thank you!
  2. 6th Orientation and 8th Promotion: We are exploring alternative ways to welcome our 6th grade students for next year and to celebrate the Merrill 8th graders who are headed off to Roosevelt. We would really like to put together a video for each of these events. Are there any volunteers in the Merrill community who could help us with either project? We need someone who can take our "at home" videos and cut, merge, paste, etc. into a final professional looking video. Please let me know if you are interested. Thank you! (kathryn.panek@dmschools.org)
  3. Transition: Grade level teams at Merrill are already meeting virtually to put plans in place to welcome students back next year. While the 1st day of school is never "business as usual", we know that next year students are going to need platforms and avenues to express the loss that they've experienced during this pandemic. We promise to make their social/emotional well-being the primary focus when they return.


I want to thank all of you for the supportive role you've played in balancing your responsibilities at work and home with meeting the emotional and academic needs of your student. We are all experiencing the same storm, but each of us in our own unique way. Please lean on us for support. We love your students and we are here to lend a helping hand, connect with a smile, and get you through this storm.


Yours with life vests, oars, smiles, and love,


Kate

Kathryn Panek

Merrill Middle School, Principal

kathryn.panek@dmschools.org

Kates Update 4 11

Hey, Merrill Mustangs!

Music Notes

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Joyful Sound

Thank you to Adalyn Sidon for kicking off our virtual faculty meeting last Monday with some joyful sound. Adalyn is a 6th grader at Merrill, but sounds like she should be auditioning for the Des Moines symphony!


Thank you to Adalyn for performing and thank you to Adalyn's mom, Ashley, for organizing this virtual concert!

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20-21 Performing Arts Survey

Incoming 6th Graders: Parents/Guardians, please log-in to your Infinite Campus account to complete the music selection survey for the 20-21 school year.


1. Log-in to Parent IC Portal

2. Click "Message Center" on left

3. Click "Surveys" in middle of screen

4. Click "Merrill Music Course Selection"

5. Scroll to the bottom of the descriptions and click "start"


Next year's 7th and 8th Graders: Students, please log-in to your Infinite Campus account to complete the music selection survey for the 20-21 school year.


1. Log-in to Student IC Portal

2. Click "Message Center" on left

3. Click "Surveys" in middle of screen

4. Click "New" on Music Course Selection - 7th and 8th

5. Scroll to the bottom of the descriptions and click "start"

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Roosevelt Auditions

For rising 9th graders auditioning for the Roosevelt Band, please know that I visited with Mr. Marcellus and the audition video is NOT required at this time.


Many of you have instruments stuck at Merrill. We cannot retrieve those until further notice. To accommodate this situation, Mr. Marcellus will either...


1. Use SRG information from Mr. Morgan to appropriately place you in band at Roosevelt.


2. Review your audition video over the summer after we gain access to the buildings and you have time to rehearse and submit your video.

Computer distribution at Merrill is scheduled for next Wednesday, April 22. Stay tuned for more details!

Apps to help you connect with us!

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Microsoft Teams App

Microsoft Teams is the DMPS supported platform for virtual team conversations, files, meetings, etc. We are in the beginning stages of using this platform to connect with individual students, small groups of students, and whole classes. There is no fee when students log-in using their DMPS accounts.


This is NOT required, as all features of this app are also available through a regular browser such as Explorer, Edge, Chrome, or Firefox.

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Infinite Campus App

Infinite Campus is now available on the go with both Android and Apple smartphones. To download, simply go to the Android Market, search for Infinite Campus, and download to your phone. When you log in for the first time you will also need to enter the code for Des Moines Public Schools: JQZPSD.

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DMPS App

The Des Moines Public Schools mobile app is designed to provide up-to-date and helpful information about the school district and our schools right in the palm of your hand.


From news updates and announcements to a calendar of events, and DMPS staff directories, this app provides essential information at the touch of a button.

Many features on the app allow you to “subscribe” to schools and receive announcements and events right on your device.

DMPS/Merrill Resource Pages

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Family Resources

Click the picture to get connected with resources such as:


*Childcare

*Domestic Violence / Victim Services

*English Language Learning Community

*Employment

*Financial Assistance

*Food Assistance

*Healthcare

*Housing/Homelessness

*Legal Aid

*Mental Health

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DMPS@HOME

Click the picture to get connected with resources such as:


*Pk-8 subject workbooks

*General online learning resources

*Subject/Grade specific online learning resources

*Exceptional learner resources (Sped. and GT)

*Infinite Campus

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Merrill Website

Click the picture to get connected with Merrill specific resources such as:


*Merrill Daily Update

*Contact information for Merrill staff

*Links to DMPS district resources

*Calendar

*Almost anything/everything you want to know about Merrill!


Ms. Schumann is updating the website daily. Check it out!

Meme Monday

In The News

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Teacher of the Day

Our very own Mrs. Smithman was featured on Star 102.5's Teacher of the Day last week. She shared some great ideas to support students in reading fluency…and it involves students getting to listen to their favorite song!

The audio clip is located here. Thank you, Mrs. Smithman for sharing your expertise with the whole community! And thank you, Star 102.5, for highlighting the amazing work that teachers continue to do while we are away from the building.

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Kindness 101

On the Road with Steve Hartman's Kindness 101 Virtual Course is back -- today and every Monday for the remainder of the school year! Last week's class: courage. His stories are uplifting and his sidekick is his daughter "Meryl". Invite your whole family and tune in, Merrill Mustangs! The videos aim to create a better and more peaceful world...#merrill #mission.


Want to catch up on all of the episodes? Watch anytime at cbsnews.com/kindness101. Submit your photos and videos to kindness101@cbsnews.com to showcase kindness right here in Des Moines, Iowa

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Iowa Press - Supt. Ahart

On Friday night, Dr. Ahart was featured on Iowa Press Special: Coronavirus, along with a panel of education experts to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Iowa's K-12 education system.

The panel included Mike Beranek, president of the Iowa State Education Association; Dr. Stacey Cole, superintendent of the Storm Lake Community School District; and Dr. Thomas Ahart, superintendent of the Des Moines Public Schools.

During this expanded Iowa Press, viewers submitted questions online, via email and over the phone. You may view the episode here.

FAQ

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Retrieving Personal Belongings

We are committed to practicing social distancing to ensure the safety of both our employees and families, which also means limiting the number of times we interact with the general public.


At this time, we are not allowing access into any of our buildings for any reason other than to retrieve medication for students with medical emergencies.


As soon as we are able to accommodate your requests for personal items, we will let you know.

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SRG Questions

ALL activities and learning engagements that you are receiving are OPTIONAL and NOT GRADED.


Students and families are requesting opportunities to turn in missing work or show progress on learning of a topic from prior to spring break. At this time, the guidance we have received is to not assess this student work until a district-wide plan is developed and communicated.


Please know that we (both Merrill and DMPS as a whole) want to provide these opportunities and we are working on a plan to make that happen. We have plenty of time to sort through grading issues and I will be in contact with you about the plans moving forward as soon as they are made available to me.

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Tips for accessing Student Email/Infinite Campus

Use the links for Student Email and Infinite Campus on the DMPS homepage under the Students Tab


Make sure you are using your student email address as the username. See below.

studentID@student.dmschools.org


If you forgot your password please contact Mrs. Carrie Kent (carrie.kent@dmschools.org) with student name and ID number to reset your password.

Learning Resources

Merrill Daily Update: By now I hope you are all receiving our daily Merrill Update. In it you will find "hello" notes or videos from the teachers, ideas for optional activities for students, student "challenges", or links to resources that students may be interested in inquiring into.


Here is who you will hear from each day:


  • Monday: Merrill Minute from Kate
  • Tuesday: Language and Literature and Individual and Societies Teachers
  • Wednesday: Performing Arts and Physical Education Teachers
  • Thursday: Mathematics and Science Teachers
  • Friday: Language Acquisition and Design Teachers


You can find the daily Merrill Update in your e-mail inbox, here on the Merrill website, on School CNXT, and on our Twitter feed @MerrillMustangs.


Microsoft Teams: Many teachers are beginning to connect with students via our Microsoft Teams platform. This platform allows teachers the ability to send a link to students via e-mail so that they can connect live. Unlike Zoom and Google Hangouts, Teams is a secure, district supported platform. Thank you for your patience as we both hustle to connect with students while still following district guidance and adhering to student privacy laws.


Print Materials: Print materials for all PK-8 grade students will be distributed at all food distribution sites each Monday for the remainder of the year. Materials are bound "workbook" style by grade level. Links to the print materials have been added to the DMPS website and the Merrill website. We are more than tripling our printing from last week, so there should be plenty to go around.


DMPS Online Learning Resources: Finally, DMPS is regularly updating the online learning resource webpage, https://www.dmschools.org/onlinelearning, where you can find links to high-quality resources, should you choose to have your student engage in learning activities online. These links are meant to support, not burden, families. We hope you’ll browse through and see if there’s something that will meet the unique needs of your family.


The situation we have found ourselves in will likely be a marathon, rather than a sprint. We are working around the clock, partnering with community agencies, and listening to your ideas and concerns in order to serve you and your family at a high level during the next several months.

Mental Health Resources from NAMI

NAMI of Greater Des Moines has put together a website packed full of FREE resources to support our community during these uncertain times. Click the website to learn more about...


  • Virtual speaker series each Wednesday at noon
  • Workshops to help us understand anxiety, problem solve, and manage stress
  • Resources for working from home including working from home with kids and high performing remote teams
  • Fitness: Join Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping 10-week challenge


Click here to access these FREE resources. Thank you, NAMI of Greater Des Moines!