Dear Merrill Families,

I hope this email finds you well! At Merrill, we are committed to creating a safe, inclusive environment for all students. We have a zero tolerance policy for bullying, and we want to remind you that your child always has a safe space here at school no matter their culture, race, sexuality, identity, native language and migration status. We take all matters seriously and ensure a supportive environment for everyone. We want to share with you all again the DPS resources for any families and community members regarding immigration. DPS Family Toolkit (English and Spanish).

I wanted to share a few important updates and reminders as we head into the coming weeks. First, please note that we have a 5-day weekend coming up from Friday, February 14th to Tuesday, February 18th—there will be no school during this time, so we hope you and your family enjoy the break. We will have students back on Wednesday, February 19th.

As the weather continues to change, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the colder temperatures. Warm jackets, layers, and hats are encouraged to keep them comfortable during outdoor activities.

In exciting news, Family TuVoz results have gone up across the board! This reflects the strong partnership between our school and families, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the progress.

Finally, we would love to continue involving you in school decisions. In the next few weeks, we will be sending out a survey to gather your thoughts and feedback on how we can make our school community even better. Your input is invaluable, and we encourage you to participate when it arrives.

Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement. Together, we are making Merrill a stronger, safer, and more inclusive community for all students.

Best regards,

Merrill Leadership

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

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

2/14-2/18/25- NO SCHOOL!!

2/18/25 4pm- School Choice Round 1 Closes 4pm

School Choice information can be found HERE

5/2/25- Merrill Auction!

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

The girls volleyball team won their match agaInst Slavens on Thursday. Next week will have practice on Monday and Wednesday from 3:50-5:30. The girls have a double header on Tuesday at Merrill beginning at 4:00 against Grant Beacon and then will be playing Hill at 5:00. On Thursday we play McAuliffe at 4:00 at McAuliffe.

The sixth grade girls continue to improve on their skills each week. Unfortunately, next week will be our last week with practices on Tuesday and Thursday before school from 7:30-8:30. We will be holding an inner-squad scrimmage at Merrill on Friday, February 7th beginning at 4:00.

The girls practice team are improving with setting the ball up with three hits consistently. Unfortunately, next week will be our last week due to basketball tryouts. We will practice on Monday and Friday before school from 7:30-8:30.

The boys worked really hard and won both of their games on Tuesday one against Bill Roberts and one against Kepner Beacon. This upcoming week they have an away game Tuesday vs Hamilton at 5pm in addition to an away game Thursday at McAuliffe at 5pm. There will be an added practice on Wednesday after school. Keep up the hard work boys!

This week, Ms. Winnie helped educate our MI-S community about Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year traditions. Students made dumplings, wrote in Chinese, and decorated our building.

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!

Hometown Day! Rep Your Hometown!

Mallory- New Paraprofessional

Hello! My name is Mallory and I am so excited to be joining the team here at Merrill Middle School. I was born in Pennsylvania but grew up here in Colorado. I have an identical twin sister and a younger brother. I graduated from MSU Denver with my bachelor of fine arts in Music theatre. I have passion for performing and working with kids. I have been teaching kids in summer camps and after-school theatre classes for over 5 years. I am excited to learn and grow my skills and venture on this career path!

Makenzie- Long Term Sub- 8th Grade Science

Hi I'm Makenzie! I did my undergrad at the University of Minnesota where I played soccer and got my degree in Special Education with a minor in Biology. Since graduating I've been playing professional soccer in Europe but decided to retire and just moved to Denver from Minnesota after the New Year! Outside of playing soccer I love watching sports and being outdoors and am loving the snowboarding, hiking, and running that I can do here in Colorado. I'm so excited to be part of the community at Merrill and can't wait to meet you all!

Ryan- Paraprofessional

Howdy all!

My name is Ryan Olsen and I have been serving in DPS as an AN and SpEd para since 2019. I am a professional photographer with 17 years of experience, and I am currently in the process of earning a MA in Special Education. When I grow up, I’d like to weave consistent Trauma-informed Adaptive Art with DPS’ commitment to equity as well as the culturally-responsive educational needs of the Whole Child.

Although late to the party, I am thrilled to be joining the incredible culture at Merrill! I look forward to making some lasting connections as we finish out the school year!

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

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.