4402 Nassau Avenue Northeast
September 22, 2024
Dear Meeker Families,
In appreciation and in partnership on behalf of Meeker Middle School Faculty & Staff,
Dr. Cherlyn Pijanowski, Principal & Taralynn Grau, Assistant Principal
Upcoming Events
| Monday |
September 23 |
Club B: Cooking Club |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday |
September 24 |
iReady Reading for ALL StudentsClub B: Cooking Club, Drama Club, Outdoor Club |
| Wednesday |
September 25 |
Late Start Wednesday - Classes Begin @ 8:40AMClub B: Cooking Club, VR Club |
| Thursday |
September 26 |
PTSA in the Wolverine Warehouse @ LunchesClub B: Cooking Club, Drama Club, Outdoor ClubBack-to-School Night @ 6:30-7:30PM at Meeker |
| Friday |
September 27 |
Pep Assembly – Wear Meeker Spirit Wear/Meeker Colors!Teen Late Night 5 – 9PM |
| Sunday |
September 29 |
MOD Pizza PTSA Fundraiser 4:00 - 9:00PM |
| Monday |
October 7 |
Glee Auditions 2:35PMClub B: Cooking Club |
| Tuesday |
October 8 |
Glee Auditions 2:35PM |
| Thursday |
October 10 |
PTSA in the Wolverine Warehouse @ Lunches |
| Friday |
October 11 |
WATCH D.O.G. FridayTeen Late Night 5 – 9PM |
| Monday |
October 14 |
Club B Session 2 Registration Opens |
| Tuesday |
October 15 |
Picture Retake Day |
| Wednesday |
October 16 |
Late Start Wednesday: Classes begin @ 8:40AMClub B: Cooking Club, VR Club |
| Thursday |
October 17 |
The Great Shakeout – Earthquake Drill @ 10:17AMClub B: Cooking Club, Drama Club, Outdoor Club |
| Friday |
October 18 |
Teen Late Night 5 – 9PM |
To-Do’s:
⧠ Complete the Child Nutrition Eligibility & Education Benefit Application by October 1st.
⧠ Update your ParentVUE account ParentVUE - Tacoma Public Schools (tacomaschools.org)
⧠ Login to My Ride K-12 to get up to date busing information for your student.
⧠ Download the Box Tops App and scan grocery store receipts for Box Tops eligible items to support Meeker’s ASB
⧠ Sign your student up for Battle of the Books
⧠ Donate sports equipment for lunchtime fun
Back to School Night – Thursday, September 26th
On September 26th from 6:30—7:30PM we will host a Back-to-School Night for families to come meet their student(s)’ teachers, visit classrooms, take a family photo, eat an ice cream treat, and share your hope/wish for your student for the 2024-2025 school year.
Child Nutrition Eligibility and Education Benefit (CNEEB) Application Due by Oct. 1
Have you completed the CNEEB application? I’m asking all families to complete the application by Oct. 1: MySchoolApps - Select District.
It’s important because it helps schools get additional resources for students, and it helps many families directly with benefits like fee waivers for school-related activities, such as a free ASB membership card.
It takes about 10 minutes to complete on a phone or computer. Feel free to take care of it at our school’s front office. Families can choose to translate the application in their preferred language.
Printable applications in additional preferred languages are also on our website.
Questions? Contact our front office or email householdapplication@tacoma.k12.wa.us.
Donate Sports Equipment for Lunchtime Fun!
Help us keep our students active and engaged during lunch by donating gently used sports equipment! We’re looking for volleyballs, footballs, basketballs, frisbees, soccer balls, and more. You can drop off donations at Back-to-School Night, or if you'd prefer, check out our Amazon wish list to purchase new items. Your support makes a big difference in keeping lunchtime fun and active for everyone!
Lunch Equipment Amazon Wish List
Battle of the Books Registration
For years, all the Tacoma Middle Schools participated in the Battle of the Books, a reading contest where groups of students read 10 books and answer questions at a district site. Meeker students have consistently stood out at this event, making it to the finals numerous times. Unfortunately, the Battle was discontinued due to funding cuts.
This year, the middle school librarians are excited to bring it back! Each participating school has created a DonorsChoose page to fund the books needed. For the next 7 days, when someone donates to this project and uses the code LIFTOFF, DonorsChoose will match their donation dollar for dollar. This offer expires on September 26, 2024. Any amount you can give will be greatly appreciated—and doubled! Here is the link to our project: Battle of the Books DonorsChoose
Respecting Personal Belongings
Families – we need your support in having conversations with your student(s) about respecting others’ personal belongings. We have seen a significant uptick in students touching other students’ backpacks and other personal items. Remind them that if the backpack or other item is not theirs, leave it alone. If your student would like a locker to safely store their backpacks and belongings, please have them come to the office, and we will assign them a locker.
MEXIKID Book Club
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, all Tacoma Middle Schools’ Book Club is reading Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín.
If your participates, they will get a ticket for them and up to four other family members to go to the LeMay Car Museum on November 16th at LeMay Car Museum.
*The sign-up sheet for the book club is in the library!
Important Dates:
- Wed. 10/2: Meeker in-person discussion at lunch (OK to eat in the library ONLY if you’re in the book club!)
- Thurs. 10/3, 3-3:30pm: First Microsoft Teams book club with students from other schools. (Meet every Thursday for 6 weeks)
- Thurs. 11/7: Author Q & A on Microsoft Teams
- Sat. 11/16: Grand Finale Celebration at the LeMay Car Museum
Support our Meeker ASB with Box Tops!
Looking for an easy way to support Meeker’s ASB? Download the Box Tops app and scan any grocery store receipt for Box Top eligible items. Box Tops will then donate a check of all the Box Tops that were collected throughout the year.
Here’s more information on how to get set up:
- Find the pink Box Tops app in your phone’s app store.
- Fill out requested information.
- Enter our schools zip code of 98422.
- Select Meeker Middle School as your school.
- Start scanning your grocery store receipts for items that have a Box Top!
Once in the app, you can find products that are Box Top eligible, as well as look at bonus offers, which change every month. Box Top has made it easy for families to support their student’s school by no longer collecting physical box tops. All it takes is a scan of a receipt of groceries you were already planning on purchasing. The app will tell you how much you have earned for Meeker after you submit your receipt. If you invite your friends and family to get involved, you will be offered more rewards/bonus points.
This could help Meeker raise up to $5,000 for fun student activities and opportunities for all students!
6th Grade applications for Meeker's Executive Board
6th graders interested in helping serve on Meeker's ASB Executive Board, please email or contact Mrs. Kuravackal for an application, or complete the application below. We meet 2-3 times a month after school, speak at assemblies, vote on money to be spent and activities to happen, and often we have very tasty snacks. All applications and videos are due by midnight Saturday, September 21st!
Meeker Exec Board 2024-25 Application
Korean ChuSeok Festival – Free Family Event!
The 4th Annual APCC Korean ChuSeok (Korean Thanksgiving) Festival will be held on Saturday, September 21st, from 11:00AM – 4:00PM at the Skansie Brothers Park and Netshed. Address is: 3211 Harborview Dr. Gig Harbor, WA.
Come out for a fund day celebrating a traditional Korean holiday with:
- Korean poem Sijo winner’s reading
- Traditional ChuSeok rice-cake making and taste
- K-Beauty know how
- Face painting with Korean motifs
- Traditional performances on stage
- Lotus lantern making
- Your name in Korean calligraphy
- Traditional Korean foods for purchase
- Everyone can join in for the Final performance
It’s going to be a great day to celebrate!
Login to My Ride K-12 for Busing Information
With a new school year, and a new school start time, bus stops have changed slightly. To stay up to date, please login or create and account to My Ride K-12 to get accurate busing information. We want to ensure students are getting to and from school safely every day.
Students Enter through the Commons
This is a friendly reminder that ALL students need to enter through the Commons doors prior to school starting. Students will not be let into the front doors before 7:40AM on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday, or before 8:40AM on Late Start Wednesdays.
Schedule Changes End 9/20
Schedule change requests, and schedule changes will come to an end on Friday, September 20th. As enrollment fluctuates this time of year, schedule changes may still occur if class sizes need to be balanced.
A Word from our Metro Parks Partners
Thank you for your trust and partnership this summer, we hope teens had a great time in our program! Please help us improve our program by providing feedback with your teen on what they loved, what they would like to see differently and an evaluation of the general program at the Mason and Meeker locations, we hope to see your teen again this fall, every Friday, starting September 20th at our varying locations that are to be confirmed later this week, thank you.
NEWS from Meeker’s PTA
Join us for ice cream at Back-to-School night!
Stop by our booth to Get the Scoop on all the amazing PTSA programs we have lined up for the year. Whether you're interested in volunteering, learning about our upcoming events, or just seeing how you can get involved, we’ve got something for everyone!
Wolverine Warehouse
Our student store will open for business starting this Thursday, Sept 26th. Students can "shop" for fun prizes and rewards using their hard-earned Meeker Money. Volunteers are essential to offer this fun experience during lunch time for our students. Please sign up here if you are interested in volunteering: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E49ACAD2CA7F8CE9-51426396-20242025#/
*Friendly reminder: you must have volunteer paperwork on file in the office to volunteer with students. Thank you!
PTA Business Sponsorships
Calling all businesses! We're excited to offer Corporate Sponsorships for our 2nd Annual PTA Family Fun Night on October 25th. This event brings together our Meeker community for an evening of games, activities, and community spirit, creating a great opportunity for your local businesses to connect with our engaged audience! As a sponsor, businesses will gain exposure through event signage and social media recognition showing a commitment to supporting local education and family-friendly initiatives.
Join us in making this year’s event unforgettable for our students and their families! Help us spread the word to business owners or sign your company up! Sponsors can sign up via the PTA website and sponsorship levels include: Bronze ($100), Silver ($250) and one Gold Presenting Sponsor ($500). Thanks for your support!
MOD Pizza Fundraiser Sunday, Sept 29th
Enjoy a back-to-school pizza night and support Meeker PTSA programs at the same time! MOD Pizza in Federal Way (2104 S 320th Street, Federal Way, WA 98003) will donate 25% of fundraiser sales to support Meeker PTSA on Sunday, September 29th. Just mention fundraising code MODGIVES25 for in person orders or order online using the code. It's a simple, delicious way to support our school!
Save the Date: Meeker Family Fun Night – Friday, October 25th!
Mark your calendars and plan to join us for a night of family fun! Food, games, raffles, and more! We hope to see you there to gather as a community and support our PTSA at the same time!
We will be raising funds to support PTA programming during our 2nd Annual Family Fund Night and are looking for donations for fun raffle and auction prizes! Sports tickets, gift certificates, family fun items, all make great raffle and auction prizes. If you have an item you would like to donate or if you are interested in joining a committee to help procure and package items, please email us at meekermiddlepta@gmail.com with your contact information and we will be in touch. We also have a Wish List if you would like to purchase an item to donate and have it shipped to Meeker: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3V4VK7T28U9XG?ref_=wl_share
Finally, it takes many hands to put on this fun event for our community. If you are interested in volunteering for a shift during Family Fun Night, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E49ACAD2CA7F8CE9-51437468-meeker#/
Visit Our New Website!
Our revamped website is your one-stop destination for all things PTA! Explore upcoming events, discover ways to get involved, find current sign-up opportunities, join the PTA, and learn more about our programs—all in one place. Head to meekermiddlepta.com to check it out!
Worth Repeating:
Update Your ParentVUE Account
The ParentVUE app helps streamline where you can find information and take care of school-related business.
When you log into ParentVUE, you will be prompted to update and verify your contact information, your child's health history, and other important information.
During the school year, you can:
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View attendance, schedules, and assignments
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Report absences
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Monitor your child's grades and academic progress
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Update your contact information
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Access MySchoolBucks and annual student forms