December at MP3
School is not in session in the month of December. This means there is no weekly contact, no reimbursement cycle (please save your receipts and add them to your January reimbursement form) and staff will have limited avaliability. Secretaries will be in the office for the first week of December and all staff will return on Monday, January 4th. November reimbursements will be mailed out December 31st. Please accept our wishes for a relaxing and restful holiday season!
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Washington's Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program
GET is Washington's 529 plan, helping families save for college. With GET, your account is guaranteed to keep pace with rising tuition and you can use it at nearly any public or private college in the country. Visit www.get.wa.gov to find out more or to sign up.
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Attention 4th – 8th Graders! Information about the 2010 National Geographic Bee!

Each year, the National Geographic Bee (sponsored by Google) is held in schools around the country between November and January. Each school holds “rounds” of questions (preliminary and final), and the winner of each school takes a “Qualifying Test” for the chance to compete at the state level. MP3 will hold the preliminary competition on Thursday, January 7th (12:00 for 4th – 6th graders and 1:30 for 7th – 8th graders.) The two or three top winners (depending on turn-out) from each group will participate in the final competition which will be held at MP3 on Monday, January 11th at 2:30. The winner of the final competition will then take the written Qualifying Test for the chance to compete at the state level. This is a great opportunity to encourage the teaching and learning of geography. If you are interested in competing in the National Geographic Bee, please contact your SLP Coordinator. We will send out a reminder when we return on January 4th.

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Meridian Winter Ride Ski and Snowboard Program
Open to any 5th-12th grade student enrolled in Meridian School District (includes MP3). If you have any questions, please call Laney Brannen, program coordinator, at 739-2568.

* Program is open to all 5th-12th grade students

* ALL first year participants ARE required to take lessons from 9 am-11 am the first 6 weeks

* All participants are expected to be fully participating, students are not allowed to hang out in the lodge
*Our first trip is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2010
* The buses load at 6:10 am and leave the MHS parking lot promptly at 6:30 am and will be back to the MHS parking at approx. 5 pm.

* Students have from 8-9 to change & eat breakfast, 9-11 for lessons or skiing and noon-2:30 to ski/snowboard. The bus departs at 3 pm.
* Transportation Fee: $60 for 8 trips to Baker is paid to the Meridian Winter Ride Program

* Lesson Fee: $70 for 6 lessons paid to Mt. Baker Ski Area
* Rental Fee: Skis are $131 (6 weeks) or 174 (8 weeks) and Snowboards are $153 (6 weeks) and $210 (8 weeks) paid to Mt. Baker Ski Area
* Lift Tickets (per day): weekends/holidays: youth (7-15) $35.50 or 16+ $47.50 (Season passes are available through Mt. Baker)

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Campus Classes WILL NOT meet on Monday, November 30th
The day was not originally included in the year's schedule, but that was not indicated on the school calendar. As some parents requested we have classes that day, we did a survey of about two-thirds of our campus families (everyone we could contact in the short time we had) and had a response of about 2 to 1 that parents preferred not to have classes that day. If you have any questions, please call Mary Jo at 398-9324.

Wood Shop Class
The Wood Shop class will only meet for 1 hour (instead of 1.5 hrs) on Wednesday, November 25. (from 8-9 instead of 8-9:30). Students can report back to the "teen table" area or locate their parent.

Reimbursement Forms

Completed reimbursement forms are due the 20th of every month by 2:30 PM. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, please turn in the next MP3 business day. We will not be in session in December so we will not be processing forms that month. You are welcome to bring your forms to the MP3 office so the secretary can place it in your SLP Consultants box for a signature.

Letter from the Whatcom County Health Department regarding the Swine Flu: Click here

MP3 Library

The library is being set up and will be ready for use September 21st. The library will be open each day campus classes are held, Monday hours are 9-11am and Wednesday hours are 12:30-2:30 pm. All families are able to check out books and materials. We will have an online list (soon) of the resources in the library, items can be mailed to families who cannot come in to pick them up, the mailing costs will be deducted from STAR funds.

Community Based Instructors/Facilities and /Instructional Materials Committee Update

Thank you to the many families who took the time to share proactive solutions and ideas regarding how to continue to serve families well as we implement legally required policies! Two pieces of good news! First, the instructional materials committee (IMC) review process is being phased in over the fall semester (with January as the modified implementation deadline) to allow more time to facilitate this new requirement. Second, Risk Management has agreed that if parents agree to be present at all times (in writing), then we can waive the background check, proof of insurance, and fingerprinting requirements for non high risk CBIs. When parents agree to be present (in writing), we can waive the background check and fingerprinting requirements for high risk CBIs. We are working with Risk Management to clarify our current understanding, which is that we will still need some paperwork (references and a resume - both of which can easily be requested by the parent), but now the CBI/CBF approval process is easier than ever! FINAL APPROVAL OF CBIs and CBFs is due NOVEMBER 1st.

Here's a breakdown of what various CBI/CFs need:

COMMUNITY BASED INSTRUCTORS (CBIs)	Parents Present		Parents Not Present		Community Based Facilities (CBFs)
Forms needed	High Risk*	Not-High Risk	High Risk*	Not-High Risk	High Risk	Not-High Risk
	Resume with references	Resume with references	Resume with references	Resume with references		Public venues and ticketed events with parent present are allowed
	Proof of insurance		Proof of insurance	Proof of insurance	Proof of insurance *w/MSD as rider?
			Questionnaire	Questionnaire
			Disclosure Statement	Disclosure Statement
			Background Check	Background Check
			Fingerprints	Fingerprints
	High risk form		High risk form		High risk form
	Proof of student medical insurance		Proof of student medical insurance		Proof of student medical insurance
Example	Swim Lessons	Piano Lessons	Karate Lessons	Guitar Lessons	YMCA Pool	Mt. Baker Theater

*For more examples and to see High risk and Not-allowable High Risk designations, please refer to the Handbook.

So how arduous are these various forms? Most of the paperwork we ask for is simply a matter of printing or photocopying, then faxing them in. The brief questionnaire is page 3 only of the CBI letter, and can be accessed here: http://www.meridian.wednet.edu/mp3/documents/CBI%20Teacher%20Letter.pdf. A resume with references is standard for most people, which requires hitting the print button of their home computer. For folks who don't have a resume, Maggie will gladly help! Many parents whose children have taken lessons in the past have been able to serve as references, which is much appreciated. The proof of insurance is simply a copy of the policy outlining coverages which most people keep on file in a safe place in their home or business. For CBIs without parents present, we also require the four page disclosure statement (just a checklist!) and fingerprinting, which does require an appointment at the police station but the fee is entirely reimbursed by the district. We are pleased to continue to work toward keeping MP3 a support organization rather than a control organization, while recognizing that MP3 is still a public school and thus must abide within the parameters of state law.

If you have specific questions please contact your SLPC, Maggie, or Mary Jo and we will be happy to help!

New Student Information

We are accepting new students from across the state! Upon the receipt of completed enrollment packets, students will be added to the new student list for the state-wide extension program for the 2009-2010 school year. Space is limited and students will be added to our list in the order their completed packets are received.

You can download all the forms using the "New Students" link at the left.