The Meristem Monitor is a listing of activities and news items occurring at Meristem. This newsletter is a student-centered effort (with a parent advisor) to help students, staff, and parents stay updated on and involved in the Meristem community. For items to be listed or questions and comments, please contact Laura-Lynne Powell at lauralynne.powell@gmail.com, or Taylor Oide, Meristem Marketing Coordinator, at tayloro@meristem.pro.
April 14-18
Now Enrolling!
Meristem is now enrolling for Day Program, a re-designed Work Skills program (more information coming soon), and for the ILS/Dorm Program and is encouraging families and friends of the campus to get the word out. To refer a potential student or family, have them email info@meristem.pro to get the enrollment process started. For more information on enrollment processes, visit meristem.pro/enrollment.
Taste & Transform Spring Fundraiser Event | Sunday, April 27
This is a kickoff for the Big Day of Giving. It is an on-campus, casual event of wine, beer, and food tastings to bring people on campus, raise funds, and promote Big Day of Giving. This event will be ticketed and the link is below. It will be open to the public and students. Vendors interested in offering tastes of their products are being sought. Contact Zoe Fishman, Development Director, at zoef@meristem.pro. if you are interested in being a sponsor, or know of a business that would be a good food or beverage vendor.
Day Program
Students and Families Invited to Shakespeare Performance
Theater Arts instructor Jamie Van Camp has invited students and families to attend his production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at a venue near Placerville. ILS/Dorm students will be welcomed to attend with ILS instructors on Saturday, May 10. Day students are also welcomed to attend. If parents would like to drive and chaperone the trip, there are two Day Program instructors who will also attend. As this event occurs outside of regular school hours it is not a formal Day Program event. There is a sign up sheet for interested students. Interested parents who would like to drive or chaperone can contact Shea Smith at shea@meristem.pro.
Jamie is the director of the production as part of Folsom Lake College’s Falcon’s Eye Theater. The play runs May 8 – May 11 and will be performed at the outdoor Wakamatsu Farm in Placerville. Tickets are here.
Annual Softball Tournament at Napa Veterans Home
There are 15 students signed up to go to the annual softball tournament between residents and friends of veterans at the California Veterans Home in Yountville on Friday, April 25. This is a fun annual outing where Meristem students play residents from the home. Departure from Meristem campus is 8:30 am. (note that this is earlier than previously posted) and return is planned for 3 pm. If family and friends want to caravan to join students there they are more than welcomed to do so.
We Need Your Help in the Garden
Get some free hours and want to get your hands dirty? Come help us for an hour or two in the Garden. Contact Twyla at twylat@meristem.pro to learn more and schedule your visit.
Farm
An Update from Farmer Jana
On Busy-ness and Bees – The farm is humming with activity. We have been busily preparing our garden beds for our spring & summer crops. We have been clearing cover crop, digging weeds, making compost, and amending our beds last year’s homegrown compost; lots of nursery work: sowing seeds, potting up baby plants (or giving them new pants as Haris’s girlfriend, our beloved garden fairy volunteer, Priscilla, likes to say); transplanting our baby plants into their forever homes, installing trellises, and lots of watering as the heat has been picking up.
We planted a new orchard with 12 new fruit trees: beautiful heirloom varieties of apples, plums, apricots, pears, mandarins, a Fuyu persimmon and mulberry.
We’ve added lots of flowering cover crops for the bees in the orchard and some flower beds for our flower CSA, which we are extremely excited to offer this year. We spent the winter preparing our beehives, and just installed them in our orchard in hopes that a hive will move in. We are entering swarm season, so please reach out to us if you happen to see a swarm (a large mass of flying worker/maiden bees surrounding their mother, the queen; swarming honey bees have tummies full of honey and are incredibly gentle and calm). We would love to try to give them a new home!
On A Sensory Garden and Herbs – Our sensory meditation garden is filled with the California native plants we planted last spring, many of them are beginning to flower and the scent is heavenly. Black Sage, Coyote Mint, and lots of Milkweed and Lupines (to name a few) for our cherished pollinators. And the herb garden is bursting with yarrow, chamomile, calendula, poppies and many more plants waiting to be transplanted in the coming days.
On Team Work and Gratitude – A BIG shout out and special thank you to our students who work so hard helping dig weeds, clear beds, haul heavy loads, and share stories and jokes and laughs while they do it!
ILS/Dorm Program
ILS Spring Trip to Six Flags
Dorms students are preparing for their spring transportation trip and have chosen to go to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo on Saturday, April 26. This is a fun outing for dorm students only that also allows them to practice trip planning, time management, and navigating public transportation.
Trip Details:
- Students leave Meristem by 10 a.m. to catch scheduled Amtrak train at the Amtrak station
- The group will travel by train and then transfer to vans for the final 20 minutes of the trip
- Students will have about five hours at Six Flags
- Return to Meristem same evening
In the days leading up to the trip, a student committee that helped plan the trip will help guide their peers with reminders on what to pack and how to prepare. Staff will also provide personalized support. Contact Katelyn Cook with questions at katelync@meristem.pro.
Prom for Day and Dorm Students on May 9
The annual Enchanted Prom for special needs teens and young adults will be held this year on Friday, May 9. This event is sponsored by Bayside Church in Granite Bay, includes red carpet entrance, dancing and is an opportunity for students to dress up for the evening. Day students will be able to dress at the Meristem Bed & Breakfast. It will be preceded by an on-campus pre-party 3:30-5 pm at Town Hall. Departure for the prom (8191 Sierra College Blvd.) is at 5 p.m. Event is 6-9 p.m. Day students must have their own ride back to campus or home. More details to follow but RSVPs were requested by April 11. Email ILSM@meristem.pro for confirmation of attendance.
See the flyer for more information.
Student Coordinators
Family Support Group Meetings Continue
*Monday meetings have been shortened to one-hour sessions, per member choices. Thursday members will be deciding about potential time change soon.
Thursday support group meetings are 7:15-8:45 pm, by Zoom only, except as noted. Thursday meetings are held:
April 17
May 1
May 15, 6-7:30 p.m. *note the time change
Monday meetings are a hybrid option with some Zoom participants and some in person. They are ALWAYS held 1:30-3 pm. Monday meetings are held:
April 21
May 5
May 19
Student Coordinator Helpline
A reminder that students and parents should use their SC as their primary contact and utilize the SC helpline if a quick response is needed (or to report absences, etc.) Perhaps text BOTH your SC and the helpline to be sure your message is received. The SC help line is 916.546.9422.
Cafe Updates
How to Make a Reservation
Want to make a reservation at the Cafe? Email reservations@meristem.
Hours:
Thursdays and Fridays
11:30am-1:30pm
Development & Philanthropy
Join Meristem, Family, and Friends for Taste & Transform
This is a kickoff event for the Big Day of Giving. It is an on-campus, casual day of wine, beer, food tastings to bring people to Meristem, raise funds, and promote Big Day of Giving. This event will be ticketed, and will be open to the public and to students. Event includes live music, yard games, and an interactive exhibit. Vendors interested in offering tastes of their products are being sought. Contact: Zoe Fishman, zoef@meristem.pro.
Purchase tickets here.
Big Day of Giving is May 1
This is a way for families and friends of Meristem, as well as staff and students themselves, to support Meristem and prompte into the community what is being offered at Meristem. Big Day of Giving is a regional fundraising challenge that supports local non-profits. The main event is Thursday May 1, but early giving can begin April 17. Information about how to do that will be on the website shortly. Contact: Zoe, zoef@meristem.pro if you’re interested in learning how to participate this year.
Administration
Next Family Zoom Meeting with Erin Will Be Held Wednesday, April 16
The next family Zoom meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 16, at 5 pm. Salina will email families a link prior to the meeting. And a recording of the meeting is sent in the days that follow it for those who missed. Contact: Salinas@meristem.pro
Job Openings
The following job opportunities are available at Meristem: Independent Living Instructor, three positions: one the week day shift and two the weekend shift, and a Work Skills Program Specialist. Details on careers at Meristem are here.
