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Meeker New Zealand Student Exchange
  • Home
  • About MCOW
    • MCOW Blog & Updates
    • 2020-2021 Form
    • Archive
    • Alummi Comments
  • US Ambassadors
  • Hosting a Kiwi
  • Teachers & Chaperones
  • Support
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Annual Holiday Bazaar
    • Annual Gala Auction

UPDATES

The latest news & reports from MCOW... 

Summer Updates!

8/7/2020

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Kia ora! Hello! 
Sending a fresh, summer scene to our New Zealand friends currently in their winter months! We are enjoying the last weeks of our summer break, and miss you. We were just reflecting at the MCOW Board Meeting on Wednesday about how normally we would be quite busy with preparations for the James Hargest students to visit and resting after a long weekend of Salmon Bake volunteering. It is strange to not be doing either. Our monthly board meetings continue to offer a chance to review MCOW events for the 2020-2021 school year. Here are a few updates: 
HOSTING / AMBASSADORS 
As we announced earlier, both sides of the program have been canceled this year. We are in the process of evaluating a possible virtual reunion option for the 2020 Ambassadors. Further, we are working to creatively prepare for a 2021-2022 launch for next Spring. 

HOLIDAY BAZAAR 
The Board carefully discussed factors impacting the feasibility of the Holiday Bazaar in November 2020. We will make a final decision and update our community by early September via the website, email and social media. Thank you to those vendors who have reached out with inquiries! 

ANNUAL GALA AUCTION 
Previously, we hinted to the fact we are enthusiastically planning a variation on this event for early next year. We look forward to announcing more in the coming months. 

​Lastly, we wish all our school partners and NE Tacoma families the best as we prepare for a new type of back to school in the coming weeks! We are thinking of all the families, sponsorship businesses and various community partners impacted during this time.

​Stay safe and enjoy the end of summer, 

MCOW Board
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2020-2021 Important Notice

4/28/2020

 

An Important Notice to the
​MCOW Community & Our Friends:
 

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Out of an abundance of caution and in line with our guiding principle of Safety First in all we do, the MCOW Board of Directors has decided to call off the 2020-2021 exchange. A few days ago, the James Hargest College Board of Trustees canceled the trip for the New Zealand students and adults scheduled to arrive in September 2020. The MCOW Board voted this week to not have a group of Student Ambassadors, Teacher Leaders, and Parent Chaperones travel to New Zealand in February 2021.  

For 31 continuous years, we have taken students to New Zealand each February. This decision was not made lightly and is the result of a great deal of careful consideration given its significance in the history of the MCOW program. While frustrating and difficult, the Board believes canceling the February 2021 trip is the best course of action given the circumstances.  Since its inception in 1989, the program has changed lives because of the connections made and the discoveries encountered around every corner. Sending our Student Ambassadors on this Kiwi adventure has become a familiar and safe experience for us, and it will be again in 2021-2022. 

We find ourselves in the midst of a very unusual time, given the Coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having around the world. For most of us, life has changed in profound ways. Right now the only thing that seems certain is uncertainty. The simple fact is we don’t know what to expect or how this will continue to impact our daily lives in the coming days, weeks or even months.

While this message is somber, the MCOW Board of Directors is committed to make the most of this unique year and we invite you to join us.

Was your student planning to be an Ambassador or planning to host a Kiwi? CLICK HERE to let us know so we can consider fun, new ways of connecting these students during the next few months. (Note that the Board will discuss the potential to allow eighth grade students to participate in the February 2022 trip.) 

Are you interested in helping with the annual Meeker Holiday Bazaar in November? CLICK HERE to let us know that we can add you and/or your student to the list of volunteers for the Holiday Bazaar team. 

Do you love attending the MCOW Gala Dinner & Auction? While we won't have a traditional auction event this year, we are considering how to bring together our amazing MCOW Community in a gratitude event. CLICK HERE if you want to help us create an unforgettable evening in celebration of the MCOW program. 

While we have decided to forego the exchange trip for one year, we fully intend to make our 2020-2021 program year count. We plan to make this year central to the core foundation of this program -- connections with other people.

Let's stay connected. Let's stay safe. Let's make the most of the year ahead and work together to keep the MCOW program strong and vibrant for all the years to come. 

Allison, Amy, Annette, Charles, Liz, Louann, and Stephan 
MCOW Board of Directors 
www.meekernz.org

Where will you go after this quarantine?

4/14/2020

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Perhaps New Zealand!!

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Part of coping in this unique moment in our history is having hope and dreams that life will not always be the way it is today. Where are you dreaming of going once restrictions are lifted? What are you embracing as an opportunity to grow as you come out of this quarantine? 

We are excited to announce it is time for our future Teacher Leaders dreaming of New Zealand to apply by April 20, 2020! We've taken this opportunity to embrace virtual connections and new upgrades in technology. Application materials are available online: www.meekernz.org/teacherapplication Embrace the dream of leading a team of students on an adventure of a lifetime! 

MCOW Board of Directors carefully reviewed and modified operations for the 2020-2021 year. We will continue to monitor USA and New Zealand developments and changes to determine if further modification will be needed. We are hopeful & dreaming of the fresh new adventure for 2020-2021 Teachers & Ambassadors  to enjoy as we move back to normal in the months ahead. 
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INFORMATIONAL MEETING - Monday, May 18, 2020

3/23/2020

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​A MESSAGE TO PARENTS ABOUT THE MEEKER NEW ZEALAND STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM 

Hello Parents. It seems the current TPS school closure has impacted almost everything happening in our community. We want and hope that everybody will be safe and stay healthy. 

Several weeks ago your sixth grade student may have brought home a flyer about the MEEKER NEW ZEALAND STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM, which has been part of our community for 31 years. Each year in March and April, we kick-off this program with our annual INFORMATIONAL MEETING. On the flyer, it showed the meeting would take place on Monday, March 23. We have changed the meeting to MONDAY, MAY 18, 2020.  

This 2-month delay was made in light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and the response to this public health emergency. The MCOW Board of Directors has been working to revise many portions of our program timeline. We've taken a hard look and made numerous adjustments so that we can move forward in a way that makes sense in the current environment. We know its not a time for "business as usual" but rather a time that demands flexibility and "Plan B" thinking with a Safety First mindset. With recent revisions, we are ready to move forward with another fantastic year (our 32nd) of this incredible program. We invite you to learn more and consider joining us. 

ARE YOU READY TO LEARN MORE? We encourage you to complete this simple form to get direct updates from us once we release further details about the Informational Meeting >>  https://www.meekernz.org/2020-2021-form.html 

ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE TRIP IS LIKE? We invite you to explore the adventures taken by former Ambassadors and learn more about the trip >> 
https://www.meekernz.org/us-ambassadors.html 

ARE YOU ON FACEBOOK? You may want to scroll through or "Like" some of the recent posts on our Facebook page from our Ambassadors' trip to New Zealand in February 2020 >>    https://www.facebook.com/MeekerCitizensoftheWorld 

DO YOU WANT TO GET UPDATES? You can bookmark our blog and check back for updates as often as you’d like >>  https://www.meekernz.org/mcow-blog--updatesc

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? Click on the "Contact Us" page on our website and send us your question. If you've got questions, we've got answers. 

We are incredibly grateful to be part of this community. We know it is special because of the people who live here. Thanks for making a difference in all you do at Meeker Middle School and throughout the Northeast Tacoma Community. 

Best regards, 

Board of Directors 
Meeker Citizens of the World Student Exchange Program
Tacoma,  Washington USA
Website | www.meekernz.org 
Follow us on Facebook 

🇺🇸 🇳🇿  Celebrating 32 Years! 1989 - 2021  🇳🇿 🇺🇸

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  • Home
  • About MCOW
    • MCOW Blog & Updates
    • 2020-2021 Form
    • Archive
    • Alummi Comments
  • US Ambassadors
  • Hosting a Kiwi
  • Teachers & Chaperones
  • Support
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Annual Holiday Bazaar
    • Annual Gala Auction