Extra-Curricular Activities
Meridian has a rich variety of extracurricular activities in the performing arts, music, academic enrichment, and physical activities and sports. Because all of our activities are open to students in all grades, students can explore different opportunities over time or dive deeply and hone their skills over the years. There are many opportunities for student leadership within our programs: our middle school Model United Nations delegation is taught by expert Meridian high school students and the spring play is directed by seniors who have had considerable acting experience and directing study. Our student leaders are all mentored by teachers in their efforts. In addition to our extracurricular opportunities, Meridian students are also in Committees. These meet during the school day, and include a variety of options such as Yearbook and Environmental Action. Meridian students have often taken the lead in establishing new extracurriculars and committees with the school providing a teacher/coach and the needed facilities. We love to support students’ enthusiasms!
Middle and High School Bands
Whether you play an instrument, sing, or both, Meridian’s band is the place for you. Led by music teacher Laura Jaye, students meet twice a week to learn and practice songs from a variety of musical genres, including rearranging popular music and performing student-written music. Want to be in a band, but don’t have the experience? Meridian’s elective music classes provide instruction in singing, percussion, guitar, ukulele, and more, so students can develop the skills they need to participate. The band regularly performs at Exhibition Evenings and at Music Night. Each year, students can join an intensive, two-day course focusing on a single album, such as Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life.
Theatre
This program combines improvisation and the performance of two full-length plays per year. Recent shows include The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, and Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman, adapted from Ovid. Students interested in theater technical efforts can work on lighting, costumes, and set design.
Model United Nations
Learn about international politics, history, public speaking, and social justice issues as you represent a country at a simulation of the United Nations while collaborating with and debating students from around the country and the world. Students prepare for and participate in two-day-long model United Nations simulations, including a Middle School Model United Nations in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the Brown University and MIT conferences for high school students.
Soccer Team
Meridian students participate in a variety of athletic activities which vary depending on student interest. For Meridian’s soccer team, they train with their coach, Meridian’s PE teacher Lenny, to work collaboratively and compete on the field. Both the middle and high school all-genders soccer teams play other independent schools in the area.
Golf
Under the coaching of a PGA golf pro, students learn the basics and hone their skills in a weekly after-school activity. After practicing at the range and practice green, the group got the opportunity to play on a real course.
Dance
Students learn a variety of dance styles with a focus on hip hop. With weekly instruction from a professional dancer and teacher, they perform a choreographed dance at Arts Night.
