PIONEER ACADEMY
Knowledge - Challenge - Integrity - Diversity
Dear Students, Faculty, and Parents,
I hope everyone is enjoying the cool Fall days. Hard to believe we’ve been in school for almost two months! I am reminded about how fast time passes. As a result driven school we are happy to provide the solid academic support for all of our students.
OPEN HOUSE
We will have an Open House on Saturday, November 16 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM! There is more information to come, but be sure to save the date! We plan to work with student ambassadors who will be responsible for giving tours of the school on that day to prospective families. Meet our students and faculty, tour our classrooms, and learn about the PIONEER Difference. You will feel the positive energy and heart behind our community and our programs. Please invite your family and friends who may be interested in attending.
SAFETY & SPEED LIMIT ON CAMPUS
Everyone, please remember that the speed limit is 15 MPH. We have had many instances that are a cause for concern and we would like everyone to be safe. We understand that sometimes you can be in a hurry, but the main goal is to keep you and your students safe while on campus. Speed limit signs are posted along the driveway when you come onto the campus. Please adhere to this not only for your safety, but the safety of your student(s) and other families and their students.
NEWSLETTER
There is a lot of very helpful information for our families in this newsletter. Please make sure to read through carefully. In each newsletter, at the end of "Principal's Corner," there is a list showing what is in each newsletter. Please take the time to read through, and please, never hesitate to ask questions!
I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of our school and I look forward to having a wonderful month!
Respectfully,
Principal Owen O. Akman
Table of Contents
- Upcoming Events in October
- Hurricane Dorian Fundraiser
- MS Saturday Academy
- College Counseling Corner
- HS Musical
- ES Farm Trip
- Midday Madness
- Quote of the Week
- Health Corner
- MS Spirit Week
- Open House
UPCOMING EVENTS IN OCTOBER
Oct. 21-24 Parent-Teacher Conferences K-4 No Afterschool Clubs K-4
Oct. 23 Full Staff Inservice - MS & HS Parent-Teacher Conferences - Students off
Oct. 28-Nov. 1 First Quarter Benchmarks
Oct. 28-Nov 1 Middle School Spirit Week
Nov. 1 End of First Quarter
Nov. 1 Author Visit K-4
Nov. 16 Open House
Hurricane Dorian Fundraiser
A few weeks back, an eighth grade student, Anisa Sheik, approached the Middle School Team and asked if the school could raise funds for the areas that were most affected by Hurricane Dorian.
The middle school team came up with the idea of having all three schools (Elementary, Middle, and High school) compete to see which school could raise the most money. Students in each school would place the donations in their school’s respective jar. Whichever school raised the most amount of money will receive a prize of their choosing (ex. a dress down day for the winning school).
The event began on September 30, and ran through October 4. The Middle School won the event by raising nearly $700. Elementary came in second place with $425 raised and High School was last with $328 raised. In total, the school raised more than $1,400. All the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross.
MS SATURDAY ACADEMY
Saturday Academy is off to a strong start. During the morning sessions, students are engaged in various different academic activities including Robotics, Creative Writing, Python Coding, Science Olympiad, and World Issues and Events. After lunch, students participate in a special activity, such as sports or a local day trip. The most recent activity was a hike up one of the High Mountain Reserve Park trails in Mahwah, New Jersey. Kids and teachers both enjoyed the teambuilding activity by spending their time outside exploring nature.
College Counseling Corner
College Visits
The College Counseling Department organized three campus visits.The ninth grade students visited Montclair State University, the tenth grade students visited Seton Hall University, and the eleventh grade students visited Princeton University. In November and December, we are planning to host college admissions teams at our school. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bloomfield College, Dartmouth University, and Rice University have already visited Pioneer Academy. Upcoming visits include Princeton University, University of Connecticut, University of Toronto, University of Notre Dame, Northeastern University, University of California - Riverside, and Seton Hall University.
HS History Explorers
Students in ELL History had to research one European explorer of their choice and present it to the class. There were some guidelines they had to follow like adding a picture of the explorer and his route. Students then had to write down where he was from, who he sailed for, where he sailed, and why it was important. They did a good job working collaboratively. At times, it was a little intense because of their language difficulties, but they persevered and got the job done. In addition, they designed their own posters, and chose the pictures, layout, font, and color scheme. Finally, students gave an oral presentation and presented their posters.
The Musical
ES Farm Trip
The Elementary students visited Demarest Farms. The children went on a hayride, fed the farm animals and had apple cider and donuts!
Most importantly, they learned all about Spookly The Square Pumpkin and how being different is perfect! They learned about bullying and took a pledge to not be a bully and to stand up for others! The students then got to pick their very own perfectly imperfect pumpkin from the pumpkin patch!
It was a wonderful day!
Midday Madness
Quote of the Week
Although e-cigarettes have been around for more than a decade, vaping rates have skyrocketed in recent years, especially among teens. E-cigarettes are now the most frequently used tobacco product among adolescents — some 2.1 million middle and high school students were e-cigarette users in 2017 — far surpassing traditional combustible cigarettes.
JUUL, a popular vape device that comes in "fun" flavors, looks like a flash drive and can be charged in a USB port, is especially concerning. JUUL delivers high levels of nicotine, making the product extremely addictive. The company that makes and markets JUUL recently exceeded a $10 billion valuation faster than any company, including Facebook. JUUL sales now make up more than half of the e-cigarette market.
The FDA announced that it will be cracking down not only on illegal sales of e-cigarettes to minors, but also the “kid-friendly marketing and appeal of these products” because “we see clear signs that youth use of electronic cigarettes has reached an epidemic proportion.” And after recent unexplained illnesses and deaths that have been attributed to vaping, the CDC and the American Medical Association are expressing serious concern, recommending that people should avoid vaping entirely.
Teachers, health professionals and parents are alarmed by the growing popularity of vaping among young people and trying to educate not only teens but also themselves, as it’s all still so new.
Read more by clicking the link below:
https://childmind.org/article/teen-vaping-what-you-need-to-know/