Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain
August 9th, 2022
Dear Pirate Nation,
Happy Tuesday! I hope your week is off to a great start! If you are like me, you are enjoying the crisp autumn mornings we have been experiencing over the last seven to ten days! While I am not personally quite ready to officially kick off Pumpkin Spice Latte season, I have appreciated Mother Nature allowing us to enjoy the transitional weather of Fall and not just jumping from summer to winter extremes.
Speaking of weather, you want to know what goes with crisp autumn mornings like caramel goes with apples? NEW WINDOWS! NEVER EVER did I believe that getting new windows would feel like Christmas morning, but this week 7 new windows were installed into our new Piper home and we (ME) are so incredibly excited! I know I am very guilty of speeding through my day, week, and month and not slowing down to enjoy the little things, but sometimes when those little things aren’t available, we realize how much they may really mean to us. Now, the bad news is that for four to five weeks we won’t have any window treatments—so I apologize in advance to any readers that may also be our neighbors! Rest assured we are working to remedy that problem, and in the meantime, we will be enjoying the opportunity to open windows and breath in the comforting scents of fall!
Last night was our September Board of Education Meeting. The highlights of the meeting include the BOE approving the purchase of a new intercom system for the Piper Early Childhood Center, a new fire panel for the CTE Center, and a new Ford van that can be utilized to transport district students and staff. A huge thank you to our Board of Education members for approving these much-needed items. Lastly, the Board approved the Revenue Neutral Rate and 2022.2023 District Budget.
Proud to be a Pirate!
Dr. Jessica Dain
Superintendent of Schools
The Future of Work: High Demand High Wage Career Opportunities in the Kansas City Metro Area
I would like to extend a special thank-you to Amber Buck, Polly Vader, our facilities crew, and our community/industry partners for an amazing evening on September 8th at Piper Creek Elementary with the focus on High Demand High Wage Career Opportunities in the Kansas City Metro Area. This event was for students of all ages and their families and it was a great success! We had over 90 different employers represented!
Piper Fest: Calling All Volunteers!
It’s been over two years since the Piper Community has been able to enjoy Piper Fest, but never fear, she is alive and well and making her way back to the Piper High School campus on Saturday, September 24th . There are many activities for all ages, so please save the date! Additionally, another great way to participate is to serve as a community volunteer! Please find a link to the Sign-Up Genius to help us staff this family-friendly community event!
You can also donate to Piper Fest using the Venmo QR code below.
Piper PTA (Parent Teacher Association)
The Piper School District has a strong PTA that is extremely dedicated to caring for the students, teachers, and parents in the community. They currently are not requiring formal membership for PTA--anyone and everyone is welcome to participate regardless of paid membership.
Parents frequently ask if there is a district platform for parents to collect money from other parents for to utilize for teacher gifts or fundraising in planning for future Project Graduation celebrations. Please remember that PTA is a pivotal partner in keeping parents’ funds fiscally safe and they are happy to help parents create “Class” accounts in order to provide checks and balances with parents’ gracious donations.
Lastly, all parents are welcomed and encouraged to attend District PTA Monthly Open-House Meetings. The meetings begin at 6:30 PM and take place in the Piper Prairie Library. The dates are as following:
- November 8
- January 10
- February TBD
- March TBD
- April 11
- May 9
Questions? Please contact PTA President, Morgan Rentie, at piperpta203@gmail.com
COVID-19
We will continue to have COVID-19 tests available should your child become ill at school, and you wish to provide consent for them to be tested. If your child is exhibiting 2 or more COVID-19 symptoms, our nursing staff would highly recommend having them tested. As always, best practice is to keep your child home if they are feeling unwell.
Should your child test positive for COVID-19, we will be following CDC recommendations for exclusion. The date of the test will count as day zero and your child will need to remain home for five additional days beyond the date of the positive test, assuming symptoms are resolving. Upon return to school, it is recommended that your child continue to wear a mask for 5 additional days.