Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain
Dear Pirate Nation,
Ahoy Mates! As the temperatures drop and the snow tries to fall, it can only mean one thing: the holiday season is knocking at the door! There are so many blessings in my life for which I am thankful: the health of my family and friends, the joy of watching my children grow into adults, my job satisfaction in this community, and of course, all of the amazing people I call teammates in the Piper School District. This week is especially wonderful as we stop to celebrate American Education Week and express our gratitude for the work of every employee in this district. They go above and beyond every single day to ensure every student has what they need to succeed.
American Education Week happens the week prior to the week of Thanksgiving. Each day of the week has its own theme, during which we celebrate our public-school community. Festivities honor the team of people who work in our nation’s public schools, everyone from the bus driver and classroom teacher to the cafeteria worker and administrative staff, plus countless others.
To date, we have 371 active employees compared to 298 employees just four years ago. This includes teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, paras and aides, administrative assistants, facilities and maintenance, nurses, and other important staff members.
Our district theme this year is #beEPIC—Every Pirate Influences Children, and on behalf of the District, I would like to thank all our team for making the lives better for our Piper Pirates.
On behalf of The Dain Train, HAPPY THANKSGIVING and FALL BREAK to Pirate Nation! (PS…. stay tuned…I am attempting to cook my first turkey this year! GOBBLE, GOBBLE!)
Proud to be a Pirate!
Dr. Jessica Dain
Superintendent of Schools
November Board of Education Meeting
At last night’s meeting, we had the honor of celebrating numerous staff and students who have excelled in the classroom and beyond!
Piper Prairie Elementary Kindergarten Teachers
Last night we had the opportunity to recognize the kindergarten team at Piper Prairie Elementary School for reflecting and empowering students to learn through the play-based learning model. At Piper, we value the ideals that learning through play is developmentally appropriate and FUN!
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Play is fundamentally important for learning 21st century skills, such as problem solving, collaboration, and creativity.” Dr. Karyn Puris puts it as this, “Scientists have recently determined that it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain-unless it is done with play, in which case, it takes between 10-20 repetitions.”
Beginning last year, teachers and administration explored the ideas of play-based learning by attending workshops at Greenbush, participating in professional development with Piper’s early learning coordinator, reflecting on current practices, and beginning as change agents.
This year is full implementation! The kindergarten team is working with instructional leaders and administration. They are digging in deep and aligned their standards in play-based learning and play-based assessments that are reflected in daily lessons, center time, as well as a newly aligned grade card. Students are actively engaged with play and teachers are having fun teaching!
We are proud to recognize them for making Kid First decisions and starting the trajectory of their elementary career with FUN! These educators include Mary Rogers, Rachel Robb, Angela Harvey, Ramey Mapp, Kendra Rexroat, Abby Klinger, Amanda Sellers, Heather Robinson, Britney Culvert, Jason Malaschak, Darcey Bast, and Stasi Willmon.
Erica Simpson
Mayor Tyrone Gardner of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County has appointed our own Piper Middle School Librarian, Mrs. Erica Simpson, to serve as Chairperson of the Wyandotte County Public Library Board of Trustees. Mrs. Simpson has served on the eleven-person Public Library Board of Trustees for two years, having been originally appointed by Commissioner Mike Kane.
All the Kansas City, Kansas Public Libraries receive a portion of their funding from the Wyandotte County Library Board which is tasked with monitoring services provided by the library branches and working to ensure the public libraries have adequate resources for serving patrons throughout Wyandotte County. Mrs. Simpson is looking forward to this exciting opportunity and hopes to advocate for expanding library services to our growing Piper community! Congratulations Mrs. Simpson!
PHS Girls Golf State Qualifiers
We were pleased to recognize the six members of the girls golf team who qualified for the 5A state golf tournament, along with Head Coach, Steve Pope, and Assistant Coach, Jennifer Warneke. Please join me in congratulating Seniors Ellie Gravatt, Faith Nunez, Tatum Vallejo, and Kendall Vest, Junior Caitlin Kirwan, and Sophomore Allyson McKinney.
These six young ladies competed in cold and windy conditions at Hesston Golf Course in Hesston, KS on October 17. Junior Caitlin Kirwan even made it to the second day of competition with her score of 96 during the first round. Congratulations to all and thank you for representing Piper High School so well at the State level!
PHS Girls Cross Country State Qualifiers
We were also pleased to celebrate two girls cross country runners who both qualified to run in the 2022 State Cross Country Meet.
Elizabeth Arenas, a freshman, started the season as the team manager and after the first meet decided to give running a try. It turned out to be a great decision. She worked hard and quickly became one of the top runners on the team earning a trip to the state meet.
Grace Hanson - Grace, a senior, ended her high school career with another trip to the State meet placing 2nd. Grace is the most decorated runner in school history with 4 league titles, 4 regional titles, and 4 state medals. Grace has made Piper proud with her performances on the course as well as in the classroom.
Congratulations to all our state qualifiers!
Piper Fest 2022 Donation
Last night, as the Piper Festival Leadership Committee, Amy Bolend and Beth Dazé, made an incredible donation of $10,000.00 to the Board of Education and District. A huge thank you to the Piper Fest volunteers who began working last April to ensure this community event was super successful for our community and our students!
Board Action Items
While there were many items of discussion on the agenda, the following items were approved in last night’s session:
- Bond Construction: Piper High School Bid Package #1 for Earthwork, Site Utilities, and Precast scopes of work.
- Purchase and installation of new air handling units at the current Piper Middle School.
- Two new maintenance trucks to replace our current 2000 and 2006 trucks. The vehicles will be purchased from Shawnee Mission Ford which holds the Kansas state purchasing contract
Piper Early Childhood Additional Classes
Piper Early Childhood Center is excited to announce we have two additional classes opening Jan.4. We will have a half-day 3s class in the morning and a 4’s half-day class in the afternoon. We are currently filling spots from our wait-list, but encourage others to enroll. Please go to www.piperschools.com to enroll. Questions can be directed to Brooke Fenton at the Piper Early Childhood office 913-721-9014.
Piper Parents as Teachers Now Enrolling - Serving Piper families Birth to Kinder
Personal Visits: Parent Educators share age-appropriate child development information, address parenting concerns and engage the family in parent-child activities.
Group Connections: Group Connections provide opportunities to share information about parenting issues and child development.
Screenings: Annual developmental, health, vision and hearing screenings provide for early identification of delays that could interfere with learning.
Resource Network: Parent Educators help families identify and connect with needed resources and overcome barriers to accessing services.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: All children are enrolled free of charge in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and receive an age-appropriate book mailed to their home each month.
To enroll or get more information, click here.
Nicole McDaniel
Parent Educator
816.805.2461
December Board of Education Meeting
The next Board of Education Meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 12th at 6 PM in the Board Room located in the Library at the CTE Building (Formally known as Piper East Elementary School.) Community Members who would like to present to the Board of Education need to sign up one week in advance of the meeting by contacting Mr. Mitch Nutterfield, Board Clerk, at mnutterfield@piperschools.us.
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:
- 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 onset of COVID symptoms will count as day zero and your child will need to remain home for five additional days beyond the date of symptom onset. Your child may return to school as long as they are fever free for 24 hours without medication.
Upon return to school, your child will have 2 options regarding masking per CDC guidance. Option 1 is to wear a mask through day 10 following the onset of symptoms. Option 2 calls for testing on day 1 of their return and day 3 of their return. If both tests are negative, mask-wearing can be discontinued following testing on day 3. Please visit with your school nurse if you wish to pursue the testing option.