Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain
Dear Pirate Nation,
Today’s edition of Tuesday Talk, on Thursday, comes to you with a heavy heart. This morning we learned the news of the passing of Teri Beashore after a courageous battle with brain cancer for the past two years. Those who have been in Piper for several years are familiar with Teri and her family. Teri has been a long-time member of the Piper community, serving as an English teacher and a Gifted Education teacher, at Piper High School for 32 years before her retirement in May of 2022.
With this loss we know many students, specifically at the High School, will be hurting and/or this loss may trigger grief from a previous loss. Our district grief committee will be on call to PHS in the next few days to work with students and staff who may be struggling. Parents can also use the resource linked below that provides thoughts on helping your child cope with loss and grief.
This loss is gutting for all of those who knew and loved Teri. She will be missed tremendously. Please join us in keeping the Beashore Family in your thoughts during this very difficult time.
Proud to be a Pirate!
Dr. Jessica Dain
Superintendent of Schools
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration & Scholarship Recipients
As you are aware, Monday was a federal holiday in which we celebrated the life work Martin Luther King, Jr. The Kansas City, Kansas MLK Committee held a beautiful celebration at Memorial Hall on Monday. A moving part of the celebration was the Committee’s donation of college scholarship funding to Wyandotte County high school seniors who applied for the prestigious award. Piper High School had 11 senior recipients listed below.
- Kyren Calvin
- Elise Collins
- Brandon Dark
- Annalia Escalante
- TyJanae Hooks
- Kyndell Letcher
- Asher Malaschak
- Faith Nunez
- Brylie Reese
- Tatum Vallejo
- Madison Welker
January Board of Education Meeting Recap
Last night we held our January Board of Education Meeting. As always, great work was accomplished, and many items were celebrated!
Community Recognitions:
Piper Creek Elementary School Spelling Bee
On Friday, January 13th, sixteen fourth and fifth graders representing each of their classes participated in the Piper Creek Spelling Bee in front of the entire student body. These students won their class-level spelling bee to receive an invitation to the school-wide spelling bee. We are pleased to recognize the following students for their outstanding achievements.
- Fourth Graders: Brody Boer, Layton Gerkovich, Anna Hadorn, Addie Nichols, Kalynn Post, Sophia Saft, Kenton Todd, Adelina Wagner
- Fifth Graders: Will Daze, Simon Lian, Jacob Lodder, Liam McFarland, Sariah Monroe, Simon Thawng, Charlotte Waldeck, Sarah Watkins
After 12 rounds and a tight finish, fifth grader Charlotte Waldeck of Mrs. Gareis’ fifth grade class narrowly beat out Layton Gerkovich of Mrs. Boyd’s fourth grade class when she spelled potential correctly. Charlotte advances to represent Piper at the Wyandotte County Spelling Bee on Saturday, February 4 at Wyandotte High School.
Piper High School Pearls Dance Team
The Piper Pearls Dance Team competed at the KSHSAA State Game Day Spirit Showcase Competition in November and placed 5th overall in the 5A Division as one of the smallest 5A Teams. The team has been working hard over the past several months to perfect their GameDay routine which consisted of three dance portions: the school fight song, band dance and halftime performance. This was the first of several competitions for the team as they will be competing in the Lee’s Summit North Invitational Dance Competition this upcoming weekend and ADTS Nationals in March.
Congratulations to the Pearls for a great start of the competition season! We are excited to recognize Head Coach Krista Brady and Assistant Coach Audrey Reynolds, along with the following dancers:
- Seniors: Jaidah Bell, Tyjanae Hooks, and Riley Merrick
- Juniors: Layla Blankenship, Adelle Eikenbary, Hynna Matthews and Caroline Vogel
- Sophomore: Riley Haworth
- Freshmen: Allison Buckner, Ryleigh Hanschu and Maddie Richardson
- Team Manager: Lucy Menzies
January Board of Education Appreciation Month
January is the month in which we celebrate Community Board of Education Appreciation. The board of education is the school district’s governing body, as set forth in state and federal law. The board is responsible for setting district policy, adopting an annual budget, and approving of general district matters, including personnel, curriculum, facilities, and other district business matters. Our colleagues and teammates of the Piper Board of Education are individuals who are deeply vested in ensuring they all students succeed and reach their full potential. Additionally, they unselfishly serve our community to provide a world-class working environment for our employees. As a superintendent, I truly could not ask for a more qualified and dedicated group of individuals to call my colleagues and teammates. From the entire Piper School District and community, please accept these words as an indicator of our appreciation for your role as community servants.
- John Bakarich III
- Larry Beashore, Board President
- Ashley Biondi
- Kim Brown
- Desi Fergus, Board Vice-President
- Jeb Vader
- Julian Wells
Piper High School Asian Alliance Presentation
Piper High School's newly created Asian Pacific Student Association facilitated and hosted the Asian Alliance Conference at UMKC on Dec. 2, 2022. This association’s teacher sponsor is Ms. Matha Yang. More than 150 Asian students from 10 metro schools connected with each other, networked with Asian professionals, and workshopped ways to amplify their voices with Startland EDU. The effort was funded by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation to support equity, inclusion, access, and belonging associated with Real World Learning.
Discussion & Approval of District Items:
The following topics were discussed and approved:
- Construction Contract with JE Dunn
- Construction Pay Application #1 to JE Dunn
- Approval of PHS Bid Package #2
- KASB Updated BOE Policies
Discussion Topics:
- PHS Strength & Conditioning Courses: Possible additional offerings during the school day, possible additional before & after school offerings, possible full-time strength & conditioning coach
February Board of Education Meeting
The next Board of Education Board Meeting has been scheduled for Monday, February 13th at 6:00 PM in the CTE Library/Board Room. Community members interested in addressing the Board of Education should reach out to Board Clerk, Mr. Mitch Nutterfield, at mnutterfield@piperschools.us by Monday, February 6th.
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
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:
- 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.