Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain
August 9th, 2022
Dear Pirate Nation,
As we round out the month of August, I hope all families are settling into their routines for all things back to school. As my office is right next door to the Early Childhood Center, I readily have the opportunity to check on our youngest Pirates and it seems they are quickly learning the art of “going to school” right along with our veteran Pirates at Piper Prairie, Piper Creek, Piper Middle School, and Piper High School. Keeping stride with Pirate Nation, The Dain Train is also settling into yet another exciting school year. Todd and I are both beginning our 28th years in education, while our oldest daughter, Andie, is beginning her second year as an elementary special education teacher. Our second daughter, Ashton, just kicked off her third year at Northwest Missouri State University, and Brock, the Dain Train Caboose, just started his first year at Metropolitan Community College on the Maple Woods campus.
District Communication Matrix
In our strategic plan, we have four goal areas that drive our work: Future Reading Learning for All, Connected Culture Among All, Effective Systems and Financial Resources, and Human Capital. As we unpack the area of Effective Systems, a crucial focus area for our administrative teams is Communication. Our hope is to provide timely, transparent, and consistent messaging to all community stakeholders on a regular basis via a variety of communication platforms. To that end, in order to efficiently and expediently meet the needs of our parents and community members, we do ask that concerns are addressed following our district's communication matrix. Your assistance in following this communication matrix allows us problem-solve and communicate in the most effective way possible. Please contact your building administration with additional questions.
Proud to be a Pirate!
Dr. Jessica Dain
Superintendent of Schools
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.
Construction Junction (January 2022 Bond Projects)
While difficult to see, we have been hard at work with our partners incite Design Studio and JE Dunn on our bond projects based on the successful bond election in January 2022. As the third fastest growing school district in the state of Kansas, we are so grateful to our giving community for passing these bond projects in order for us to address the overcrowding at Piper Middle School, Piper High School, along with addressing Early Childhood, deferred maintenance issues, and site work improvements at other buildings.
We are excited about our progress and want to remain transparent and communicative with our community as to the progress of these projects. To that end, we are excited to share with you a link to a website that will be continually updated as we look to August 2024. Please find a link to the website here along with a QR code that will also deliver you to the website. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
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:
- September 13
- 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.