PIONEER ACADEMY
Knowledge - Challenge - Integrity - Diversity
Dear Students, Faculty, and Parents,
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it seems very fitting for us to pause, think of those people who matter most to us in life, and say, "Thank you!” During this busy time of the year, we truly become aware of how deeply thankful we are for the unwavering support of the parents in creating an outstanding partnership for our students. Furthermore, we are thankful for the teachers, administrators and all of the support staff including the nurse, dorm advisors, and administrators who really care about student achievement and well being, and have the best interests of our students at heart. We are also thankful for our volunteers who enthusiastically contribute so much to our school.
Charles Dickens once said, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” We believe that you share our goals and that your donation to Pioneer Academy’s fundraiser will enable us to maintain and grow our outstanding programs.
Next Tuesday, December 3, Pioneer Academy will take part in #GivingTuesday. #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media. This year we ask that you help support the school’s annual fund by participating in #GivingTuesday. Stay tuned for more information next week on how to participate in the exciting global movement!
Please be reminded that your charitable gift will be tax-deductible.
Please click here to explore Support Pioneer.
We would like to wish all of you and your families a happy, healthy, and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday!
Sincerely,
Owen O. Akman
Principal
Table of Contents
- Upcoming Events in November
- Past and Upcoming ES Events
- Past and Upcoming MS Events
- MS Saturday Academy
- Past and Upcoming HS Events
- College Counseling Corner
- Basketball Events
- MS Art
- Quote of the Week
Upcoming Events In November
Dec. 9 - 13 Faculty Meetings (No After School Clubs)
Dec. 9 - 13 Hour of Code Week K-8
Dec. 16 - 19 Academic Support Conferences
Past and Upcoming Elementary S. Events
Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge Visits
In the month of October, the elementary students welcomed Ms. Brinster from the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge to explain what the shelter does for the community. This informative assembly was to kick-start our animal shelter food drive for the month. Thank you for your contributions to the shelter. As we transition into the month of November, a month where we give thanks and appreciate what we have and remember that we are very fortunate, the shelter thanks you with all their “furry” hearts!
Book Tasting
Pioneer Academy’s first and second grade students hosted their annual “Book Tasting.” This amazing event promotes literacy in our youngest learners. The students had an opportunity to “taste” books in a restaurant-style environment complete with tables, menus, placemats, and alphabet snacks. The students looked through the books at their tables and wrote down each book’s title, genre, and author. Then they decided if they wanted to read the book in full.
The first and second grade students then “buddy read” to the kindergartners.
The students were able to borrow their top choice books from our classroom libraries!
Past and Upcoming Middle School events
In Mr. Benevenga’s eighth grade American History II class, students created political cartoons depicting issues our nation faced during the early 1900s. Habiba Saad created a fantastic cartoon supporting the prohibition movement.
Middle School Saturday Academy
After their academic classes, Pioneer Academy middle school students took a trip to the local bowling alley to show off their skills. With the occasional help from the bumpers and some bowling alley snacks for fuel, middle schoolers were able to pick up some spares and strikes. They even had a couple students who managed to break a score of 100! In the end, no bowling stars were born that day, but students and teachers enjoyed their time competing for bragging rights. Here are a few photos from the day.
Past and Upcoming High School Events
Induction Ceremony
On November 14, Pioneer Academy celebrated the new members of National Honors Society. Twelve current members helped induct nine new members to the society. National Honors Society students were chosen based on four pillars. The first pillar is Scholarship: students must maintain a GPA of 3.75 for the year. The second pillar is Leadership: students are required to help others in school, including peers, teachers, and administrators. Our students work within the school to provide awareness programs and to maintain a positive culture. The third pillar is Character. Our members have an impeccable disciplinary record and are approved by the faculty before they are admitted to the society. The fourth and final pillar is Service. Members of the NHS are required to complete 30 hours of service with a non-profit organization in their community. At the ceremony, our high school social studies teacher, Dr. Rahman, gave a motivational keynote speech to our inductees, reminding them that they serve as a positive example for others and are given the opportunity to make big differences in our world. We are excited to see what our NHS members are capable of contributing this school year.
High School English Language Arts
Ms. Hughes’s Honors American Literature students have been studying literature of early America. They recently read and discussed William Bradford’s memoir Of Plymouth Plantation. Students worked in small groups to create timelines of the events recounted in the memoir, including the arrival of the Mayflower in Plymouth and the first Thanksgiving. Students worked together to design, draw, and illustrate their timelines on poster paper. On the final day of the project, the posters were hung around the room and students took part in a “gallery walk,” in which they walked around and viewed the posters. They also used sticky notes to leave positive and constructive comments for their classmates on the posters.
Ninth Grade Thanksgiving Cards
Interactive Stress Management Seminar
While stress is a normal reaction to everyday pressures, it can become unhealthy when it upsets day-to-day functions. It is often described as feelings of being overwhelmed, worried, or run-down. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), stress can affect people of all ages, genders, and circumstances and can lead to both physical and psychological health issues. On November 19, our High School and Middle School students attended an interactive Stress Management Seminar with speaker Reyhane Daglar. A clinical hypnotherapist and Life Coach, Ms. Daglar specializes in the Medical and Dental Division and holds a Masters in Social Work from New York University. Ms. Daglar was a highly-informative speaker who passionately provided her expertise by offering science-based practical tools and insights to help achieve increased productivity, resilience, and provided an interactive space that allowed students to share issues they were facing. She led a humorous and entertaining session that engaged students at their current understanding of stress and addressed different solutions that they could use to manage their stress.
College Counseling Corner
Strategies to Improve your SAT Reading Score
Are you scoring in the 550-700 range on SAT Reading + Writing? Do you want to increase that score as high as possible?
Getting to a perfect SAT Reading score is not easy. But with hard work and the strategies below, you will be able to do it. Here’s some advice to reach your perfect score.
1 - Understand your greatest weakness (ex. time Management or passage strategy).
2 - Learn to eliminate 3 wrong answers.
3 - Predict the answer before reading the answer choices.
4 - Experiment with passage reading strategies and find the best strategy that works best for you:
- Passage method 1: Skim the passage, then read the questions.
- Passage method 2: Read the questions first and mark the passage.
- Passage method 3: Read the passage in detail, then answer questions.
5 - Understand every single mistake you make.
6 - Find your reading skill weaknesses and drill them.
7 - Read the italicized passage introduction.
8 - Be interested in the passage subject matter.
9 - DON’T spend time on unfamiliar vocab.
10 - Finish with extra time and double-check your answers.
11 - Be ready for turbulence in scores.
Basketball Events
The Pioneer Eagles Boys’ Basketball team continues to build chemistry and bring home multiple victories. The Eagles are now on a winning streak of two games. They defeated Darul Arqam (109-27) on November 14 and Bergen Christian Academy (113-43) on November 21. In their most recent match, they started out a little slowly throughout the first quarter; the Eagles played a sloppy game and allowed a few 3 pointers from Bergen Christian with the score 9-5 early on. With their tough defense and pace pushing, the game quickly opened up to 38-18 midway through the second quarter and the Eagles never looked back. The Eagles were led by senior, Jacob Williams, who finished the game with scoring 24 points. Also big contributors from the night included Anthony Dunbar and Keymani Nevers scoring 22 points apiece.
The Eagles, now 2-1 on the season, hope to continue their winning streak and keep their perfect home record alive as they play New Jersey School on November 25, and then a tough test on November 26 against American Christian, both at home (PS2 Athletics in Wayne) with start times of 4:00 PM. With a powerful offense averaging 97 points per game, the immediate future of the team looks bright this season!
Middle School Art
Sixth grade artists finished their Paul Klee inspired painting using Analogous Colors.