Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain
Dear Pirate Nation,
Happy Tuesday! It’s exciting to me that it’s December 6th! Not only do I really enjoy the holiday season where the air feels a little bit cleaner, colors seem a little bolder, and people remember to be kind to one another. But more importantly to me---it is the season in which my college daughter, Ashton Leigh, comes home for almost 5 weeks! While she is home, she loves to help me go grocery shopping, make dinner, wrap presents, and watch scary movies. I always love having her home and then love sending her back to Northwest Missouri State where she has great friends, a great soccer team, and is receiving an awesome education!
Every morning I listen to a one-minute video on leadership from John Maxwell. One message from last week was exceptionally meaningful to me. He spoke of living life with intention. Good intentions need to be turned into good actions. In order to get the best that life has for you, you need to be purposeful, willful, and focused. If you don't prepare your life, you will spend your time repairing—by preparing your day and life, you will live intentionally.
Mr. Maxwell mentioned that growing up, every night his father would make a list of the 3 to 4 things he needed to get done the next day. He would watch his dad put the list in his pocket as he left the house and his dad said he didn’t leave work until the list was completed. This really resonated with me because at times I jump from task to task (answering emails, returning phone calls, running to a meeting) and sometimes feel as if life is leading me versus me leading my life. His message reminded me the importance of being intentional and tending to the important people and tasks in my life first—and then allowing the rest of “all the things” to fall into place.
Here’s to being intentional during this special holiday season!
Proud to be a Pirate!
Dr. Jessica Dain
Superintendent of Schools
Construction Update
Over Thanksgiving Break, JE Dunn began fencing off the part of Piper Creek Elementary in which construction will soon start! A special thank you to the PCE staff and students who have been flexible as we modified their recess space. Be sure to check out our website at https://tinyurl.com/PiperConstruction to see up-to-date pictures and updates from JE Dunn on the progress!
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 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:
- 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.