Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain
August 9th, 2022
Dear Pirate Nation,
Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone’s week is off to a great start! The Dain Train enjoyed a quiet weekend at home enjoying the Chiefs game, Pizza Hut delivery, and lots of laundry! Late August is always a favorite time for me as our middle school and high school athletic teams kick off their seasons. This Friday night we begin hosting duties with the Soccer team kicking off their home opener! We are working on some cosmetic updates at the District Stadium and would love to see you this Friday night! Best wishes to all of our Fall Student-Athletes and their families!
Proud to be a Pirate!
Dr. Jessica Dain
Superintendent of Schools
Late Arrival Fridays
Thank you for such a seamless transition to our Late Arrival Friday schedules! Teachers and Principals alike have expressed how grateful they are for the gift of time to collaborate with colleagues and participate in professional development activities. While these days can be an inconvenience for parents, please know how grateful the district is for your community support! As a reminder, the following are the school start times on Late Arrival Fridays:
- Piper Early Childhood
- Morning-Only and Full Day Classes - 9:00 a.m.
- Afternoon-Only Classes - 1:10 p.m.
- Piper Prairie Elementary - 9:10 a.m.
- Piper Creek Elementary - 9:00 a.m.
- Piper Middle School - 8:10 a.m.
- Piper High School - 8:10 a.m.
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.