Pioneer PumaNews
March 30, 2020
Important Dates - See Below for Explanations & Other IMPORTANT Information
April 2 - Essential instructional/personal item pickup (4-5 pm, approval from principal required)
April 13 - First weekly remote learning resource packets distributed
A Message from Mr. Jakious ...
Pioneer Pumas …
I’ve been thinking a lot about all of our school community members this break and hope you are all healthy and safe! I had a newsletter ready to go out when we got back from track break detailing school events, due dates, and things going on at Pioneer. Well … a lot has changed since our halls were last filled with your amazing children. In fact, it feels like it was ages ago and clearly that newsletter no longer applies … AT ALL. There is nothing that I would like more than to return to normal and welcome your children back to the building this week. Unfortunately, that is not our current reality.
We will not have school in the traditional sense of the word for the time being, but what we will have is a golden opportunity to apply the growth mindset we try to model and instill in our children. We will ALL be harnessing the POWER OF YET and we will find ourselves IN THE PIT (ask your kids about those phrases), but we will all learn, grow, and ensure we close out this year in a positive way.
Pioneer is still here for you and I can't express how much we value the flexibility, understanding, and continued focus on learning from all our wonderful students and parents. Our teachers will continue to be important pieces of your children’s growth and development as well as resources for parents. We are in this together and while the end of this school year will be like no other we have ever experienced (and hopefully will ever experience), we will all make the next few months a time that can be filled with valuable learning.
At Pioneer we have always enjoyed off the charts parental engagement and involvement. Our staff knows how valuable it is for our school AND student learning. In this temporary new normal ... your role becomes even more essential. Your willingness to engage with us, keep a positive attitude about this model of learning (especially around the students), and encourage your child to engage meaningfully in the learning experiences designed by their grade-level team will help ensure your child learns and retains skills that will help them be successful in the next grade level. You and your students can do this!
Please review the notes below for important information about the coming days and weeks and be aware that more information will be shared in advance of our first remote learning packets to be distributed on April 13. Your child's teacher will be reaching out later this week as well. That being said, do not hesitate to reach out to your teacher or Mr. Jakious (jakious.david@westada.org) with any questions you have. As with so much related to this situation, we might not always have answers, but we will get them for you and … as always … we appreciate your patience, understanding, and support.
Best Regards,
David Jakious, M.Ed.
Principal
Remote Learning: Our Purpose
- Connect students to their teachers and school community
- Provide a flexible schedule with engaging and meaningful learning opportunities
- Primarily focus on practice to maintain previously taught essential skills and content in a manner that does NOT rely on access to technology
Remote Learning: Teacher Work Schedules
- Connecting with each family
- Designing meaningful remote learning opportunities to share in the weekly resources
- Providing opportunities for student/family support
- Anticipating and preparing for student learning needs impacted by this disruption to our usual practice
- Participating in professional development opportunities
- And much more ...
Remote Learning: Expectations of Students
We expect that students will be able to complete these tasks mostly independently, without the use of technology, and can be confident the skills they have learned will stay sharp if they do. If they need help, students (or their parents) can reach out for support in a manner your teacher will share with you.
Parents ... This is a SUGGESTED schedule. We understand that there are many complications in everyone's lives right now and having your child (and in many cases ... children) learning at home is only one of them. While we wouldn't suggest any activities that we don't believe would be valuable for your child as written, you can adapt, modify, and engage in the remote learning opportunities in a way that works for you and your family.
This Week: March 30 - April 3
Teachers will gather resources from the building and begin training on ...
- Tools that allow them to collaborate virtually and design meaningful learning experiences that can be implemented at home.
- What remote learning will look like ... at least initially.
Wednesday - Friday
Teachers will call each family to reconnect, gather some basic information, determine what your questions are, and ensure that you know that they are here for you and your child.
Next Week: April 6 - 10
These packets will be sent out electronically and paper copies of the packet will be available at a distribution station near the front doors of the building. We will be sharing more details about the content and distribution of these learning packets as we get closer.
Please understand that this work will not be collected and while we will be providing a "daily schedule", we understand that you will need to make adjustments to make this work for your family's specific circumstances.
Personal/Learning Item Pickup Date and Time(s)
We understand that when you left for Track Break things were still fairly typical and we were not planning for social distancing and stay-at-home orders. As such, your child may not have brought home items that may be ESSENTIAL to continuing their learning (such as instruments or school supplies that you cannot easily replace). We understand that ESSENTIAL personal items (such as a pair of glasses) might have also been left at school.
We will have an opportunity to pick-up ESSENTIAL items on Thursday, April 2 from 4pm - 5pm.
We would like to minimize access to the building as much as possible and are emphasizing "ESSENTIAL items." As such, please reach out to our principal (jakious.david@westada.org) for approval in advance of the 4/2 pick up, detailing the items you would like to pick up (including where they are located). For your health and the health of others, if you can get through the next weeks without the items please do not risk the exposure of visiting school.
If you do visit, please make sure you wash your hands before coming to school, use hand sanitizer as you enter/exit the building, avoid touching surfaces you don't absolutely need to, do not bring any children who you don't need to, and do not access any areas of the building you do not need to (i.e. restrooms, etc).
Free Breakfast & Lunch Combo Meals for Kids
FREE Breakfast & Lunch Combo Meals for kids ages 1-18 will be available Monday - Friday, from 11am - 1pm.
Meals will be provided via drive-thru in school bus lanes and a designated area in front of the school for walk-up Grab-N-Go meals ... while supplies last.
Sites providing meals:
- MERIDIAN HIGH SCHOOL
- MERIDIAN MIDDLE
- LEWIS AND CLARK MIDDLE
- FRONTIER ELEMENTARY
- CHIEF JOSEPH ELEMENTARY
- SPALDING ELEMENTARY
- RENAISSANCE HIGH SCHOOL
- USTICK ELEMENTARY
- DESERT SAGE ELEMENTARY
- PEREGRINE ELEMENTARY
- MCMILLAN ELEMENTARY
- BARBARA MORGAN
- MARY MCPHERSON
- CHAPARRAL ELEMENTARY
Children must be present in order to receive a free meal; parents may not pick up free meals for their children. If a parent would like to pick up additional meals for children not present at pick up, then they will be charged $5.00 per combo meal ... exact change required.
Roaring Readers
HALLWAY ART WALK
About Us
Website: westada.org/pioneer
Location: 13255 West McMillan Road, Boise, ID, USA
Phone: (208)855-4100
Facebook: facebook.com/pioneerpumas
Puma Ponderings
If you have a time-sensitive specific question, don’t hesitate to call the office at 208-855-4100.