Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain
August 9th, 2022
Dear Pirate Nation,
Welcome to October! This is the first time in YEARS that I can remember having more than one or two sporadic days to enjoy the actual season of FALL. Over the weekend I broke out the Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer and candles. Not that you need my permission….but if you are into Pumpkin Spice—it’s officially time to let the Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Pumpkin Brownies flow!
Taking you on a quick walk down memory lane (and yes bird-walking just a little bit)…when I was a kid, I was pretty good at spelling words. For those of you that don’t know me really well, I have a pretty competitive spirit, and it was always in overdrive at school. While I didn’t particularly love taking spelling tests, I worked hard at studying for my spelling tests because I always wanted to hold two class records: one, I wanted to be the only one in class who scored 100% on every spelling test throughout the entire school year, and two, I wanted to successfully make my way through the extra credit (more difficult) spelling lists faster than anyone else. My mom joyfully helped me study my spelling words and became my secret weapon as she always had great tricks, songs, and mnemonic devices to help me remember how to spell words. While I was never privy to this information, my secret guess was my mom was probably a world-famous speller known both near and far for her accuracy and speed in spelling. If spelling was a sport, my mom was most likely a gold-medal Olympian Speller. Here are just a few of the ways she helped me remember how to spell.
- Environment (Remember there is iron in nature)
- Received (I before e except after C or sounding like “A” in neighbor or weigh)
- Principal (The school principal is your PAL)
Why share my spelling history? (I told you it was a little bit of a bird walk!!!) I share this because I want to remind you that the Principal really is your PAL…and October is National Principals Month! Principals play an important role in the success of every student in the Piper School District! NASSP CEO Ron Nozoe shared, “During the most challenging time in education, each of our school leaders have transformed what is possible for our students and those who teach them. I hope we all take time this October to #ThankAPrincipal for leading, innovating, and advocating on behalf of their students and staff.”
Please join me in thanking and celebrating the proud principals who unselfishly serve Pirate Nation! We love you and appreciate your hard work and efforts to make our schools amazing places to learn and work! #ThankAPrincipal
- Piper Early Childhood Center - Stasi Willmon
- Piper Prairie Elementary - Darcey Bast & Jason Malaschak
- Piper Creek Elementary - Jenny Golden & Laura Porras
- Piper Middle School - Steve Mercer & Andrea Paulakovich
- Piper High School - Bilee Jo Grable, Taylor Mapp & Robert Cave
Proud to be a Pirate!
Dr. Jessica Dain
Superintendent of Schools
October Board of Education Meeting
The next Board of Education Meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 10th at 6 PM in the Board Room located in the Library at the CTE Building (Formally known as Piper East Elementary School.) Patrons interested in addressing the Board must sign up a week in advance. Need to learn more? Please contact Mr. Mitch Nutterfield, Board Clerk, at mnutterfield@piperschools.us.
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:
- 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 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.