Pioneer Puma Post
August 6, 2021
A message from Mr. Jakious ...
Pioneer Families,
I hope you have all had a great summer filled with fun and good health. We are gearing up for another incredible school year at Pioneer. I wanted to reach out and let our families know that we are working as a district and as a school to determine what the start of the year will look like. What I know for certain is that your child has a dedicated teacher ready to ensure high levels of academic achievement and personal growth.
As we get closer to the first day of school (August 26th!), I will be sharing much more about our plans. I appreciate your patience as we align our routines, structures, and practices with forthcoming district guidance. I assure our parents that Pioneer will strive to navigate the coming months/year with a focus on the needs of our students and in a manner that will maximize their progress.
The important information below will be new for families new to our school and a refresher for families that were with us at the end of last school year.
Regards,
David Jakious
Principal, Pioneer School of the Arts
Important Dates
August 6 - Class Placements Available in PowerSchool
- **Must have updated PS info since March 1**
- Kindergarten will receive letters in late June/early July
August 25 - Kindergarten Orientation & Grade 1-5 "Meet & Greet"
- Meet & Greet for Grades 1-5 (4:30 - 5:30pm)
- K Orientation times were shared in a letter from the teacher
- Mark your Calendars!
August 26 - First Day of School!!!
- Early Release at 1:25 (10:55 for AM Kindergarten)
This Year's Calendar
We greatly appreciate your efforts to ensure your child misses as little school as possible by scheduling appointments and vacations during school breaks whenever possible. Refer to the calendar linked below.
Welcome to Our NEW Teachers!
Kirsten Becker
Madison Brown
Marybeth Erickson
Amanda Horrocks
Each of these teachers has the energy, experience, and expertise to benefit their students and our school as a whole.
Note: If you child has been placed in one of the classes, please be aware that their web pages were just created and they have not had the opportunity to populate them with important information yet.
Class Placements - Available TODAY!
The only way to identify your child’s Grade 1-5 teacher before Meet & Greet is by logging into PowerSchool on or after August 6. Classroom welcome letters will be posted on teacher webpages at www.westada.org/pioneer. Kindergarten families should have received a letter from your child’s teacher in the mail earlier this summer.
Please note that your child’s teacher will not be available on PowerSchool if you have overdue books or have not updated your information in PowerSchool since March 1. This update is required annually and takes at least one business day to register as completed in the system. If you need help with this, call the office or the district HelpDesk at 208-350-5300.
Meet & Greet - August 25 (4:30 - 5:30 PM)
A more thorough look at the annual curriculum and classroom procedures will occur at Back-to-School Night in September.
School Supply List
Please make sure that you use the School Supply List we have posted to our website (linked below) rather than the one on the district homepage or the one distributed to local stores.
West Ada School District publishes a standard district-wide list and, while we are not permitted to add items to this list, our teachers have removed items that they do not plan to use in an effort to make sure Pioneer parents are not purchasing unneeded supplies. It is suggested you keep your receipt in case any of the grade-level items happen to not be required by your child’s specific teacher.
Daily/Weekly Schedule
Remember that we will no longer have early release Mondays. Instead, we will return to the 15-min late-start Wednesdays to carve out the essential collaboration time for our teachers.
West Ada Free Meals Program Continues this Year ...
School meals will be free to our students again this year. We encourage our families to consider taking advantage of this opportunity.
If you want to learn more about school meals, visit the West Ada School Nutrition site HERE.
About Us
Website: westada.org/pioneer
Location: 13255 West McMillan Road, Boise, ID, USA
Phone: (208)855-4100
Facebook: facebook.com/pioneerpumas