The Pioneer Post

I hope you have stayed safe and warm throughout the first few weeks of 2025. Staff and students haven't wasted a minute diving into curriculum and picking up where they left off before winter break. Teachers have been looking through our winter testing scores to know and understand how to best meet the needs of our elementary students.

With parent teacher conferences right around the corner, it's an excellent opportunity for families to engage in meaningful discussions about student progress and goals. At that time, teachers will be sharing student winter testing scores with you. We are eager to continue to connect with you to support each student’s learning journey. As always, we are grateful for your continued support and involvement in making our school a vibrant and nurturing environment for everyone. Wishing you all a fantastic month ahead!

~Mrs. Horstman

After speaking with our bus drivers recently, the biggest concern that that drivers are seeing are students not staying seated or students being in the aisle. The expectation on the bus is students must remain seated and keep aisles and exits clear while the vehicle is moving.

Additionally, students are prohibited from throwing or passing objects on, from, or into vehicles. Student may not be loud or boisterous and should avoid talking to the driver while the vehicle is in motion. If you have a child that rides the bus to or from school, we encourage you to frequently review these expectations with your students at home to ensure the safety of our students while riding the bus.

Another way that you can help keep our students safe, is ensuring student get in and out of vehicles on the curbside. Please remind your child to utilize the side of the vehicle that is closest to the school sidewalk when entering or exiting a vehicle.

Parent teacher conferences are right around the corner and will be held on Wednesday (2/19 from 2:00 - 8:00 pm) and Thursday (2/20 from 2:00 - 5:00). To sign up for a conference click here, then select each of your student's teachers and time that works for your family.

If the link above is not working - here is the website you can use to schedule your conference: https://signup.com/group/1263839080069

• Morning breakfast ends at 8:00 am. It is challenging for students to eat their full meal when they arrive at 7:55 am. Please help ensure your child is arriving to school with adequate time to eat, so they can start their learning when the school day begins at 8 am.
• If your child has alternate pick up plans after school, please contact the office so the message can be relayed to the classroom teacher. It is also helpful when you send an additional message through SeeSaw to the student's teacher.
• Information regarding closing/cancellation/postponement of schools and activities will be announced over the following Local TV Channels (KETV 7, WOWT 6, KMTV 3, KPTM Fox 42) and radio stations (KFAB 1110). The automated phone alert system will be activated to call families.
• Parents, the bus lane needs to remain open for the buses. Please refrain from parking in the bus lane until after the buses have left school property.

With the temperatures dropping outside, a reminder that per the elementary handbook, students will be going outside if the temperature is 15 degrees or higher. If the temperature is under 15 degrees (ex. 14 degrees) the students will have indoor recess. Please ensure that your student is coming to school with the appropriate cold weather gear to ensure they are warm during outdoor recess. If you need assistance with finding cold weather gear for your student, please contact Mrs. Horstman.

• January 31st - Preschool Screenings from 8:30 am - 12:00 pm
• February 6th - The Countywide Spelling Bee - 9 am @ the High School
• February 14th - 20th - FTC Elementary Book Fair
• February 15th - Father/Daughter Dance
• February 17th - PFE Meeting
• February 19th & 20th - Parent Teacher Conferences
• March 7th - Donuts with Mom
• April 17th - Spring Music Concert
• May 2nd - Kindergarten Round Up (more information to come)
• May 8th - Field Day
• May 9th - Kindergarten Round Up (more information to come)

The PBIS team has been working hard to plan our next quarterly celebration. Students will have the opportunity to play 10 different Minute to Win It games. In order to participate in the celebration, students will need to meet the following criteria:

• Students (preschool - 1st grade) with 3 or less PowerSchool logs (which includes bus write ups) will get to attend the PBIS student recognition event.

• Students (2nd - 6th grade) with 8 or less demerits (which includes bus write ups) will get to attend the PBIS student recognition event.

Kindergarten:

• Reading - Essential Questions: How are the seasons different? What happens in different kinds weather? How can you stay safe in bad weather? Categories: Season words. Beginning and Ending /b/,/l/,/k/ sounds, L-Blends. Sight words: is, little, was, she. Rhymes. Text Features: Speech bubbles, Directions. Comprehension: sequence events, retell. Grammar: Singular and Plural nouns, Proper Nouns
• Writing - Magic C letters, Special S letters
• Math - Numbers 11 to 19: representing, composing and decomposing numbers 11 to 19
  
• Social Studies - Time and Chronology
• Science - Earth's Weather

1st Grade:

• Reading - In Reading, we wrapped up Unit 3 and are starting on Unit 4. We are currently learning about ai and ay, putting story events in order, and learning about animals and their bodies through folktales and nonfiction stories.
  
• Writing - In Writing we are learning how to use was, were, has, and have in complete sentences.
• Math - In Math, we are learning how to add 1 digit and 2 digit numbers using tens and ones and we will begin regrouping with addition soon.
  
• Social Studies - In Social Studies, we are learning about rights and responsibilities of citizens.

2nd Grade:

• Reading - Theme of a story, Poetry, Sequence of events, antonyms and text features.
  
• Writing - Brainstorming and constructing a personal narrative, combining sentences and using the correct punctuation.
• Math - Telling Time to the hour, half-hour, 5 minute interval, and quarter hours.
  
• Social Studies - Constitution of the United States, why rules and laws are important, and how government works.
• Science - Earth's Processes and how they change

3rd Grade:

• Reading - Author's claim. Text Features. Cause and effect. Character's perspective.
  
• Writing - Figurative language. Poetry. Persuasive writing.
• Math - Use properties and strategies to multiple and divide. Perimeter.
  
• Social Studies - Landforms and Water forms.
• Science - Making and testing solutions. Forces and motion.

4th Grade:

• Reading - In reading, through historical fiction, poetry and personal narratives, we will identify chronological text structure, character point of view and theme.
  
• Writing - This month we will be working on a persuasive piece and continue to work on the writing process.
• Math - In our next topics we will be continuing to work with fractions. The students will be adding, subtracting and multiplying mixed numbers.
  
• Social Studies - Our 4th grade historians will continue in our story of Nebraska history from Statehood day to present day. We'll be discussing the changes our state has experienced as it continues to grow.
• Science - Our scientists just finished up the unit on animal and plant structures and functions. Next, we will be diving into extreme weather and becoming reporters.

5th Grade:

• Reading - I can derive meaning from informational text. I can identify text genre and purpose. I can summarize text noting main idea and details.
  
• Writing - Given a graphic organizer and model, I can write various forms of poetry.
• Math - I can multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers. I can convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers and vice versa.
  
• Social Studies - Students will begin learning about the work that went in to writing our Constitution and learning our rights.
• Science - I can identify and describe parts of our solar system.

6th Grade:

• Reading - Students will analyze argumentative text to compare author's point of view. We will continue to work on vocabulary strategies and text structures.
• Writing - Students will write an opinion paragraph using facts, information, and opinions to persuade their audience.
• Math - Equations and Inequalities using substitution and inverse operations
• Social Studies - Ancient Greece and mythology
• Science - Energy (Work, force, and kinetic energy)