Pioneer Press

Post-Halloween Wellness: Time for a Sugar Detox!

Dear Pioneer Families,

We hope you all had a wonderful and fun-filled Halloween! With all the excitement and treats, it's common for students (and adults!) to indulge in a bit more sugar than usual. While a little indulgence is part of the fun, it's also a great time to consider how we can balance things out and refocus on healthy habits.

This next week, we encourage everyone to join us in a “Sugar Detox” challenge. It’s a chance to reset after Halloween and help students feel their best, both in and out of school. By focusing on wholesome snacks, drinking plenty of water, and choosing natural sources of energy, we can all boost our focus, mood, and overall wellness.

Let’s make this next week a fresh start! We’re excited to help our students learn healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Warm regards,
JoAnne Fernandes
Principal, Pioneer Middle School

6th- Sixth graders are nearing the end of their study of Greek mythology. The last, big assignment is to combine the theme paragraphs students have already written with new introductory and closing paragraphs to create an essay.

Many kids have found the mythology-inspired books by Rick Riordan irresistible! Please check in with your child about what they are reading now. Remember, homework is 30 minutes of reading every day.

Spelling lessons started this week. Practice tests on Thursday evenings will help students prepare for tests every Friday.

7th- Seventh graders have been reading classic spooky stories during the month of October. Students have been studying descriptive language, making inferences and supporting their thinking with text evidence. Seventh grade classes will begin to identify and analyze a theme within different texts. Students will also study the use of figurative language through selected vignettes in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

What were the popular cars, clothes, hairstyles, and music of the 1960s? What were the important political and cultural issues of that time? Seventh grade students in Ms. Stewart’s ELA class finished researching and presenting information about the 60s and are ready to begin reading The Outsiders, by S E Hinton. How many parents remember reading the book when they were around 13? It was published 57 years ago!

8th-Students in Mrs. Marrero's ELA classes have been busy reading the biographical novel The Boys In the Boat written by Daniel James Brown. The book chronicles a group of working-class boys from the University of Washington and how they make it to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Students are exploring the author's craft including the various techniques and literary devices he uses to develop the story. In addition, students are working to improve their written responses to claims using text evidence as their guide.

ASB would like to announce a Veterans Assembly that will take place on November 7th from 8:15 am to 9:15 am.

Before the assembly, we would like to honor our local veterans with a light breakfast of coffee, donuts, and fruit.

The breakfast will be held in the commons conference room beginning at 7:45 am.

Please invite your local veterans to join us.

Come join us. We look forward to seeing you there!

We have received several complaints from the public regarding students being dropped off in the parking lot near the handicap parking spaces.

This practice creates traffic congestion, making it unsafe for everyone, and it prevents individuals who need to use the handicap parking spots from doing so.

If you choose to drop off your student in the parking lot, please pull into a designated parking space to let your child out of the car. This will help maintain the flow of traffic and allow both students and adults to walk safely into the school.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in keeping our students safe!

Your Opinion Matters!

We are always looking for new and innovative ways to ensure kids have access to nutritious meals and learn how to eat healthy for a lifetime. We want to hear from you!

What is your child’s favorite meal to eat at school? If your family doesn’t participate in the National School Lunch program, we’d love to know why!

For the month of November, we are grateful for our partnership with the Steilacoom Historical School District No.1 and want to ensure that parents and students have an opportunity to give us feedback.

Thanks for taking a moment to share!

Please take a moment and use the QR code attached in the attached newsletter to give your feedback.

November 15th from 2:45 pm to 4:45 pm.

*Students must have a signed permission slip to purchase a ticket*

Cost is $5.00 for ASB card holders and $7 for students without an ASB card

Paper permission slips are available at the Attendance and Main Office.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a call at 253-583-7200.

November 4th - Vision and Hearing Screening for ALL 7th graders.

November 6th - ACE Day - students released at 1:40 pm

November 7th

Veteran's Breakfast - Commons Conference Room - 7:45 am - 8:15 am

Veteran's Day Assembly - 8:15 am - 9:15 am

November 11th - Veteran's Day - NO SCHOOL

November 13th - ACE Day - students released at 1:40 pm

November 27th - Half day for students. Released at 11:40 am

November 28th - 29th - Thanksgiving Break

Season 2 sports registration is now OPEN

Sports for season 2 are:

Girls' Basketball - cut sport

Boys & Girls Wrestling - limited space

Click HERE to register.

REGISTRATION CLOSES - NOVEMBER 11TH

YOU MUST HAVE A VALID SPORTS PHYSICAL TO TRY OUT.

Tryouts will be from Monday, Nov. 12th - Nov. 15th

-Practices are every school day from 3 pm - 5 pm every school day.

-On ACE days, all students have an hour-long mandatory study hall from 1:45 pm - 2:45 pm.

-There are no practices on half days or non-school days (unless the coach schedules optional practice days)

-After-school transportation is available for students trying out; see below for bus schedule and route information.

After School Activity (ASA) Bus schedules for Dupont & Steilacoom:
Dupont

Steilacoom

If you have questions, reach out to Mrs. Plumb at 253-583-7204 or by email at
eplumb@steilacoom.k12.wa.us

Join the fun! See the schedule of clubs below.

Tuesdays:

Junior Student to Student (JS2S) Room A115 with Ms. Taylor

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Room C102 with Mrs. Iglesias

Christian Faith Club (CFC) Room B103 with Mrs. Vaccaro

Art Club Room C126 with Mrs. Palacios

Math Club Room B101 with Mr. Martin

Homework Club in the Library with Mrs. Hilton

Thursdays:

Builder's Club in the Library with Mrs. Holyfield

Pokemon Go Club with Mrs. Elshire

Game Club Room C202 with Mrs. Nixon

Math Club Room B101 with Mr. Martin

Homework Club in the Library with Mrs. Hilton

All students participating in clubs are required to pay an ASB fee of $15.00

You can purchase your student's ASB through Mrs. Ruby

ASB fees collected go to funding clubs and sports activities at Pioneer MS.

For more information on the clubs we offer, use the link below:

https://pio.steilacoom.k12.wa.us/student-life

Transportation is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays for students attending school clubs.

Use the link below for route information:

https://www.steilacoom.k12.wa.us/who-we-are/departments/bustransportation/after-school-activity-bus#fs-panel-2698

Late to school:

Students start class at 8:10 a.m. If your student arrives at 8:10 a.m. or later, please have them stop at our check-in kiosk for a pass to class.

*students must know their student id # to access the tardy kiosk, this number is found on their student id card*

When you call to excuse your student for being absent or late, please call 253-583-7200, choose the attendance option. Leave a message if we can't get to your call. The voicemail to the attendance line is checked several times a day.

Transportation changes:

Please call the office no later than 2:00 pm (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday)

1:00 pm on ACE days (Wednesdays) to request transportation changes.

You can request these changes by emailing us at pioneermsoffice@steilacoom.k12.wa.us

Bus Information:

In Family Access in Skyward https://www2.crdc.wa-k12.net/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsteilas71/seplog01.w, under the Busing tab there will be the bus route number, the bus stop and the times of arrival and afternoon drop off. If you have questions about your student's assigned bus stop or times please contact Durham at 253-584-1365.

Skyward:

Use this link to log in to the Skyward app:

https://www2.crdc.wa-k12.net/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsteilas71/seplog01.w

In Skyward Family Access you can find: Grades, Bus Route, Lunch Acct. Number, Lunch account balance, locker combination and much more!

Touchbase:

If you need to purchase PE clothes, Spirit Gear, pay a fine, or put money on your student's lunch account, you can pay online using the link below:

Touchbase https://181a.edulnk.com/e/86fp9/qIumky?__$u__

Pioneer Wyldlife is hosting an event Friday, November 1st

For more information see the attached flyer

Steilacoom Music & Cheerleading - 6th annual MATTRESS FUNDRAISER

Sunday, November 17th

Steilacoom High School Commons Area

For more information see the attached flyer

See attached flyer for more information.