Open House at Pioneer School: Thursday, September 8, 6:00 – 7:00 pm, PTA refreshments and memberships available- Picture Day was September 2nd: Please call the office if you have any questions or need extra picture forms. All students were photographed on picture day whether you plan to purchase pictures or not.
Collect Box Tops & Campbell’s Soup labels throughout the school year! We appreciate all of your help in turning these in to get extra money and supplies for our school!- PTA Coupons & Fundraisers are on for 2016-2017 Contact Mrs. Michael
- Annual Shepherd Jamboree: Saturday September 10, 2016
at the Shepherd Community Center (corner of Shepherd Rd & Haynes) Food & Craft Vendors (11AM – 4PM), Kids Carnival Games & Bouncy House 11AM – 4PM), plus a Live Auction at 1PM, join us! For more information on vendor booths or auction items, contact Rebecca @ 855-5875, on club/organization booths, contact Amanda @ 672-2373.
PE & Library Days
Please help your child remember their books on library days and to wear proper shoes and clothing on PE days. PE is held 2 days per week for 30 minutes. Below is a schedule for Library and PE.
Library
- Monday: 4th/5th
- Tuesday: Kindergarten
- Wednesday: 2nd/3rd
- Thursday: 1st Grade
- Friday: 6th Grade
PE
- Mon: 6th & 2nd/3rd
- Tues: 1st & 4th/5th
- Wed: Kindergarten & 6th
- Thurs: 4th/5th & 2nd/3rd
- Fri: 1st & Kindergarten
Welcome to our new teacher
News from 2nd & 3rd Grades: Mrs. Fanus
This is my first year at Pioneer. I moved to Montana this summer with my husband and English Bulldog after finishing my ninth year of teaching in Pennsylvania. I taught one year in second grade and eight years in kindergarten. I am looking forward to a very exciting and successful school year. Thank you for making me feel so welcome!
Second and third grade started using Class Dojo and are off to a great start earning points and working together. We have also started our “Classroom Community” where we are working together as a team and assigning different roles to help our class make decisions throughout the day. Ask your child about their job and role! We are excited and looking forward to participating in more science experiments and art projects.
—Mrs. Fanus 🙂
News from Kindergarten: Mrs. Burns
I hope you and your child enjoyed the summer and that you are ready to embark on an important milestone in your child’s life. Kindergarten is a year of growing socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Your involvement, interest, and enthusiasm will help make this a wonderful year of growth for you and your child.
Take a moment to imagine the kindergarten world: letters, numbers, stories, sharing blocks, puzzles, play, paint and play-dough. Imagination and creativity are everywhere. As you talk with your child about their day and celebrate their best effort on the work they do, remember that Kindergarten is a “child’s garden.” Many times the process is more important than the product, and learning is accomplished by doing, touching, and experiencing.
At this early stage of learning, it is important to set routines in your child’s life. Try to set aside time each day to discuss what your child did in school.
I am looking forward to an amazing year. I hope to see you and your child at the upcoming open house on Thursday, September 8th from 6-7PM.
—Mrs.Burns
News from 1rst Grade: Miss Gordon
Happy back to school!
I am so excited for this new school year, and can’t wait to get to know our students more and more! Already, we have reviewed some of the skills from kindergarten and are busy getting situated into our first grade routine.
Here are some of the things our class is looking forward to learning and doing this year …
- Camdon – Math … Actually, I want to learn science.
- Elijah – Writing better.
- Allison – To listen.
- Sarah – How to make slime.
- Ayden – Science, like how people make goo and juice.
- Carson – To be a good learner and be safe.
- Jared – Writing in our journals.
- Colton – I want to learn about ninjas!
- Chevelle – I’m wondering if they’re going to put seat belts on the bus.
- Paxton – I’m not sure yet.
- Piper – Science. Like how many hours it takes to go places.
- Kaden – Science experiments!
- Holden – Being safe and being a good learner.
- Miss Gordon – Incorporating more music and movement into our classroom!
—Miss Gordon
What’s the Buzz in Fourth & Fifth Grade?
Our first week has already come to an end, and what a week! The fourth and fifth grade class has been busy working on getting to know their classroom routines, while learning lots. We became experts on managing our voice levels, in the classroom, and shared our expertise with the rest of the school, at our assembly. This year, we will be using Class Dojo to keep track of behaviors we expect. Please, check your student’s score at any time. You can do this by entering their access code online at classdojo.com. We are working towards a goal of 500 cumulative points this quarter! I am thrilled to have your child in my class this year. It is a privilege to be able to teach them every day. Thank you for sending me such kind, hard-working, respectful learners!
—Miss Ticknor
Library/Resource/Title I: Mrs. Russell
What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
—George Bernard Shaw
This fall brings new changes, exciting changes, and all the joy and wonder of a new school year. My classroom, for the first time in 18 years, has moved and I am now in the white building. It is decidedly nice to have a new space and a refreshing new look! Stop by to visit and check out our new space!
The library has been given a new look too with space markers to delineate the ABC order of author’s last names. This should facilitate the ease of locating books in our library.
The annual book-buying trip will take place in October and bring in oodles of new books for our students. I would love to receive ideas and suggestions from students, staff, and parents as to what books, series, or continuation of series you would like to see available in our library. Drop off or email me with your ideas and ‘wish lists’ so that I can have them available at Barnes & Noble for our staff to look at when purchasing.
Speaking of Barnes & Noble, our first ‘book-fair’ will be held on October 29th at the store from 11 to 3! Please plan on joining us for fun, games, activities, and raffles!
Remember that the gift of reading is one of the ‘best’ gifts we can give our children. Accomplished readers are confident, knowledgeable on a variety of topics, better writers, and better able to globalize their skills across the curriculum resulting in better understanding and retention of learned material. Let’s work together to give this ‘gift of a lifetime’ to our children!
Please feel free to visit with me anytime for reading suggestions, books, activities, and/or games to support you in your reading endeavors with your children!
—Mrs. Russell
3rd & 6th Grade Math/PE/GT: Mr. Wallace
Hey! Welcome back to another wonderful year at Pioneer School. I’m thrilled to be returning for my second year as Pioneer’s 3rd/6th Grade Math teacher, Gifted and Talented program teacher and Kindergarten-6th Grade P.E. teacher. A little about myself. My name is Ike Wallace. I hail from Western Montana via Missoula. I’ve really enjoyed my time in Billings so far for many reasons. The proximity to the mountains and excellent fishing, beautiful weather and humble, hardworking people all make Billings such a special place to be.
I’m committed, along with the rest of Pioneer’s excellent staff, to providing the best education possible for our students. I believe learning takes place as much outside of the classroom as it does inside. So students can expect frequent trips outside when working with me. A little fresh air can go a long ways when it comes to learning. I also expect a lot from my students and hope, in turn, that they expect just as much (if not more) from me. Together we can tackle any challenge that comes our way and not only survive this year, but excel. I try to keep my lines of communication as open as possible, so please, if you have any questions or concerns, send them my way. I want students and parents to feel comfortable and successful as members of the Pioneer community. That’s all for now. Let’s have fun, work hard and make this our best year yet!
—Mr. Wallace
Pioneer PTA News
I’m excited to be the new PTA President. I hope to get as many parents involved as possible. We will be doing the Open House on Thursday Sept. 8 at 6:00 pm.
You can buy your PTA membership at this time. We will be doing some great fundraisers this year. Meetings will be the 1st Thursday of each Month at 6 pm.
Coupon Books go on sale Friday, September 2nd. Please contact Mrs. Michael, School Secretary, to get your PTA coupon book.
—Jody Goddard, PTA President
