Dear Families,
Happy April! As we move into the heart of spring, our school community is buzzing with energy and excitement. It was wonderful to see so many of you at our recent spring conferences. These conversations are such an important part of supporting student growth, and we truly value the strong partnership between home and school.
This month, we are looking forward to our annual Science Fair, which will be held on April 23rd. Our students have been working hard to ask questions, explore ideas, and think like scientists. We can’t wait to see their creativity and curiosity on display. Thank you in advance for encouraging and supporting your children as they prepare their projects.
Spring is always a busy time in schools, and this year is no exception. In the coming weeks, students will participate in state and district assessments. While testing is just one measure of learning, it is an opportunity for students to show what they know. We appreciate your help in making sure students are well-rested, arrive on time, and feel confident doing their best.
With the arrival of warmer weather, we are also seeing more opportunities for students to enjoy time outside and connect with their classmates. Whether on the playground, during classroom activities, or at school events, these moments are important for building friendships and strengthening our positive school community.
Thank you for your continued support. Together, we are making this a wonderful and successful school year for all students.
Take care,
Mr. Lang
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“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
In the month of April, we celebrate and talk about friendship. As with every year, I enjoy seeing the different friendship groups form, often depending on friends of opportunity (they are in the same class), then later friends of choice (i.e. you have something in common with them). Friendships grow, change, and evolve as the years progress. Understanding what makes a good friend is actually one of the most important life skills we learn. Kids learn these skills in a number of ways - we teach them, we model them, or they learn the hard way when they lose friends or in a positive way when they gain friends.
How you can help:
- Provide your student with supervised social opportunities beyond school as you are able, such as play dates, outings to public areas, shopping trips, summer camp groups, volunteering, team sports etc. -places they can learn to interact with others and also get feedback from you at the same time.
- Be their coach, mentor and listener - stop and talk to them about what they are doing great and what they can do better. Listen to them as they talk about their struggles or about their best moments. Many times our disagreements are started by trying to be silly and it all just gets carried away.
- Be their role model - Demonstrate to them what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like to be a good friend.
- Keep in mind, they are all learning and mistakes will be made. We can teach our students the power of grace and forgiveness as they are learning to be in relationships and to simply have fun with friends the right way.
- Remind them that friendships change. I tell students all the time they can be one of 2 things - a friend or a classmate, but never an enemy. We don’t have to like everyone - and this does not have to be public knowledge - but we do need to treat each other with respect.
- Remind them that people are watching how they treat others, and this can also determine if they will want to be that person's friend. Kind people tend to gain a lot of kind friends.
- Teach your children what good listening skills look like and how to give others your full attention without thinking about the next thing you want to say. This also includes sharing the air time - ask about what others like to do, not just telling them what you like.
- Conflict management is key. We have talked in some of the classes about things that escalate and de-escalate conflict. My Dad always told me I do not have to go to every argument I’m invited to - sometimes it’s just not worth the hard feelings.
Mrs. Perry
School Counselor
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GRADES K-3 We are working on poetry, learning about acrostic poems and concrete poems (and writing our own). And then we will be moving into reading the Washington Children's Choice Picture Books! We'll be reading a selection of the nominees and voting on our favorite!
GRADES 4-5 To celebrate National Poetry Month, we will be working on analyzing a poem by James Berry, a Jamaican poet, titled Okay, Brown Girl, Okay. As we talk about poetry, we will introduce poets like William Blake, Ogden Nash, Lin Manuel Miranda, Amanda Gorman, and Harry Baker to name a few!
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Thank you so much for supporting our Spring Scholastic Bookfair! We had many volunteers who were fabulous leaders, and we raised a record high amount of over $7000 in Scholastic dollars! So, a HUGE thank you for our community coming out and supporting your readers and our school library!
WORD OF THE MONTH READ ALOUD
You may remember last month we let you know about a picture book read aloud that aligns with our Word of the Month. Everyone in our school is reading the same picture book to help foster community and common language around our word. This month, the word is FRIENDSHIP and we are reading one of my absolute favorite picture books - Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry! This is a simple book that takes the old saying of sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me, and personifies (let's use that poetry vocab) them to show a friendship story. You can watch the story being read in the video link.
Ms. Beattie
Teacher-Librarian
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After spring break, students in kindergarten through fifth grade will begin an exciting unit on still life painting. Kindergarten and first-grade artists will explore Vincent van Gogh's artwork as they create colorful vases of flowers using printmaking techniques. Second- and third-grade students will study Paul Cézanne's work and paint a still-life bowl of fruit, focusing on highlights, shadows, and thoughtful composition. Fourth and fifth-grade students will also draw inspiration from Cézanne’s paintings as they work from observation to create their own still lifes. After painting, they will enhance their artwork with chalk pastels, adding layers of value to create depth and dimension. This unit will help students strengthen observation skills while learning how artists use color, light, and value to bring everyday objects to life.
Ms. Hougan
Art Specialist
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Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades did such a fabulous job at their concerts in March. I am so proud of their hard work! 4th and 5th graders will be preparing over the next two months for their June concert. 4th graders will be working on recorder, 5th graders on ukulele, and both groups will be singing as well. K-3 will be returning to our general music curriculum post-concert: delving further into instrument families, the science of sound, and musical literacy.
Ms. Ardington
Music Specialist
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PE has been in full swing to bring in Spring. Before break we were focused on fitness activities and building endurance. We have been testing our endurance with the PACER as we always do leading into Spring Break. This year Pioneer has its highest ever school average for PACER laps with 83. The previous record for our school average was 80 from last spring. As we return from break we will begin with some Hip Hop Dance and a student favorite - Pickleball! We will spend some appreciable time on improving our Pickelball skills.
Mr. Stewart
Physical Education Specialist
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Pioneer Elementary School is proud to launch a new partnership with Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM).
Through this partnership, JBLM volunteers will join students during lunch and recess as part of our new Lunch Brigade, helping build positive relationships, encouraging students and strengthening our school community.
This school-based partnership is centered on student connection, encouragement and community building during the school day. As with all school volunteers, participants will complete the district’s standard background check process before serving in our building.
We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to the positive impact it will have on our students and school community.
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Get those smiles ready! Class Photo Day is coming up on the morning of April 24! If your student missed individual photos in the fall, this is also the opportunity for you to order an individual photo for you student.
If you’d like to purchase your student’s class photo or an individual photo, keep an eye out for order slips coming home soon in backpacks. Prefer to order online? You’ll find all the details for online ordering on those slips as well.
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If you have an incoming Kindergartener for the 2026-2027 school year, enrollment is now open! Students entering Kindergarten must be 5 years of age by August 31, 2026. On April 25 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM the district is hosting Countdown to Kindergarten at Olympia High School. Families are invited to stop by, meet staff, and learn more about our kindergarten program.
Enrollment is also open for new students of any grade level living withing our school boundaries. Visit the Student Enrollment page for guidance and details about the enrollment process for all students.
Transfer Requests
If your student has been currently attending our school as a transfer student, or if you have moved out of our Pioneer Elementary boundary, now is the perfect time to submit a transfer request for next year. Information about transfer requests, including renewals and first-time applications, can be found on the OSD Transfers Webpage.
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- Last month we shared information with you about the upcoming Science Fair. If you are still in need of the information/registration packet or a trifold board for your student to display their project - we have them available in the school office.
- The PTA supports our school in a variety of ways. The springtime is a busy time for them as they begin planning for the following year and recruiting volunteers for the various PTA positions and committees. If you are interested in getting involved the PTA website offers descriptions of volunteer opportunities.
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- April 14: OSD Budget Listening Session @ WMS (6:00 - 7:00 PM)
- April 15: Walk N Roll To School (8:00 - 8:30 AM)
- April 16: PTA Board Meeting (6:00 - 7:00 PM)
- April 16: OSD Budget Listening Session @ JMS (6:00 - 7:00 PM)
- April 19: PTA Bear Hugs Fundraiser Starts
- April 20: School Play Rehearsal Starts (2:45 - 4:45 PM)
- April 20 - 24: Public School Volunteer Appreciation Week
- April 23: Science Fair (5:30 - 7:00 PM)
- April 23: OSD Board Meeting (6:00 - 8:30 PM)
- April 24: Class Picture Day - Bring your smile to school!
- April 25: OSD Countdown to Kindergarten Event at OHS (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
- April 27: FUNdraiser at Legends Arcade (3:00 - 9:00 PM)
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The Pioneer PTA Website shares information regarding the PTA sponsored events happening at Pioneer. Check it out! |
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