The month of May has arrived! Our school Word of the Month is Sportsmanship, but I also want to highlight that May is Mental Health Awareness month.

Mental Health is different from Mental Illness. Mental Health has to do with your mental and emotional wellbeing as well as how well you are able to handle the demands and challenges of life, your relationships, and your view of yourself. Mental Illness, however, is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, or mood and varies - it may or may not affect a person’s functioning.

You can help your kids improve their mental health in a variety of ways:

Things to look out for with your child that may be of concern include:

Taking care of our mental health is important - for adults and children! Don’t be afraid to ask for help if it’s needed.

Mrs.Perry

School Counselor

Grades K-3 - We will be completing our Washington Children's Choice Picture books and voting on our favorites. Only K-3 can vote on this award in the state of Washington! When we are done, we will be having fun with STEM activities!

Grades 4-5 - We just finished up our poetry unit, I was really impressed with their Socratic Seminars. Next we'll delve into 3D design with Tinkercad and 3D Doodle. 

It's time to start looking for those lost books! We count all our books during inventory towards the end of the year. I'll be emailing notices and sending some printed ones out as well. If books have been truly lost, here are the options: 1) You can replace the book with one like it (my favorite option), 2) pay the fine for the book (this can be done in Skyward or in the Office). I promise to look on our bookshelves, if you promise to look in yours! Thank you! 

Bookswap will be happening in June! Every year we do a Pioneer Bookswap where kids can bring in the books they are done with at home (old bookfair books are great for this) and take home new to them books. Please start setting aside any gently used books that you are done with at home. There will be an email and flyer going home to remind you about this closer to the date in June. THANK YOU!

Our word of the month is sportsmanship, and to go along with that our entire school will be reading a book by Naomi Osaka called The Way Champs Play. We invite you to join us in this monthly read aloud and have conversations at home with your student athletes! Here is a video of Naomi Osaka playing tennis, and here is a video of the book The Way Champs Play (read by Naomi Osaka herself). 

There is an undeniable connection between art and books. Books are a form of art themselves but illustrations within a book bring that book into another realm of reality for readers. Picture book illustrators all started somewhere, whether it was doodling in the margins of their papers or in an art room. At some point they found an art teacher who inspired them, who connected with them and encouraged their art form. Art is special in that way - it connects people and subjects with the world. A special thank you to art teachers everywhere!

Ms. Beattie

Librarian

It has been a true joy teaching art to your students over the past three years. During that time, I hope every Bear Cub gained an understanding of the fundamentals of art, the principles of design, and important movements throughout art history. My greatest wish is that when students visit museums or encounter art in their everyday lives, they will pause with curiosity, confidence, and appreciation for what they see. I also hope they leave elementary school with creative skills, artistic confidence, and a willingness to continue exploring art on their own. I sincerely hope Pioneer students carry forward the creativity, imagination, and joy they developed in the art room and continue making the world a more thoughtful and beautiful place through their art.

Ms. Hougan

Art Specialist

Elementary music is looking forward to celebrating our musical skills with an upcoming concert for our 4th and 5th graders. Join us for this performance on Friday, June 5th at 9:00 AM. This concert will include 4th grade recorder, 5th grade band and orchestra, and a 5th grade general music performance.

Ms. Ardington

Music Specialist

Specialist classes are sometimes viewed as “extras” or auxiliary learning, but what I see every day is that a huge portion of a student’s experiential, hands-on learning happens during these times. PE, Art, and Music are spaces where students take what they learn in the classroom and turn it into something relatable, something beyond a test score.

Even though Art and PE may be taught in separate classrooms, I see them as deeply connected and rooted in our shared human experience. In PE, students discover their identity through movement, teamwork, and physical challenge; in Art, they do the same through creativity, design, and visual storytelling. Specialist classes, such as PE, Music and Art build character, confidence, and a sense of belonging.

One can see the connection of art in our community through the artistic symbols and logos that represent us and our teams, things such as our cherished Olympia logo, the Mariners trident, or the Pioneer Bear Cub. When we see these images out in the community we make an instant connection. These logos are more than decorations, they are artistic expressions of who we are, created with the same artistry, imagination and intention we hope to foster in all of our students. I feel honored to be part of a team that helps to educate the whole child through unique, enriching experiences.

Mr. Stewart

Physical Education Specialist