To our Pioneer Community,
I just wanted to reflect and update all of our supporters and readers of our weekly PTA emails. We try hard to collaborate with the school staff to give you as many school and PTA updates as we can in these weekly emails, but I think it’s also important to reflect on all of the ways that our PTA volunteers and donors have served the students, families, and staff at Pioneer. Thank you to all who have supported us, whether it be in the form of donations, time, input & feedback, or kindness. Here is a list of what PTA volunteers have been up to just since January:
Math Curriculum Night- PTA supported this school function with pizza, drinks and sides for students and families.
Sports Program- PTA started a Sports Program fund to support elementary school sports for Evergreen school district. We provided volunteer assistance with the basketball season, and have received enough donations into our fund (along with being awarded a $1K grant from Holman Automotive!) to start to expand the program. We are actively networking with other schools and PTAs/PTOs to grow the program from the inside out.
Special Projects- PTA has formed a Special Projects Committee to facilitate larger campus improvement projects for our school. The committee is currently getting price quotes from contractors for potential projects, which may include benches/picnic tables, Nature Play areas, walking paths, Gaga Ball court, and more. We are also submitting building improvement requests to the district to see if they can assist PTA with financing the project.
Grants-
PTA has funded classroom grants to support extra supplies that have not been supplied by the district but are required for our new math curriculum. These included new projector clickers, visual timers, and yardsticks.
We have also replenished the playground with 24 new foursquare/wall ball balls;
provided supplemental funding for the Teach One to Lead One mentor program (that used to be funded by Title 1 but now isn’t);
funded Raz Kids digital reading program for every classroom,
and supplied twenty $15 Spirit Wear vouchers to Pioneer families who need extra assistance, which have been distributed through the resource center.
Spring Dance- PTA put on our first dance since 2019! We’re so grateful to be able to put on fun family events again!
5th Grade Bake Sale- The 5th graders knocked it out of the park, providing baked goods and working shifts during the dance. They are raising funds for their 5th grade end-of-year celebration. PTA funds half, and 5th graders work to raise the other half. The bake sale brought in $728, and they’re about $300 away from their goal!
Staff Appreciation Wednesdays- Every Wednesday in March, PTA, led by our hospitality chair, said thank you to our Pioneer Staff with treats, giveaways, and a barista-manned coffee cart. Thanks to everyone who donated items for our various events.
Looking Forward…
After a much needed Spring Break, PTA is looking forward to:
Class Picture Day on April 12th (PTA coordinates picture days and yearbooks for the school)
Rock & Read on April 19th (sign up for time slots here. We need more volunteers to read in a rocking chair!)
Spring Clothing Exchange April 26th & 27th (bring in donations week of April 17th. We also need volunteers to help sort clothes April 24th)
Book Fair week- April 24th-28th
Read-a-thon week May 1st-5th (with pledge income to go towards Special Projects)
Pioneer’s Multicultural Picnic & PTA’s Plant Sale pick-up on May 6th
5th Grade Celebration at Alderbrook Park on June 5th
Family Fun Night on June 9th
Field Day on June 13th
And the last day of school/5th grade graduation on June 16th!
If being a part of any of these activities sounds interesting to you, please reach out! (PioneerPTAReg3@gmail.com) If you’d like to be a part of the planning/ volunteering/ decision-making process, or you just want more information about what’s going on in and around the school, PLEASE come to a PTA meeting. Our last two meetings are April 25th & May 30th, and we’d love to see you there. We try hard to keep the meetings limited to an hour, out of respect to all of our busy schedules.
HAVE A GREAT SPRING BREAK, EVERYONE!!
Gratefully yours,
Anna Boyd
Pioneer PTA President, 2021-2023