Principal s Welcome Welcome to Piper High School; Home of the Pirates! I hope that this letter finds you enjoying your summer break and eagerly awaiting the beginning of 2014 school year. My name is Mike Schumacher and I am proud to serve PHS and the entire Piper Community as the principal beginning this year. I could not be more thrilled to begin my first year within the Piper School District and I look forward to working with the wonderful families that attend our tremendous school. Know that this is our school: yours and the educators that work within it. If ever within the school year you have a question or concern about your child s education, please do not hesitate to contact us. I hope that this newsletter and the subsequent newsletter will provide you with useful information about our school and serve as one way to celebrate the many accomplishments of our students and staff please remember: It s always a great day to be a Pirate!!! Meet the Principal Mark your Calendars for Meet the Principal. On August 7 th @ 6:15pm in the PHS commons, students, families and community members will have a chance to meet the new principal, Mike Schumacher. This will be a casual gathering and simply a chance to get to meet each other before the school year begins. If you are free on August 7 th please stop by. Coffee with the Principal On the second Tuesday of each month Dr. Schumacher will host parents and community members in the high school commons for coffee, snacks and conversation. As your schedule allows please stop by PHS and share your thoughts with the principal and learn of what s going on at your school. The first installment will be on September 10 @ 7:30am. First Days of School The 2014 school year begins for freshmen and all new students on Monday August 19. The day will begin @ 7:30 and students will be dismissed @ 11:45. These students will be receiving additional information concerning this day as the 19 th approaches. The first full day of class for all students is Tuesday August 20. School begins at 7:30 come ready to learn!!! Back to School Night Piper High School will host its annual Open House on the same night as the first day of school for students. Parents, plan on attending this important event. The evening begins at 6:30 and will provide you the opportunity to go through your student s schedule and meet their teachers and other staff members at PHS. The evening will conclude at 8:30.
Student Schedules Parents and students: look to our student information system, Skyward to view your class schedule beginning on August 8,. Individual Student Assistance Individual Student Assistance is a time devoted for individual help. Selected Fridays throughout the year are scheduled for students who need additional one-on-one instruction, time to work on projects, get caught up on lessons, meet with a teacher, etc. I.S.A. takes place from 7:10 7:50 on the following dates this fall: September 13 and 27, October 11, November 8 and December 6. Weekly Grade Eligibility As any of our coaches or sponsors will tell you, our belief at PHS is that academics come first. To that end the school has adopted a weekly eligibility check which emphasizes the importance of student academics. These checks begin on September 16. If a student is failing one or more classes, they are not allowed to participate and/or attend school functions for one week. Eligibility is updated weekly and students will be welcomed back to their activities once their grades are in order. Pirate yearbook distribution set for Aug. 13 Students who have purchased a copy of the Pirate yearbook may pick it up between 5:30pm and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, in the commons area at the high school. A few extra copies are available for purchase. Cost is $60 payable to Piper High School. Students who are not able to stop by on the 13th may pick up their books in the office beginning Aug. 14. Important Reminders for Senior Pictures When: Tuesday, Aug. 20, the first day of classes What to wear: Boys - collared shirt and tie Girls - equally professional and tasteful attire. Please be sure shoulders are covered. In head- and-shoulder portraits, strapless tops or spaghetti straps can create the illusion of no clothing. What to bring: - $15 check payable to Expressions Midwest or $15 cash on the first day of school. This fall brings a major change for senior pictures by the school-contracted photographer, Expressions Midwest. Tuesday, Aug. 20, the first full day of classes, has been reserved by the high school administration for ALL student pictures in grades 9-12. Seniors will take their senior picture at that time as well. The basic senior photo sittings will all be on this one day. Cost is $15 for the sitting and a personal copy of the 2014 class composite. These photos must be used for the composite and also will be provided to the yearbook staff for the senior section and to class officers for the senior video. If you are using the composite photo in the yearbook, the photographer will provide it to the staff. You do not have to provide another copy. If students and their parents prefer to
use a different photo in the yearbook and/or senior video, they have that option. Piper High School Celebrations Europe Trip for PHS Students o This June, Mrs. Armstrong traveled to Europe for 10 days with PHS students What a wonderful experience! Pictured: Piper students at Buckingham Palace in London. Taylor Jenkins, Rachel Lauritzan, James Clark, Alejandro Winkle, Olivia Hunt, Mrs. Allison Armstrong, Stephen Michael and Rachel Saunders. Pirate Summer After a historic 2012- school year, Pirate Nation is looking to improve on the accomplishments of last year. Here is a quick recap of the year: football s historic run to substate runner-up, girls golf taking 3rd at regionals and qualifying for state, boys basketball winning sub-state, bowling sending 3 to the state tournament, forensics sending most ever to state competition, band member making all-state, newspaper taking national awards, girls swimming winning their first KVL meet, Tri-M named the state & national charter of the year, FCCLA going to nationals, track sending 9 athletes to state, girls soccer was regional champions, and the boys golf team wins league, regional, and runner-up at the state tournament! This summer our student-athletes and coaches/sponsors have dedicated themselves to improve on the past. Your Pirate cheer team went to camp and took home some hardware. 2nd place for the Xtreme routine, elite division; trophy for straight Superior ratings throughout camp; spirit stick; members that made all American include, Talia Simmons, Alecia Murray, Abbey Morris, Perrin McTye, Kyla Douglas, & De'Ericka Glover; those who made the Pin It Forward award were Perrin McTye, Kori Smith, & Abbey Morris. Piper dance team also attended summer camp and brought home several awards. Our halftime entertainment will be excellent as always. Pirate volleyball team under new coach, Chris Scanlon, held open gyms and competed in several
tournaments and league play. With 20 plus players showing up on a regular basis the team is developing into a competitive team within the KVL. Girls and boys soccer held open fields on Wednesdays and several members of both squads worked together to improve their skills. The girls team was selected by Sporting KC as the team of the week in early July. Team members were introduced at the July 3rd match at halftime. The girls basketball team played in a summer league and the V team took 2nd place and the JV team took 1st place. The girls played in 34 total games in the summer. Our boys team held a basketball academy at the MS for the month of June every day from Monday through Thursday. Coach Wallace had an average of 35 players participate getting ready for the season. He also took a group of 12 to Wisconsin for camp. They competed against teams from all over the country, went 4-2, and lost in the gold bracket championship game. The football team had several opportunities for all players to compete in camps, leagues, and skill development. Fifty plus players attended and participated throughout the summer. Weight room attendance has risen every year and this year was no exception. With an average of over 50 athletes per session the Pirates are on the right track. Several other groups met and practiced throughout the summer anticipating another banner year at Piper High! Some dates and items to be prepared for: Saf-K physicals will be held on Tuesday (8-13) from 6 pm-7:30 pm at Providence Medical. Cost is $15 and studentathletes must be accompanied by an adult. Wednesday (8-14) we will be having the fall parents/coaches meetings in the HS auditorium starting at 6 pm. This is for football, volleyball, soccer, golf, and cross country student-athletes. All physicals are to be turned into the HS office with signatures by all parent/guardian, physicians, and student-athlete before practicing with the team. All fall sports will start on August 19th, please attend the parent/coaches meeting to find out what time your activity will begin. Counselors Updates and Information Mrs. Darcy Lucas A-L dlucas@piperschools.com Mrs. Marge Eckard M-Z meckard@piperschools.com Schedule Changes Schedule changes may be made until August 27,. Returning students may schedule appointments with their counselor starting Monday, August 12 to make schedule
changes. Schedule changes will be made only for the following reasons: 1. The student is not enrolled in a required class. 2. The student is enrolled in a class for which he/she has already received credit. 3. The student has not met the prerequisites for the class. 4. The student has an incomplete schedule. 5. A teacher recommends the student advance to a higher level course or that the student moves out of the course due to the failure of 1 st semester (pending approval from the principal). If your request meets one of these criteria, you may submit a Schedule Change Request Form (attached) and turn it in to the Counseling Office for review. Each request is considered for approval on an individual basis. Students may either email or call their counselor at 721.2100. Credit Recovery Grades Any students that took classes for credit recovery over the summer need to make sure their transcripts are sent to the high school as soon as possible in order to be classified correctly. College Information All college visits will be done during lunch this year. Seniors may visit with college or military representatives during their lunch period. Some colleges have deadlines this fall for scholarship applications. Be sure to check with the colleges you are interested in to determine their deadlines. Students enrolled in college classes for the fall need to pay their fees at the community college by August 5 th. ALL COLLEGE COURSES START ON MONDAY, AUGUST 19 TH. Registration Deadlines ACT registration deadline for the September 21 st test date is August 23rd. This test will not be given at Piper High School. ACT registration deadline for the October 26 th test date is September 27 th. Students may register at www.actstudent.org. Students may sign up to take the test at Piper High School. We will be offering a morning ACT prep class this fall for students taking the October test (senior only please). The cost of the class is $80. Contact Mrs. Lucas for registration details. SAT registration deadline for the October 5 th test date is September 6 th. Students may register at www.sat.collegeboard.com/register. PSAT test registration will be from September 09-13 with Mrs. Lucas. The cost for this test is $14. The test will ONLY be given on Wednesday, October 16 and is only open to sophomores and juniors to take. It is recommended that any juniors that took the test as sophomores should have scored at least a 160 on the test in order to sign up as a junior. For more information about the test, go to www.collegeboard.com/school and select the link for the PSAT test. ASVAB test registration will be from September 09-13 with Mrs. Lucas. This exam is free and is offered through the US Military. The test will ONLY be given at the school on Tuesday, September 24. For more information about the test, go to www.military.com/asvab.