Pioneer Press
December 20th, 2024
Dear Pioneer Middle School Families,
As we close out the calendar year, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your continued support of our school community. December is a time for reflection and celebration, and I am proud of all that our students, staff, and families have accomplished together this semester.
This season reminds us of the importance of kindness, connection, and learning together. Whether through classroom achievements, community service projects, or performances, our students continue to inspire us daily.
As we head into winter break, I encourage everyone to take time to recharge, enjoy time with loved ones, and set new goals for the year ahead. We look forward to an exciting 2025 filled with growth, learning, and opportunities to shine.
Wishing you all a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year!
Warm regards,
Mrs. Fernandes
6th Grade-
Sixth graders have been on a hero's journey along with Taran, Gurgi, Eilonwy, and the gang. They have learned a lot of literary terms such as foreshadowing, personification, irony, euphemism, and allusion. They've learned what makes Taran and Gurgi dynamic characters, and what makes Eilonwy a static character. We won't finish the book until after winter break, but the cliffhanger endings make for a memorable story. Students are expected to read over winter break!
7th Grade-
Mrs. Vaccaro's class wrapped up their study of The House on Mango Street with descriptive writing inspired by the vignette "A Rice Sandwich" and a figurative language assessment. Leading into the holidays they are analyzing symbolism through "Robert Frost's "Stopping By Woods" and via a variety of other texts and stories. Upon our return, their task will be to identify and explain symbols that best represent their winter break.
In Mrs. Martin's class, students wrapped up their study of symbolism by creating "ugly sweaters" for the fictional character of their choice. They had to choose three colors that were symbolic of some aspect of their character's personality and incorporate it into their design. Seventh graders also focused on descriptive writing and sensory language when they created their own unique candy cane flavors and advertised them to their classmates.
Students in the seventh grade hi-cap class finished reading The Outsiders by SE Hinton this week. Although the book was written in the 1960s, it's still fresh. Nearly every student gave the book 5 stars! Classic American poetry has also been a focus. Kids memorized and will recite 25 lines of poetry before winter break. Robert Frost and Langston Hughes are two favorites, so far.
8th Grade-
Mr. Milton's 8th Grade ELA classes are finishing up their Winter Holidays unit. Shaped around the question, Why do human societies have holidays?, we've studied Hanukkah, Advent and Kwanzaa. We're finishing the work with an essay and a skit.
Mrs. Marrero's ELA students concluded their unit on "The Most Dangerous Game" written in 1924 by Richard Connell. The story features a “big-game” hunter, Sanger Rainsford, who finds himself stranded on an island. He is forced into a “hunt” with General Zaroff, and the twisted tale ends with only one victor. This engaging story served as an anchor text for students to explore complex literary skills such as how the author uses theme, lines of dialogue, and figurative language to convey a story. Students finished the unit by creating a map of "Ship Trap Island" based on context clues in the story.
t's time to purchase PE uniforms for the second semester.
We are accepting orders through January 15th. Delivery will be during the first week of February. All PE students are encouraged to pre-order their uniforms.
There will be very limited quantities of extras available in the student store. This is the last order for the school year. All orders are pre-paid.
Please submit your payment and order form to Ms. Ruby at the attendance office no later than the end of day on January 15th.
ORDER FORM ATTACHED
