PES Newsletter
What's Happening in Our School!
PES Family,
Welcome back to another exciting start of the school year! We are so thrilled to have your students back in the building and ready to learn. At PES, our mission remains clear: to provide the best education possible in a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment.
Over the summer, several important changes took place to help us prepare for a successful year:
We are excited to welcome three new staff members to our team:
Chelsy Roller will be joining us as our new 4th-grade teacher,
Katie Cowell will be teaching 1st grade, and
Kayla Rice will be supporting students as part of our Special Education team.
There have also been several grade-level team changes as we work to build strong and effective instructional teams across the school.
Our main office has been relocated to a new location in the building. This change was made with student safety in mind and will help us create an even more secure school environment.
Looking ahead, we are excited to begin holding monthly assemblies to celebrate students and staff, while also focusing on a “Lifeskill of the Month”—important values and habits that help our students grow both academically and socially.
Throughout the year, our staff will be focusing on:
Increasing student engagement,
Delivering a viable and accessible curriculum, and
Maintaining fair and consistent procedures for all students.
We at PES are committed to continual improvement. The changes we’ve made—and the ones still ahead—are grounded in our belief that every student should feel safe, feel loved, and be given every opportunity to learn and thrive.
Here’s to a wonderful school year ahead!
Kayla Rice is our new special education teacher! She has 14 years of special education experience at Oakland Elementary, 9 years as a resource paraprofessional, 2 1/2 years as a resource room teacher, and 2 1/2 years as a self-contained behavior teacher.
Ms. Rice has 3 kids of her own, Macee (15), Brantlee (13), and Brodee (10). She also has a dog, Jade, and cat, Callie! In her free time, Ms. Rice enjoys camping, swimming, and taking photos to relax. She says, "Most days, you'll find me at the softball or baseball field, cheering on my kids and supporting them in the sports they love!"
When Ms. Rice was asked why she became an educator, she stated, "I became an educator because, even in high school, she believed that every individual deserves a sense of belonging and the opportunity to succeed. My passion for teaching is rooted in a strong desire to advocate for my students, ensuring they have support, resources, and encouragement they need not only to thrive in the classroom but to be prepared for long term success in life."
Katie Cowell is our new first grade teacher at Pioneer! Mrs. Cowell has been teaching for 6 years as a first grade teacher at Lewis Cass Elementary. She is a Logansport graduate and attended Bethel College.
Mrs. Cowell is married to Zac Cowell, who is Pioneer's very own athletic trainer! They have a 7 month old daughter, Collins, and 2 fur babies, Boomer and Benji. When Mrs. Cowell was asked what her favorite hobbies were, she said, "In my spare time I was the varsity volleyball coach at Lewis Cass, but now I just spend my time chasing around a now very mobile little girl. I also love to be outside, watch and play all sports, travel and go shopping!"
Why did Mrs. Cowell become a teacher? She says, "I became a teacher because I’ve always loved working with kids. Being able to be part of helping them learn and grow is such a rewarding job!"
Chelsy Roller is our new fourth grade teacher at PES! She has been in the classroom for 13 years. Mrs. Roller previously taught at Twin Lakes Schools in grades 1st through 3rd.
Mrs. Roller and her family reside in Burnettsville. She has been married for 14 years to her husband, Justin. They have three children together: Graysen, Brantly, and Mindy. In her free time, she enjoys baking, traveling, drawing, singing, planning classroom incentives and school-wide events, supporting her kids with 4H projects, attending tractor pulls, and visiting antique tractor shows.
When asked why she wanted to be an educator, Mrs. Roller stated, "When I first began teaching, my goal was to instill good work ethic and morals into the leaders of tomorrow. That still is of importance to me, but now it is so much more! I have a passion for showing ALL students that they are important and loved. I strive to build personal relationships with every student in my class and I love finding creative ways to motivate students for state testing. I think Pioneer will be the perfect fit for me and I'm excited to begin this new journey."
This year we are partnering with SchoolStore to raise money to help purchase tools and materials to help our students and teachers!
Click the logo to take you to the site!
Box Tops is making it easy! Download the FREE app on your phone. Buy products with the Box Tops logo and then scan your receipt on your app. Help earn money for our school!
Click the image to take you to the site!
At Pioneer Elementary School, we use a tool called Rooms to communicate with parents & guardians. If you are not signed up for this, you should have received an email and/or a text message last week. Here are guidelines for how to proceed from that email or text message.
Click the image to take you to the Google Form!