Pioneer Press

🏴‍☠️ Welcome Back, Pirates! 🏴‍☠️

We hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing summer break!

We are so excited to welcome our students and families back for another great school year.

The Pioneer Press is our schoolwide newsletter and will be sent every Friday. It is your go-to source for important announcements, upcoming events, reminders and highlights from the week.

Throughout the year, you may also receive newsletters and updates from teachers specific to their classrooms, clubs or sport. The Pioneer Press, however, will be your only source for information about our entire school community. We encourage families to take a few minutes each week to read through it and stay up to date on everything happening at Pioneer.

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Pioneer Middle School Office at pioneermsoffice@steilacoom.k12.wa.us or 253-583-7200.

Here’s to a great school year! Go Pirates! 🏴‍☠️

Dear Pioneer Families,

What a great start to the 2026-27 school year! It has been wonderful to see our students back in the building, reconnecting with friends, meeting their teachers, learning new routines, and settling into another year at Pioneer Middle School.

There is a great energy in our building, and we are excited about the year ahead.

This year, our work together is centered around a simple but meaningful theme:

Pioneer Pirates: Belong. Believe. Become.

Belong — We want every student to be known, connected, and to feel that they are an important part of our Pioneer community.

Believe — We believe in our students. We hold high expectations for them, help them build confidence, and recognize the tremendous impact that the beliefs and expectations of the adults around them can have.

Become — Middle school is a time of tremendous growth. Our goal is to help students become increasingly capable, thoughtful, responsible, and confident young people.

These three ideas will continue to guide our conversations with students and staff throughout the year. We want Pioneer to be a place where students know they belong, where the adults around them believe in what they can accomplish, and where they are supported as they become the young people they are capable of being.

New Chromebook Routine Begins Next Week

Beginning next week, we will also start a new Chromebook process for students.

Each Pioneer student will be assigned an individual Chromebook for use throughout the school day. Rather than sharing devices from classroom carts, students will use the same assigned Chromebook each day.

Here is how the routine will work:

• Between 8:03 and 8:10 a.m., students will pick up their assigned Chromebook from their 6th period teacher.
• Students will carry their Chromebook with them and use it as needed throughout all of their classes.
• At the end of the school day, students will return the Chromebook to their 6th period classroom, where it will remain overnight for charging.
• In general, Chromebooks will remain at school and will not be taken home. If there is a circumstance in which a student needs to take a Chromebook home, that will be explicitly arranged through the Pioneer main office administration.

We believe assigning each student their own device will create greater consistency, responsibility, and reliability throughout the school day. Teachers will continue to help students learn good habits for carrying, caring for, and appropriately using their Chromebook.

As we establish this new routine, we appreciate families reinforcing the importance of taking good care of school technology and reminding students that their assigned Chromebook is their responsibility throughout the day.

Thank you for helping us get the year off to such a positive start. We are grateful for the partnership of our Pioneer families and look forward to a wonderful year of learning, connection, and growth.

Belong. Believe. Become.

Go Pirates!

JoAnne Fernandes
Principal

Please note that our student building entry time has changed.

⏰Beginning this school year, students will now enter the building at 7:50 am.⏰

Please plan morning drop-off and arrival times accordingly. Pioneer MS Office business hours remain 7:40 am- 3:30 pm.

Thank you for helping us ensure a safe and organized start to the school day!

🚍 After-School Transportation Changes 🚍

If you need to change your student's after-school transportation plan, please contact the main office by the times listed below:

• 1:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays

• 12:45 p.m. on ACE days (Wednesdays)

These deadlines allow us adequate time to notify your student before dismissal.

Contact the office:

• 📞 253-583-7205

• 📧 pioneermsoffice@steilacoom.k12.wa.us

Please note:

• Transportation changes requested after the deadline cannot be guaranteed to reach your student before the end of the school day.

• Bus passes will not be issued to students at the end of the day.

• 🚫 Please do not email individual staff members regarding attendance, tardies, or other time-sensitive matters. If a staff member is out, your message may go unseen.

Student lockers will be issued next week!

For some students, using a locker will be a completely new experience. It may take a little time and practice to get the hang of it, and that's okay!

Our teachers and staff are here to help.

Forgot your locker combination?

Students can find their locker combination in Skyward.

If further assistance is needed, the student should have their teacher email Mrs. Ruby to obtain their locker combination.

Can't get your locker open?

Mr. Nystrom, Mrs. Barton, Mrs. Fernandes and Mr. Ruffin are always in the halls and common areas during passing periods, ask one of them to help you.

We encourage students to practice opening their lockers and to be patient with themselves as they learn.

Is your student ready to show some Pioneer Pride?

Fall PE Gear and Spirit Gear order forms are due on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.

If you would like to purchase Pioneer swag, please complete the attached order form and return it with payment to Mrs. Ruby in the attendance office.

Classes begin at 8:10 a.m.

If your student arrives at 8:10 a.m. or later, they must check in at the kiosk to receive a pass to class. 🔹 Tardies require a parent/guardian excuse 🔹

Reporting Absences & Tardies:

Don’t forget to excuse your student’s absences and tardies!

✅ Option 1: Call 253-583-7200 and select the attendance option.

• If no one answers, please leave a voicemail—messages are checked frequently.
• No need to call multiple times.

✅ Option 2: Email pioneermsoffice@steilacoom.k12.wa.us or send a ParentSquare message to the Pioneer Office.

🚫 Do not email staff directly regarding attendance🚫

🏴‍☠️ FALL SPORTS ARE HERE!🏴‍☠️

Tryouts & Practices
All tryouts and practices will take place Monday–Friday from 3:00–5:00 PM.

ACE Wednesdays – Mandatory Study Hall

On ACE Wednesdays, all student-athletes are required to attend a mandatory one-hour study hall in the cafeteria.

*Students may not leave the building during study hall*. Please plan accordingly.

Following study hall, athletes will report to their regularly scheduled practice. Practice will still begin and end at the regularly scheduled time of 3:00–5:00 PM.

Thank you for helping our student-athletes stay focused both in the classroom and in their sport!

How to buy school photos?

Class Act Portraits will email families a link directly to the email we have in Skyward. If you don't receive an email, contact Class Act Portrait directly at 253-569-1627 to request a link.

September 7th - All SHSD Schools and Office CLOSED - Labor Day

September 9th - ACE Day - 1:40 pm Student release time

September 11th - Student Picture Day

September 16th - Last day to submit Schedule Change Request Forms