📅 Tuesday, October 28
🕔 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 Trailhead City Park
Enjoy a magical evening along the glowing Pumpkin Luminary Trail, a free community event hosted by the Roots & Shoots Environmental Club! 🌿
Last year, we had 160 pumpkins - we are hoping for even more this year!
🍁 Event Highlights:
🎃 Pumpkin Judging Categories: Environmental • Spooky • Funny • Business • Organization
🥫 Entry is free, but we kindly ask for food donations to support the Pine Island Sharing Shelves.
👻 Calling all local businesses & organizations!
Help make this event even more festive:
Host a trick-or-treat station along the trail 🍬
Carve a pumpkin for your business or organization.
Donate treat items (drop-off at the high school office)
📩 Interested or have questions? Contact Megan Schimek to get involved and help light up the trail!
We learned from professionals from the DNR fisheries department and the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center.
Reminder: School will begin 2 hours late on Wednesday, October 8th.
Career Achievement and Civic Readiness. (CACR)
The Pine Island School board approved the CACR annual summary of student achievement and assessment.
School districts are required to plan long-term plans that address the five CACR goals:
All children are ready for school.
All student and economic achievement gaps between students are closed.
All students are ready for career and college.
All students graduate from high school.
All students are prepared to be lifelong learners.
Elementary Points of Pride:
Last year, Pine Island Elementary School experienced growth in both math and reading MCA scores as well as FastBridge scores.
Enrollment numbers continue to be strong at Pine Island Elementary School.
Area for growth:
This year we are examining our PLC procedures.
This year we are focusing on the support we give students who score nationally in the 30th-50th percentile.
Middle School Points of Pride:
Last year, Pine Island Elementary School experienced growth in both math and reading MCA scores as well as FastBridge scores.
Enrollment numbers continue to be strong at Pine Island Elementary School.
Area for growth:
This year, we are examining our PLC procedures.
This year, we are focusing on the support we give students who score nationally in the 30th-50th percentile.
High School Points of Pride:
Pine Island continues to exceed the MN and National average Composite scores on ACT.
Pine Island Graduation Rates continue to stay strong as we work to meet the needs of all learners.
Area for growth:
We are focusing our PLC time on getting back to the core of our 4 driving PLC questions.
We are digging in to establish a strong base for MN-MTSS.
Strategic Planning starts this month with a board work session on October 20th at 5:30-8:30 pm and Story Wall with the community on October 29th at 5:pm-8:00 pm.
Pine Island Trap Team- We had two "25" rounds on the same card last night! Both Brecken Lawson, and Ben Bertsinger had a perfect round!
Powerful day at Pine Island Schools!
A huge thank you to Aidan’s Light and the Pine Island American Legion for making it possible to bring in Deb Tackmann, a nationally recognized health educator and speaker.
Deb spoke to our 7th–12th graders today about mental health, suicide prevention, and QPR, a lifesaving skill that helps you recognize the warning signs of someone struggling and respond, just like CPR.
We also recorded a short podcast with Deb that we highly recommend checking out. It’s full of practical advice and hope-filled messages for both students and adults. Thank you to Angela Organ and our High School TZD group for their continued dedication to promoting wellness and safety for our kids here in Pine Island!
Link to Podcast Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SHVF2t0c3213MYcs9H9fM?si=211321b305824347
Pine Island Middle School Students are excited to serve their local community! Use this form to sign yourself or another person up to have students rake your yard on October 31st. Please sign up by October 8th!
*DISCLAIMER: We will do our best to rake the leaves for as many people as possible, but may not be able to accommodate everyone.*
We are excited to offer a new student activity for our middle school students - Conservation Crew!
Conservation Crew is an extra-curricular program for middle schoolers who are interested in making positive change for people, for animals, and for the environment. Students will develop leadership skills by designing and working on conservation projects that impact our school and community. We will spend the year planning and implementing student-selected projects.
If you have a student who is interested in joining, please take a few minutes to complete this survey with your student. Your input will help us plan the club and determine the best meeting times for those who want to be involved.
Click here to learn more about Conservation Crew and Conservation Minnesota.
The nature play trail is adjacent to the Nature Preserve Park on 8th St SE. Park at the softball field complex and cross the street.
Pine Island Public Schools is excited to begin a new strategic planning journey this October with the support of TeamWorks. This process will help us update our operational plan and ensure that everything we do is aligned to providing the best daily experiences for our students.
🔹 “Classroom to Boardroom” Approach – The process starts with input from students, staff, and families. Their voices will guide the work before it moves to the school board.
🔹 Community Engagement – Stakeholders will be asked to share their vision for what school should look like, sound like, and feel like each day.
🔹 Clear Roadmap – Feedback will help shape a three-year operational plan and a districtwide Strategic Roadmap that outlines our Mission, Vision, Core Values, and Strategic Directions.
🔹 Collaboration – The process will clearly define the roles of the school board (governance) and district administrators (management), ensuring everyone is working toward the same vision.
We look forward to working together with our community as we shape the future of Pine Island Public Schools. Stay tuned for opportunities to share your input and help us inspire excellence for every student!