This morning, our school family came together for a truly special moment. 💙
During lunchtime, one of our students didn’t hesitate when another student was choking—she stepped in, took action, and helped a classmate in need. Today, Officer Hanneken joined us to recognize her with an Everyday Hero Award in front of our entire school community.
What made this moment even more meaningful was sharing it with families—because our school is more than a building. We are a family. A place where we look out for one another, show kindness, and take care of each other in big and small ways every day.
Being a hero doesn’t always mean wearing a cape. Sometimes it looks like courage, compassion, and stepping up when someone needs help. We are so proud of this student for showing what it means to be an everyday hero.
Thank you to Officer Hanneken, our staff, our students, and our families for helping us celebrate kindness, bravery, and the power of caring for one another. 💙👏
https://youtu.be/gsWR3w8urlk
During lunchtime, one of our students didn’t hesitate when another student was choking—she stepped in, took action, and helped a classmate in need. Today, Officer Hanneken joined us to recognize her with an Everyday Hero Award in front of our entire school community.
What made this moment even more meaningful was sharing it with families—because our school is more than a building. We are a family. A place where we look out for one another, show kindness, and take care of each other in big and small ways every day.
Being a hero doesn’t always mean wearing a cape. Sometimes it looks like courage, compassion, and stepping up when someone needs help. We are so proud of this student for showing what it means to be an everyday hero.
Thank you to Officer Hanneken, our staff, our students, and our families for helping us celebrate kindness, bravery, and the power of caring for one another. 💙👏
https://youtu.be/gsWR3w8urlk
Today we proudly celebrated our incredible bus drivers and bus paras with breakfast and small gifts as a token of appreciation. These amazing individuals are the first smiles our students see each morning and the last waves they receive each afternoon. Their patience, dedication, and commitment to safety never go unnoticed.
A special thank you to Tracy, our transportation coordinator, who truly went the extra mile to make sure our team felt valued and celebrated today. We are so grateful for everything you do for our students and families! 🚌💛
A special thank you to Tracy, our transportation coordinator, who truly went the extra mile to make sure our team felt valued and celebrated today. We are so grateful for everything you do for our students and families! 🚌💛
Geology came to life last week thanks to a special visit from Rick Grammond! 💎 Rick shared his expert lessons on rock collecting and polishing with our 5th and 6th grade science students. By sharing his personal collection and donating a full rock-polishing kit, Rick is helping our students see the "hidden gems" in nature. Every student went home with a new rock and a fresh perspective on the Earth beneath their feet, and we can't wait to see their polished results. Science is officially rocking this year! 🪨✨
Our students have been busy creating, building, and growing this week. It is incredible to see their hard work turn into finished products across our technical departments.
Water, Woods, and Wildlife: Students are building custom ice fishing rods from scratch—assembling everything from the handles to the guides. This project gives them a real look at the craftsmanship behind their gear, leading right into lure-making and gear strategy.
Metal Fabrication: Using our CNC plasma table and oxy-acetylene torches, students transformed flat steel into beautiful welded roses. It’s a perfect blend of high-tech programming and traditional hand-tool skills.
Horticulture: Our greenhouse is full of life as students study biome-specific plants. To celebrate Valentine’s Day today, the class also practiced their floral design skills by creating custom arrangements.
We are proud of the practical skills our students are mastering every day. Take a look at their latest work in the photos below!
Water, Woods, and Wildlife: Students are building custom ice fishing rods from scratch—assembling everything from the handles to the guides. This project gives them a real look at the craftsmanship behind their gear, leading right into lure-making and gear strategy.
Metal Fabrication: Using our CNC plasma table and oxy-acetylene torches, students transformed flat steel into beautiful welded roses. It’s a perfect blend of high-tech programming and traditional hand-tool skills.
Horticulture: Our greenhouse is full of life as students study biome-specific plants. To celebrate Valentine’s Day today, the class also practiced their floral design skills by creating custom arrangements.
We are proud of the practical skills our students are mastering every day. Take a look at their latest work in the photos below!
The Pioneer Way is in full swing at our school!
Our students are earning entries into our book vending machine drawing by being caught doing good—showing kindness and respect, and working hard. When a name is drawn, they win a special token to pick out a brand-new book.
It is a true team effort, as our Student Council members are always ready to step in and help our younger learners navigate the machine. We love seeing our Pioneers lead by example and celebrate a love for reading.
Our students are earning entries into our book vending machine drawing by being caught doing good—showing kindness and respect, and working hard. When a name is drawn, they win a special token to pick out a brand-new book.
It is a true team effort, as our Student Council members are always ready to step in and help our younger learners navigate the machine. We love seeing our Pioneers lead by example and celebrate a love for reading.
The classroom met the real world this week for our Computer Support Intern (CSI) students. They had the opportunity to shadow 2023 Pierz graduate Thomas Herold, who is currently interning with our IT Director, Dustin Hoeper.
Our CSI team rolled up their sleeves to work alongside Thomas, gaining hands-on experience repairing and updating PC computers. It is great to see our alumni returning to mentor the next generation of tech experts!
Our CSI team rolled up their sleeves to work alongside Thomas, gaining hands-on experience repairing and updating PC computers. It is great to see our alumni returning to mentor the next generation of tech experts!
Today we welcomed Philip Warwick, national expert in evaluating effective schools
focusing on elements of effective practice from the New Art and Science of Teaching. Instructional rounds give teachers the opportunity to learn from one another through peer observation and professional dialogue. By identifying conditions for learning and instructional strategies in practice, our staff continues to strengthen classroom instruction and support our work as a High Reliability School.
Due to extreme cold, Pierz Schools will implement an E-Learning Day, Friday, January 23. All after-school activities for Thursday, January 22 are cancelled with the exception of optional varsity-only practices. All afterschool activities for Friday and those scheduled on Saturday remain as-scheduled at the time of this posting.
Weather-related announcement:
No after-school events today, January 22.
No JH Practices
Varsity-only are optional practices that need to be done by 4:30pm .
No Harding Gun Safety Class tonight.
Note: All events are on for tomorrow afternoon as scheduled except for GBB will be at 4:00pm start for JV and C Saturday events are all on schedule as of time of posting.
No after-school events today, January 22.
No JH Practices
Varsity-only are optional practices that need to be done by 4:30pm .
No Harding Gun Safety Class tonight.
Note: All events are on for tomorrow afternoon as scheduled except for GBB will be at 4:00pm start for JV and C Saturday events are all on schedule as of time of posting.
Today, through a grant by our amazing Pioneer Elementary PTO-students at Pioneer were treated to science, engineering, and technology presentations courtesy of the Science Museum of Minnesota! Students learned about electricity, engineering, energy, and more through hands-on experiments and demonstrations. They also learned the Engineering Design Process. "Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create" are core steps in the Engineering Design Process, a systematic approach to problem-solving and innovation.
Pierz Gearz is now ONLINE!
These hard-working students are keeping you in Pioneer apparel, gear, and accessories. Shop online and pick up your orders at Door 2 (district office). https://pierzschools.epaytrak.com/Pierz-Gearz-School-Store-C289.aspx
These hard-working students are keeping you in Pioneer apparel, gear, and accessories. Shop online and pick up your orders at Door 2 (district office). https://pierzschools.epaytrak.com/Pierz-Gearz-School-Store-C289.aspx
Hot off the press! What's happenin' at Healy? Check out this month's Principals' Corner! https://sites.google.com/pierzschools.org/healy-principals-corner/january-16-2026?authuser=0
Pierz Unified Basketball: Division B Champions!
Congratulations to the Pierz Unified Basketball team on becoming the Division B Champions! This inclusive program, run through Special Olympics Minnesota, pairs students with and without intellectual disabilities to foster friendship and break down stereotypes through the power of sport.
Tournament Results:
Game 1: Pierz 37, Pillager 27
Game 2: Pierz 34, Crosby 13
Championship: Pierz 42, Pequot Lakes 36
Beyond the scoreboard, it was a day filled with incredible memories and team bonding—complete with a celebratory Dairy Queen stop!
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our athletes and partners in building a more inclusive school culture. Go Pioneers!
Congratulations to the Pierz Unified Basketball team on becoming the Division B Champions! This inclusive program, run through Special Olympics Minnesota, pairs students with and without intellectual disabilities to foster friendship and break down stereotypes through the power of sport.
Tournament Results:
Game 1: Pierz 37, Pillager 27
Game 2: Pierz 34, Crosby 13
Championship: Pierz 42, Pequot Lakes 36
Beyond the scoreboard, it was a day filled with incredible memories and team bonding—complete with a celebratory Dairy Queen stop!
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our athletes and partners in building a more inclusive school culture. Go Pioneers!
It's cold outside, but it's heating up in Ms. Strohmeier's Foods classes! Tenth and eleventh graders are making peanut butter cookies, so parents take note: they CAN bake!
Third graders talked about cooperation with social worker Ms. Ferguson today. They learned the importance of working together to accomplish goals-- which was solidified when they were tasked with "cooperative walking"! Students used communication and signals to work together bring their entire team across the finish line!
Congratulation to the December Students of the Month, Alyssa Sauer and Kayla Virnig!
https://www.pierzschools.org/page/students-of-the-month
Congratulations to Pierz Healy High School November students of the month, Chloe Lochner and Miranda Otremba! https://www.pierzschools.org/page/students-of-the-month
🎅 Our Administration team cordially invited and served the entire Pierz Schools staff at this morning’s Christmas Breakfast! 🎄
It's Jingle Bingo at Pioneer Elementary this morning!
UPDATE: Pierz Schools will move to an E-Learning Day. Buildings will be closed to students and staff. Students are expected to complete eLearning assignments from their Google Classroom (5-12) or from from the ELearning website or home packets. Be safe out there! https://www.pierzschools.org/page/e-learning-day-plans-and-information
