Burgettstown Area School District

• February 16: Snow Day Make Up
• March 18: Kindergarten Registration (Last names A-M)
• March 19: Kindergarten Registration (Last names N-Z)

The school calendar for the 2026-2027 school year was approved by the school board on Monday, February 9. The first student day will be August 31, 2026 and the last school day is set for June 4, 2027. Please click HERE to view the calendar in its entirety.

Congratulations to the Burgettstown Science Club! After more than a year without a school sponsor, PJAS returned this year as the Burgettstown Science Club, a club sponsored outside of school, and what a year they have had! The groups recently attended PJAS Regionals at PennWest California and captured several awards:

• Ryder Chappell captured 2nd place in Biochemistry & Botany,
• Shelby Powers earned a 2nd place in Chemistry,
• Kaylie Cratsley earned a 1st place in Behavioral Psychology
• Lucy Snatchko earned a 1st place in Biochemistry and Botany
• Club President Cameron Bergenes earned a 1st place in Behavioral Psychology, with a PERFEC SCORE and he also captured a special award for Behavioral Health at the Junior High level.

All members will be advancing to the PJAS State Competition at Penn State in May as competitors or technicians.

These students demonstrated there is no way to keep a Blue Devil down. True Blue Devils find a way, and we are proud of these students for doing so, and for earning the awards they did!

There was plenty happening in Mr. Dempster's technology education classes this week. From discussing manufacturing careers to practicing with the battle bots in preparation for an upcoming competition, there was never a dull moment!

Students in Mrs. Boni's classroom practiced their science skills by observing magnified images of seeds for classification.

Three BMHS students are award recipients of this year's VFW Voices of Democracy essay contest. The theme of this year's essay was, "How Are You Showing Patriotism And Support For Our Country?"

The award recipients are:

Jaiden Palm - 1st place, received a 1st place certificate and a cash award.

Lucy Snatchko - 1st runner up, received a certificate and a cash award.

Adam Baloga - 2nd runner up, received a certificate and a cash award.

BOTS IQ visited with 6th and 7th grade classes this week. Students took on the role of manufacture engineers by designing and creating an assembly line to build a working flashlight using breadboards and electronic components. Teams were tasked to organize their workflow, assign roles, and refine their processes to improve speed, quality, and consistency of their products. The challenge demonstrated how manufacturing engineers optimize production systems to make products efficiently and reliably.

This year, the Burgettstown Athletic Department is introducing digital ticketing for regular season football, volleyball, girls and boys basketball, and wrestling. Though all fans may still purchase a ticket "at the gate," but those who wish to avoid lines and pre-purchase an electronic ticket may do so by accessing the digital ticketing feature on the Hudl Fan page. Single game regular season tickets for both students and adults are available. Also, for those who know that will likely attend all games in a particular season, a season pass can be purchased. Please note: there is a processing fee, per ticket. This fee does not go to the school district, it is a vendor fee in support of the electronic ticketing feature. Scan the QR code or the button below to access the Hudl Fan page.

We remind students, employees, parents, guardians, and community members that smoking, the possession or use of alcohol or other drugs, and the possession of weapons on school grounds, including outdoor athletic areas, by any individual, is prohibited. These acts are subject to police action and must also be reported to the Department of Education.

Our school community has embraced the uniqueness of conducting commencement exercises at Star Lake for decades. The various management groups throughout the years have supported this by donating the use of the facility and we are most appreciative. While it is early in the school year, we want to make note that in order to hold graduation at Star Lake, flexibility in planning is necessary. Believe it or not, the planning for the next year begins shortly after the school year ends. We notify Star Lake management of our desired date and it is recorded as a preferred date. There are no guarantees, and in the past several years, we have not been able to finalize the date until some point in April. We know this causes a bit of anxiousness on the part of our seniors and their families, but if we want to continue this fine tradition, we must remain flexible. After last year's Commencement, we informed the management at Star Lake that our preferred date for this year's Commencement is June 5, 2026. While this is our preferred date, there is no guarantee that we will get it. As the months go by this year, the District will remain in contact with Star Lake management. When we know the confirmed date, we will communicate it to our students and families. Though graduation may be the last thing on anyone's mind this early in the school year, we wanted to communicate this information so there are no misunderstandings.

Student and employee safety is extremely important to us. We are constantly looking for ways to make our schools, school grounds, and property safe for all. Recently, we ordered signage that will be placed on all of our school busses, warning that unauthorized boarding will be subject to criminal prosecution. This is not something new, it is simply something we are creating a greater awareness of.

According to the Pennsylvania Crimes Code:

§ 5517. Unauthorized school bus entry. (a) Offense defined.--A person who enters a school bus without prior authorization of the driver or a school official with intent to commit a crime or disrupt or interfere with the driver or a person who enters a school bus without prior authorization of the driver or a school official who refuses to disembark after being ordered to do so by the driver commits a misdemeanor of the third degree. (b) Notice.--A school district may place a notice at the entrance of the school bus that warns against unauthorized entry.

Our school district prides itself on providing the best possible learning environment for our students, and school buildings and other facilities that can be a source of pride for the community. We are constantly monitoring the conditions of our schools, athletic complexes and other district-owned property but sometimes we miss things. You can help us by completing this form when you notice something that you think needs our attention. It can be something as basic as noticing that there is a light out in our parking areas, or that the trash receptacles at the baseball field need emptied. Just like you have for your home, we have a running list of items that need our attention. These items get prioritized and acted upon. We may already know about the issue you raise, but if we don't, we can't prioritize it until we do. We are all in this together and your input is greatly appreciated. Please click her to access this form: HERE

We know our families and our communities enjoy seeing the various photographs and related information about our students and their activities through the various social media platforms and other methods of communication from our school district. If a parent or guardian objects to the use of their child's image and related information, they must notify the school district. Please see the following document for more details.