Burgettstown Area School District

• October 21: Reading Under the Stars Night at BAEC 5:30 PM-7:30 PM
• October 24: Homecoming
• October 30: Act 80 Half-day
• November 3: End of 1st Nine Weeks

Students in Ms. Bebo's science class recently put their scientific thinking to work as they explored how changing the mass or speed of a moving object affects the forces involved when it collides with another object. Through this engaging lesson, students investigated the relationship between motion, mass, and force, gaining a better understanding of the science behind everyday collisions. Lessons like these bring scientific concepts to life, encouraging students to ask questions, make predictions, and discover how the laws of physics apply to the world around them. Another great example of our Blue Devils putting this year's "Get Curious!" theme into action!

Following an outstanding showing at last year's Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) State Competition, our Blue Devil scientists are preparing for another exciting year of scientific exploration and discovery!

Last May, five Burgettstown students—Shelby Powers, Lucille Snatchko, Ryder Chappel, Kaylie Cratsley, and Cameron Vergenes—represented our District at the PJAS State Competition at Penn State University Park. Among their impressive accomplishments, Cameron Vergenes earned a First Place Award for his research examining whether humans can distinguish AI-generated images from real ones. Kaylie Cratsley and Lucille Snatchko each earned Second Place Awards for their respective research projects involving inherited personality traits and the effects of watering on poinsettia stomata.

Now, we're looking to build on that success! Students in grades 7–12 are invited to join PJAS and turn their curiosity into meaningful scientific research. With 13 different areas of study, ranging from biology and chemistry to engineering, computer science, and behavioral psychology, there is something for just about every curious mind!

Our District's 2026–2027 theme, "Get Curious!", couldn't be a better fit for this opportunity. PJAS encourages students to ask questions, explore possibilities, think critically, and discover what they are capable of accomplishing.

Interested students and families can text Carrie at 724-825-3935 to join the PJAS Band App for meeting dates and updates.

We can't wait to see what our next generation of Blue Devil scientists will discover!

Our BAEC students and staff showed their community spirit this week by sporting blue, white, and pink in support of the Burgettstown Lions Youth Football organization! The show of support comes as the Lions prepare to celebrate their Senior Recognition on Sunday, October 18. It's always wonderful to see our youngest Blue Devils supporting one another and celebrating the organizations that help build school pride, teamwork, and community connections. Congratulations to all of the Lions who will be recognized on Sunday!

The Burgettstown Area School District took delivery of its newest school bus this week, a Blue Bird All American, marking an exciting addition to our District-owned transportation fleet! The 84-passenger, flat-front bus will proudly carry the designation of Bus #1 and is expected to be placed into service in the coming weeks. This investment reflects the District's continued commitment to providing safe, reliable transportation for our students while maintaining our own transportation department, staffed by dedicated District employees. We are excited to see Bus #1 on the roads of Burgettstown soon!

A special thank you to Mr. Chris Lander and middle school student Taylor Preston for visiting Burgettstown Area Elementary Center this week to teach our students important lessons about fire safety in recognition of October's National Fire Prevention Month! Although Friday's rainy weather prevented students from getting an up-close look at the fire truck brought by the Slovan Fire Department, it certainly didn't dampen the opportunity to learn! Students participated in valuable fire prevention lessons designed to help them stay safe and make smart decisions in an emergency. Thank you to our local firefighters for taking the time to educate our youngest Blue Devils and for all they do to keep our community safe!

Our Blue Devil Cross Country team turned in another impressive performance at the Clipper Invitational, held at Youngstown State University's cross country course, highlighted by a second consecutive championship for our high school boys team!

The middle school girls team earned an outstanding second-place finish and our high school girls team captured fourth place.

The highlight of the day belonged to our high school boys team, which successfully defended its Clipper Invitational championship!

Congratulations to all of our Blue Devil runners on an outstanding showing!

As we proceed through the school year, we want to share an important reminder with families about items that students bring to school. Our purpose is not to cause alarm, but rather to help prevent an innocent mistake from becoming a serious situation for a student, family, and our school community.

Pennsylvania law takes the possession of weapons on school property very seriously. Under the Pennsylvania School Code, the definition of a weapon includes, but is not limited to, any knife, cutting instrument, cutting tool, nunchaku, firearm, shotgun, rifle, or other tool, instrument, or implement capable of inflicting serious bodily injury.

For families, the most important thing to remember is that the definition can include some items that a child may not necessarily think of as a “weapon.” For example, pocketknives, pen knives, small folding knives, multi-tools containing a blade, and similar items should never be brought to school.

Our District also takes seriously look-alike weapons—items that may appear to be a weapon even though they cannot actually cause the same harm. This can include toy guns, BB or airsoft guns, realistic replicas, water or squirt guns, and other items that resemble weapons. Even when brought to school as a toy, joke, or without any intent to frighten or harm someone, these items can create significant concern and must be addressed by school officials.

We Are Asking for Your Help

We especially encourage parents and guardians of our elementary-aged students to have a simple conversation with their children about what should and should not come to school.

Young children sometimes place things in backpacks or coat pockets without understanding the potential consequences. Likewise, an older student may use a backpack over the weekend and unknowingly leave a pocketknife or similar item inside before returning to school on Monday.

Please periodically check backpacks, lunch bags, coat pockets, and other items your child brings to school and remind your child that if they are ever unsure whether something is appropriate for school, the safest choice is to leave it at home and ask an adult.

A New Pennsylvania Notification Requirement

We also want families to be aware of a recent change in Pennsylvania law. Act 44 of 2025 added Section 1303.2-A to the Pennsylvania School Code, requiring schools to notify parents/guardians and school employees following qualifying incidents involving possession of a weapon on school property. Unless circumstances require otherwise, that notification is to occur within 24 hours of the incident.

Because our schools share a campus, Pennsylvania law may require notification across the shared campus when a qualifying incident occurs.

Families should also understand that our District will communicate when an incident involves a look-alike weapon prohibited by District policy, such as a toy or squirt gun, even when the item is not an actual firearm and there is no indication that students were in danger. As a result, receiving a weapons-related notification does not necessarily mean that an actual firearm or other dangerous weapon was discovered at school. We will provide appropriate information so families can understand the nature of the incident while also protecting student confidentiality.

We share this information not to worry families, but to avoid unnecessary concern when notifications are required and, more importantly, to prevent these situations from occurring in the first place.

A quick conversation at home and an occasional check of a backpack or coat pocket can make

a tremendous difference.

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We are always looking to hire substitutes in all job categories: teacher, custodian, cafeteria, maintenance, bus driver, paraprofessional, secretary.

If you are interested in employment with the Burgettstown Area School District, please check the employment section of our website at https://www.burgettstown.k12.pa.us/employment/employment-opportunities/overview-employment and/or contact Marci Campa at mcampa@burgettstown.k12.pa.us

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. In early September, we informed the management at Star Lake that our preferred date for this year's Commencement is June 4, 2027. 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.

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.

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.