High School Students and Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you well as we transition into the fall season. I want to express my gratitude for your continued support and involvement in our school community.

To stay informed about the latest news, events, and important announcements, be sure to follow us on our social media channels and regularly visit our school website. Your involvement and engagement in our school community is vital to our students’ success, and we appreciate your unwavering commitment to making Insight PA High School a place of learning and growth. Together, we will continue to achieve great things.

Thank you for being a part of our school family. I look forward to a fantastic month ahead!

Mrs. Megan Miller

High School Principal

memiller@insightpa.org

Please note the following important dates this month:

Thursday, October 3rd - Asynchronous Day (No Live Instruction)

Fall Break (October 11 - 14)

Insight PA will be CLOSED on Friday, October 11th and Monday, October 14th for Fall Break.

End of Quarter 1

Quarter 1 will end on Thursday, October 31st. All assignments for Quarter 1 are due by midnight this evening!

Congratulations to our first High School Student of the Week for the 2024-2025 school year!

Nominated by Mrs. Barrett

“Elijah is such an asset to live sessions! His confidence to jump on the camera and mic set a great example for his peers. Elijah is positive, respectful, and he sets the tone for a successful class!”

This year, we ware hosting our first-ever overnight school trip to Washington, DC from Sunday, May 4 - Tuesday, May 6, 2025!

This trip is open to all Insight PA High School (9th - 12th grade) students and will include transportation to/from Washington, DC, overnight accommodations, most meals, and a variety of exciting attractions in our nation's capitol! Mrs. Kristin Seidel (Community Engagement Coordinator) and Mrs. Melissa White (HS History Teacher) will be joining the students on the trip, along with additional Insight PA staff (including a school nurse).

We have put together a newsletter with more information and will be hosting four virtual information sessions throughout the month. Please use the links below to learn more and sign up for the information session that works best for your family.

*Please note that this trip is for students only - we are not able to include parents/guardians or other family members on this trip.

• Thursday, October 3rd - 7:00pm (Zoom Link)
  
• Friday, October 4th - 12:30pm (Zoom Link)
  

• Thursday, October 17th - 7:00pm (Zoom Link)
  

• Friday, October 18th - 12:00pm (Zoom Link)

We will be holding our annual HS Career Fair on Friday, November 15th and are looking for volunteers to host sessions for our students. If you are interested in helping us with this great event by sharing more about your field of work, please use the button link below to complete our sign-up form.

*Students - more information will be shared with you about Career Day soon!

Our Insight PA Transition Team is joining together with ten other PA cyber charter schools this year to present the First Annual Virtual Fall Transition Fair on Friday, October 25th!

This event is open to all transition-aged students (14+) with disabilities and their families and will take the place of students' regularly scheduled Transition Seminar classes. The event will begin at 9:30am and end at 11:45am.

More information will be shared with students and families soon!

At Insight PA, we are deeply committed to providing our students with a safe learning environment where they feel supported, included, accepted, and valued. Throughout the month, our team of school counselors will be sharing information and resources with our students in their Seminar sessions.

We invite you to join us in wearing orange on Wednesday, October 16th in honor of Unity Day. We wear orange to visibly show that we believe no child should ever experience bullying.

We invite all students to create a poster that shows what YOU can do to prevent bullying and to promote kindness and respect. Posters can be completed physically (on paper) or digitally. They may include student first names, last initials, and grade levels. Please to NOT include full last names, student ID numbers, addresses, or any other identifying information on your posters!

One winning poster will be selected in each of the following groups:

• Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
• 3rd - 5th Grade
• 6th - 8th Grade
• 9th - 12th Grade

Winners will receive an item of their choice (up to $35) from our Insight PA School Store. Click the link below to submit your poster by 4:00pm on Thursday, October 24th!

In our continued efforts to reach more of our families and provide you with a voice in our school community, we will be offering a series of monthly Community Town Halls this year. These events are open to all Insight PA parents, guardians, and students.

October Community Town Hall

Date - Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Time - 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Location - Zoom

This month's topics will include:

• Board of Trustees introduction
• School goals for 2024-2025
• Stride/K12 updates
• Online platform reminders & tips (Schoology, Class, ParentSquare, etc.)
• And more!

*A finalized agenda and Zoom meeting link will be shared in our next school wide newsletter.

Please join us for the following parent/guardian education sessions during the month of October:

Attendance Strategies and Barriers

Tuesday, October 1st from 12:00PM - 12:30PM

Presenter - Kayann Chisholm-McLeish, Student Attendance Specialist

Zoom Link - https://insightpaschool.zoom.us/j/4080572556

Self Care and Stress Management for Parents

Tuesday, October 1st from 12:30PM - 1:00PM

Presenter - Crystal McClure, Student Resource Specialist

Zoom Link - https://insightpaschool.zoom.us/j/4080572556

Special Education 101

Tuesday, October 8th from 12:30PM - 1:00PM

Presenters - Special Education Supervisors

Zoom Link - https://insightpaschool.zoom.us/j/4080572556

Class & ParentSquare

Tuesday, October 15th from 12:00PM - 12:30PM

Presenters - Shirena Outlaw & Brittani Ferris, LEAP Specialists

Zoom Link - https://insightpaschool.zoom.us/j/4080572556

Bullying Prevention

Tuesday, October 15th from 12:30PM - 1:00PM

Presenter - Brett Witmer, Student Resource Specialist

Zoom Link - https://insightpaschool.zoom.us/j/4080572556

Bender Leadership Academy & Project Search for Life Skills

Tuesday, October 22nd from 12:30PM - 1:00PM

Presenters - Bonnie Rubin and Liza Widdop (Bender Leadership Academy)

Zoom Link - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82588546940

Our HS students are assigned a counselor based on the first letters of their last name. Not sure who your counselor is? Check the list below!

• Dr. Klepfer (Last names A - Bi)
• Ms. Steiner (Last names Bl - Ce)
• Mrs. Lanzendorfer (Last names Cli - En)
• Mr. Blackstone (Last names Es - Haq)
• Ms. Cloud (Last names Har - Joh)
• Mrs. deTurck (Last names Jon - Lu)
• Ms. Babu (Last names Ly - Mun)
• Ms. Clark (Last names Mur - Ram)
• Mrs. Orbin (Last names Ran - Sap)
• Ms. Christ (Last names Sar - Tar)
• Ms. Benvenuti (Last names Tas - Wilk)
• Mrs. Tate (Last names Will - Z)