Insight PA Middle School Newsletter

Dear Insight PA Bulldogs,

It is hard to believe, but we have already reached the end of the first quarter. Thank you for your patience, grace, and flexibility as we navigated the beginning of this school year! Our first two months together have been a time to celebrate our successes and make great connections with our students and staff. Go Bulldogs!

Quarter 1 has wrapped up and teachers are working to finalize grades. Please reach out to your student’s teachers if you have questions or concerns once you receive the report card in a few weeks.

We are grateful to all our families for their support and encouragement. We look forward to continuing our work to know and grow our students. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Your Leadership Team,

Allison Parry, Principal (alparry@insightpaschool.org)
Allison Dracha, Assistant Principal (aldracha@insightpaschool.org)

Kelly Watts, Assistant Principal (kewatts@insightpaschool.org)

Please note the following important dates this month:

• Friday, 11/01 - Asynchronous Day (No live instruction!)
  
  
• Tuesday, 11/05 - Election Day (School Closed)
  
  
• Tuesday, 11/19 - Community Town Hall
  
  
• Wednesday, 11/27 - Asynchronous Half Day for Students & Staff
  
  
• Thursday, 11/28 - Monday, 12/02 - Thanksgiving Break (School Closed)

Congratulations to our October Middle School Students of the Week!

Nominated by Mrs. Morrison

“Cameron is constantly engaged, positive, enthusiastic, and a positive asset to class! He uses his camera, reads on the mic, shares his work with the class, and supports his peers. Recently, he was excited to work as a team with his classmates in a breakout room!”

Nominated by Mrs. Frentzen

“Zoey demonstrates positive behavior and is a role model to her ELA classmates. She actively participates in live class sessions via camera and the chat box. Zoey also uses the microphone to stay engaged with her teacher and peers. Way to go, Zoey!”

Nominated by Ms. Olbryk

"Cody arrives to class every day on time, on camera, and ready to learn! He stays on task, completes all work, and participates on the mic and chat throughout class sessions. Cody also completes practice work outside of class! Insight PA is proud of you, Cody!"

Nominated by Mrs. Ridder

“Sawyer attended one of the Back to School Picnics with his family. He was so kind and friendly to all of the students in attendance, helping others continuously during the event. He showed incredible leadership skills while helping arrange a kickball game and was patient with the younger children. Sawyer was an overall great sport during the entire event and Insight PA is lucky to have him!

Starting this year, all report cards will be delivered through ParentSquare. In order to view your student's report card, you must activate your ParentSquare account.

Please refer to the video below for directions on how to view your student's report card in ParentSquare. If you have not activated your ParentSquare account yet, please search your email inbox for the subject line, "Action Required: Activate Your ParentSquare Account for Insight PA". (If you need additional help activating your ParentSquare account, please watch this video.)

Report cards will be delivered through email starting on Friday, November 15th.

Don't Forget!

We are offering additional support to students after school, Monday - Thursday, from 4:00pm - 6:00pm. These optional sessions are open to all students. Check your schedule in Schoology - students can drop in and stay for as long as needed!

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, December 3rd. These conferences will be held over Zoom, but our teachers are happy to accommodate a phone conference as well. More information will be coming from your student's teachers - keep an eye on your email for your chance to sign up for a conference!

*All parents/guardians who join us for our Town Hall Meetings will be entered into a drawing for an item of your choice (up to $25) from our Insight PA School Store!

Our next Community Town Hall will take place on Tuesday, November 19th! Insight PA parents and guardians are invited to join us for an informative session, during which you will have the opportunity to ask questions and/or share your feedback with members of our Insight PA staff. This month's topics will include:

• Monitoring Your Student's Progress - Learn how to check your student's grades and follow their progress in their classes.
• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) - learn more about all the different types of support we offer to our students, based on their individualized needs.
• State Testing - Learn more about what we're doing to make in-person state testing more accessible.

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

November Community Town Hall

Date - Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Time - 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Location - Zoom

View a recording below, or on our YouTube channel!

Our team of Strong Start Advisors has made recordings of their Orientation presentations from the beginning of the school year. These videos contain lots of helpful information for our families and we encourage you to review them and bookmark them.

Please use the links below to view these videos, or visit the Orientation page on our website.

• MS Orientation, Day 1
• MS Orientation, Day 2
• MS Orientation, Day 3

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

Navigating the Evaluation Report

Tuesday, November 12th from 12:30PM - 1:00PM

Presenter - TBD

Zoom Link - An email invite will be sent to Special Ed families.

Attendance Strategies and Barriers

Tuesday, November 19th from 12:00PM - 12:30PM

Presenter - Kelly Green, Student Attendance Specialist

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

Military Family Appreciation Month

Tuesday, November 19th from 12:30PM - 1:00PM

Presenter - Courtney Wade, Student Resource Specialist

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

The middle school counseling team has been actively engaging with our students this year through Counselor Connection, aiming to cultivate essential success skills that will support them throughout their middle school experience and beyond. These skills emphasize five key areas: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Students are discovering which skills are vital for success in each domain and the advantages of mastering these necessary life skills. Within Counselor Connection, each student has established a goal for this semester in one of the five areas and selected a specific skill to concentrate on. We will be checking in with them regularly as they progress on their journey toward skill mastery!

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

• Ms. McGourney (Last names A - E)
• Mrs. Snyder (Last names F - L)
• Ms. Foster (Last names M - R)
• Mrs. Schleifer (Last names S - Z)