Insight PA Middle School Newsletter

Dear Insight PA Bulldogs,

Thank you to everyone as we kicked off another great year here at the Middle School! With many new and exciting features incorporated into our daily routines, we appreciate your patience as we set our students up for a successful year.

As we head into our second month already, we have seen so many wonderful things happening in our classrooms! Each room we ‘walk’ into, we hear student conversations and questions that are impressive. Please continue to encourage your students to participate in all classes in a way they feel most comfortable: using chat, coming on the microphone, and being on camera. All are wonderful ways to show our new Be Statements!

We continue to welcome your feedback. Please reach out any time you have questions or concerns.

Your Leadership Team,

Principal - Allison Parry (alparry@insightpa.org)
Assistant Principal - Kelly Watts (kewatts@insightpa.org)

Remember that all live Class Connect sessions in your schedule are required for attendance! On Fridays, students are also expected to attend their Counselor Connection sessions with their school counselors. These sessions are also required for attendance!

If you need to report an absence, use our Insight PA Attendance Form.

Fall Break (October 6 - 9)

Insight PA will be CLOSED on Friday, October 6th and Monday, October 9th for Fall Break.

Fall Fun (IN-PERSON) Events

It's not too late to sign up for some of our Fall Fun Events! Visit this link for more information.

Friday, October 13th (2:00pm)

Smart Futures Assembly for students in 6th and 7th grade students - check your Class Connect schedule!

End of Quarter 1

Quarter 1 will end on Friday, November 3rd. All assignments for Quarter 1 will be due by midnight on Thursday, November 2nd!

Attention Learning Coaches - we need your input!

School schedules have a powerful impact on student achievement. In the Middle School, we are currently utilizing a 2-day a week core class block schedule, with 80-minute class periods twice a day Monday - Thursday. Please take a moment to complete our MS Schedule Feedback Form (linked below) to provide your feedback about the current schedule.

Beginning on Tuesday, October 10th, students in 6th - 8th grades will see "After School Support" sessions on their Class Connect schedules. These optional sessions will be held on Monday - Thursday from 4:00pm - 6:00p and are open to ALL Middle School students. Students are encouraged to drop in any time during these sessions and stay as long as needed.

Thank you to everyone who helped us decide on our PBIS “Be Statements" - Be Positive, Be Responsible, and Be Present!

Our students have already been doing a great job demonstrating these qualities by attending and participating in their live class sessions, completing their work, building relationships with their classmates and teachers, and more! Students, don’t forget - our Insight PA staff will be giving out Bulldog Bucks to those who demonstrate the qualities of our Be Statements all throughout the year. Students can use their Bulldog Bucks to purchase items in our Bulldog Boutique.

In addition to voting on our Be Statements, our school community sent us an incredible number of name suggestions for our Insight PA Bulldog. After going through all of the submissions, there were some clear favorites, which our team narrowed down to the winning name -

Barkley the Bulldog!

*We will be reaching out to everyone who suggested this name through email to help you order an item of your choice (up to $35) from our Insight PA school store.

Are you interested in Middle School Esports? Did you miss the information session? Visit this link to view a recording - Make sure you watch the entire video!

If you are interested in signing up for our Insight PA MS Esports Team and/or the Stride Video Game Club, complete the interest form linked below -

Insight PA MS Esports & Stride Video Game Club Interest Form

If you have any questions, please reach out to Coach Lesko (bleskovansky@insightpa.org) or Coach Shea (lshea@insightpa.org). Keep an eye on your email - we will be sending out emails with more information to those who complete the interest form!

*Please note, that depending on the amount of interest, we may have to limit the size of our MS Esports team for certain game titles. If this is the case, the coaches will hold tryouts to determine the main rosters. Everyone who is interested will still have the opportunity to join the Stride Video Game Club, as there is no limit to the number of students who can join the club.

Join us the week of October 16th for our K-12 School Spirit Week! Check out the themes for each day below and start planning your outfits!

Monday, October 16th - Be You-nique - Wear your favorite color or outfit!

Tuesday, October 17th - Hat Day - Wear your favorite hat!

Wednesday, October 18th - Unity Day - Wear orange in support of Bullying Prevention Month.

Thursday, October 19th - PJ Day - Wear your pajamas!

Friday, October 20th - Bulldog Pride - Wear your Insight PA gear or blue/white colors!

Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month?

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 Counselor Connection sessions.

October Learning Coach Cafe - October 17th

Join us at 12:30 pm on Tuesday, October 17th to learn more about bullying prevention during this month's Learning Coach Cafe, presented by Insight PA Student Resource Specialist Brett Witmer. Use this Zoom link to join the session.

Unity Day - October 18th 🧡

We invite you to join us in wearing orange on Wednesday, October 18th in honor of Unity Day. We wear orange to visibly show that we believe no child should ever experience bullying.

MS Counseling Website

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)