Principals Chronicles

Dear Families and Community Members:

Indiana Area School District is celebrating Unity Week as part of National Bullying Prevention Month. Students have been learning about being kind, helping others and how to stand up to bullying when they see it. We are continuing to wear our We are Better Together red T-shirts each week to show our school pride and unity.

As we move into the Autumn season our classrooms are learning about the Middle Ages, Indigenous Peoples, Bedtime Tales, Animals and other interesting topics.

Here are some highlights from this Newsletter:

• Students' of the Month
• Upcoming Events
• PTA Updates
• Safety Drill Information
• First Energy Assemblies

Thank you for your continued support for our schools!

Erin Eisenman, Eisenhower Principal

Kelly Urbani, Ben Franklin Principal

A big thank you to First Energy for the informative assembly on saving engery and the free energy-saving kits our students received. The assembly held at each school on October 21, 2022 provided information on how we can save energy.

Dear Families:

I previously wrote to you earlier this month explaining the District’s intention to conduct threat preparedness assemblies/training. As a follow up, the District has planned a series of rally point drills. In mid to late October, the District will conduct rally point drills led by the District’s Safety and Security Consultant, Mr. Robert Fatula and IASD Safety and Security Coordinator, Mr. Mike Travis.

The purpose of these drills is to make our students aware of the appropriate response in the time of an emergency. This includes responding to an “Active Shooter” scenario. Please make note that no gunshots/blanks will be fired during these drills at any time. We will be practicing our ability to move to a rally point.

As you are aware, the District has taken a variety of steps to increase our preparedness and awareness regarding these types of unfortunate events. The goals of the training drill are to improve our ability to protect students, save lives, and reduce injuries. As part of the District’s plan, I feel it is necessary to conduct these school-wide drills to help staff and students understand the topic as well as be prepared to the best of our ability in the case of an active shooter scenario.

In closing, we are committed to doing everything it takes to keep our students safe. Please be advised that students will be dismissed at the regular time on the day of their building-level training. These drills are a part of our overall safety plan. If you do not want your child to participate in the rally point drills, please contact your child’s school to request that they be removed from the drill. Each school will have a location for those students who wish not to be a part of the day’s conversation.

All the best,

Mr. Michael J. Vuckovich

Superintendent of Schools

5th Grade Bennett H. and Mackenzie P.

4th Grade Libby S. and Navarr M.

PreK - Madyson Rizer (absent)

Kindergarten - Grace Peter (absent)

1st Grade - Landon Wetzel

2nd Grade - Joshua Ankunda

3rd Grade - Gabby Jones

Social Emotional Learning Worldwide (SEL-W) Senior Advisor Dr. Mark Greenberg and CEO Dorothy Morelli have announced that Ben Franklin Elementary School in the Indiana Area School District has achieved model school status for its implementation of our TIER 1 social-emotional program - PATHS. PATHS stands for “Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies” and is an intervention that aims to improve young children’s social and emotional competence, promote self-control, and reduce problem behaviors.

The process through which young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve goals is a vital part of preparing students to be college and/or career ready.

According to Ms. Morelli: “The (Ben Franklin) school community members were able to incorporate SEL in order to benefit both educator and student outcomes. Benchmarks were completed by the school under the leadership of the Indiana Area School District Board of Directors and administration. The Indiana, PA school district has become a leader in the implementation of addressing the needs of the whole child. Congratulations to all!”

Ben Franklin Elementary School hosted a celebration of this on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 for students, staff, and invited guests. Twiggle the Turtle and Pete the Cat even showed up for the "SHELL"-ebration!! A wonderful time was had by all!

October 24

Audit and Finance Committee Meeting 5:30 pm

IASD Special School Board Meeting 7:00 pm

September 28

Eisenhower 5th Grade Field Trip to Fort Ligonier

End of the First Quarter

November 3

Eisenhower APTT Parent Night 6:00-8:00 pm

November 4

No School for Students (IASD In-Service Day)

November 7

Academic and Extra-Curricular Committee Meeting 5:30 pm

November 8

Report Cards Go Home

November 9

Eisenhower Picture Make-Up Day

November 11

Veteran's Day - No School

November 14

Policy & Personnel Committee Meeting 5:30 pm

IASD School Board Meeting 7:00 pm

November 16

IUP Women's Basketball Game (All Eisenhower Students are attending)

November 18

Author Assembly 1:20 pm Eisenhower

*To attend Committee or Board Meetings virtually or in-person,

please visit www.iasd.cc for more information!

*To attend Committee or Board Meetings virtually or in-person,

please visit www.iasd.cc for more information!

BF/IKE PTA night at Chipotle 4-8 pm on November 1st

--Pie Shoppe orders delivered on November 9th (picKup at BF front loop)

-BF Fall Party: November 18th from 2:30-3:30 pm

-IKE Fall Party: November 22nd from 1:20-2:05pm

-BF Holiday Penguin Patch ( will happen during specials) at BF in mid Dec. Dates to come.

-IKE Holiday Penguin Patch ( will happen at the Junior High -all students on one day). Dates to come.

We know life can be full of changes. If your contact information should change, be sure to be proactive and take steps to stay in the loop! We would like to offer the following reminders:

You can always update your contact information in the parent portal, which will allow you to continue to receive notifications (if you are signed up for them) specific to your child(ren).

For the BrightArrow mass notification system, you must contact the school to change your contact information. You may add an additional email address or phone number from the BrightArrow section of the parent portal, but you can not change existing information from there. You must contact the school.

We take communication with our families and stakeholders very seriously. We hope you are enjoying our monthly e-newsletters which are packed with valuable and interesting information. The calendar and “upcoming events” section on the district website are another great resource to see what events and meetings are taking place around the district. You can even subscribe and import events directly into your personal calendar!

Stay connected! We are all in this together!

Website: www.iasd.cc
Location: 95 Ben Franklin Road South, Indiana, PA, USA
Phone: 724.465.5637
Facebook: Facebook.com/indianaareaschooldistrict
Twitter: @IndianaAreaSD

Website: www.iasd.cc
Location: 245 South 5th Street, Indiana, PA, USA
Phone: 724.463.8568
Facebook: Facebook.com/indianaareaschooldistrict
Twitter: @IndianaAreaSD