Bellefonte Area School District

This past week has been National School Counselor week and we have the best school counselors around! These individuals work tirelessly each day to help support our students with their school endeavours and lives outside of the school day. Thank you for being a part of our district!

The Bellefonte Area School District is hosting another round of Walk-in Interviews! If you are interested in being hired as a Custodian, Cafeteria Worker, or Paraeducator - we want you! Please share with others who could also be interested! No experience is needed. Will help with job application and will train.

Walk-in interviews will be held at the Central Office building located at 318 N. Allegheny Street in Bellefonte. This month's Interview Day is on Wednesday, February 11th between 9AM-3PM.

Stella is our district’s Director of Security and Safety’s black labrador. She is a staple around the district and many students and staff are very fond of her. Last week, she celebrated a birthday and students at Pleasant Gap Elementary made her a card! The illustration on the front is excellent!

Bellefonte e-Learning Academy junior, Ryan Lombardo, is an avid hockey player. He is a goaltender for the 16U AAA Pittsburgh Predators team. Recently, the Johnstown Tomahawks team picked up Lombardo as an emergency player for the North American Hockey League. This past week, the Tomahawks’ starting goalie and second string goalie were hurt and suspended from the game, so Lombardo was thrown in to play! His team didn’t win but his coach was very impressed with his goaltending skills. He may have to continue playing on both teams until the suspension is lifted for the 2nd string goalie. Great opportunities for lots of ice time for the BeLA junior, Ryan Lombardo!

*Photo provided by the Johnstown Tribune Democrat

Last week, the Co-Ed Unified Bocce team competed against Bald Eagle Area. The scores were: Game 1: Bellefonte 8- BEA 6; Game 2: Bellefonte 3 - BEA 7; Gold Frame: Bellefonte 1 - BEA 0. The team also got to celebrate their sole senior, Mr. Evan Guebara!

In Mrs. Bucha’s 8th grade classes, students were given the opportunity in December to celebrate the season by creating Historical Holiday Sweaters! This project allowed them to blend their knowledge of historical figures with a bit of festive creativity! The students really enjoyed creating these for class.

Get ready to rock and roll with BAMS Drama Club as they present Grease: School Version later this month!

Set in the 1950s, this high-energy musical follows Sandy, Danny, and the Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys as they navigate friendships, romance, and the ups and downs of high school, all set to an unforgettable score. This School Version includes modified lyrics and content, making it family-friendly and rated G, so audiences of all ages can enjoy the fun, humor, and classic songs that have made Grease a favorite for generations!

Show dates are Thursday, February 26, Friday, February 27, and Saturday, February 28 at 7:00PM and Sunday, March 1 at 2:00PM.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at the link below! Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students/children and are reserved seating. We do not plan to sell tickets at the door.
https://cur8.com/23428/project/134972

We expect tickets to go fast, so don't delay to reserve your seats for this production!

The 7th grade students in Ms. Szymkiewi’s classes completed a Traits and Reproduction Unit. The students learned about DNA and how it influences the proteins our bodies make and the traits that each of us have. The curriculum is focused on Darwin’s Bark Spiders. The students looked at simulations where they saw how different gene versions led to different shaped proteins in the spider's cells. The students also did a lab where they extracted DNA from strawberries. The students had a great time!

Please enjoy the Friday Coffee Break newsletter for January 30. A large feature is BAMS this week! Our Class of 2026 spotlight is Alexis Knudsen. Have a great weekend!

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members proudly represented BAHS at the Regional Leadership Conference held at South Hills School of Business & Technology on Jan. 9—and they delivered amazing results!

-20 total competitors
-11 Objective Test takers
-5 Performance Event participants
-4 State-Only event participants
-11 FBLA members qualified to advance to the State Leadership Conference, which will be held April 13–15 in Hershey, PA

We are so proud of our members’ hard work, professionalism, and dedication. Next stop: States!
#PAFBLA #FBLA #RLC #FutureBusinessLeaders #RoadToStates

BASD is committed to supporting the well-being of our students and believes supporting mental health is an important part of overall student health. BASD has partnered with Cartwheel to provide teletherapy, family check-ins & guidance, and psychiatric care—all with licensed clinicians and no waitlists.

Cartwheel website: https://www.cartwheel.org/families

If you would like to learn more or request a referral for Cartwheel, contact your child's School Counselor, or our district's School Social Workers: Maria McClatchey (mmcclatchey@basd.net) & Jessica Irwin (jirwin@basd.net).

You can also fill out the Family Interest Form, and your request for care will be reviewed by a point of contact in our district: https://app.cartwheel.org/referrals/wizard/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IklqSTBNemhrTlRKbExUZGlaVEF0TkRZNFpDMWlZbUk0TFRVMll6TTFOV00zWXpKaU5TST0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6Im9yZ2FuaXphdGlvbi9yZWZlcnJhbC1mb3JtIn19--1b2883e90486556e42276d3a93da2f37ec981c08373e167e66a7dea4c901515d?source=family&step=referrer

This Cartwheel article is a great resource to determine when and how to seek mental health support for your child: https://www.cartwheel.org/resource/when-and-how-to-seek-mental-health-support-for-your-child

Check out Dr. Rakszawski's January Newsletter to Parents and Guardians:
https://app.smore.com/n/8hdmsy

BASD is hiring! We are looking for coaches, support staff, and substitutes!

A few highlighted positions include:
- Band Silks Coach
- Special Education Paraeducator
- Cafeteria Workers
- 2nd Shift Custodian

Please visit the Employment page for more available positions!
https://www.applitrack.com/basd/onlineapp/default.aspx?all=1

Starting next month, the District will begin the process of creating a Portrait Of A Graduate document to explore the following questions:
1. What are the hopes, dreams, and aspirations that our community has for our graduates?
2. What are the skills and mindsets that our students need for success in this rapidly changing and complex world?
3. What are the implications for the design of the learning experiences we provide in our schools?

To make this a truly collaborative process, we invite all staff, students, and parents to participate in an engagement meeting on Thursday, February 19th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at BAHS. If you are interested in attending, please click on the link to fill out the short form by this coming Sunday - February 1st:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhJI0SpeH1BZyq43NLf8j-dxYRr0EYzB-SyO3vDX_OvnfjGA/viewform?fbclid=IwY2xjawPm7wdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF4MHZMMGtXRjFNUmhMMEtEc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhlUhaeu1WUs6Wg1o9KHp3eIzrWDL-fjZGhdm0ypekO01m3joHima8zhg5EO_aem_BDONWY8HYReB9IPalYW-mA

Bellefonte's Co-ed Unified Bocce team has a match against BEA tomorrow (Wednesday) - January 28th at 4:00PM! The match will be played at the BAHS gym, and it is also their Senior Celebration! We hope to see you come out and support these student-athletes!

The Bellefonte Area School District would like to give a huge thank you to the Buildings and Grounds crew for working overtime to get our schools ready to open today!

The Bellefonte Area School District will be operating on a 2 Hour Delay for Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Please be careful out in the weather.

Due to inclement weather, all BASD schools and district offices will be closed tomorrow, Monday, January 26th. Stay warm and stay safe.

Happy Friday!

Please enjoy the Friday Coffee Break newsletter for January 23. Barbara Choma of Bellefonte Elementary is our staff spotlight and Grace Novosel is our Class of 2026 member highlight.

Have a great weekend, everyone! ❄️