District News

Butler Area School District is excited to welcome Dr. Laura Miller as the new Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development. Dr. Miller will engage in some activities with the district throughout the remainder of this school year and officially begin her new role full time over the summer.

Congratulations to Butler Senior High School's trivia team -- David Krainbucher, Max Channells, and Ava Brewster!  The team earned second place in round two of KD Quiz, missing first by only 5 points! 

The show will air on May 11 at 11 am and again on May 18 at 11:30 am.  

We are so proud of this team!  

Remake Learning Days area joyful celebration of hands-on learning events across Northwestern Pennsylvania. Between May 2-22, parents and caregivers are invited to learn alongside their children as they create art, build robots, explore the outdoors, conduct science experiments and more. Click for more information about Remake Learning Days - Northwestern PA. 

Fourth grade students at Northwest Elementary School recently had the opportunity to visit the Zelienople Municipal Airport where they got a fantastic lesson in flying! This opportunity was part of the school's Wonders of Work program, which aims to expose students to various careers and help them learn their aspirations and interests by discovering careers and fields of study that are likely to inspire them. 

Thank you to Private Jet Center pilots Alec Beyer, Hannah Moses and Brandon Wood for hosting Northwest students. 

Read more in the Cranberry Eagle. 

Butler Area School District hosted a Unified Track meet in April. The participating schools included Fox Chapel School District and Armstrong School District.

Fox Chapel won the meet with Butler coming in second place. All of the student athletes did a great job. Congratulations to all participants! 

Senior Kylee Bernhard and junior Zach Slear presented their service project for Extreme Leadership, High School Head Start, to the Superintendents' Council at MIU 4 on April 10.

Congratulations to senior AP Latin student, David Krainbucher, who has been awarded a certificate of honorable merit "magna cum laude" from the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League for his outstanding performance on the Advanced Prose National Latin Examination. 

Summit Elementary School fourth grade students in Mrs. Reges' and Mrs. Eyth's room were tasked with a project based on their social studies curriculum.

Members of Mrs. Erevia’s sixth grade chorus recently participated in the PMEA District 5 Elementary Chorus Fest at Grove City High School!

These 19 student musicians rehearsed throughout the day and performed an evening concert under the direction of renowned composer/conductor Victor C. Johnson. The chorus was comprised of 125 sixth grade students from schools in Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer counties.

Congratulations to the sixth graders on a fantastic concert!

We are very excited to share that Butler Area School District has been awarded a $1,382,353 grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Education! At the April 8th school board meeting, I shared with the BASD Board of School Directors that these funds are through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which was signed into law on June 25, 2022. Through this legislation, Congress authorized $1 billion in funding to provide students with safer and healthier learning environments.  

Senior High School Students in English 11 met with business professionals from the region to discuss their Career Action Plans and practice formal job interview skills.

Save the date for the High School Chorus Concert on May 1 at 7:00 pm in the IHS Auditorium!

Broad Street Elementary School just got their new Everlast Traverse Climbing Wall! Scholars were very excited to give the climbing wall a try. 

This purchase was made possible thanks to The Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation Inc.’s Creative Teaching Grant. Thanks to support from this annual grant opportunity, all of our elementary schools are now equipped with a traverse climbing wall. 

Thank you to The Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, Inc. for their support!

Rylee Colteryahn (Viola), Angelena Neff (Voice), Jonah Mechling (Future Educator Symposium), Mara Szurek (Voice), James Thomas (French Horn), and Ty Young (Percussion), have reached the highest level a high school musician can achieve by earning a place in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) All-State Festival music ensembles. 

The Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, Inc.'s 21st annual Fine Arts & Beyond (FAB) Showcase was a great success. The student artwork was incredible and the student musical performances were outstanding. Thank you to everyone who helped make the event a success!

Northwest Elementary School's Best Buddies partnered with Legacy Fitness to get active and to remind us how important physical activity and teamwork is. Hungry, Hungry Hippo was a great team building activity! 

View more photos. 

The Butler County Early Care & Education Councils’ upcoming free event, entitled ‘Spring into School Readiness” will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at the Clearview Mall. 

Representatives from Butler Area School District will be at the event, which also includes a great lineup of activities from 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. There will be live programs, community organizations with learning activities, free books, prizes, snacks and more.

Fifth grade students in Mrs. Kamenski's WIN group at Center Township Elementary School have been working hard the last few weeks to create their very own films!

Thanks to the generous support of a grant from The Grable Foundation, Center Township partnered with Wonder Media Group to create an exciting learning opportunity for students.

Ms. Heilman-Houser and Mrs. Sneddon’s second grade classes at Summit Elementary School made natural dyes from food to dye Easter eggs!

The students used the demonstration kitchen to create dyes from cabbage, beets, blueberries, onion skins, and turmeric. Then they dyed eggs that they got to take home for Easter. While waiting for the dyes to boil, the students worked in groups to create posters about one of the dyes. Then they will share their posters, which include information about the food, observations, the recipe, and pictures. 

Butler Area School District hosted the 2024 PMEA Western Region Orchestra in March. This event included 163 students across 55 different school districts over three days with the culminating performance on Saturday, March 23. The concert was spectacular, with students performing professional arrangements for a full symphony including Appalachian Spring, Pines of Rome, and more. 

Mrs. Mary Caton, a counselor at the Senior High School, recently visited Mrs. Maloy’s kindergarten classroom at Center Township Elementary School where she taught our youngest learners about playing the violin.

Broad Street Elementary School held a "March Madness Attendance Challenge" for the entirety of the month where homerooms went head-to-head for the best attendance record.

Students in Mrs. Michelini‘s first grade class at Summit Elementary School recently completed a project-based learning experience involving creating an ice cream shop!

Students in grades 5-8 competed in the first ever Center Avenue Middle School History Bowl! The event was hosted by Officer Swartzlander who prepared ten rounds of questions for the students. Elementary students attended the history bowl to cheer on their peers!

It was a close competition, but in the end Mrs. Kaylor's class came in first place, Miss Pernazza's class in second place and Mrs. Dunton's class came in third.

McQuistion Elementary School was transformed into Seussville during this year’s annual Read-a-Thon. The Cat in Hat made a special adventure to invite students to tally up all their minutes of reading over a two week period wrapping up with Read Across America Week. 

In Mrs. Takacs' 5th grade classes at Center Township Elementary, the French and Indian War is over and the British have been triumphant! However, King George and the Parliament have unjustly forced taxes and tyranny upon the American colonies to pay for the war. The colonists are angry about being taxed unfairly without representation! Protests and thoughts of independence have begun!

View more photos from this lesson.

McQuistion Elementary students celebrated World Down Syndrome Day by tie dying socks and wearing blue and yellow.

Butler Area School District, in collaboration with Butler Township, present Safety Town at the Butler Township Park Building to introduce the importance and methods of safety to children entering kindergarten in the fall. 

Mr. Chad Meier, 2019 Butler graduate, recently visited the Senior High School to talk to students in the gifted program about his experiences at Butler, his college experiences at MIT (class of 2023) and his career as a mechanical engineer working at MSA Safety in Cranberry Township. 

Students listened to Mr. Meier's experiences and were able to ask questions. It's wonderful to see our Butler graduates doing great things and giving back to our current students!  

Local employers -- Join us for a Job and Career Fair on April 25, 2024 from 12-3 pm at Butler Senior High School. 

Participating organizations will each have a table in the gym where interested students can stop by to learn more. If you'd like to secure your spot, please email Suzanne Robinson at suzanne.robinson@basdk12.org to sign up.

Fourth grade students from Connoquenessing, Center Township, Emily Brittain, McQuistion, Northwest Elementary in the Gifted Learning Opportunities Program recently went to the Pittsburgh Zoo to participate in the Wild Investigations presentation and program. 

The day was full of learning, animals, and fun!  Students learned all about sea turtles and how to protect them and competed in a scavenger hunt around the zoo.

Senior High students in the gifted program compete in the PA Math League Competition each month. The scores for each month are totaled to earn a year-long score for the competition. This year's winners are David Krainbucher, Landin Schooley, William Fielder, and Gabby Snyder!

Classes in the Intermediate High School English Department recently partnered with classes from Connoquenessing Elementary School for Read Across America Week. 

Center Township Elementary School hosted a Leap Into Learning Family Event! Staff teamed up to feature activities for families to engage in together. 

Third grader students in Mrs. Leedecke’s class and Mrs. Slupe's class at Connoquenessing Elementary School recently read “The One and Only Ivan.”  

After finishing the book, the students researched about zoos and worked in groups to design their own zoo. They had to find the area and perimeter of each exhibit along with the total cost. Once the students completed their zoo projects, they enjoyed a special visit from a baby kangaroo, armadillo and a baby alligator!

Summit Elementary School students participated in a reading challenge as part of Read Across America week.

Together, the students challenged themselves to read a total of 20,000 minutes! As a reward for reaching their school-wide goal, students got to pie Mr. Broman, Summit Principal, in the face. The top readers in each class were awarded a certificate, and the top readers for each grade got to pie Mr. Broman.

Great job, Summit!

We are proud to host the PMEA Western Region Orchestra at Butler Intermediate High School March 21-23, 2024. More than 160 of the top orchestral musicians on this side of the state will be coming to Butler where they will put together a performance for Saturday under the direction of conductor Christopher Cicconi.

Connoquenessing Elementary School students, staff and family celebrated Read Across America Week with a Spring Showcase. Students read books and shared their projects with their parents and families. 

Congratulations to our BASD students who earned a spot in Region 1 Choir through a competitive audition process. The concert was outstanding! We're proud to have you representing our district!

Rainbow trout, catfish, compost with worms, and hydroponics were just a few of the things that amazed our kindergarten learners in Mrs. Karenbauer's class as they checked out the Environmental Center!

This little slice of nature indoors hosts a wealth of learning opportunities and experiences for our students. Our fifth grade leaders help maintain the Environmental Center by feeding the fish, checking temperatures in the tanks, and assisting with the hydroponics.

February was full of fun and friendships in the Intermediate High School's inclusion group. The students focused on why they love inclusion this month. 

One of our students, 7th grader Kendall Adams said, “I love our inclusion group because my friends make me laugh.” A

Another student, 7th grader Reeve Swanson said, “I love inclusion because I get to build friendships and help.”   

We love all of the positive interactions between students in the IHS inclusion group!

Gifted students from both the Senior High School and Intermediate High School recently participated in their grade level's Knowledge Master Open competition. 

The Knowledge Master Open is a computer-based worldwide competition where teams of students work together to earn points by answering questions quickly and accurately. The questions cover knowledge in fifteen different subject areas. 

Both the IHS and SHS groups came in first place in the world in their divisions! Congratulations to all! 

As part of Northwest Elementary School's Wonders of Work initiative, students are learning their aspirations and interests by discovering careers and fields of study that inspire them.

A few students recently shared the future career they would like to pursue. We can't wait to see what their future holds!

Butler GT Football has a lot of great updates to share with families, players, community members, alumni and sponsors. Read the latest in their newsletter! 

The football community would also like to connect with alumni. In 2024 they are planning an Alumni Night that would coincide with a home football game. If you are a GT Football alum, fill out the form to stay connected!

Northwest Elementary School students recently participated in a Winter Reading Challenge! Participating students were awarded hot chocolate and an indoor snowball fight!  

The top reader logged 2,955 minutes!

Butler graduate Josh Croup (2014) recently returned to the Senior High School to visit with Television Production II students. 

Mr. Croup discussed ways to properly cover breaking news stories, explained how the television news landscape is changing, and shared insight into what a 'typical' day in the business looks like. Basically, expect the unexpected, and be ready to adapt!

The Tornado Connection is the Intermediate High School's online newspaper for our school community. The articles are written by 7th and 8th grade students in Ms. Minch's "Tornado Connection" enrichment class. 

Click on the link below to read the Tornado Connection!

Tornado Connection -- Winter 2024

Tornado Connection Archives.

Broad Street Elementary School scholars brought coins to school during the month of February to show their love for helping animals. All of the coins were donated to help animals at Butler Humane Society. Broad Street raised $400!

Scholars celebrated their success on Leap Day with a morning frog hunt and an afternoon staff pie in the face event. Great work, Broad Street! 

Senior High School Photography & Graphic Design teacher, Ms. Britta Manges, has had her own photography work recognized. 

In September 2022, one of Ms. Manges' photos was accepted into an online photo exhibition by Tati Space Photography Center in Tirana, Albania titled "The Way We Live (In The Eye Of The Architect.)"

Bubble rainbows with people inside, audience members making volcano bubbles, gigantic bubbles that blow their own bubbles.... Those are just a few of the amazing bubble "tricks" Center Township students recently witnessed at their bubble assembly.

World-famous, Guinness Book of World Records-holding, master bubble wrangler Jeff Boyer took bubbles to the max with big bubble flair this week!

First responders recently visited McQuistion Elementary School to read to students and share about their career. The goal of the Reading with Responders event was to promote a love of literacy during the schoolwide Read-a-Thon.

A special thanks to the Butler County Children and Youth Services, Butler City PD, Butler Township PD, Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Adult and Juvenile Probation Office, Butler City FD, BTVFD3, and the Office of the Attorney General for taking the time to visit our school! 

As part of their monthly BOOST Buddies program, students at Emily Brittain Elementary School celebrated Kindness Week by partnering with Cummings Coffee to decorate coffee sleeves with messages of kindness! The goal was to spread a little happiness and cheer to customers and the community!

Congratulations to all of our performers in the 2024 Butler Orchestra POPS Concert “On the Screen”!

The Butler Music Department is proud to announce that five students earned the privilege of attending the PMEA Region Band Festival at Deer Lakes High School in February.

In addition, James Thomas will represent Butler at the PMEA All-State Festival in April. 

Congratulations to Colin Dorcy, Skylar Miller, Ty Young, Jonah Mechling and James Thomas. 

Save the date for Butler's Best Buddies 5th Annual Eggstravaganza!

Best Buddies Eggstravaganza
Saturday, March 23
Butler Senior High School

Visit the race page for more information and to register. You must be registered by March 3rd to be guaranteed a race shirt!

The Butler Senior High School's Unified Sports teams recently participated in the Pittsburgh Polar Plunge. The students raised a total of $3,695 for Special Olympics.

Great job, everyone!

Kidsburgh recently featured the great work Broad Street Elementary School scholars, staff and families are doing to ensure BSES is truly a community centered school.

Click to read the story. 

Kennywood tickets are already on sale for summer 2024! The early bird offer is available for BASD now through April 30th. 

View the flyer for additional information.

Butler students recently represented our district at the PMEA District 5 Jazz Festival, which was held at Slippery Rock University.

Students were placed in one of three jazz bands based on their auditions. Participants included Tyler Merten, Jonah Mechling, Drake Burke, Ty Young, Micah Bish, Skylar Miller, Colin Dorcy, Ryan Eckert, Cade Karns, and Halle Karns.

Congratulations to all!

Keystone Ridge generously donated new branded trash receptacles to the Senior High School. 

Juniors Owen Gaiser and Zachary Slear both work at Keystone Ridge and had the opportunity to contribute to the manufacturing of the trash receptacles. 

Thank you to Keystone Ridge for their generous donation. 

Broad Street Elementary School scholars recently engaged in their third annual Career Week.

This year the scholars were exposed to all of the categories of the career cluster through a partnership with Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School students, State Trooper Cazy, and the Whispering Winds and Therapeutic horse organization. 

Northwest Elementary School students in second grade won the attendance challenge at their school! Their reward was to slime Mr. Martinez, Northwest Elementary Principal.

Intermediate High School students and staff donated just under 1,000 individual items to The Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, Inc.'s Kids' Weekend Backpack Program. 

The Butler Area School District 2024-2025 Course Selection Guides are now available. 

Click to download the 2024-2025 Senior High School Course Selection Guide.

Click for Senior High scheduling resources. 

Click to download the 2024-2025 Intermediate High School Course Selection Guide.

Congratulations to our Senior High students representing Butler at PMEA District 2,3,5 Orchestra! 

Students rehearsed for the past 3 days under the direction of Dr. Jungho Kim to perform Soar composed by Todd Goodman, Hungarian Dances No. 5 & 6, Symphony No 2 Finale by Sibelius, and closed the concert with Academic Festival Overture. Great job to all of our performers on a fantastic concert! 

Butler gifted students recently had the opportunity to attend "Countdown Breakfast" sponsored by Mar's New Year and Mars Robotics Association. Students heard speakers talk about resiliency when presented with failure and how to work in supportive teams. They also had the opportunity to ask questions about their careers.

Northwest Elementary School first grade students spent time enjoying the sunshine and exploring shadows! This activity ties into their science unit on light and sound.

Butler Intermediate High School's inclusion group has been all smiles coming into the new year. Students worked with each other on crafts and enjoyed playing games.

We love seeing our students continue to learn, grow and build friendships! 

Mrs. Maloney's second grade class at Connoquenessing Elementary School recently had some fun learning about the states of matter.

The students created a dessert that included a solid, liquid, and gas -- a root beer float!  

Students from Butler Senior High School recently competed against other schools in the Presidents Trivia Academic Games competition at Slippery Rock University.  

About 100 juniors at Butler Area Senior High School spent a day brainstorming aspects of their own "dream school" at a Leadership retreat. After brainstorming about their dream school, the students worked together to come up with ten initiatives. As we move forward, our student leaders -- as well as other students -- will play a significant role in implementing our new student drive initiatives. 

Did you know you The Kids' Weekend Backpack Program has an Amazon wish list? Click here to check it out.

Thank you for your generosity and support!

Congratulations to the Butler Senior High School chorus students who were selected for PMEA District Chorus!

Congratulations to David Krainbucher, Max Channells, and Ava Brewster on winning their first round of KD Quiz sponsored by GBU Life. The show will air on February 3 at 11 am and again on February 10 at 11:30 am on KDKA.

Senior High School students recently competed in the Equations Academic Game. The game challenges students' mathematical skills.

Eli Prentice and Eli Snyder won undefeated titles! In addition, the team of Lauren Beggs, Katie Smith,
Hayleigh Gorog, Maura Mormak, and Liam Madden won second place!

Congratulations to all!

"In Tuesday’s Eagle, staff writer Eddie Trizzino told us about the Butler Area School District's board of directors and their regular community engagement sessions.

News items about education usually cover curriculum changes, construction projects, new hires, student discipline and the like.

But this story was different. This story was like a warm blanket."

Read more in the Butler Eagle. 

"A walk through the new wing of Butler Senior High School is a walk through the history of the school district, even though construction on the wing concluded just last year."

Read more in the Butler Eagle.

Mr. Erik Robbins' students in the Senior High School Video Club recently had the opportunity to visit Perspectrum, a video production company that is owned by Ryan McIntyre, who is a 2013 Butler graduate.

Forty-seven students from the Intermediate High School competed in the Presidents competition at Slippery Rock University on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Presidents players learned about and developed an understanding of the personalities, historical contexts, political decisions, and other events of the Presidents of the United States of America.  

Center Township teachers Ms. Armor, Mrs. Faulk, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Yeckel and Mr. Sloan challenged their WIN students to a “WIN”ter Warm-Up by reading over winter break in fun ways to complete a bingo and earn a hot chocolate at breakfast! If students completed two bingos, they received a coin for a book of their choice from the school's book vending machine!  

Butler Education Association (BEA) is organizing a Food Drive to support The Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation's Kids' Weekend Backpack Program. 

Bring a non-perishable item to school February 5th-9th or the Golden Tornado basketball game on Friday, February 9th. 

Second grade students at Summit Elementary School recently participated in farm to table activities.

Believe it or not, it is time to start thinking about kindergarten enrollment for the 2024–2025 school year. If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2024, it is time to contact your neighborhood school. If you know a kindergarten-aged child in your neighborhood, please share this information with their parents.

Visit our Kindergarten Registration page for more information.

Mrs. Potter's College Tech Prep (CTP) and honors classes recently delved into the world of college experiences and engineering careers with a special visit from Butler alum, Zach Potter. 

Just before winter break, McQuistion Elementary School students participated in singing, dancing and playing holiday songs for one another. Each grade practiced and performed a selected piece to entertain their peers and bring joy through the art of music! The students did an amazing job and led the school into a festive holiday season!

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a joyous and restful winter break. This letter is intended to provide an update on a variety of items that I believe will interest those in our learning community.

Students have the opportunity to gather after school to make art and foster friendships at the Conno Art Club!

The Conno Art Club, which is run by Mrs. Stefanacci, is open to any student who is interested. Now in it's second year, this club runs from December - May. 

The Center Avenue Community School Christmas Extravaganza was a huge success.

The students and staff celebrated with a pancake breakfast. Santa even visited the school to join in the fun.

Connoquenessing Elementary School students put on a fabulous show at their annual Holiday Sing-A-Long.

Band, orchestra and chorus students also put on a wonderful holiday show for their parents in December. 

The holidays came early to Emily Brittain!

View photos from the Grinch and Santa Breakfast events. 

Thirty-eight BASD elementary gifted students in grades 3-5 recently competed in the LinguiSHTIK competition at Slippery Rock University. 

The Rock Orchestra visited Center Township, Emily Brittain and Northwest Elementary Schools in December! The orchestra members performed hits by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They also discussed instruments and conducting with the elementary students. Elementary students also had the opportunity to try to play an instrument. 

View more photos. 

McQuistion Elementary School students in Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Deep and Ms. DeGreen's classes recently performed Christmas carols for the parents. Students passed out programs and introduced the songs throughout the performance.

The Intermediate High School recently had a Best Buddies BINGO party!

Thank you to Benko Orthodontics and Butler County Against Heroin for sponsoring their new purple shirts!

View photos of Best Buddies BINGO.

McQuistion Elementary School has had a fun, festive holiday season!

Students had the opportunity to focus on the giving spirit of the holidays, as well as practicing their budgeting and math skills at the Holiday Shop in December. The students' joy, thoughtfulness, and generosity for others makes the season bright!

Twenty gifted students in sixth grade participated in the LinguiSHTIK competition at Slippery Rock University in December.  

Students celebrated SOARing at Northwest with a school-wide tee shirt day. SOAR is Northwest's Positive Behavior Support Motto. Students are expected to be Safe, have Ownership of their behavior, Accept others, and be Respectful.

View more photos.

Thirty-six gifted students in grades 7-12 participated in the LinguiSHTIK competition at Slippery Rock University in December. LinguiSHTIK participants improve their sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary as they compose sentences meeting a number of rigorous demands. 

Mrs. Scheidt’s third grade scholars at Broad Street Elementary School built and labeled bridges after reading “Pop’s Bridge” and researching the Golden Gate Bridge. The scholars also explained how the characters changed throughout the text, driving the plot. 

At Summit Elementary School, Mrs. Sneddon and Ms. Heilman-Houser’s second grade classes tried spinach fruit smoothies as part of a lesson Mrs. Sneddon developed on leafy greens. Students learned about the health benefits of leafy greens and little ways we can add them into our diets. 

Several Butler students represented our district at the PMEA District 5 Honors Band Festival at Slippery Rock University in December.

Congratulations to Katie White, Maura Mormak, Ty Young, Skylar Miller, Emily Cornish, James Thomas, Alexa Geibel, Jonah Mechling, and Colin Dorcy!

Broad Street Elementary School scholars and parents danced the night away at their Holiday Dance. The evening festivities concluded with a special visit from Santa Claus!

View photos from the dance. 

Each year, Officer Jim creates a magnificent holiday display for the scholars of Broad Street Elementary School. Broad Street scholars and staff are especially enjoying the beauty of the candy cane lane Officer Jim created this year. 

We were excited to welcome Dr. Nicolas Bogs back to the Butler Senior High School! Dr. Bogs is the Visiting International Scholar at Robert Morris University. He is also a former exchange student at the Senior High.

As we prepare for the possibility of winter weather, please take a moment to review our winter weather plan. 

Kora Houtz is a second-grade student at McQuistion Elementary School who was born with a rare disease known as Cystinosis. 

Kora teamed up with Make-A-Wish, Caliente Pizza, and Steelers Defensive Tackle, Larry Ogunjobi, to create a unique pizza called the “Kora’s Strong Pizza”! Learn more. 

Watch the WPXI story. 

The cast and crew of Matilda, Jr. put on a wonderful show!

View photos of the performances! 

Connoquenessing Elementary School students love shopping and managing the Conno Corner Store!

The McQuistion Elementary School's PTO recently hosted the "Thank-Fall" Dance for students in kindergarten through second grade.

Center Avenue Community School students, staff and families had a wonderful celebration at their annual Thanksgiving luncheon. 

A special thank you to Diehl Automotive for generously sponsoring the luncheon. 

“Thank you, Diehl! You are a big deal to us!” -- Center Avenue Staff and Students

In November, students in the Public Speaking and Mock Trial enrichment course at Butler Intermediate High School held their trial competition.

Mrs. Calhoun's kindergarten class and Mrs. Gassert's 5th grade class at Connoquenessing Elementary School are buddy classrooms this year.

The students recently read the book, "Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade together." Then the students designed and created their own parade balloons. Once their balloon creations were complete, the students paraded them around the school. 

Boone, a Therapy Dog, recently visited Mrs. Tack-Henne's second grade classroom at Center Township Elementary School.

Boone's owner, Tanya Diable brought him to the school to read the book she wrote about him. In addition, the kids had the opportunity to ask questions about Boone and how he gets around with and without his wheels! At the end of the visit, the students presented Boone with cards they created as part of a writing/art assignment. 

State Representative, Marci Mustello, visited the 4th grade classrooms of Mrs. Reges and Mrs. Eyth. 

Rep. Mustello enriched their social studies curriculum topic of PA government by discussing her job as Butler County's State Representative and numerous facts about the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Rep. Mustello also brought numerous resources for our classrooms to utilize throughout the school year. 

Center Township Elementary School students, families and staff recently donated nearly 1,000 boxes of cereal to the Kids' Weekend Backpack Program! Before the donation was sent to the KWBP, Center Township PTO members and volunteers set up a giant domino display for the students to watch! 

Butler Area School District is among the 56 schools, school districts and childhood education centers across 29 counties that was awarded a PA Farm Bill Farm-to-School grant.

Butler Area School District will use this funding to help us expand our fisheries science program, create additional raised beds at several schools and purchase greenhouse supplies for the Community Agricultural Partnership at Summit (CAPS). 

Twenty-four 6th grade students from the Intermediate High School recently participated in the Propaganda competition at Slippery Rock University. Propaganda is an academic game in which players become critical thinkers as they learn to recognize techniques of persuasion. 

Intermediate High School students from Mrs. Sequite and Mrs. Kingman's classroom took charge of the IHS Best Buddies coffee cart yesterday! They organized and prepared 66 orders for teachers throughout the IHS!

Congratulations to all of the students who were selected for District V Chorus Fest!

McQuistion Elementary School students showed off their science skills during their annual Science Fair!

Students were encouraged to choose a topic of their choice to learn about and present at the event. Students and their families came out to support each other and learn a few things from their peers. 

Mrs. Erin Snyder's Enrichment Studies Program students at the Intermediate High School have spent the last 10 weeks learning how to program graphing calculators to control robots.

The students completed a variety of tasks throughout the trimester before their "Game Day." Game Day is an opportunity for students use their programs to play games with their robots.

In this photo, 7th and 8th grade students are getting their robots ready to battle in the ring. The last robot left standing is the winner!

A lot of learning is happening in Mrs. Lindsey Walker’s Family and Consumer Sciences classroom. Her lessons include everything from finances to budgeting and interview skills to cooking skills. 

“My goal is to prepare the students to be ready for life,” said Mrs. Walker.

Intermediate High School students and staff collected donations for "Hang Tough: Stockings Stuffed with Love and Care." 

Hang Tough's mission is to give local cancer patients Christmas stockings full of items like hygiene products, food, games, clothing, stationary, etc.  All donations are shared with patients receiving chemo/radiation treatments at our local cancer centers. The Intermediate collected enough items to make 104 stockings.

Congratulations to the following students on a fantastic performance at District V Honors Chorus! A special congratulations to Angelena Neff for earning a solo. 

• Isabelle Colonna
• Amara DiCerbo
• Lucy McFall
• Zach Marra
• Skylar Miller
• Angelena Neff
• Delaney Ray
• Zane Steimer
• Mara Szurek
• James Thomas

Several Senior High School students have been selected via audition to participate in the PMEA District 5 Honors Band at Slippery Rock University in December

On Thursday, November 9th, Center Township Elementary School students and staff hosted their second Veterans Day Assembly. Every grade level contributed to the event in some way. Fifth grade students had the opportunity to invite a veteran guest to honor at the assembly.

Emily Brittain 4th and 5th grade chorus students put up the school's American flag while singing America the Beautiful and the Pledge of Allegiance in honor of Veterans Day. 

View the Veterans Day observation. 

A very heartfelt thank you to all those who have served our country. 

To honor Veterans Day, Broad Street Elementary School participated in their annual Pay-it-Forward week.

BSES kicked off the week by honoring our Marine Officer Jim on his birthday. Then scholars in grades K-5 created banners to recognize Inspired Hearts and Hands, Fishbone Ministries and Community Alliance Church. In addition, thank you letters were written to the occupants of the Butler Veterans Hospice and Butler Veterans hospital.

The BSES Village may be tiny, but they are mighty in the area of appreciation!

Intermediate High School students and staff honored veterans on November 9.

The purpose of the assembly was for students to learn about the history of Veterans Day and what it means to serve our country.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our assembly. And a very special thank you to all veterans for their service to our country.

View more photos. 

The Intermediate High School staff had their first "Chili on the Hilly" chili and cornbread cook-off in November.

Participants entered their crocks of chili and pans of cornbread. The cornbread and chili were voted on by faculty and staff. There were 15 chili entries and 10 cornbread entries. German teacher Herr Jared Schneider, Ed.D. took home the Chili champ golden spoon award, while School Police Officer John Stepansky won the cornbread Golden Spatula award.   

This fun event raised more than $200 for the Intermediate High School giving tree. 

Mrs. Kelly's kindergarten students at Northwest Elementary School created American flags in honor of Veterans Day. 

McQuistion Elementary School students enjoyed a fun and exciting Magic of Science Assembly by the talented Professor Steve!

Students learned about famous scientists while interacting with Professor Steve's magical adventures! Two lucky students even got to make a table float in the air, defying gravity!

Mrs. Emmalynne Waseleski has been named one of the Butler Eagle's "Exceptional employees across Butler County in education."

Emmalynne Waseleski is a secondary music teacher and chorus director at Butler Area School District. 

The Butler Orchestra and Orchestra Director, Mrs. Katie Black, were recently featured in the Butler Eagle!

Click here to read the story. 

Click here to watch the video. 

Drew Griffith, high school cross country runner and state champion, has also been nominated for MaxPrep's Athlete of the Week! Please vote for him all week.

Click to vote for Drew. 

Voting will conclude on Monday, Nov. 13th at noon. Thanks for your support!

Twenty-two students in grades 7-9 were selected to perform in PMEA District 5 Junior High Stringfest on November 2 at Mars High School.

Students rehearsed all day to prepare for their concert that night. Their overall favorite piece was Las Mariposas Exoticas, which means exotic butterflies.

Northwest Elementary School had their first official Best Buddies chapter event!

The event was all about the students having an opportunity to get to know one another. They created "get to know me" books and then shared them with their new friends.

The event was a big success!

View more photos from the event.

The fourth and fifth grade teachers at Center Township had some fun dressing up for Halloween! 

BASD parents, students, staff members and community members are invited to be a part of our Food Service Wellness & Advisory Committee.

Butler Senior High School recently competed against other local high schools at Carnegie Science Center's Chain Reaction Contraption Competition. 

Forty-three gifted students from the Intermediate and Senior High Schools recently participated in the Propaganda competition. In Propaganda, students use critical thinking skills to recognize techniques of persuasion that are often used by advertisers, politicians, editorial writers, and in everyday conversations.

Senior High School student members of the Unified Sports program attended the Three Rivers Region Youth Summit.

The students came together to begin collaborating and planning for Whole School Engagements and club activities that provide inclusive opportunities for their school communities. They also participated and multiple fun activities. 

McQuistion Elementary School students celebrated Halloween with their annual classroom parties, including snacks, crafts and games! 

Before the partying began, kindergarten, first and second grade students got dressed in their spooky, funny and cute costumes to parade around the halls! There were hive fives and excitement as the younger students paraded past the older students. It was a great way to show encouragement and support! 

Thanks to the McQuistion PTO volunteers for helping our students enjoy this fun holiday! 

Broad Street staff members love to BEE in theme! They dressed as a beehive, queen bees, a few beekeepers, and a sugar loving Elf for Halloween.

Broad Street scholars also dressed up in fabulous costumes and paraded through the town. After the parade, they had a blast at the Halloween dance party. 

View more photos.

Intermediate High School students worked with their peers during advisory to make Halloween crafts and celebrate Halloween with donuts and fun.

View more photos.

McQuistion Elementary kindergarten teachers dressed up as bees for Halloween.

Northwest Elementary School staff dressed as lifesavers and a beach crew for Halloween!

The 2023 Butler Orchestra Spooktacular was a success!

This event featured the High School Orchestra (grades 9-12). Students passed out candy to trick or treaters and performed a variety of spooky favorites including Ghostbusters, Phantom of the Opera and Thriller. 

Fourth and fifth grade scholars at Broad Street Elementary School said "I promise" to be drug and alcohol free during Red Ribbon Week. To mark the occasion, the scholars planted 100 tulip bulbs. In the spring when the tulips bloom, it will be a reminder of their promise to be drug and alcohol free.  

Mrs. Lucas and Mrs. Mendoza’s fourth grade classes at Broad Street Elementary School enjoyed Pumpkin Palooza during their math and ELA classes.

Twelve Senior High School Latin students recently traveled to the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Pittsburgh to attend a literary presentation by Dame Mary Beard, a celebrated classicist, distinguished scholar, and trustee of the British Museum. 

Students from Broad Street, Center Township and Northwest Elementary Schools recently participated in the first annual student summit sponsored by the Intermediate Unit IV.

The students engaged in leadership challenges and had the opportunity to form new relationships with their peers. 

Hunter Swidzinski, high school golfer and state champion, has been nominated for MaxPrep's Athlete of the Week! Please vote for him all week:

Click to vote for Hunter. 

Voting will conclude on Monday, Oct. 30th at noon. Thanks for your support!

Northwest Elementary had their first Career Day as part of their “Wonders of Work” school theme in October.

Prior to Career Day, students had the opportunity to take the RIASEC test to help them discover more about careers and fields of study that are of interest to them. RIASEC stands for six characteristics – Realistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising and Conventional. 

View more photos from Career Day at Northwest Elementary. 

Forty-eight BASD gifted students in grades 6-12 recently had the opportunity to participate in the On-sets Competition at Slippery Rock University. 

On-sets is a logic game that requires the students to use the rules of set theory to outsmart their opponents. Several of our students earned awards at the competition.

Summit Elementary had their first Trunk or Treat in October!

In addition to Trunk or Treat, families were able to visit the book fair and even play board games together at the event.

Thank you to the Summit PTO for helping to make this event possible! 

Emily Brittain Elementary School's PTO hosted a Pumpkin Party in October.

The Pumpkin Party was a costume event with several stations where families could decorate pumpkin/gourds, participate in some STEAM activities, have dinner and enjoy some pumpkin pie. In addition, the School Spirit store was open, there was a basket raffle, and a drawing to win a pumpkin.  

On Friday the 13th, McQuistion Elementary School's PTO held their first annual Trunk or Treat family event!

The blacktop playground was overflowing with decorated trunks for students to receive treats from McQuistion families and local businesses. The characters who showed up to have a fun, festive night together were spooktacular and the creativity of the trunks was frightening! 

Colten Welter, a senior at the Senior High School, was selected as the Grand Prize Winner of the Butler Armco Credit Union Cash Grab!

View photos. 

Two Butler Area School District educators have been selected as Outstanding Educators by the William C. Graham Manor Order of Squires organization. 

Congratulations to Mrs. Lori Williams, a teacher at the Intermediate High School, and Mrs. Chelsie Tonini, a teacher at Emily Brittain Elementary School. 

A professional artist, musician, and denture technician recently visited the students at Northwest Elementary School.

Mr. Tom Panei delivered an inspiring message to students as he shared his story and artwork. The students especially enjoyed seeing his "Spider-Man Mural."  The students especially enjoyed seeing his "Spider-Man Mural." 

Members of the Herman Volunteer Fire Company made their annual trip to Summit Elementary School to teach students about fire safety!

Congratulations to Evan Reinsel and Lily Vicari who were named the 2023 Tornado prince and princess at Butler High School’s homecoming Friday, October 6.

Evan is the son of Rebecca and Don Reinsel of Butler. Lily is the daughter of Stephanie and Aaron Vicari of Butler.

Miss Pernazza's class at Center Avenue used their knowledge of engineering to design and build their own catapults. They competed with each other to see who could launch their candy corn the furthest and who could get the most pieces in the jack o lantern bucket! 

Congratulations to the following students who earned a spot in PMEA Honors Chorus! 

Third grade scholars at Broad Street Elementary School learned how to start a garden as well as how different plants to grow.

Students in Butler Senior High School's new Fishery/Aquatic Science class recently conducted water quality testing on water from four Butler County streams, including Sullivan Run in Butler's Alameda Park. 

Creating a high fashion design can be expensive…however, creativity unfolded (literally) while the students repurposing newspapers to make a high fashion look. 

The students in Mrs. Walker’s Intro to Fashion Class at the Butler Intermediate High School, created dresses with newspaper. 

The community is invited to look at each dress, pick your favorite, and cast your vote. Share these amazing dress designs with your family and friends, so they can vote too! 

Click to vote. 

Thank you to everyone who supported The Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, Inc.'s Tuff Tornado Run!

View more photos. 

Congratulations to Butler's 2023 Tornado Homecoming Court!

Front row (left to right): Emmanuela Prifti, Kaitlyn McGuire, Lauren Bayer, Chloe Klein and Lily Vicari
Back row (left to right): Jathan Lunsford, Zachary Slear, Leland Anderson, Hayden Kroll and Evan Reinsel

The prince and princess will be crowned before the football game on October 6. The crowning will take place at approximately 6:40 pm and kickoff for the game against Westinghouse High School will be at 7:00 pm. 

Congratulations to the 22 IHS students who were selected for the PMEA Junior High Stringfest! These student musicians will represent Butler at the event on November 2 at Mars High School.

Center Township Elementary celebrated their Summer Reading Challenge with a pirate themed treasure hunt!

Emily Brittain will offer FUN educational activities and meals once a week beginning in October. This program is open to anyone 18 and under. 

Wednesdays
3:45 – 4:15 pm
Beginning October 4, 2023

Emily Brittain Elementary
338 N. Washington St.
Butler, PA 16001

Hey Butler! We need your help!

Braylon Littlejohn, a senior quarterback on our football team, is currently up for Pennsylvania's top athletes! Please help him win by voting online!

https://highschool.si.com/pennsylvania/2023/09/21/vote-who-is-the-top-athlete-in-pennsylvania-high-school-football-for-2023

Connoquenessing Elementary students spent some time outdoors practicing visualization and imaginative language.

Fifth grade ELA students spent two minutes with their eyes closed listening to the sounds around them and visualizing what they heard. Then they picked one of the things they visualized as the inspiration to practice using imagery in their writing.

Emily Brittain teacher, Mrs. Stephanie Arienzo, was this year's recipient of NexTier Bank's Good Neighbor Award! 

Congratulations to Mrs. Arienzo! 

Center Township Elementary recently hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open their outdoor classroom learning space.

The classroom space was dedicated as a memorial to Michelle Roudybush. Michelle, a beloved, dedicated volunteer at Center Township Elementary, passed away in 2022. She will be remembered for serving the school community for many years with passion and a smile!

Click below to read the welcome back letter from Aramark, BASD's food service provider. 

Read Aramark's Welcome Back Letter

The Butler Area School District will be transitioning from Tyler to a new Student Information System at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. The new system is Infinite Campus, which will contain similar information, including contact information, student schedules, grades, attendance information and much more.  More specifically, the system will be utilized to communicate the 2023-2024 teachers for elementary students and schedules for secondary students.

The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO) and National Grange Foundation have selected the Community Agricultural Partnership at Summit (CAPS) Elementary School, in Pennsylvania’s Butler Area School District, as the recipient of its 2023 Partnership in Agricultural Literacy (PAL) Award.

Watch the award video. 

The Butler Class of 2023 proudly announces their choice for the 43rd annual Butler Senior High School Distinguished Graduate Award is Patricia Powers Thomson, a member of the Butler High School Class of 1983.  

Patricia Powers Thomson is a successful public sector entrepreneur and leader. She founded and served as the first dean of The School of Public Service at the University of Juba in South Sudan, one of the world’s newest and least developed countries. She also created The Leadership Crucible in South Sudan, where she directed a program to develop young women leaders. Prior to her work in South Sudan, she was part of the team that established the Department of Homeland Security, and she played an instrumental role in creating the Corporation for National and Community Service and its flagship program, AmeriCorps.

Congratulations to Braylon May on being selected as the 2023-2024 Student Representative for Butler Township. Braylon will be a senior at Butler Senior High School in the fall of 2023. His role as the Butler Township Student Representative will commence on September 18, 2023. 

Congratulations, Braylon!