Dear Octorara Community,
This morning while routinely tending to our animals in the barn behind our high school, students and staff discovered smoldering straw in one of our animal pens. The source of the smoke was a heat lamp that was pulled to the ground overnight by one of the animals creating a small fire. By the time we discovered the issue, there were no flames but the straw was smoldering. Thanks to the quick action of teachers and students, the animals were removed from the area and the straw was extinguished. The Cochranville Fire Department was dispatched to investigate. No injuries were reported however some of our animals are under the care of a veterinarian for exposure to smoke. There was no threat to the main high school or middle school buildings. The district will investigate this incident further and plan to address the needs of our animals and potential hazards.
Sincerely,
Steven A. Leever
Superintendent of Schools
The 2024-25 Octorara FFA Tractor Restoration Project is on display in the front lobby of Octorara Area High School. The tractor is a 1968 Cub Cadet Lawnmower. The restoration project was completed for the Lancaster Farming competition that culminated in presentations on the last day of the 2025 Farm Show. The team of Garrett Beiler, Lisandro Esquivel-Lopez, Gabe Kreider, Matt Russell, and Grant Umble put in a ton of time and effort in this restoration. Please come out to see the work that was completed by our Mechanical Sytems students! We are proud of their efforts and the knowledge gained.
Notice of Special Meeting:
NOTICE is given that a special meeting of the Octorara Area School District Board of Directors has been scheduled for Monday, January 27, 2025 beginning at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of approving a Bond Purchase Agreement. This meeting will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Octorara Middle School, 228 Highland Road, Atglen, PA.
Additional Information Regarding OASD School Closing for Friday January 17, 2025
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hBBZjvyCXEUpJF11K6vPJDitmOYXSE48/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110369852959077905753&rtpof=true&sd=true
Please join us for an Octorara Facilities Town Hall Meeting on January 16 and February 3
The community is invited to an Octorara Facilities Town Hall Meeting on January 16 and/or February 3 - see link for more information! https://5il.co/34rpe
PowerSchool Security Breach Notification - January 9, 2025 (English and Spanish)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D9zjv8N7C54-P7MfKhia9-NVYdcPhgjV/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110369852959077905753&rtpof=true&sd=true
We had a great visit to High Steel yesterday. The students learned about what they do at High Steel and what they are looking for in their employees. Employees from High Steel also discussed looking at total compensation packages that employers offer including health benefits, 401K matching, and tuition reimbursement for post secondary education in addition to salary or wages before students accept any kind of employment offer. The students (and Ms, Pittman!) were able to practice their welds, too! Thank you to High Steel for such a great opportunity.
Girls Basketball team defeats Bristol 42-16!
Today, we had the tremendous opportunity to welcome three new goats to our OACTEP family! A Big Thank You goes to Ms. Talley, Ms. Long, all of the students in the Animal and Plant Science Program, and Frenchie for delivering such cute goats!
Octorara Flexible Instruction Day (FID) Procedures 2024-2025. In view of the anticipated weather on Monday, please refer to the document linked below for procedures for an Octorara FID day.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NllbmGiZpcpf-OELJcv0EkFZYhATKhOv/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110369852959077905753&rtpof=true&sd=true
On Tuesday, December 17, Octorara Area High School hosted a 2024-25 awards for Chester County Farmer of the Year and Distinguished Contributions to Agriculture in Chester County. Our previous Director of Career and Technical Education, Lisa McNamara, received the 2024-25 Distinguished Contributions to Agriculture in Chester County Award. The three County Commissioners, Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell, and Eric Rowe, presented the awards to the recipients. Our Culinary Arts students prepared the appetizers for the event. The appetizers were created from food purchased while the Culinary Arts students visited several Chester County farms prior to the event. As usual, the food was amazing! Thank you to AgConnect for allowing us to host the event and to our students for creating such an amazing spread of food. #buylocal #eatlocal
On Wedenesday, December 18th, our senior Career and Technical Education Program students participated in Mock Interviews. A big Thank You goes out to all of the Employers that assisted in this actvity. This was, for many of our OACTEP students, their first formal interview. Also, a big Thank You goes out to our Instructors for preparing our students with resumes, questions, and student presentation. We had recevied a ton of positive responses from our employers about how well prepared our students were for this event. Great Job to all!
We are happy to introduce Hillary Prickett to the OASD School board. She has been selected to fill the vacant seat from Region 1. Congratulations to Mrs. Prickett
On Tuesday, December 17th, ten seminar students and their teacher, Renee Shenk, from the high school cameto the PLC to provide a group of 1st and 2nd-grade students with STEM learning activities. These activities include: Catch the Yeti, Build a Gingerbread Sleigh, Holiday Escape Room, Create Snowball Launchers, Holiday Oobleck, and Ornament Decorating. It’s a great way for young students to be exposed to the elements of STEM, and for high school students to serve and encourage primary-aged students.
Here is a message from OASD regarding the events of the last few days. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cT2z-tXdkrHNrra1k9X0tldDToTP9npY/view?usp=drive_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/16N92RyrkV-H3eVJKDvuV_ZXyycOI0yFp/view?usp=sharing
December 10 - 6:30 p.m. - High School Band & Chorus
December 12 - 6:30 p.m. - Intermediate School Chorus
December 17 - 6:30 p.m. - Elementary School Chorus
Board Vacancy – Region 1 – Octorara Area School District
The Honorable Judge Anthony Verwey of the Court of Common Pleas for Chester County, Pennsylvania, has scheduled a hearing on Thursday December 19, 2024, in Courtroom 2 at the Chester County Justice Center located at 201 West Market Street, West Chester, PA for the purpose of filling the vacant Region 1 seat for Board of Directors of the Octorara Area School District. All eligible individuals of Region 1 who request to be considered to fill the vacancy are required to provide a resume and letter of interest to fill the vacancy. All material should be addressed to Judge Verwey and delivered to Jill Hardy at the Octorara Area School District Office at 228 Highland Road, Atglen, PA no later than 12:00 pm (noon) on Wednesday December 18, 2024. All individuals who are qualified and submit a letter of interest will be provided an opportunity to provide testimony to the Court at the hearing scheduled for December 19 beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Octorara Area Career and Technical 2024 Fall Newsletter: https://www.octorara.k12.pa.us/page/oactep-newsletter
On Wednesday evening, five high school musicians were inducted into the Octorara Chapter of the Tri-M Music Honors Society. The Tri-M Music Honor Society is a program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), which focuses on creating future leaders in music education and music advocacy. Tri-M is the only music honor society for junior/middle school and high school students in the United States. Tri-M recognizes students that have gone above and beyond both academically and musically and also provides students leadership opportunities to make a difference in their community through music-based service projects. Congratulations to Kelsey Badman, Annalisa Griffiths, Sophia Rothenberger, Val Wakeman, and Bridget Whitfield.
