February 2026 Update

Rocket News & Updates February 15, 2026 Dear Rocket Families, We have quite a few interesting updates for you as we begin the second semester and watch the snow melt away. Our 100th day of school will be coming this week, also. Watch our social media accounts for great pics of our kindergarteners (and their teachers!) dressed up as 100-year-olds. Enjoy the rest of February as we spot robins returning and look forward to Spring!   Updates Mr. Paul Cessar Longtime SRASD business manager, Paul Cessar, will be retiring at the end of this month. Paul began his tenure with us in 1989 and shortly thereafter, he and his wife, Missy, moved the family to Slippery Rock where they raised four children in our school district. When you think about the excellent financial position our school district has enjoyed for the past 36 years, much of this success can be attributed to Paul's meticulous accounting and safeguarding of our taxpayers' money. Best of luck to you in retirement, Paul! Thank you for 36 years of dedicated service to our students, staff, families, and taxpayers. You will be missed. Girls Basketball - Undefeated Region Champs! Congratulations to our 2025-26 Girls Basketball Team! The Rockets finished the regular season undefeated in Region play and with an astounding 17-4 regular season record! Coach Steele will now lead our Rockets into the playoffs beginning this coming Saturday vs. Oil City. Good luck, girls! Rock Shop Our brand new Rock Shop is now open in our high school! Although outfitted to have the look of a modern coffee shop, the area is indeed an instructional space which is operated by our students and supervised by our teachers. Students in good standing may substitute their study hall time with a visit to the Rock Shop. The Rock Shop, along with our new music suite, administrative offices, cafeteria, kitchen, media center, and LGI, highlight the conclusion of our two-year high school renovation project. Meal Distribution Many thanks to our food service workers, several teachers, support staff, and administrators who helped to distribute 300 meals to families in our school district during the week of January 25. The snow kept students away that week, but we were able to still provide many with needed food.   Reminder No school for students on Monday, February 16. Contact information Slippery Rock Area School District 724-794-2960 https://www.slipperyrock.k12.pa.us/

Sunday, Feb 15 2026

January Update

Rocket News & Updates January 27, 2026 Dear Rocket Families, Our hope is to get our Rockets back in school and back to in-person learning as soon as possible. That is always our educational priority. Below are a few updates and pieces of information for our Rocket families.   Updates Snow Makeup Days We have now exhausted our four, original snow makeup days for the 2025-26 school year (see below). We may also be able to utilize instructional time our students have already spent in school to avoid adding time to the school day or days to the end of the school year. We will keep you posted on that possibility. Snow Makeup Day #1: We made up this day on January 19. Snow Makeup Day #2: We will make up this day on March 13. Snow Makeup Day #3: We will make up this day on April 2. Snow Makeup Day #4: We will make up this day on April 6. Since we have already utilized two flexible instruction days (FIDs) for one of our schools, we now only have three such days available for the remainder of the school year. If, for some reason, we use all of our PA Department of Education-allotted FIDs, we have the flexibility to provide a different modality of instruction (alternative learning day) that would look similar to a FID but still count as a day. Rest assured that we will look into all options available to us to deliver needed instruction to our Rockets. Kindergarten Registration The following dates are scheduled for our upcoming Kindergarten Registration: Moraine Elementary  Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Slippery Rock Area Elementary  Friday, March 6, 2026. Please contact the respective office to schedule a time: Moraine Elementary School: Mrs. Klingensmith 724-865-2010 x5002 Slippery Rock Area Elementary School: Mrs. Brochetti 724-794-2960 x4001 Age Requirement: Children must be five years of age by August 1. Documents Required: child's birth certificate, child's immunization record, proof of residency. 1,000 Points for Madison! Earlier this month, senior student-athlete, Madison Romanovich, scored the 1,000th point of her high school basketball career! Playing with an excellent team around her, Madison and the entire varsity basketball team are singularly motivated by much more than individual accomplishments, but we still celebrate this outstanding milestone for Madison! Go Rockets! You can check out the remaining schedule of all of our winter sports HERE.   Contact information Slippery Rock Area School District 724-794-2960 https://www.slipperyrock.k12.pa.us/

Tuesday, Jan 27 2026

Blastoff Bulletin December

Rocket News & Updates December 19, 2025 Dear Rocket Families, As the image above shows, the North Pole has been utilizing our Rocket Barn as storage recently. Here are a few updates for you as we head into the Christmas break.   Updates Student Achievement Shines! Did you know that based on the 2025 Assessment results, all four buildings (Slippery Rock Area Elementary School, Moraine Elementary School, Middle School, and High School) were recognized by US News and World Report as high-performing schools? Did you know that Slippery Rock Elementary School is ranked first among all elementary schools in Butler County based on their Pennsylvania building level score? Did you know that Moraine Elementary School is ranked third in Butler County based on their building level score? Did you know that Slippery Rock Middle School is ranked first among middle schools in Butler County based on their building level score? Did you know that our High School Graduation rate of 97.5% is significantly higher than the state average? Did you know that 97.4% of our High School students completed Industry-Based Competency Activities, preparing them for a successful transition to work, significantly higher than the state average of 41.1%?  There is so much to be proud of and we greatly appreciate all that our families do to support and promote the great things happening in the SRASD.   Meet Regan Hess We welcome Mr. Regan Hess to the Slippery Rock Area School District! Mr. Hess will take over as our new business manager with the retirement of the legendary, Paul Cessar, who has spent the past 36 years in the position. Regan has moved his family across the country from Montana to become our lead financial Rocket! We are excited that he and his family will be residing in our school district. You can read even more about Mr. Hess HERE. Welcome, Mr. Hess! Good luck in your new position.   2026-27 School District Calendar Our school board has officially approved the calendar for the 2026-27 school year. Some highlights featured in next year's calendar are: August 26 - First Day of School Dec. 23 to Jan. 3 - Christmas Break June 3 - Last Day of School Click HERE for a clearer version of the calendar.   New School Board Members New school board members, Katee Gearhart and Mara Hensel, were sworn in this month and have officially begun their tenure. Our school board members are residents from three regions of our 140 square miles, representing: Mercer Twp., Harrisville Borough, Slippery Rock Twp., Muddycreek Twp., Portersville Borough, Prospect Borough, Franklin Twp., Slippery Rock Borough, Brady Twp., West Liberty Borough, and Worth Twp. Our nine school board members are: Greg Schiller (President) Carl Aglio (Vice-President) Leslie Colosimo Katee Gearhart Mara Hensel Theresa Pearce Vito Pilosi Mark Taylor Sara Whitman   Reminder Tuesday, December 23 is a half day of school for our students. Dismissal times are as follows: Middle School - 11:15 High School - 11:18 Elementary Schools - 12:20 Monday, January 5 we welcome all students and staff back to school. Enjoy the Christmas break with your families and Happy New Year to all of our Rockets!   Contact information Slippery Rock Area School District 724-794-2960 https://www.slipperyrock.k12.pa.us/

Friday, Dec 19 2025

Blastoff Bulletin November

Rocket News & Updates November 13, 2025 Dear Rocket Families, One fourth of our school year is now in the rear view mirror! I hope that you find the following news and information to be of interest. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the time with your families and good luck to all of our hunters!   Updates Brave Bella! Brave Bella is the story of a Pennsylvania fourth grader who, despite setbacks and challenges, continues to find ways to be helpful and kind to others. The best part about the book is that the main character is one of our own students! Bella attends Moraine Elementary School and was recently celebrated during an assembly at Moraine. The author of the book is Moraine Elementary building secretary, Mrs. Billie Douglas. You can read more HERE. Honoring Our Veterans Highlighted by our High School's Rocket Marching Band participating in the Butler Veterans Day Parade, all of our schools and classrooms spent much time facilitating lessons centered on honoring our nation's heroes. Here is a sample of the activities and events: At Slippery Rock Area Elementary School, the Harrisville American Legion Honor Guard Assembly conducted a flag raising, "Reveille" was played, and a short discussion on the significance of the presentation was held. Students with special Veteran family guests hosted refreshments for our visitors. Fifth-grade students assisted with serving our guests who had the chance to view the school's Wall of Honor. Moraine Elementary School classes honored Veterans by sharing information about their careers classes sending home special crafts made by students. Some classes read, What is a Veteran, Anyway?, written by Dr. Robert Snyder, a professor at SRU. Students had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with Veterans. Additionally, some classes made Christmas cards for the veterans that reside at the Southwestern Veterans Center to be deliver in early December. Our middle school and high school social studies classes facilitated lessons about Veterans leading up to Nov. 10. The middle school held a Veteran's Day Panel to celebrate in and talk to all of our students on the 10th. Lastly, our middle schoolers planted U.S. flags (each student) in the front lawn, entry to school. Winter Sports The official start date for the winter season is Friday, November 14, The PIAA Sports we offer during the winter season are:  Boys and Girls Basketball  Boys and Girls Indoor Track & Field  Boys and Girls Swimming  Boys and Girls Wrestling  We also are fortunate to offer the following activities for our students: Basketball Cheer  Bocce  Pep Band  You can find our athletics' schedules by clicking HERE. Lastly, we hope that you are able to attend our "Meet the Rockets" night! See the flyer above for more information or click HERE or by clicking the image above. Winter Weather Watch All of the information you need concerning the Slippery Rock Area School District and winter weather can be found HERE. We will utilize the ParentSquare notification system along with local news outlets for any delays or cancellations. Reminder The first day of Thanksgiving break is Wednesday, November 26. Students and staff return to school on Tuesday, December 2.   Contact information Slippery Rock Area School District 724-794-2960 https://www.slipperyrock.k12.pa.us/

Thursday, Nov 13 2025

Blastoff Bulletin October

Rocket News & Updates October 15, 2025 Dear Rocket Families, We have already hit the 30 days of school mark! Thank you for all of your cooperation and support as we made up the day for the Middle and High Schools. Also, a big thank you to our bus drivers for helping us on October 13. Reminder: There will not be a Community Open House this evening for the High School. We are not quite ready, yet. Stay tuned! Here are some updates for you as we hit the midpoint of October.   Updates Rocket Volleyball! Congratulations to your Region Champion SRHS Volleyball Team! The team solidified their championship by defeating Mercer last night. Head Coach Ferrier, Assistant Coach Whitmer and the team arrived back in Slippery Rock to a hero's welcome, led by some of our first responders! Stay tuned for playoff information and updates from our Athletics Office. Best of luck to all of our fall sports teams as they position themselves for possible playoff runs. Go Rockets! Elementary Teachers Act 80 Day Learning can be fun for both students and teachers. During last Monday's In-Service Day, our professional staff had the opportunity to learn new instructional strategies, explore literacy research, and collaborate with their colleagues. Pictured is just a sample of the hands-on activities that helped us all learn and grow. Many thanks to our trainers, Leah Winans and Linda Delvaux from MIU4, for facilitating such a meaningful and engaging day of professional development. High School Construction Update The outside of the high school building should look much more like a school and less like a construction site in the next week as the trailers are moved off the grounds. The new grass, parking lot and sidewalks will be more visible, too. Inside, there is still work being done to the electrical and HVAC system in two shifts. Next month, we expect the new CTE classroom space, media center (library) and LGI (large group instruction) rooms to be nearly complete. Community Open House We will hold off on our Community Open House of the newly renovated building until we can truly show off all that has been completed. We expect this to be held in early December, at this point. Rocket Pride for October 2025 Each month, at one of our school board meetings, we recognize a member of our staff or school community who demonstrates Rocket Pride through their efforts, commitment and dedication to our students and schools. This month, Patty Jo Dean was recognized as the lone lunch room monitor at Moraine Elementary School and for being a phenomenal one, at that. Congratulations, Patty! Thank you for all you do for Moraine Elementary! Reminder The end of the first nine-week period is November 5. Time for our students to make sure they are all caught up on their work and everything is turned in! A parent reminder is always appreciated. Thank you.   Contact information Slippery Rock Area School District 724-794-2960 https://www.slipperyrock.k12.pa.us/

Wednesday, Oct 15 2025