Southern Columbia Area School District

This is the revised 2025–2026 Academic School Calendar. To view it online, go to www.scasd.us, select “About Us” and then “Academic School Year Calendar.”

Today our students and staff proudly wore their favorite jerseys in honor of Hunter Beck Reynolds. Hunter’s Jersey Day supports the Hunter’s Heart & Hustle Foundation, a non‑profit dedicated to carrying on Hunter’s passion for helping others.

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped continue his legacy of hustle, kindness, and community.

#Huntersjerseyday26

The Brighter Financial Futures Foundation Investing and Budgeting Challenges, sponsored locally by the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce Foundation, provides students with a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity that strengthens real-world financial decision-making skills. Students apply math, economics, and critical thinking as they manage a virtual budget, respond to life scenarios, and invest in the stock market using real market data. These challenges support classroom instruction while reinforcing skills across the curriculum, including problem-solving, goal setting, and responsible decision-making.

Three Southern Columbia Area Students finished in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for Columbia County during the 2025 Fall competition. Congratulations to them all!

Colton Starkoski - 1st place
Marc Fryberger - 2nd place
Tyler Reibsome - 3rd place

We’re proud to share that Blakely Servose won the VFW Middle School Coloring Contest! Congratulations, Blakely, and thank you to all who participated.

Mrs. Ivey’s classroom is officially sock‑tastic! 🧦

Yesterday they celebrated Silly Sock Day with wiggly toes, big smiles, and the silliest socks in town. Who knew learning could be this fun?

On Thursday, March 5th, junior Skylar Riffindifil earned the Dr. Cynthia Schloss Transition Education Award at the 2026 Columbia Montour Transition Conference held at Susquehanna University.

The Dr. Cynthia Schloss Transition Education Award is presented annually to a nominated student from a school district in the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit region who demonstrates “a strong personal work ethic and commitment to preparation for adult life.”

Skylar was recognized for the work he does at GC Hartman Elementary School with Mrs. Huntington and Mrs. Deljanovan. SCA administration, teachers, and Skylar’s family were in attendance to help celebrate him and his accomplishments.

Today we continue our weekly Student Teacher Feature, where we spotlight the amazing future educators working in our district.

This week, we are excited to highlight Kaitlyn Sandri, who is student teaching in 2nd grade with Ms. Merook. Kaitlyn brings warmth, patience, and a genuine love for helping young learners grow each day.

Check out the graphic below to learn more about Kaitlyn and her journey in education.

We’re proud to share that Emma Brosius won the VFW Coloring Contest! Congratulations, Emma, and thank you to all who participated. 🎨

Mr. Mensch's 9th Grade English students have begun the first stage of their Graduation Project, selecting three potential careers to research, write about, and present to the class. Freshman Anson Plock noted, “This is a very valuable project because it gives loads of insight into our potential careers. I believe it is highly important to start researching these things before you are an adult where you must make all these decisions. As people, we need to learn more about ourselves.”

To build a strong foundation for their choices, students completed a Personality Type Inventory, reflected on personal interests, explored Career Clusters and Pathways, and reviewed a Preparation for Careers module to better understand job requirements, training, and long-term planning. Their work marks the beginning of a multi-year process in which they will continue narrowing their choices and refining their research to better understand their future pursuits.

Freshman Bella Snyder said, “This project helps you plan for your future, and right now my number one career choice would be to become a doctor, but I have a lot more to learn about that career and others before I commit to a decision.” In the upcoming weeks, students will investigate the factors most important to them in a career and begin constructing an MLA-style research paper based on their findings, an important step toward becoming informed, purposeful decision-makers about their futures.

Contributor: Maddison Yost, Print/Digital Media Intern

Throughout the week, so many parents and community members have stopped in to read with our students. The kids light up every time a new guest walks through the door. Their reactions have been priceless, and the stories shared have created moments they will remember.

Thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their day to be here with our classrooms. Your kindness, your presence, and your willingness to support our readers truly mean a lot. Our students can feel how much this community cares about them.

We are excited to keep the celebration going as Read Across America week continues. 📚

Mrs. Sharrow’s kindergarten class had a wonderful Read Across America Week surprise yesterday, enjoying a special Gallina family story time. The celebration got even sweeter with a delicious pizza party provided by the family’s restaurant, OIP in Elysburg. Enriching the brain and the belly was the perfect way to celebrate a love of reading! 🍕📚

We are excited to continue preparations for our Senior Annual Awards Ceremony, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in the Auditorium. This event celebrates our hardworking seniors and the generosity of our scholarship sponsors. Baccalaureate will begin at 5:00 PM, with the awards ceremony to follow.

We are still collecting scholarship information through a Microsoft Form. Whether your scholarship is new or offered annually, we appreciate you taking a moment to complete the form (if you haven’t already) so we can ensure all details are accurate. A follow‑up form will be sent closer to the ceremony to collect recipient names and award amounts.

Submit scholarship information here :
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=ExPF2RLz1kuoc4nEncUdfe4cNjiWfWpBrSN5-Nv0hV5UQVVPTVVMRkVEMjhNNFFKMVk5TlY5S1hHSC4u&route=shorturl

Thank you to all of our sponsors for your continued support in helping our seniors achieve their dreams!

🎉 Congratulations to Our 6th Grade Students of the Month! 🎉

We are proud to recognize these outstanding students for their hard work, positive attitudes, and dedication across all subject areas:

📚 ELA – Mrs. Powell: Reid Narke
➗ Math – Mr. Fegley: Jackson Gasperetti
🌍 Social Studies – Mr. Visnosky: Ella Hoagland
🔬 Science – Mr. Kaseman: Connor Wedekind

Thank you to all of our wonderful guest readers who joined us on Monday to help launch Read Across America Week. Our students loved hearing new voices, discovering new stories, and sharing the excitement of reading with our community. 📚

Last week, our Horticulture Agriculture class visited the elementary school to teach students about soil and its importance. High school students applied their classroom learning by creating original children’s books on the topic, which they then used to lead interactive lessons. They presented their work to Mrs. Habowski’s 2nd grade class, helping younger students engage with science in a creative and meaningful way.

We are proud of their preparation, leadership, and commitment to agricultural education.

Three of our FBLA students participated in the Susquehanna Sales Competition, where they took on the role of a Knoebels sales representative and pitched a member‑appreciation event to a fictitious credit union.

Congratulations to Johnny Barnette, who placed 9th overall and earned a $100 award for his performance.

Despite last week’s weather, our students in grades 4–7 enjoyed an incredible hands‑on learning experience with the PA Ag Lab. Through engaging science experiments and real‑world agriculture activities, students explored how agriculture connects to their everyday lives and shapes our community.

We are grateful for the high‑quality lessons, the opportunities for students to think like scientists, and the meaningful connections to Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry.

A special thank‑you goes out to our FFA student volunteers, who supported sessions throughout the week and served as outstanding role models for our younger learners.

On March 13, the Students vs. Teachers Basketball Games return, sponsored by SAVE, and you won’t want to miss the action.

The competition tips off at 6:00 PM, as our students take on the staff in a night full of school spirit, friendly rivalry, and plenty of laughs.

🎟️ Tickets are available now on Hometown Ticketing.

Bring the whole family, fill the stands, and help make this an unforgettable community event. Let’s show up, cheer loud, and support our Tigers. 🐯