Here are some things to know as students in the Shaler Area School District start new year

Shaler Area students return to classes on Aug. 19.

• Holiday breaks: Labor Day, Sept. 1; Thanksgiving, Nov. 26-28 and Dec. 1; holiday, Dec. 19-Jan. 2; spring, March 30-April 3; Memorial Day, May 25.

• Enrollment: 3,751

• Lunch prices: Primary and elementary, $2.15; middle and high school, $2.40, each increased 10 cents

• District phone number: 412-492-1200

• District website: shalerarea.org

• What’s new: Venice Piveronas will serve as interim Shaler Area High School assistant principal.

Piveronas previously was employed in the Shaler Area School District for 19 years, including serving as the assistant principal of Shaler Area Elementary School until her retirement at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Piveronas most recently served as Scott Primary School interim principal in the spring.

JoAnne Townsend will continue as interim Shaler Area High School principal.

Townsend has been a member of the district for 20 years, serving the majority of her career as assistant principal at Shaler Area High School and as interim principal at the former Jeffery Primary School.

Beginning this year, primary students will begin to experience a hands-on approach to science.

Pilot K-3 classrooms will begin using the Twig science curriculum. According to publishers, Twig is “a phenomena-based core science program that embraces the investigative, hands-on nature of the Next Generation Science Standards, presented through award-winning, real-world STEM storylines that inspire and capture students’ imaginations.”

The approach is part of a broader shift in education away from lecture and memorization to hands-on, project-based learning. The goal is not only for students to know the answer but for them to understand how they got there, grasping the concept as a whole.

A similar approach to math was adopted last year in the school district.