Revision of COVID-19 Food Service Update (3.23.20)

Monday, March 23, 2020

 

Dear P-H-M Families,

 

Today (Mon., March 23), Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb ordered all Indiana residents to stay home except for essential duties. In an effort to reduce the potential exposure to our P-H-M families and staff, starting tomorrow Tues, March 24, we have updated the locations that will be supplying meals.

 

Starting Tuesday, March 24, Early Meals will be offered at Prairie Vista & Grissom from 8 – 9 a.m., Midday Meals will be offered at Prairie Vista, Grissom & Penn from 11 a.m. – ​1 p.m. and Late Meals will be offered at Penn from 5 – 7 p.m. This is available to ANY and ALL P-H-M students. 

 The student does not have to be with the parent/adult when they pick up the meals. The adult just has to be able to show proof that they have at least one P-H-M student that they are picking up a meal for. They can show an ID card, a piece of paper with the student ID number, a report card, etc.

 

To help parents, Early sack meals for the following day can be picked up at the Midday and the Late Meal pick up times. 

 

We are doing our best to try and relieve as much stress as possible for our families. Even though our students are not in our buildings and classrooms, they are at the top of our minds. All of us at P-H-M are working to make things as stable as we can for you.
 

Managing COVID-19 Anxiety & Stress

 

Talking with Your Child & Teen About Infectious Diseases (such as the Coronavirus) … Helping to Relieve Anxieties

 

With all the information out about Infectious Diseases, such as the COVID-19, coronavirus, many people may have concerns and anxieties looming about their own health and the spread of the disease. As parents, we may have questions about how to talk to our children about the disease. With that in mind, we wanted to offer ways to support you from the social-emotional side. Please click to watch the video below from P-H-M's Director of Social-Emotional Learning & Mental Health Jennifer Sears, Ph.D. 

 

 

Dr. Sears has also prepared a multitude of tips and resources below for parents.

 

  • The following are guidelines or suggestions on the type of information that is age-appropriate for most. Remember, you know your child best.
    • Early Elementary: Keep the conversation brief, simple and stick to the facts. Assure the child home and school are safe. Let the child know IF someone gets sick, adults will help. Help the child learn ways to stay healthy, such as washing their hands, maintaining a sanitary environment, eating properly, getting enough rest, etc. 
    • Upper Elementary and Early Middle Schoolers: Share facts as above, but keep in mind children at this age are processing information more and may question if they are really safe. Therefore, it is important to separate fact from rumor. Share the ways people at home and school are taking measures to help keep them healthy. Monitor or limit media intake.
    • Upper Middle School and High Schoolers: Information can be shared more in-depth and more adult-like. Be honest, accurate and factual. Make sure they feel a sense of control in the situation, which comes by engaging in activities that will help keep themselves and others be healthy. Monitor media intake. 
  • Key Talking Points: When you talk with your child, keep the above in mind as well as a few key talking points for your consideration — State that at home and school, adults are taking every effort to keep everyone safe. Not everyone will get the disease/virus. Steps are being made to limit the spread of the disease and care for those who are sick. They can do things to help stay healthy (i.e., wash hands with soap and water, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, avoid contact with people who are sick, do not touch your mouth, eyes, nose or face, use your elbow to catch your sneeze or cough, clean and disinfect surface areas, etc.).

  • Here are some additional helpful suggestions about how to talk with your child about Infectious Diseases, such as the COVID-19:

    •  Be available and present: Take a few minutes to have a conversation with your child. Chances are they have heard something about the virus, and if not, it is a good time to set the tone with your child. Stick to the facts and reassure them that everyone is making every reasonable effort to keep people safe. Tell them you are aware of the symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, shortness of breath, per the CDC) and will monitor their health and seek immediate medical attention if you have concerns.

    • Remain calm and reassuring: Children will imitate what is modeled for them, so keep your voice calm, soothing and reassuring as you talk to them. Tell your child your family and the school are taking every precaution to help keep them safe.

    • Do not blame others: At times, we may find ourselves blaming a person or group of people, but it is really important to avoid stereotyping and blaming, especially in an instance when no one has meant to cause any harm. Any negative talk should be stopped and if there are concerns, you can report this to the school or make a call to the Safe School Helpline.

    • Listen to Concerns to Help Keep them Manageable: As do adults, children’s minds can wonder and they can imagine horrible situations. They may be worried about their loved ones becoming sick. Listen to their concerns, stick to the facts, and only share age-appropriate information. You know your child best.

    • Be aware of signs of anxiety in your children. You may notice some behaviors in your child that are a little out of character. For instance, on the mild side, they may hang around you more, seem clingy or want to be with you to help build a sense of security. Be patient. Younger children will have more difficulty expressing their worries than older children so they may not be able to put their thoughts into words, but their behaviors will help you gauge what they are feeling. Also keep in mind, young children may ask a few questions, play and then come back with more questions. They are unpacking a lot of information and attempting to make sense of it based on their experiences and knowledge. This is why it is important to stick to facts, answer what you are able to and what is age-appropriate, and prevent or limit access to media or talk that will heighten concerns.

  • Other Important Considerations:

    • Relieving Anxieties: Oftentimes, we feel a sense of anxiety because we do not feel in control or want to gain some control over the situation. With this in mind, remind children and adults alike that they have a sense of control in that they can help prevent the spread of the virus by taking appropriate measures to keep their hands sanitized using soap and warm water or an alcohol-based sanitizer, not touching face or mouth, not touching others, covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze, not eating or drinking after others, which all can provide provide a sense of control in people that they are not spreading the virus. We can also feel a sense of control when we take measures to stay healthy and give our immune system what it needs to keep our bodies healthy by eating right and getting enough sleep for their age. Assess your own risk to gain a sense of control over your health. Please consider speaking with your medical provider if you have individual concerns. The CDC also offers information on risks to different populations.​​ Please find the link here to CDC Website with information about people at high risk. If you know your risk, you can take the recommended precautions in order to help gain a sense of control, which will help alleviate some anxieties.

    • Self-Care: It is vital that we continue to engage in self-care activities to promote physical, psychological, personal, emotional, spiritual and professional well-being and help strengthen our ability to be resilient, or bounce back. If you are feeling more stress during this time, it is a good idea to make self-care more of a priority than it usually is for you. Self-care activities include eating and exercising properly, getting plenty of sleep, as well as engaging in activities that are safe and you enjoy.

    • Flexible Thinking: Practice flexible thinking, which is thinking about things in a new way. During times of change, we can practice flexible thinking when we think about our routine, for example. During times of change, we can practice cognitive flexibility by realizing we might do school work differently than normal, but we are still learning-we are just going about it in new ways than we typically do.

    • Supervise media consumption. Make sure information is age appropriate. Sensitive topics such as death can cause extreme worry and confusion. Limit the amount of time and conversation surrounding the Infectious Disease (e.g. COVID-19). While it is important to take precautions, adults should not dwell on the topic or share information with students that can be frightening and cause unnecessary panic. Reference the cdc.gov for the most accurate information. Communication regarding school will come from school administration. Be careful not to get caught up in rumors. If you have specific concerns, please report those to your child’s school. Rather than spending too much time with social media, especially with your children around (remember, they pick up on more than you know), engage in a game or other healthy activity to build relationships and ease their concerns by having the attention and presence of an adult. 

Additional Resources:

 

Important Message from Dr. Thacker re: COVID-19 (3/11/2020)

The message below was sent out to all P-H-M staff and families the afternoon of March 11, 2020.

 

Dear P-H-M Families,

 

The Saint Joseph County Department of Health held a news conference shortly after 3:00 p.m. this afternoon (Wednesday, March 11, 2020) to announce that St. Joseph County has its first positive case of COVID-19. 

 

If you are not yet aware, the Health Department stated that the patient is an adult male in his 50s and is quarantined at home. They stated that the patient does not need to be hospitalized. Due to patient privacy, no other information was released.

 

Out of an abundance of precaution and to minimize risk of exposure to the elderly and those with medically compromised immune systems, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation has decided to postpone large community events that we are hosting for the remainder of this week through Sunday, March 15. Building principals will notify the groups affected by the postponement of these events.

 

P-H-M Administration will take the rest of this week to examine what future action may need to be taken. We will be following the recommendations and direction of local, state and federal health officials.

 

We shared with you yesterday afternoon that we met with the Health Dept. officials. Their recommendation was to continue to stress the importance of hand hygiene and the importance for students and staff who are displaying flu-like symptoms to remain at home until they are fever and symptom free for at least 24 hours. CDC recommendations include:

  1. Wash your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. Soap and water is best, washing the hands for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  2. Cover your mouth and nose. Remind your students to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. The best thing is to cover the mouth and nose area with a tissue and then throw the tissue immediately away. Second best, if tissues are not available, is to cough/sneeze into your elbow. 
  3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

 

Both influenza and COVID-19 are respiratory viruses and the symptoms are very similar (click here for COVID-19 symptoms as described by the CDC). If you or a family member is having flu-like symptoms, you should contact your family physician for medical guidance. 

 

Please use these resources for more information on the COVID-19 situation nationally and in our state:

 

We appreciate your patience during this time.
 

Dr. Jerry Thacker​
Superintendent of Schools

Important Message from Dr. Thacker re: COVID-19 (3/10/2020)

The message below was sent out to all P-H-M staff and families the afternoon of March 10, 2020.

 

Dear P-H-M Families,
 

Several members of the P-H-M Administration Team met with leaders of the St. Joseph County Department of Health today to discuss the evolving health protocols and procedures for COVID-19. Today’s meeting was part of P-H-M’s ongoing communication with local health systems and the county health department.

 

The Indiana State Department of Health Department (ISDH) is tracking the state’s COVID-19 cases and sharing the information on their website (click here to read). Currently the ISDH has tested 36 people across the state and six people have tested positive in the following counties: Hendricks (2), Marion (1), Boone (1), Adams (1); and Noble (1). Right now, there are no confirmed cases in Saint Joseph County. 

 

We are taking guidance and direction from St. Joseph County Department of Health and ISDH. At this time, we have not been advised to make any changes to our academic or extracurricular calendars. The guidance provided at this time is that the elderly and those with serious medical underlying conditions should avoid large gatherings of any kind.

 

St. Joseph County Department of Health will notify us immediately of a confirmed case of COVID-19 should it impact our district. If there was a confirmed case, we would work directly with and take guidance from these local and state health experts. We will only be able to share information as permitted by HIPPA and by health officials.

 

We are also following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations on disinfection and sanitization of high traffic areas in our buildings. P-H-M Custodial Staff has been conducting extra cleaning in our schools since the beginning of flu season; we have since increased those measures to help prevent the spread of seasonal contagious diseases. These same cleaning measures are recommended by the CDC to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

 

We are reminding all P-H-M staff of proper hand hygiene, and teachers are reminding students. With our younger students, teachers are giving refreshers on proper hand washing techniques. St. Joseph County Department of Health officials reiterated with us today that the CDC recommendations continue to be the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

  1. Clean hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. Soap and water is best, washing the hands for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  2. Cover your mouth and nose. Remind your students to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. The best thing is to cover the mouth and nose area with a tissue and then throw the tissue immediately away. Second best, if tissues are not available, is to cough/sneeze into your elbow. 
  3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
     

Please remember that we are still in flu season. If students are sick please keep them home. Students should not return to school until they are fever and symptom free (this includes coughing and sneezing during flu season) for 24 hours. Both influenza and COVID-19 are respiratory viruses and the symptoms are very similar (click here for COVID-19 symptoms as described by the CDC). If you or a family member is having flu-like symptoms, you should contact your family physician for medical guidance. 

 

Please use these resources for more information on the COVID-19 situation nationally and in our state:

 

You can also contact the St. Joseph County Department of Health at (574) 235-9750.

 

Thank you for your patience during this rapidly evolving situation. We will continue to provide updates to the P-H-M family when they become available.

 

Dr. Jerry Thacker​
Superintendent of Schools

 

Parent information on Naviance

P-H-M is excited to offer Naviance to students in grades 6-12. Naviance is a college, career and life readiness web-based platform that helps identify and align students' individual strengths and interests to post-secondary goals, including college and careers. Naviance was built for students to learn about who they are as learners, what their interests and strengths are, and then tie their personal interests and strengths to potential career pathways and colleges.

 

Starting in the Spring 2020 semester, students in 6th-12th grades will be doing two to four learning activities through the Naviance platform as part of Phase I of our Naviance launch.

 

During the 2019-2020 school year specifically, in middle school, students will engage in Naviance during social studies, and high schoolers will engage in Naviance during English for 11th & 12th graders, science for 10th graders, and PCC for 9th graders.

 

Students will have access to Naviance using their Clever credentials, and parents can have access to their student's account using their child's Clever credentials as well.

 

Please click here to access the presentation used at a parent informational meeting on March 2, 2020 for additional information.

 

We are pleased to offer this robust tool to continue to support your student to reach his or her potential and set them on a path toward success!

Important Message from Dr. Thacker re: COVID-19 (3/3/2020)

The message below was sent out to all P-H-M staff and families the afternoon of March 3, 2020.

 

Dear P-H-M Families,

 

The health, safety and well-being of Penn-Harris-Madison students and staff are our top priorities. With the ongoing elevated discussion regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the world news, we are reaching out to remind everyone in the P-H-M family about the preventive safety measures we can all take, as well as to inform you what we at P-H-M are doing.

 

As a school district, we are closely monitoring the situation via the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. The CDC is providing local expert and community guidance through the St. Joseph County Department of Health and the Indiana Department of Health. We are also receiving information from the U.S. Department of Education and the Indiana Department of Education, as well as a host of other state and national professional organizations. The one good thing about this situation is that there is an abundance of expert guidance. We are following the advice and direction of the governmental entities in charge. As a district, we are focusing on the things within our control.

 

All of the health officials are uniformly reiterating that the best preventive measure that each and every one of us can do is practice good hand hygiene. The same precautions that we annually remind our students, at all grade levels, during the cold and flu season are the exact same practices that the CDC is recommending to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:
 

  1. Clean hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  2. Cover your mouth and nose. Remind your students to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. The best thing to do is to cough/sneeze into your elbow. Second best is to cover the mouth and nose area with a tissue and then throw the tissue away.
  3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
  4. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

 

P-H-M’s janitorial staff already cleans common areas and disinfects common touch surfaces regularly. We ramp up these efforts during the cold and flu season. Under the current circumstances and in an abundance of precaution, P-H-M is taking extra steps to increase our normal diligent disinfectant measures.

 

As stated in all P-H-M Student Handbooks if students are sick please keep them home. Students should not return to school until they are fever and symptom free for 24 hours. We are constantly reminding families to practice this ongoing safety practice year round.

 

As it pertains to concerns over COVID-19 symptoms, the CDC has very specific recommendations if the symptoms coincide with recent travel to specific countries on their watch lists.

 

This situation continues to evolve. P-H-M Administrators are staying abreast of the information, as we have since the beginning. If the need should arise to change or defer from our normal operations, rest assured we will communicate with our families and staff immediately.

 

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Dr. Jerry Thacker

Superintendent of Schools

Spring Break Kids Club Registration (April 6 – 10)

Registration is now OPEN!

 

Cost is $25 per child, per day. If you are not currently enrolled in Kids Club, you must also pay the $25 registration fee per child. Please click to register. Payment must be submitted through https://www.myprocare.com/.

 

Registration and payment are due and non-refundable by midnight, Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Registrations will not be accepted after that date.

 

Kids Club will operate at Northpoint Elementary School, 6:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Entry will be through Door E; there will not be a door code for entry.

 

Students should bring their own sack lunch and drink. Morning and afternoon snacks will be provided.

 

Kids Club Cell Phone: (574) 261-9974 

Education Foundation Spring Grant Cycle Now Open!

The application window for P-H-M Education Foundation’s Spring 2020 Grant Cycle is now open!

PHMEF grants are eligible to any P-H-M staff member who can demonstrate a program’s innovation and creativity, and reflect commitment to excellence in education. Deadline for all grant applications is 4 p.m., Friday, March 27, at the P-H-M’s Educational Services Center (55900 Bittersweet Rd., Mishawaka).

PHMEF is seeking innovative programs that have not been previous funding through past grant cycles. Note there are funding restrictions such as not paying for substitutes, food, party supplies, etc. A complete list of restrictions can be found in the application packet (click to download & print the application packet). Those applications requesting non-funded expenses will not be presented to the Grants Committee.

So parents work with your student’s teacher or principal to write up a grant proposal for a program you’ve been wishing you child’s school had. PHMEF grants are eligible to any staff member who can demonstrate their program’s innovation, creativity and reflects commitment to excellence in education. During the Fall 2019 Grant Cycle, the PHMEF awarded $10,188.63 in grants! Click here for a list of the unique Fall 2019 grant awardees.

Watch the video below to see how a PHMEF grant awarded back in 2016 to plant fruit trees at three P-H-M elementary schools came to fruition in early fall …

There are two ways to apply—EZ Form or Traditional Form. Grant applications and filing details can be found online at the Education Foundation’s website or by clicking on the links below:

  1. EZ Form: for grants less than $250
  2. Traditional Form: to be used for grants requesting $250 or more and/or a request that is comprehensive (multi-classroom, school-wide or district-wide requests). This form cannot be emailed. It must be sent with 10 copies each and with the appropriate signatures. Forms that don’t have these requirements and/or are not complete, will not be considered.

Your project evaluation must be submitted within 30 days of completion of the project or at the latest within the 1 year of funds being awarded. Consideration of future grants is dependent upon submission of a completed evaluation form. Click here to fill out the Grant Project Evaluation Form online.

The timeline for the PHMEF Spring Grant Cycle is as follows:

  • Friday, March 27, 4:00 p.m. – All applications (EZ Form and Traditional Form) must be turned in at the ESC or emailed if it is the EZ Form by the deadline! No late applications will be accepted! Note there must be 10 copies for the traditional form.
  • Between March 30 – April 22 – PHMEF grant committee meets to select recipients and presents grants for approval to the P-H-M Education Foundation Board of Directors. 
  • By April 24 – Recipients will be notified by email with formal letter to follow.

 

Spotlight on Horizon Elementary School

Horizon Elementary hosted the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees for their regularly scheduled Board Meeting held last night (Monday, Feb. 24, 2020). Four times each school year, the Board of School Trustees visits a school within the district to "spotlight" a particular program or accomplishment. Horizon hosted the Board's third visit for the 2019-2020 school year. The other schools on this year's visitation list include Prairie Vista and Walt Disney Elementary Schools, as well as Grissom Middle School.

 

Principal Tressa Decker

 

Horizon Principal Tressa Decker highlighted various programs at Horizon that show how the school is “Going Above and Beyond” this school year. Principal Decker introduced the Board Members to second grader Olivia Kruyer who is a young philanthropist! Olivia loves reading and has a desire to help others. Olivia raised reads to other children at the YWCA once a month and wanted to help refurbish their reading room, so she started a fundraiser raising more than $5,000. Olivia was featured on WNDU a few times for her fundraising idea.

 

Third grader Anica Gensic was also introduced to the Board. Anica wrote a book about “How to Handle Anger,” which explains how she and her family use self soothing methods. After reading the book to the Board, she gave Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker a signed copy!

 

Anica Gensic reads her book to the Board  Anica Gensic gives Dr. Thacker a copy of her book

 

Next up Principal Decker introduced Horizon’s VEX-IQ Robotics Team which recently won the Regional Championship and next month will be competing at the State Competition at Lucas Oil Stadium! The team coached by Mr. Derrick Fairbotham demonstrated their robots for the Board.

 

VEX-IQ Robotics Coach Mr. Derrick Fairbotham  Horizon VEX-IQ Robotics Team

 

 

 

Naviance Parent Info Night, March 2

Penn-Harris-Madison is pleased to introduce Naviance Student as a comprehensive website that you and your middle or high school student can use to make post-secondary plans. Naviance Student allows your student to engage in a variety of activities, such as:

  • Getting involved in the planning and advising process – Build a resume, complete online surveys, and manage timelines and deadlines for making decisions about post-secondary options and careers
  • Researching colleges – Review statistics regarding students who have been admitted in the past
  • Researching careers – Research hundreds of careers and career clusters, and take career assessments
  • Creating plans for the future – Create four-year plans, goals and to-dos, and complete tasks assigned by the school to better prepare your student for future post-secondary and career goals.

 

To help parents answer questions about this new tool, we will be holding a information night for middle and high school parents:

Naviance Parent Info Night (middle & high school parents)

Monday, March 2

6:00 p.m.

Penn High School, LGI-B

*Enter Door A or B

 

You can get started by clicking here to watch a demo of “The Student Journey in Naviance.” 

 

Naviance Student also lets us share information with you and your student about upcoming meetings and events, local scholarship opportunities, and other resources for post-secondary information. We will systematically introduce Naviance to your student so your child can begin engaging in a variety of  activities. 

 

Additionally, over the course of the spring semester, your student will have the opportunity to complete different activities in Naviance, so please talk with your student about what your child is completing and learning about themselves in preparation for college and career readiness.