At the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees meeting held Monday, January 11, 2021, three Board Members were elected by their fellow Members to continue serving their officer positions: Mr. Chris Riley will continue as President, Mr. Larry Beehler will continue to serve as Vice President, and Mrs. Angie Gates will continue to serve as Secretary.
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Newly elected Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustee Mrs. Clare Roach and re-elected Trustees Mr. Jim Garrett and Mr. Jamie Woods were sworn in Friday, January 8, 2021 at the Law Offices of May Oberfell Lorber by Attorney Jon Rogers. January 11, 2021 is the first P-H-M Board Meeting of 2021. Click here for a listing of the School Board Meetings for the 2020-2021 school year.

Mrs. Roach now holds one of the two Harris Township seats (Mrs. Angie Gates holds the other). Mrs. Roach is the Board’s newest member; she was elected in November 2020 and her term runs from 2021 to 2024. She was joined by her family at her swearing-in. See the picture below.

Mr. Garrett and Mr. Woods each represent Penn Township. Both were re-elected in November 2020 and their terms also run from 2021 to 2024.

Click here to meet the members of the entire P-H-M School Board.

Elementary Schools

• Bittersweet Elementary School
• Elm Road Elementary School
• Elsie Rogers Elementary School
• Horizon Elementary School
• Madison Elementary School
• Mary Frank Elementary School
• Meadow’s Edge Elementary School
• Moran Elementary School
• ​Northpoint Elementary School
• Prairie Vista Elementary School
• Walt Disney Elementary School

Middle Schools

• Discovery Middle School
• Grissom Middle School
• Schmucker Middle School

High School

• Penn High School
• Pennway Alternative School
• Pennway Adult Night School

Kids Club

• All Elementary Schools

P-H-M Athletics

• High School & Middle School

P-H-M Band Protocols

• High School & Middle School

The death of a student has a profound, deep impact on the P-H-M community.  In order to provide support to students, families and staff, P-H-M is offering some tips from the National Association of School Psychologists regarding the process of grief, possible reactions to grief and loss, and ways we can support our children. 

The process of grief is personal.  The process will be impacted by a person's developmental level, religious beliefs, cultural practice, mental health, family supports, personality and previous experiences. Generally, there are four phases to grief, although the phases may not occur in a linear fashion: 

1. Shock and Numbness (stunned, difficulty thinking clearly)

2. Yearning and Searching (restless, angry, guilty, bewildered)

3. Disorientation and Disorganization (extreme sadness, possible continued guilt and anger)

4. Reorganization and Resolution (accept the loss)

Understanding the process as well knowing children's response to grief may manifest differently than it often does in adults will help us meet the child in their moment of need. The following is a general guideline of what to expect at different ages:

• Preschool – Regressive behaviors, decreased verbalization, increased anxiety
• Elementary – Elementary aged students may ask questions to understand what happened, so it is important to be patient. While it is important to be truthful, over-sharing details is too much for a child to handle at this age. Therefore, it is best to stick the facts and be brief.  Up to the age of approximately eight years, the child may engage in magical thinking and believe they hold the power to bring the deceased back to life.  Listen and recognize the feelings, but do not validate these feelings.  Children ages nine to twelve may be less comfortable sharing feelings so help children who are in this age range show grief in other ways. Symptoms of grief at this age may include:  decreased academic performance, difficulties with attention/concentration, and attendance; irritability, aggression, and disruptive behaviors; somatic complaints; sleep/eating disturbances; social withdrawal; guilt, depression, and anxiety; and/or repeated re-telling of the event.

• Middle and High School – Students in middle and high school may seem to express their feelings much like an adult would do so.  Provide opportunities to allow the student to share their feelings, especially privately, but do not force the child to share.  People in this age range may share more with a close peer present.  Older teens may tend to use more physical contact to show support and empathy (e.g., hugging, linking arms, etc.).  Possible grief reactionary symptoms may include decreased academic performance, attention/concentration difficulties, and attendance; avoidance, withdrawal, high risk behaviors or substance abuse, difficulty with peer relations, nightmares, flashbacks, emotional numbing or depression.

When the grief reaction starts to impact daily functioning for a long period of time or if your child is having extreme reactions, your family may want to consider seeking outside help if the following symptoms or behaviors are present: changes in eating habits, wishing to be with the deceased, fear of being alone, significant decrease in academic performance, or increased somatic complaints (e.g., headache, stomach, body aches).  If there are thoughts of suicide, it is vital this is taken seriously. Call 911 or the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK. 

Naturally, when our children are grieving as parents you want to help. It is important to remember you provide so much support just by being present and actively listening to your child in a non-judgmental manner. During the process, it is helpful to maintain routines as much as possible to provide predictability during an unpredictable time, structure and comfort.  Although listening is key, it is also important to talk with your child and ask questions to gain an understanding of what your child is thinking and feeling so you can provide guidance and support. You may also need to tell your child it is okay to grieve while discussing, encouraging and modeling healthy coping strategies.

If you or your child need additional supports, here are some helpful places to start:  

• National Alliance for Grieving Children

The Indiana Department of Education released the list of Four Star Schools and six P-H-M schools have earned that distinction. P-H-M is in the Top 5 of Four Star Schools in the state, out of approximately 300 public school districts.

P-H-M's Four Star Schools for the 2016-17 school year are:

1. Discovery Middle School
2. Horizon Elementary School
3. Meadow’s Edge Elementary School
4. Northpoint Elementary School
5. Prairie Vista Elementary School
6. Penn High School 

​Meadow’s Edge is one of  P-H-M’s five Title I schools and is in the top 1% of Title I schools in the state to be named a Four Star School (one of 9 out of 900)! This is the second year in a row Meadow’s Edge has earned this recognition.

The IDOE's criteria to be named a Four Star School changed from the 2015-16 school year. To qualify for the 2016-17 recognition, a school must meet the following criteria:

• A school must have received an “A” for the 2016-2017 school year. 

• A school must have tested at least 95% of students on ISTEP English/Language Arts and Math. 

• Grade 3-8 & Grade 10 combined ISTEP Pass Percentage (Pass Percentage of English/Language Arts ISTEP + Pass Percentage of Math ISTEP) must be in Top 25th Percentile for each grade tested. (minimum of 10 students). 

• Grade 3-8 & Grade 10 Percent Passing Both ISTEP (Percent of students who passed both the English/Language Arts ISTEP + Math ISTEP) must be in the Top 25th Percentile. (minimum of 10 students).

Click here to see the full list of criteria.

The Penn Fine Arts and Communications Academy is presenting, “Shrek, the Musical”, at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 4.

The showings will be held within the Center for Performing Arts (enter through Door C).

Tickets are $10 pre-sale by clicking here to access Penn Theater’s TicketTracker.com online ticket store, or $12 at the door.
 

Penn student C. Monte Teeple, starring as Lord Farquaad, said that the musical as a contemporary appeal.

“Unlike a lot of musicals that you would find locally, Shrek is a much more modern show,” Teeple said. “This not only means that many jokes and much of the humor will be understood by students, but also that the actual songs and music are far more modern as well.”

The plot of “Shrek the Musical” revolves around a hated Ogre (Shrek) and a talking donkey who go on a quest to save Princess Fiona in order to reclaim Shrek’s swamp.

Lord Farquaad claimed the swamp and has housed all magical creatures there.

From a deeper point of view, the story is about the misfits and those who don’t fit in, and finding your place in the world.

It is the goal of the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation that the information on our website be accessible to individuals with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities.

Good faith efforts have been made to ensure that our site complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to the best of our technical ability.

The majority of pages in our site are available in HTML format that can be deciphered by assistive technologies. Some documents are in Adobe PDF format, which require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, please visit Adobe’s website, at this link get.adobe.com/reader/, to download your free version.

Some features on this site may also require the Adobe Flash Player to view. If you don’t have the Adobe Flash Player please visit the Adobe website at this link get.adobe.com/flashplayer/, to download your free version.

If you are unable to access any page(s) or documents on our website, please email our District Webmaster at helpdesk@phm.k12.in.us with the exact url web address of the page or document you were attempting to access and any other details. Be sure to provide us with your name and contact information so that we may provide you with the information in another format.

You may also call P-H-M Administrative Offices, Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., at (574) 259-7941.

You can also stop by the Educational Services Center in person Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., to pick up paper copies of the documentation you are trying to access. Please come to the ESC located at 55900 Bittersweet Rd., Mishawka, IN 46545. You can also mail a request to this address.

Please note that some pages on our website contain links to third-party sites, which are not within our control and may not comply with accessibility standards. P-H-M School Corporation is not responsible for the content or accessibility of third-party sites.

Welcome to the Parents Section of the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation website! Here at PHM, we are committed to fostering a strong partnership between our schools and your family. This section is designed to provide you with helpful links, important resources, and up-to-date information to support your child’s educational journey. Whether you’re looking for enrollment details, academic calendars, or extracurricular opportunities, you’ll find everything you need right here. We are excited to have you as part of the PHM family and look forward to working together for your child’s success.

P-H-M families can plan ahead with the 2017-2018 school year calendar.

The calendar displays start and end dates, scheduled breaks and recesses and—most importantly—180 instructional days for P-H-M students! 

Some patrons may notice that no “snow make-up days” have been built into the 2017-2018 calendar. With the district’s successful implementation of eLearning—which takes place outside the classroom on days that school is canceled—additional days do not need to be scheduled.

Click here to download a 1-page PDF of the 2017-2018 school year calendar
  

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2017-2018

• First day of school – Wednesday, August 23, 2017
• Labor Day Recess/No School – Monday, September 4
• Fall Recess Days/No School – Friday, October 27 and Monday, October 30
• Thanksgiving Day Recess/No School – Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24
• Winter Break/No School – Monday, December 25, 2017 through Friday, January 5, 2018
• School Resumes following Winter Break – Monday, January 8
• Martin Luther King Jr. Recess Day/No School – Monday, January 15
• Recess Day/No School – Friday, February 16
• Presidents’ Day/No School – Monday, February 19
• Recess Day/No School – Friday, March 30
• Spring Break/No School – Monday, April 2 through Friday, April 6
• Memorial Day Recess Day/No School – Monday, May 28
• Last Day of School for Students – Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Remember to check the online version of the district calendar located on our home page throughout the year for updated information and more event details. As dates for school events are determined, they will be posted to the online Google calendar that is displayed on each school’s website. You can easily visit the school websites by clicking on SCHOOLS in the menu bar at the top of this page.