Registration for the 2022-2023 Penn Kingsmen Junior Boys Basketball League will be from 5:30-8:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25. Enter at Door D.

The leagues for Boys in Graces 1-8 will start in September.

Click here for details/forms.

Contact League Director Julius Smith – jsmith5@phm.k12.in.us – for information.

Registration for the Penn Youth Girls Basketball League for Girls in Grades 3-8 will be from 12-2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, in the Penn Main Arena.

The cost is $125 per athlete.

Sunday, Sept. 25, will be a practice day at Penn. There will also be a parent meeting.

Games start on Sunday, Oct. 2.

Click here for details/registration form.

After 19 years as P-H-M’s Director of Safety and Security and helping our district become recognized as among the safest in the nation, Mike Seger has retired. Click to see the photo gallery below.

The ESC staff, staff across the district, along with P-H-M vendors Gibson and Honeywell, all gathered Thursday afternoon (July 21, 2022) to wish Seger well and help him usher in his retirement. Thank you to Honeywell for sponsoring the retirement reception.

Not to worry the safety and security of P-H-M schools is great hands and protected. 30-year police veteran and new Safety and Security Director Tommy Teeter has been cross training with Seger for two months. Click to read more about Director Teeter’s law enforcement expertise, along with new Lead Safety Agent Antwon Jones. Mr. Jones joined P-H-M this month as a 22-year veteran police officer and SRO from South Bend Police Department. Jones also worked as South Bend John Adam’s High School Head Varsity Football and Unified Track Coach. 

After some much deserved rest and relaxation, Mr. Seger will be available to P-H-M’s Safety Team for ongoing consulting as needed.

WHAT:          Summer Learning Conference
WHEN:         August 2, 2022 from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
WHERE:       Penn High School
                    56100 Bittersweet Rd.

Technovation is part of the conference series “Summer of Learning” hosted by the Indiana Department of Education. Click for more details about the series. This event is open to ANY EDUCATIONAL STAFF MEMBER IN INDIANA.

THINGS TO KNOW:

• Click here to register. This event is FREE to P-H-M teachers. Please contact Technology at (574) 254-2829 for details.
• Lunch will be Italian style dishes provided by Automated Data Systems and catered by SweetLou’s in Westville, IN
• Snacks and beverages provided by our partners at Luma Audio & Visual
• Technovation is part of the conference series “Summer of Learning” hosted by the Indiana Dept. of Education. Click for more details about the series. 
• PGP points will be provided for each session attended.
• Click to see the full list of sessions available

• Click for more details about the conference and the full list of speakers on the P-H-M Technovation 2022 website

• Find us on Twitter: @phmtech or hashtag #Technovate

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Technovation 2022 is proud to announce that Carl Hooker will be our keynote speaker this year. Mr. Hooker has been a part of a strong educational shift with technology integration since becoming an educator.  From his start as a teacher to his role as a district technology leader, he’s always had one common belief – that kids need to drive their own learning. Carl has been an educator for the past 21 years. He has held a variety of positions in multiple districts from 1st grade teacher to Virtualization Coordinator. Mr. Hooker has published a 6 part book series titled “Mobile Learning Mindset” and has recently published a new book “Ready, Set Fail!” Aside from his speaking and consulting work, Carl also works as an influencer and advisor for multiple Ed Tech start-up companies. He’s also a national advisor for the Future Ready Schools Initiative. He blogs regularly at HookEDonInnovation.com and has written guest blogs for the Huffington Post and Edutopia.

Thank you to our Sponsors:

Interested in being a Substitute Teacher, or Substitute Teacher’s Aide, Substitute Exceptional Education Aide or a Substitute Office Aide for P-H-M?

Sub Teachers pay $100 day, Sub Aides and Sub Office Aides $14 an hour, & Sub EAs $85 a day. Check out the job descriptions at https://bit.ly/PHMWork.

Come out Wednesday, July 27, 2022, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.,  Schmucker Middle School, Door B.

The message below was emailed to P-H-M Families on the afternoon of July 15, 2022.

Dear P-H-M Families,

I hope you are enjoying your summer. I have some great news! I am extremely proud to share that the Indiana Department of Education released the Spring ILEARN 2022 scores this week and P-H-M is once again one of Indiana’s top performing public school corporations–going from the Top 6% in 2021 to the Top 3.67% in 2022. That means that Penn-Harris-Madison ranks #11 out of Indiana’s 299 public school districts!

Congratulations to you and your children! I never cease to be amazed by our students’ continued resiliency, hard work, and dedication. I applaud our P-H-M families and the commitment of our teachers, administrators,
and staff.

Additionally, Northpoint again is the #1 public elementary school in the state, for passing both ELA and Math ILEARN. Prairie Vista moved up to the #2 spot. Discovery is among Indiana’s top performing middle schools coming in at #2, for passing both ELA and math. To see your school’s scores, please click here to visit the IDOE website.

These results are even more pleasing knowing that our students and educators have been working diligently to close the learning gaps caused by the pandemic. We have been extremely focused on providing excellence in education to help all of our students learn and achieve academic success. P-H-M’s post-pandemic learning recovery plan has included hiring additional staff, specifically adding instructional interventionists at all of our schools to assist teachers in providing more attention directly with the students who need it most. We have also added before and after school student tutoring sessions, increased targeted summer learning opportunities to help students catch up, and we continue to provide professional development for our teachers, this past year with specific and intentional focus on accelerating student learning.

We know that the pandemic created a lot of issues in a number of educational areas, and it will take the ongoing intense focus of school leadership and district administration to help our cohort of students most impacted by the pandemic regain what was lost. Our educators are committed to providing exceptional academic support to all students in all 15 of our schools and are working tirelessly to do so. The ongoing efforts by our teachers in this endeavor is greatly appreciated. The Board of School Trustees and I continue to be confident that the P-H-M “Triangle of Success”–connecting students, teachers, and parents–creates a learning environment in which our students thrive.

As the parents and families of students, your active participation in your children’s education is invaluable to student success. Educational success starts at home and that is why the “Triangle” is so important. We congratulate all our families and students on this success, and we look forward to making even more progress this coming school year.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. We look forward to welcoming your children back on Wednesday, August 17.

Dr. Jerry Thacker
Superintendent of Schools

Recipients of the PAEMST receive the following:

• A certificate signed by the President of the United States.
• A paid trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities.
• A $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.

Mrs. Fox was also P-H-M's Elementary Teacher of the Year for 2022.

P-H-M’s Employee Recognition Program returned to an in-person dinner and event on Monday, May 16 after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic (the dinner was canceled in 2020 and a video recognizing retirees and years of service was put online last year). While not all were present, the Corporation as a whole did honor PHM's Teachers of the Years, Employee of the Year, retirees, as well as employees who've been with PHM for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years. This year we celebrated a total of more than 140 Service Award winners and more than 40 retirees. Click to see the full list, photo gallery and videos of the TOYs and EOY.

During the program Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and Board of School Trustees President Chris Riley honored this year’s retirees, as well as Amanda Fox, Elementary Teacher of the Year; Becky Hope, Secondary Teacher of the Year; and Employee of the Year Julie Demske.  

Service Awards were also handed out to employees who have dedicated 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, an 35 years of service to Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. Click here to read the full program and list of retirees, Service Award Winners, and bio information on the Teachers of the Year and Employee of the Year.

Board Members Larry Beehler and James Turnwald were on hand to applaud and congratulate employees for their honors. The dinner was generously sponsored by Teachers Credit Union. Human Resources Director Seth Molnar served as Master of Ceremonies.

Miss Fox, Mrs. Hope and Ms. Demske all spoke at last night’s dinner; they also received a commemorative plaque for their award. As part of the recognitions for Miss Fox and Mrs. Hope, P-H-M Education Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom gave each teacher a $1,000 grant from the Foundation to use in their classrooms. Ms. Demske received a gift certificate from the District. Click here to view the full photo gallery below for pictures of the recognitions.

Spring is always a busy time of year for Penn-Harris-Madison; the first couple of weeks of May is when Dr. Thacker makes his rounds of the schools surprising a couple of teachers naming an elementary and secondary teachers of the year; he also names a Classified Employee of the Year. This year Dr. Thacker kicked off National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2 – May 6) by walking into the 4^th grade Elsie Rogers classroom of Miss Amanda Fox. 

See the surprise and learn who inspired Miss Fox to become a teacher herself …

Excellent teachers do more than just help students learn a subject; they inspire them to not only find their inner genius, but also encourage them to dream big. Penn High School Art teacher Mrs. Becky Hope does just that! She is thrilled beyond belief to be her students’ fun loving tour guide on their creative journey as they develop their artistic style. She enjoys spreading joy and hope! The saying “they broke the mold when they made her” definitely applies to Mrs. Hope!

Click to watch video below and see for yourself why students love Mrs. Hope so much …

“A behind the scenes person,” that’s how Ms. Julie Demske describes herself. As Schmucker’s Head Custodian, Julie takes pride in helping things run smoothly and being the person you call when you need help. That’s why on May 2^nd when Principal Dr. Lavon Dean-Null radioed Julie to come to the WSMS studios, Julie came running—she actually was up on the school roof doing a repair and dropped everything to get to the studio since it was during morning announcements. But as soon as she walked into the studio, right on que, and saw and heard Dr. Thacker talking about P-H-M’s Classified Employee of the Year, she knew what was up. 

Watch P-H-M’s first school wide surprise live broadcast … 

After these special employees were recognized for their awards, teachers Jeanne Rehlander and Shelli Treely handed out recognition Service Award pins and Dr. Thacker and Chris Riley recognized retirees. Click to see the full list of all the Service Award winners and retirees in the dinner program.

View the photo gallery below of those who attended the May 16^th dinner. Just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. 

Spring is always a busy time of year for Penn-Harris-Madison; just like flowers and the budding trees, school activities pop up all over the place as soon as the weather slowly warms up.

The first couple of weeks of May is when Superintendent Dr. Thacker generally makes his rounds of the schools surprising a couple of teachers naming an elementary and secondary teachers of the year. He also names a Classified Employee of the Year. So when employees see him unexpectedly this time of year, they usually realize right away what’s going on once the astonishment wears off! Click to look through the photo gallery on Schmucker’s website.

This was the case with our Head Custodian Miss Julie Demske on the morning of Monday, May 2. She was actually on the roof of Schmucker when she was radioed to come to the school’s WSMS studios to fix an emergency. Since it was during morning announcements, Julie thought maybe there was a light out or something. But as soon as she walked into the studio, right on que, and saw and heard Dr. Thacker talking about P-H-M’s Classified Employee of the Year, she knew what was up. Watch P-H-M’s first school wide live surprise in the video below … 

Julie was so touched with the honor that it brought her to tears. Thank you to Carla Wisler who nominated Julie and has worked with her for three years.

Julie is a Penn graduate, Class of ‘88. She started working at P-H-M when she was 21 as a bus operator; she also trained drivers for their CDL. Julie was a bus operator for 11 years and then left to pursue another career. Fortunately for P-H-M, she came back in 2011 as a custodian and earned the position of Head Custodian of Schmucker Middle School in 2015.

Julie says she enjoys her job and Schmucker “because of the amazing administration team and the staff they make you feel like you ‘belong’ here. The kids are the reason we take so much pride in what we do here and that is to make sure this school is clean and ready everyday for students and guests. I am very humbled by the nomination and have to say I am one of those people who give 110% to anything I am doing. Thank you again for the consideration of this award.”

Congratulations Julie and THANK YOU for all you do for our students and staff every day!
 

To help kick off National Appreciation Week, P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker surprised two very special teachers on Monday, May 2 to notify them that they had been chosen as year’s P-H-M 2022 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year. 

Monday afternoon, Dr. Thacker stopped by Penn High School to surprise Art Teacher Mrs. Becky Hope to award her with the honor of PHM Secondary Teacher of the Year. Earlier in the morning, Dr. Thacker surprised Elsie Rogers Elementary School 4th grade teacher Mrs. Amanda Fox to inform her that she had been named Elementary Teacher of the Year. Click here to read that story.

Mrs. Hope knew something was up as soon as she opened the door to her classroom, then everyone yelled out “SURPRISE!” Mrs. Hope was so happy and touched to see her normal small quiet room full with ceramic students, fellow art teachers, Penn & PHM administrators, Superintendent Dr. Thacker and her husband, Dr. Steve Hope. In classic Mrs. Hope style–positive and funny–she quipped back “I’m guessing everyone’s here to celebrate my 25th birthday!” Watch the video below to see more of the surprise and then click here to look through the photo gallery on Penn’s website.

Her friendly and energetic personality is what Mrs. Hope is known for. People are drawn to her. She's an art teacher, comedian, colleague and mentor and loved by everyone she meets and teaches.

“She is one of the most positive, creative, and supportive people that I’ve ever worked with. She is loved by her students and coworkers alike. I can’t think of anyone else more deserving of this honor,” said fellow Penn Art teacher and nominator Ms. Barb Miller.

Mrs. Hope is the PLC Leader for Penn’s Visual Arts Department, teaches AP Studio Art class, manages the Senior Showcase, sponsor’s student Art Club. Mrs. Hope has also helped establish, run and expand P-H-M’s elementary summer Visual Arts Academy. 

“I am proud of the Visual Arts Academy which provides an opportunity for our youngest artists and P-H-M students to be creators, listeners, questioners, and writers about art,” said Mrs. Hope. “I feel fortunate every day to work with students who are willing to be challenged, to explore and investigate. … Also I am thankful for all of the fellow teachers who provide inspiration and support for all the young learners in our classrooms.”

The Visual Arts Academy partners with the University of Notre Dame‘s Snite Art Museum to share museum art pieces that students can study and use as an inspiration for creating their own art pieces and writing projects. This year the Visual Arts Academy is being offered the second, third and fourth weeks of July (click if you’d like to sign your child up for this summer’s sessions). 

The Academy has also made it possible for the high school students volunteers to participate in Notre Dame’s Apprentice Program. Mrs. Hope encourages her students to get experience displaying and selling their artwork at such events as South Bend’s Art Beat and the P-H-M Education Foundation’s Penn Student Art show at Granger’s Max Black Fine Arts Studio. She also lends her guidance and talents for numerous activities and charitable events, including making decorations and selfie stations for Exceptional Education’s annual student dances.