Tuesday, September 3
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Penn High School CPA

Topic: High in Plain Sight: Current alcohol, drug and concealment trends and identifier

What are the current trends are among teenagers when it comes to drugs and alcohol? Learn how these dangerous products can be concealed and the important identifiers to keep your middle and high school students safe. For more more information on Officer Jermaine Galloway’s presentations, please click here to visit his website.

This presentation was arranged by P-H-M’s Safety and Security Department and is open to all parents (grades 6-12), districtwide, along with staff who wish to attend. Click here to download and share the PDF of the event flyer

The purpose of the newly created Superintendent’s Advisory Council to provide the school constituency the opportunity to have input into the corporation decision making process, toward the achievement of district-wide goals for student safety, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Restorative Practices. While the primary focus for the 2019-2020 school year will be the middle schools, knowledge gained from the process will benefit our students district wide:

• Enhance communication between the Superintendent and school patrons.
• Serve as a sounding board for new ideas.
• Help the Superintendent and school board anticipate and/or identify community concerns and potential solutions to those issues.
• Assist with planning issues surrounding the implementation of change.

The Superintendent’s Advisory Council (SAC) serves as an advisory group to the Superintendent and not a decision making body for the district. 

Meetings will be held once a month starting in September 2019.

For those parents or community members interested in applying, please click here for a full description of Penn-Harris-Madison’s Superintendent’s Advisory Council and information on how to apply. 

All application forms and materials must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 30, 2019.

All applicants will be notified of the decisions on or before September 10, 2019. 

P-H-M’s Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year learned today that they have been selected among the Indiana Department of Education’s Top 30 Finalists for the Indiana Teacher of the Year.

Christine Austin is a fourth grade teacher at Walt Disney Elementary School. Mrs. Austin learned in a surprise announcement in the Spring that she had been chosen as P-H-M’s Elementary Teacher of the Year. Click here to see the video of the surprise announcement and to learn more about Mrs. Austin.

Jeanie Mitchell teaches French at Penn High School and is the Freshman Academy Leader. Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker also surprised Madame Mitchell with the good news that she had been named Secondary Teacher of the Year by popping in on her class back in April. Click to watch the video.

Austin and Mitchell were among 30 teachers chosen as the top finalists from a field of 61 applicants. P-H-M is only one of two school districts, and the only one in the Michiana area, that has two teachers who made the Top 30!

The IDOE TOY Selection Committee will determine the “Top 10” within the next few weeks, with those finalists being invited to the “Top 10 Interview Day” on September 12.

On Saturday, July 20th the PHM DVT and Planetarium hosted “Imagine & Explore: 50th Anniversary, Apollo 11 Moon Landing.” Click to see the full photo gallery below.

It was a truly unique experience for families and people of all ages. We had over 500 guests show up including people that drove up to 5 hours to attend! All of our wonderful volunteers did an amazing job educating and interacting with our guests. Upon arrival, visitors were greeted by telescopes set up so that patrons could view the sun using special filters to ensure eye safety.

Inside visitors saw the brand new planetarium show “Imagine the Moon” and they also had a chance to view P-H-M Air & Space Museum, which has artifacts on loan from NASA, Johnson Space Center, and the Smithsonian, including artifacts that have been on the Moon!

The cafeteria and gym had hands-on STEM activities for everybody. Everything from liquid nitrogen demonstrations to 3D printing. 

The Digital Video Theater (DVT) & Planetarium is an outstanding educational resource to P-H-M schools and the greater St. Joseph County community, supporting learning across the curriculum and at all grade levels. The facility hosts nearly 50 informative and entertaining public shows each year, with topics ranging from Astronomy to Rock & Roll. These shows are offered at a nominal cost and are also open to members of the general public.

To download high resolution jpg files from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. We are happy to provide this service to you free of charge.

MISHAWAKA, IN –  The P-H-M Education Foundation has partnered with Boling Vision Center in Elkhart to bring an innovative program called Kindness to Prevent Blindness to P-H-M School Corporation and throughout St. Joseph County.

The Kindness to Prevent Blindness Mobile Clinic will provide a medical eye exam and two pairs of prescription glasses at no cost to all 1st, 3rd, 5th & 8th grade students who fail their state mandated vision exam in the following school districts:

• Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation
• South Bend Community School Corporation
• School City of Mishawaka
• John Glenn School Corporation.

On behalf of the four education foundations in St. Joseph County, the P-H-M Education Foundation submitted and was awarded a United Way of St. Joseph County four-year grant that will support the financial expansion of Kindness to Prevent Blindness in St. Joseph County. 

“We are thrilled to have been awarded a $45,000 a year grant from the United Way of St. Joseph County. This grant will help expand Kindness to Prevent Blindness to all public schools in St. Joe County. Partnering with Boling Vision and the area education foundation was a natural fit for PHMEF. It is our hope to eliminate barriers so that all children can reach their academic potential,” said Mari Linn M. Wise, executive director of the P-H-M Education Foundation. 

The media was invited to a joint announcement of the project on Thursday, July 18 at the Century Center; tours and free vision screenings of the Kindness to Prevent Blindness Mobile Clinic were also provided.

Kindness to Prevent Blindness expects to provide more 4,000 students with free glasses in Elkhart and St. Joseph counties during the 2019-2020 school year. Launched in September 2018 in Elkhart County, Kindness to Prevent Blindness’s mission is to diminish obstacles families face getting vision screenings as mandated by the Indiana Department of Education. 
 

The P-H-M Education Foundation was founded in 1996 and has disbursed more than $1 million in innovative grants and scholarships. The mission of the P-H-M Education Foundation is to support excellence in education in all 15 P-H-M school by securing alternative funding that supports student programs that fall outside the school corporation’s budget.

Boling Vision Center has been compassionately serving the families of Michiana with a state-of-the-art, personalized eye care experience since 1960.  With four locations in South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen and Notre Dame, the team at Boling Vision Center provides a high-tech, family environment where the genuine care and comfort of their patients is the highest mission. BVC pledges to provide the finest products, facilities and services for their patients in a warm, relaxed and caring atmosphere. Boling Vision Center feels honored to have had the opportunity to serve as many as four different generations of families in their eyecare practice. From babies to seniors – patient eye health is the main focus.

Please view the photos below to see the inside of the mobile unit:

In the summer months, P-H-M is proud to offer a variety summer camps, both academic and athletic. This helps keep our students physically and mentally fit over summer break.

These are the camps and academies taking place during Week 5 (July 15-19) : Volleyball, Visual Arts Academy, Learn to Swim, Junior Academies (STEM) and Super Kids Camp.

Some pictures are featured below, however click the links below to visit our Facebook page to see the full photo gallery:

• Tuesday, July 16: Volleyball
• Tuesday, July 18: Super Kids Camp

In the summer months, P-H-M is proud to offer a variety summer camps, both academic and athletic. This helps keep our students physically and mentally fit over summer break.

These are the camps and academies taking place during Week 4 (July 8-12) : Football, Visual Arts Academy, Junior Academies (STEM), Junior Foreign Language Academy, and Learn a Foreign Language. 

Some pictures are featured below, however click the links below to visit our Facebook page to see the full photo gallery:

• Monday, July 8: Football​
• Tuesday, July 9: ​Junior Foreign Language Academy
• Wednesday, July 10: Learn a Foreign Language
• Wednesday, July 10: Junior Academy (STEM)
• Thursday, July 11: Visual Arts Academy

Students in grades 3 – 8 participated in the ILEARN assessments earlier this spring. Since ILEARN is a new test, the results with proficiency levels and final scores will not be available for schools until August 15. 

In accordance with Indiana Code 20-32-5.1-12(d), parents and schools have an opportunity to request a rescore for any open-ended item(s) to which students responded on the ILEARN assessment.

Requesting a rescore is optional and is not a requirement for scoring your student’s test.

The P-H-M ILEARN Rescore Request window will be open from Monday, July 22 – Friday, July 26. Parents or guardians who wish to view students’ response images and scoring rubrics must complete P-H-M’s online form to schedule an appointment at the Educational Services Center for the window of dates listed above. Please click here if you wish to make an appointment. The State is not providing a separate online portal this year for parents to access this information.

If you wish to make an appointment, please note during the appointment, the parent or guardian will ONLY be able to view the following: 

• an image of your student’s response to each open-ended item

• a sample of student responses for each score point

• the scoring rubric to help decide whether to request a rescore for that item

Important Information about the rescore process:

• The rescore request, if desired, will be submitted by P-H-M on behalf of the parent or guardian
• Requesting a rescore may result in an increased or decreased score
• A rescore request cannot be reversed
• A rescore request can only be submitted once

Again, requesting a rescore is optional and is not a requirement for scoring your student’s test.

Parents/Guardians who wish to view students’ ILEARN response images and scoring rubrics, must click here to make an appointment for Monday, July 22 – Friday, July 26.

Saturday, July 20

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

P-H-M DVT & Planetarium (located inside Bittersweet Elementary School, 55860 Bittersweet Road Mishawaka)

FREE!!!

Bring your whole family and come join us at the P-H-M DVT & Planetarium to learn more about and celebrate this historic event in American and world history. 

The DVT will have the first showing of “Imagine the Moon!“  Through beautiful imagery and historical footage, “Imagine the Moon” explores our closest celestial neighbor. The DVT & Planetarium is also home to the P-H-M Air & Space Museum, which has artifacts on loan from NASA, Johnson Space Center, and the Smithsonian, including artifacts that have been on the Moon!

We will also have telescopes setup for viewing the Moon and Sun and various STEM activities that include the following:

• Robotics demonstrations
• Chemistry demonstrations
• Gravity well
• 3D printing
• Virtual Reality experiences
• Photo Booth
• Drone demonstrations

* Just a caution, the area has been experiencing high summer heat temperatures … A couple of our events will be outdoors, most will be indoors. The DVT is air conditioned for our four showings of “Imagine the Moon!“ However, Bittersweet is currently undergoing HVAC work, so part of the building is without air conditioning. We will have cold water available.

Watch the video below to get a sneak peak about everything that we’ll be offering on July 20^th …

In the summer months, P-H-M is proud to offer a variety summer camps, both academic and athletic. This helps keep our students physically and mentally fit over summer break.

These were the camps that took place during Week 3 (June 24-28) : Boys Basketball, Learn to Swim, Camp Invention, and Bakers Gonna Bake. We also saw the conclusion of summer school sessions at Walt Disney, Meadow’s Edge, Schmucker, and Penn.

Some pictures are featured below, however click the links below to visit our Facebook page to see the full photo gallery:

• Tuesday, June 25: Boys Basketball​
• Wednesday, June 26: Young Adult Life Skills​
• Wednesday, June 26: Meadow’s Edge Summer School
• Thursday, June 27: Camp Invention
• Thursday, June 27: Penn Summer School
• Friday, June 28: Walt Disney Summer School
• Friday, June 28: Schmucker Summer School