P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker surprised another couple of teachers today letting them know that they were winners of the Spring 2024 Impact Awards. At Madison, Principal Lindsay Schirripa helped Dr. Thacker and a group of P-H-M Administrators catch 5th grade teacher Mrs. Kathy Dance off guard. Click to see the full photo gallery on Madison’s website.

Mrs. Dance is being recognized with an Impact award because she had the highest growth in 5th grade Clear Sight reading. Her students grew 37%!

At Grissom, Assistant Principal Eric Spatt helped Dr. Thacker surprise 6th grade teacher Ms. Natasha Bean. Click to see the full photo gallery on Grissom’s website.

Ms. Bean had the two highest class sections for growth in 6th grade reading!

This round of P-H-M Impact Awards recognizes teachers with First Semester growth. While all P-H-M teachers across the district are dedicated to helping their students achieve personal academic success, the Impact Award shines the spotlight on educators who have helped their students achieve individual academic growth on their formative assessments over time. The first-ever Impact Awards were handed out in September 2023 and recognized the teachers with the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year.

Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation for covering the cost of the awards for these amazing teachers.

Literacy Director Ryan Towner learned this week that he’s been selected by IUSB School of Education to receive the 2024 Indiana University-South Bend Alumni of the Year Award!

Ryan joined P-H-M as a fifth grade elementary teacher at Prairie Vista in Fall 2011. In his 12 years with the district, he’s also served as Assistant to the Principal at Walt Disney and Principal of Madison Elementary. He’s served as Walt Disney Principal since 2017.He also presented on P-H-M’s Tiered Literacy practices at IASP and recently Indiana State Literacy Association virtual workshop series. He received both his undergraduate and Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from IUSB.

Towner will receive the award in September at their annual Gala held this year at the Lerner Theater in Elkhart.

Towner, a former principal of Walt Disney Elementary School, is a winner of the prestigious Milken Educator Award in 2022. Click here to read more about the Milken Award.

Also in 2022, Towner was a member of the South Bend Regional Chamber’s “Forty under 40” class.

Today Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker surprised another group of teachers hand-delivering the Spring 2024 round of Impact Awards. With the help of Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher and Schmucker Principal Sarah Smith, Dr. Thacker handed out three awards (two at Penn and one at Schmucker). Click to see the full photo gallery below.

This round of P-H-M Impact Awards recognizes teachers with First Semester growth. While all P-H-M teachers across the district are dedicated to helping their students achieve personal academic success, the Impact Award shines the spotlight on educators who have helped their students achieve individual academic growth on their formative assessments over time. The first-ever Impact Awards were handed out in September 2023 and recognized the teachers with the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year.

Penn High School Economics teacher Mr. Pete Riordan teaches both AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics. During the 2022-2023 school year, both courses increased slightly in enrollment while simultaneously boasting large increases in achievement. Students in AP courses take standardized exams at the end of the school year designed to measure how well they’ve mastered the content and skills of the course. The final score for each AP Exam is reported on a 5-point scale that offers a recommendation about how qualified a student is to receive college credit or placement, but each college makes its own decisions. In general, a score of three or higher results in credit or placement.

In Mr. Riordan’s Microeconomics course, students earning a three or better jumped from 58.7% in 2022 to 70.8% in 2023. Likewise, in Macroeconomics, 80% of students earned a three or higher, an increase of 20.9%, and the highest pass rate for the course in Penn High School history! Not bad for Riordan who is also the Kingsmen Football Team’s Defensive Coordinator.

From Coach Riordan’s classroom, Principal Galiher took Dr. Thacker and Penn administrators down the hall to drop-in on Mrs. Jenny Dakins who teaches Learning Strategies,  which are classes designed to support student success and academic growth. Dakins teaches multiple blocks of the class and at mid semester 68% of her students’ grades were on track. This percentage improved to 92% by the end of the semester. Dakins’ student growth is a result of her dedication to supporting students and meeting with them individually to ensure academic success for every student. Her compassion, support and love for her students is reflected in their growth.

Dr. Thacker then headed across the street to Schmucker Middle School where he enlisted the help of Principal Smith to surprise 6^th grade Langage Arts teacher Mrs. Joy Lightcap. Principal Smith even got Mrs. Lightcap’s 8^th grade daughter Noelle in on the fun. Mrs. Lightcap had the highest reading growth at Schmucker; her students grew 36% in proficiency!

Executive Director of the P-H-M Education Foundation Jen Turnblom was present for this morning’s awards. P-H-M is grateful to the Education Foundation for covering the cost of the awards for these amazing teachers.

At the P-H-M Board of School of Trustees meeting on Monday, February 26, district administration made a presentation to the Board regarding the total solar eclipse taking place on Monday, April 8. As part of the presentation, district administration announced that for a variety of reasons Monday, April 8 will be an eLearning Day. If the district has used all of its allotted three eLearning Days (we currently have used two), the day will be a Virtual Learning Day. No P-H-M sponsored field trips or planned evening activities will take place on this date. Monday, April 8 is the first day back after Spring Break (April 1-5). 

Indiana is in the path of totality and is centrally located in the United States, thus the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is telling tourists, residents, school districts and public agencies to be prepared for three days of potential impact such as, oversized crowds, gridlock traffic, communications disruptions, and even nocturnal animal confusion. Click here to see the full presentation from last night’s Board meeting.

The Indianapolis area and south will experience 100% totality; while the St. Joseph County area will experience 96%. Click here to see a map of Indiana regions that will experience varying degrees of darkness from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website. The South Bend area will start experiencing darkness at 1:53 p.m., lasting until 4:23 p.m., with 96% totality occurring at 3:09 p.m. and lasting just over 4 minutes. Because these times are around school dismissal times and based on the recommendations of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the IDOE, P-H-M will not be holding in-person instruction on April 8. 

Thanks to Old National Bank and P-H-M Education Foundation, all students in the district will receive eclipse glasses to use at home with instructions. Mrs. Mindy O’Malley, Director of P-H-M’s Arthur M. Klinger Planetarium and Digital Video Theater, and a team of teachers, are preparing grade-level eclipse information to send home with students. In the classrooms leading up to April 8, teachers will educate students about this nearly once-in-a-lifetime event; the next total solar eclipse where portions of Indiana will be in full totality will be 2099.

If parents have any questions, they should contact their students’ principals. Employees should contact their supervisor or Human Resources.

This morning Grissom administration and special guests honored our school’s inaugural class of ”Fourteen Under 14.” Click here to see the photo gallery on Grissom’s website.

P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, Kate Lee, Executive Dir. of Education & Workforce at South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Jenny Sears, P-H-M Director of Student Support Services joined Principal Jen Sinclair in recognizing the students during a special breakfast before the start of school. The award is modeled after Michiana’s Forty Under 40 (of which several P-H-M leaders have been a part of), which is sponsored by the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The students were notified last week (Thursday, Feb. 15) by surprise announcements by Principal Sinclair. Click to see those photos on Grissom’s website.

The students were praised for their community involvement, student leadership, commitment to academics, entrepreneurial skills, and kindness towards others. Families of the award winners were on hand to celebrate as well. Students were given a crystal award to commemorate their achievement. 

Below is a list of the winners in alphabetical order, congratulations!

1. Briar Barrier
2. Sadie Charbonneau
3. Jenna Fair
4. Ethan Guzman
5. Nora Haab
6. Lali Juarez
7. Tate Mackiewicz
8. Anastashia Michael
9. Mari Powell
10. Dottie Pogue
11. Emily Schmidt
12. Anniston Steele *could not be present
13. Betty Smoker
14. Leyna Tropp

The National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA) named Penn Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Cates the 2024 National Coach of the Year!

Last February Coach Cates was named the 2023 Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year. In 2020, he became the State Director of NHSSCA for Indiana. In January 2022, Penn’s Strength and Conditioning program led by Coach Cates was awarded with a NHSSCA Program of Excellence School designation!

Coach Cates’ enthusiasm and dedication working with student-athletes has made him one of the most popular people at Penn High School. Coach Cates builds lasting relationships with students bringing out the best in them. He is a great motivator, making videos in 2021 to help students cope with the pandemic. Click to watch some of his videos on PHM’s TikTok account. At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, he was one of the teachers who spoke at the Freshman Class Meeting welcoming 9th graders to Penn. He got the biggest round of applause, even from the freshmen! Click to see the pictures.

Cates was chosen from four finalists. The award is given each year to a high school Strength Coach based on their achievements and contributions to their school community. Click here for more information on the award.

Coach Cates will be honored this summer at the national conference in Dallas as NHSSCA’s 2024 National Coach of the Year!

The 2024 FIN Mishawaka FRC District Event will once again be held at Penn High School March 1st – 3rd (open to the public on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3). The event will be held in Penn’s Main Arena. See below for a daily schedule:

Saturday, March 2

• 10:30 – 11:00 a.m., Opening Ceremonies
• 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Qualifying Matches (No matches during Lunch, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.)

Sunday, March 3

• 9:30 – 10:00 a.m., Opening Ceremonies
• 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Qualifying Matches
• 12:30 – 1:00 p.m., Alliance Selections
• 1:00 – 2:00 p.m., Lunch
• 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., Playoff Matches & Awards Ceremony

Click here for the detailed daily schedule.

For elementary aged children, there’s also the Next Gen event from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The event will be upstairs–above Penn’s Main Arena–in the Fitness Center. This event is open to all children, not just P-H-M students. Children have the opportunity to do hands-on STEM activities, even operate a robot! Click here for pictures from last year’s event.

This year’s game is CRESCENDOSM presented by Haas; click here to view a video about the game. FIRST© Robotics Competition teams will use their STEM skills and creative power to turn up the volume as they design, build, and program their robots for action-packed game play. Watch the game animation to inspire ideas.

During our 2023-2024 arts-inspired robotics season, FIRST® IN SHOWSM presented by Qualcomm, FIRST Robotics teams will celebrate the roles STEM skills play in the arts and design, and how these skills help build a world of endless possibilities for students. Click here to learn more about FIRST® IN and the District event being held at Penn High School.

P-H-M’s Northpoint and Prairie Vista Elementary Schools were celebrated for their outstanding IREAD-3 achievement rates.

With Northpoint students having a 98.00% pass rate and Prairie Vista students achieving 95.30%, our schools were among 241 Indiana elementary schools to receive 95% or higher on the 2023 IREAD-3 assessment.

A celebration took place Thursday, February 15 at Indiana State House South Atrium. Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner was on hand along with President Pro Tempore of the Indiana Senate Roderic Bray and Speaker of the Indiana House Rep. Todd Huston.

These accomplishments are not only a credit to the Northpoint and Prairie Vista students and families, but also of course to our K-3 teachers, aides, and educational assistants. Northpoint Principal brought 3rd grade teacher Nichol Mondy to the celebration; and Prairie Vista Principal Dr. Keely Twibell brought 3rd gr. teacher Mrs. Renee Johanson.

Penn High School Teacher Danielle Black, an Early College Academy Leader & Dual Credit Speech teacher, has received the 3rd Annual President’s Award for Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction from Ivy Tech!

As defined by the IDOE, Dual Credit is defined by: courses in which high school students have the opportunity to earn both high school and college credits simultaneously. Dual Credit classes are an exceptional way for students to advance their academic achievement and save money by completing college classes while still in high school.

About the award:

“President’s Award recipients representing all nineteen Ivy Tech campuses are nominees for the 2024 Statewide Award for Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction, presented annually to honor Ivy Tech’s most outstanding dual credit instructor statewide … The President’s Award recognition is one of the most important awards for Ivy Tech, allowing us to recognize and honor our most treasured asset–the College’s outstanding faculty.”

About Mrs. Black:

“As the Early College Academy Leader, Danielle oversees 24 teachers from multiple content areas and levels of experience. She works closely with the (best) Ivy Tech College Connections Coach to ensure the individual goals of each of our students are met. Mrs. Black collaborates with the Leadership Team consistently, serving as a bridge between teachers and administration. She collaborates with other teacher leaders to develop and implement professional development to staff on a variety of topics, ranging from formative assessment and feedback to impactful questioning strategies. I get the pleasure of watching her act out what she teaches as she is thoughtful and intentional in curricular and non-curricular decision-making.” – Penn Associate Principal, Rachel Fry

This year P-H-M Education Foundation’s Young Authors’ Conference is partnering up with the Next Gen Robotics event to bring you Books & Bots!  This event blends literary innovations with robotic creations. It’s a wonderful opportunity for P-H-M students in Kindergarten – 5th grade. Click here to view photos on Facebook from last year’s Young Authors’ Conference; click here to view photos of the 2023 Next Gen event.

The event will start at 9:15 a.m. in Penn’s Fitness Center.  There will be the three rotations at three locations within Penn High School. Families and students will visit each station for 45 minutes, with a 15 minute break in between. The rotations will be an author visit, reader’s theater, and fun with the bots! Next Gen (the bots area) will be open until 1:00 p.m. Registered participants will receive a S’more with confirmation details the week of February 26. You and your student’s rotation schedule and starting location will be provided in the S’more.  If you have any questions after receiving the email, please contact ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.

Please enter Door D. Parking is available in the front of Penn, at Schmucker Middle School, and in the parking lot near River Valley Church. Click here to access a Penn Building Map. Once inside Penn, look for “Books and Bots” signage and please arrive at your room between 9:00-9:15 a.m. With record attendance expected, plan plenty of time to park and walk to your designated area.  

Books & Bots is completely FREE! Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation and P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and his wife Donna Thacker for covering the cost of the YAC for the second year in a row from the proceeds of #GivingTuesday donations.

NEW THIS YEAR … both events will be held at Penn High School!

While the events are FREE, registration is required! 

Registration is NOW OPEN! Click here to register today!  Registration closes Friday, February 23.

One parent only must accompany students! Younger siblings may not accompany adults.  Due to the planned activities and available space, this experience is for your young author and one parent.

As part of the morning activities, students will participate in two rotations: one with well-known children’s author and speaker, Carolyn Crimi; and the other with Jocelyn Dupuis.  Following these rotations, students will enjoy spending time exploring technology, with an opportunity to share a piece of their piece of writing on a FlipGrid or online writing platform. 

Thanks to Better World Books, parents can purchase ahead of time Carolyn Crimi books online and then bring them to the March 2 event. Click here to preorder your student(s) books.

As a way to support Better World Books mission of providing books to children around the world to do their part in achieving global literacy, a collection box will be set up near Penn’s Door D for families to donate their gently used books.

BACKGROUND ON CAROLYN CRIMI:

Carolyn Crimi enjoys snacking, pugs, Halloween, and writing, although not necessarily in that order. Over the years she has published 19 books for children, including Weird Little Robots, Secondhand Dogs, Don’t Need Friends, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Where’s My Mummy?, There Might Be Lobsters, and I Am The Boss of This Chair.  When she’s not snacking, Carolyn enjoys giving author talks to elementary schools all over the country.

BACKGROUND ON JOCELYN DUPUIS:

Also as part of Young Authors’ Conference, participants and parents will also enjoy an interactive experience with P-H-M’s extraordinary Jocelyn Dupuis.  Jocelyn has a passion for music education and the performing arts. As a music teacher, she has taught many students to enjoy music as well. 

*Participating students will receive additional information prior to the conference through their home school at the end of February. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Candace Cussen at ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.