Discovery 

February 22, 23 & 24, 2021

4:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Schmucker 

March 2, 3 & 4, 2021

4:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Grissom 

March 8 & 9, 2021

4:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is nationally recognized as one of the “Best Communities for Music Education” offering choir, band and orchestra at Schmucker, Discovery and Grissom Middle Schools.

Every P-H-M 5th grader who will be attending a P-H-M middle school as an incoming 6th grader in the Fall 2021 has the opportunity to join an instrumental music class, which includes either band or orchestra. “Instrument Selection Night” is when students and families get to make their choice!

In order to join 6th grade band or orchestra, students must select an instrument that they will learn, practice and perform for the school year.  Click this link to sign-up for your appointment at your designated school and date. 
 

At “Instrument Selection Night,” a music professional will be available to give students advice about which instrument may be best suited for them. They will be allowed to “try out” instruments from various instrument groups.

Spring Break Kids Club

April 5 – 9, 2021

6:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Northpoint Elementary School (Door E)

Cost is $35 per child, per day or $150 per child for the full week. If you are not currently enrolled in Kids Club, you must also pay the $25 registration fee per child. Registration and payment are due, and non refundable, by Tuesday, March 30, 2021. 

Click here for more details and online registration.

One of our district goals is continuous improvement in all areas. The information collected is utilized as a benchmark for discussions on areas where we can improve.

We provide a survey to parents in the fall during parent/teacher conferences which asks for feedback related to our instructional practices. Parents were asked to respond to surveys about their child’s instruction during these time periods: Elementary School (Nov. 13-20, 2020), Middle School (Oct. 16-22, 2020), and Penn High School (Oct. 16-22, 2020). 

The difference this year was the added component related specifically to virtual instruction so we could analyze parent feedback regarding this method of instruction, in addition to those with in-person learners.

Click here to see the Fall 2020 First Quarter Parent Survey results.

Please right click on the image below to download and print a PDF copy of the Secondary Return to Learn Transition Plan.

Tonight (Monday, January 11, 2021) the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees passed two resolutions pertaining to COVID-19.

The first Board Resolution dealt with the length of quarantine time for students and staff identified as close contacts. After consulting with the St. Joseph County Department of Health, the Resolution for Reducing Quarantines from 14 to 10 days allows P-H-M Administration to reduce the quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days for staff and students consistent with the CDC’s revised recommendations for quarantine periods. 

The revised guidelines state close contacts who have been exposed should quarantine at home for a minimum of 10 days after the last date of exposure to the positive case. Effective January 12, 2021, P-H-M students or staff identified as close contacts may return after 10 days IF they meet the following criteria:

• are symptom-free and they continue to self-monitor
• wear a mask 100% of the time
• follow ALL COVID safety protocols

Otherwise, the employee or student must quarantine for 14 days.

The Indiana Department of Health has provided these useful tools to help parents and staff figure out quarantine and isolation time periods:

• When to Quarantine Guide
• When to Isolate Guide
• School Attendance Quick Refrence Guide
• COVID-19 in Indiana Frequently Asked Questions & Answers
• Screening Guide
   

For P-H-M employees or students who start a quarantine period beginning  January 12, 2021, the quarantine period will be 10 days, not 14 days.  Employees or students who started their quarantine period prior to January 12th and were told that the quarantine period was 14 days, and are still in their quarantine period, will be informed that they are now allowed to return to work or school any time after the expiration of the 10th day of quarantine if they are able. If they are not able to, they will be allowed to complete the 14-day quarantine period.

The second Board Resolution adopted at the Jan. 11 Board Meeting is an extension of the essential provisions of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which was enacted by the U.S. Congress last Spring and expired December 31, 2020. Under FFCRA, employees who missed scheduled work days for certain specific reasons related to COVID-19, would be eligible to be paid up to 10 days, separate from the sick days that an employer might normally provide for its employees.  P-H-M called these COVID days. 

FFCRA and the federal requirement to provide this benefit expired at the end of the year 2020.  The Board Resolution for Additional Leave Due to COVID-19 will extend the time that P-H-M staff can receive up to a maximum of 10 COVID days from January 4, 2021 through the end 2020-21 school year.

The Penn-Harris-Board of School Trustees on Monday night (December 14, 2020) unanimously approved the purchase of Stop-Arm Cameras Systems for all district school buses. Currently, 15 out of 135 P-H-M buses have this technology installed.

Since the spring of 2019, following the incident in Rochester in the fall of 2018, P-H-M installed equipment from the dealer on all new buses purchased by P-H-M. When future school buses are traded in, following the district’s bus replacement cycle, this technology will be moved over to the new buses. The total investment for the purchase and installation of these stop arm camera safety features is $363,739 (approximately $3,200 per school bus). P-H-M Administration anticipates the equipment will be received by the end of December and installation would begin in January 2021.

This past October P-H-M Administration met with representatives from the St. Joseph County Police, Mishawaka Police, and St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter to address requirements and protocols for school bus stop-arm violations to be prosecuted. Following that meeting, P-H-M Administration worked with Kerlin Bus Sales and 24-7 Security to review the required specifications and the process for retrofitting P-H-M buses so they would be in compliance.

The 24-7 Security System generates a report with pictures of the violators’ car, license plate, and the location, all of which will be given to police after the violation is reported.

The installation of new equipment will provide completely new camera systems on all buses including higher resolution interior cameras, recorders, and hard drives. This will improve the quality and reliability of all bus videos. 

It is the district’s hope that having stop arm cameras installed on all P-H-M buses that it will raise public and increased compliance by drivers, and ultimately safer transportation environment for our students.

During a normal school year, Penn High School students enrolled in Childhood Development classes would be offering two unique programs for preschoolers in our community,  Playschool and Toddler Time.
 

However due to COVID suspending these programs for the time being, Penn Child Development teachers Mrs. Kylee Wetzel and Ms. Rachael Meyers have created lessons that children can do in their own homes. 

The Penn High School Early Childhood Education Classes are offering free eLearning lessons to children in the P-H-M community within the age ranges of 1-10 years old.

Children can participate at home with a caregiver, or during the school day via Google Meet with the Penn student facilitating the lesson.

Please fill out the Enrollment Form by Friday, Jan. 15 in order to participate.

Please contact Kylee Wetzel at kwetzel@phm.k12.in.us for any further information.

The Indiana State Department of Health last updated the COVID-19 School Attendance Quick Reference Guide for parents and schools on December 4, 2020.

PLEASE NOTE: For families who are not able to isolate from everyone else at home, the start date of quarantine is determined by last date of exposure to a positive or untested person; this may be after the ill person completes their 10 days of isolation.

Click the image below to download and print.

This resource is also provided in the District Overview Return to Learn Fall 2020 document, under “Important Links at the end of the document. 

On Wednesday, November 18, P-H-M announced that Penn High School and the district’s three middle schools (Discovery, Grissom and Schmucker) will return to 100% virtual learning beginning Monday, November 23, 2020 through the end of the first semester, Friday, January 15, 2021 (with the MLK holiday being Mon., Jan. 18, students would return to hybrid learning on Tues., Jan. 19, 2021). This change was brought about by the St. Joseph County Department of Health’s recommendations that came earlier in the afternoon of November 18.  Part of SJCDH recommendations to districts was to “Pause all extra curricular activities or conduct them remotely as feasible. In the event these activities cannot be paused or done remotely, limit spectators to parents/guardians/siblings until after winter break.”

Click to read SJCDH recommendations and click here to read Superintendent’s Dr. Jerry Thacker’s full letter to parents.

As a result, Penn High School and all P-H-M middle school winter athletic programs are implementing significant change to the winter athletic programs. Please see the modifications released Friday, November 20, 2020 that will be effective immediately. These modifications will be re-evaluated by Friday, December 18 (P-H-M School Corporation’s winter break runs Dec. 21, 2020 – Jan. 1, 2021).

On Monday, September 14, we welcomed back our youngest students, PreK – 3rd graders who opted to return to school. We could see the smiles under their masks, and we hope they could see ours! We visited four of our 11 elementary schools–Bittersweet Elementary School, Walt Disney Elementary School, Northpoint & Prairie Vista–to get a socially distanced look at students' 2^nd First Day of School. Click to watch the video below …

On Tuesday, September 15, we visited dropped by Moran Elementary School to see how the PreK – 3^rd graders whose parents choose to stay virtual to see how they are interacting with their teachers. Click to watch the video below …