Alarm clocks were set early. The weather cooperated beautifully. Children got themselves ready for school while parents snapped photos. Then the yellow buses started to roll and School Year 2015-2016 was underway!

Today was the first day of school for grades 1-12 at Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. We welcomed back more than 10,600 students to our 15 schools. About 700 kindergartners, members of the future Class of 2028, attended orientation sessions with their parents and families getting prepared for their first day tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 20. And close to 800 seniors, making up the Class of 2016, followed a Gold Day schedule at Penn High School.

We want to see all your “1^st Day of School” photos. We asked parents, families and high school students to snap, tag ‪and share their pictures on Facebook and Twitter using #‎PHMBACK2SCHOOL. Go to our channels or check out our picture gallery on the home page to get a glimpse.

The start of school also means new faces at the front of the classroom as well! Last week, we also welcomed more than 50 new teachers to P-H-M. Click here to see their friendly faces.

Thank you to ALL our students, parents, teachers and staff for all the great pictures. Here’s to a great year!

Car Rider Dismissal Procedures

Because your child’s safety is a priority for us we will be implementing a number system for families who are regular car riders at dismissal time.  If your child is a regular car rider (a regular car rider would be someone who is picked up in a car at the end of a school day anywhere from 1 –5 days on a consistent basis) or if you are a parent who parks in the front lot and walks up to the school to pick up your child(ren) this applies to you!

For those of you whose child(ren) we know are picked up regularly, we will send home two identical laminated numbers.  We’d like to ask that the driver of your child display this number on the passenger side window to the adult(s) out on dismissal duty when they are pulling into the front driveway.  The outside adult on duty will radio inside the building to another adult supervisor who will be displaying the numbers to the students who will be sitting in the lobby.  Once the student hears/sees their number, he/she may exit the building to their vehicle.  To ensure that students know/remember their vehicle number, we will tag each backpack with the matching car number.  Please do not exit your vehicle in the pick up line as this will help expedite the dismissal process.  We also ask that you DO NOT pass the car in front of you if your vehicle is ready before the vehicle in front of you.  Finally, please do not talk on your cell phone during this time.

If sometime throughout the year your child does become a regular car rider, please stop by the office to pick up a number and tag.

Thank you for your patience in this process.  Be in touch if you have any questions (574-259-5231).

Girls in grades 3 through 8 are invited to be part of a community-sponsored girls basketball league run by PHS girls varsity basketball coach, Kristi Kaniewski Ulrich. 

JUNIOR LEAGUE is for girls in grades 3 through 6.  

SENIOR LEAGUE is offered for girls in grades 7 and 8. 

Sign-up takes place on Sunday, August 30 in the Penn High School Arena from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.​ 

The league begins on Sunday, September 13. 

This is a great opportunity to learn the game, pick up skills, build fitness and make friends! 

Click here to access the informational flyers and the registration form.

Calling all parents of P-H-M students in grades 4-8^th … is your child interested in robotics?

Does your child love playing with LEGOs®?

Then P-H-M’s FIRST® LEGO® League is your answer!

WHO:                   4^th-8^th grade P-H-M students, families, elementary and middle school teachers

WHAT:                 FIRST® LEGO® League (sponsored by Penn Robotics, Team 135)

WHEN:                 Wednesday, August 5
                              7:00 p.m.

WHERE:               Penn High School, Door J
                              56100 Bittersweet Rd Mishawaka, IN  46545

P-H-M’s FIRST® LEGO® League is sponsored by Penn Robotics, Team 135. Penn’s team was a 2015 Indiana District-Kokomo City winner of the FIRST® Robotics Competition; Penn’s team also won the Chairman’s award. FIRST® LEGO® League is a national program that introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. This year’s challenge will be Trash Trek: discovering the hidden world of garbage!

In FLL, elementary and middle-school students (ages 9-14) get to:

• Design, build, test and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology

• Apply real-world math and science concepts

• Research challenges facing today’s scientists

• Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills

• Participate in tournaments and celebrations

What FLL teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing. It’s fun. It’s exciting.  And participants learn skills that will last a lifetime.

Come learn all about joining P-H-M’s FIRST® LEGO® League. Register, find out about the resources and get the season timeline.

The first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 19 and that means along with school supplies, parents also need to make sure their children are up-to-date on their immunizations.

A record of your child’s immunizations are due to your student’s health office on or by the first day of school. All P-H-M schools are open to the public beginning Wednesday, Aug. 5 (7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.). You can drop off the records at the schools between Aug. 5 and Aug. 19.

Please find the list of required immunizations by grade levels listed below …

For incoming Kindergarten students:

• 3 Hep B
• 5 DTaP (4 doses are acceptable if the fourth dose was administered on or after the 4th birthday)
• 4 Polio (the 3^rd dose must be given on or after the 4^th birthday and at least 6 months after the previous dose with only one type of vaccine used, all OPV or all IPV. Final 4^th dose must be given on or after the 4^th birthday and administered at least 6 months after the previous dose).
• 2 MMR
• 2  Varicella
• 2 Hep A

Additional immunizations needed for incoming 6^th grade students:

• 1 Tdap (Tetanus & Pertussis)
• 1^st dose of MCV4 (Meningococcal conjugate)
   

Additional immunizations needed for incoming 12^th grade students:

• 2^nd dose of MCV4 (Meningococcal conjugate)

Immunizations may be obtained from your family doctor, St. Joseph County Health Department, or other area clinics. Please call the school health office for resources.

For more information on state immunization requirements, please visit the P-H-M Healthcare Services webpage on our site.

Posted July 17, 2015 – 9:00 a.m. EDT

Keep Them Reading This Summer!

95% of our 3^rd grade students passed the IREAD 3 assessment during the 2014-2015 school year!  

The Board of School Trustees chooses to meet at various P-H-M schools throughout the year. On May 11, their regular business meeting was hosted by Elsie Rogers Elementary School. Principal Christy Campbell and her staff arranged for a number of students and parents to be on hand and they shared some of the school's initiatives with board members and others in the audience.  Here is a link to a video that highlights some of what makes Elsie Rogers a successful learning community! 

The 2015 Summer Visual Arts Academy is offered to all P-H-M elementary students – at no charge!

Lately a lot of attention has been focused on state-mandated assessments.There is talk about what is being tested, how tests are administered, and how the results are used. The good news is that Penn-Harris-Madison has a long history of doing well on standardized testing, performing in the top 5% of districts statewide on ISTEP. This success depends largely on the Triangle of Success that connects parents, teachers and students working together to accomplish great things.

More good news: Parents can do a lot to help their students do their best when testing!  Know that standardized tests align with learning goals, or standards, that are being taught throughout the school year. Trying to study hard or “cram” at the last minute will not give your student an advantage. Instead, the best test preparation on the home front is your calm attitude and active support. That includes allowing for proper rest and good nutrition, and providing daily encouragement.

Facing challenges and learning to manage stress is a necessary part of growing up to be happy, productive and resilient. Parents can model those qualities for their children – and that’s just as important as any lesson learned in the classroom!