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 CRESCENDO^SM 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 SHOW^SM 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.

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. 

*Questions, please contact Candace Cussen at ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.

Every P-H-M 5th grader who will be attending a P-H-M middle school as an incoming 6^th grader in the Fall 2024 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!

Fifth graders at Moran, Bittersweet, Elsie Rogers, Walt Disney, and Prairie Vista Elementary Schools will attend Schmucker Middle School for 6^th – 8^th grades.

Schmucker’s Instrument Selection Nights are Monday, March 4th and Tuesday, March 5th.

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.

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. Click here to download, view and print more information on Instrument Selection Night.

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. 

“Captain Jack Sparrow” made an appearance at Penn High School today (Tuesday, January 30) performing the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song for 4th and 5th grade students. This mini concert is a great way to introduce students to instruments they might not be familiar with as they think about what possible instrument they might want to pursue in middle school. In P-H-M middle schools, students can pursue orchestra, band or choir as a Fine Arts elective.

Students got a real treat … the Orchestra’s drummers performed a sown written by Senior Clayton Hopper; it was called “March of the Clumsy.” All the drummers performed it together to demo percussion.

Due to scheduling logistics, only half of P-H-M elementary schools participated traveled to Penn for this year’s show. The other half attended last year. That way every P-H-M student will see the show in either 4th grade or a 5th grade. 

Take a look at the photo gallery below …

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Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker awarded three more P-H-M teachers with the Impact Award today (Monday, October 2). Dr. Thacker visited Walt Disney Elementary, Elsie Rogers Elementary and Grissom Middle School. Awards handed out this time around were to the following teachers:

• Matt Serge, 3^rd grade teacher at Walt Disney
• Kara Flanagan, 1^st grade teacher at Elsie Rogers
• Josh Kelver, 8^th grade ELA teacher at Grissom Middle School

The P-H-M Impact Award is presented to educators who have helped their students achieve individual academic growth on their formative assessments over time. All P-H-M teachers across the district are dedicated to helping their students achieve personal academic success. The P-H-M Impact Award is shining the spotlight on those teachers who are showing the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year. They are prime examples of how our teachers and students achieve P-H-M Excellence!

Dr. Thacker popped in and surprised the teachers with the help of the school principals, Disney’s Dr. Higginson, Elsie’s Christy Campbell, and Grissom’s Jenn Sinclair. Dr. Thacker was also joined by P-H-M administrators Assistant Superintendent Dr. Heather Short and Director of Professional Development Dr. Lavon Dean-Null.

At Elsie, the team caught Kara Flanagan completely off-guard. Her students really got into the surprise. Mrs. Flanagan had the highest growth of all P-H-M Title I first grade teachers! 90% of her students had average or higher growth for their overall Dibels composite growth; and 58% of her students were in the “above average” or “well above average” categories! Check out all the photos of today’s award presentations on Facebook.

Matt Serge was recognized for having the highest growth in ELA of all Title I 3rd grade teachers in P-H-M! Mr. Serge’s class went from 9% (Clear Sight) to 55% proficiency on ILEARN; that’s 21% higher than average Title I proficiency growth!

Josh Kelver had the highest growth class section in 8th grade ELA across P-H-M (15% higher than the second highest class)! Mr. Kelver’s class went from 8% proficiency at the beginning of year, to 75% proficiency on ILEARN. That’s the highest average growth across all 8th grade P-H-M ELA teachers! Because Mr. Kelver’s wife, Ashley Kelver, also works at Grissom, she was able to be included in the the surprise. 

We thank the P-H-M Education Foundation for covering the cost of the awards.

There are more P-H-M teachers to recognize in the days, weeks and months ahead!

Friday, September 29 is Penn’s Homecoming Parade, Fun Zone, Food Trucks & the Penn football game versus St. Joe. The P-H-M Education Foundation is once again sponsoring all the fun and new this year–FIREWORKS after the football game!

The entire P-H-M community is invited to come out for this fun-filled family event. All the fun starts with the Homecoming Parade. Be sure to grab your spot on the route by 5:00 p.m. Parade starts at 5:30!

Here are some things that will be helpful for families as they head out for all the festivities.

Parking:

• Paid Parking ($3 cash) at these lots:
  • Penn High School (Front Lot & Jefferson Rd. Lot)
  • Softball/Tennis Lot
  • Bittersweet School Lot
• Free Parking at these lots:
  • Soccer Lot (Bank Lot)
  • Pennway Lot
  • Schmucker Lot (front, Sides & in Back of School)

Fun Zone:

• 5-7:00 p.m.
• Penn Baseball Field
• Teacher Dunk Tanks, Jumpies for elementary students
  • FREE for EVERYONE!
• Food Trucks:
  • Ben’s Pretzels
  • Junbuggies
  • Keim’s Elephant Ears
  • Kona Ice
  • Prized Pig
  • REAL Grille
  • Rulli’s Pizza
• Fans will be allowed to take food purchased at the Food Trucks into the stadium. However, no other outside food will be allowed!

Gate & Ticket Info:

• Penn vs. St, Joe, Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
• P-H-M students K – 5th grade get in FREE with paying adult!
• Tickets are on sale now-Thurs., Sept. 28 online, ticket price is $6 (students & all other age groups same price)
  • Click here to buy your tickets online
• Tickets on Friday, Sept. 29 are $7 (online or at the gate) 
• PHM Employees plus one guest get in FREE, but you must have ID badge & the guest must be with the employee
• Please remember middle schoolers cannot be dropped off unsupervised. Once in the game, the students are free to walk around. At least one responsible adult must be onsite.
• Tickets are sold at the North & South gates only!
• Penn All Sports Passes and tickets (hard & online) are accepted at all gates
• The Center Gate is reserved for Penn All Sports Passes and online ticket holders only
• No Reentry!

Fan Safety:

• Click to download and red the Lost Child Policy
• Please utilize crosswalks when crossing Bittersweet Road after the parade

Rules to Remember:

• No reentry to Everwise Field; once you leave, you are not allowed back in.
• No outside food or beverages, no insulated cups
• No backpacks
  • Diaper bags & large women’s purses are allowed
• Penn does not have a clear bag policy
• No electronic noise makers
• No Footballs or Beach Balls
• No weapons of any kind
• No alcohol
• No Smoking/Vaping products of any kind. All PHM school property is smoke free.
• No open flames at private tailgating

Info on the Penn Student Homecoming Dance on Saturday, September 30 can found on PHMEF’s website. CLICK HERE. 

The Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation’s ENL Services’ is sponsoring the District’s FREE Community Connections Fair!

Come check out what the Mishawaka, South Bend, and Elkhart communities have to offer to your families!

P-H-M is inviting area businesses who want to participate in the Community Connections Fair to sign up. Click here to request a table at the event. 

The Fair will also include cultural performances from P-H-M students and families. Families wishing to sign up to perform, click here.

Bilingual interpreters will be on hand at the event to assist those families who need it.

Come out and enjoy the many cultural performances and student work that will be on display representing countries from all over the world! 

Please join us! Click here to download and share the flyer.

For more information, please contact:
Rylee Jacobson
P-H-M Elementary ENL Coordinator
(574) 271-8598, Ext. 50913
rjacobson@phm.k12.in.us

We’re thrilled to welcome back all of our 11,000+ students and are excited to help all our students achieve Excellence.

The first day of school will be Wednesday, August 20, 2025 for grades 1 – 12.

• All students in 1st through 12th grades will report to their school buildings that day, and all those who are signed up for transportation services may ride the bus that day.  
• Kindergarten orientation takes place on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 with the first full day of kindergarten being Thursday, August 21st.

BACK TO SCHOOL EVENTS. MARK CALENDAR & ATTEND! 

• Our elementary schools are hosting many fun Back to School family events starting the week of August 11. Check your school’s Google calendar on its website or be on the lookout from communication directly from your school principal. 
• All three Middle Schools are also planning a Walk-Around on Thursday, August 14^th. Check the school’s Google calendar on its website or be on the lookout from communication directly from your school principal. Make sure you mark your calendar and plan to attend!
• Penn is hosting a “Walk Around” to help parents and students get familiar with the school:
  • Penn High School’s “WALK AROUND” on Saturday, August 16, from 9 a.m. – Noon gives students a chance to familiarize themselves with the school and find where their classes and activities are located.

The BACK TO SCHOOL INFORMATION listed below will help P-H-M parents and students get ready for the 2025-26 School Year! 

CONTACTING SCHOOLS OVER THE SUMMER

• Elementary and Middle School Front Offices open Monday, August 4th.
• Penn is open every week day over the summer.
• All schools are open Monday – Friday during business hours. Those hours vary by school.
• Click here for the School Directory of all 15 schools

REGISTERING STUDENTS

• Register a new elementary or middle school student by visiting the school after offices open August 4, 2025. Click here to know what documentation you need to bring with you for registration.
• Register a new Penn High School student by calling (574) 254-2851. We will help you schedule your registration appointment and advise you on what information to bring with you to the appointment.  

BACK TO SCHOOL PACKETS & FORMS

• Back to School packet & information sheets
• Parent/guardians will sign these three forms in ParentSquare:
  • Photo Consent
  • Mandatory Curriculum Consent
  • Handbook Certification   
• These forms will be in Skyward Family Access:
  • CHIRP Release
  • Chromebook packet
  • Authorization to administer non-prescription medication at school
• Back to School Info Sheets

Click here for more information on how to login into your Skyward Family Access account

SCHOOL CALENDARS

• Here is the SY 2025-26 one-page calendar showing “at a glance” the start and end dates, as well as scheduled recess and vacation dates.
• All P-H-M families are mailed a District Activities Calendar early August. It lists key school and district events throughout the year. Click here to view a PDF version.
• Our online (Google) calendars are the most up-to-date. You’ll find a link to the P-H-M Corporate Calendar posted on the home page of the District website. It’s a Google calendar that can be added to your personal calendar.
• Each school also maintains an online Google calendar on the home page of each school website that is updated frequently with the school’s scheduled activities and event details. You can also the school’s Google calendar to your personal calendar to remember important dates.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

• All P-H-M schools provide basic school supplies to our students, free of charge. Therefore, our schools do not issue supply lists. You will need to purchase a backpack, water bottle, lunch box, and other items you want your child to have at home or take with them to school. If other specific items need to be purchased for a class or lab, your child’s teacher will inform you after school starts.  

IMMUNIZATIONS AND HEALTHCARE SERVICES

• Click here to make sure you child is up-to-date with all required immunizations. 
• Proof of immunizations must be provided to the school office by the first day of school.
• Kindergarten parents, please click here to learn about important kindergarten health information and medical forms before your kindergartner’s first day of school. 
• Click here for the forms administering medications at school
• Click here for more information on P-H-M Healthcare Services 

TRANSPORTATION

• School bus route times and locations will be shared with parents in a Transportation letter to be emailed before school starts
• Parents can check EZRouting to see your child’s bus route information online
• Here Comes the Bus provides real time GPS bus location info so parents know when to send their students out to the bus stop
• Have more questions about Transportation? Visit their webpage for contact information.

FOOD SERVICE

• Visit our Food & Nutrition page  to see monthly menus and find nutritional information
• See if you qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch and Textbook Assistance. Click here to apply online.
• Online payment for child’s meals
• Other Payment options

Penn-Harris-Madison’s Triangle of Success is built on student achievement, with parent and teacher support. Success depends on supportive parents … help us help your children!

PARENTS Click here for ways to stay informed, as well getting connected and volunteering.