Do you like to dance? Do you want to learn how to spin a flag? Do you like to perform?

All levels are welcome to come to the Penn Cadet Winter Guard Auditions at Walt Disney Elementary School (enter in back). There will be two audition dates of Monday, Nov.20 and Wednesday, November 22. Audition times for both dates are 6-8 p.m.

Girls and boys, grades 4-6, will be accepted. 

Rehearsals will be every Monday and Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. Competitions will begin Saturday, January 27.

Come be a part of this incredible performing arts group!

Click here to download and print the flyer.
 

The popular annual family event is scheduled for Saturday, December 2 and is open to the entire community, not just P-H-M families. However, please note this event is for Kindergarten – 3rd grade students only and children must be accompanied by at least one adult. All tickets are $7.00.

Show times this year are scheduled for 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. Space is limited to 100 tickets/participants per time slot.

This year, ticket sales will be ONLINE ONLY at phm.revtrak.net and will go on sale Wednesday, November 1 at 8:00 a.m. Tickets will NOT be sold at the ESC on Nov. 1 or at the door on Dec. 2. Tickets sell out fast, so please make arrangements to setup your account at phm.revtrak.net prior to Nov. 1. Once tickets are sold out for a time slot, online sales for that time slot will end.

You will be able to pay online using eCheck, Discover, VISA or MasterCard credit or debit cards and a 3.49% transaction fee will be added to your total purchase amount. Tickets will be mailed to the address provided during the online registration prior to December 2nd. No refunds or tickets will be available at the door.

If you have any questions, please contact the P-H-M Community Education office at (574) 258-9568 or email Jenny Forkner.

Dr. Jerry Thacker, Superintendent of Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, recently learned that the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS) named him the IAPSS 2017 Outstanding Educator. 

The public announcement of Dr. Thacker’s recognition will be made at P-H-M Education Foundation’s annual Superintendent’s Luncheon to be held Tuesday, October 17.

This is the second time Dr. Thacker has received this prestigious honor from his IAPSS peers; the first time was in 2013. He was also named Indiana Superintendent of the Year in 2012 and received the Sagamore of the Wabash in 2014—Indiana’s highest award—from then Governor Mike Pence. He has also been recognized as Alumnus of the Year from both IUSB and Bethel College.

Dr. Jerry Thacker began his career in education in Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation as a 6th grade teacher at Madison Elementary School. Having filled a variety of leadership roles at districts across Indiana and Michigan, in July 2006 he returned to the P-H-M schools to serve as superintendent. Under Dr. Thacker’s leadership, the Indiana Department of Education has consistently named P-H-M an “A” Rated School District. The School Corporation now ranks in the state’s top 4% of public school districts with nine Four Star Schools.

With the release of the 2016-17 Accountability Grades, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is proud to have nine schools received A's:
 

• Bittersweet Elementary School
• Elm Road Elementary School
• Horizon Elementary School
• Meadow’s Edge Elementary School
• Moran Elementary School
• Northpoint Elementary School
• Prairie Vista Elementary School
• Discovery Middle School
• Penn High School
   

Overall, 62 percent of Indiana schools received an A or B. For more information on and to view the 2016-17 School Accountability Grades, please click here to visit the IDOE website.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation has received an “A” grade from the Indiana Department of Education for the past seven years and expects to again be named an “A” Rated School District by the IDOE when that data is released.

The annual Superintendent’s Luncheon is coming soon! On October 17, 2017, P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker will give his State of the Corporation address to parents, business, community and education leaders.

The luncheon, hosted by the  P-H-M Education Foundation, is a District fundraiser and also a chance to say thank you to all of the partners who have made grant funding possible. Those grants help make many important programs for P-H-M schools possible.

The featured speakers this year will be former Bethel men’s basketball head coach Mike Lightfoot and his wife, Jacci Lightfoot. Mike and Jacci will speak about how their new calling to lead was fueled by their passion for education and athletics.

For tickets, please click here to pay online. For more information, contact Amber Kennedy at 254-2893 (ext. 10721).

The application window for P-H-M Education Foundation’s Fall 2017 Grant Cycle is now open!

And thanks to the  success of the P-H-M Education Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Gala in May 2016, an additional $10,000 is available for grants. A total of $ 33,920 is available this academic year!!!

PHMEF is seeking innovative programs that have not been previous funding through past grant cycles. Note there are funding restrictions such as not paying for substitutes, food, party supplies, etc. A complete list of restrictions can be found in the application packet. Those applications requesting non-funded expenses will not be presented to the Grants Committee.

So parents work with your student’s teacher or principal to write up a grant proposal for a program you’ve been wishing you child’s school had. PHMEF grants are eligible to any staff member who can demonstrate their program’s innovation, creativity and reflects commitment to excellence in education. Click here for a list of the unique Spring grant awardees.

The window for applications closes on Thursday, October 26. Applications are due promptly at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 26. If you are turning your applications in at the ESC, please come to 55900 Bittersweet Rd., Mishawaka. No late applications will be accepted. Note that there must be 10 copies for the traditional form.

There are two ways to apply:

• EZ Form: for grants less than $250

• Traditional Form: to be used for grants requesting $250 or more and/or a request that is comprehensive (multi-classroom, school-wide or district-wide requests)

Application and filing details can be found on the Education Foundation’s website. Click here to access the application.

The timeline for the PHMEF Fall Grant Cycle is as follows:
 

Thursday, Oct. 26 – All applications (EZ Form and Traditional Form) must be turned in by 4 p.m. No late applications will be accepted. Note there must be 10 copies for the traditional form. 
 

Between Oct. 31 and Nov. 27 – PHMEF grant committee meets to select recipients and presents grants for approval to the P-H-M Education Foundation Board of Directors.

By Nov. 30 – Recipients will be notified by email with formal letter to follow

By Dec. 8 – Checks will be sent to the recipient’s home school.

With the release of the Spring 2017 ISTEP+ results, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation now ranks in the state’s top 4% of public school districts and Northpoint is Indiana’s #1 public elementary school!

Based on both Math and ELA pass results of grades 3-8, P-H-M ranks 12th out of all 292 public school districts in Indiana. For grade 10, P-H-M ranks 9th out of all 292 public school corporations—the Michiana area’s only public school district to make the top 20!

P-H-M’s overall district pass rate for grades 3-8 was 70.8%, compared to Brownsburg Community School Corp. who received the highest overall pass rate of 83.1%. Penn-Harris-Madison’s pass rate for grade 10 was 59.9%, compared to Carmel Clay Schools 68.3%

“When you compare P-H-M to the state’s other top performing school districts, you can see the level of excellence that our students and teachers are achieving in the classrooms,” said P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker commenting on yesterday afternoon’s (Wednesday, September 6, 2017) testing results release by the Indiana Department of Education. “P-H-M has been able to achieve high performing test results not just by teaching the academic standards, but by empowering our teachers with ongoing professional development, equipping them with technology providing timely and efficient student assessment, while also growing our students’ academic stamina with rigor and relevant preparatory tools.”

As part of Penn-Harris-Madison’s own self-district assessment, P-H-M administration reviewed the 2017 ISTEP+ results information from across the state and also notes these examples of P-H-M Excellence:
 

• Discovery ranks #3 out of the state’s 205 public middle schools.
• P-H-M has four schools (Northpoint, Prairie Vista and Horizon Elementary Schools, along with Discovery Middle School) ranked among the state’s top 50 of all 1,437 public schools.
• P-H-M ranks 4th among public school corporations with large high schools (student population more than 500).
   

After analyzing the data, Dr. Thacker also noted “I am extremely proud of what our students and teachers have been able to achieve. It is with the parent and community support that they receive that P-H-M is able to achieve academic excellence at all levels. I look forward to using the data from 2017 ISTEP to build on and improve for this coming 2018 spring testing.”

https://www.smore.com/y2p1r-northpoint-elementary-school

We have been notified by St. Joseph County that starting on Tuesday, September 5 (the first day back after the Labor Day recess day) the intersection of Brick Road and Fir Road will be closed to construct a roundabout. The intersection will be closed for approximately two months. Brick Road will be closed from Gumwood Road to S. R. 23 and Fir Road will be closed from S. R. 23 to Adams Road.

If you have been routed to use P-H-M bus transportation this school year but have instead been driving your child to and from school, you may want to have your child ride the bus during this heavy construction period. Any decrease in traffic to the area will obviously help alleviate  traffic flow.

Detour Route provided by the County:

• Northbound traffic on Fir Rd. will be directed east on S.R. 23, north on Elm Rd., west on Adams Rd., then return north on to Fir Rd.

• Southbound traffic on Fir Rd. / Clover Rd. will be directed west on Adams Rd., south on Gumwood Rd., east on S.R. 23, then return south on Fir Rd.

• Eastbound traffic on Brick Rd. will be directed south on Gumwood Rd., east on S.R. 23, then return back to Brick Rd.

• Westbound traffic on Brick Rd. will be directed east on S.R. 23, north on Elm Rd., west on Adams Rd., south on Gumwood Rd., then back on Brick Rd.

*Please note that this is subject to change

Today (Thursday, August 24, 2017) more than 800 children walked into Penn-Harris-Madison’s 11 elementary schools as kindergartners! Teachers and staff were excited to begin educating the future Class of 2030 and start them on their journey of academic excellence in P-H-M schools.

We visited four of the 11 elementary schools to capture the excitement: Elsie Rogers, Mary Frank, Northpoint and Prairie Vista. And we caught up with P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and School Trustee Board Members Larry Beehler and Jim Garrett during their visit to Northpoint. Dr. Thacker visits all of P-H-M’s 15 schools during the first three days of school. View the photo gallery below.