The beginning of the 2017-2018 school year is just around the corner. Please remember the Indiana State Department of Health requires parents/guardians to provide their child’s full immunization record to the student’s school health office on or before the first day of school, August 23, 2017.  Click here for details on Kindergarten immunization requirements. 

See the list below for important Moran dates and events to get the year started:

• August 7 – Office Opens
• August 18 – Kindergarten Jump Start, 9-10:30 a.m.
• August 22 – Meet Staff/Visit Rooms, 6-6:45 p.m.
• August 23 – First Day of School (Grades 1-12); Kindergarten Orientation – Last Names A-L, 10 a.m.; Last Names M-Z, 1 p.m.
• August 24 – First Day for Kindergarten
• August 29 – School Picture Day; 1^st Grade Parent Information Night, 6 p.m.
• August 30 – 2^nd Grade Parent Information Night, 6 p.m.; Dibels Testing (Grades K and 1) 8/30-9/27
• August 31 – 3^rd Grade Parent Information Night, 6 p.m.
• September 4 – Labor Day (No School)
• September 5 – 4^th Grade Parent Information Night, 6 p.m.
• September 6 – 5^th Grade Parent Information Night, 6 p.m.

Click here to see the 2017-18 P-H-M District Calendar of Events.

The Penn-Harris-Madison Education Foundation recently announced the recipients of the Spring 2017 grants—with grants totaling $16,640!

Traditional Grant Recipients

Kelso’s Kit: Tools for Kids – Horizon Elementary – Joann Hartline’ Grade K-5  —  300 students; Awarded: $636.73
Kelso’s Kit includes 23 comprehensive lessons that help children make good choices and solve conflicts on their own. The kit will give classroom teachers and/or college practicum students additional tools needed to help students with their everyday life difficulties.

iPod Touches for Walt Disney’s A/V Team

iPod Touches for Walt Disney’s A/V Team – Walt Disney Elementary – Robi Davidson, Emily Beeden; Grades K-4  —  510 students
Awarded: $597
The purchase of the iPods (3) will allow the AV team to record live broadcasts and to connect to other forms of media. In addition, the iPods will allow the team to explore new technologies such as music recording, computer coding, app review, and more extensive photo and video editing.

Wiggling Our Way to Success – Mary Frank Elementary – Lindsay Helman; Grades 3  —  40 students; Awarded: $1,432.34
Alternative seating at Mary Frank will support students who have difficulty focusing. In addition, these seats provide health benefits that include increased metabolism, motivation and engagement, creating better oxygen flow to the brain, and improve core strength.

Strumming Our Way To Musical Success – Horizon Elementary – Jon West and Jeannie Chettleburgh; Grades K-5 — 650 students
Awarded: $1,170
Recently, due to the increase use by pop performers, the Ukulele has quickly risen in popularity. The creates a phenomenon whereby students are expressing a desire to learn to play chords and sing with the Ukulele. The teachers intend to use this natural interest to continue to each the Indiana Music Standards using Ukuleles.

The Walking Classroom – Moran Elementary – Louise Black; Grades 5 — 80-90 students
Awarded: $3,950
Student learning is not limited to sitting in the classroom. This program would allow for a class to walk around/throughout the hallways while listening to pod-casts lessons. Each student audio device is preloaded with 111 pod-casts that are aligned with the 5th grade Common Core curriculum covering language arts, social studies, and health topics.

Documenting Bat Activity in an Urban Habitat – Elm Road School – Jackie Anderson; Grade K-5 —  520 students
Awarded: $323.61
From a school’s FIRST Lego League team, this bat house is located on the edges of the school ground. A remote camera, with infrared lighting, will allow students to observe the natural patterns of bats.

Penn Orchestra – Barrage 8 –  Penn High – Ann Tschetter (P-H-M’s 2017 Teacher of the Year); Grades 9-12 —  20 students
Awarded: $450
Earlier in the year, Penn High School hosted an international string group – Barrage 8 – whose focus is to introduce student to the new eclectic and contemporary side of being a string performer. Furthermore, Penn currently houses contemporary music performing groups in band and choir, but not orchestra. This inspired the teacher to create a before or after-school group where students would take their classical training to a “show” format. Students will learn a wide variety of popular, ethnic jazz, and show tunes. The grant will support purchasing 5 musical instruments for students to perform.

Cafetorium Acoustic Development – Grissom Middle – Heather Baker; Grades 6-8 —  600 students
Awarded: $5,181.39
The school’s cafetorium is used for numerous events throughout the school year, including meetings and conferences. The current sound situation involves outdated technology and bare walls to enable a massive amount of reverb and echo. A new system would increase the quality for musical performances, student news programs, athletic events, and student body assemblies.

Serving Students with Calming Sensory Tools – Elm Road – Audrey Kim; Grades K-5 —  520 students
Awarded: $800
As an educational assistant, the teacher has helped students with anger and behavior issues using sensory tools. Students have enjoyed using manipulative tools to help them calm down. Creating boxes that are readily available for students to help channel their frustrations in appropriate ways.

EZ grant recipients ($250 or less)
 

• Occupational Therapy Materials: Mary Frank Elementary – Tess Weaver; Grade PreK-8; Awarded: $246.67
• Book Clubs in the Classroom – Not Just for Adults; Prairie Vista Elementary – Karen Hlade; Grade 5; Awarded: $244.43
• Electronics Components for Updated Physics Curriculum; Penn High School; Jonathan Lockwood; Grades 11-12; Awarded: $225
• Aquaponics Experiments to Promote a Sustainable Food Future; Penn High School – John Gensic; Grades 9-12; Awarded: $247.99
• It’s All About the Bass Bow; Discovery/P-H-M Middle School Orchestras – April Oppenheim; Grade 6-8; Awarded: $234
• Bike to Build Muscles! Walt Disney Elementary – Kathy Greve; Grades K; Awarded: $250
• Take a Stand; Discovery Middle – Murray Weaver; Grades 6-8; Awarded: $250
• Pay Attention! Elsie Rogers Elementary – Stefanie Hanks; Grade K-5; Awarded: $245
• Table Top Easels; Penn PALS/Elsie Rogers Preschool – Alison Minegar; Grades Preschool; Awarded $250

As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1996, the PHMEF develops alternative sources of income to support learning while strengthening the partnership between schools and community.

Since the Foundation’s inception, more than $520,000 have been distributed in innovative teaching grants supporting P-H-M teachers, staff, and students. Click here to see the grants awarded Fall 2016. The Grants Committee is comprised of Foundation board members, community representatives, and a P-H-M administrator who evaluate each grant application.

Dedicated business leaders, administrators, and community volunteers, representing a cross-section of the school community, serve as the board of directors. PHMEF supports education through awarding innovative teaching grants, scholarships to students, staff development and other corporation-wide initiatives.

PHMEF’s funding comes from special events such as its premier Silver Mile Health & Fitness Fair, Donna & Dr. Jerry Thacker 5K Run/Walk for Education, the State of Indiana from the purchase of Read On Education License plates, Corporations for Education, Thank a Teacher, Entrance to Excellence bricks, and individual donations.

Dear Parents/Guardians:

The May/June calendar marks the beginning of the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Students in grades 3-5 have completed their ISTEP exams. Results will not be immediately available. We will update you as soon as we here from the Indiana Department of Education. Kindergarten and first students are assessing end of year phonemic and comprehension skills (DIBELS). These are important assessments because they tell us how well our students are learning. From this data we examine our curriculum, instructional strategies and make modifications as needed. For you, the parent/guardian, these exams provide you another benchmark in the progression of your child’s learning.
Extended Learning summer school will occur during the month of July. Meadows Edge and Walt Disney are the elementary host sites. Dates for attendance are July 10-28. This is an important learning experience for students who need a little more time and practice to master Indiana Standards. If your child has been invited be sure you get them signed up for this important learning opportunity.
IREAD 3 summer school will be held from June 12-30. This session is offered to help third grade students pass the state mandated IREAD 3 exam.
I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful summer full of exciting memories of times spent with your family. Wrapping things up for this year only makes me more excited about the 2017-2018 school year when we can once again come together and create new memories. Below I have included some information that I hope you find helpful in planning for the days ahead.

Sincerely,

Frank Anglin, Ed.S.
Important Dates:

June 1 – Kindergarten Graduation – 1:00 PM-GYM

June 6 – Awards Day
9:00 a.m. – Grades K-2
10:00 a.m. – Grades 3-5

June 7 – Field Day

Back To School Night:
August 22, from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. For your convenience class lists will be posted outside the rooms and in our gym.

First Student Day & Kindergarten Orientation
August 23, grades 1st – 5th attend a full day. Kindergarten students come to school with their parent/guardian for orientation. Families with a last name A – L attend at 10:00 am. Families with a last name M – Z attend at 1:00 pm. August 24 is the first full day for kindergarten students.

The Silver Mile was held this past weekend (Saturday, May 6).  The first place overall male race winner was Colton Shail, Junior track and cross country runner at Penn High School, with a time of 16:29.9. First place overall female was Erin Moore, 13-year-old Niles student, with a time of 20:07.6.

Meadow's Edge Elementary earned the top participation P-H-M school prize and will receive a $5,000 grant to be used for a fitness/health program.

Coming in at second place was Northpoint Elementary. They will receive a $1,000 grants. The school with the third most student participation was Madison, and they will receive a $500 grant.

Overall there were 500 participants in this year’s race.

This year’s Health and Fitness Fair was a huge success featuring health screenings by Saint Joseph Mishawaka Medical Center.

Healthy post-race snacks were provided by Whole Foods Market. Urban Swirl also helped runners cool off with frozen yogurt cups.

Penn Robotics Team 135 setup robot test drives so that younger children could learn to drive robots. And the Kingsmen Cheerleaders lent their face painting talents to make some prettier faces even prettier!  Click here to see a full gallery of pictures.

“Running is Elementary” took place on Monday, May 1 for the 9th consecutive year! Almost 700 students from all 11 P-H-M elementary schools participated in the 1 mile run on the Penn cross-country course located behind Elm Road School.

Although the weather was windy, cold and rainy, the runners’ spirits were high and full of excitement as family, teachers, staff and friends cheered them on.

Each year fourth and fifth graders are encouraged to sign up for the free running club. Designated coaches at each school are then tasked with training the runners for the 6-week club which then culminates with the Running is Elementary Race.

Cindy Batalis (P-H-M’s 2009 Teacher of the Year and physical education teacher at Horizon Elementary) began the yearly tradition of Running Is Elementary in 2008. Batalis’ own love for running and her desire to pass that love on to students is evident in the passion she puts into the Running is Elementary event each year.

The top times for the 2017 Running Is Elementary Race were as follows:

• 5th Grade Girls 

     1. Bib 87- 6:14     Elm Road
     2. Bib 478- 6:16   Moran
     3. Bib 159- 6:26   Elsie Rogers

• 5th Grade Boys

     1. Bib 612- 6:26   Prairie Vista
     2. Bib 658- 6:35   Walt Disney
     3. Bib 23- 6:39     Bittersweet

• 4th Grade Girls

     1. Bib 293- 7:15   Horizon
     2. Bib 48- 7:21     Bittersweet
     3. Bib 550- 7:24   Northpoint

• 4th Grade Boys

     1. Bib 144- 6:26   Elm Road
     2. Bib 141- 6:37   Elm Road
     3. Bib 578- 6:46   Northpoint

Congratulations to all runners for their great spirit and effort!

A big thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation and Corporations for Education for hosting the event!

Sponsors for the 2017 event:

Presenting sponsor – Corporations for Education

Royal Excursion, the Hunter Family, and Team Pride Athletics

After Race Snack & Water Donations:

Urban Swirl, B&B Organics & Fleet Feet

​        

Dear Parents/Guardians,

P-H-M Counselors have been made aware of a new Netflix show "13 Reasons Why." The story is about a high school student who dies by suicide and then leaves a message blaming the people close to her for her death. Mental health experts nationwide have expressed concerns that the program glorifies suicide and leaves survivors with the idea that it is their fault if a loved one completes suicide.

We want the parents of our 4th-8th grade students, along with Penn High School parents, to be aware of this television program and give you resources to use if your son or daughter watches the show and needs to process its content. We have loaded "13 Reasons Why" talking points to the District website that you can use when discussing  with your child:  

https://www.phmschools.org/sites/phmschools.org/files/13rw_talking_points_final.pdf

Remember that talking about suicide doesn't cause suicide. Making connections and showing people we care reduces isolation that may contribute to suicide ideation. Please remember that the counselors at all our schools are available to talk to your son or daughter and parents if you or they need help.

We also have many resources on the District website that can help parents and students. Please visit www.phmschools.org/lifelines.

Thank you,

Frank Anglin, Ed.S.

Follow Dr. Thacker’s lead and get a jump start on the Give Local St. Joseph County May 9 day-long online giving event NOW!

Starting today, Monday, May 1 you can schedule your gift in advance for the P-H-M Education Foundation. When the 24-hour giving event kicks off on May 9, your gift will already be in ahead of the game!  

Penn-Harris-Madison School Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker made his #GiveLocalSJC donation May 1 designating the P-H-M Education Foundation. 

Make an online donation of $25 or more designating the P-H-M Education Foundation

as part of #GiveLocalSJC campaign and

• 75% of your gift to P-H-M Education Foundation will be paid out to help the Foundation now;
• 25%—plus generous matching funds—will   go into the Foundation’s Endowment Fund to generate annual earnings that will help from now on!
   

Every dollar donated on May 9 to any of the 67 charities participating in Give Local St. Joseph County will be increased by a share of $2.4 million in matching funds provided by generous sponsors.

So this is your opportunity to maximize your donation to the Education Foundation. 

DONATE NOW!

It’s the gift that continues to give!

The Education Foundation supports value add educational programs across the P-H-M school district by awarding innovative teaching grants, scholarships to students, staff development and other corporation-wide initiatives.

Online gifts may be made by clicking here May 9, 2017, starting at 12:01 a.m. and for the next 24 hours, using your credit or debit card. You can also schedule your online gift in advance, any time after the preview period begins on May 1, 2017. If you use a credit or debit card, your card will not be charged until May 9.

If you wish to send a check, please mail it early to ensure receipt by May 9, 2017. Checks are to be made out to the Community Foundation (P.O. Box 837, South Bend, IN, 46624) and dated May 9, 2017, make sure to include “P-H-M Education Foundation” in the memo field. Donations are 100% tax deductible.

Mark your calendars for the 12th Annual Silver Mile Run for Education & Health and Fitness Fair, hosted by the P-H-M Education Foundation.  This popular fun-filled family event will take place on Saturday, May 6, from 8:30 a.m. – noon at Penn High School. 

Register online today!

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Hopefully April will bring more sunny skies and warmer weather. Soon we’ll be hearing the sound of baseballs flying off aluminum bats and observe kites flying overhead. Spring often teases us with sunny days and warming temperatures. I can hardly wait for the real thing to arrive. I’m sure you and your family feel the same way too. There’s just something refreshing about the start of a new season. April is another busy testing time for our students. Please note below these upcoming test windows and be sure your children are getting a good breakfast each morning as well as a good night’s sleep. It they are to do their best they need to be ready to go. A word of encouragement goes a long way too. Kindergarten registration is going well and will continue throughout the spring.

                                                                                                                               Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                Frank Anglin, Ed.S.

Progress Reports:

Progress reports were sent home with students on Wednesday, March 29. If you did not receive a copy contact your child’s teacher.  

APRIL TEST DATES: 

April 10 – April 14: 5^th Grade Math placement for Middle School

April 12 – May 10: DIBELS Reading K-1

April 17 – May 5: ISTEP grades 3-5

May 5 –   May 26: NWEA, select students

Note:  Mandatory ISTEP practice tests will be given to students prior to the actual test dates.

IREAD 3:

We expect IREAD scores to arrive after spring break. Students who did not pass the March IREAD assessment will be required to attend IREAD summer school. Students will receive small group intensive tutoring during this time. At this summer session students will have their final opportunity to pass the state mandated assessment. IREAD summer school is from June 12 – June 30, 2017.

School Improvement Plan/Targeted Focus Group:

Our School Improvement Plan (SIP) includes interventions that address student needs as identified by data from ISTEP. Moran has many ongoing interventions for students. Interventions are targeted to specific groups of students that demonstrate similar academic needs. It’s always important to discuss what, if any, your child’s interventions are with their teacher. Our goal is to help each student accomplish their personal best. Cooperation between home and school is important in helping your child achieve their personal best. Parents can assist by encouraging regular attendance, volunteer in your child’s classroom or a PTA activity and by monitoring your child’s individual learning goals. For more information about our school’s performance parents may to http://compass.doe.in.gov/dashboard/overview.aspx.

SUMMER SCHOOL:

Regular summer school for 2017 will be held at Meadow’s Edge from July 10 – July 28. The PHM transportation department provides transportation. If your child has been invited please get them signed up for this very important learning opportunity. The extra time and attention they receive in summer school may be just the academic boost they need to do their personal best. Principals for summer school have not yet been determined. Summer school sites are at Meadows Edge and Walt Disney. Moran students attend Meadows Edge. I look forward to seeing our students improve their skills during these sessions. Be looking for more summer school information from your child’s teacher as well as our monthly newsletters. 

5^th Grade Tours:

Moran fifth graders will be traveling to their respective middle schools on Wednesday, May 18. Students will tour the buildings with their teachers and eat lunch at the middle schools. Moran students attend either Grissom or Schmucker Middle School.

June 6-June 7:

Awards Day will be on June 6 and June 7th will be the all school Field Day. The last day of school is Wednesday, June 7.  

Kids Club will be open for Spring Break 2017!

WHEN: Monday, April 3 – Friday, April 7

                 6:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

                *House of Bounce Carnival Day on Friday, April 7

WHERE: at the Mary Frank Elementary School location

                    13111 Adams Road, Granger (Entry through Door H) 

COST: $25 per child, per day + $10 activity fee per child

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Payment due Monday, March 27

                                                         Click here to download and print the registration form

Questions? Please contact Kailey Campanaro at (574) 258-9514 or Ashley Stoffl at (574) 258-9587 or click here for more information about P-H-M’s Kids Club program.