Today was New Teacher Orientation for Penn-Harris-Madison. 

Discovery Middle School is welcoming 3 new teachers.

Click to get more details on P-H-M’s Penn's New Teacher Class of 2019.

The purpose of each Middle School Task Force (MSTF) to provide the school constituency the opportunity to have input into the school’s decision making process, toward the achievement of school-wide goals for school improvement plans related to student safety, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Restorative Practices. 

As part of our “Triangle of Success” connecting students, teachers and parents, we invite all Penn-Harris-Madison parents/guardians of their respective middle schools (Discovery, Grissom, and Schmucker) to apply to serve as a member of the MSTF as we work to build a strong community-parent-school partnership.

MSTF members will:

• Enhance communication between the principal and school patrons.
• Serve as a sounding board for new ideas.
• Help the principal anticipate and/or identify community concerns and potential solutions to those issues.
• Assist with planning issues surrounding the implementation of change.
• Assist with developing School Improvement Plan Goals related to safety and/or behavior as well assist and support the school to reach these goals.

The MSTF will hold a minimum of one meeting every month (with some exceptions) during the 2019-2020 school year. More frequent meetings are held in September due to School Improvement Plan deadlines. Additional meetings may be scheduled as the need arises.

HOW TO APPLY

For those parents or community members interested in applying, please click here for a full description of the Middle School Task Force. 

Click here for the application packet for Discovery’s Middle School Task Force.

Sign-up for the Penn Girls Basketball Leagues will be from noon-to-2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 25.

The Junior League is for grades 3-6, and the Senior League is for grades 7-8.

Both the Junior League and Senior League start on Sunday, Sept. 8. The Junior League ends on Sunday, Nov. 10, and the Senior League ends on Sunday, Nov. 17.

• Click here for information on the Junior League.
• Click here for information on the Senior League.

Students in grades 3 – 8 participated in the ILEARN assessments earlier this spring. Since ILEARN is a new test, the results with proficiency levels and final scores will not be available for schools until August 15. 

In accordance with Indiana Code 20-32-5.1-12(d), parents and schools have an opportunity to request a rescore for any open-ended item(s) to which students responded on the ILEARN assessment.

Requesting a rescore is optional and is not a requirement for scoring your student’s test.

The P-H-M ILEARN Rescore Request window will be open from Monday, July 15 – Friday, July 26. Parents or guardians who wish to view students’ response images and scoring rubrics must complete P-H-M’s online form to schedule an appointment at the Educational Services Center for the window of dates listed above. Please click here if you wish to make an appointment. The State is not providing a separate online portal this year for parents to access this information.

If you wish to make an appointment, please note during the appointment, the parent or guardian will ONLY be able to view the following: 

• an image of your student’s response to each open-ended item

• a sample of student responses for each score point

• the scoring rubric to help decide whether to request a rescore for that item

Important Information about the rescore process:

• The rescore request, if desired, will be submitted by P-H-M on behalf of the parent or guardian
• Requesting a rescore may result in an increased or decreased score
• A rescore request cannot be reversed
• A rescore request can only be submitted once

Again, requesting a rescore is optional and is not a requirement for scoring your student’s test.

Parents/Guardians who wish to view students’ ILEARN response images and scoring rubrics, must click here to make an appointment for Monday, July 15 – Friday, July 26.

Football:  Aug1st 
8th grade  8:00 – 9:00
7th grade  8:30 – 9:30

Volleyball:  Aug 5th
8th grade  8 – 9:30 AM
7th grade  9:30 – 11 AM

Cross Country: Aug 12th
8-9:30 AM
 

In March, Discovery Principal Sheryll Harper announced that she was retiring after 32 years with P-H-M, 23 years as principal of Discovery. Click here for more information on Principal Harper’s impact on Discovery.

On June 6, Principal Harper helped Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker introduce Discovery teachers to Elizabeth Willkom-Cunha. Her administrative appointment is scheduled to be approved by the Board of School Trustees at the June 17th Board Meeting. Her first day will be July 1, 2019.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha has served as Principal of the Nuner Fine Arts Academy in South Bend since July 2016.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha's educational career began in Miami-Dade Public Schools in Florida. She served as an Assistant Principal at Fulford Elementary School in North Miami Beach, Florida, 2015 to 2016. Before becoming Assistant Principal, she was an Instructional Teacher (4th Grade General Ed/Special Ed Inclusion) 2010 to 2012.

From 2012-2015, Mrs. Willkom-Cunha served as an Exceptional Student Education/Special Education (ESC/SPED) Chairperson. She also served as the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) Coordinator/Instructional Coach for two years, 2013 to 2015.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha began her career as an Instructional Teacher (SPED Inclusion and Self-Contained) at Fienberg-Fisher K-8 Center in Miami Beach, 2005 to 2010. Prior to becoming a teacher and after getting her degree in psychology from Notre Dame, she worked as a counselor at the Indiana Boys Juvenile Corrections Facility in South Bend for two years.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame, a M.S. in Education – Integrating Technology in the Classroom from Walden University (Minneapolis), and a Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University (Davie, Florida).

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha has also served as an Adjunct Professor at IUSB, an ELL online teacher for students in China, and was recently recognized among Michiana’s “40 under 40” Class of 2019.

This will be a homecoming of sorts for Mrs. Willkom-Cunha; she went to Schmucker Middle School and is a 1998 Penn grad. She and her husband William have three young children.

A “Meet and Greet” will be scheduled closer to the start of the school year so that parents and your students can meet Mrs. Willkom-Cunha.

This year Penn High School started a new tradition with graduating seniors … Senior Parade!

Members of the Class of 2019 went back to the halls of their former elementary schools to say "Thanks" to their teachers & inspire future Kingsmen!!! All in all, about 300 seniors will visit their former P-H-M elementary schools … all 11 schools today & tomorrow (June 4 and June 5)! Click to see the full photo gallery of the Senior Parade at Norhpoint on Penn’s Facebook page.

A group of students also made a special stop at Discovery today (June 4) to drop in and surprise their former principal, Mrs. Sheryll Harper. Students wanted to deliver a special heartfelt thanks to Principal Harper as she enters in to retirement at the end of this school year. Nearly 100 students, one by one, handed Principal Harper a single long stem rose … that’s eight dozen roses!!! Click to see the full photo gallery below. After students hand delivered their roses, they posed for a group picture with Mrs. Harper and then went inside their old middle school to find their former teachers and thank them for helping them get to where they are today!

Mrs. Harper came to P-H-M in 1987 and taught music at Grissom Middle School for five years. She served as principal of Elm Road Elementary from 1992-1996. In 1996, she was asked to open the newest middle school, Discovery, where she has served as Principal for the past 23 years. Principal Harper is retiring after 32 years! Watch the tribute video below that was made for Principal Harper’s retirement reception.

Principal Harper has left an indelible mark on our school and all of our Archers will miss her dearly … CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RETIREMENT PRINCIPAL HARPER!

The Food Service Department of the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is participating in the Summer Food Service Program for Summer 2019.

FREE MEALS will be available to children 18 years of age and under, or persons more than 18 who are determined by a state or local public education agency to be mentally or physically disabled and who participate in a public or non-profit private school program established for the mentally or physically disabled. 

The program will operate Monday through Friday. All sites will be closed on Thursday, July 4, 2018.

Please click here for more information and a complete list of sites and dates.

Critical thinking and teamwork were on full display today as Social Studies teachers Mr. James Howard and Mr. Tanner Givens introduced the joy and frustrations of “Breakout Boxes” to their 7th grade classes.

Breakout EDU boxes are immersive games in which students must figure out academic related clues that will allow them to decode a series of locked boxes.

The clues can be customized to any subject and to multiple grade levels to allow for a unique game play experience each and every time.

The boxes were purchased through a Fall 2018 grant from the P-H-M Education Foundation. PHMEF grants are eligible to any P-H-M staff member who can demonstrate a program’s innovation and creativity, and reflect commitment to excellence in education.

To download high resolution jpg files from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. We are happy to provide this service to you free of charge.

The boys and girls track meet vs John Young scheduled for Tuesday, 4/30/19 has been canceled.