DMS will host incoming 7^th and 8^th grade students and their parents on Monday, Aug 24^th.  We will begin at 6:30 SHARP, when each student and his/her parents should be in their first period clasroom. We will run a mini-schedule during which teachers will introduce themselves and give you a brief explanation of their classroom and content. Each class period will be 7 minutes long. When the bell rings, you have only 5 minutes to move to your next classroom. Spirit shirts and gym clothes will be available to purchase in the commons afterwards.

At 7:45 parents of 8^th grade students are invited to the cafeteria to receive information regarding next spring’s trip to Washington DC.

DMS will host incoming 6^th grade students and their parents on Monday, Aug 17^th.  We will begin at 6:30 SHARP, when each student and his/her parents should be in their first period clasroom. We will run a mini-schedule during which teachers will introduce themselves and give you a brief explanation of their classroom and content. Each class period will be 7 minutes long. When the bell rings, you have only 5 minutes to move to your next classroom. Spirit shirts and gym clothes will be available to purchase in the commons afterwards.

We are excited to announce that each Middle School student will receive a new HP Chromebook 11 G3 in August 2015. In order for the Chromebook distribution process to run smoothly for our entire student population, we need to outline the steps to follow in order for students to be ready for class with their own personal Chromebooks when school starts.

1. Parents/guardians of current middle school students are to sign and return the Student Chromebook Program Acknowledgement Form before school begins in August.

2. Once you have returned the Student Chromebook Program Acknowledgement Form to our main office, a Chromebook will be reserved for distribution during the first few days of school.

3. The introduction of Chromebooks will alter not only the way in which students continue their learning, but also the way in which we structure fees. The $85.00/year use fee for the Chromebook will replace the rental of some of the textbooks next school year.

4. We will continue to issue some personal textbooks for various classes while other textbooks will be retained as class sets only. Therefore, we will still be using traditional textbooks as we introduce more widespread digital learning through Chromebooks.

5. We will keep track of each student’s Chromebook serial number so that we can reissue the same device to each user the following school year. Students will use the same Chromebook for three years.

6. As a parent/guardian, you will be responsible if the Chromebook is damaged or stolen.

7. P-H-M will provide an optional insurance program in the fall for parents wishing to participate. The insurance program will cover accidental damage and repairs and cost approximately $20.00 per year. Insurance information will be provided when your student receives their Chromebook.

We look forward to using Chromebooks next fall. Please make sure that you have your Acknowledgement form on file with our school office by May 4, 2015 so that your student will receive his/her Chromebook when school starts in August 2015. We appreciate your support as we embark on our digital initiative.

Team 1920, Baker's Dozen, which is comprised of students from Discovery Middle School and Horizon Elementary School, placed first for Robot Strategy and Innovation at the International FIRST LEGO League Tourney this past weekend in Arkansas. The tean also earned a fourth place Robot Award (out of 72 teams) for points scored. Congratulations to the team on this outstanding accomplishment.

Congratulations to the students, staff and parents at seven P-H-M schools for earning Four Star School status, as announced by the Indiana Department of Education on April 28. These Four Star Schools have distinguished themselves in the area of student achievement, scoring in the top quartile on statewide assessments in 2013-2014.  

In addition to Discovery Middle School, the six other P-H-M Four Star Schools are: 

·         Horizon Elementary School – Principal Tressa Decker

·         Mary Frank Elementary School – Principal Debra Hildreth

·         Northpoint Elementary School – Principal Diane Wirth

·         Prairie Vista Elementary School – Principal Keely Twibell

·         Grissom Middle School – Principal Nathan Boyd

·         Penn High School – Principal Steve Hope

Penn-Harris-Madison had seven Four Star Schools last year as well!

Four Star School status is one way to recognize excellent instruction that leads to outstanding results.  

The 2015-2016 school year starts on Wednesday, August 19. 

2015-2016 School Year Calendar 

Important Dates for 2015-2016: 

First day of school – Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Labor Day Recess/No School – Monday, September 7

Fall Recess Days – Friday, October 23 and Monday, October 26

Thanksgiving Day Recess/No School – Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27

Winter Recess Days/No School – Monday, December 21-Friday, January 1, 2016

School Resumes from Winter Recess – Monday, January 4

Martin Luther King Jr. Recess Day/No School – Monday, January 18

Recess Day/No School – Friday, February 12

Presidents’ Day Recess Day/No School – Monday, February 15

Good Friday Recess Day/No School – Friday, March 25

Spring Break – Monday, April 4-Friday, April 8

Memorial Day Recess Day/No School – Monday, May 30

Last Day of School for Students – Wednesday, June 1.

Information on individual school events is available from the school Google Calendar or school newsletter on their websites, or on the district “Calendar of Events."

For accessing our library resources at DMS please use the link below.
 

Access DMS Alexandria

P-H-M's new GPS bus tracking system (powered by Synovia) has been well received since its introduction in the fall. Parents can create an account to use a computer and now a Smart phones can be used to track the progress of the approaching school bus for pick-up (morning) and drop-off (afternoon). You can register for the service by creating an account through this link: http://parent.silverlining.synovia.com

At the Synovia website, you will then be prompted to enter the following information:

• PHM's account number is 76205
• Your child's last name
• Your child's Student ID#