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7th Annual Hair Donation Event to be held Nov. 16 at Penn

This year's “Short Hair Because We Care” will hold a hair donation event for the Children With Hair Loss organization will be held Saturday, November 16 at Penn High School's Studio Theater.

Short Hair Because We Care Info

Anyone in the community can donate their hair, but the minimum is 8 inches of hair. Hair that is colored and permed is accepted. Local professional hair stylists will be donating their time to cut volunteers hair for free. Because this is for hair donation, the service provided is just a simple cut, no style.

This event was started in 2019-2020 school year by a group of 7th grade Grissom Middle School students, one of which was Ella Smoker, Valedictorian Class of 2024.

“It started as something that students could give, that wouldn’t be money or something they wouldn’t have control over being young students, but everyone can donate their hair, so that’s why we started it: to give everyone an opportunity to serve even if they don’t have other resources,” said Smoker. Click to see the WNDU-TV's story.

Last year, 33 people donated a total of 334 inches (click to see photos)! Donate this year and help beat last year's totals!

If you're interested in donating, click here to sign up using the Google form.

Email shbwcphs@gmail.com with questions, and follow the group on Instagram at @shbwc_phs.

If you can't make it to the event or don't have enough hair to donate, you can still help out by donating directly to Children With Hair Loss.

Children With Hair Loss is a nonprofit organization that provides hair replacements at no cost to children or young adults facing hair loss at no cost. Whatever the cause, hair loss can have effects that go deeper than cosmetics. Providing this hair is how this organization gives back to the community. You can help us give back to your community and the children facing hair loss by donating your hair or simply spreading the word about the event to everyone!

Homecoming 2024 Details

Attention P-H-M families and community members! Mark your calendars for the annual Homecoming Celebration on Friday, October 4, 2024. Penn High School students, don’t forget the Homecoming Dance is on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

This event is ONLY possible through the generous support of the P-H-M Education Foundation, Presenting Sponsor “Drive and Shine” and our other incredible sponsors. Click here to see the videos and pictures from last year’s amazing event.

Friday, October 4, 2024

Family Fun Zone
• Time: 4-7 p.m.
• Cost: Free
• Location: Jordan Automotive Group Baseball Field
• What: Bounce Houses, Gaga Ball, Obstacle Courses, 22 ft slide and more!

Vendor Expo
• Time: 4-7 p.m.
• Cost: Free
• Location: First Base Side of the Jordan Automotive Group Baseball Field
• What: Tables with vendors sharing valuable information & Free “Go Penn” temporary tattoos for all Kingsmen and future Kingsmen!

Food Trucks
• Time: 4-7 p.m.
• Cost: Varies
• Location: North End of Penn High School Parking Lots
• What: Get dinner or a snack from a varity of delicious local food trucks!

Homecoming Parade
• Time: 5:30 p.m.
• Cost: Free
• Location: Wraps around the rear of Schmucker Middle School, Left turn onto Bittersweet Road, Right turn past Penn Student Parking (See Map)
• What: See floats created by a varity of Penn High School sports, clubs and students groups. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite float at the Expo!

Football Game
• What: Penn vs Elkhart
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Cost: $6 in advance (online or high school students may purchase in the Penn Athletic Office until 8 a.m. on Friday) $7 at the gate (or after 8 a.m. in the Penn Athletic Office)
Any elementary student or younger, who attends with a paying adult, is free! (Ex. 1 paying parent with 3 elementary children, all 3 children are free)
• Location: Everwise Freed Field
• Click for facility Rules to Remember

Parking
• Cost: $3 to park in lots around Penn High School (See Map)
All money raised through parking supports the Penn High School Band Boosters
• Cost: Free to park in Schmucker, Pennway, Baseball and softball lots (See Map)
Families are encouraged to arrive early to allow plenty of time to find parking and walk to the events

Fireworks
• Time: TBD – After Football Game
• Location: Everwise Freed Field
• What: Spectacular firework’s show to end the evening

Spirit Wear
• What: T-shirt to show your school spirit!
• Cost: $12-$18
• How to buy: High School Shirts | Elementary & Middle School Shirts

Click Map to Expand

Saturday, October 5, 2024

“An Enchanted Evening” Homecoming Dance
• Time: 7:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
• Location: Everwise Freed Field & Yeoman Family Plaza
• Cost: $25 Per Ticket
• Purchase Tickets Here
• What: An Enchanted Evening for PHS students! Great music, games, and food! Plus, new addition of a 360 -degree videography photo booth!

October 1-7, 2024

Silent Auction
• Beginning October 1st, bid on a variety of items compliments of our community partners
• Click Here for Silent Auction
• All proceeds benefit the P-H-M Education Foundation

For sponsorship opportunities or other information, please reach out to Jen Turnblom jturnblom@phmef.org

Rules to Remember:

No reentry; 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

Sarah Hildebrandt Parade

On Sunday, September 8, the Michiana community joined Penn and P-H-M in giving Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt a Heroine’s Welcome!

Before Sarah’s “Welcome Home” kicked off, the local media got some one-on-one time with Sarah, her parents, and Penn Head Wrestling Coach Brad Harper during a news conference. Coach Harper was Sarah’s wrestling coach when she was at Penn; he became her personal coach and coached her at the Tokyo Olympics wear she won Bronze. Coach Harper planned this special homecoming for Sarah.

After the parade was over, hundreds gathered at Urban Swirl in Granger for an Olympic Celebration emceed by Mark McGill. A representative from Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood’s office read a proclamation declaring September 8th as Sarah Hildebrandt Day! U.S. Congressman Rudy Yakym read the historical entry on Sarah’s Olympic achievement that he will be submitting to the official U.S. Congressional Record.

Sarah attended Discovery and that’s where she got her wrestling start. A the Olympic Celebration, Sarah was able to see and catch up with the coach who gave her first break, then Discovery Middle School Wrestling Coach Raoul Donati.

Sarah Hildebrandt & Raoul Donati

Grateful for all the love and support that her hometown gave her, Sarah graciously took hundreds of pictures with all of her adoring fans. She also signed hundreds of autographs on posters, shirts, singlets, wrestling shoes and even foreheads!

Click to see the full photo gallery on P-H-M’s website.

2024 Community Connections Fair

P-H-M's ENL Department is hosting their annual Community Connections Fair on Saturday, October 5th!

Join us for activities, arts & crafts, food, performances, and to learn about resources in our community. It is completely FREE and all P-H-M families are invited to attend. Click here to see photos on Facebook of past Fairs.

If you have somebody in your family that would like to perform for our event showcasing a traditional act from your family's culture, click here to fill out a form to participate.

We can't wait to see you there!

Discovery Earns Indiana Gold Star School Counseling Award!

We are proud to announce that Discovery Middle School has earned the prestigious Indiana Gold Star School Counseling Award! This recognition is a reflection of our commitment to providing a comprehensive and effective school counseling program that serves the needs of our students.

Our school counseling team has worked diligently to offer both direct and indirect services, carefully planning our program with the goal of improving student outcomes. We have strived to meet the highest standards by addressing the Indiana School Counseling Competencies for Students and aligning our practices with the American School Counseling Association’s (ASCA) Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success.

The Gold Star designation not only recognizes our dedication but also aligns with the ASCA National Model. This achievement makes us eligible to apply for the ASCA RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Programs) Award, a prestigious recognition in the field of school counseling. We look forward to the next steps in pursuing this honor.

We are honored by this recognition and eager to continue our journey toward excellence in school counseling!

PHM Introduces ParentSquare, new parent communication tool

With the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, P-H-M is switching to ParentSquare, a new unified, user-friendly, communications platform designed with parents and guardians in mind. CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE INFO YOU NEED TO GET STARTED.

download the app

ParentSquare provides a centralized location for families to receive communications from school principals, teachers, coaches, and front office staff on all their students, in all schools, in all classrooms! CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE INFO YOU NEED TO GET STARTED.

Parents/guardians receive alerts, updates, and posts on:

important notifications, such as school closings and delays
attendance
principal & teacher newsletters
school & classroom calendar of events
volunteer & RSVP for events
fill out permission slips & other forms
… ALL IN ONE LOCATION!

Families chose their preferred mode of communication for non-urgent notifications– app, text, email, phone. Parents/guardians can also chose to have all communications automatically translated to their preferred first language.

As we approach the first day of school (Wednesday, August 21), principals and teachers will be using ParentSquare to share important "Back to School" information. Parents and guardians are asked to activate their accounts by Monday, August 12, 2024.

PLEASE NOTE: If your child is transitioning to a new building from last school year, the information will be updated later this summer. You are still able to register for ParentSquare.

To activate parent/guardian accounts, parents need to check their email for the welcome and introductory email.

The email was sent between Thursday, July 11 and Friday, July 12, 2024 with the subject line: “Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. is now using ParentSquare.”

The sender of the email will appear as “Penn-Harris-Madison via ParentSquare” with a donotreply @parentsquare.com email address, similar to this … donotreply+01d8d49e-b6f1-47f3-ac23-d45abf67b233@parentsquare.com

Haidyn Reed Places 2nd at Nationals

In the spring, Discovery Middle School's own Haidyn Reed won the Indiana State National History Day Competition and advanced to the National Competition in Washington, D.C.

In all, 12 Discovery projects were represented at the state competition. We had many winners!
Individual:

Haidyn Reed – 1st place Individual Exhibit
Viosa Hernandez – 3rd place Individual Exhibit
Noah Foglesong – 2nd place Individual Performance
Group:Ashlyn Baber, Dua Ulhaq, Mali Minzey – 3rd place Group Website

Since Haidyn Reed won the state competition she went on to Nationals this summer and we are thrilled to announce that Haidyn has earned 2nd place!

Haidyn Reed With Medal

Congratulations, Haidyn—what an incredible achievement!

Mrs. Keim wins Impact Award

Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker started handing out the third and final round of district Impact Awards on Wednesday, May 22. The awards were given to teachers who had the most significant individual student growth with DIBLES, ILEARN, and SAT assessments for Spring 2024.

Dr. Thacker, along with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, Director of Professional Development and Student Learning Dr. Lavon Dean-Null, visited four schools to surprise five teachers letting them know that they were the latest winners.

DMS Impact Award Winner

Gianna Keim, who teaches 6th & 7th grade Math, had the highest student growth in middle school math in the entire district! Congrats to Mrs. Keim and her students!

As this school year comes to a close we want to thank all our teachers and students for their commitment to academic excellence this school year. The hard work really paid off!

Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation for covering the cost of the awards for purchasing the beautiful crystal awards given to the teacher award recipients.

Penn Dance/Pom Team auditions set for April 22-25

Penn High School Pom/Dance Teams

Tryouts are open to current 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th graders. If you are going to be a senior for the 2024-2025 season, you must make Varsity or higher. Seniors cannot be on a Junior Varsity team.

Tryout Dates & Information

Tryout Schedule

Monday, April 22: 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Main Arena at Penn
Tuesday, April 23: 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Main Arena at Penn
Wednesday, April 24: 6:30-9:30 p.m. – Main Arena at Penn (Competition Tryouts)
Thursday, April 25: 6:30-9:30 p.m. – Main Arena at Penn (JV and Varsity Tryouts)

Results Announcement

Each candidate will be given a unique number. Results will be posted using unique numbers via Instagram.

Competition team results: Thursday morning
JV and Varsity results: Friday morning

What Coaches Look For

The Poms coaches will be looking for the following qualities during tryouts:

Dance ability
Showmanship
Technical skills (JV/Varsity: Turns, toe touches, and leaps)

Competition Team Requirements

Required Technical Skills

Technical skills will be an extremely important aspect of tryouts. Candidates must be able to perform:

Triple and quad pirouette
Toe touches/pop up toe touch
Firebird
Turning disc
Calypso
Side leap
Saut de chat
Fouettés/ala seconde turns
Aerials (front and side)
Switch to tilt jump; switch to arabesque; switch to second
Preferred skills: front walkovers

Coaching Staff

Cindi Minegar & Alison Minegar: Competition Coach (Season runs August-March)
Lauren Jacobs: Varsity Coach (Season runs September-February)
Leah Olsen: JV Coach (Season runs September-February)

Physicals & Registration

Penn Physicals

Physicals for the 2024-2025 school year must be dated after May 1, 2024, and will be due on Register My Athlete by the first day of Boot Camp (July 29, 2024), or when the Athletic Office opens registrations.

Register My Athlete

Upon results of tryouts, you must register on Register My Athlete (once athletic office has it set up—we will notify all team members when it is available) and get all appropriate paperwork signed and submitted on that website. We do not collect paperwork.

Information on how to setup a Register My Athlete account

Boot Camp (Mandatory)

Boot Camp Schedule
JV & Varsity	Competition Team
Monday, July 29, 2024: 5:00-9:00 p.m.	Monday, July 29, 2024: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 30, 2024: 5:00-9:00 p.m.	Tuesday, July 30, 2024: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 31, 2024: 5:00-9:00 p.m.	Wednesday, July 31, 2024: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 1, 2024: 5:00-8:00 p.m.	Thursday, August 1, 2024: 1:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

*Students will be responsible for their own sack lunches Monday – Wednesday

Athletic Guidelines & Financial Obligations

Boot Camp Fees

Boot Camp will be run by guest choreographers along with coaches.

JV and Varsity: $110.00 per person
Competition: $175.00 per person

Camp money is due on the first day, July 29, 2024.

Competition Team Additional Fees

$145 on the first day of actual season rehearsal, Monday, August 5, 2024.

This money will go towards team t-shirt, hair bow, shoes, tights, rhinestones, and earrings. We will order as a group.

JV and Varsity New Members

New members will need:

Tan tights
Tan jazz shoes
Accessories

We will order as a group.

Team Fundraiser

Elementary Camp

All teams involved

Dates: June 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Report time is 12:30 p.m.)
What to Wear: Black tank tops, shorts, and tennis shoes. Hair should be in a ponytail.

Competition team will have additional fundraisers for their season.

Questions?

Any questions, please contact:

Cindi Minegar: cminegar@phm.k12.in.us
Alison Minegar: aminegar@phm.k12.in.us

Parent/Student Signature Page (Required)

*This form must be handed into the coaches on the first day of tryouts, or student will NOT be allowed to participate.

Exploring Financial Realities: Reality Store

Today our 8th-grade students delved into the world of personal finance at Reality Store. Students were assigned careers, salaries, families, and even pets. They were then tasked with the challenge of budgeting for everyday expenses like housing, groceries, and entertainment.

students talks to parent volunteer

Parent volunteers led sessions on various career fields, offering insights and guidance. Students learned firsthand about professions, career paths, and the importance of education in achieving financial stability.

parent volunteers discuss careers

Reality Store wasn't just about numbers; it was about practical skills. Students honed critical thinking and problem-solving abilities while managing budgets and making informed financial decisions.

A big thank you to our parent volunteers whose dedication made Reality Store a success. Their support empowered students to navigate the complexities of personal finance with confidence and competence.

parent volunteers

Reality Store served as a reminder that financial literacy is crucial for success beyond the classroom. Equipped with practical skills, our students are better prepared to face the challenges of the real world and build a secure future.

Take a look at more photos below!