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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!

April 8 Solar Eclipse Information

While the Indianapolis area and south will experience 100% totality for the solar eclipse occurring on Monday, April 8, 2024, the St. Joseph County area will only experience 96%.

The Michiana area will start experiencing darkness at 1:53 p.m., lasting until 4:23 p.m., with 96% totality occurring at 3:09 p.m. and lasting just over 4 minutes.

Click to watch the video below and hear from P-H-M Digital Video Theater and Planetarium Director Melinda O’Malley as she shows us what to expect in our area.

Click here to see a Indiana Department of Natural Resources map of Indiana regions that will experience varying degrees of darkness. Click here to also get more background information on the Great American Eclipse website.

Because the partial eclipse time is occurring around elementary school dismissal times and based on the recommendations of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the IDOE, P-H-M will have an eLearning day on April 8. Click here for more information on that decision.

Thanks to Old National Bank and P-H-M Education Foundation, all students will have a pair of eclipse glasses to use at home when watching the eclipse with their families. The glasses will be sent home the week of March 25 before P-H-M’s Spring Break.

DVT Director Mrs. O’Malley demonstrates how the eclipse glasses should be used.

Mrs. Manspeaker wins PHM Impact Award

All teachers make an impact on their students. At P-H-M we honor those teachers whose students have improved academically with the P-H-M Impact Award. This semester, Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker is visiting schools and surprising teachers whose students had significant First Semester growth.

Today Dr. Thacker, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, Director of Literacy Ryan Towner, and the Executive Director of the P-H-M Education Foundation Jennifer Turnbloom stopped by Discovery Middle School to surprise Math teacher Coleen Manspeaker. Click here to see the full photo gallery below.

Mrs. Manspeaker’s 8^th grade students had P-H-M’s highest growth in math proficiency–growing 59%!

The Impact Awards were first handed out in September 2023 to teachers with the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year.

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 Musical, “The Music Man,” March 1-3

2024 Penn Football Cheer Tryouts

Football Cheerleading Tryouts will be Monday, March 25; Tuesday, March 26; and Wednesday, March 27 at Penn High School.

Those interested please email Coach Szweda for more information at rszweda@phm.k12.in.us.