Running is Elementary set for Mon., April 27

Monday., April 27 (Rain Date is Wed., April 29)

3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

behind Elm Road Elementary School 

59400 Elm Road, Mishawaka
 

“Running is Elementary” is gearing up for another great year! This is the 12th year for the one mile, non-competitive run which will feature the participation of almost 700 fourth and fifth grade students from all 11 P-H-M elementary schools. This event is FREE to students and takes place on the Penn cross-country course located behind Elm Road Elementary School.

Each school year fourth and fifth graders are encouraged to join the running club at each of P-H-M’s elementary schools. The kids go through this six-week club trained by designated coaches at each school. The end of the six weeks is then celebrated by participating in the Running is Elementary run.

Click to download the RIE forms to sign your student(s) to participate. 

Mary Frank physical education teacher and P-H-M’s 2009 Teacher of the Year Cindy Batalis began this event in 2008. Running has always been a true passion for Batalis and she shares that passion with students by organizing this yearly event.

The event is hosted by the P-H-M Education Foundation and Corporations for Education.

Winter Recess Fun

Our students are lucky enough to have a big hill behind the school that leads down to the playground. This allows for the best recess times during the winter. Students can do everything from sledding to making snow angels.

Take a look at the photo gallery below, students definitely enjoyed the snow today (Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020)!

Kindergarten Registration for 2020-2021 begins Tue., Jan. 21

Registration for kindergarten students for next year, the 2020-2021 school year, will begin on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

Children who live within the P-H-M district and who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2020 are eligible to register. A parent or guardian must appear in person to register their child. 

Bittersweet is one of Penn-Harris-Madison’s 11 elementary schools, each offering full-day kindergarten.

Use this interactive Google based District Map and the P-H-M Street Guide to verify which elementary school serves your neighborhood. 

Click here for more details about kindergarten registration.

2020-2021 School Year Calendar Released

The first day for students (grades 1-12) of the 2020-2021 school year is Wednesday, August 19, 2020 and the last day for students is Wednesday, June 2, 2021.

Other important dates include:

  • Thursday, August 20, 2020: First Day of Kindergarten
  • September 7, 2020: Recess Day – Labor Day
  • October 23 & 26, 2020: Fall Recess Days
  • November 3, 2020: Recess Day – General Election
  • November 25-27, 2020: Thanksgiving Recess Days
  • December 21-Jan. 1, 2021: Winter Break
  • January 18, 2021: Recess Day – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • February 15, 2021: Recess Day – Presidents’ Day
  • April 2, 2021: Recess Day
  • April 5-9, 2021: Spring Break
  • May 31, 2021: Recess Day – Memorial Day

Click here for a one-page pdf copy of the 2020-2021 school year calendar.

For the 2019-2020 school year and activity calendar, please click here.

Winter Break Kids Club, Register by Dec. 18

Kids Club will be offered at Northpoint Elementary School during Winter Break (Dec. 23 – Jan. 3), 6:30 a.m – 6:00 p.m.

Camp will NOT be offered Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1.

Cost is $25 per child, per day. If you are not currently enrolled in Kids Club, you must also pay the $25 registration fee per child. Registration and payment are due and non-refundable by Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Registrations will close at midnight on December 18. Registrations will not be accepted after that date. Click here to register.

Penn Winter Guard Open House, Nov. 21, 2019

Girls and boys, grades 4-12, are welcome to attend the Penn Winter Guard Open House on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019.

Come be a part of this incredible performing arts group!

Click here to download and print the flyer.

Calling All Wrestlers!

Did you know that the Penn Wrestling Club is open to girls too? Does your girl wrestler want to be the next Sara Hildebrandt? 

If so it’s time to sign up for the Penn Wrestling Club! The Penn Wrestling Club is open to all Pre-K through 5th grade boys and girls.

The cost is $150 per session and the participant must have a USA Wrestling Card. Wrestling Cards cost $40 and can be purchased at ISWA.com

The session dates are as follows:

  • Session 1: Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., November 25th – January 22nd  
  • Session 2: Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., January 29th – April 29th

The club meets in the Penn High School Wresting room. Enter through Door “D” and proceed straight up the stairs. The wrestling room is located at the top of the stairs on your right.

Sign-up at WWW.PENNWRESTLING.ORG

If you have any questions contact Penn Head Wrestling Coach Brad Harper at bharper@phm.k12.in.us or text coach Harper at 574-485-7911.

P-H-M School Status, Nov. 19, 2019

The message below was sent to all P-H-M parents from the Superintendent’s Office the morning of Friday, Nov. 15, 2019:

Penn-Harris-Madison’s outstanding teachers are a critical component to P-H-M’s Triangle of Success providing excellent instruction to our students. In support of teachers and fair funding for public education, P-H-M has strong track record of working with State Legislators.

As momentum has grown for the “Red for Ed” action day at the State Legislature next Tuesday, Nov. 19, more Penn-Harris-Madison teachers have expressed interest to travel to Indianapolis to participate. 

We fully support their efforts. Therefore, all 15 P-H-M schools will be closed next Tuesday, Nov. 19. Administrative offices will remain open. Principals will adjust extracurricular activities as needed and will communicate any changes to their building parents and staff.

We will make up the day at the end of the school year. This will make the last day of school for P-H-M students Thursday, June 4.

Thank you for all you do as families to support our teachers.

Champions Together Winter Wonderland family event, Dec. 13

Kids Club will be offered at Northpoint Elementary School during Winter Break (Dec. 23 – Jan. 3), 6:30 a.m – 6:00 p.m.

Camp will NOT be offered Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1.

Cost is $25 per child, per day. If you are not currently enrolled in Kids Club, you must also pay the $25 registration fee per child. Registration and payment are due and non-refundable by Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Registrations will close at midnight on December 18. Registrations will not be accepted after that date. Click here to register.

ILEARN Resources for Parents

ILEARN is Indiana’s standardized test. It is an online computer adaptive assessment designed to measure students’ proficiency of the Indiana Academic Standards in Grades 3–8. At the high school level, students enrolled in Biology and U.S. Government take ILEARN as End-of-Course-Assessments (ECA).

Last school year (2018-19) was the first time ILEARN was administered. This year it will be administered again to students in the spring.

What does it mean that the test is computer-adaptive? 

Every time a student answers a question, his or her response helps determine the next question presented. The difficulty of the test will adjust to each student’s skills, providing a better measure of what each student knows and can do.  For more information, click here to visit the IDOE website. 

Because the ILEARN test is online it has built in tools for students to use while testing:

  • Built-in glossaries allow students to select unfamiliar words and read their definitions.
  • Glossaries are available in English, Arabic, Burmese, Mandarin, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
  • Students are provided with authentic tools, such as spell check, a dictionary, and a thesaurus for use when responding to the writing task.
  • The Desmos calculator (provided for Mathematics Grades 6–8) is available for students to practice using free of charge at: desmos.com.
  • Spanish translations (stacked over the English version) are available for Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

Online resources parents can use at home to help prepare their students

Student ILEARN reports

  • Reports provide a scale score as an indication of overall student achievement in a grade level, as well as several subscores.
  • Parents and guardians may request rescores of open-ended items through the local school. 

Questions?

Contact INassessments@doe.in.gov