ParentSquare2024 PHM Elementary Spell Bowl Results
Tuesday, March 19 was P-H-M’s annual Elementary Spell Bowl event. Student 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teams from all 11 elementary schools compete. Click here to see the photo gallery below.
Below is this year’s “leaderboard”:
3rd Grade Winners:
- 1st place- Northpoint with 29 points, coached by Nichol Monday
- 2nd place- Prairie Vista with 27 points
- 3rd place tie – Bittersweet, Horizon and Mary Frank each with 22 points
4th Grade Winners:
- 1st place- Northpoint with 30 points, coached by Jen Payne
- 2nd place- Bittersweet with 29 points
- 3rd place- Prairie Vista with 27 points
The 5th grade competition was very close with Northpoint and Bittersweet neck and neck. The tiebreaker words were: panache, soup du jour, fluorescence, pharmaceutical and Albuquerque.
5th Grade Winners:
- 1st place- Northpoint with 38 points, coached by Ros Morehouse
- 2nd place- Bittersweet with 37 points
- 3rd place tie – Prairie Vista and Horizon each with 26 points
Overall Bittersweet did so well that when the 5th grade team came out on stage to be recognized, the other students and parents cheered, clapped, and gave them a rousing round of congratulations!
The teams spend weeks preparing for Spell Bowl with their teacher coaches. They may study word lists, learn about derivations (e.g., Latin roots) and rules (e.g., capitalization, pluralization), and how to spell correctly under pressure.
The format of the Spell Bowl is more like a written test. The emcee reads a word and uses the word in a sentence, the students listen and then write it on paper within a 15-second time limit. The students’ written entries are reviewed by a panel of judges and then their score is posted in front of the audience. Each correct word spelling is worth one point.
The annual event is held in Penn High School’s Center for Performing Arts to not only accommodate all the student teams, but also the students’ “fans,” which are their family, friends and other staff from their home schools!
Mrs. Cassie Scarsella, P-H-M’s High Ability Coordinator, manages the Spell Bowl and works to assure that it is a positive and enriching experience for students. Academic competition can give students confidence, increase their motivation to sharpen their skills and abilities, and expand their opportunities to receive recognition.
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.
2024 Penn Musical, “The Music Man”
Penn’s school musical this year is “The Music Man.”
You won’t want to miss Penn’s talented student performers as they act out the play that follows fast-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band that he vows to organize – this, despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef!
This year’s musical also includes the talents of a few P-H-M elementary and middle school students:
- Mary Cortes, 5th grade, Prairie Vista Elementary School
- Maxwell MacMillan, 5th grade, Mary Frank Elementary School
- Anniston Steele, 7th grade, Grissom Middle School
- Ezra Carrico, Katherine Hawkins, Benjamin Robertson and Noah Rohde, all in 8th grade, Schmucker Middle School
This isn’t the first year Penn’s musicals have included students from younger grades. In 2016, younger students also participated in “Mary Poppins.” But this is the first year in recent memory to have this many!
Visit bit.ly/PennMusicMan to purchase tickets.
Elm Road Receives Two PHM Education Foundation Grants
The P-H-M Education Foundation has wrapped up the grant announcements for the 2023-2024 school year; and it’s been a big year with tons of recipients. Elm Road was the recipient of two grants for the combined total of $3,064.32!
Assistant to the Principal Derrick Fairbotham applied for and received $2,000.55 to purchase “Secret Stories” toolkits. The kits will help 1st and 2nd grade students help teach students phonics and consist of a book, posters and musical CD that provide opportunities for multiple modes of learning including visual icons, auditory and kinesthetic motor skill movement. This method shares stories while helping students tap into the sounds the letter/letter teams make to facilitate reading skills.
Principal Madelyn Beers applied for and received $1,058.77 to purchase a washer and dryer for the school. The appliances will support of students who lack the resources to clean clothing and meet students’ basic needs.
This cycle the Foundation Grants Committee awarded $42,819.63 in funding to 15 EZ grants and 20 traditional grants.
PHMEF has moved to one grant cycle per school year, now moved to the Fall, to allow teachers and schools time to put their grant dollars to good use right away.
Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom traveled across the district to surprise various grant recipients with the good news of their funding amount. Grants awarded this year cover a wide array of innovative programs and activities from $10,000 to Grissom Middle School to purchase keyboards for the music room to milkweed plants for Madison Elementary so the school could attract monarch butterflies.
Click here to see the photo gallery on the District’s website of the check deliveries or click to follow PHMEF’s Facebook page.
“Back to School” Boys Basketball League
Boys in grades 2nd to 8th are invited to participate in “Back to School” Basketball League at Penn High School.
2nd – 6th grade League
DATES: September 24th; Oct. 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd 29th
LOCATION:
- 2nd-4th, Penn Fitness Center
- 5th-6th, Main Arena/West Balcony/Aux Gym Time
TIMES:
- 2nd-4th, Sundays, Noon – 4:00 p.m.
- 5th-6th, Sundays, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
COST: $99
Click here to register online.
7th & 8th grade League
DATES: September 10th, 17th, 24th; Oct. 1st, 8th
LOCATION: Penn High School
TIMES: Sundays, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
COST: $79
Click here to register online.
Questions? Please contact the League Director Coach Smith if you have any questions at jsmith5@phm.k12.in.us