Parents of 3rd through 8th graders and Penn sophomores, the Indiana Department of Education has released the testing windows for ISTEP+ and IREAD for the 2015-2016 school year. ISTEP will begin in late February and IREAD in mid-March. Part 1 of ISTEP will be done with paper/pencil and Part 2 will be done online. 

New this year:  In preparation for 2016 ISTEP+, the IDOE has now made ISTEP+ “Experience” available through Pearson, allowing students and parents to experience various technology-enhanced item types that will appear on the ISTEP+ Part 2 assessment as often as they like from home, at school, or on mobile devices. “Experience” is presented via the Pearson online platform (TestNav 8) that will be used for ISTEP+ online testing, as well as IREAD-3 online testing. P-H-M families can access ISTEP+ “Experience” through the P-H-M District website, as well as through the link provided on the RESOURCES menu of every school website.

Indiana Statewide Testing of Educational Progress Plus (ISTEP+ ) Grades 3-8, and 10*

                                                                           Window Begins                                              Window Ends

ISTEP+ Part 1 – paper/pencil                        February 29, 2016                                          March 11, 2016
(Applied Skills)

ISTEP+ Part 2 – online                                    April 18, 2016                                                  May 6, 2016
(Multiple-choice & Technology-Enhanced Items)

*New this year, high school sophomores will be required to take ISTEP

Indiana Reading And Evaluation Determination-3 (IREAD-3) Grade 3

IREAD-3                                                           March 14, 2016                                               March 18, 2016

For more information on the state assessment testing windows, please visit the Indiana Department of Education website, www.doe.in.gov/assessment.

Speak Up is a national research initiative that seeks to gather widespread input on the topic of educational technology.  

Each fall the Speak Up survey is posted online so students, parents, teachers, school staff, and the general public can share their views on technology in schools. 

The Speak Up survey has three primary objectives:

• To provide a means for local schools and districts to easily and effectively listen to and act upon the ideas of their stakeholders
• To provide a conduit for the voices of education stakeholders, most notably students, to inform national and state policies and programs
• To stimulate new local discussions around the use of technology within education.

Survey results are typically released in February, and are important to those who shape educational policy, direct school finance, create curriculum, and implement technology in our schools.

Penn-Harris-Madison participates in the survey in part because we are recipients of a Digital Learning Grant that helps to fund our technology.  

Another reason we support Speak Up is because the results can be helpful in the development of our formal technology plans. Each P-H-M school develops and follows a 3-year technology plan that outlines its goals for educational technology and directs how resources may be spent to achieve those goals.

Here’s a link to learn more about the SPEAK UP survey and the agency that conducts the research, Project Tomorrow.  Get answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Speak Up here.

Or, you may want to just jump right in and take the survey!

Parents and community members CLICK HERE to TAKE THE SPEAK UP SURVEY NOW

The survey takes 15-20 minutes to complete and you will not need to create an account. The survey will be open until December 18 and the link on this webpage will remain active until then. 

P-H-M staff and students will have opportunities to take their version of the Speak Up survey at school / at work through arrangements made in the coming weeks.

Alarm clocks were set early. The weather cooperated beautifully. Children got themselves ready for school while parents snapped photos. Then the yellow buses started to roll and School Year 2015-2016 was underway!

Today was the first day of school for grades 1-12 at Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. We welcomed back more than 10,600 students to our 15 schools. About 700 kindergartners, members of the future Class of 2028, attended orientation sessions with their parents and families getting prepared for their first day tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 20. And close to 800 seniors, making up the Class of 2016, followed a Gold Day schedule at Penn High School.

We want to see all your “1^st Day of School” photos. We asked parents, families and high school students to snap, tag ‪and share their pictures on Facebook and Twitter using #‎PHMBACK2SCHOOL. Go to our channels or check out our picture gallery on the home page to get a glimpse.

The start of school also means new faces at the front of the classroom as well! Last week, we also welcomed more than 50 new teachers to P-H-M. Click here to see their friendly faces.

Thank you to ALL our students, parents, teachers and staff for all the great pictures. Here’s to a great year!

Girls in grades 3 through 8 are invited to be part of a community-sponsored girls basketball league run by PHS girls varsity basketball coach, Kristi Kaniewski Ulrich. 

JUNIOR LEAGUE is for girls in grades 3 through 6.  

SENIOR LEAGUE is offered for girls in grades 7 and 8. 

Sign-up takes place on Sunday, August 30 in the Penn High School Arena from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.​ 

The league begins on Sunday, September 13. 

This is a great opportunity to learn the game, pick up skills, build fitness and make friends! 

Click here to access the informational flyers and the registration form.

Calling all parents of P-H-M students in grades 4-8^th … is your child interested in robotics?

Does your child love playing with LEGOs®?

Then P-H-M’s FIRST® LEGO® League is your answer!

WHO:                   4^th-8^th grade P-H-M students, families, elementary and middle school teachers

WHAT:                 FIRST® LEGO® League (sponsored by Penn Robotics, Team 135)

WHEN:                 Wednesday, August 5
                              7:00 p.m.

WHERE:               Penn High School, Door J
                              56100 Bittersweet Rd Mishawaka, IN  46545

WHY:                   

P-H-M’s FIRST® LEGO® League is sponsored by Penn Robotics, Team 135. Penn’s team was a 2015 Indiana District-Kokomo City winner of the FIRST® Robotics Competition; Penn’s team also won the Chairman’s award. FIRST® LEGO® League is a national program that introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. This year’s challenge will be Trash Trek: discovering the hidden world of garbage!

In FLL, elementary and middle-school students (ages 9-14) get to:

• Design, build, test and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology

• Apply real-world math and science concepts

• Research challenges facing today’s scientists

• Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills

• Participate in tournaments and celebrations

What FLL teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing. It’s fun. It’s exciting.  And participants learn skills that will last a lifetime.

Come learn all about joining P-H-M’s FIRST® LEGO® League. Register, find out about the resources and get the season timeline.

The first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 19 and that means along with school supplies, parents also need to make sure their children are up-to-date on their immunizations.

A record of your child’s immunizations are due to your student’s health office on or by the first day of school. All P-H-M schools are open to the public beginning Wednesday, Aug. 5 (7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.). You can drop off the records at the schools between Aug. 5 and Aug. 19.

Please find the list of required immunizations by grade levels listed below …

For incoming Kindergarten students:

• 3 Hep B
• 5 DTaP (4 doses are acceptable if the fourth dose was administered on or after the 4th birthday)
• 4 Polio (the 3^rd dose must be given on or after the 4^th birthday and at least 6 months after the previous dose with only one type of vaccine used, all OPV or all IPV. Final 4^th dose must be given on or after the 4^th birthday and administered at least 6 months after the previous dose).
• 2 MMR
• 2  Varicella
• 2 Hep A

Additional immunizations needed for incoming 6^th grade students:

• 1 Tdap (Tetanus & Pertussis)
• 1^st dose of MCV4 (Meningococcal conjugate)
   

Additional immunizations needed for incoming 12^th grade students:

• 2^nd dose of MCV4 (Meningococcal conjugate)

Immunizations may be obtained from your family doctor, St. Joseph County Health Department, or other area clinics. Please call the school health office for resources.

For more information on state immunization requirements, please visit the P-H-M Healthcare Services webpage on our site.

Posted July 17, 2015 – 9:00 a.m. EDT

The 2015 Summer Visual Arts Academy is offered to all P-H-M elementary students – at no charge!

Registration for kindergarten students for the 2015-2016 school year will begin at each P-H-M elementary school on Tuesday, January 20. This registration opportunity is for youngsters who live within the P-H-M district and who will be five years old on or before September 1. A parent or guardian must appear in person to register their child.

Please bring the following documentation with you:

1. Original Birth Certificate
2. Proof of Residency (lease/rental agreement or current utility bill showing address)
3. Immunization Records
4. Any legal documents related to child custody, restrictions, or restraining orders

Penn-Harris-Madison has 11 elementary schools, each offering full-day kindergarten. You may use the P-H-M Guide to Attendance and Map of District to verify which elementary school serves your neighborhood. Registration will take place at the schools during normal office hours, which are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in most cases. The offices at Elsie Rogers Elementary School and Moran Elementary are open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We encourage you to register your student as soon as possible, on or after January 20. We look forward to welcoming the Class of 2028!

Each child entering kindergarten at P-H-M must also complete a Registration Form and must have a physical exam and a dental exam completed before entering kindergarten. Below are the forms you will need to complete your kindergarten student registration:

Registration Form

Physical Examination/Health Questionnaire

Dental Examination

Immunization Requirements for School Year 2015-2016 – Immunizations are used to protect your children against certain diseases as well as other children in the school. Under Indiana Public Law, when a child enrolls in school his/her parent/guardian is required to furnish written proof that a child is fully immunized as required by the Indiana State Department of Health. Immunization paperwork must be submitted to your school office before the first day of school, August 19, 2015. Immunizations may be obtained from your family doctor, St. Joseph County Health Department, or other area clinics. Please call your school health office for resources.

Children and Hoosiers Immunization Registry Program (CHIRP) – The Indiana State Department of Health has implemented an electronic reporting system that is designed to improve the state’s records on immunizations. The registry is called Children and Hoosiers Immunization Registry Program (CHIRP). Health care providers in Indiana will enter data into the electronic database to ensure the most up-to-date record of immunizations is available.

SJRMC Letter re: Health Problems – Non-resident students seeking admission to kindergarten, or any other grade level, must wait until Tuesday, February 17, the first date that applications from non-residents will be accepted. There will be limited spaces available. Check back on the P-H-M website on/after February 17 for more information on non-resident application, posted openings, and to obtain the actual application form. Non-resident kindergartners who apply and are admitted, will be notified and given opportunity to enroll, later in the spring.

Penn-Harris-Madison’s Meadow’s Edge Elementary School (K-5) was recently recognized by the Indiana Department of Education as being one of the top three Title I schools in Indiana for exceptional progress and student performance. There are nearly 900 pre-K through eighth grade Title I schools in the state. The IDOE used student performance on ISTEP+, an interview with the school’s principal, Jayson Snyder, and a school site visit to make the determination. More than 80 percent of Meadow’s Edge students passed math and English/language arts in ISTEP in 2013.

Meadow's Edge has been identified as a Reward School by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). Only 31 schools throughout the state received this honor. Reward Schools are Title I schools that show high growth or high achievement. Reward Schools will receive a plaque to recognize the designation. In addition, the State Board of Education may invite schools to present a Spotlight on Learning during one of its monthly meetings. Congratulations to students, parents and staff on this wonderful accomplishment.