On Wednesday, Nov. 6^th, our Guardsmen Spell Bowl team won the Class 2 State Championship for the first time in school history!!!

This is a major accomplishment for our students and team coach Mr. Josh Kelver.

On Saturday, Nov. 16^th, the team competed at Purdue University as one of the top thirty schools in the State. They competed outside of Class 2 in the state’s overall Spell Bowl Championship and came in 6^th place with a score of 67.

Season Notes:

Spell Bowl is in its 39th year of existence, and this is the strongest season our school has ever put forth, for which the students deserve a whole heck of a lot of credit!

Grissom is now the reigning Class 2 State Champion, which is significant. This season wasn’t all varsity, either. Our B team ranked 21st in the state at the Area Competition and 5th in our class.

At Purdue (the overall state championship where class doesn’t matter), Grissom ended the season ranking 6th in the entire state. That means we outscored 118 other teams this season.

*Our score at Purdue was 67/72 (only one team per school can spell at Purdue, so this was just our varsity squad), by far the highest score Grissom has ever gotten in competition. Only missing 5 words as a team is pretty wild. Just for reference, when Grissom Head Coach Mr. Kelver spelled at Purdue for Grissom Middle School, in 2002, he missed 5 words by himself. So to only miss 5 out of 72 words (words like kaffeeklatsch, soliloquy, kohlrabi, brougham, ballon d’essai, antimacassar, triskaidekaphobia, etc., etc.) is exceptional. Again, these kids worked hard this season, studying before, during, and after school, on weekends, on Fall Break, over the summer, just nonstop. 

We had many perfect spellers this season. At the Area Competition, Matthew Doughty and Ellie Schwalbe both got 9/9 words right. And at Purdue, it was Seth Hayden, Ellie Schwalbe, Mia McConnell, Viktor Yoder, and Matthew Doughty. Riley Hoover was near perfect at Purdue with 8/9.

Mr. Kelver is very grateful to the students, staff, and parents who helped facilitate the season. Thanks to Bri Adams, Natasha Bean, Laura Furfaro, Brian Loring, Cami Roper, Emily Shreve, and Vickie Marshall for letting me poach from your advisory so much this fall.

Thank you to Karen Barcome, Julie Lis, Ashley Kelver, Nick Paliga, Stephanie Hochstetler, Jen Sinclair, Laura Furfaro (again), Kyle Sagarsee, Eric Spatt, Robbie Gingrich, and Braden Black for your help hosting the Area Competition.

Thanks to PTO for running the concession stand and for feeding our students at Purdue.

Thanks to all the adults at home who got students to and from practice, provided snacks, and helped students in myriad other ways throughout the season.

And thanks most of all to the team, who were a joy to work with.

Below are the results from the ISSMA Middle School Festival held at Penn High School the weekend of March 16:
 

• Grissom 6th Grade Orchestra – Gold Rating
• Grissom 7th/8th Grade Orchestra – Gold Rating
• Grissom 6th Grade Band – Gold Rating
• Grissom 7th Grade Band – Silver Rating
• Grissom 8th Grade Band – Gold Rating
• Grissom Treble Choir – Gold Rating
• Grissom 7th/8th Grade girls Choir – Silver Rating 
   
• DMS Choir Solo and Ensemble – 27 Gold Rating, 1 Silver Rating, 1 piano Gold Rating
• DMS String Orchestra – Gold Rating
• DMS Honors Orchestra – Gold Rating
• DMS Bands, All 4 bands –  Gold Rating
• DMS Honors Band – Gold Rating with Distinction

   

• Schmucker 6th Grade Band – Gold Rating with Distinction
• Schmucker 7th Grade Band – Gold Rating
• Schmucker 8th Grade Band – Gold Rating with Distinction
• Schmucker 6th Grade Orchestra – Gold Rating with Distinction
• Schmucker 7th Grade Orchestra – Gold Rating with Distinction
• Schmucker 8th Grade Orchestra – Gold Rating with Distinction

Story Updated March 28^th, 2024

Click below to watch the recap of the inaugural class of Grissom Middle School’s Fourteen Under Fourteen!

Original Story Posted on Friday, February 23, 2024

This morning Grissom administration and special guests honored our school’s inaugural class of ”Fourteen Under 14.” Click to see the photo gallery below.

P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, Kate Lee, Executive Dir. of Education & Workforce at South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Jenny Sears, P-H-M Director of Student Support Services joined Principal Jen Sinclair in recognizing the students during a special breakfast before the start of school. The award is modeled after Michiana’s Forty Under 40 (of which several P-H-M leaders have been a part of), which is sponsored by the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The students were notified last week (Thursday, Feb. 15) by surprise announcements by Principal Sinclair. Click to see those photos.

The students were praised for their community involvement, student leadership, commitment to academics, entrepreneurial skills, and kindness towards others. Families of the award winners were on hand to celebrate as well. Students were given a crystal award to commemorate their achievement. 

Below is a list of the winners in alphabetical order, congratulations!

1. Briar Barrier
2. Sadie Charbonneau
3. Jenna Fair
4. Ethan Guzman
5. Nora Haab
6. Lali Juarez
7. Tate Mackiewicz
8. Anastashia Michael
9. Mari Powell
10. Dottie Pogue
11. Emily Schmidt
12. Anniston Steele *could not be present
13. Betty Smoker
14. Leyna Tropp

In accordance to Indiana Code 20-26-5.5 going into effect January 1, 2024 School Districts must publish and make available library materials, along with establishing a procedure for families to submit a request for removal of materials.

Click here to access Alexandria, our school library catalog.

Penn-Harris-Madison’s Policy 9130 (Public Complaints and Concerns) has been in place since 2005. The updated policy was adopted and approved at the December 11, 2023 Board Meeting to be in compliance IC 20-26-5.5.

As stated in Board Policy 9130, parents are welcome to provide feedback related to curriculum materials.  The information submitted on this form will be directed to the building principal.

Click here to fill out and submit the Material Review Request form.

Grissom placed 7th out of 25 teams in the Junior Class 2 Area Competition on November 1. Only eight16 teams are moving on to the Spell Bowl State Championships on Saturday, November 11.

Congratulations to our Mr. Josh Kelver, our Guardsmen Spell Bowl team, and the other three teams for representing P-H-M well!

• Discovery: Class 1 Junior Champions with the highest overall score in their class, with 6 perfect spellers and 2 near perfect spellers

• Schmucker: placed 7th out of 39 teams, with 16 teams moving on to the Class 1 Junior Championship

• Penn: finished in 2nd place with five perfect spellers

Now that's how you spell #PHMExcellence!!!

Penn-Harris-Madison schools are focused on continuous academic improvement that results in academic success for all students.

Standardized testing, or summative assessment, is one measure of academic success, but it is not the only measure.

In pursuit of providing more comprehensive analysis and to expand upon the data provided by state standardized tests, the Indiana Department of Education publicly launched this week (Tuesday, December 13, 2022) the first iteration of the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard, or Indiana GPS (click here to view the State Indiana profile).

The description of the Indiana GPS dashboard on the IDOE website states “Together, our mission is to empower Indiana’s educators, families, communities, and employers with a learner-centered, future-focused dashboard that displays how our students are building the necessary knowledge and skills—in all grades and in all schools— through the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard, or Indiana GPS.”

The IDOE’s goal is to support Indiana’s goal to educate and graduate Hoosier students who can compete in the global economy. P-H-M supports this goal. Students whether they are going on into higher education, directly into the workforce or enlisting in our nation’s military must be prepared to be successful in life beyond high school. Strong and valuable education of today’s youth results in a knowledgeable and skilled adult Indiana workforce for tomorrow.

A student’s access to early education is an essential first step in their academic and overall development. Measuring kindergarten readiness, as well as a student’s PreK-2 literacy progress can provide key indicators of future success across the K-12 continuum.

We know that effective literacy skills play a vital role in helping students gain a deeper understanding of the world, explore topics in-depth, and seek credible information. At Penn-Harris-Madison, we have a well-articulated approach to teaching literacy based on the five critical pillars: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

All of these components woven together help create a skilled reader. Our daily literacy block incorporates whole-group instruction, small-group (leveled) instruction, explicit phonics instruction, and vocabulary building. 

Our teachers have been trained in order to deliver high-quality instruction that is supported through curriculum resources to meet the needs of all learners. Teachers are in regular contact with parents regarding their student’s progress and instructional goals.

At the elementary level, a couple of the indicators the GPS dashboard measures are early literacy and math growth. See some of P-H-M’s highlights are below; click here to view the full P-H-M GPS profile.

Early Literacy Measures

• Percentage of PHM 3rd graders showing proficiency on IREAD-3: 88.3%
  • • State Goal: 95% by 2027
    • Current State Status: 81.6%, 1 out of every 5 third graders in Indiana is not proficient in key literacy skills

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? 
Students who pass the IREAD-3 assessment by grade three are roughly 35% more likely to graduate high school (as referenced on the GPS information webpage).

Math Growth

• Percentage of PHM 6th graders meeting their individual growth targets on the math ILEARN: 41.9%
  • State Goal: 45.8% by 2030
  • Current State Status: 34.1% of Indiana sixth graders are meeting their math growth goals

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Early mathematics instruction focuses on concrete concepts before transitioning to more complex ideas after grade six. Students who are meeting growth goals at this critical juncture have a leg up on future math and science learning.

Graduation Pathways Completion

While still in its first iteration, the goal of the GPS is to examine Indiana high school’s graduation and post-graduation data with the goal to ultimately measure long-term success of each Hoosier.
 

• Percentage of Penn Students who complete graduation requirements: 97.3%
  • State Goal: 95% by 2030
  • Current State Status: 86.4% of Indiana students complete their graduation requirements

• Percentage of Penn Seniors who completed advanced coursework (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Dual Credit) during high school: 75.4%
  • Current State Status: 59.5% of Indiana students complete advanced coursework

• Percentage of Penn Seniors earning Indiana Diplomas above a General designation (Core 40 or higher): 98.3%
  • Current State Status: 90.1% of Indiana students earn Core 40 diplomas or higher

• Percentage of Penn Seniors earning high quality college and career credentials: 11.3%.
  Members of the Class of 2021 who earned either an Indiana College Core (ICC) or an Associates Degree was 11.3%–the graduates who completed one or two years of college were members of Penn’s Early College Academy. In 2021, Penn High School ranked FIRST in the state with the highest number of students earning the Indiana College Core (ICC)! Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, non-Early College students will also be able to pursue an ICC Certificate.
  • State Goal: 60% by 2030
  • Current State Status: 5% of Indiana students earn a college or career credential before graduation, opening doors of future opportunity

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Increased education levels are positively correlated to labor participation, wages, and overall net worth.

COMING SOON:

The second iteration of the Indiana GPS dashboard – which will display all local data, including longitudinal and disaggregated data – is coming soon. Later in 2023, schools will be able to use the dashboard to view authenticated student-level data (not available to the public). 

• PreK-Grade 2 Literacy – Percentage of PreK-Grade 2 students demonstrating progress in essential early reading skills from one year to the next.
• Kindergarten Readiness – Percentage of students demonstrating the skills necessary to be considered ready to start kindergarten.
• Employment & Enrollment – Percentage of high school graduates employed or enrolled 1 year after their expected graduation year. Goal TBD.

Click here to learn more about the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard.

Click here to view the full P-H-M GPS profile (scroll to the bottom of the webpage to find links to all 15 P-H-M schools–11 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and Penn High School).

As stated in Board Policy 9130, parents are welcome to provide feedback related to curriculum materials.  The information submitted on this form will be directed to the building principal.

Click here to fill out and submit Instructional Material Feedback form.

Article written by Melinda O’Malley, Director of P-H-M DVT & Planetarium

On the morning of Wednesday, January 31st, Michiana and all of North America will see its first Super Blue Blood Moon in more than 150 years!

P-H-M families will want to rise early and try to find a nice open viewing area to see as much of  this beautiful “lunar trifecta” as possible. On the morning of Jan. 31^st, the moon will be low on the western horizon–opposite the rising sun when the eclipse begins. Around 5:51 a.m., the left side of the moon will begin to take on a slightly pink color as it moves into the outer edge, the penumbra, of the Earth’s shadow. The moon will continue to move deeper into the Earth’s shadow as it slowly sets.  By 6:48 a.m., viewers in our area will begin to see the Moon’s color changing to a deep red as the Moon moves into the center, the umbra, of the Earth’s shadow. 

Now here’s an explanation of the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse is why it is so special …

A supermoon is when a full moon occurs during perigee, its closest distance to Earth within its orbit. This makes the moon appear bigger and brighter than normal.

A “blue” moon, despite the name, actually has nothing to do with the color. Instead, it signifies the second full moon within a single calendar month. The expression “once in a Blue Moon” implies something rare. Blue Moons typically happen every two to three years, but double Blue Moons only happen three to five times per century and 2018 we will experience double Blue Moons in January and March! 

Finally, a Blood Moon is often the name given to a total lunar eclipse because the moon appears a reddish color when it enters the Earth’s shadow. The red coloration is caused by sunlight that is refracted, or bent, as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere.

Just as the entire lunar surface is bathed in a “blood red” tint totality begins and the Moon will start to disappear below the horizon. So, make sure to wake up early to beat the rising sun and witness a once in a lifetime “lunar trifecta!”

Writing Research Reports can be a daunting task, but with the right tools, you can create an excellent product. 

Plagiarism is one important thing that you need to avoid. For help on how to Avoid Plagiarism, click here. 

While you are sifting through the multiple volumes of print material and Internet Material as well, you need to make sure that the sources you are using are reliable. 

Click here for help in Evaluating Sources in Print. 

Click here for help in Evaluating Sources Online. 

There is also Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) that gives a wealth of information about research report writing,  proper formatting and citing sources correctly. 

INSPIRE is another great resource to use as well. 

Having these tools at your disposal will help you craft a masterpiece.