Seventh-grade students put their science skills to work in an exciting hands-on project—building and racing pinewood derby cars! As part of their science curriculum, every 7th grader who is taking science designed and constructed their own miniature race car, applying principles of physics and engineering to optimize speed and performance.

Throughout the process, students explored key scientific concepts such as friction, aerodynamics, and mass distribution. However, speed wasn’t the only focus—students also had the opportunity to showcase their creativity by painting and decorating their cars with unique designs.

The project culminated in a race where students put their derby cars to the test, competing to see whose design had the winning combination of speed and engineering. 

This hands-on learning experience not only reinforced scientific principles but also encouraged problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. Whether aiming for the fastest car or the most eye-catching design, every student walked away with a sense of accomplishment and a deeper understanding of the forces that make things go.

Way to go, Grissom 7th graders!

Every P-H-M 5th grader who will be attending a P-H-M middle school as an incoming 6^th grader in the Fall 2024 has the opportunity to join an instrumental music class, which includes either band or orchestra. “Instrument Selection Night” is when students and families get to make their choice!

Fifth graders at Elm Road, Meadow’s Edge, Madison, and Moran Elementary Schools will attend Grissom Middle School for 6^th – 8^th grades. Some Moran students will attend Schmucker. Moran families please click here to view the P-H-M School Boundaries Map as a reference.

Grissom’s Instrument Selection Nights are Monday, March 10th and Tuesday, March 11th.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is nationally recognized as one of the “Best Communities for Music Education” offering choir, band and orchestra at Schmucker, Discovery and Grissom Middle Schools. 

At “Instrument Selection Night,” a music professional will be available to give students advice about which instrument may be best suited for them. They will be allowed to “try out” instruments from various instrument groups.

In order to join 6th grade band or orchestra, students must select an instrument that they will learn, practice and perform for the school year. Click this link to sign-up for your appointment at your designated school and date.

Students took ILEARN in the Spring. The students’ results are more than just a reflection on how well they know and retained what they learned in a particular subject area. Teachers work very hard to help their students review and retain the knowledge, and when necessary interventionist educators use RtI (Response to Intervention) tools.

The Fall 2024 P-H-M Teacher Impact Awards are given to educators who had the most significant individual student growth with Spring 2024 ILEARN (grades 3-8 and high school Biology), AP Testing at Penn, and highest RtI growth. 

Brianne Blanda, 7th grade ELA teacher, Grissom Middle School, was in the middle of a lesson when Principal Jenn Sinclair and P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker surprised her in front of her students. Ms. Blanda had the highest ELA growth in 7th grade, as measured from spring ILEARN to fall ILEARN checkpoints. Click here for the full photo gallery below.

One other award was given out on Friday, December 13:

• Ali Renz, Interventionist, Elm Road Elementary School – Mrs. Renz works with students who are academically at-risk in reading, and her work puts these students on an important pathway for growth. She had the highest growth of all interventionists for young students in RtI programming. Mrs. Renz students made well above average growth in two important measures of early literacy, oral reading fluency and MAZE, a standardized measure of reading comprehension.

With the help of the building principals, Dr. Thacker surprised the teachers with the Impact Awards. He was accompanied by other members of P-H-M Administration Dr. Heather Short, Asst. Superintendent; Director of Professional Development Dr. Lavon Dean-Null; and Ryan Towner, Director of Literacy. P-H-M Education Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom was also on hand; PHMEF covered the cost for the beautiful awards which teachers can proudly display in their classrooms.

While all P-H-M teachers make an impact with their students, dedicated to helping them achieve personal academic success, the Impact Award shines the spotlight on educators who have helped their students achieve individual academic growth on their formative assessments over time. The first-ever Impact Awards were handed out in September 2023 and recognized the teachers with the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year.

Grissom Middle School’s band program is poised for growth, thanks to a grant awarded by the PHM Education Foundation (PHMEF). Jennifer Turnblom, Executive Director of PHMEF, visited the school to present a check for $1,757.50 to music teacher Camille Roper for her “Embouchure Project.”

The grant will fund the purchase of embouchure and ear training skill-building tools designed to enhance students' progress in learning music. These tools will help students develop proper mouth shape, improve tone production, and strengthen audiation skills. By building these foundational skills, students will be better equipped to advance in their musical studies with greater confidence and accuracy.

This project reflects Grissom Middle School’s commitment to excellence in music education and providing students with the resources they need to succeed. Congratulations to Camille Roper and the Grissom Middle School band program, and thank you to PHMEF for supporting this impactful initiative!

Welcome to the Grissom Middle School Spell Bowl page! The Spell Bowl program is a proud tradition at Grissom, showcasing our students’ exceptional spelling abilities, dedication, and teamwork. Whether you’re a current participant, a parent, or an aspiring speller, this page has all the information you need about our program and its continued excellence.

About the Spell Bowl

Spell Bowl is a competitive academic event that challenges students to spell complex words. It’s a fantastic way for students to expand their vocabulary, sharpen their language skills, and develop discipline through focused study. Grissom’s Spell Bowl team has consistently demonstrated excellence, and recent years have been some of our strongest yet.

Highlights of Grissom’s 2024 Success

• State Champions: Grissom is proud to hold the title of Class 2 State Champion, a remarkable achievement that reflects the dedication and hard work of our students and coaches.
• Record-Breaking Scores: Our team has achieved unprecedented success, including a nearly perfect score of 67 out of 72 words at the state finals.
• This score represents the highest in Grissom’s history and underscores the team’s commitment to excellence.

Grissom’s success in the Spell Bowl is fueled by the dedication of our students, who invest countless hours studying challenging words, including terms like kaffeeklatsch, triskaidekaphobia, and antimacassar. Practices take place before school, after school, and even during breaks. This commitment, combined with support from teachers, parents, and the community, creates a winning formula year after year.

Perfect Spellers

Each season, several students achieve perfection in competition rounds. Their hard work and sharp focus are an inspiration to their teammates and a source of pride for the school.

A Community Effort

The Grissom Spell Bowl is made possible through the combined efforts of dedicated coaches, school staff, parent volunteers, and the broader Grissom community. From running practices to hosting competitions and providing meals at state events, everyone plays a role in the team’s success.

Get Involved

Interested in joining the Grissom Spell Bowl team or supporting the program? Whether you’re a student eager to compete or a parent ready to volunteer, we’d love to have you! Reach out to Coach Mr. Josh Kelver for more information.

Penn High School’s exceptional learning opportunities and programs will be on display for prospective and current students at the 2024 Penn High School Showcase, 6-8 p.m., Monday, Dec. 2nd (Snow Date Tuesday, Dec. 3rd).
 

Penn is a recipient of the Indiana Department of Education in College Readiness Award and is ranked No. 1 in Indiana for students earning College Credentials.

Incoming Freshman click here for additional details.

Sophomore Scheduling information click here.
 

The Showcase allows incoming Freshmen (current Eighth Graders) and prospective move-ins, along with their families, to have the opportunity to tour Penn, meet with staff and students, and hear about the all the college and career readiness opportunities Penn offers through its eight Academies.

All prospective Penn students and current Penn 9-11 graders and their families are welcome to join us to learn about classes and clubs they can look forward as Penn students. Penn High School is filled with so many opportunities that the choices can be overwhelming. This is a great time to speak to teachers and current students about course options. Some classes will be available to see live in action!

Besides the Live Classrooms, students and parents are encouraged to visit the Academy booths, which will be set up around the building, to gain information into the Academy structure at Penn High School.

Teachers representing both Academy and elective classes will be available to answer questions and provide information. We will have representatives of the Early College Academy, Exceptional Education and the Elkhart Area Career Center. We will also have tables with club representatives set up in the Sunshine Hallway. Stop by to see the many club and extracurricular activities available to Penn students. If you have any questions about courses, scheduling, or graduation requirements, Penn counselors will also be on hand to meet with students/families.

Your involvement in your child’s education is vital to making their high school experience a positive one. We value your participation in decisions related to planning your child’s class schedule. A collaborative effort between parents, students, teachers and counselors is essential and represents P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success!”

Incoming Freshman click here for additional details.

Sophomore Scheduling information click here.

This year's “Short Hair Because We Care” will hold a hair donation event for the Children With Hair Loss organization will be held Saturday, November 16 at Penn High School's Studio Theater.

Anyone in the community can donate their hair, but the minimum is 8 inches of hair. Hair that is colored and permed is accepted. Local professional hair stylists will be donating their time to cut volunteers hair for free. Because this is for hair donation, the service provided is just a simple cut, no style.

This event was started in 2019-2020 school year by a group of 7th grade Grissom Middle School students, one of which was Ella Smoker, Valedictorian Class of 2024.

“It started as something that students could give, that wouldn’t be money or something they wouldn’t have control over being young students, but everyone can donate their hair, so that’s why we started it: to give everyone an opportunity to serve even if they don’t have other resources,” said Smoker. Click to see the WNDU-TV's story.

Last year, 33 people donated a total of 334 inches (click to see photos)! Donate this year and help beat last year's totals!

If you're interested in donating, click here to sign up using the Google form.

Email shbwcphs@gmail.com with questions, and follow the group on Instagram at @shbwc_phs. 

If you can't make it to the event or don't have enough hair to donate, you can still help out by donating directly to Children With Hair Loss.

Children With Hair Loss is a nonprofit organization that provides hair replacements at no cost to children or young adults facing hair loss at no cost. Whatever the cause, hair loss can have effects that go deeper than cosmetics. Providing this hair is how this organization gives back to the community. You can help us give back to your community and the children facing hair loss by donating your hair or simply spreading the word about the event to everyone! 

Today the IDOE announced the recipients of the K-12 Robotics Competition Grants and 15 Penn-Harris-Madison robotics teams from eight P-H-M schools were awarded a total grant of $53,600! 

• Penn High School (2 existing teams) – $14,000
• Grissom Middle School (2 existing teams) – $5,000
• Bittersweet Elementary School (1 new team) – $3,175
• Elm Road Elementary School (2 existing teams) – $6,137.50
• Horizon Elementary School (2 existing teams) -$6,137.50
• Meadows Edge Elementary School (1 new team) – $3,175
• Northpoint Elementary School (4 new teams) – $12,800
• Walt Disney Elementary School (1 new team) – $3,175

For all teams, existing and new teams, the grant pays for coaching stipends, team registration, competition registration, game specific materials, and supplies for building competition robots. Funds can also be used for transportation to events. 

For existing teams, most of their supplies will be updating and replacing used parts, tools, storage, and new parts needed for the new game. New teams’ supplies will be start-up kits, tools, storage, and game specific parts. 

The P-H-M proposal was selected from more than 145 grant proposals submitted for this funding opportunity, 137 school corporations and non-profit groups were ultimately chosen. The IDOE review team was impressed with P-H-M’s plan to design, construct, program, and participate in competitions with the goal of increasing Indiana student interest in STEM.

This grant removes barriers for schools and gives students opportunities to excel. It also creates a P-H-M pipeline of future Kingsmen robotics students with experience and excitement about robotics. Ultimately this opportunity gives students more STEM co-curricular experiences and broadens their horizons for future careers.

It’s “College Go Week” across Indiana this week and here at Grissom, we have found plenty of unique ways to prepare our students for future success. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

An important life skill for boys and girls to know is how to tie a necktie. This will help students “dress for success” in all sorts of formal functions.

“College GO!” is dedicated to helping Hoosier students find the right college to fit their personalities and interests and is part of Learn More Indiana.

We’d like to thank the respected members of the community for stopping by to help our Guardsmen tie a tie. View photos from this morning in the gallery below!