U.S. News Ranks Mary Frank #8 Indiana Public Elementary School

U.S. News & World Report “Best Schools” Designations has recently expanded to include elementary and middle schools. With Penn High School earning a “Best High School” designation for several years, P-H-M now has several elementary and middle schools who also have earned this distinction! And our very own Mary Frank ranks #8 in Indiana for Public Elementary Schools (data is based on the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years). Click here to see why Mary Frank ranks so highly.

A total of 10 of P-H-M elementary schools earned the high ranking as a U.S. News “Best Public Elementary School.” Other than Mary Frank at #8, the other nine schools are ranked as follows:

1. Northpoint Elementary​
3. Prairie Vista Elementary
11. Horizon Elementary
93. Bittersweet Elementary
136. Meadow’s Edge Elementary
157. Elm Road Elementary
177. Moran Elementary
256. Walt Disney Elementary
299. Elsie Rogers Elementary 

Two of our middle schools, Discovery and Schmucker, are also named “Best Public Middle Schools.” Discovery is ranked #4 in Indiana and Schmucker is ranked #96.

Here’s how U.S. News calculated the rankings:

For each state, schools were assessed on their pupils’ proficiencies in mathematics and reading, as measured by state assessment tests. Half of the ranking formula was the results themselves; the other half was the results in the context of socioeconomic demographics. In other words, the top-ranked schools are high achieving ones that succeeded in educating all of their students. All data for the rankings are from third-party sources, including the U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. News has published state rankings for more than 47,000 public elementary schools and more than 23,000 public middle schools. Most schools with an elementary school ranking offer grades K-5 or K-6, while most with a middle school ranking offer grades 6-8 or 7-8. Some schools with wider grade spans were ranked in both categories.

U.S. News has published an in-depth methodology article that provides more information about the rankings and how they were calculated.

Halloween Costume Photo Gallery

Today students got to enjoy Halloween a few days early.

Check out all the cute costumes.

MF-Costume-Parade-10-29-21-46

Image 1 of 15

To download high-resolution jpg files from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. We are happy to provide this service to you, free of charge!

Penn Robotics October & November Workshops

Penn High School Robotics Team 135 is pleased to once again offering Next Gen Camps this Fall to inspire elementary and middle school students pursue Robotics. The dates are October 29th & 30th, as well as three dates in November: Nov. 13th, 26th, and 27th.

Click the images of the flyers below to enroll your student today.

 

October Workshop    November Flyer

Mrs. Banks Named Education Foundation’s Jeneane Arter Excellence in Education Award Winner

Teacher Appreciation Week brought more surprises and honors for one Mary Frank Elementary School teacher. Today the 5th grade students of Mrs. Alexandra (Lexi) Banks were on hand to help surprise her that she had been chosen as the 2021 P-H-M Education Foundation’s Jeneane Arter Excellence in Education Award. Please see the full photo gallery.

The Arter Award is named after Northpoint Elementary School teacher Jeneane Arter and and is given to an outstanding P-H-M staff member. Students nominate their candidate to P-H-M Education Foundation by submitting an essay describing how a P-H-M teacher or staff member has contributed to their educational experience in P-H-M. Mrs. Banks’ students wanted to honor their teacher for all she’s done during this challenging school year. Fifth grade co-teacher Mrs. Erin Horvath helped the students with their nomination. The winner of the Arter Award receives $2,000, which is underwritten by Jason and Darla Lippert. 

These are some of the comments students submitted as part of their nomination:

~I love it when she gets excited during morning meetings, it always makes me happy.

~Mrs. Banks makes coming to school fun because she is so funny, she helps you with whatever you need, and if you are ever feeling down, she’ll make you feel so much better.

Click to read the student’s full nomination submission.

Mary Frank Principal Christie Heerschop and Mrs. Horvath orchestrated this morning’s surprise by telling Mrs. Banks there was a 5th grade Assembly in the cafeteria. While Mrs. Banks and her students waited for the “Assembly” to begin. Mrs. Banks was surprised when PHMEF Executive Director Jennifer Turnbloom walked in with Mrs. Lippert and a giant check! Also hand for the surprise were Mrs. Banks’ mother Lisa Pawlik, Penn High School Volleyball Coach and teacher.

Meals for eLearning Day on Tues., March 30, 2021

With the announcement that Tuesday, March 30, 2021 will be an eLearning day, the meal plan for March 30th is as follows:

Elementary:

  • Every elementary student in school on Monday, March 29th will receive a meal for Tuesday, March 30th as they leave. 
  • Breakfast AND lunch will be included for students who attend Bittersweet, Elm Road, Elsie Rogers, Horizon, Mary Frank, Meadow’s Edge, Walt Disney, Moran & Madison.
  • Lunch only will be provided for students who attend Northpoint & Prairie Vista
  • Elementary School Menu

Middle:

  • When students leave school on Friday, March 26th, they will receive 2 days worth of meals. Those meals will cover Monday, March 29th and Tuesday March 30th.
  • Students at Grissom and Schmucker will receive pre-packaged breakfast and lunch.
  • Students at Discovery will receive pre-packaged lunches.
  • Middle School Menu

High School

  • When students leave school on Friday, March 26th, they will receive 2 days worth of meals. Those meals will cover Monday, March 29th and Tuesday March 30th.
  • High School Menu

Meals for 100% Virtual Learners:

  • Pick up meals at Door K at Penn High School
  • Day & Time: Monday, March 29, 1-3 p.m.
  • Students will receive a refrigerated box and a frozen bag with four (4) breakfasts and four (4) lunches since Friday, April 2nd is a recess day.

Additional Information

  • Students do not need to be present for the parent or guardian to pick up meals.
  • Student ID’s WILL NOT be required.

*Meals will not be provided on Recess Days.

 

Menus for all schools and virtual learners can be found here.

Registration Opens for Spring Break 2021 Kids Club

Spring Break Kids Club

April 5 – 9, 2021

6:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Northpoint Elementary School (Door E)

Cost is $35 per child, per day or $150 per child for the full week. 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 Tuesday, March 30, 2021. 

Click here for more details and online registration.

Registration Now Open for the 2021 Virtual Young Authors’ Conference, Sat., March 6

Calling all kindergarten through fifth grade students and their families…it’s time for the VIRTUAL Young Author’s Conference! 

Sponsored by the P-H-M Education Foundation, the Young Authors’ Conference is an opportunity to meet and hear from multi-talented children’s author and speaker, Matthew Gollub.  Mr. Gollub has written over 20 picture books and will share his experiences as a writer during his engaging, grade-level presentations.

Participants will also enjoy an interactive music and movement experience with Horizon Elementary School’s very own music teacher, Jon West. 

Mr. West is a seasoned Elementary music teacher in the P-H-M School Corporation in addition to being the Executive Director of a local nonprofit community theater company, The Main Stage Inc.

COST:

  • FREE for any K-5 P-H-M Student.

REGISTRATION:

  • Students MUST be registered and registration is limited!
  • Every student, including multiple students within the same family must have their own registration.
  • Register at YAC Virtual Registration.
  • Deadline for registration is Friday, February 19, 2021

VIRTUAL EVENT DETAILS:

Saturday, March 6, 2021       

9:00am – 10:30am

  • Prior to the conference at the beginning of March, participating students will receive the link for the virtual event and additional information.
  • This information will be sent to the email that was provided on the registration form.
  • If you have any questions, please contact Lindsay Schirripa at lschirripa@phm.k12.in.us

Special thanks to our community partners who help make events like these possible: 

May Oberfell Lorber, Laidig Systems, Crowe Horwath, Gibson, Teachers Credit Union, Tuesley Hall Konopa, Lake CityBank,  Holiday Coral, EdwardJones – Joel Laidig & Barnes & Noble.

Penn students offering free eLearning Lessons to P-H-M Children, ages 1-10

During a normal school year, Penn High School students enrolled in Childhood Development classes would be offering two unique programs for preschoolers in our community, Playschool and Toddler Time.

However due to COVID suspending these programs for the time being, Penn Child Development teachers Mrs. Kylee Wetzel and Ms. Rachael Meyers have created lessons that children can do in their own homes. 

The Penn High School Early Childhood Education Classes are offering free eLearning lessons to children in the P-H-M community within the age ranges of 1-10 years old.

Children can participate at home with a caregiver, or during the school day via Google Meet with the Penn student facilitating the lesson.

Please fill out the Enrollment Form by Friday, Jan. 15 in order to participate.

Please contact Kylee Wetzel at kwetzel@phm.k12.in.us for any further information.

COVID-19 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE QUICK REFERENCE

The Indiana State Department of Health last updated the COVID-19 School Attendance Quick Reference Guide for parents and schools on December 4, 2020.

PLEASE NOTE: For families who are not able to isolate from everyone else at home, the start date of quarantine is determined by last date of exposure to a positive or untested person; this may be after the ill person completes their 10 days of isolation.

Click the image below to download and print.

COVID-19 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE QUICK REFERENCE

 

This resource is also provided in the District Overview Return to Learn Fall 2020 document, under “Important Links at the end of the document. 

2nd First Day of School for PreK – 3rd graders

On Monday, September 14, we welcomed back our youngest students, PreK – 3rd graders who opted to return to school. We could see the smiles under their masks, and we hope they could see ours! We visited four of our 11 elementary schools–Bittersweet Elementary School, Walt Disney Elementary School, Northpoint & Prairie Vista–to get a socially distanced look at students’ 2nd First Day of School. Click to watch the video below …

On Tuesday, September 15, we visited dropped by Moran Elementary School to see how the PreK – 3rd graders whose parents choose to stay virtual to see how they are interacting with their teachers. Click to watch the video below …