At Penn-Harris-Madison, we are proud to offer year-round academic enrichment, athletic and recreational activities for the students and families within our award winning school district.

For months, P-H-M administrators, teachers, coaches and staff have been busy planning all the camps and activities that will be available for students when school lets out this year on Wed., June 7, 2017.

Everything from Japanese to building apps for mobile devices to baseball will be offered this summer! And we’re adding more and more …

Click here to see the full list of camps and activities being offered so far this year. New this year, some of the camps now have online registration making it easier for busy parents to register their children for these engaging opportunities.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is nationally recognized as one of the “Best Communities for Music Education” offering choir, band, orchestra and even piano at our three middle schools.

Every P-H-M student who will be attending a P-H-M middle school as an incoming 6th grader in the Fall has the opportunity to join an instrumental music class, which includes either band or orchestra.

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.  

“Instrument Selection Night” is when students and families get to make their choice!

At “Instrument Selection Night,” a music professional musician will be availability 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.

Please see the dates and times below for your students’ soon-to-be middle school …

Discovery Middle School

Monday, Feb. 27 

Tuesday, Feb. 28

4:30-8:00 p.m.

Click here to learn more about Instrument Night and to make your appointment for designated school and date.

Registration for Penn-Harris-Madison’s Early Learning Preschool Academy for the 2017-2018 school year opens on Tuesday, January 17, 2017.  P-H-M’s Early Learning Academy is open to all area children and is not restrictive to P-H-M residency. However, children must be 4-years-old on or before September 1, 2017.

The research-based program focuses on building children’s strong foundations for school success focusing on  cognitive learning through a variety of tools. Preschoolers spend time in role-play, which has shown to lead to higher measures of creativity and cognition.

Our preschool program is offered at two locations … here at Mary Frank, as well as at Horizon Elementary School.

If you wish to enroll your child at the Mary Frank location, please visit our front office during normal school hours of 7:55 a.m. – 2:20 p.m., Monday-Friday. Click here to download and print the application. The registration fee of $60 is due with the application. 

Take advantage of this amazing academic program and register your child starting January 17, 2017.

Learn more about our Early Learning Academy (ELA)

• watch the video below
• visit the ELA section of our website for more details on the program & registration information
• download the application

Registration for kindergarten students for the 2017-2018 school year will begin at each P-H-M elementary school on Tuesday, January 17, 2017. 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.

Penn-Harris-Madison has 11 elementary schools, each offering full-day kindergarten. You may use the P-H-M Street Guide and the District Map to verify which elementary school serves your neighborhood. 

Registration will take place at the schools during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in most cases. The offices at Elsie Rogers Elementary School and Moran Elementary School will take registrations from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

Please note a parent or guardian must appear in person to register their child and will need to bring following documentation:

1. Child’s original birth certificate

2. Two proofs of residency (e.g., recent lease/rental agreement and current utility bill showing address)

3. Immunization records

4. Any legal documents related to child custody, restrictions, or restraining orders

Click here to download and print the required registration forms and for other important kindergarten registration details.

When the general election takes place Tuesday, November 8,  2016, Mary Frank Elementary School will house a polling center, as it has in the past.

Voters should park behind the school and enter at Door F, near the tennis courts. Voting takes place in the hallway area inside Door F. Voters will not be allowed passage into the students’ area.  

Other P-H-M schools that will serve as voting locations in this fall’s election are Penn High School, Schmucker Middle School, Meadow’s Edge Elementary School, Prairie Vista Elementary School, and Walt Disney Elementary School.

Of course registered voters may only use the polling location that serves their precinct, based on home address.  Here is a link to the precincts maps and polling location information provided by St. Joseph County.

Thursday, Aug. 25 was the first day of school for P-H-M’s littlest students … kindergartners! District wide, there are nearly 800 kindergartners in all 11 of P-H-M’s elementary schools.

This year Mary Frank has 58 new little “MUSTANGS!”

All of our teachers were so pleased by this year’s kindergarten class. All the students are quick learners, well behaved, polite, funny and of course … cute!

Scroll through the pictures below to see how they spent their first day! You can also check out our district photo gallery of the first day of kindergarten.

Penn High School’s state championship girls basketball program will conduct a community-sponsored girls basketball league for girls in Grades 3-8.

Sign-up is on Sunday, Aug. 28 in the Penn High School Arena from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. 

The Junior League is for girls in Grades 3-6, and the Senior League is for girls in Grades 7-8.

• Click here for the Junior League (Grades 3-6) schedule and registration information.

• Click here for the Senior League (Grades 7-8) schedule and registration information.

The league begins on Sunday, Sept. 11. 

*Adobe Acrobat Reader will be required to view PDFs. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, please visit Adobe’s website at this link www.get.adobe.com/reader/ to download your free version. If you need more help with basketball registration, please contact Kristi Ulrich at kulrich@phm.k12.in.us 

Engaging, enriching—words that describe the 2016 Visual Arts Academy. 

Excited, enthralled—the reaction of so many of the children experiencing this unique summer program.

Now in its fourth year, over 800 children in grades K-5 are taking part in the 2016 Visual Arts Academy.  

The Visual Arts Academy has been nominated to receive the designation of “Promising Practice.” That distinction is granted by the Indiana Department of Education to programs that use innovative approaches to deliver educational benefits. Once “Promising Practices” are identified, other Indiana districts may choose to initiate similar programs for the families they serve.

The Visual Arts Academy represents an innovative partnership developed by Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation and the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame. The Academy features art making and writing through the examination of original works of art from both the Snite Museum and museums around the world.

It is comprised of six one-week programs, running from June 6 through July 15, 2016. Each week students from a different grade level experience a diversely rich curriculum that focuses upon the creation of an identity as an artist with words as well as images.

Each day students work with the visiting artists and art teachers in art making, elementary writing teachers for writing workshop and visual thinking strategies, multi-media experience to learn about art mediums such as glass blowing or architecture. Students also spend one day at the Snite Museum.

Since its inception, the vision and mission of the Visual Arts Academy has been shared by a core group of teachers and administrators at P-H-M and Notre Dame. Under the leadership of Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kay Antonelli, the group created the curricula “from the ground up” and provided the professional development for all teachers who participate during the Academy. Over 25 elementary writing and secondary art teachers are serving the Academy this summer.

Thanks to the financial support of these contributors, the Visual Arts Academy is provided for all children free of charge.

• 

  The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County ($50,000 grant)

• The P-H-M Education Foundation

• Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation

• The Snite Museum of Art

• The Law Offices of May, Oberfell, Lorber

• And various other contributors

The Indiana Department of Education has announced the 2014-15 Four Star Schools and six Penn-Harris-Madison Schools made the annual roster for this elite distinction.
 

Along with Mary Frank, P-H-M’s other Four Star Schools include Horizon, Northpoint and Prairie Vista Elementary Schools, as well as Discovery Middle School and Penn High School.

In order to achieve this designation, a school must be in the top 25th percentile of schools in two ISTEP-based categories. Additionally, a qualifying school must have earned the highest designation in the state’s accountability system and be accredited by the Indiana Department of Education. A total of 287 schools received the award throughout the state. A complete list of the schools that received the award, as well as a more complete methodology outlining Four Star determination, can be found on the IDOE’s website.
 

In January, the 2015 ISTEP+ scores were released and P-H-M ranked 10th in the state among 293 public school districts. The District earned an 81.4% pass rate for ELA (English/Language Arts); 78.0% pass rate for Math; and an overall combined pass rate of 72.1% for both subjects areas. P-H-M was also rated an “A-rated” school district for the 6^th year in a row.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation serves approximately 10,700 students in 11 elementary schools, three middle schools and Penn High School. Penn High School's graduation rate exceeds the state’s with a 97% graduation rate and is rated a 90-25-90 school by the IDOE. 100% of P-H-M teachers rank either highly effective or effective. 

CANVAS is an online communication platform that connects students, parents and teachers. CANVAS has boosted the success of P-H-M’s Chromebook program in middle and high school, and most of our users have given it a “thumbs up” this year.

Starting June 6, 2016, P-H-M’s CANVAS users will see a new and improved “dashboard” when they log on. In addition to the new look, the user will have new options for organizing and viewing CANVAS content. We think the changes being made to the user interface will merit two thumbs up!  

Parents and students, watch the video below for an overview of the changes. 

The URL (web address ) to CANVAS is not changing. You will find it at the same location, or by using the same link or shortcut, as you have used in the past. 

• Click here to go to the CANVAS login page now, or copy/paste this address into your browser bar: https://phm.instructure.com/ to go there. 

Your login information will not change. Your CANVAS login is the same as your HAC (Home Access Center) login.

• Contact the school office or email the HAC helpdesk HAC@phm.k12.in.us if you need help setting up your account. 

Visit the Canvas Help Page for additional resources and information.