The communication below was emailed to staff and parents today:

Thursday, July 10, 2020

Dear P-H-M Families,

I recently sent you information on our plan to Return to School and a survey regarding choices between Face-to-Face Learning and Virtual Learning. Thank you for your valuable feedback. Based on the responses that you provided, we are making positive changes to some of our Education Options, primarily Virtual Learning at the secondary level. Since we want to share those modifications late next week, we are extending the timeline to complete the survey to July 27.

Before you receive more comprehensive information, here is a list of answers to the most frequently asked questions.

• Per the St. Joseph County Health Department Public Health Order, staff and students are required to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth whenever social distancing cannot be maintained. Click here for the Indiana Department of Education Back to School Face Covering Guidance for Families.
• Students and staff who test positive will quarantine for at least 10 days from the date symptoms began AND remain fever-free for 72 hours (without use of fever reducing medication) before returning to school. Click here for the Indiana State Department of Health guide for parents related to student screening and quarantine/isolation guidelines.
• Virtual students may participate in available Honors, Dual Credit and AP classes. Additional information will be shared next week.
• Virtual students may participate in extracurricular activities.
• Virtual teachers will differentiate for high ability students.
• Virtual students may participate in available electives.
• Students may continue to bring lunch with them to school.
• We are asking parents to make a semester commitment when choosing face to face or virtual instruction.

We will also share more comprehensive information on school safety protocols, individual school plans, and an FAQ document to keep you updated.

• Indiana State Department of Health FAQ
• Indiana Department of Education FAQ
• Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation FAQ – coming soon!

We will continue to follow state and local guidance and if the number of cases of COVID-19 reaches a level where local and state officials determine that school cannot meet in person, eLearning would resume. This would be similar to last spring with some improvements based on the parent feedback we received. We tested some new educational models during online summer school and feel confident that if we have to return to eLearning, we can continue to provide a quality education while also offering social emotional support.

Stay healthy and well,

Dr. Jerry Thacker, Superintendent
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation

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Bittersweet Elementary School office hours will be 8 a.m.- 3:00 p.m., Monday-through-Friday, while P-H-M schools operate in extended eLearning due to the COVID-19 national emergency.

For parents who need to pick-up items at your child’s school, click here for an appointment form to arrange for curb-side pick-up from a staff member.

The message below was sent out to all P-H-M staff and families the afternoon of March 3, 2020.

Dear P-H-M Families,

The health, safety and well-being of Penn-Harris-Madison students and staff are our top priorities. With the ongoing elevated discussion regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the world news, we are reaching out to remind everyone in the P-H-M family about the preventive safety measures we can all take, as well as to inform you what we at P-H-M are doing.

As a school district, we are closely monitoring the situation via the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. The CDC is providing local expert and community guidance through the St. Joseph County Department of Health and the Indiana Department of Health. We are also receiving information from the U.S. Department of Education and the Indiana Department of Education, as well as a host of other state and national professional organizations. The one good thing about this situation is that there is an abundance of expert guidance. We are following the advice and direction of the governmental entities in charge. As a district, we are focusing on the things within our control.

All of the health officials are uniformly reiterating that the best preventive measure that each and every one of us can do is practice good hand hygiene. The same precautions that we annually remind our students, at all grade levels, during the cold and flu season are the exact same practices that the CDC is recommending to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

1. Clean hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
2. Cover your mouth and nose. Remind your students to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. The best thing to do is to cough/sneeze into your elbow. Second best is to cover the mouth and nose area with a tissue and then throw the tissue away.
3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
4. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

P-H-M’s janitorial staff already cleans common areas and disinfects common touch surfaces regularly. We ramp up these efforts during the cold and flu season. Under the current circumstances and in an abundance of precaution, P-H-M is taking extra steps to increase our normal diligent disinfectant measures.

As stated in all P-H-M Student Handbooks if students are sick please keep them home. Students should not return to school until they are fever and symptom free for 24 hours. We are constantly reminding families to practice this ongoing safety practice year round.

As it pertains to concerns over COVID-19 symptoms, the CDC has very specific recommendations if the symptoms coincide with recent travel to specific countries on their watch lists.

This situation continues to evolve. P-H-M Administrators are staying abreast of the information, as we have since the beginning. If the need should arise to change or defer from our normal operations, rest assured we will communicate with our families and staff immediately.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Dr. Jerry Thacker

Superintendent of Schools

Kids Club will be offered at Northpoint Elementary School during Winter Break (Dec. 23 – Jan. 3), 6:30 a.m – 6:00 p.m.

Camp will NOT be offered Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1.

Cost is $25 per child, per day. 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 Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Registrations will close at midnight on December 18. Registrations will not be accepted after that date. Click here to register.

It’s important that our youngest Bobcats learn the importance of thankfulness. 

Jenni McCarthy’s Kindergarten class created “Thankful Hats”. They wrote and drew pictures of three things that they are thankful for.

Now they can proudly show others what means the most to them! 

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!

Congrats to our 5th grade Bobcat Spell Bowl team being named IASP State Champions!

The team competed last night (Monday, Nov. 18) at a Spell Bowl sponsored by Purdue University.

Last night with a score of 54 out of 56, the team knew they had won their region, but woke up this morning to learn that they also won their division for the State Championship!

These are great results considering this is the first year that a Bittersweet has participated.

Congrats to the students as well as teacher coaches Leslie Metcalf and Michelle Leniski.

Girls and boys, grades 4-12, are welcome to attend the Penn Winter Guard Open House on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019.

Come be a part of this incredible performing arts group!

Click here to download and print the flyer.

Did you know that the Penn Wrestling Club is open to girls too? Does your girl wrestler want to be the next Sara Hildebrandt? 

If so it’s time to sign up for the Penn Wrestling Club! The Penn Wrestling Club is open to all Pre-K through 5^th grade boys and girls.

The cost is $150 per session and the participant must have a USA Wrestling Card. Wrestling Cards cost $40 and can be purchased at ISWA.com

The session dates are as follows:

• Session 1: Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., November 25^th – January 22^nd  
• Session 2: Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., January 29^th – April 29^th

The club meets in the Penn High School Wresting room. Enter through Door “D” and proceed straight up the stairs. The wrestling room is located at the top of the stairs on your right.

Sign-up at WWW.PENNWRESTLING.ORG

If you have any questions contact Penn Head Wrestling Coach Brad Harper at ?subject=Girls%20Wrestling%20Club" data-cke-saved-href="mailto:?subject=Girls%20Wrestling%20Club"> or text coach Harper at 574-485-7911.

The message below was sent to all P-H-M parents from the Superintendent’s Office the morning of Friday, Nov. 15, 2019:

Penn-Harris-Madison’s outstanding teachers are a critical component to P-H-M’s Triangle of Success providing excellent instruction to our students. In support of teachers and fair funding for public education, P-H-M has strong track record of working with State Legislators.

As momentum has grown for the “Red for Ed” action day at the State Legislature next Tuesday, Nov. 19, more Penn-Harris-Madison teachers have expressed interest to travel to Indianapolis to participate. 

We fully support their efforts. Therefore, all 15 P-H-M schools will be closed next Tuesday, Nov. 19. Administrative offices will remain open. Principals will adjust extracurricular activities as needed and will communicate any changes to their building parents and staff.

We will make up the day at the end of the school year. This will make the last day of school for P-H-M students Thursday, June 4.

Thank you for all you do as families to support our teachers.