We are happy to announce that Santa Claus is coming to town!

At the 2021 P-H-M Winter Wonderland Show, attendees will be treated to a fabulous light show and then children will have an opportunity to tell Santa what they want for Christmas.

The show is called “Laser Holidays” and it will be shown in the state-of-the-art Digital Video Theater located at Bittersweet Elementary School.

Quick Details:

• Saturday, December 4, 2021
  • ​Shows at 8 a.m., 9:45 a.m. & 11:15 a.m.
  • Bittersweet Elementary School
• $5 for all tickets​
  • ​Tickets go on sale Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 10 a.m.
  • Space is limited to 75 participants per time slot.
  • Purchase tickets here: phm.revtrak.net

Ticket sales begin on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 10 a.m. Tickets will only be available online on a first-come, first-served basis.

Space is limited to 75 participants per time slot. Once all tickets are sold, all sales end.

While the program is intended for Kindergarten through 3rd grade students, children of other ages may attend with their siblings. All children
must be accompanied by an adult and each person must purchase a ticket to attend.

Tickets will then be mailed to you from the Community Education office prior to the event.

If you have any questions about the program, please call 574.258.9568 or email jforkner@phm.k12.in.us.

Masks will be required to wear during the DVT show and in line to visit Santa. Masks can be taken off briefly to take the picture with Santa.

If you have any questions about the program, please call 574.258.9568 or email jforkner@phm.k12.in.us.

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, including our very own Bittersweet. We’ve earned the distinction of being among Indiana’s Top 30% of Public Elementary Schools (data is based on the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years).

A total of 10 of P-H-M elementary schools earned the high ranking as a U.S. News “Best Public Elementary School.” See the full ranking list below:

1. Northpoint Elementary​
2. Prairie Vista Elementary
3. Mary Frank Elementary
4. Horizon Elementary
5. Bittersweet Elementary
6. Meadow’s Edge Elementary
7. Elm Road Elementary
8. Moran Elementary
9. Walt Disney Elementary
10. 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.

First graders in Ms. McCarthy, Ms. Trowbridge and Mrs. Youngquist’s classes had the chance to participate in a fun Halloween trick that was also a treat!

Students were taught how to make mini catapults out of popsicle sticks (or pencils), rubber bands and plastic spoons.

Next step was to load the miniature candy pumpkins on the spoon and fire!

As you can see, the students really enjoyed themselves.

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 & 30^th, as well as three dates in November: Nov. 13^th, 26^th, and 27^th.

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

Penn High School presents the “Fright Night” Orchestra on Thursday, Oct. 28, and Friday, Oct. 29, in Penn’s Center for the Performing Arts. The concert is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. each night. Cost is $5 a person.

The Fright Night Orchestra concert is a celebration of the Halloween spirit!  Our five orchestras will perform fun and scary music to delight all of our big and little Ghouls and friends! 

The playlist includes:

• Phantom of the Opera
• Ghostbusters
• Harry’s Wondrous World – from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• This is Halloween from Nightmare Before Christmas
• Cruella De Vil
• Danny Elfman Spooktacular (Corpse Bride, Dark Shadows, Beetlejuice)
• A Halloween Thriller

Whether you’re feeling a little bit nervous or a little bit excited, attending our Back to School Meet & Greet can help get you ready for a successful school year!

Students and their families are encouraged to attend so they can meet their teachers and reacquaint themselves with the Bittersweet family.

Date: Monday, August 16th, 2021
Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm
Where: Bittersweet Elementary School, Outside

We hope to see you there!

Registration for the Penn Youth Girls Basketball League for students in Grades 3-8 will be held on Sunday, Sept. 12, from 12:00-2 p.m..

When: Sunday, Sept. 12, 12:00-2 p.m.

Where: Penn High School/ Enter through Door D 

Price: $125 

Space is limited to the first 108 athletes per age group.

Please read this flyer thoroughly! 

The message below was shared with P-H-M Families and Staff via email July 23rd, 2021.

P-H-M Administration has received a number of questions from families regarding Critical Race Theory (CRT), and if the ideologies/tenets are included in our Social Emotional Learning, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion student lessons and staff training.

We recognize the need for our parents/guardians to understand our curriculum. So in an effort to help clear up any misinformation, we will be holding workshops for P-H-M families to explain our programs and goals.

P-H-M Administrators and parents/guardians will be discussing curriculum and we would like for our families to feel free to share their questions and concerns. Priority will be given to current P-H-M Families. If we’re oversubscribed, we will provide other opportunities to inform other members of the P-H-M community.

The workshop times are as follows:

• Monday, August 2nd @ 1:00 P.M.
• Tuesday, August 3rd @ 8:30 A.M.
• Tuesday, August 3rd @ 7:00 P.M.

We ask that people respectfully follow these registration guidelines:

• Only register to attend one session, not multiple ones.
• Each person planning to attend a workshop should each fill out a form.
• To allow us sufficient planning time, we will close the registration form on Wednesday, July 28th at 4:30p.m.
• You will receive an email regarding session assignments by Friday, July 30th.
• Click here to register.

The workshops will be held at Penn High School, PLEASE ENTER DOOR C. Please park in the front parking lot of Penn High School.

We approximate that these sessions will last about two (2) hours. All the material shared at the three workshops will be the same (these are not sequential meetings). The format of the sessions will be as follows:

• Doors open. Parents/guardians will check in and receive name tags with their assigned group number.
• Welcome and presentations by P-H-M Administrators: Superintendent, Asst. Superintendent for Instruction, Director of Social Emotional Learning, Director of Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Principals at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
• Break-out groups
  • Break-out group protocols are as follows:
    • Be respectful
    • Take turns
    • Be concise
    • Listen

Please register for a workshop time, at the link noted above, and provide us your questions about P-H-M’s SEL & DEI curriculum that you would like to learn more about.

We look forward to sharing this valuable and important information with our P-H-M families.

Dr. Jerry Thacker

Registration for the Penn Boys Basketball League for students in Grades 2-8 will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 1, from 5:45-8 p.m..

When: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 5:45-8 p.m.

Where: Penn High School/ Enter through Door D 

Price: $75 Grades 2-6 /  $60 Grades 7 & 8^th

Discount: $10 Discount for Summer Basketball Camp Attendees

Information: If you have any questions please contact Assistant Varsity Coach Julius Smith at jsmith5@phm.k12.in.us

Please read this flyer and bring it to registration if possible.