P-H-M’s Annual Community Tailgate is a long-standing tradition that brings families, students, staff, and community members together to show their Penn pride. The event is held before the Penn Football home opener and is a chance for everyone across the district to connect, celebrate, and support the Kingsmen.

This year’s home opener will be “The Backyard Brawl” against Mishawaka on Friday, August 29th, 2025. Click here for game ticket info.

Gates open at 5:00 p.m. You must have a ticket to the football game to enter. Once inside the stadium head down to the white tents in the south end zone at the Yeoman Family Plaza.

Friday night marks the 67th meeting between Penn and Mishawaka. Penn leads the all-time series 49-16-1. 

Penn-Harris-Madison invites students, families, alumni, and community members to celebrate Homecoming 2025 on Friday, September 26, 2025 courtesy of the PHM Education Foundation.

The annual celebration includes the Homecoming Parade on Bittersweet Road in front of Penn High School, showcasing student groups, athletic teams, school clubs, and community organizations, followed by the Penn Kingsmen football game against South Bend Adams at Everwise Freed Field.

This is an event for the ENTIRE community and will have activities for people of all ages. Mark your calendars and plan to join in the fun! More details will be shared closer to the date.

This morning, Dr. Jerry Thacker visited Walt Disney Elementary to help present the inaugural Dr. Jerry Thacker Achievement Award. The award, named in honor of Dr. Thacker’s retirement after 19 years of service as Penn-Harris-Madison’s superintendent, recognizes students who exemplify persistence, good citizenship, and positive competitiveness—qualities that Dr. Thacker has demonstrated throughout his tenure.

In its first year, the award was given to four students at Walt Disney Elementary, each of whom achieved a perfect score on the iRead assessment. Their dedication to learning and demonstration of these core values serve as an inspiration to their peers.

Moving forward, the Dr. Jerry Thacker Achievement Award will be an annual tradition at Walt Disney Elementary, continuing to honor students who embody the traits Dr. Thacker exemplified during his leadership at P-H-M.

Click Here for FULL Photo Gallery

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Walt Disney Elementary School recently welcomed families and community members for its annual Culture Night, a celebration of the many backgrounds and traditions represented throughout the school.

Families hosted tables showcasing food, clothing, and traditions from their home countries. Attendees had the opportunity to sample traditional dishes, explore cultural displays, and learn more about the customs and stories shared by fellow families.

The evening also featured live performances, including traditional dances and music. Students performed in colorful attire, bringing energy and pride to the stage while honoring their cultural roots.

Culture Night continues to be a meaningful tradition at Walt Disney Elementary, encouraging connection, curiosity, and appreciation for the unique experiences that each family brings to the school community.

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Due to the absence of local, state, or national elections on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, all P-H-M schools will be in session on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.  P-H-M will no longer have a Recess Day on this date.

As a result, the last day of school for students will now be Thursday, June 5, 2025. This is one day earlier than previously scheduled. P-H-M Teachers Association worked collaboratively with the District Administration to make these calendar changes.

Indiana law requires schools to be in session for 180 days each year. If necessary, P-H-M can utilize up to three weather-related eLearning days, as permitted under Indiana law (HB-1093). If additional makeup days are needed, they will be added to the end of the school year, following the new last student day, Thursday, June 5, 2025. Currently, no eLearning days have been called.

The new 2024-2025 school year calendar is posted on the P-H-M website, click here to view the updated calendar.

On Friday, December 20, 2024, Walt Disney Elementary celebrated the creativity and imagination of its students with “Page to the Stage”. This exciting program gave students the opportunity to showcase their storytelling talents in a unique way, as six short stories written by students were brought to life during an all-school assembly.

In preparation for the event, students were tasked with writing their own short stories. From this impressive collection of creative work, six standout stories were selected for the honor of being performed. Each story revolved around the theme of Santa Claus in extraordinary and often hilarious situations, sparking laughter and throughout the assembly.

What made this event special was the participation of Walt Disney Elementary’s teachers, who volunteered to transform these student stories into live performances. 

Dressed as Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, elves, reindeer, and other festive characters, the teachers brought the students’ imaginations to life on stage on the last day of school before winter break.

“Page to the Stage” served as a perfect sendoff into winter break, leaving students, staff, and families with warm memories of the holiday season and the incredible talent within the Walt Disney Elementary community.

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Walt Disney Elementary is celebrating two new grants awarded by the PHM Education Foundation (PHMEF), further enriching the school’s learning experiences. Jennifer Turnblom, Executive Director of PHMEF, visited the school to present the checks to staff members Katie Carroll and Stephen Govorko.

Katie Carroll received $1,884.03 for her “Write On” project. This grant will support the organization and expansion of the school’s Student Engagement Lab, where students and teachers use props and visuals to bring students’ written work to life. The lab offers students a cohesive and engaging writing experience that enhances learning in Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. The materials funded by this grant will also be utilized during school community events such as Math and Literacy Night and Culture Night, ensuring widespread impact.

Stephen Govorko was awarded $300.50 for a unique interdisciplinary program integrating children’s books into Physical Education. This initiative, developed in collaboration with classroom teachers and librarians, promotes literacy and physical activity by engaging students in games and activities inspired by the books they read. Additionally, students will explore healthy eating habits and make better lifestyle choices as part of this program.

These grants highlight Walt Disney Elementary’s commitment to providing innovative, cross-curricular learning opportunities. Congratulations to Katie Carroll, Stephen Govorko, and the Walt Disney Elementary community, and thank you to PHMEF for supporting these impactful programs!

Thank you to EVERYONE who came to the 2024 Homecoming Parade and Football game. It was a terrific time not only for the Penn students, but also for the entire community.

The Parade, Expo, Fun Zone, Food Trucks and Fireworks were all bigger and better than ever.

After the game was over, the fans in attendance were treated to a fireworks show set to music!

There are three photo galleries below, one of the parade floats and participants, one of the parade spectators and one of the fun zone and expo. Take a look and we’ll see you in 2025!

Parade Floats

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Parade Spectators

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Fun Zone & Expo

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Get Your Teach On (GYTO) is an organization that offers a variety of programs and professional development for educators and administrators in grades Pre-K-12. Walt Disney was a collaboration site in 2023 and continues to work with Get Your Teach On this year.

Each year, GYTO sponsors “Rock Your School Day!” – In honor of this initiative we ROCKED Walt Disney on September 27th, 2024!

Inside the main entrance, students were greated by D.J. Principal Dr. Mindy Higginson to start the morning.

After going to their classes for a short time, the entire school came to the gym for an all-school assembly. The assembly featured a real rock and roll band made up of P-H-M educators! Take a look at the video below: 

After the assembly finished, students went back to class for a fun day of music inspired lessons. Take a look at the photo gallery below for more pictures from this morning.

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