ParentSquareMrs. Scoles Wins PHM Impact Award
Teachers whose students have seen significant First Semester growth, achieving individual improvement on their formative assessments over time, are being recognized with the P-H-M Impact Award. It’s quite an honor, and a surprise, to receive this award.
Today Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker visited Walt Disney to congratulate Kindergarten teacher Amy Scoles. Principal Dr. Mindy Higginson helped Dr. Thacker surprise Mrs. Scoles as she was teaching class. Click here to see the photo gallery below of today’s surprise.
Mrs. Scoles’ students had the highest DIBELS growth outcomes in all of P-H-M in grades kindergarten through second grade!
While all P-H-M teachers across the district are dedicated to helping their students achieve personal academic success, we are especially proud of Mrs. Scoles and the other teacher Impact Award winners.
The Impact Awards were first handed out in September 2023 to teachers with the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year.
Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation for covering the cost of the awards for purchasing the beautiful crystal awards given to the teacher award recipients.
GYTO Gifts Walt Disney $70,000 Engagement Lab!
Our school has been blessed by being chosen as a “Get Your Teach On” school by the IDOE this school year. Since September, we’ve had a “Rock Your School Day” as a way to engage students and our teachers have experienced informative and transformative professional development sessions.
Today with the help of Principal Dr. Mindy Higginson, Get Your Teach On co-founders, husband and wife team, and reading specialists extraordinaires, Hope and Wade King out did themselves by surprising not only our students, but also our teachers, by gifting our school a incredible Writing Engagement Lab valued at nearly $70,000!
And as you can see below, the teachers were blown away!
The Writing Engagement Lab is a visual, 3D immersive experience is designed for creative writing exercises that will capture children’s imagination and spark great educational experiences. The computer, lighting and projector equipment were donated to Walt Disney; and the school will keep this absolutely amazing technology to use with all students, grades K-5th.
Before school started this morning, Hope, Wade and the GYTO crew demonstrated for the teachers all the immersion workspaces that can be used with students: Jurassic Park (as seen above), Harry Potter, Toy Story, Alpert (created by GTO colaborator LaNesha Tabb), Cars, Super Mario Bros., Spy Games, and a Glow Party theme.
After the teachers got their introduction to their new tool, then the REAL FUN began with the students! There was a quick scene change from the jungle of Jurassic Park theme to the Adventures of Alpert.
Mrs. Scoles Kindergarten class went first. Hope and Wade led/taught them a writing lesson using Alpert. The other kindergarten teachers were also present taking notes as they got to watch a live PD session on how to use the new equipment with students.
After the kindergarten run through, it was a quick scene change for Cars for 1st and 2nd graders.
Representatives from the IDOE and members of P-H-M Administration were also on hand for today’s demonstrations.
2024 Young Authors’ Conference, Books & Bots
This year P-H-M Education Foundation’s Young Authors’ Conference is partnering up with the Next Gen Robotics event to bring you Books & Bots! This event blends literary innovations with robotic creations. It’s a wonderful opportunity for P-H-M students in Kindergarten – 5th grade. Click here to view photos on Facebook from last year’s Young Authors’ Conference; click here to view photos of the 2023 Next Gen event.
The event will start at 9:15 a.m. in Penn’s Fitness Center. There will be the three rotations at three locations within Penn High School. Families and students will visit each station for 45 minutes, with a 15 minute break in between. The rotations will be an author visit, reader’s theater, and fun with the bots! Next Gen (the bots area) will be open until 1:00 p.m. Registered participants will receive a S’more with confirmation details the week of February 26. You and your student’s rotation schedule and starting location will be provided in the S’more. If you have any questions after receiving the email, please contact ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.
Please enter Door D. Parking is available in the front of Penn, at Schmucker Middle School, and in the parking lot near River Valley Church. Click here to access a Penn Building Map. Once inside Penn, look for “Books and Bots” signage and please arrive at your room between 9:00-9:15 a.m. With record attendance expected, plan plenty of time to park and walk to your designated area.
Books & Bots is completely FREE! Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation and P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and his wife Donna Thacker for covering the cost of the YAC for the second year in a row from the proceeds of #GivingTuesday donations.
NEW THIS YEAR … both events will be held at Penn High School!
While the events are FREE, registration is required!
Registration is NOW OPEN! Click here to register today! Registration closes Friday, February 23.
One parent only must accompany students! Younger siblings may not accompany adults. Due to the planned activities and available space, this experience is for your young author and one parent.
As part of the morning activities, students will participate in two rotations: one with well-known children’s author and speaker, Carolyn Crimi; and the other with Jocelyn Dupuis. Following these rotations, students will enjoy spending time exploring technology, with an opportunity to share a piece of their piece of writing on a FlipGrid or online writing platform.
Thanks to Better World Books, parents can purchase ahead of time Carolyn Crimi books online and then bring them to the March 2 event. Click here to preorder your student(s) books.
As a way to support Better World Books’ mission of providing books to children around the world to do their part in achieving global literacy, a collection box will be set up near Penn’s Door D for families to donate their gently used books.
BACKGROUND ON CAROLYN CRIMI:
Carolyn Crimi enjoys snacking, pugs, Halloween, and writing, although not necessarily in that order. Over the years she has published 19 books for children, including Weird Little Robots, Secondhand Dogs, Don’t Need Friends, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Where’s My Mummy?, There Might Be Lobsters, and I Am The Boss of This Chair. When she’s not snacking, Carolyn enjoys giving author talks to elementary schools all over the country.
BACKGROUND ON JOCELYN DUPUIS:
Also as part of Young Authors’ Conference, participants and parents will also enjoy an interactive experience with P-H-M’s extraordinary Jocelyn Dupuis. Jocelyn has a passion for music education and the performing arts. As a music teacher, she has taught many students to enjoy music as well.
*Questions, please contact Candace Cussen at ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.
Penn Orchestra Performs Elementary School Pops
“Captain Jack Sparrow” made an appearance at Penn High School today (Tuesday, January 30) performing the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song for 4th and 5th grade students. This mini concert is a great way to introduce students to instruments they might not be familiar with as they think about what possible instrument they might want to pursue in middle school. In P-H-M middle schools, students can pursue orchestra, band or choir as a Fine Arts elective.
Students got a real treat … the Orchestra’s drummers performed a sown written by Senior Clayton Hopper; it was called “March of the Clumsy.” All the drummers performed it together to demo percussion.
Due to scheduling logistics, only half of P-H-M elementary schools participated traveled to Penn for this year’s show. The other half attended last year. That way every P-H-M student will see the show in either 4th grade or a 5th grade.
Take a look at the photo gallery below …
Walt Disney Receives Four PHM Education Foundation Grants
The P-H-M Education Foundation has wrapped up the grant announcements for the 2023-2024 school year; and it’s been a big year with tons of recipients. Walt Disney was the recipient of four grants for the combined total of $4,486.13!
Charlis Cunningham, Franca Peluso Mulhern, and Tom Stanton applied for and received $2,997.96 to purchase supplies to create the “WDES Greenhouse Project.” An outdoor resource area would be built at the school to provide students with learning opportunities through nature. In collaboration with the St. Joseph County Soil and Water Conservation District Environmental Education Coordinator. The Walt Disney Greenhouse will also serve as a conservation project and house sustainable plants. The project will be supported in partnership with McKinley Garden Center.
First grade teacher Trisha Ledy applied for and received $1,028.97 to purchase “Secret Stories” toolkits. The kits will help students help teach students phonics and consist of a book, posters and musical CD that provide opportunities for multiple modes of learning including visual icons, auditory and kinesthetic motor skill movement. This method shares stories while helping students tap into the sounds the letter/letter teams make to facilitate reading skills.
We also applied for and received two EZ Grants:
- $184.95 to purchase multi-sensory flashcards for high frequency words
- $274.25 to purchase “Morpheme Magic”–reading comprehension program/teaching tools
This cycle the Foundation Grants Committee awarded $42,819.63 in funding to 15 EZ grants and 20 traditional grants.
PHMEF has moved to one grant cycle per school year, now moved to the Fall, to allow teachers and schools time to put their grant dollars to good use right away.
Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom traveled across the district to surprise various grant recipients with the good news of their funding amount. Grants awarded this year cover a wide array of innovative programs and activities from $10,000 to Grissom Middle School to purchase keyboards for the music room to milkweed plants for Madison Elementary so the school could attract monarch butterflies.
Click here to see the photo gallery on the District’s website of the check deliveries or click to follow PHMEF’s Facebook page.
Mr. Serge Receives P-H-M Impact Award
Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker awarded three more P-H-M teachers with the Impact Award today (Monday, October 2). Dr. Thacker visited Walt Disney Elementary, Elsie Rogers Elementary and Grissom Middle School. Awards handed out this time around were to the following teachers:
- Matt Serge, 3rd grade teacher at Walt Disney
- Kara Flanagan, 1st grade teacher at Elsie Rogers
- Josh Kelver, 8th grade ELA teacher at Grissom Middle School
The P-H-M Impact Award is presented to educators who have helped their students achieve individual academic growth on their formative assessments over time. All P-H-M teachers across the district are dedicated to helping their students achieve personal academic success. The P-H-M Impact Award is shining the spotlight on those teachers who are showing the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year. They are prime examples of how our teachers and students achieve P-H-M Excellence!
Dr. Thacker popped in and surprised the teachers with the help of the school principals, Disney’s Dr. Higginson, Elsie’s Christy Campbell, and Grissom’s Jenn Sinclair. Dr. Thacker was also joined by P-H-M administrators Assistant Superintendent Dr. Heather Short and Director of Professional Development Dr. Lavon Dean-Null.
Matt Serge was recognized for having the highest growth in ELA of all Title I 3rd grade teachers in P-H-M! Mr. Serge’s class went from 9% (Clear Sight) to 55% proficiency on ILEARN; that’s 21% higher than average Title I proficiency growth! Check out all the photos of today’s award presentations on Facebook.
Mrs. Flanagan had the highest growth of all P-H-M Title I first grade teachers! 90% of her students had average or higher growth for their overall Dibels composite growth; and 58% of her students were in the “above average” or “well above average” categories! Mrs. Flanagan’s students really enjoyed getting in on the surprise.
Josh Kelver had the highest growth class section in 8th grade ELA across P-H-M (15% higher than the second highest class)! Mr. Kelver’s class went from 8% proficiency at the beginning of year, to 75% proficiency on ILEARN. That’s the highest average growth across all 8th grade P-H-M ELA teachers! Because Mr. Kelver’s wife, Ashley Kelver, also works at Grissom, she was able to be included.
We thank the P-H-M Education Foundation for covering the cost of the awards.
There are more P-H-M teachers to recognize in the days, weeks and months ahead!
“Back to School” Boys Basketball League
Boys in grades 2nd to 8th are invited to participate in “Back to School” Basketball League at Penn High School.
2nd – 6th grade League
DATES: September 24th; Oct. 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd 29th
LOCATION:
- 2nd-4th, Penn Fitness Center
- 5th-6th, Main Arena/West Balcony/Aux Gym Time
TIMES:
- 2nd-4th, Sundays, Noon – 4:00 p.m.
- 5th-6th, Sundays, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
COST: $99
Click here to register online.
7th & 8th grade League
DATES: September 10th, 17th, 24th; Oct. 1st, 8th
LOCATION: Penn High School
TIMES: Sundays, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
COST: $79
Click here to register online.
Questions? Please contact the League Director Coach Smith if you have any questions at jsmith5@phm.k12.in.us
Mr. Davidson Named Top 10 Finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year
The Indiana Department of Education released today (Friday, August 18, 2023) the Top 10 finalists for Indiana Teacher of the Year and Walt Disney Elementary School Music teacher Mr. Robi Davidson was among them!
Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and Board of School Trustees Member Dana Sullivan were touring Walt Disney as part of the beginning of the school year school visits when they learned the news, so they popped into Mr. Davidson’s classroom to congratulate him. Watch the video below.
This is two Fridays in a row that Dr. Thacker has shown up to congratulate Mr. Davidson. Last Friday Dr. Thacker, Walt Disney Principal Dr. Mindy Higginson, and other P-H-M Administrators showed up at Penn Band practice to congratulate him as well when Mr. Davidson made it to the Top 25; last week he was “serenaded” by the Penn High School Marching Band! Take a look.
Mr. Davidson makes P-H-M’s fourth Top 10 Finalist in seven years–John Gensic in 2016, Jeanie Mitchell in 2019, Amanda Fox in 2022, and now Robi Davidson in 2023! And he’s the only teacher from the Michiana area to make it to the Top 10!
In April, Davidson was P-H-M’s Elementary Teacher of the Year. Between his teaching career and his K-12 education, Mr. Davidson has spent almost his entire life at P-H-M! He attended Madison Elementary School, Grissom Middle School and graduated from Penn High School in 2007. He has taught music at Walt Disney Elementary for 11 of his 12 years of teaching. Click here to learn about Mr. Davidson.
The announcement for the winner of Indiana Teacher of the Year is expected to come early to mid September. We believe Mr. Davidson will be the winner!
2023 Community Tailgate
This year’s annual Community Tailgate will be a great way to kick off the return of the Backyard Brawl between the Kingsmen and the Mishawaka Cavemen.
All fans are welcome, Cavemen and Kingsmen! There’s plenty of food for fans on both sides.
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, near the Zolman’s Tire & Auto Care South Concession Stand.
For $6 you get your choice of hot dog, hamburger or brat served with a bag of chips, choice of drink, and a cookie. Food tickets for the Tailgate are purchased at the Tailgate.
Mr. Davidson Named Among Top 25 Finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year
The Indiana Department of Education released today (Friday, August 11, 2023) the Top 25 finalists for Indiana Teacher of the Year and Walt Disney Elementary School Music teacher Mr. Robi Davidson was among them!
Davidson was at Penn High School Marching Band practice when Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, former Walt Disney Principal now Literacy Director Ryan Towner, and new Disney Principal Dr. Mindy Higginson surprised him to congratulate him. In the summer, Davidson coaches the tuba section for Penn’s award-winning Marching Band and works on the sound design team with the front ensemble. To celebrate Davidson’s next step in the Indiana TOY process, Walt Disney Principal Dr. Higginson brought him balloons and the band played the Penn Fight Song, with the tuba section front and center! Watch the video below.
In April, Davidson was P-H-M’s Elementary Teacher of the Year. Between his teaching career and his K-12 education, Davidson has spent almost his entire life at P-H-M! He attended P- Madison Elementary School, Grissom Middle School and graduated from Penn High School in 2007. He has taught music at Walt Disney Elementary for 11 of his 12 years of teaching.
Walt Disney is one of P-H-M’s five Title I schools. Nearly 30 different languages spoken in the homes of Disney families. To celebrate the school’s diversity, we host an annual “Culture Night” and month long of educational experiences and celebrations for both students and families alike. Along with his music teaching responsibilities, Davidson is the lead organizer along of Disney’s Cultural activities.
The IDOE each year recognizes an Indiana Teacher of the Year—a educator who works to inspire, rejuvenate, and celebrate the teaching profession by recognizing outstanding teachers from across the state. The INTOY award is a lifetime role in education, which has many opportunities to celebrate teaching and uplift the teaching profession.
On August 1, P-H-M’s Secondary Teacher of the Year Penn High School AP History teacher Eric Bowers was named Indiana History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute. Bowers will be among those recognized at the second annual Indiana Educational Excellence Awards Gala coming up in September.
