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, Prairie Vista will house a polling center, as it has in the past.

Voters should park in the north lot, near the portable classrooms. Voting will take place in the portable classrooms. Voters will not be allowed access into the school building. 

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

After years of planning and fundraising, Prairie Vista’s tennis courts are back open!

Yesterday (Thurs., Sept. 22), students came out and enjoyed Tennis “Fun Day” as part of Prairie Vista University, an after-school enrichment program. See the full photo gallery below.

The South Bend Racquet Club provided the lessons and Urban Swirl donated frozen yogurt treats to help cool the students off.

Tennis “Fun Day” was a great way to celebrate the year-and-a-half long and $36,000 in fundraising project. It was a proud moment for those who had volunteered either their time in planning and/or clean-up, as well as those who contributed financially.  

The surface of all four courts had become “unplayable” because of extensive cracking. The costs of maintenance and repair had greatly increased since Penn-Harris-Madison first built the courts. Thanks to some dedicated Puma parents and community support private dollars were raised for the project, helping the School Corporation to bridge the funding gap. The goal … to have the courts resurfaced to tennis competition grade!

Now Prairie Vista students will be able to learn to play tennis as part of the PE curriculum and also have access to the courts as a part of after school programs. 

As a community project this means members of the Granger community and neighbors of the school will also be able to use the courts to play tennis. The upgraded courts will also make it possible for USTA to hold small, entry level tournaments at our school. Penn High School’s girl’s tennis team also plans to hold a free beginners tennis camp during the summer.

Project Financial Support

Lead Contributors ($10,000+)
UTSA Midwest, Northern Indiana Section
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation

Major Contributors ($500+)
Steve and Lisa Gerber

Robert and Jan Hoenk

Dave and Jen Ludwig

Rolan and Cynthia Pascual

Chris and Cindy Shepherd

Ironwood Family Dentistry

JSK Development, Inc.

Lionshead Specialty Tire & Wheel, LLC

P-H-M Education Foundation

Prairie Vista PTO

Prairie Vista and its neighboring community are very grateful for the many additional donors and volunteers, too numerous to list here, that made this project possible.

We are extremely grateful to all of those who have donated their time in planning and cleanup hours, as well as funding to this project. This project is a perfect example of P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success”—connecting, students, teachers and parents to make remarkable things happen in our school district.

We also thank Leslie Coatings, an Indianapolis firm that specializes in the resurfacing of outdoor sports facilities, for performing the work and doing such a wonderful job.

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 Prairie Vista has 85 new little “PUMAS” beaming with PUMA PRIDE!

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 

The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted at the Monday, July 25, 2016 Board Meeting to approve the sponsorship agreement between the P-H-M Education Foundation and Saint Joseph Health System.

This agreement gives SJHS the opportunity to rename the tennis courts at Prairie Vista Elementary School “Saint Joseph Health System Tennis Courts at Prairie Vista” in exchange for a $10,000 donation to the P-H-M Education Foundation endowment. The naming rights will be for a 12-year period.

Per PHMEF’s naming rights fundraising campaign, 80 percent of the donation will go into the Education Foundation’s endowment, which will in turn provide alternative and additional funding for various co-curricular and extracurricular programs district wide. The remaining 20 percent will directly fund the school district’s professional development initiatives for P-H-M teachers. Continuing education and training of teachers is a major priority for P-H-M School Corporation.

The mission of the Education Foundation is to develop alternative sources of income to support education initiatives in the School Corporation by strengthening partnerships between the community and the District. The Foundation awards innovative teaching grants, scholarships to students, and other corporation-wide initiatives. You can read about the Education Foundation’s Srpring 2016 grant awards or their 20^th Anniversary Gala that raised aprroximately $100,000.

Separate from the P-H-M Education Foundation’s naming rights partnership with Saint Joseph Health System for Prairie Vista’s tennis courts, another fundraising initiative has been underway since Spring 2015 to resurface the tennis courts. No portion of the Saint Joseph Health System sponsorship contributed to the court refurbishment project; the naming rights are not related to the resurfacing of the tennis courts. The cost of resurfacing of the courts was paid for by Penn-Harris-Madison School District, a grant from the United States Tennis Association and private donations by the P-H-M Education Foundation, Prairie Vista families, community members and local businesses. You can read more about that project by reading this story. 

After a year-and-a-half of planning, $36,000 in fundraising dollars and 175 plus community volunteer hours … Prairie Vista Elementary’s tennis courts are finally getting a much needed “facelift!”

The courts surface had become “unplayable” because of extensive cracking. Thanks to some dedicated Puma parents, they led the charge and started a grassroots fundraising campaign in 2015 to help the Penn-Harris-Madison School District pay the expensive costs of having the courts resurfaced to tennis competition grade.

Our dedicated parent volunteer group wrote and applied for a grant from the United States Tennis Association’s Facility Assistance Program. In June 2016, the group received word that the project had been awarded $13,000 towards the project. P-H-M is putting up $15,000 towards the project; and another $8,000 has been raised in private donations from Prairie Vista families, community members and local businesses (please see the list below of those that donated $500 or more to the project). Counted among the $8,000 raised from other sources, P-H-M Education Foundation also awarded the project $3,000 as part of its Spring 2016 grant cycle. The fundraising total to-date (July 25, 2016) is $36,000!!!

The group has been working with Leslie Coatings, an Indianapolis firm that specializes in the resurfacing of outdoor sports facilities. Weather permitting, and thanks to the “PV Courts Cleanup Day” held in mid-July, Leslie Coatings can begin and hopefully complete the resurfacing of the courts by early August.

The goal is to have the courts ready for student use when your children come back to school on Wednesday, August 24. Our students will be introduced to tennis as part of the PE curriculum and have access to the courts as a part of after school programs. 

Our students won’t be the only ones who benefit from the newly improved courts, the Granger community and neighbors of Prairie Vista will also be able to use the courts. The upgraded courts will also make it possible for USTA to hold small, entry level tournaments at our school. Penn High School’s girl’s tennis team also plans to hold a free beginners tennis camp during the summer.

Stay tuned for information … a re-dedication ceremony is in the works and all of our Prairie Vista families will be invited!

We are extremely grateful to all of those who have donated their time in planning and cleanup hours, as well as funding to this project. This project is a perfect example of P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success”—connecting, students, teachers and parents to make remarkable things happen in our school district.

 Friends of Prairie Vista Tennis Courts, donations of $500 and above:

• Steve and Lisa Gerber
• Robert and Jan Hoenk
• Ironwood Family Dentistry
• JSK Development, Inc.
• Lionshead Specialty Tire & Wheel, LLC
• Dave and Jen Ludwig
• Rolan and Cynthia Pascual
• P-H-M Education Foundation
• Prairie Vista PTO
• Chris and Cindy Shepherd

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 Prairie Vista, P-H-M’s other Four Star Schools include Horizon, Mary Frank, and Northpoint 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.