Saturday, March 1, 2025   

9:15 a.m. – 11:25 a.m. 

at Penn High School

for P-H-M students K – 5th grade

FREE! There is no cost for this event, but registration is required and limited.

REGISTRATION: Opens January 17 – deadline is Friday, February 14, https://bit.ly/BooksandBots

Sponsored by the P-H-M Education Foundation, Young Authors’ Conference is an opportunity for P-H-M students in Kindergarten – 5th grade to meet and hear from well-known children’s author and speaker Shannon Anderson, participate in a variety of robotic explorations, and visit a “Make It and Take It” puppet making session!

Shannon Anderson has spent 25 years teaching, from first grade through college level. She is now a full-time author, with picture books titled: B is for Belonging, Heroes Don’t Have to Fly, I Love Strawberries, and more. She is also known for her biography series, with books like The Story of Benjamin Franklin, The Story of Helen Keller, and so many more. A champion of kindness and positivity, Shannon believes that every day offers a new opportunity to make a meaningful difference.  

As part of the morning activities, students will participate in three rotations: one session with Shannon Anderson, one interactive puppet-making session, and one session where students will enjoy the hands-on exploration of technology with Sphero Bots, Dot and Dosh, Bee Bots, Ozobots and more! Our amazing P-H-M teachers and volunteers will guide students and their parents through the interactive session guiding them on how develop a character and create their own puppet.

At least one parent or guardian must accompany the student(s)!  If more than one child is registering for Books and Bots, the family will stay together so only one adult is needed.  Siblings YOUNGER than kindergarten may not accompany adults. This experience is for your young author(s) and the parent/guardian.

CONFIRMATION: Participating students will receive additional information prior to the conference through their home school at the end of February.

QUESTIONS: If you have any questions, please contact Candace Cussen at ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.

Every year Kids Club students, who chose to participate, draw a winter scene. If their artwork is chosen, it will be used as one of the holiday card for P-H-M teachers and staff from Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and the Board of School Trustees.

Two pictures are chosen and then the student artists are surprised and told they are the winners when their parents pick them up from Kids Club.

This year Prairie Vista 5th grader Jasmine Mbianda’s drawing was chosen as one of the winning designs. Jasmine’s picture was of a snowman set in a serene, freshly fallen snow scene.

Congratulations to Jasmine and her family! Click here to see the other winning design by Meadow’s Edge 4th grader, Zayleigh Malone.

Prairie Vista Elementary is set to bring nature-based learning to life, thanks to a $10,250.00 grant awarded by the PHM Education Foundation (PHMEF). Jennifer Turnblom, Executive Director of PHMEF, visited the school to present the check to Principal Keely Twibell.

The grant will support a project to restore and utilize the natural prairie area on the school’s property, creating unique learning opportunities for Prairie Vista students and the broader PHM community. In collaboration with community volunteers, the PTO, and school staff, the revitalized prairie will serve as a dynamic outdoor classroom. Teachers will have a space to conduct lessons in a natural environment, engaging students directly with the world around them.

The restoration plan includes the addition of wildlife identification and trail marker signs, observation station stumps, a natural obstacle course, raised garden beds, bird and bat houses, and more. Tools like microscopes, binoculars, magnifying glasses, and field guides will further enhance hands-on learning experiences. The prairie will also host conservation activities such as seasonal clean-up, maintenance, and seeding initiatives.

This project aims to inspire conservation efforts among students and community members while offering an innovative space for research and advanced study. Once complete, the prairie will be a resource for all PHM schools, providing an opportunity for collaborative learning across the district.

Congratulations to Prairie Vista Elementary and Principal Keely Twibell for this exciting initiative, and thank you to PHMEF for supporting the school’s vision for immersive, nature-based education!

U.S. News and World Report released its “Best Schools” rankings for K-8 public schools by state and Prairie Vista is #2 out of Indiana’s 1,000 public elementary schools!

Several P-H-M’s elementary schools are also at the top of the list:

• Northpoint #1 in Indiana  
• Prairie Vista #2 in Indiana  
• Horizon #19
• Mary Frank #32
• Bittersweet #56
• Moran #163
• Madison #200
• Elm Road #205
• Elsie Rogers #393
• Meadow’s Edge #239

P-H-M’s middle schools were also recognized:

• Discovery #3 in Indiana
• Schmucker #40

This year’s “Short Hair Because We Care” will hold a hair donation event for the Children With Hair Loss organization will be held Saturday, November 16 at Penn High School’s Studio Theater.

Anyone in the community can donate their hair, but the minimum is 8 inches of hair. Hair that is colored and permed is accepted. Local professional hair stylists will be donating their time to cut volunteers hair for free. Because this is for hair donation, the service provided is just a simple cut, no style.

This event was started in 2019-2020 school year by a group of 7th grade Grissom Middle School students. 

“It started as something that students could give, that wouldn’t be money or something they wouldn’t have control over being young students, but everyone can donate their hair, so that’s why we started it: to give everyone an opportunity to serve even if they don’t have other resources,” Ella Smoker Class of 2024. Click to see the WNDU-TV’s story.

Last year, 33 people donated a total of 334 inches (click to see photos)! Donate this year and help beat last year’s totals!

If you’re interested in donating, click here to sign up using the Google form.

Email shbwcphs@gmail.com with questions, and follow the group on Instagram at @shbwc_phs. 

If you can’t make it to the event or don’t have enough hair to donate, you can still help out by donating directly to Children With Hair Loss.

Children With Hair Loss is a nonprofit organization that provides hair replacements at no cost to children or young adults facing hair loss at no cost. Whatever the cause, hair loss can have effects that go deeper than cosmetics. Providing this hair is how this organization gives back to the community. You can help us give back to your community and the children facing hair loss by donating your hair or simply spreading the word about the event to everyone! 

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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Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner and state leaders recognized Prairie Vista Elementary and other schools from across the state at the Literacy Achievement Celebration.

The event celebrated elementary schools that achieved a 95% or higher pass rate on the 2024 IREAD assessment!

Prairie Vista Principal Keely Twibell and teacher Lindsay Gagyi were recognized for Prairie Vista’s 97.7% pass rate.

Two other P-H-M schools were also honored: Horizon for 95.3%% pass rate; and Northpoint with a 95% pass rate.

PHM’s overall Spring 2024 IREAD pass rate was 86.8%, the state’s was 82.5%, with a 4.3% variance over the state average.

On Sunday, September 8, the Michiana community joined Penn and P-H-M in giving Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt a Heroine’s Welcome!

Before Sarah’s “Welcome Home” kicked off, the local media got some one-on-one time with Sarah, her parents, and Penn Head Wrestling Coach Brad Harper during a news conference. Coach Harper was Sarah’s wrestling coach when she was at Penn; he became her personal coach and coached her at the Tokyo Olympics wear she won Bronze. Coach Harper planned this special homecoming for Sarah. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

The parade left from Penn High School and went down McKinley approximately two miles and ended at Zolman’s Tire.

Thank you to all the parade participants who volunteered their time on a Sunday afternoon: Mishawaka and Penn Twp. Fire Departments, St. Joseph County Police, the Marching Kingsmen, Penn Girls and Boys Wrestling Teams, Penn Cheerleaders, Penn Youth Wrestling Club, Rocket Football cheerleaders, and Dr. and Mrs. Thacker. Along with Sarah with her mom Nancy and dad Chris, Sarah’s extended family were also in the parade. Sarah and her parents were in a golden yellow convertible Mustang driven by St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman. Thank you to Zolman’s Tire for supplying some trucks.

After the parade was over, hundreds gathered at Urban Swirl in Granger for an Olympic Celebration emceed by Mark McGill. A representative from Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood’s office read a proclamation declaring September 8th as Sarah Hildebrandt Day! U.S. Congressman Rudy Yakym read the historical entry on Sarah’s Olympic achievement that he will be submitting to the official U.S. Congressional Record.

Sarah was able to see and catch up with the coach who gave her first break, then Discovery Middle School Wrestling Coach Raoul Donati.

Sarah threw out free T-shirts featuring her smiley face tattoo on the front and her viral X tweet on the back.

Grateful for all the love and support that her hometown gave her, Sarah graciously took hundreds of pictures with all of her adoring fans. She also signed hundreds of autographs on posters, shirts, singlets, wrestling shoes and even foreheads! 

Check it all out in the photo gallery below.

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