Walt Disney School Update
December 9, 2022
Points of #PHMExcellence
Excellence Happens Here
Penn High School is once again proud to learn that Penn seniors have been chosen to receive the prestigious Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship! The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County announced today (Friday, Dec. 9, 2022) the names of four students who have been offered the 2023 scholarship, and two of the four student recipients are Penn students! Zichu Wang and Allison Yu are both former Northpoint Elementary and Discovery Middle students. Congratulations to these amazing students, their families, and all of the P-H-M teachers and staff that have contributed to their education! Click to learn more about Zichu Wang and Allison Yu.
In St. Joseph County since the Community Foundation began administering the Lilly Scholarship in 1998, 33 Penn Scholars have been named accounting for 25% of the total number of Scholars! Last year Penn had four Penn seniors named Lilly Scholars.
Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are chosen based on community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership. The scholarship provides for full tuition, fees, and books for four years, full-time, undergraduate study at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university.
Welcome Message from Mr. Towner
Dear Parents,
We have had a wonderful week focusing on literacy! Last night we held our first family literacy night, Reading in a Winter Wonderland. The turnout was incredible - by our count at least 300 attendees! We saw so many of you, and it highlights again how strong of a school community we have. As you learned last night, we have a great passion for literacy, and we are excited to partner with you as we work to instill a love of reading for all students.
I'll take the moment to draw your attention to an ad further in this Smore message. On Tuesday, December 20th, we will have our annual Teacher Job Fair at Schmucker Middle School, from 2-5pm. All teachers who come are guaranteed an interview with a PHM principal. PHM will be hiring teachers for all content areas. We know one of the greatest ways we can influence student success is to hire outstanding teachers. If you or someone you know is currently a teacher, or a recent graduate from a school of education, I encourage you to join us at the job fair. Thank you for helping us to spread the word!
I wish all Dolphins an outstanding weekend!
Mr. Towner
Literacy Week at was AMAZING!
PHM Teacher Job Fair, December 20th
Our goal is to continue to hire the best teachers for our students. We begin our recruitment with our PHM Teacher Job Fair on December 20th, from 2-5pm at Schmucker Middle School. We anticipate hiring in all areas. If you or someone you know is interesting in teaching at PHM, please spread the word!
PTO Update
We look forward to our next PTO event, "Donuts with Dolphins", spread over three mornings on December 19th, 20th, and 21st. Parents of K-1 students may join us on the 19th; 2nd and 3rd parents may join on the 20th, and 4-5 parents on the 21st. We welcome you to come join your student for a donut!
Have students across multiple grade levels? Just come on the date that works best for you!
Community Fitness Opportunities
As the weather quickly shifts from fall to winter, the school district is happy to pilot free fitness opportunities for the P-H-M community. This will take place four (4) days per week at the sites listed below.
Who is eligible to participate: The P-H-M Adult Community and Staff (no students). This includes residents of the school district and non-resident parents/guardians of attending students.
What: Access to walking/jogging tracks, open gym/basketball courts, and weight room
When: Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at the sites listed below. Note: The fitness centers will be closed during designated school recess dates.
Lunchtime Visitors
With Covid restrictions eased, PHM schools are again accepting parent visitors during lunch periods. Please note that space is limited, so we are using the following sign-up genius. It can be accessed via this link.
Our process will be subject to change as we evaluate this rollout. Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Outstanding Academic News
- As reported by the IDOE similar schools summary, Walt Disney is in the top 6.7% of schools that are similar in size and demographics, as measured by ILEARN. Of 127 similar schools, we outperform 118 of them. Our focus is of course on outperforming everyone, and being the best!
- Walt Disney continues to beat state averages on the IREAD-3 assessment, and we have returned to pre-Covid performance for our students in third grade. Walt Disney is the only school in the state where minority subpopulations and ENL subpopulations have outperformed the overall school performance on IREAD-3 (as well as beating the state overall passing percentage!) Our free/reduced subpopulation always outperforms the state for that category by nearly 10%.
- PHM is in the top 3.67% of school corporations in the State of Indiana!
Free Covid Tests - While Supplies Lasts
Skyward Family Access
If you have questions about Skyward Family Access, please email them to familyaccess@phm.k12.in.us and we will be glad to assist you!
Pictures from Around the Pod
Free/Reduced Meals and Textbook Assistance
We want to remind all parents that free/reduced meals and textbook assistance is available for eligible families. An application can be completed for this program online, by following the link below. As well, we are happy to provide a paper copy upon request.
School Fees are Due March 31st
For information on school fees, or to proceed with paying your child's school fees, please follow the button below.
Food Services
To access accounts digitally, go to https://www.phmschools.org/pay-meals-online to access our School Cafe program online.