Archer Update #1

Dear Discovery Families,

Welcome to a brand new school year! We are SO excited to welcome back our current Archers as well as our NEW Archers! It's going to be a great year!

We have a few new certified staff members this year as well as some role changes. I would like to welcome:

NEW TEACHERS:

Ms. Jessica Joyner - Orchestra

Mr. Ben Truman - 7th Gr. PE/Wellness

Mrs. Emily Jenkinson - 6th Gr. PE/Wellness

• ROLE CHANGES:

  Mrs. Sheila Toth - SHE’s BACK! 7th Gr. Science

  Mrs. Chelsea Thompson - 7th Gr. Social Studies

  Mr. Terry Arter - 8th Gr. PE/Wellness

  Mr. Nate Freel - Piano Lab Teacher

  Mrs. Nicole Sullivan - 7th Gr. Math

  Mrs. Pat Grupp - Returns as ELA Interventionist

  Mrs. Libby Klunder - IT

  Mr. Kent Wickham - Safety Agent

  Mrs. Sandra Connors, Ms. Stephanie Deak, and Mrs.

  Kristin Huhtasaari - Educational Assistants

• 
  

I want to give you some up-to-date information for the beginning of the school year:

• Drop-off begins at 8:50 am and students will be marked tardy if they aren't in their seats by 9:05 am. Dismissal begins at 4:00 pm for car riders and buses depart by 4:08 pm.
• Unless approved by the building principal, no visitors or guests are allowed in the building.

I am so happy to be starting our year on such a positive note. For anyone who hasn't heard the news...Discovery Middle School has maintained #2 in the State of Indiana for top performing middle schools (this is out of about 300 public middle schools). Our teachers continue to be prepared to provide the most targeted, engaging lessons to help all our students reach their fullest learning potential. Our students are some of the best in Indiana and possibly the world! Thank you for sending us your finest!

I am looking forward to a year that has all of our students and staff Shining with possibilities. As always, I appreciate your partnership and support.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth W. Cunha

August 16

1st Day of School

August 22

6th Grade Meet and Greet - 5:30-7pm

August 23

7th/8th Grade Meet and Greet - 5:30-7pm

8th Grade - Washington D.C. Parent Meeting - 7:05pm Cafeteria

We are hoping you have heard, but we have great news to share regarding student book fees! The Indiana General Assembly passed a bill (HEA 1001-2023) that eliminated textbook and curriculum costs at public schools, which includes school supplies like pencils, paper, and notebooks. Parents will no longer be asked to pay school fees. For more information on the specific details, click here.

We wanted to share that legislation was passed (HB 1447) that all schools prepare a catalog of materials found in the school library Alexandria and a response and appeal procedure for materials parents find questionable.

We have that process in place already and it is posted on all school websites Instructional Material Feedback. In addition, secondary teachers will provide their syllabus to you with listed materials and classroom teachers have been asked to create a master list of titles in their classroom libraries. More information will be provided by your teacher in classroom newsletters. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your classroom teacher or myself.

It is essential that we are able to get hold of a parent or guardian during the school day. In addition, most of our communication is through email. Therefore, we need you to update your contact information whenever it changes. To update information, just log in with your username and password. To create an account, please click HERE and follow the directions below.

● You should have received an email asking you to set up your account

● Click the link “Forgot your Username Password?”

● In the following page put in your username [USERNAME] and press submit.

● You will receive an email with a link to set your password.

● You are in!

Please complete the listed steps below for ALL your students before August 18, 2023.

Arrival & Dismissal

Drop-off begins at 8:50 am and students will be marked tardy if they aren't in their seats by 9:05 am. Dismissal begins at 4:00 pm for car riders and buses depart by 4:08 pm. Students entering the school from a bus will enter Doors C, D and E. Car riders will enter the building at Door A. Dismissal for Car riders will be in the front lot at Horizon Elementary School.

Please take a look at the video below.

If your child will be absent for any reason, please notify our office as soon as possible! Our office staff records all absences beginning at 8:00 am and must phone any student's home who does not report to school without notice.

Another option is to go to your Skyward Family Access Account and follow these steps:

• Click on the Attendance Tile for the child who will be absent.
• Click on the Absence Requests Tab
• Click Add Absence Request on the right side of the screen
• Enter Start and End Date
• Check All Day if the absence will be the entire school day
• Attendance Reason - Choose from the drop down menu
• Comment - Add any information regarding the absence reason
• Click SAVE in the upper right hand corner

Please apply for free lunch and book rental assistance at www.schoolcafe.com if you think your children may qualify for free or reduced lunches. This is also the site to add money to your child's lunch account.

If your child needs our Health Aide to administer medication to your child at school, a parent or guardian must bring the medication to our health office with a written note from the doctor listing the medication, dosage, and frequency for administering. Our health aide is not permitted to administer any over the counter medication without a written doctor's note.

If you have any questions about procedures, please feel free to call the office and speak with Nurse Largen or email her at: slargen@phm.k12.in.us

HERE COMES THE BUS

With GPS tracking, you can track your child’s bus LIVE letting you also know exactly what time your child is dropped off. Follow the steps to create your account today! You can use Here Comes the Bus on your desktop, laptop or tablet. Make sure to download the app and use it on your smartphone.

You will need the following information to register:

• PHM account number is 76205

• Your child's last name

• Your child's student ID (found in Skyward)

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BUS ROUTE INFORMATION

• ​P-H-M Guidelines for student routing

• To change a student's home address, use this form. Please print off and return to your school or call your school office.

• EZRouting is the first place to look for bus route information! This goes “live” on August 8th.

• Calling your school office is a good way to verify bus routes, stops, and schedules

• To request a review of a current bus stop, use this form. Bus stop reviews will begin to take place on Tuesday, September 5th. These will be processed in the order they are received.

• Your child will be assigned to a bus route and have a designated bus stop. Students will not be assigned to more than two (2) bus routes.

• To request an alternate bus stop location, use this form. Please print off and return to your school or call your school office.

• Any student wishing to ride a different bus route for a day (i.e. child going home with a friend) MUST submit a written note from the parent; this note must be approved by the school and provided to the bus driver.

• Bus Stop Distances - The district approved walking distances for PHM bus riders to their bus stop is 150 yards for K-5 students and 300 yards for 6-12 students.

• Cul-de-sacs - Unfortunately due to the turning radius of a school bus we cannot drive down many cul-de-sacs. PHM Transportation requires a minimum diameter of 105 feet and no obstructions in all cul-de-sacs we travel in.

• Bus service is available for all resident students within the district's boundaries to their assigned schools (based on address). Self-transportation is required for all non-residents or in-district transfer students.

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BUS RIDING INFORMATION

• 10 Minute Window - Please be at the bus stop 10 minutes prior to scheduled pickup. Buses can run early based on ridership. Also be willing to wait at the stop, buses can also run late due to external factors such as railroads, traffic, etc. If a bus is running later than 10 minutes an email will be sent to parents informing them of the late route.

• Seating Charts - All students will have assigned seats on the bus

• Parents are not permitted to board the school bus unless approved as a chaperone for a field trip.

• In the event that a student must cross the street when boarding or leaving the bus the student should look to the driver for approval to cross.

• Please only bring items on the bus that allow aisles to be clear and all students to sit comfortably.

Website: https://discovery.phmschools.org/
Location: 10050 Brummitt Road, Granger, IN, USA
Phone: 574-674-6010