Archer Update #23

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation continues to be good fiscal stewards of taxpayer dollars by maintaining the lowest property tax rate in St. Joseph County. For 2024 the rate will stay at 0.9275, which is the same rate as it was for 2023. Click here for more information.

The second quarter officially ends January 11th. Report Cards will be posted in Skyward on Family Access on Friday, January 19th, 2024.

A friendly reminder from the IMC:

We'll be sending letters home soon with invoices regarding overdue library book replacement costs. We kindly ask that you remind your student(s) to return or renew their books within the next week. We appreciate your help in getting our books back on the shelves!

In this edition of the Archer Update you will find the following information:

1. Teacher of the Month for Homes for Heroes McKinnies Realty Program
2. 21st Century Scholars Program - Attention Parents of 7th Grade Students
3. PTO Updates
4. In Case of Inclement Weather - School Closing E-Learning Information
5. Teacher Job Fair for PHM
6. Reporting Student Absences

Friendly Reminders:

• 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.

Discovery Middle School is ranked #2 in the State of Indiana for top performing middle schools (this is out of about 300). 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!

Mr. Vandygriff is a 7th grade Math teacher here at Discovery Middle School and also teaches 6th and 8th grade math classes when needed. He shows continuous flexibility to take on new classes, challenges, and opportunities! He connects with students as well in his role as the school's athletic director. He is organized, keeps a record of practices, athletes, games and facilities to say the least...he combines his math skills and athletic leadership skills to hold students to high standards and school pride! He is an asset to Discovery Middle School and we are proud of Mr. Vandygriff!

1. Scrip - IMPORTANT DATES!

2. PTO 5 Minute Form

3. Facebook

4. Box Tops - January Bonuses!

5. PTO Scholarship

1. ATTENTION 8TH GRADE FAMILIES: The last physical Scrip card order that can go towards the DC trip is Sunday, February 4. E-gift cards can be earned through the end of February. If you have any questions or need help getting started, please contact Laura Nayee at laura.nayee@icloud.com or Elizabeth Cichowicz at ema817@aol.com. Thanks!

Scrip is a national fundraising program for non-profit organizations. The PTO runs this program at DMS to help families save money toward their student’s trip(s) while at Discovery. The way it works is you buy physical or eGift cards at regular face value and earn a rebate between 2% and 20%. Of that rebate, 90% goes into your child’s DMS Trip Account and 10% goes to the PTO. It’s like earning free money! It’s a great way to save money without much hassle. Please see the form link below on how to get started.

School Trips for Free (23-24) info sheet. https://bit.ly/ScripInfo23-24

2. Please take a few minutes to fill out this quick "5 minute form". This helps us get to know you and your areas of interest/involvement in the PTO.

3. Once you have filled out the 5 minute form, please join us on our closed Facebook page at “Discovery Middle School PTO” to stay up to date with PTO and school events. You must fill out the 5 minute form in order to be approved into the group.

4. Help our school earn money by submitting Box Tops. It’s all electronic and it’s easy! Download the app, add Discovery, and start scanning your receipts. It’s a quick, easy way to earn cash for our school!

There are some great specials in January with up to 40-50 bonus box tops with the purchase of just a few things. Target will even give matching earnings to a school in need!

PTO Scholarship Info

Every year, the DMS PTO awards two scholarships to graduating seniors, who were previous DMS graduates, and are pursuing a post-secondary education. Both scholarships this year will be for $1,000 and are for those former students who graduated in 2020. Application details are available on the DMS website under School Info > PTO > PTO Scholarship or by following this link https://discovery.phmschools.org/dms-pto-scholarship. The info has also been advertised to current seniors at Penn High School through Naviance, Canvas, and Twitter. If you have/know a graduating senior/former DMS student, even if they attend a different high school, please share the info with them. The application deadline is February 28th.

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

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