Archer Update #11

Congratulations to these nine Penn seniors who recently learned that they are National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists: Owen Black, Jacob Ciliberti, Lillian Gregory, Lily Meyer, Olivia Nijim, Noah Schafer, Connor Schmitt, Jayden Wang, and Felix Zhang! These Kingsmen have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered this coming spring to the Class of 2024. Nationwide, the Semifinalists represent less than 1% of all U.S. high school seniors; they are the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Click to learn more about the National Merit Scholarship program and the selection criteria.

Last Day of the 1st Quarter is October 18th - Grades will be posted on Skyward October 27th

Fall Break/No School on October 20th-23rd.

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

1. Band Spirit Wear - Order by 10/27
2. 7th and 8th Grade Halloween Dance - Oct 27th
   
3. Picture Retake Day is 10/30
4. DMS PTO INFO!
5. Information for 8th Grade Parents - Washington D.C. Trip
6. Teacher Job Fair for PHM
7. 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!

7th and 8th grade Discovery students are invited to a:

HALLOWEEN DANCE on October 27th from 4-5:30pm!

$3.00 to attend!

Picture Day is: October 30, 2023

Order Code is: 79457DT

Website: https://inter-state.com/

Your Unique Web link to order is: https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry/79457DT

1. Direct Donation Drive

2. Halloween Concessions Sign Up

3. PTO 5 Minute Form

4. Facebook

5. Scrip - Fundraising for field trips

6. Box Tops

1. Our No Hassle PTO Donation Drive is underway now until November 3rd. Thank you for your generous and unwavering support of our students, school, teachers and staff!

**If you have already made a donation of $25 and did NOT include your child's name or 1st period teacher, please email the PTO at discoverypto@phm.k12.in.us with that info. Decals should be distributed early next week. Thanks!**

2. Halloween Concessions sign up - There will be a 7th and 8th grade Fall Halloween Dance and Social on Friday, October 27th after school.

Please see the Signup Genius to help work the concessions stand during this fun event!

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

**Flash Bonus on Amazon gift cards. They’ll have a 2.7% rebate (rather than 1.7%) from now through Sunday, October 15th. You can get your eGift cards right away or if you want to stock up on birthday or holiday gifts, order now while the special is on and the cards will be in the first week of November.**

6. 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!

Parents,

Click here to sign your child up for the DC trip this spring. Make an account and you will find details of the Discovery 8th Grade trip, links to sign up and pay your deposit.

If anyone has interest in traveling on this trip as a chaperone, please email Mr. Bontrager at dbontrager@phm.k12.in.us with your desire to accompany the 8th graders by 11/3/2023. He will respond to your email with information about the upcoming Chaperone meeting which will be held at DMS on Nov. 9th at 7:30 a.m. This is a mandatory meeting to complete the necessary paperwork needed.

EARN MONEY FOR YOUR CHILD'S DC TRIP

-To help with the cost of this trip, your son/daughter will be bringing home a box of The World's Finest Chocolate this week to sell. The profit they make will go towards their DC trip. Later in October and November 8th graders will have the chance to sell poinsettias and those profits also can be banked into their DC acct.

-Another way to offset the cost of this trip is using Scrip offered through the PTO. A great way to earn money without selling anything. Click link for the School Trips for Free (23-24) info sheet. https://bit.ly/ScripInfo23-24. On the sheet you can find information on how to sign up and get started earning money for your child's DC trip.

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