Archer Update #17

For 27 years, Penn-Harris-Madison Education Foundation has been dedicated to supporting #PHMExcellence by providing access to innovative classroom grants available to all P-H-M teachers and staff to apply. PHMEF grants provide funding for programs that fall outside schools’ budgets.

The application window for the Fall 2022 grant cycle was October. The PHMEF Grants Committee awarded more than $15,000 in this grant cycle. Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom visited schools this week to surprise teachers with the news that their grants were being awarded. Click here to watch the video to see the joyful reaction of teachers and students. Click to learn more about PHMEF grants and see the full list of grants awarded in the Fall 2022 grant cycle.

Want to help support the Education Foundation and #PHMExcellence? The Education Foundation‘s Annual Drive is underway. As a registered 501(c)3 organization, donations are tax deductible. Click here for ways to support the P-H-M Education Foundation.

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

1. Point of #PHMExcellence
2. DMS NJHS Toys for Tots
3. PHM Job Fair - December 20th!
4. Community Fitness Opportunities
5. One Book One School Weekly Information
6. Thank-A-Teacher - PHM Ed Foundation
7. 8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip Information
8. eLearning Instructions if Needed for Inclement Weather Days
   
9. Available Substitute Positions ... Apply with ESS.COM
10. PTO Corner
11. Reporting Student Absences
12. SEL Lessons

Friendly Reminders:

• BOOK FEES ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON SKYWARD! Please login and begin paying them as they are due for the 2022-2023 school year! You can pay by check or at this website: https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56752 It is also possible that if you already paid, there have been some adjustments, so please double check to see if you still owe for a course that occurs in another semester this year. Thank you.

Discovery Middle School is now 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!

Discovery Middle School's National Junior Honors Society has partnered with Toys for Tots for our annual school-wide winter drive! We are very excited to collect toys for kids around our community. The winter drive will run from Monday, December 5th to Friday, December 9th. All donations can be turned into the NJHS members in the Commons area every morning. To view a full list of gift guidelines, please view the Toys for Tots' website: https://www.dfmurphy.com/resources/Toys-for-Tots/Gift-Guidelines.aspx.

If you have future teachers (college students majoring in education) among your circle of friends and family, be sure to share this with them so that they can "save the date" to attend when they're home on Winter Break.

More information on PHM's website phmschools.org/teacherjobs
They can sign up for a guaranteed interview with a PHM Administrator using this Google Form, https://bit.ly/2022JobFairSignUp

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.

Questions? Please see the assigned staff at each site to help answer your questions.

This is a reminder that the fitness center opportunities will be closed when school is not in session. This included this Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. These will resume beginning on Wednesday 11.30.22 @ Discovery.

Weekly Schedule:

See Below

Fall 2022 One Book One School Update:

On Monday, November 28, students received their copy of the book that won the vote. "Three Times Lucky" by: Sheila Turnage. Students should be reading chapters 1-8 by the end of the weekend!

Thank you,

The OBOS Committee of DMS

Attention 8th grade DMS Students and Parents:

Here is the link to sign up for the DC trip.

-Once on the site click find your school at the top of the page

-Scroll to about the middle of the page to find Discovery Middle School

-Click register

-Make an account

-You will find the details of our trip and links to sign up.

Dear DMS Families,

We are so thankful to be enjoying our first “normal” school year in recent history! The PTO spent time over the summer working to get ready to meet the needs of our staff and students - we have donated “Illuminate the Possibilities” 1/4 zip shirts to all of the staff at the beginning of the school year, provided funds to purchase items for the Archer Rewards store, stocked the concession stand for our fall sports teams (congrats to all of them for successful seasons!), and donated meals for teachers during student-led conferences. And that is just the first couple months of the school year!

We could not do this without the support of our DMS families. A huge thank you to those who worked at the concession stand, donated items to supplement our teacher dinners and/or donated via PayPal or check to our direct donation campaign!

As of right now, fewer than 8% of DMS families have made a donation. If you are not able to donate your time, please consider a financial donation - donations of $25 or more receive a DMS car decal. This is an easy way to support our PTO and help us reach our goal of providing ongoing support and appreciation to the faculty and staff of DMS. You can send a check to school with your student or donate via our PayPal link: paypal.me/DiscoveryPTO

We are also looking for volunteers! Do you have experience organizing Give Back Nights? Do you own a local restaurant or business that would be interested in donating items or gift cards for Teacher Appreciation Week in the spring? Would you like to be more involved with Concessions (we are looking for volunteers to chair this committee - a great opportunity to join the PTO board and get to know many of our amazing coaches)? We would love to work with you - please reach out!

We are so fortunate to have such an amazing school for our kids. Please consider supporting DMS and the PTO!

Go Archers!

Jamie Nugent

DMS PTO President

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

P-H-M is committed to helping students reach their fullest potential, which includes the whole child! Please visit the PHM website HERE for various valuable parent resources to help you in supporting your child

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