Archer Update #26

Penn High School's Danielle Black is being recognized by Ivy Tech South Bend/Elkhart Campus as the 2024 President's Award for Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction! Mrs. Black is one of 19 recipients, each representing all 19 Ivy Tech campuses, making her a nominee for the Statewide Award for Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction. This award is presented annually to honor Ivy Tech's most outstanding dual credit instructor statewide. Dual courses give high school students the opportunity to earn both high school and college credits simultaneously saving families thousands of dollars because students are completing college classes while still in high school. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, Penn High School ranked FIRST in the state with the highest number of students earning ICC (Indiana College Core) or AGS (Associate of General Studies) certificates earned! This was just one of the reasons why earlier this school year, the IDOE recognized Penn with Excellence in College Readiness Award along with a $250,000 grant!

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. Discovery Middle School's Musical Production 2024
2. DMS Mathcounts Champions!
3. YEARBOOKS FOR SALE! ORDER BY FEB. 26th
4. 21st Century Scholars Program - Attention Parents of 7th Grade Students
5. PTO Updates
6. In Case of Inclement Weather - School Closing E-Learning Information
7. Teacher Job Fair for PHM
8. 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!

A Message from Dr. Leniski, Chief Operating Officer, PHM

Best Practices in Safe Possession and Storage of Firearms

As required by Indiana Code (IC) 20-19-3-30.4, the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana State Police developed resources to serve as best practices regarding the safe possession and storage of a firearm in a home with a child.

Come see Discovery Middle School's Production of Madagascar A Musical Adventure JR! This show is, "Filled with outlandish characters, adventure galore and an upbeat score, Madagascar JR. will leave audiences with no choice but to “Move It, Move It!”" (Music Theatre International).

Performances are all located in the Discovery Middle School Cafetorium on...

Friday, February 23rd at 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 24th at 2:00 PM

Saturday, February 24th at 7:00 PM

Tickets are $5 each and our PTO will have concession stands open for purchase of snacks and beverages!

We hope you join us for a night full of fun, laughter, and talent!

Long have we awaited the day that we would topple our mathematical nemesis Northridge, and this day has finally come. Congratulations to our DMS Mathcounts team for a huge upset over the Raiders. Emma Wei showed she has the mind of a genius by dominating with a first place score in the Individual Competition and the Countdown Round. Congratulations to Alice Zhang for her third place in the Individual Competition as well. Finally, it was a powerhouse of female brain power when Julie Zhang, Alice Zhang, Emma Wei, and Yuxuan (you-shen) Lin surpassed Northridge to take home first place in Team Competition. We are so proud of you all!

Dear Discovery Parent,

I am sending this for Mr. Arter, the yearbook sponsor at Discovery Middle School.

DMS has to turn in the final yearbook orders to Jostens, our publisher.

The yearbook IS HAPPENING THIS YEAR. You are receiving this as a reminder to place you order today. If you have already ordered, please disregard this email.

Monday, February 26th is the last opportunity to purchase and be guaranteed a yearbook for your student.

WE WILL NOT ORDER MANY EXTRA, so secure your copy.

Click on the web link below to order your yearbook online TODAY!

https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productBrowse/1024887/Discovery-Middle-School/2024-Yearbook/20230808042325573160/CATALOG_SHOP/

1. Scrip - IMPORTANT DATES!

2. PTO 5 Minute Form

3. Facebook

4. Box Tops

5. PTO Scholarship - Deadline 2/28

1. ATTENTION 8TH GRADE FAMILIES: Scrip 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!

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