January 2015
1/5 Welcome back from
Holiday Recess!
A Message from Mr. Leniski
Welcome back!
I hope that your family had a restful and relaxing winter recess. The experiences
for children during these extended times with you are the most valuable
memories they will hold onto for a lifetime. We have some outstanding events
this month that will also be memorable for the whole family.
The PTO will host the annual Madison “Read
“Read-in” on Tuesday January 13th. The
start time is 6:30pm. Many great activities for the whole family are planned.
Families are invited
ted to dress in warm pajamas and join us for a cozy night of
literacy-based
based activities in our beautiful gymnasium. On Friday, January 23rd
we’ll host the 1st Annual “Kids Crushing Cancer Family Game Night”. This will
serve as a fundraiser for the Americann Cancer Society and support Madison
Students who will walk in the Relay for Life this spring. Bring your family and
grabs some friends for a great night of fellowship in the historic Madison gym.
Mark your calendars!
Grade K-22 students will begin taking the middle of the year DIBELS assessment.
The result of this assessment provides a progress report towards identified early
literacy skills. Grade 3–55 students will take the SRI assessment. This assessment
monitors your
ur student’s Lexile score. Lexile scores are used to match your child
with appropriate leveled books in our library and at home. These scores are also
used to monitor student growth over time. Teachers use these assessments to
create individual academicc plans that work on identified areas of need.
The end of marking period two is upon us. Report cards will be printed on
January 21st. Once I review and sign them they will be sent home. Expect to
receive these by Friday the 24th. I encourage you to discuss the report with your
child and set goals for the third marking period. Please contact your child’s
teacher with any questions or concerns. It is our desire to partner with you to
ensure the academic success of your child.
Mr. Aaron Leniski
Principal
Questions or concerns? Please contact me by:
Phone (574-633-4531) or
Email ([email protected]).
1/7 Dibels
Di
(K-2) and SRI (3-5)
benchmark
benchm
assessment
begins
1/9 Panther Points
celebration for Quarter 2
(Delayed to 1/16)
1/13 Quarter 2 Ends
1/13 PTO Family Read-in
Read
6:30pm
1/16 Grades 4/5 Ski Trip to
Swiss Valley
1/19 No School. MLK Recess
1/21 Report Cards sent
home
1/23 Kids Crushing Cancer
Fundraiser – Family Game
Night @6:30pm
1/27 4H Meeting
2/3 Science Fair /
Learningsphere 6:30pm
High Ability Identification
In accordance with the Indiana high ability
law, we are required to have an
identification process in place to identify
students of high ability in the general
intellectual and specific academic domains.
We identify students who have high ability
in language arts and/or math.
Every kindergartener, second and fifth
grader who has not been previously
identified in a subject area is considered for
high ability identification.
Testing for the high ability identification
process will begin in December.
Learn more about our identification
procedures by visiting our high ability
website at
www.phmschools.org/highability.
Snow day #1 (Thursday January 8th) – utilize make-up day on 3/20/15
Snow Day #2 – eLearning. All Assignments due no later than Tuesday,
1/20/15.
If we have any additional snow days:
Snow Day #3 – eLearning
Snow Day #4 – eLearning
If you are in need of a Blizzard folder – please contact your homeroom
teacher or the office and we would be happy to send this home.
Online voluntary enrichment will also be available via
www.phmschools.org Please email your child’s teacher with any
questions.
ACUITY AT HOME – Grade 3 through 5
Just a reminder, that students (and parents) can access their
Activities and recent Acuity test results at
http://acuityathome.com. Students log in the same as they do at
school. For Elementary Students, the username is the child's ID +
Initials. For John Smith with an ID of 12345, the Username would
be 12345JS. It is OK to type it with all lowercase. The password
for all students is their ID number.
T h e I n d i a n a P a r t n e r s h i p s Ce n t e r
The Indiana Partnerships Center is Indiana's Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC). It is partially funded by
the US Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement. Visit their Parent Resource Library at 921 East
86th Street, Suite 108, Indianapolis, IN 46240. For ideas and information additional information concerning parental
involvement, resources, etc. please visit the website at [email protected] or call 1-866-391-1039 (toll free).
Academic Tips:
Get your child started out on the right foot for marking period three.
• Check their planner each night and sign it if the teacher has
asked for your signature
• Provide a quiet space for your child to complete homework and
read
• Encourage your child to read at least 20 minutes each night.
• Establish a bedtime. Elementary students need 10-12 hours of
sleep each night.
Cold Weather is here! Be sure to
bundle up!
Students will be outside unless it is raining
or when the temperature is zero degrees
or below (including wind-chill).
Be sure to pack:
• Winter Coat
• Hat (or hood on coat)
• Gloves/mittens
• Snow Boots
• Snow Pants
Kids without snow gear will not be allowed
to play in the snow. If you need help with
warm weather gear- please let us know!
P-H-M IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAINT JOSEPH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
As colder weather and flu season approaches, here are some guidelines for when to keep your child home from school until your
health care provider can be contacted for his/her opinion:
· A fever of 100 degrees or higher- do not have the student return to school until the student has been fever free for 24 hours.
· A “heavy cold or hacking cough” even without a fever (cough that disturbs normal activity)
· Diagnosis from physician of Whooping Cough/Pertusis-student should stay home from school until he/she has received 5 full
days worth of antibiotic treatment.
· Vomiting- student should stay home until he/she can keep food down and is free of symptoms for 24 hours.
· Diarrhea-student should remain home until free of symptoms for 24 hours.
· Pink eye (conjunctivitis)-there can be many causes for red eyes, not all of which are communicable. Refer to your health care
provider for an evaluation. Student can return to school once they have taken antibiotic eye medication for 24 hours if diagnosed
with contagious conjunctivitis.
· Strep throat-student can return to school after they have been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours and are fever free.
· Chicken pox-exclusion from school for one week after the first eruption appears or all lesions are dry and crusted
· Unexplained rash, blisters, or draining sores-student should see his/her health care provider for a diagnosis.
Remember- good hygiene and good hand washing techniques can help to prevent many illnesses!
Call your health care provider with any concerns during an illness!
Medication Policy: Medication CANNOT be sent to school or home with our students. An adult must bring the medication into
the school. Our healthcare worker will be sure all of the appropriate paperwork is on file to allow us to administer the
medication. Medication will not be given to any student until the parent or guardian comes to the office and completes the
necessary paperwork.
Kindergarten Registration for 20152015-16
Registration for kindergarten for the 2015-16 school year begins Tuesday, January 20. A
parent or guardian can register a child at the elementary school he or she will attend and
all elementary schools offer full-day kindergarten.
The Indiana State Department of Health has updated the immunization requirements for the 2015-2016 school
year. Here are the changes to the requirements: Incoming kindergarten students must have two Hepatitis A
vaccinations (new requirement) by the first day of school in August.
Upcoming Department of Education Testing Dates:
ISTEP Applied Skills: March 2-13th (Grades 3-5)
IREAD: March 16-18th (Grade 3 only)
ISTEP Multiple Choice: April 27-May 15th (Grades 3-5)
Please plan any vacations, doctor’s visits, or other
planned absences around these dates.
P-H-M Safe Helpline
Don’t throw them away!
Madison Elementary collects the
following:
1. Box Tops for Education
(General Mills)
2. Campbell Soup Labels
3. Pop tabs (for Riley Hospital)
1-800-418-6423, Ext. 359
The Penn-Harris-Madison Safe School Helpline is
a convenient, confidential way for students and
parents to report information about situations that
might affect safety in our schools. You can call
anytime to report concerns or potentially disruptive
activities or situations including drug or alcohol
abuse, weapons, harassment, bullying or threats.
Calls are completely confidential with no caller ID
and the voice mailbox is checked daily. Visit
www.phmschools.org for more details.
Educational Software in P-H-M that is Available from Home
These are available on the Primary Launch Pad at http://primary.phmschools.org
1.
Acuity (Grades 3 - 5) (http://acuityathome.com) - the link on the Primary Launch Pad does not work at home.
Students have Instructional Resources assigned to them. These activities are designed to teach concepts that
were not passed when taking the Readiness test. Students use the Standard Login below.
2.
Everyday Math (Kindergarten - Grade 5) http://em-ccss.everydaymathonline.com/ and activities are available.
The login is unique to Everyday Math and is available from the teacher.
3.
MyNGConnect - National Geographic Science (Kindergarten - Grade 5) http://www.myngconnect.com/
Students have access to books, videos and games. Students use the Standard Login below.
4.
Odyssey (Kindergarten - Grade 5) http://compass.phm.k12.in.us/
Students will see a ring around the subject name if they have assignments. If they do not, they can choose
freely from all the activities. Click on the picture of the Backpack to see reports showing exactly what has been
accomplished. Students use the Standard Login below.
5.
Reading Street (Kindergarten - Grade 5) http://pearsonrealize.com
Teachers assign activities. The site is quite new and experiencing some growing pains.
Students use the Standard Login below.
6.
TCI - Social Studies (Grades 1 - 5) http://student.teachtci.com/
Students have access to the textbook and may have activities assigned by the teacher. Students use the
Standard Login below.
7.
Typing Agent (Grades 2 - 5) https://phm.typingagent.com/
Practice typing! Students use the Standard Login below.
8.
Google Drive - available to Grades K-5, but probably only used in grades 3-5
Students can create and save documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Students do not have any access to
email. Login is unique for this program:
Username: first initial, last name, last 3 digits of ID + @ phm.k12.in.us (example PRabbit456@ phm.k12.in.us)
Password: Initial password is PRabbit456. It is possible to change the password.
9.
Coming soon: Teachers can use Google Classroom if they wish. Assignments will be shared through it and
Google Drive.
Standard login: For an imaginary student named Peter Rabbit with an ID of 123456.
Username: ID + initials; example: 123456PR
Password: ID + phm; example: 123456phm
If you have trouble logging in, please begin by contacting the teacher.
If you have technical trouble with the site, please check the website first to see what computer
requirements are needed to be successful.