The Panther Post
March 3, 2023
#PHMExcellence
Madison MVP's
Important Dates
February 27th-March 10th
Intramurals-Girls Basketball (Grades 3-5)
March 4th
Young Authors' Conference 8:30-11:00 AM
Next Gen Day 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
March 9th
Kindergarten visit the PHM Planetarium
March 6th-10th
IREAD-3 Testing for 2nd and 3rd Grade Students
March 15th
PHM Teacher Job Fair 2:00-5:00 PM @ Schmucker Middle School
March 16th
1st Grade visit the PHM Planetarium
March 17th
PTO Meeting @ 1:00
IREAD-3 Schedule
Monday, March 6 - Practice Test for all 2nd and 3rd grade students
Tuesday, March 7 - Session 1: Reading Foundations & Vocab (30 minutes)
Wednesday, March 8 - Session 2: Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Thursday, March 9 - Session 3: Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Friday, March 10 - Make up Assessments
Intramural Afterschool Activities
Girls Basketball, Feb 27-Mar 10
Boys Volleyball, Mar. 14-17, Mar 21-24
Circle the State
What is Next Gen Day?
Safe & Healthy Learning Environment Winter/Spring 2022-23
High Ability Identification
In accordance with Indiana law, we are required to have an identification process in place to identify High Ability students. According to the Indiana Department of Education, ‘“High ability student” means a student who: performs at, or shows the potential for performing at, an outstanding level of accomplishment in at least one domain when compared to other students of the same age, experience, or environment; and is characterized by exceptional gifts, talents, motivation, or interests.’
Indiana requires the screening of all kindergarten, second grade, and fifth grade students who are not previously identified as High Ability. A student may be labeled as High Ability in Language Arts and/or Math.
PHM uses two nationally-normed assessments to identify High Ability students: CogAT and NWEA. CogAT - Cognitive Abilities Test - testing will be done during the month of December. CogAT is an aptitude test that measures a student’s problem-solving skills and thinking abilities. There is no preparation that can be done for this test. Students will participate in a practice test to familiarize them with the type and format of the questions.
Depending on your child’s results and grade level, he/she may participate in NWEA testing in February. That information will be forthcoming.
*This testing impacts all kindergarten students and many second and fifth graders*
eLearning Instructions for Inclement Weather Days
Continued Focus on the Indiana Academic Standards
Social Media Guidelines
Knowing that social media is a quickly changing landscape, PHM put together some suggestions for teachers related to best practices when it comes to posting information. We are sharing these with you in case you may find them helpful for your family/children.
P-H-M Staff Social Media Guidelines 2022-23
These guidelines are intended to help support teachers in their use of social media.
In 2022, 81% of all adults in the United States used Social Media across popular platforms. Here are some things to consider when using social media as an educator today:
Know who can see your posts - Take some time to understand and configure your privacy settings for social media. Do not assume your messages, comments, likes, or shares are private.
Remember that the Internet is forever - Even if your privacy settings are locked tight, that doesn’t protect you from someone taking a screenshot of your post and sharing it with the world! People can still take a screenshot which could potentially last forever.
Consider separating professional and personal accounts - This is not a hard fast rule, but it is much easier to keep your feeds clean if your professional and personal feeds are on separate accounts.
Do not connect with students on social media! - It is never a good idea to “friend” students on social media. Stick to the rule of thumb which is “no student friends until after graduation.” If you are sharing student pictures on your professional social media account, do not share student information online, this includes pictures, until you have checked to make sure there is a “YES” Consent to Publish marked for the student in Skyward.
Don’t vent online - Don’t create angry posts that include stories about people, places and things that are identifiable. Even if they are shrouded in “hypotheticals” they always come back to haunt you some day. If you are using social media accounts for work, stay away from rants.
Scrutinize everything on the Internet - Make sure you know who you are speaking with online. Don’t assume the person is who they say they are. Always consider the source of what you are reading.
Reread your post before you hit send - This simple act saves many educators from a little embarrassment. Check spelling, syntax and grammar before you commit your words to the internet forever. Remember the “24 hour rule”- in other words, consider waiting 24 hours before posting.
What counts as “Social Media?”
Social Media is defined as “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” This involves any communication that you post online such as text, pictures, audio or video that is available to a wide audience.
Professional versus Personal:
Professional Social Media consists of any Social Media communications you create, share or comment on via a school email or account and/or concerning topics about your students, peers, class, school or district.
Personal Social Media consists of communications you create, share or comment on via separate personal accounts, concerning non-work related topics. While personal social media may include topics about education, it should not include specific experiences or examples that tie to your school or district.
Security Best Practices:
General information on Social Media and Security from Common Sense Media
Twitter Security Settings for Teachers
References:
https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/school-social-media-policy-3-guidelines-follow1703.html
https://www.americanboard.org/blog/10-social-media-rules-for-teachers/
https://www.ohea.org/resources/professional-resources/social-media-guidelines-for-educators/
https://www.sb.school/about/departments/office_of_communications/social_media_guidelines
https://onmessage.nd.edu/policies-and-guidelines/social-media-policy/
https://www.theglobalstatistics.com/united-states-social-media-statistics/
5th Grade Families
Reporting Student Absences
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
Student Fee Update
Student fees are uploaded into Skyward. Parents have the option of paying by cash, check, or online. If paying by check make sure the check is made out to Madison Elementary. If you are interested in paying online please follow the directions below.
To get started, follow the following steps:
Step 1: Ensure that you have login credentials to Skyward Family Access
Step 2: Follow this link to e~Funds for Schools
Step 3: Select “Pay for Student Fees”
Step 4: Select “Login to retrieve my information”
Step 5: When prompted, click to sign in to Skyward Family Access
Step 6: Select “Pay for Student Fees”
Step 7: Select your students, add all fees to the cart, then follow prompts to online checkout!
Note: There is a flat fee of $1.50 for payments made when using a checking account. For payments using a credit or debit card, there is a fee of $2.85 for every $100 increment
All student fees are due by March 31st.
Visitors and Volunteers
At Madison we are encouraging all of our visitors and volunteers to preregister with Safe Visitor for EVERY school event. Pre-registration is available to make the check-in process at the school run faster. Click here to utilize SafeVisitor’s Online Pre-registration process.
What to expect when you arrive at the school:
- All visitors will now be required to present a valid photo ID, which may include a driver’s license, State issued photo ID, or passport every time you enter as a school visitor.
- All approved visitors will have a picture taken at each visit and receive a temporary badge that must be visibly worn at all times.
- All visitors must return to the main office and check-out at the front desk, returning their badge.
Looking forward to celebrating with you all throughout the year!
Community Fitness Opportunities:
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.
Outside Organizations
P-H-M no longer distributes paper flyers or other promotional items of outside organizations through our schools. Please do not print and send flyers to our schools for distribution.
Instead, we now post digital flyers on our Community Events & Activities section of P-H-M District website at this link: https://www.phmschools.org/community-events-activities (linked below, as well) There is also a link back to this page off all 15 school websites.
Social Emotional Learning
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.
Helpful Links
The Safe School Helpline® is a confidential way to report student concerns about threats, suicide, drugs, bullying or anything that threatens the safety of our schools. It's Available 24/7. Click to watch a video on how to get in touch with Administration anonymously 24/7/365.
Four Ways to Report to the Safe School Helpline®
Call: 1-800-418-6423 ext 359
Text: TIPS to 66746
Online: SafeSchoolHelpline.com
Mobile App: Download the FREE app from the GOOGLE PLAY STORE and the APPLE APP STORE
The app makes it easy to anonymously report a safety or mental health concern using your mobile device to text, call, or submit an online form.
PTO Officers:
President: Mary Schori
Vice President: Julie Mattison
Secretary: Brittany Fox
Treasurer: Betsy Bartholomew
Madison Elementary Contact Information
Email: lschirripa@phm.k12.in.us
Website: https://madison.phmschools.org/
Location: Madison Elementary School, Dogwood Road, Wakarusa, IN, USA
Phone: (574) 254-2816
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadisonPanthersPHM