Mustang Messenger

Happy Holidays Mustang families!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break with family and friends. We have 3 more weeks before our winter break and we need your help at home to make sure students remain focused and diligent while at school. It's easy to get lost in the countdown, but we want to keep our focus on making these days count!

It's hard to believe that we're in December already! With December (or November in our case) comes cold and snowy weather. As we start our journey into winter, we'd like to remind you that ALL students go outside for recess, so please make sure students are prepared for the cold weather. The temperature must fall below 0 (zero) degrees (actual or windchill) before we determine there is indoor recess. This is on p. 14 of the PHM student handbook. Winter gear should include coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and snow gear if necessary. We cannot keep students inside unless we have a doctor's note with specifications on how many days they should remain inside.

Our December Lifeline is PATIENCE. What a great month to exercise patience! I know it's often hard as we spend a great deal of our time just waiting...in line, on the phone, for packages, etc. I tend to be impatient during winter mostly because I want it to be over! But I'm going to make a concerted effort this winter to just take in the moments that typically fill me with a sense of urgency and enjoy the things I might miss if I'm moving too fast. I wish for you the joy and peace of taking time to find these moments in your lives, too.

Wishing you a warm holiday season,

~Mrs. Heerschop

Our Mindscapes event was very successful this year! Thank you to Ms. Dunn and Mrs. Nisley who take the lead in supervising this event. Below are our winners for this year. These students will take their projects onto the regional competition at Notre Dame in January.

Congratulations to all of are participants!

December 1

CogAT Testing Window is Open (see below for Information) - K, 2, & 5

Donation Drive for Hope Rescue Mission Begins (see below)

December 13

PTO Give Back! Paddy Shack from 2-8pm (see below in the PTO section)

December 14

ESS Hiring Event (See flyer below)

December 15

ELA, K, 1, & 5 Field Trip to "Elf - The Broadway Musical" at O'Laughlin Auditorium

December 18

Holiday Cookie & Candy Exchange Items due to Mary Frank by 8:00am (See PTO section for details:)

December 18-22

Holiday Spirit Week! (see below)

December 19

Teacher Job Fair (see below)

December 25

Winter Break begins (No School)

December 25 - January 5

Winter Break

Just a couple of reminders from our Elementary Student Handbook:

From page 15: Deliveries/Special Gifts

While we understand that parents want to recognize their child’s birthday and other special events, certain activities are disruptive to the educational process. For this reason, the delivery of food, flowers, balloons, invitations, and gifts should not take place at school. Family celebrations are not appropriate in the cafeteria and limousine rides should not be scheduled for school. Please help us protect the school day by celebrating at home with your student.

From page 19: Tardiness:

All students must be in their classrooms by 7:55 A.M. and ready for opening announcements and instruction by the start of the school day. Students who arrive after that time must be accompanied by an adult and signed in at the front office. The organizational activities and information presented at the beginning of the day often set the stage for performance expectations throughout the day and students who come in late miss specific instructions that are critical to school success. Frequent tardiness will result in a parent/teacher conference and/or other disciplinary action. The instructional time that is missed because of tardiness is recorded as unexcused and may result in a referral to St. Joseph County Truancy Prevention Center (C.A.S.I.E. Center).

*This testing impacts all kindergarten students and many second and fifth graders*

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.

Please view the PHM High Ability website if you have questions about our identification process. Any additional questions can be sent to Cassie Scarsella at cscarsella@phm.k12.in.us.

As part of the Indiana law HB-1093, schools are limited to three days of eLearning. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation will use, if warranted, three weather-related days as needed throughout the year. If additional makeup days are required, they will be added to the end of the school year calendar beginning on June 3, 2024. Parents will be sent any eLearning expectations and possible calendar adjustments throughout the year. Below is a link to a letter from Dr. Short, our Assistant Superintendent, and graphics regarding finding student assignments on eLearning days.

Upcoming Fundraisers!

December 13th - Paddy Shack Give Back Night! 2 to 8 PM - Just mention it's give back night for Mary Frank!

Holiday Cookie Exchange

December 18th - We are asking you to send in your favorite holiday cookies for our staff holiday cookies exchange. Support your favorite local bakery and provide our staff with a fun tradition. All donations must be store bought and given to the office by DECEMBER 18th!

Mustangs Give Back

We are collaborating with the Hope Rescue Mission this year and giving back to the community! We will be doing a food pantry drive and winter coat drive! More details to come!

December's “Smile & Share”

We know our Mustangs are busy with Winter extracurricular activities so it’s time to “Smile & Share”! These pictures can include anything from sports to just hanging out with multiple Mustangs. If you play on a team with other Mary Frank students or hang out with Mary Frank friends, snap a group pic together!

✓ Email: Pictures should be sent to maryfrankyearbook@gmail.com, and include student name(s) and grade(s).

✓ Reminder: Pictures can only include current Mary Frank students.

✓ Photo Tip: Clear, close-up, bright photos will give us the best yearbook!

Principal Email: cheerschop@phm.k12.in.us

Attendance Email: maryfrankattendance@phm.k12.in.us
School Website: https://maryfrank.phmschools.org/
Location: 13111 Adams Road, Granger, IN, USA
Phone: (574) 272-0340
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryFrankMustangs/

PTO Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryfrankpto

Twitter (X): @MFESMustangs