Bittersweet Elementary School News

Greetings Bobcat Families!

Second semester is underway and we are happy to be settling back into our school routines following Winter Recess. January marks the middle of the school year and we take time this month to complete multiple assessments. These assessments help us understand students' current performance, assess student growth, review current interventions, and determine next steps as we work towards student learning growth and proficiency.

Our students in K-2 participate in the DIBELS assessment and our students in grades 3-5 participate in the ELA and Math Clearsight assessments. Your child's teacher will follow-up with you in the month of February to share out your child's current results and growth. We look forward to celebrating student growth and working with our students on setting goals for continued learning second semester.

Report cards for the second nine weeks will be available for you to view at 3:00pm this afternoon. There is a link below with directions on how to access your child's report card through Skyward. If you need assistance with that, please feel free to call our main office.

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Carroll

Your child is welcome to dress up like they are 100 years old, or they may dress up with a shirt showing 100 in various ways. Here are some examples! This is optional, but a fun way to celebrate!

The annual P-H-M Teacher Job Fair is back and in-person for 2022! We’re looking for teachers who strive for excellence. If you are a new or veteran teacher, or just interested in becoming a teacher … WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!

Every teacher candidate will be GUARANTEED one face-to-face interview with a P-H-M administrator.

Click Here for more about WHY you should become a teacher with us!

When & Where

• Date: Friday, Feb. 4, 2022
• Time: 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. (EST)
• School Location: Schmucker Middle School (Door B)
• Address: 56045 Bittersweet Rd. Mishawaka, IN 46545

Click HERE for more details and information.

I am excited to share that the education foundation will be hosting a job fair at Penn High School on March 3rd from 10-2 for PHS seniors. This is an amazing opportunity for local businesses to share job openings and internships with our graduating seniors. If you have a business that you'd like to represent at the job fair, please visit https://www.phmef.org/ and scroll down to fill out a registration form.

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. We do our best to get outside each day but do monitor daily temperatures and wind chill. We will have indoor recess on extremely cold days ("Feels like" temperature of 0 degrees or less at the time of your child's recess)!

Winter gear should have names written inside. Winter gear includes 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.

Below are the rules and expectations for playground use when there is snow on the ground. We do our best to provide students the opportunity to have fun and enjoy the elements without creating an uncomfortable afternoon in the classroom due to wet clothes, shoes, and socks!

Winter Rules for Playground Use

• Boots AND Snowpants are required for playing on the equipment and in the grassy, snow covered areas.
• Students WITHOUT boots and snowpants will be allowed to run around on the blacktop areas.

There are NO built-in snow days for the 2021-2022 school year. This means the first day school is canceled it is an automatic eLearning day for P-H-M teachers and students. Get a full refresher by checking out our Closings & Delays Procedures at this link: closing and delays

TWO-HOUR DELAY SCHEDULE:

A two-hour delay may be called when indications are that the weather conditions will improve later in the morning. Doors will open at 9:40 a.m. and we will start school at 9:55 a.m. Buses will run their normal routes with pick-up times two hours later than normal. The Here Comes the Bus app can be helpful to use on 2-hour delay days so that you are notified when your child’s bus is approaching the bus stop. Schools will end at their normal time.

Morning Kids Club (the District’s before- and after-school childcare program) is CANCELED when there is a two-hour delay.

Penn-Harris-Madison utilizes the School Messenger® alert notification service to distribute emergency messages, such as school closings, delays and student attendance (for unexcused absences).

Parents are encouraged to visit infocenter.schoolmessenger.com to create an account and set up your preferences for receiving emergency messages from the District. Instructions for how to set up your account, with step-by-step directions are below, just click here.

With winter weather comes the potential of eLearning days. To be clear, eLearning and virtual learning are different. With eLearning, students will log onto their Google Classroom (or SeeSaw) and find their assignments for the day. Those assignments are reflective of what's currently being taught, or a review of previous learning. Virtual learning would be live lessons from teachers, which we aren't providing on days of inclement weather.

Teachers ARE available during school hours to answer questions from parents and/or students. If, for some reason, your child/ren aren't able to complete eLearning assignments on the day we're out of school, they have up to 5 school days to complete the assignments.

Teachers will review eLearning procedures with students in the classroom, but please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher should you have questions.

If your family does NOT have access to a computer or Chromebook, please email Ms. Mahoney (BES Lab Coordinator) at gmahoney@phm.k12.in.us to make that request. We have a limited supply of Chromebooks that can be checked out for eLearning usage.

Each month, the South Bend Tribune and Ivy Tech Community College will recognize one teacher as the Amazing Teacher of the Month and they will be featured in print and on our publication’s website.

The Teacher of the Month will be eligible to win a national $5,000 monthly prize for themselves and $5,000 for their school!

Whether you’re a student who’s learned from a great teacher, or a colleague, here’s your chance to recognize an exemplary local teacher.

Nominate an educator to be recognized as the Amazing Teacher of the Month

and show them just how grateful you are for the work they put in.

Make your nominations now at southbendtribune.com/contests and share this email with your friends and colleagues. The more nominations made, the better the odds are at winning a national prize!

Jan. 18: Kindergarten Registration Begins

Jan. 28: 100th Day of School

Feb. 10: PAWS Reward Day for K, 2, 4

Feb. 11: PAWS Reward Day for 1, 3, 5

Feb. 14: Classroom Friendship parties

Feb. 21: Presidents' Day, no school

Feb. 22: Happy TWOSday (2/22/22): Twin Day

March 7: IREAD window opens

March 9: Spellbowl (details to come)

March 13: Daylight Saving Time Begins

March 21: End of 3rd Grading Period

April 4-8: Spring Break, no school

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.

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 614-426-0240

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.

Together, everything is PAWSible!

Email: kcarroll@phm.k12.in.us
Website: https://bittersweet.phmschools.org/
Location: 55860 Bittersweet Road, Mishawaka, IN, USA
Phone: (574) 259-6341
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bittersweet-Elementary-School-1400936186837917/