Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year!

News from the Porter Township School Corporation

Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year!

We know there is a lot coming at you for the start of the year, but here is some information we wanted you to have before the first day!

First Day of School:  August 15, 2018

• Please be patient as our buses may run a bit late the first couple of weeks as they make the routes as efficient as possible

Boone Grove Middle School and Boone Grove Elementary School Renovations

• This summer we have been working on many things in these two buildings. Here are some items you may notice:
  • New paint throughout the building
  • New ceilings
  • New floor in the cafeteria
  • New heating and air conditioning
  • New roof
  • New LED lights (also at BGHS)
  • New clock, speaker, and intercom system
  • Air conditioning in the BGMS gym
  • New exterior doors (with a few exceptions which had already been replaced)

School Safety

• As you may have seen in the news, Governor Eric Holcomb’s office announced an initiative to provide handheld metal detectors to all Indiana schools who request them—and PTSC did request them. It is our intention to use these devices as needed on a case by case basis where reasonable suspicion exists. With guidance from the Indiana Department of Education, we are currently working on policies and procedures regarding the use of these handheld metal detectors, along with training for the staff members who will use them.
• Raptor Visitor Management System in all buildings:
  • Upon entering the building, everyone must have their state issued ID such as a driver license or identification card.
  • The Raptor system checks the visitor’s name and date of birth for comparison with a national database. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.
  • If you are entering the building to meet with a staff member, the system will print an ID badge with your picture, name, date, time, and reason for your visit. This visitor badge must be displayed while in the building.
  • Once your business has been completed in the school, you must return to the main office to sign out of the system.
  • If you are signing your student out of school for any reason, you will present your ID and the Raptor system will cross check the parent, guardian, and emergency contact information in Harmony for the student you are signing out.
  • If the person attempting to sign out the student is not listed in Harmony as an authorized individual to sign that student out, the system will alert the staff member and that individual will not be allowed to remove the student from the building. It is very important that you have all the parent, guardian, and emergency contact information accurate and up to date in Harmony.

iLearn

• iLearn is the new Indiana Assessment that will be replacing ISTEP+ (if you want to take a deep dive—you can learn more here: https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/assessment/understanding-indianas-new-assessment-final.pdf)
• ILEARN measures all Indiana Academic Standards, including content literacy and media literacy standards on the English/Language Arts assessments, process standards on the Mathematics assessments, and the new computer science standards on the Science assessment
• iLearn will be for grades 3-8 (there is a Biology assessment at the high school level as well)
• English/Language Arts and Math will still be assessed grades 3-8
• Science will still be assessed in grades 4 and 6
• Social Studies will still be assessed in 5^th grade
• There will be one testing window (April 22-May 17, 2019)
• The assessment will be untimed
• This is an adaptive test in English/Language Arts and Math (student response determines the next question—read more here: https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/assessment/computer-adaptive-test-cat-module.pdf)
• Results will be available in 12 days (after year one—cut scores must be set in year one and results will take longer to get)
• Learn more here: https://www.doe.in.gov/assessment/ilearn-families

We are looking forward to a great school year and partnering with you to meet the needs of every student, every day—helping each student to reach his or her full potential.

Stacey Schmidt, Ph.D.
Superintendent

Ben Parrish
Assistant Superintendent
Chief Safety Officer

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Hour of Code at Ivy Tech

Now Hiring Bus Drivers!

First Student, the transportation company that serves the Porter Township School Corporation, is looking for drivers for the 2018-2019 school year!  If you are interested in this position, please contact Debra Crouch at 219-464-3899!

Interested in Preschool at PTSC?

Will your child be 4 years old on or before August 1st of the upcoming school year?

The Porter Township School Corporation is gathering information to make a decision about offering a half day (either morning or afternoon) preschool program five days per week for children who will be 4 years old on or before August 1, 2018.  We are gathering information about those who would like to enroll for August of 2018 in order to make an informed recommendation to the school board about programming for the 2018-2019 school year.  This would be a fee-based program, taught by an Indiana licensed teacher, and located at Porter Lakes Elementary School.

If you would like to get your child’s name on the list for this potential program or if you would like more information, please call Porter Lakes Elementary School at 219-477-4933 extension 5000.

PTSC Update: Inspiration from our Student Voices

What do I do when I’m having a tough day or when I need a dose of inspiration?  The answer always resides in our students!  Whether it is having a conversation with them, visiting a classroom, or interacting in the hallway–they always remind me of what is important and provide me with a valuable perspective–one that is uniquely theirs.

This month at our board meeting we had the chance to learn from some amazingly articulate BGMS students.  I will let their teacher, Kristin Schumacher, tell you about the project and then some of the student responses will follow.  Our future is bright in the hands of these great, young minds!

 

PTSC Standouts:

Thank you to all who attended (and played in) our School Safety Basketball Game last Friday night!  Congratulations to the Porter County Sheriff’s Department on their victory!  If you would still like to support school safety at PTSC, you can still donate even though you were unable to attend the game.  Drop your donation off (or mail to) the PTSC Central Office and your donations will be used to increase our School Resource Officers at PTSC!

Do you have a standout to include in this section?  Email PTSC standouts to Dr. Schmidt at stacey.schmidt@ptsc.k12.in.us to make sure your standout is included.  She counts on you to send her updates all can celebrate PTSC student accomplishments!

Important Dates:

• Approved 2018-2019 Calendar
• March 13:  End of Third Quarter
• March 14:  BGMS and BGHS Online Day
• March 20:  Wake Up Call Stairway to Heroin Educational Series–for those age 21 and above (this is a great opportunity, and if you cannot make this one at Chesterton, you can go to Lake Central on March 1 from 6:30-8 pm, or Highland High School at 6:30 pm on April 11th, or Lake Station High School at 6 pm on April 25th.)

• March 26-30:  Spring Break, No School
• April 2:  Snow Day Make-Up Day (Currently we will not have school this day–fingers crossed!)
• April 18:  BGMS and BGHS Online Day
• April 25:  Kindergarten Round Up

• April 30:  “Why Teens Kill” presentation by Frank DeAngelis, former Columbine High School Principal, and Phil Chalmers, leading authority on teen violence (see below for more information)

• May 24:  End of Quarter 4 and Second Semester
• May 24:  Last Day for students
• May 25:  Potential Snow Day make-up day
• May 28:  Memorial Day
• June 1:  BGHS Graduation

Things to Know/Do:

• Now hiring substitute teachers! Please contact Linda Dusek at the administration building if you are interested in substitute teaching and she will help you start the application process and discuss qualifications.
• Do your friends and neighbors know how to find our weekly updates? Even if your neighbors don’t have kids in school tell them about our weekly updates so they can hear the great news of what happens at PTSC!
• Every Wednesday is a 30-minute delayed start. If we have a 2-hour delay, students will arrive at school 2 hours after the regular start time for the building.