Dear Parents/ Guardians

Recognizing our seniors and providing the rite of passage of a formal commencement ceremony is a tradition we will continue. Preparations are underway for Penn Manor High School’s virtual commencement. We have retained a professional videographer to record students walking across the stage, as well as the traditional speeches from student speakers, administrators, and the school board president. The footage will be compiled into a video that will be available for viewing on the commencement date, Thursday, May 28.

To ensure that we provide a safe environment, we need all students and family members to follow the guidelines we provided for cap and gown pick-up as well as the instructions received for the video recording sessions. This information will be posted on the high school website. Our nation is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we need to follow specific health guidelines to preserve everyone’s health. The district physician, Dr. Weaver, has made the following recommendations: Students should wear masks to the filming sessions and keep a distance of six feet from other participants. Masks may be removed onstage at the discretion of the senior. If someone in your household is sick, please do not have the student pick up his/her cap and gown or participate in the video recording session.  

Due to Governor Wolf’s prohibition regarding the use of school buildings during the closure, all video recordings will take place at Comet Field.  We will be recording the students in alphabetical order over the course of May 13-15. Students may have up to four immediate family members with them at the time of recording.  Additional information about the 2020 PMHS Commencement Ceremony will be provided to students when they receive their caps and gowns and posted on the high school website. If your child is unable to attend the assigned day to pick up his/her cap and gown, please send an email to baron.jones@pennmanor.net or call 717-872-9520, ext. 1808. Students will need to wear the proper graduation attire to be able to participate in the commencement video.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020!  A special message from the Penn Manor School Board of Directors can be found at this link.

Sincerely,

Baron H. Jones

Penn Manor High School junior, Emelly Batista is Making a Difference by reaching out and helping a new neighbor in need. Thank you for welcoming them to the Penn Manor Community!

Students and parents of the Class of 2020:

Please read this entire post carefully. There are links and time-sensitive information concerning the virtual commencement ceremony and post-graduation plans.

As we make plans to celebrate the Penn Manor Class of 2020, we want to ensure that students who ordered graduation caps and gowns have them in time for the virtual commencement ceremony. This will give families the opportunity for photographs and videos with their graduate. Although our virtual commencement plans are still in the works, students should have their caps and gowns in their original condition ready for when those plans are finalized. We have developed a procedure for students to pick up their caps and gowns in a safe and orderly fashion. 

When you receive your C&G:

• Please do not alter or decorate the cap or gown in any way.
• Please take all contents out of the packaging and make sure everything is present, including victory hood and tassel. Contact the high school if any parts are missing.
• Please hang the gown to eliminate wrinkles. Do not wash or iron the gown.

When is cap and gown pick-up?

• Thursday, May 7 (1-3 PM) – Students with last names A-L.
• Friday, May 8 (1-3 PM) – Students with last names M-Z.
• Monday, May 11 (10-12 PM) – Any students who were not able to pick up their cap and gown on a previously scheduled date.

Who can pick up caps and gowns?

• Students and/or an immediate family member.
• Additional specific arrangements can be made with Dr. D’Amico or Mr. Eby.

Where is the pick-up location

• Near the flagpole entrance to Penn Manor High School.
• Enter campus from Cottage Avenue. Turn at the first right after the sign board. Follow the loop around. Staff with caps and gowns will be stationed at the bottom of the stairs by the flagpole.

What safety precautions will be followed?

• Students and/or parents should stay in their vehicles the entire time.
• Students should have their last name written on a piece of paper to show to the school staff. This will help keep everyone safe and expedite the process.
• The cap and gown will be placed by a staff member in the rear of the vehicle (trunk, back seat).
• Staff members will be following all social distancing and safety guidelines.

Two important senior announcements: 

1. Please keep Wednesday, May 13 to  Saturday, May 16, open on your calendar. We plan to begin filming students for our virtual graduation ceremony on those dates. More information to follow.
2. Please fill out this form indicating your plans after high school. This is required data by the state of Pennsylvania. https://forms.gle/iBMy1zUUfcjRsB4B9  Please have this completed before picking up your cap and gown, ideally before Tuesday, May 5. If you have any questions, please contact your school counselor.

Sincerely,
Baron H. Jones

PMHS siblings, Kailey, Abigail and Lauren Stoner have spent many hours volunteering at the Loft. Thanks for Making a Difference in the Penn Manor Community!  

Congratulations to the March/April  Students of the Month. They were nominated and chosen by the teachers and staff of Penn Manor for exhibiting exemplary educational traits.

March winners are:

• Freshman – Nyssa Julian
• Sophomore – Joscar Castro Martinez
• Junior – Emelly Batista
• Senior – Jordan Stum

April winners are:

• Freshman – Isis (Ebee) Bryant
• Sophomore – Taylor Shirk
• Junior – Delaney Reitnauer
• Senior – Madeleine Denlinger

Congratulations to all the winners!  

The Penn Manor School District has developed a Continuity of Education plan to help students continue learning from home during the COVID-19 mandatory school closure. Learning activities have been developed to meet a variety of students’ needs, provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and understanding of content, and have students complete the curricula of the classes the students are enrolled in during the Spring Semester.   

The district expects students to be fully engaged in their learning and complete the activities for their classes as designated by their teachers. Teachers will provide students with ongoing feedback and recognize the quality of work that is being submitted.  The feedback will come in various formats and be recorded for the development of a fourth marking period and a final course grade.

Due to the impact a student’s high school transcript has on their plans for life after high school, Penn Manor High School is adopting the following guidelines for grades for the fourth marking period (MP4) and final grades for the Spring Semester to record on a student’s transcript. Please access the complete guidelines with this link.

Sincerely,

Baron H. Jones

PMHS Principal

Link for directions on how to view student assignments on the parent portal

Attention Parents/Guardians of 2020 graduates

We are excited to announce that in early May, we will begin a series of events to celebrate the Class of 2020. You will be able to follow along on the high school website and the district Twitter feed. 

To kick off these senior recognition events, Penn Manor School District will be highlighting our seniors with the help of Lancaster Newspapers (LNP) by publishing photos provided by our students to celebrate the Class of 2020.  

Seniors, stay tuned for more details next week on how you can participate.  

Other events and announcements are in the works, so please watch for updates and notifications about other recognitions, awards ceremonies, cap-and-gown pickup, and the virtual commencement ceremony. 

We’re looking forward to celebrating the Class of 2020, and we appreciate your support!

Baron H. Jones

**Check out even more information on the Celebrate Seniors 2020 tab at the top of the page**

Dear Penn Manor Students and Families, 

On Friday, we announced that our prom cannot be held as scheduled and that we are moving toward the creation of an alternative commencement ceremony for Thursday, May 28, 2020. These were tremendously difficult decisions. Administrators and teachers are devastated that we cannot gather in person with our students in these traditional senior rites of passage. We also are disappointed that we cannot spend the next five weeks with all of the students in Penn Manor for their traditional end-of-year activities. 

We will not schedule an event knowing that some of our seniors, as well as parents and grandparents, could be critically impacted. We do not want to create a circumstance in which even one medically fragile Penn Manor student or adult would be infected at prom or commencement. The risks are just too great for our Penn Manor community.   

While some other schools in our region may postpone festivities and not make definitive decisions yet, we do not want to set new dates for events in June and July, only to disappoint seniors again if circumstances do not change. We are making meaningful plans for the near future and not speculating on what restrictions may or may not be in place during the summer. 

Penn Manor is committed to celebrating our seniors in a mix of traditional as well as new ways. Adapting our traditions will take a great deal of planning and support from students, families, teachers, and administrators. The high school administration is meeting with class officers this week to plan events and will share a schedule of events later in the week. The schedule and pertinent information will be shared through email to the class and posted on the high school website as they are finalized. We will need your help in future days! 

The events will look different this May, but we promise that they will be memorable and will make you “Proud to be a Comet”! 

Sincerely,
Baron H. Jones