Patrick Henry Middle School -

Big things are happening at Patrick Henry! 23 of our 6th & 8th grade students formed 5 teams and accepted the challenge to write proposals for the NASA TechRise Student Challenge. Teams could submit a proposal in 1 of 2 categories. Experiments winning the high-altitude balloon category will soar between 70,000-95,000 feet and those winning in the sub-orbital flight category will reach peak high, also known as apogee - 262,467 feet or more! 🚀Winning teams will receive $1,500 to build their experiment and a spot to test their payload on a suborbital-spaceship or balloon flight. Students will find out in January if their proposals were accepted to move onto the next phase of the challenge! Way to go, innovators! Your curiosity and hard work are out of this world. 🌍✨

Today, we pause to thank the brave men and women who have served our country with courage and dedication. We are grateful for their service and the example they set for our students and community.❤️💙

This post is brought to you from a 6th grader's POV:  In 6th Grade Social Studies we became ancient scribes! We made cuneiform tablets like they did in ancient Mesopotamia! We used clay and a stylus to press symbols into our tablets — and let’s just say writing without pencils is WAY harder than it looks! We had a blast and now we know what it felt like to be one of the first writers in history. Pretty cool to say we tried a 5,000-year-old writing style!  

Here’s what’s happening this week at PHMS! There’s no school on Tuesday as we observe Veterans Day and the rest of the week is packed with Kindness Week dress-up days, the Qdoba PTO Fundraiser Night and the first girls basketball game of the season. Let’s show kindness and Panther pride all week long! 💙💛

Throwback to last week’s dance! 💃🕺Our students showed off their best moves, smiled nonstop and had a blast on the dance floor! Panthers sure know how to have a good time! 💛💙

🌮⚠️Warning: Tasty Fundraiser Ahead!⚠️ 🌮 Join us next Thursday, November 13, from 4:00-8:00 PM and support the PHMS PTO just by chowing down at Qdoba on 41st St. Show the flyer or use QDOBAGIVES online!

Our hallways were filled with creativity, teamwork and powerful messages about making healthy choices during last week's Red Ribbon Week Door Wars . A huge shoutout to all the classrooms who participated. One decorated door from each grade level stood out above the rest and received pizza delivered by none other than the Patrick Henry Panther! 🍕🐾
🏆In 6th Grade: Mrs. Chohon’s Door
🏆In 7th Grade: Mrs. Rentschler’s Door
🏆In 8th Grade: Mrs. R. Johnson’s Door

Patrick Henry Spirit wear is on sale and it’s the perfect time to stock up for the holidays! Warm hoodies, cozy tees and ALL the blue & gold! The deadline to place an order is November 6, 2025 at midnight! To place an order, visit this link: https://patrick-henry-winter-2025.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Patrick Henry Middle School Student Council is partnering with the Pajama Program to bring warm, cozy sleepwear — and books! — to children in need. During the month of November, students are encouraged to participate! For every pair of brand-new pajamas donated, Scholastic will donate a new book to the Pajama Program, helping support kids facing adversity. Let’s spread comfort, kindness and bedtime joy! 💛 Send in those PJs, Panthers! 🐾

This week we are celebrating our amazing school psychologist, Renita Ratzloff! Her dedication to supporting students’ mental health, well-being and academic success makes a meaningful difference every day. Mrs. Ratzloff empowers students, staff and families and helps create a caring, positive learning environment for all! 💙💛 🐾

📅As we transition to the Winter sports season at Patrick Henry, there are fewer events this week, but that just means more time to focus, recharge and make the most of every day! 💪 Check out this week’s events below and stay in the loop. 🐾

👻👻 Wishing our Patrick Henry Community a fa-BOO-lous Halloween! 👻👻
🎃Be safe and have fun! 🎃

Our Panthers are ready to dance the afternoon away tomorrow, October 31! Pizza, music, fun and friends… it’s going to be a great time !
Reminders:
✅ Students will get their pre-purchased ticket from their PRO teacher Friday morning (must have purchased last week!)
✅Bring school ID
✅ Pick-up by 5:30 PM
🍕 Two slices of pizza + pop included (extra slices $1)
⏰ 4:00–5:30 PM

🏈What a season for our 7th and 8th grade Patrick Henry Panthers football teams! From big plays and tough tackles to all-out teamwork, these athletes gave fans plenty to cheer about every game. The 7th graders came out strong—learning fast, growing their game, and showing that the future of Panther football is bright! The 8th graders led with confidence and heart. Every snap, every tackle, every touchdown showed how far they’ve come as athletes and teammates. We can’t forget to give a big shoutout to our dedicated coaches for pushing, teaching, and inspiring—and to our fans for filling the sidelines with Panther pride all season long!🙌

✨ Mascot Spotlight ✨ Meet our fearless leader — the Patrick Henry Panther! 🐾 Panthers don’t just walk — they prowl with confidence. And at Patrick Henry Middle School, our students do just that — every class, every day, every challenge. Let’s hear it for the home of the Panthers! 💛💙

Don't forget to swing by the Dairy Queen on Minnesota Ave. tonight (10/28) between 5:00-8:00 pm to support the Patrick Henry PTO Fundraiser!

📅It’s a fun-filled week at PHMS with dress-up days for Red Ribbon Week, the final 8th grade football game of the season, one more night of conferences and our Fall Dance to finish it off! 🎉

🎀Next week we’re celebrating Red Ribbon Week at Patrick Henry — a time to take a stand for making healthy, positive choices and living drug-free! This year’s theme is “Life is a Puzzle. Solve It Drug Free.” Students are encouraged to dress up according to each day's theme to show their spirit and commitment. Let’s fill the halls with color, fun and positive energy as we celebrate making smart, healthy choices together. 🎀

Our Panthers showed off their creativity in the library’s bookmark contest and the results were amazing! 🎨👏 Big congrats to our winners — their designs will be featured on bookmarks for students to use! Thanks to all who entered and shared their love for reading. Keep creating and keep turning those pages! 📖

🧩 Team 6-3 is putting their creativity to the test! 🎨✨
6th graders on Team 6-3 have been hard at work designing and building their very own puzzle cubes — and they’re doing it like true engineers! 💡 From brainstorming and sketching to prototyping and problem-solving, students are following every step of the design process to bring their ideas to life. Each cube is unique, challenging, and totally student-made! 🔧💭
#STEM #DesignProcess #MiddleSchoolMinds #PuzzleCubeChallenge #InnovationInAction