Three Penn High School Debate students will compete in the National Debate Tournament for a second consecutive year, and seven other Penn students have also qualified for Nationals.

The Nationals will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, this summer.

Stanley Liew, Noah Shafer and Chris Chen of Penn and the Northwest Indiana World Schools Gold Team will compete in the National Tournament as a result placing in the Final Four of last year’s National Tournament.

Five Penn High School students qualified in District competition for the National Debate Tournament.

The students qualified by placing first at the Northwest Indiana District. 

Penn’s National Qualifiers (through district competition):

• Public Forum – Alina Luck and Jaanavi Kaushi 1st place; Amina Spahic and Rebecca Wolter 2nd Place

• In Lincoln Douglas – Akul Bhamabani 1st place

Additionally, two Penn students qualified in the Northwest Indiana District Congress competition:

• House of Representatives – Grant Spadafore 1st place
• Senate – Ishita Masetty 1st

Penn’s Debate Team is coached by Jeremy Starkweather.

Five Penn High School students qualified for the National Debate Tournament to be held this summer in Des Moines, Iowa.

The students qualified by placing first at the Northwest Indiana District. 

Penn’s National Qualifiers:

• Public Forum – Alina Luck and Jaanavi Kaushi 1st place; Amina Spahic and Rebecca Wolter 2nd Place

• In Lincoln Douglas – Akul Bhamabani 1st place

Penn’s Debate Team, coached by Jeremy Starkweather, will look to repeat at State Champions this weekend at the Debate State Finals at Avon High School.

State qualifiers:

Congress:

Grant Spadafore

Ishita Masetty

Sohan Patel

Roman Gargis

Lincoln-Douglas:

Akul Bhambhani

Sarah Rooney

Chris Chen

Anton Kozelichki

Public  Forum:

Alina Luck and Jaanavi Kaushik

Leah Wagner and Rayna Donald

Amina Spahic and Rebecca Wolter

Ben Galiher and Manny Singleton

Policy Debate:

Ava Lightburn and Leena Khan

Kai King and Nora McKinney

Joshua Oh and William Wu

Ethan Schafer and Rebeca Ramirez

World Schools Debate:

Jawad Siddique, Stanley Liew, Noah Shafer, Lynn Chung and Kevin Wu

Ishita Awasthi, Mira Yaradi, Sarah Ahmed, Sydney Herriman and Victoria Sanchez

Penn High School’s Snowball Winter Dance, “An Evening in the Garden”, is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 16, from 7:30-11 p.m.

Entry is through Door B ONLY.

Tickets go on sale on Sunday, Jan. 26, at noon and will be available until 7:30 p.m. on the day of the dance (or until the event is sold out).

Click here to purchase tickets starting at noon on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.

Snowball Information

• Professional Photographs will be available from Valentinos at the dance from 7:30pm to 10:00pm and are available for singles, couples, and friend groups. Pre-purchase photographs by using this link: https://v2.myproimages.com/valentinos/41543/search

• Unlimited Drinks from American Espresso (Lattes, Frappes, Italian Sodas, etc.), Bottled Water, Desserts/Snacks, and photo booth fun, are all part of ticket price.

• Students Choose the Music again this year. A special link to a Google Form will be included in the ticket confirmation e-mail. Music Requests can be made until Thursday, Feb. 13, at 11:59 p.m.

• In the confirmation e-mail, it will include the following instructions about policies, door entry, etc.

• This is a school event and students are expected to follow the same code of conduct as during the school day. Security and administration will be onsite for the event, which includes security patrolling the parking lot areas.

• No ticket sales at the door on the evening of the dance. Ticket Sales are online only and limited tickets are available.

• You (and your guest) must have your ticket & school ID to enter. Entry will be through Door B and check-in will be in CPA Foyer.

• Guests from other schools are welcome to attend with you, but they must be 20 years old or younger, not in middle school and they must have their ID or state issued license to enter.

• Once you leave the dance re-admittance will not be permitted.

• Your ticket includes dancing, unlimited smoothies, coffees, lattes, Italian sodas, etc., bottled water, assorted desserts, and photo booth fun.

• Don’t forget to get your formal photos taken at Valentino’s 7:30pm-10pm. Pre-purchase with this link: https://v2.myproimages.com/valentinos/41543/search *No refunds on no shows at the dance, so please be sure to get your photo taken.

• You and your peers chose the music (school appropriate)! No requests are taken the night of the dance. The link for requesting music will come with your ticket confirmation.

• Students may bring a small purse or clear bag, but these bags must be checked in the coat-check and will not be permitted in the main arena. 

• Shoes can be worn and there will also be a coat check (We are not responsible for lost/stolen items, so don’t leave valuables in the coat check).

• Dress to impress, but formal attire is not required.

• Come see the Arena + Balconies bloom at an Evening in the Garden (Un Soirée au Jardin). This will be an unforgettable evening with memories to cherish for a lifetime. We hope you enjoy the night!

• Volunteer opportunities will be available. Please watch for more details to come with a Sign-Up Genius Link to be shared from Penn.

• For any questions, please contact pennhspto@gmail.com

• We are looking forward to a great evening!

The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County announced that Penn High School students Areej Arif and Matthew Deahl earned Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships.

The prestigious award provides recipients with four-year, full-tutition scholarships and a book stipend for the Indiana college or university of their choice.

Arif is undecided about college. She plans to major in psychology and be on a pre-dental track.

Arif has been a leader in DECA and the Key Club. She worked with her DECA team to create a start-up AI health baby monitor with vibration technology to help prevent SIDS. She and her team collaborated with local doctors and research statistics related to SIDS to help create and market their product, winning at both at the local and state levels. Arif is involved with Math Club and helped create the first district-wide free math tutoring system at elementary schools. She also serves through a Kingsmen Tutoring Intership and has been a State Champion and State Runner-up in Academic Spell Bowl. Arif has been an events leader for project such as dood drives and other community service initiatives. She also competes in figure skating.

Deahl plans to attend the University of Notre Dame and study Finance and Political Science. He is an AP Scholar with Distinction and was named an Indiana Academic Rising Star by the Indiana Association of School Principals. He is a two-time DECA State Champion and the DECA Region 1 President, as well as the Penn DECA President. He earned ISSMA Cello Indiana State Gold Medalist with Distinction. He has earned the Trish Ross Servant Leadership Award. Deahl is also the President of the South Bend Common Council Youth Advisory Council and a summer research intern at the University of Notre Dame Lucy Civic Innovation Lab. He is also co-CEO and co-owner of Speakiful LLC, an in-person and virtual public speaking and humanities tutor, and part of the South Bend-Mishawaka Youth Leadership for Hope for the Hungry.

Sreeja Bhattacharjee and Rebecca Wagman earned regional Gold Key awards in the prestigious Scholastic Writing Competition. Scholastic is one of the longest-running scholarship and recognition programs in the nation.

Seven Penn students earned regional recognition in the nationwide contest. Penn Creative Writing Instructor Caelea Armstrong serves as the Scholastic Writing Adviser.

PENN SCHOLASTIC AWARD WINNERS

• Ada Bidler – Writing Portfolio, Silver Key

                    Poetry “She Is”, Silver Key

                    Flash Fiction “The Point”, Honorable Mention

                    Flash Fiction “Ode to the Fangirl, Honorable Mention

                    Humor “A Typical Monday Morning at Space Names Co.” Honorable Mention

• Amaya Northern – Poetry “Where I’m From”  Honorable Mention

• Arianna Balinnang – Poetry “calculator’ Silver Key

                         Poetry “ink” Silver Key

• Sreeja Bhattacharjee – Flash Fiction “Human, After All” Gold Key

                            Poetry “every day is a dying breath” Honorable Mention

• Charlotte Chung – Flash Fiction “The Boy’s Rock” Silver Key
• Maya Gelesko – Writing Portfolio Silver Key
• Rebecca Wagman – Personal Essay/Memoir “The Name of my Ancestors” Gold Key

                               Short Story “The Violinist of Brussels” Honorable Mention

Penn High School student Sarah Rooney has been named a Winner with Distinction in the YoungArts National Writing Competition.

Rooney is a second-year student on Penn’s Literary Magazine, Spectrum.

“Sarah is an amazing student,” Spectrum sponsor Caelea Armstrong said. “She is meticulous and detail-oriented.  Her work ethic is second-to-none.”

Winners are chosen for their caliber of artistic achievement by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through an adjudication process that includes multiple rounds of review.   

The winners in each category are awarded cash prizes between $250 and $10K, and Winners with Distinction are invited to participate in National YoungArts Week, January 5-12, in Miami, Fla.

Penn students William Getter, John Isacson, Nathaniel Temeles, Noah Langness, Max Hazen, Joel Benavides placed first in the Purdue Engineering Design & Development Challenge – the first high school team to win the prestigious Challenge !!!!

The students won $5,000 in scholarship money, competing with college students in the TECH 120 class at Purdue. Penn instructor Kyle Marsh’s students are not only the first high school team to be the overall winner, but it’s the first time a high school team placed in the Top 3.

Penn High School hosted its annual Showcase event for prospective students and their families on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.

The event featured live classrooms that featured students and faculty in all of Penn’s learning academies.

A Photo Gallery is posted below:

[Show slideshow]

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