• Chris Chen – Entrepreneurship Series Event
• Lenna Khan & Sobrin Fitwi – Buying and Merchandising Team Role Play
• Fareha Afaq and Katelynn Ngo – Innovation Plan
• Stanley Liew and Matthew Deahl – Hospitality Services Team Role Play

[Show slideshow]

Penn High School’s Fine Arts Academic Super Bowl team and Social Studies Academic Super Bowl team have both qualified for the state competition on Saturday, May 10, at Purdue University.

Fine Arts Team: Coach Mr. Coudret

Social Studies Team: Coach Mr. Bowers

Team members: Connor Geoghegan, Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Kyan Fogarty, Bryce Herman, Logan Hubbard.

Greg Dikos is retiring from Penn High School as a teacher after 45 years in education, but he will remain the head coach of the Kingsmen Baseball program. Dikos teaches Advanced Team Sports.

On Satuday, April 26, Penn’s home turf will be named Greg Dikos Field.

The ceremony to name field in honor of Coach Dikos will take place at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, in between games of a doubleheader between the Kingsmen and Lake Central. Former Kingsmen baseball players are invited to attend!

The field dedication is made possible by a $10,000 gift from retiring School Superintendent Dr. Jerry and Mrs. Thacker to the P-H-M Education Foundation Naming Rights Campaign. This makes the fifth donation Dr. and Mrs. Thacker have made as part of the Naming Rights Campaign, recognizing the contributions P-H-M employees have made to the community. Click here for more details.

Going into the 2025 season, Dikos owned a record of 839-298 in 37 seasons.

Penn has won six State Championships during Dikos’ tenure as head coach – 1994, 1998, 2001, 2015, 2022. 2023.

Coach Dikos has also led Penn to seven Semi-State Championships, 13 Regional Champion-

ships, 21 Sectional Championships and 22 Northern Indiana Conference Championships.

A graduate of Swartz Creek High School (Mich.) and Ball State University, Coach Dikos was selected by the Atlanta Braves as a third baseman in the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft in the 31st round.

Coach Dikos was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Auditions for the 2025-2026 Penn High School Dance/Pom Team (open to current students in grades 7-through-11)

Dates:

• Monday, April 21: 6:30-8:30 pm – Main Arena at PHS
• Tuesday, April 22: 6:30-8:30 pm – Auxiliary Gym at PHS
• Wednesday, April 23: 6:30-8:30 pm – Main Arena at PHS (Competition Tryouts only)
• Thursday, April 24: 6:30-8:30 pm – Auxiliary at PHS (JV and Varsity Tryouts)

(Competition team results will be announced on Thursday morning via Instagram)

(JV and Varsity team results will be announced on Friday morning via Instagram)

We will be filling positions for the JV, Varsity and Competition teams.

We will be looking for the following qualities during tryouts: dance ability, showmanship, and technical skills (Turns/Pirouettes, Toe Touches, Leaps, Splits, as well as advanced skills for the competition team).

If you wish to try out for the Competition team, your technical skills will be an extremely important aspect of your tryout. You MUST have:

– Minimum: a triple and quad pirouette
– Toe touches/pop up toe touch
– Firebird
– Turning Disc
– Calypso
– Side leap
– Saut de chat
– Fouettes/ala Seconde Turns
– Kip ups
– Head springs
– Aerials (front and side)
– Switch to tilt jump; switch to arabesque; switch to second
– Preferred skills: front walkovers

Any questions, please contact:

Alison Minegar / aminegar@phm.k12.in.us

PARENT/STUDENT SIGNATURE PAGE (Audition for the 2025-2026 Penn High School Dance_Pom Team).

I, _____________________________________ have read all requirements and give my student,
_________________________________ permission to audition for the Penn High School Dance Team.

Parent Signature:

Dancer Signature:

Date: _______________________________________

** This form must be handed in on the first day of tryouts, or student will NOT be allowed to participate.

Any questions, please contact:

Alison Minegar / aminegar@phm.k12.in.us

David (DJ) Landoll has been named the Director of Bands for Penn High School. He follows Glenn Northern as the Director of Bands for Penn. Northern will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year after 24 years of service as an educator at Penn, 14 as the Director of Bands.

Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher announced the appointment of Landoll as the Director of Bands for Penn.

“This job is an opportunity to more meaningfully take care of the people in our band community, the way that Glenn Northern has done for 14 years,” Landoll said. “I would not be here without his guidance and the support of the many great people in and around P-H-M’s band programs.”

Landoll’s primary responsibilities will include leadership of the concert band curriculum and management of the larger band program, encompassing the booster organization, resources and budget, and staff coordination.

He will also supervise and instruct one of Indiana’s elite Marching Bands. The Marching Kingsmen have competed in the Indiana State Marching Band Finals 20 times in the largest school Open Class A Division. Penn’s Marching Band has performed in the historic Tournament of Roses Parade, the Orange Bowl Parade, the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Landoll has served as Assistant Band Director at Penn since 2017, with responsibility to the competitive marching band, each of the concert bands, the pep band, the Music Technology class, the Tri-M Music Honors Society, and the leadership development curriculum. He has held coordination/leadership roles in various aspects of the marching band program, as well as the recruitment and retention of students. 

Presiding over a period of growth and development in the pep band, Landoll’s concert bands have consistently earned top marks at adjudications, including, most often, the “gold with distinction” honors achieved by only about 15 percent of statewide high school entries. He assisted Glenn Northern in last year’s State Runner-Up Concert Band.  In 2024, he was named one of “Michiana’s Outstanding Music Educators” by the Quinlan and Fabish Music Company.

Landoll earned a Master of Music in Conducting from James Madison University, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Duquesne University. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Landoll attended St. Ignatius High School, where he was active in the band program, a National Merit scholar, and an Eagle Scout. He is an avid fan and advocate of the marching arts, and has a combined 12 seasons of marching and teaching experience in DCI’s World Class.

Penn High School Robotics Team 135 earned the Impact Award in recent competition at Lafayette, Ind.

The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Impact Award is the most prestigious award in FRC, recognizing a team that best embodies the mission of FIRST by inspiring others through their community outreach, STEM advocacy, and sustained impact. It honors programs that go beyond building robots to create a lasting legacy.

“Winning the Impact Award is a testament to the dedication and passion of our students, mentors, and community,” Penn Robotics Instructor Kyle Marsh said. “Through our outreach efforts—whether it’s mentoring teams, running camps and workshops, expanding assistive technology, or launching new initiatives like our 3-D printing program—we strive to make STEM accessible to all.

“With over 1,000 volunteer hours each year, our students are committed to something bigger than themselves, using robotics as a platform to inspire and empower others,” Marsh said. “Being recognized for this work is an incredible honor and a humbling reminder of the difference we can make beyond the competition field.”

In addition, Penn High School student Grant Spadafore was named an Indiana Dean’s List Finalist.

Penn Robotics will compete in the Robotics State Finals at Greenwood on April 3-4.