Penn High School Orchestra and Choir students visited New York City during Spring Break for an amazing array of experiences.

A PHOTO GALLERY IS POSTED BELOW

CHOIR TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:

• Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Liberty Island
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Freedom Tower (up to 102nd floor)
• Times Square
• Broadway show – Hadestown
• Broadway show – MJ the Musical
• Broadway cast dinner with members from MJ the Musical
• Chinatown/Little Italy
• Commissioned N.Y. Composer Rich Campbell to write music for us
• Workshopped with Rich Campbell at our hotel and then he was present for the performance
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Central Park
• Dinner/Dance Cruise
• Ellen’s Stardust Diner

According to Penn Choir instructor Andrew Nemeth, the Broadway cast dinner was absolutely a highlight for students. Cast members from MJ met Penn students for dinner and were able to speak with them about their journey to Broadway. One member,Apollo LeVine, is a graduate of Washington High School in South Bend. He was absolutely humbled to meet people from his hometown, and he even made a social media post about Penn students.

Part of the purpose of the Choir trip was to perform at St. John the Divine in Manhattan, the sixth largest church in the world. Nemeth and fellow Penn Choir instructor Allison Secaur visited the church in 2019 in anticipation of a 2020 trip, but that trip finally took place now. Students worked with composer Rich Campbell, who was commissioned to write a song specifically for Penn Choir. View the performance on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st6vsPSqEbM

There was an earthquake that struck in New Jersey shorty before our performance. Our students did not feel it, but there were aftershocks occurring while the Penn Choir was performing. Everyone was safe. In the recording on YouTube, you can hear the alarms going off every few minutes.

Lastly of note was Ellen’s Stardust Diner – this is an incredible dining experience where the servers are aspiring Broadway actors. In the last two months alone they had 35 members that finally made it to Broadway. It was an incredibly unique experience for Penn students.

ORCHESTRA TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:

• Lady Liberty
• Battery Park
• Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• Charging Bull Photo Op
• 9/11 Memorial
• The Oculus
• Radio City Tour
• Dinner at Dizzy’s Club
• Dizzy’s Early Set
• Museum of Modern Art
• Bryant Park
• New York Public Library
• Grand Central Station
• Gayle’s Broadway Rose
• Broadway Show: The Lion King
• Central Park
• The Met Museum
• Stella 34 Trattoria
• New York Philharmonic workshop
• The Met Opera: La Rondine

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Penn High School student Jayden Wang has been named a 2024 Regional Academic All-Star by the Indiana Association of School Principals. The award is sponsored by Purdue University.

Wang is among 50 students were recognized as Academic All-Star Regional Honorees. The students were selected from a field of 281 outstanding nominees from the state’s private and public accredited schools. Academic All-Star distinction recognizes seniors who excel in the classroom first and foremost, but who also are actively involved in their schools and communities, and take on leadership roles in those activities.

Wang is a Lilly Endowment Scholar, a U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidate, a National Merit Finalist. He is also a National Chemistry Olympiad National Qualifier and an AP Scholar. He placed First with Distinction at the Hoosier Piano State Competition.

Penn High School students excelled at the DECA State Championships, qualifying 20 students for the DECA International Championships, April 27-30, in Anaheim, California.

State Champions include Ayvah Bell, Joel Bell, Matthew Deahl, Stanley Liew, Amrit Kaur, Rhea Rhakra and Cameron Poznanski.

International Conference qualifiers

• Franchise Business Plan: 1. Ayvah Bell, Joel Bell
• Independent Business Plan: 2. Elizabeth Eshowsky
• Integrated Marketing Campaign – Product: 2. Avery Ferris, Lucy Salwin
• Integrated Marketing Campaign – Service: 3. Selin Bilgicer, Danielle Ciliberti, Mia Helm
• Community Giving Project: 2. Layla Berry, Ella Smoker
• Entrepreneurship TDME: 3. Chris Chen, David Guarraci
• Hospitality Services TDME: 1. Matthew Deahl, Stanley Liew
• Business Operations Research: 1. Amrit Kaur, Rhea Rhakra, Cameron Poznanski
• Business Law Team Event: 4. Lana Ealdama, Noah Schafer
   

2024_DECA Competitive_Event_Complete results

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Penn High School hosted the Mishawaka FIRST Indiana District Event on Saturday, March 2, and Sunday, March 3, 2024.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

The weekend was a great success for both Penn Robotics teams, each of which being selected for playoff alliances. More than 2,500 fans attended the event in the Penn Main Arena.

Team 135 and Team 328 both performed very well, and Team 135 won the Quality Award for their robot design and performance.

Next up for Penn Robotics is a District event at Plainfield on Saturday, March 23, as Team 135 and 328 pursue state qualification.

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A total of 56 Penn High School students were honored in the annual Scholastic Arts regional competition.

A Gallery of some of the award-winning student work is posted below.

You can come check out the artwork yourself at the Penn Art Gallery, Saturday, March 2 from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

The prestigious Scholastic Awards program is the nation’s longest running awards program for students.

Penn students competed for Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention Awards. Gold Key winners are automatically considered for national awards and scholarships.

2024 Penn HS Scholastic Arts Winners

2024 Penn Scholastic Writing Winners

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The Penn Intermediate Jazz Ensemble, Advanced Jazz Ensemble and Kaleidoscope Jazz Combo all delivered excellent performances at the “Jazz in the Meadows” festival in Chicago. They also had the opportunity to receive feedback from a world-class panel of clinicians.

The Advanced Jazz Ensemble won the runner-up award in Class 4-A (largest schools). 

Penn’s Intermediate Jazz Ensemble and Advanced Jazz Ensemble excelled at the Bethel University Festival of Jazz on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024.

The Penn Advanced Jazz Ensemble won the “Top Band” award for the festival. Multiple outstanding soloists were recognized, including Aidan Wise on trumpet, Colin Carter on tenor sax, Keyin Hackett on bari sax, and Mahima Vinay on vocals.

Both groups were selected to perform at the Finale Concert featuring the top four bands from throughout the day.