Penn Spell Bowl wins 16th Straight Regional Title

November 3, 2016 was epic day for competitions … and we’re just not talking about the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series after a 108 year drought! While the Cubs dynasty is just beginning, Penn’s Spell Bowl Team has been getting the “W” for years.

Last night’s Regional Win at Plymouth updated their score card with now 16 Regional Titles, 15 State Championships, 18 consecutive unbeaten seasons in invitational meets, 200 competition championship wins for Coach Pete DeKever making Penn’s Spell Bowl the most winningest spell bowl team in state history.

ABC 57 followed along with the team as they prepped for last night’s competition and was there last night when they won. Click here to watch the story.

The team has a week now to prepare for the State competition coming up Saturday, Nov. 12 at Purdue University. If the Kingsmen win, this will be their fifth consecutive Championship win and 16th overall.

Penn Robotics participating in Barnes & Noble Makerfair Nov. 5-6

Penn High School’s Robotics team will be participating in the Barnes & Noble Makerfair on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5-6.

Barnes & Noble is located at University Park Mall. It is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Penn students will have six teams in attendance during the weekend, teaching mini-lessons to the public, running robots, and highlighting the accomplishments of Penn’s nationally regarded Robotics program.

Viva Voce concert set for Thursday, Nov. 3

Penn High School will present a Viva Voce concert, “Choral Colors”,  at 7:30 p.m. on  Thursday, Nov. 3, in the Penn High School Center for Performing Arts.

The concert showcases choral music from the Renaissance to Today.

Tickets are $8 at the door and $6 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online through ticketracker.com, click here to buy now. They will also be on sale during lunches.

PHM Security Recognized for Lifesaving Efforts

Before Friday night's (Oct. 29, 2016) Penn football game, two P-H-M heroes were recognized.

School Resource Officer Mike Reppert and VSS Security Supervisor Rockie Dodds were presented with a special award provided by the Indiana State Suicide Prevention Advisory Council as a result of their efforts in Suicide Prevention in our school community. 

This award is only one of three awards provided by the Indiana State Suicide Prevention Council in 2016.  Because of their actions, they made a difference in a student’s life.  

If you know of someone who needs help, please visit the P-H-M District website, www.phmschools.org/lifelines, for resources. 

Indiana Superintendent visits STEM & Early Learning Academies

Indiana Department of Education Superintendent Glenda Ritz dropped in for a visit of P-H-M schools this week (Wednesday, October 26). Superintendent Ritz got a whirlwind tour of Bittersweet, Penn and Schmucker seeing everything from the DVT to a robotics class.  P-H-M’s own Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker shined the spotlight on our STEM programs and safety initiatives at all three schools with the help of principals, teachers and students.

 

The P-H-M visit started at Bittersweet Elementary School with a short demonstration at the DVT and a visit to a fourth grade Project Lead the Way class before moving on to Penn High School.

 

At Penn, Early Learning and STEM Academy students served as tour guides. Supt. Ritz was able to observe Early College Academy Spanish and English classes. In the STEM Academy, she learned about students CSI work repairing Chromebooks as part of the Chromebook Support Internship and observe the hands-on projects taking place in the Principals of Engineering and Robotics classes.  Penn was named full STEM-certified program in June 2016, making it the first large, comprehensive public high school in Indiana to achieve the elite status. She even donned safety glasses to see what students were constructing in Buildings Trades shop class. At each stop, Supt. Ritz was able to interact with the students and see things up close and personal. The tour was more than just a learning experience for Supt. Ritz; for PNN students, the visit was turned into an opportunity to cover the event and interview Ritz for real world journalism experience.

 

From Penn, Supt. Ritz went to Schmucker Middle School and observed another Project Lead the Way class.

Penn places 22nd in the nation in Environment & Natural Resources Management event

Penn High School’s Environmental & Natural Resources Management team placed 22nd out of 50 state teams in the national contest held near Indianapolis on Oct. 19-21.

The team was lead by Individual Gold Medalists Kyle Burke and Isaac Loutzenhiser and supported by Individual Bronze Medalists Sam Goetz and Elena Effertz.  

The individual medalists placed 1st (Gold Medal) or 3rd (Bronze Medal) in one or more of the Environmental & Natural Resource Management Career Contest categories such as soil analysis, water analysis, GPS problem solving, wildlife identification (by pic, pelt, skeleton, or track).

Penn Spell Bowl completes 18th consecutive unbeaten season

Penn High School's spell bowl team won its seventh invitational meet of the season on Wednesday night, Oct. 26, when the Kingsmen topped a strong field with a perfect score of 90 at the Logansport Invitational.
 
In the process, Kingsmen coach Pete DeKever won his 100th invitational competition.  This was also the 18th consecutive season that the Penn spellers have gone unbeaten in invitational meets.
 
Logansport results:
 
1.)  Penn                                 90
2.)  Plymouth                          84 
3.)  Indianapolis Pike              72
4.)  Logansport                       64
5.)  Indianapolis Ben Davis    51
5.)  Winamac                          51  (tie)
7.)  Lafayette Jeff                   43
8.)  Kouts                               20
 
Perfect varsity spellers for Penn were:  Michelle Tapp, Amy Bernard, Yewon Oh, Chelsea Chen, Hannah McGinness, Hannah Smith, Maggie Finnessy, Hassan Kahn, Karen Wang and Muqsit Buehh.
 
Perfect junior varsity spellers for the Kingsmen were:  Manaal Arif, Ahsan Siddiqui, Celine Wang and Jaylan Jaga.
 
Next up for spell bowl teams around the state is the regional competition on Wednesday, November 2.
Penn, Mishawaka, New Prairie, Plymouth, Rochester, Bremen, Caston and Glenn will compete at the Plymouth regional beginning at 6 p.m.  The public is invited to attend and there is no admission charge.  The regional meets determine the state finals qualifiers.
Submitted by Joe DeKever

Spell Bowl delivers DeKever’s 200th victory

The East Noble Invitational marked the 200th competition championship that players on Coach Pete DeKever's teams have won since 1992.  This total includes 70 championships by the Penn Social studies Academic Super Bowl team and now 130 competitions won by the Spell Bowl team.
 
"Reaching 200 competition championships is a collective accomplishment to which more than 250 Penn spellers and social studies players have contributed since our first victory in 1992," Coach DeKever said.  "It represents their dedication and commitment to learning and winning."
 
The perfect score of 90 by Penn at the East Noble competition was the first of the season for the Kingsmen and their 47th in history.  
 
Here are the final standings:
 
1.)  Penn                            90
2.)  Columbia City              72
3.)  NorthWood                  62
4.)  Kouts                           56
5.)  Garrett                         35
6.)  Carroll                          33
7.)  East Noble                   30
7.)  Ft. Wayne Dwenger     30 (tie)
9.)  Prairie Heights             24
 
Perfect varsity spellers for Penn were:  Michelle Tapp, Amy Bernard, Yewon Oh, Chelsea Chen, Hannah McGinness, Hannah Smith, Manaal Arif, Maggie Finnessy, Hassan Kahn and Muqsit Buchh.
 
Perfect junior varsity spellers for the Kingsmen were:  Karen Wang, Celine Wang, Ahsan Siddiqui and Jaylan Jaga.
 
All 14 Penn spellers turned in perfect efforts.
 
Next up for the defending state champs is the Penn #2 Invitational on October 20.

Penn students excel at FFA event

Penn High School students Riley Ness, Abby Krug, Andi Henry, Katelynn De LaFuente and Evan Locke participated in the Indiana FFA Seeking Opportunities and Achieving Results (SOAR) Leadership Conference on Saturday, Oct. 8. 

 

The group was recognized for its leadership potential and Andi Henry was elected President of her Conference Group. Henry led the group to the conference championship in the Parlieamentary Procedure Contest.

 

More than 200 outstanding students from across Indiana met for the event in the Indiana FFA Leadership Center near Trafalgar, Ind., to explore the FFA's State and National leadership programs.  

Next up for Penn’s FFA representatives will be the Foundations In Reaching Excellence (FIRE) Individual Leadership Skills Enhancement Conference will be November 18-20 the at the Indiana FFA Leadership Center.

 

Penn students participate in Manufacturing Day 2016

Local schools and businesses celebrated Manufacturing Day 2016 on Friday, October 7. Penn High students were among the 600 or more invited into local manufacturing sites that day to explore the education and career opportunities available in our community.

Students from Penn’s STEM Academy plan to visit B&B Molders, Nyloncraft, and Daman Products—three long-standing successful enterprises in Mishawaka.

Our students learned about real career opportunities, training, and resources available locally. They observed that manufacturing is technologically advanced—with ample use of automation, 3-D printing, robots and screen technology—and found out that there are many career opportunities within manufacturing, including human resources, accounting, purchasing, logistics, and more.

The Academies at Penn High School are committed to providing Penn graduates College and Career Readiness. That focus helps students see more clearly how their classroom learning today is building a foundation for their future success—and Manufacturing Day 2016 is just one example of that.  

While Manufacturing Day is recognized across the nation, the Oct. 7 event was the third annual event for the Michiana area.

Josiah Parker, Penn teacher and STEM Academy leader, has been working alongside St. Joe County Chamber of Commerce staff to arrange and promote the day’s activities. 

You can also get Parker’s take on education and manufacturing by watching the WNIT broadcast “Economic Outlook,” which aired Friday Oct. 7.

Other local partners, in addition to Penn High School and SJCOC:

  • National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) Michiana Chapter

  • Ivy Tech Community College

  • Purdue Polytechnic South Bend

  • South Bend Community School Corporation Career & Technical Education Career Academy

  • Mishawaka High School

Jeff Rea, Chamber CEO: "We are excited by the collaboration between business and education that has driven the local growth of this event and believe in the powerful impact on students when they can SEE the opportunities in our region. Connecting what they're learning in the classroom to a future career can positively influence their education and personal choices and provide focus and inspiration as they envision their future.”

Because the manufacturing sector often experiences a shortage of skilled workers, they look forward to this opportunity to meet and interact with the “next generation” talent.

These businesses and supporting organizations hosted the tours, or were on site at Ivy Tech to share their story with students:

  • AAA Tool & Die Company, Inc.

  • Allied Specialty Precision. Inc.

  • AM General

  • Molders

  • Bamar Plastics, Inc.

  • Bertrand Products  

  • Daman Products

  • Gates Automotive

  • General Stamping and Metalworks, Inc.

  • The Lebermuth Company

  • Mack Tool & Engineering

  • Manufacturing Technology, Inc. (MT l) Mossberg & Company Inc.

  • North American Signs

  • Nyloncraft

  • Polygon Company

  • RACO

  • Rieth Riley

  • Schafer Industries, Inc.

  • South Bend Electrical JATC Apprenticeship Hall

  • South Bend Modern Molding

  • Steel Warehouse

  • Steel Warehouse Profiling

  • Tire Rack

Check out the MFG Day event page on the Chamber website!