Girls Soccer:  Regional Champions!  

• Next up: Penn vs. Leo in IHSAA in the Semi-State Semi-Final at St. Joseph High School (Father Blye Football Field) on Saturday, Oct. 24. Game time is 12:00pm.  

• If Penn wins the day game, they will play for the Semi-State Championship at 7:00pm.

Boys Soccer: Regional Champions! 

• Next up: Penn vs. Fort Wayne Canterbury in IHSAA Semi-State Semi-Final at Warsaw High School) on Saturday, Oct. 24. Game time is 10:00am.  

• If Penn wins the day game, they will play for the Semi-State Championship at 7:00pm.

Football: NIC North Division Champions!  

• Next up: Penn vs. LaPorte in IHSAA Sectional at TCU Freed Field on Friday, Oct. 23.  Kickoff is 7:30pm. 

• If Penn wins, they will play the winner of the Chesterton/Valpo match. Location & time is TBD.

Boys Cross Country: Regional Champions!

• Next up: Team advances to IHSAA Semi-State at New Haven, Saturday, Oct. 24. Start time is 1:00pm. 

• The top six teams will advance to the State Championship meet on Oct. 31.

Girls Cross Country: 2nd Place at Regionals! 

• Next up: Team advances to IHSAA Semi-State at Hew Haven, Saturday, Oct. 24.  Start time is 1:45pm. 

• The top six teams will advance to the State Championship meet on Oct. 31.

Boys Tennis: Penn #1 Doubles (Tim Porsche & Thomas Gifford) are #1 at LaPorte Regionals!

• Next up: The IHSAA State Finals, Friday Oct. 23 @ 2pm. and Saturday, Oct. 24 @ 10am. and 2pm.

• Location: Park Tudor School, 7200 N. College Avenue, Indianapolis IN 

Volleyball: Heading into first round of sectional play.

• Penn hosts Elkhart Central in the IHSAA Sectional this Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (Oct. 20, 22 and 24). 

• Penn plays at 6pm on Thursday, Oct. 22. 

• If Penn wins Thursday, they will play in the semi-final on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 12:30pm.  Finals take place Saturday at 7pm.

For many years the Penn Girls Soccer team has worked to make the popular Family FunFest, which is part of the community’s annual LOGAN’s Run, a success. Hoping to give them the recognition they deserve, LOGAN’s development team nominated Penn Girls Soccer as recipients of the 2015 Youth Fund Raiser Award. The Association of Fundraising Professionals sponsors the award, and they agree with LOGAN: Penn Girls Soccer rises to the top of those groups who have done extraordinary things for area non-profits!

The team will receive the 2015 Youth Fund Raiser Award at the Annual Salute to Philanthropy Luncheon on November 17. Coach Jeff Hart has been invited to attend the South Bend event, where he will accept the award on behalf of the team. One or more team members will accompany him. The award includes a $500 gift to the Penn sports program. 

LOGAN’s spokesperson states: There is no doubt about it—the tradition of support that this amazing group of student-athletes has shown LOGAN over the past eight years with the planning and hosting of the annual Family FunFest has been instrumental in helping this event grow in reputation and success. We cannot thank you enough, but we hope that this award is a symbol of that appreciation. 

The student-athletes who make up this year’s team are indeed exceptional. Besides their community service, they have had an amazing year on the soccer field. A nationally-ranked team, they followed an undefeated season with a run for the state championship, and made their way to the finals in a highly competitive streak.

Congratulations to Coach Hart and the Penn Girls Soccer team on all their accomplishments!  

Ben Karasiak, Penn High School’s Director of Athletics and Student Activities, and Sandy Heston, Administrative Secretary for the Penn Athletic Department, were honored before the start of the Friday, September 11 football game on their recent retirements. 

Karasiak was Penn’s AD for the past 18 years, serving not only the student athletes of Penn High School, but the entire P-H-M community. He graduated from South Bend LaSalle High School in 1968 where he played football as defensive end and linebacker. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Player and Most Valuable Defensive Back and was selected to the All-Northern Indiana Valley Conference team.  He continued his football career at the University of Evansville where he earned All-American recognition. He was named Most Valuable Lineman in the Indiana Collegiate Conference and was named to the list of Outstanding Athletes in America in 1972 and 1973. He is a member of the Evansville Hall of Fame. Ben coached football, baseball, and wrestling in the area before retiring from coaching in 1980. He held administrative positions at Marian and Elkhart Memorial High Schools before becoming Penn High School’s Athletic Director in 1997.

Heston started her lengthy service in the athletic office in 1993 where she fielded countless questions daily and was on call 24/7 in the evenings and weekends to assist with events or to handle a problem. She kept track of the budgets and event schedules, assisted the director and assistant director as well as the coaches and generally kept everyting running smoothly. Sandy retired after 40 years of service to Penn-Harris-Madison.

Indiana’s Gold Standard for Spell Bowl, Penn High School coach Pete DeKever’s Kingsmen, took their elite status to a higher level at the Spell Bowl state championship Saturday, Nov. 14, at Purdue University.

Penn earned the state championship with a perfect score of 90. Martinsville placed second with a score of 89.

In addition to winning the state title for the 15^th time, Penn put the finishing touches on a remarkable season. The Kingsmen only missed three words out of 810 words spelled this season, setting a school record and what is believed to be a state record.

“This has been an historic season for Penn Spell Bowl,” Penn High School principal Steve Hope said. “A 15th state championship crowns a hallmark season. This team has competed more than any previous Penn Spell Bowl team and has also had more perfect scores in regional competitions than any previous Penn Spell Bowl team. This is a testament to how well this team has worked to accomplish such lofty goals.

“On behalf of the entire Penn faculty and staff, we congratulate Coach DeKever and the entire Penn Spell Bowl team!”

DeKever said that the 2015 campaign was marked by an outstanding effort from the students.

“The state championship is really an endorsement of the hard work that the students put in, and the high expectations that we have,” DeKever said. “We go into every season with the goal of being the state champion, and getting a 90 (perfect score) in the state finals. It’s just really very rewarding and fulfilling when it’s all able to work out according to plan.”

 DeKever said that experience and depth played key roles in the state championship performance of 2015.

“We have a nice core of seniors who were with us for four years,” DeKever said. “We have six seniors who were four-year team members. There’s a lot of experience with them, and the other returning players are sophomores and juniors who have also spelled on the varsity or in the state finals last year.

“It also helped that we had a really big team this year. We had 21 students, and that’s the largest team that we’ve had in five to 10 years. That’s has created momentum within the team. There were times when our Junior Varsity scored a 90. We believe those are the first and second times in Indiana that a school took a varsity and junior varsity to a Spell Bowl competition and earned a perfect score in each competition. That creates an expectation among the students that our job is to get a nine (perfect) every time a player spells. It creates a team expectation of a 90 every time we compete. It was exciting to see that play out.”

Penn’s state championship was one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the IASP Hoosier Spell Bowl state finals finishes. The Kingsmen barely edged out the Martinsville Artesians, 90-89, for the overall title at Purdue University-West Lafayette.  

The two old rivals were deadlocked at 81 entering the 10th and final round of competition before Martinsville missed on the 84th word (f-l-a-g-e-o-l-e-t), opening the door for the Kingsmen provided Penn could correctly spell the remaining six words.  The rest is history as PHS ran the table to win its 15th Hoosier Spell Bowl state title. 

So tight was the margin for error, was that if Penn had missed the 90th tiebreaker word and the Artesians would have spelled it correctly, even though the score would have been tied, Martinsville would have won because of the tiebreaker element.

The 10 perfect Penn spellers were: Kanika Arora, Faihaan Arif, Muqsit Buchh, Maggie Finnessy, Presto George, Hannah McGinness, Hannah Smith, Athreya Sundaram, Michelle Tapp and Chris Yun.  The team's coach is Pete DeKever.

Over the span of the season, the Kingsmen recorded a total of six perfect scores of 90 and overall correctly spelled 807 out of 810 words.  DeKever called this team Penn's greatest Spell Bowl team ever.

Kanika Arora of Penn was honored by the IASP at the state finals for having correctly spelled every word in both regional and state finals competition for all four years of her high school career.

Presto George and Chris Yun are the Spell Bowl captains.

“I think it’s a great accomplishment, that out of some 170 schools that participate in Spell Bowl, that we finished at the very top with a perfect score of 90,” George said. “That’s really impressive. It shows our commitment to spell bowl. To be a part of the most consistent and the best team at Penn is a great feeling.”

George, who hopes to transition from Penn’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Academy to Purdue University, said that the Spell Bowl experience has been invaluable.

“Spell Bowl has given me a really good work ethic,” George said. “We have to put in a lot of effort, including outside of practice, in order to achieve our goals. That will translate into a strong work ethic for college.”

Joe DeKever contributed to this story

It was the one moment on Friday night when Penn High School football coach Cory Yeoman was caught off guard.

As Yeoman was being interviewed by the media following Penn’s 16-10 victory against Carmel in the Class 6-A northern semistate championship game, jubilant Kingsmen players charged in hoisting a large orange bucket, and surprised Yeoman with a Gatorade shower.

Emotions poured out on TCU Freed Field as Yeoman and the Kingsmen punched their ticket to the Class 6-A state championship game by decking No. 2-ranked Carmel.

Yeoman’s No. 4-ranked Penn Kingsmen (12-1) will take on No. 1 Center Grove (13-0) on Saturday, Nov. 28, at 7:05 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts. Ticket information will be announced later.

Penn will be seeking its sixth state championship in football.

Defeating Carmel was a moment to savor for Kingsmen fans.

Carmel beat Penn 14-13 in last season’s semistate championship game, and knocked off the Kingsmen 28-13 in the 2013 semistate title match.

“It’s a big win,” Yeoman said of beating Carmel. “That was a tough loss the last couple of years, and they pounded us pretty good a few years ago in the final game. Two years ago, we were in the game, thought we had our shots, and last year was heartbreaking. You have to give Carmel credit. They made a couple of more plays than we did.

“I’m proud of our guys tonight,” Yeoman said. “They made plays.”

A critical stretch of the game happened late in the second quarter.

Penn quarterback Camden Bohn scored a touchdown on a tackle-busting seven-yard run with 3:59 left in the second quarter, using a spin move to blast into the end zone. The only Kingsmen TD gave Penn a 10-3 lead.

Jason Alexander intercepted a Carmel pass at the Kingsmen 38 and return it 24 yards to set up the Penn TD drive.

“It was huge,” Yeoman said of Alexander’s theft. “They were moving the ball a little bit. He had a great break on the ball. It was another big play, just like he made last with (with an interception returned for a touchdown against Merrillville). He’s a play-maker.”

Alexander said that he was well prepared by the Kingsmen coaching staff for the key defensive moment.

“I was able to read it really well,” Alexander said. “In practice this week, we’ve been concentrating on reading our keys and playing smart. I got to play smart, and I played fast.”

Penn’s Wild Bunch defense limited high-powered Carmel to 223 yards, a week after giving up 527 yards in a 56-38 victory against Merrillville in the regional championship game.

“A lot of people thought the defense wasn’t the strong point of the team,” Alexander said. “They thought we were the weak point. We made it a priority to go out there and dominate from the beginning.”

Yeoman praised the Wild Bunch defense.

“Everybody has had a lot of comments about our defense,” Yeoman said. “They took a lot of grief. They kept their heads up, and shut their mouths and went back and went to work. They did a lot of great things (against Merrillville). They had four interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. If they do that every week, it’s a school record. But, point-wise, that wasn’t what they wanted.

“They were a little embarrassed,” Yeoman said of his defense about the way they played in the Merrillville game. “They responded the right way, like all of our guys have done all year when things don’t go their way. Instead of pouting and whining, they go back to work. I’m so proud of how the Wild Bunch responded.”

Offensively, Penn racked up 286 yards against Carmel.

Kingsmen senior Sam Scholtes booted three field goals – 21 yards, 40 yards, and 38 yards.

Scholtes’ 40-yard field goal was against a stiff wind as time expired in second quarter, giving Penn a 13-3 halftime lead.

Bohn led Penn’s offense with 13-of-17 passing for 169 yards. He also rushed for 66 yards.

John Ohlson hauled in nine passes for 116 yards.

Will Vakalahi led Penn’s defense with nine tackles, including one tackle for loss. 

Kobe Woods hammered Carmel for seven tackles.

Austin Laughman also had an interception for Penn.

Yeoman credited his senior leadership for taking the Kingsmen to the state championship game.

“My biggest concern every year has nothing to do with who is back,” Yeoman said. “My No. 1 concern is how is my leadership going to be, and how are they going to respond. It’s easy to lead when everything is going smooth, it’s how do you respond during tough times, and you never know until they get stressed out and see how they respond. That has been huge for us. They’ve done a great job all year long. We’ve got guys who aren’t starter, but who are working extremely hard on the scout team and the prep teams, doing everything they can to be a captain, and that’s what captains do.”

Bohn loved the moment, but knows that the Kingsmen quest isn’t finished.

“It feels great,” Bohn said in the midst of a raucous post-game celebration. “We had a great week of preparation. The team was really pumped up. The entire school was excited the entire week. It was great to come out and get a win.

“We had a great week of preparation. We were able to throw the ball around a little bit. The running game was on point. We knew this team had a great defense and we weren’t going to get big plays, but we were able to chip down the field and score when we needed to. The receivers were locked in, our offensive line was locked in, the running backs had a great game. I think everyone executed well, and that allowed our passing game to be successful.

“It’s great to be with the guys for another two weeks. It’s exciting to be going down to state. We hope we come out with a win.”

Penn senior, Amelia Rodriguez, and Penn teacher/World Languages Academy leader Kelley Watts were both singled out for honors bestowed by the Indiana Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) this month.

Amelia is a recipient of the 2015 Indiana Outstanding High School Latino/Hispanic Student Award. This comment comes from her award notification: “Your strong passion for Spanish and your dedicated community service are evident.”  Amelia is a fourth-year Spanish student; she took “accelerated” courses for two years and is currently enrolled in AP Spanish.

Mrs. Watts received the 2015 EXTIMO Student Voice Award for Outstanding Spanish Teacher.  EXTIMO stands for Exceptional Teaching Impact and Motivation.  The award committee noted that Mrs. Watts serves as both inspiration and motivation to her Spanish-language students. In fact, Amelia credits Mrs. Watts as a primary reason for her interest, enjoyment and success in the study and use of the Spanish language.

While neither woman was able to attend the recent awards ceremony that took place in Indianapolis, both are looking forward to their awards being delivered to them here.

AATSP reviews many nominations in their quest to recognize “the best students and the best Spanish teachers in the state of Indiana.”  P-H-M is proud that the statewide search resulted in two talented people from Penn High School being identified and honored!

Beaded flapper dresses and silky black tuxedoes will glisten under the bright lights of Penn High School’s Center for Performing Arts this weekend, when the Penn High School Fine Arts Academy presents The Great Gatsby.

Performances will take place in the CPA on Friday, Nov. 13, and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 15, at 3 p.m. Tickets for students are $7, and tickets for adults are $10.

Penn High School principal Steve Hope said that he appreciates the complex undertaking by theatre instructor Courtney Qualls and the Kingsmen troupe to transport audiences to a fascinating era in American history.

“The Great Gatsby is a very ambitious undertaking for the Fall Play,” Hope said. “Mrs. Qualls is using a very large cast, elaborate costumes, complicated sets and even dance choreography. It is really a mini-musical. As if these challenges were not great enough, there is always a challenge in a production that is taken from such a popular novel and a recent motion picture, as the comparison between the novel, the play and the movie are inevitable. At the same time, this is also a great opportunity for all to see the differences between a novel, a live performance and a motion picture.

“I am very impressed with the work from our students. The actors have done a great job with a very physical play with a great deal of dialogue. The tech crew is as equally impressive with the set designs and lighting. I think audiences will be thrilled with the production and the level of professionalism from our students. I am so looking forward to seeing the production Saturday night.”

According to Qualls, Penn High School’s production of Gatsby features full-cast choreographed (by a cast member) dance numbers, lots of flash and sparkle, the raining of shirts, and a life-size replica of the infamous yellow car.

Qualls has established a high standard for Penn’s student-actors by selecting The Great Gatsby.

“The Great Gatsby is a classic piece of literature that is normally well-liked, and so the challenge for my actors becomes taking this beloved piece of literature and turning it into a beloved piece of art; creating a world, and telling a story that lives up to the preconceived notions that people already have,” Qualls said. “Most students have also not been in a situation like those in Gatsby. 

“A challenge comes with authentically being able to portray the emotions and actions,” Qualls continued. “This has been a challenge to all of them, but one of my goals in building this program is to not let the students get comfortable, to continue to push them to do bigger, better, and harder things. All of them have risen to the challenge and have brought this story to life in the way I had hoped they would.”

Bringing life to a character from a novel that is nearly 100 years old is a task that has been embraced by Penn High School senior Suzie Miley.

“It’s been challenge, getting into character, developing the character, how that character speaks … their body language … it’s a challenge, but it’s really, really fun,” Miley said. “It’s been an exciting time, and the cast is phenomenal.”

Qualls said that audiences at Penn’s performances will be treated to the remarkable characterization of author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic.

“Gatsby as a whole contains characters in situations that are real to audiences,” Qualls said. “The characters are developed in a way that they are complex and three-dimensional before actors even touch the script. The content of the storyline is a bit over the heads of most high school actors, in terms of being able to portray things authentically, but adult audiences can find connections with the struggles of one or more of the characters.”  

Miley said that high school students will appreciate the engaging production.

“I think the audience will love the passion of the cast, the costumes and the story,” Miley said. “A lot of juniors have read the book as part of their U.S. history curriculum. I think it’s an iconic American story that will come to life through the cast.”

According to Qualls, 10 student-designers created Gatsby’s world that audiences will see on the stage. Qualls has been assisted by two student-stage managers. There are 37 students in the cast, and another 15-to-20 students work backstage, dealing with transitions between scenes, props and costuming.

Penn High School’s technical theatre classes were in charge of the set construction, painting and implementing other tech aspects as well. In all, more than 100 students have been involved in Penn’s production of The Great Gatsby.

According to Miley, the Penn Fine Arts Academy is a vital part of Penn’s curriculum.

“Without Fine Arts, I don’t think we would be the same school that we are,” Miley said. “The choir, theater, dance … it all gives students an opportunity to express themselves in a way that the classroom can’t, or sports can’t. Music, arts, theater … it’s all incredible, and it’s all important to this school.”

Jeff Reed has taught English at Penn High School for 29 years, but he still finds the time—or makes the time!—to write. His recent children’s picture book, Sea of Echoes, has just been released by Taylor Trade Publishing.

The picture book, beautifully illustrated by Ruthie Briggs-Greenberg, tells the story of Finn the fin back whale who navigates the dangerous whale hunting waters of Iceland while he guides and protects other orphan whales on their shared journey. The tale of course ends with survival, but the theme of peril and the threat of extinction are also portrayed.

This is Reed’s first published book, although he has been writing in various forms most of his life. Of this book he says, “When I first saw Ruthie’s paintings, it made me envision a collaboration with her which would be a return to those beautiful Victorian storybooks where the book itself is a work of art.”

One particularly engaging feature of the book are the poetic captions alongside the illustrations. Readers will find a beautiful painting with a thought-provoking message on each spread. 

When Reed and Greenberg decided to collaborate on the book their vision was to craft an emotional tale supported by passion and research. Ms. Greenberg says, “Our research uncovered the sophisticated cognitive abilities of whales, and their indispensable contribution to our eco-system.”

The adventure story includes a great deal of factual information on oceanic wildlife and has a companion study guide based on the Core Curriculum Standards and aimed at students grades K-5. Reed says of the support materials, which he also authored, “Elementary teachers can use this Common Core Curriculum study guide to teach students about literature, writing and speaking and listening skills through the story of Finn, Cea and the other orphan whales.” The book itself includes a glossary and comprehensive list of resources that will point youngsters who want to learn more in the right direction.

Reed started the work in August 2012, completing an initial version by August 2013. The 32-page glossy hardcover print edition was published in early November 2015 by Taylor Trade Publishing, an imprint of Globe Pequot / Rowan & Littlefield Publishing Group; consideration is being given to an electronic version.

To distinguish himself from authors with similar names, he is credited as J. Mac Reed in Sea of Echoes and Reed may continue to publish under that name. His next project is intended for an older audience and is well underway. It is a work of historical fiction, set in Europe in the dark ages.

Sea of Echoes is available through various outlets including Barnes & Noble (in stores and online) as well as Amazon.  When shopping at Amazon for this or any other item, keep in mind that your Amazon Smile purchase can support the P-H-M Education Foundation at no additional cost to you. 

Penn High School had a strong display of talent on November 11, when 21 student-athletes gathered on “early signing day” to meet the press and formally announce their college plans.

Representing eight varsity sports, these seniors have accepted offers to continue their academic and athletic careers at colleges and universities across the nation.

“The athletic department is extremely proud of the 21 student-athletes who signed to play at the next level,” Penn High School athletic director Aaron Leniski said. “They have shown a true dedication to excelling in the classroom as well in their sport.  This is the result of a commitment to excellence on behalf of our students, parents, teachers, and coaching staff.  To have this number of athletes sign early is outstanding and speaks highly to the development of players in our sports programs.”

BASEBALL, coach Greg Dikos

• Skylar Szynski                     Indiana

BOYS BASKETBALL, coach Al Rhodes

• Trey Burns                         Bethel

GIRLS BASKETBALL, coach Kristi Kaniewski-Ulrich

• Camryn Buhr                      Lehigh
• Claire Carlton                     Univ. of Indianapolis
• Lindsay Chrise                    Tennessee-Martin
• Delaney Jarrett                   St. Mary’s of the Woods
• Kaitlyn Marenyi                  American University

GIRLS GOLF, coach Dominic Demeter

• Cassidy Jurkaites                Western Illinois

GIRLS SOCCER, coach Jeff Hart

• Sydney Bright                       Holy Cross
• Hannah Ehrhardt                St. Francis
• MacKenzie Mason               Wittenberg
• Kamra Solomon                  Furman
• Jensen Stroinski                  IPFW

SOFTBALL, coach Beth Zachary

• Alyssa Griman                     Illinois-Chicago
• Halle Hixenbaugh               Boston College
• Olivia Magaldi                      Wisconsin-Green Bay
• Addison Pixley                     Valparaiso
• Allie Piatt, travel team        Lewis

SWIMMING, coach Jess Preston

• Kyle Morris                          Indiana

WRESTLING, coach Brad Harper

• Drew Hildebrandt           Central Michigan
• Kobe Woods                     Purdue

In their remarks, students gave credit to their coaches and thanks to their parents, along with expressing excitement for what lies ahead.

Click here to access an in-depth article which includes photos, stats, and coaches’ comments on each of these outstanding students. 

Penn High School’s National Honor Society inducted 63 new members to the organization during an induction ceremony on Wednesday, October 28.

South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg served as the guest speaker.

NHS is a service organization built upon the pillars of academic excellence, community service, character, and leadership.

“Penn High School embraces the virtues of the National Honor Society, and is proud to be a participating school,” Penn High School principal Steve Hope said. “The National Honor Society plays a vital role in the Penn High School culture. I would like to congratulate all of the newest inductees, and commend Penn’s National Honor Society sponsor Maryellyn Knight on her efforts.”

Penn junior Baker Nasser said that he appreciated Mayor Buttigieg sharing how the four pillars of NHS have made an impact in his life of service.

“The four values of NHS are very valuable to high school students,” Nasser said. “They really make a student think about what kind of things they can do, not only for themselves, but for the community, for the world. It shows them that it’s not always about trying to get the best score on a test or trying to do the most amount of tutoring, it’s about developing yourself and helping the people around you. These are values that I will carry with me throughout life.”

Penn’s National Honor Society provides tutoring to Penn students, as well as running the school’s recycling program. It also offers after-school homework and tutoring assistance at Penn and also at some of the Penn-Harris-Madison middle schools and elementary schools. National Honor Society members at Penn complete 40 hours of service work and at least six hours of tutoring each school year.

Among the service activities planned by NHS are a Thanksgiving food drive, and a winter gift collection effort for families in need. The NHS also has two blood drives a year. The next NHS blood drive is scheduled for Nov. 5 and 6 in Penn’s Center for Performing Arts lobby.

Knight has been the NHS sponsor the past seven years. Penn’s NHS currently has 131 members with Wednesday’s induction.

“The National Honor Society is an important presence, because we serve many students here at Penn through the tutoring program, and we help the environment by recycling all the classroom paper and plastic,” Knight said.