Penn’s Mrs. Hope Named PHM Secondary Teacher of the Year

To help kick off National Appreciation Week, P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker surprised two very special teachers on Monday, May 2 to notify them that they had been chosen as year’s P-H-M 2022 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year. 

Monday afternoon, Dr. Thacker stopped by Penn High School to surprise Art Teacher Mrs. Becky Hope to award her with the honor of PHM Secondary Teacher of the Year. Earlier in the morning, Dr. Thacker surprised Elsie Rogers Elementary School 4th grade teacher Mrs. Amanda Fox to inform her that she had been named Elementary Teacher of the Year. Click here to read that story.

Mrs. Hope knew something was up as soon as she opened the door to her classroom, then everyone yelled out “SURPRISE!” Mrs. Hope was so happy and touched to see her normal small quiet room full with ceramic students, fellow art teachers, Penn & PHM administrators, Superintendent Dr. Thacker and her husband and former Penn Principal, Dr. Steve Hope. In classic Mrs. Hope style–positive and funny–she quipped back “I’m guessing everyone’s here to celebrate my 25th birthday!” Watch the video below to see more of the surprise … 

Her friendly and energetic personality is what Mrs. Hope is known for. People are drawn to her. She’s an art teacher, comedian–loved by everyone she meets and teaches. Click here to view the photo gallery below to see how much Mrs. Hope’s students and colleagues care about her.

“She is one of the most positive, creative, and supportive people that I’ve ever worked with. She is loved by her students and coworkers alike. I can’t think of anyone else more deserving of this honor,” said fellow Penn Art teacher and nominator Ms. Barb Miller.

Mrs. Hope is the PLC Leader for Penn’s Visual Arts Department, teaches AP Studio Art class, manages the Senior Showcase, sponsor’s student Art Club. Mrs. Hope has also helped establish, run and expand P-H-M’s elementary summer Visual Arts Academy. 

“I am proud of the Visual Arts Academy which provides an opportunity for our youngest artists and P-H-M students to be creators, listeners, questioners, and writers about art,” said Mrs. Hope. “I feel fortunate every day to work with students who are willing to be challenged, to explore and investigate. … Also I am thankful for all of the fellow teachers who provide inspiration and support for all the young learners in our classrooms.”

The Visual Arts Academy partners with the University of Notre Dame‘s Snite Art Museum to share museum art pieces that students can study and use as an inspiration for creating their own art pieces and writing projects. This year the Visual Arts Academy is being offered the second, third and fourth weeks of July (click if you’d like to sign your child up for this summer’s sessions). 

The Academy has also made it possible for the high school students volunteers to participate in Notre Dame’s Apprentice Program. Mrs. Hope is a mentor encouraging her students to get experience displaying and selling their artwork at such events as South Bend’s Art Beat and the P-H-M Education Foundation’s Penn Student Art show at Granger’s Max Black Fine Arts Studio. She also lends her guidance and talents for numerous activities and charitable events, including making decorations and selfie stations for Exceptional Education’s annual student dances. 

View the photo gallery below to see her students’ and fellow teachers’ reactions to the big news.

Penn students excel at ISSMA qualification event

The Penn Concert Choir, Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Winds competed in the ISSMA Group I State Qualification Event. This is the contest that determines the State Finals line up for Bands, Choirs and Orchestras.

All three of these ensembles Received Gold Ratings for their performances. In addition, all three received a “With Distinction” designation, which is reserved for groups earning an exceptionally high score.

In addition, our Symphonic Winds (our top concert band) qualified for the State Finals. They will perform at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at Lawrence Central High School. This will mark the 20th Penn Band that has performed at the ISSMA Concert State Finals.

Penn High School named among 2022 nation’s Best High Schools by U.S. News & World Report

Penn High School has once again been ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the nation’s best high schools. Penn ranks 1st in the South Bend area, 20th in Indiana, and #1,486 in the national rankings (out of nearly 18,000 high schools nationwide). This puts Penn in the top 8% of the nation’s best high schools for 2022!

Penn’s other points of distinction noted by the prestigious national magazine ranking, students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement course work and exam. At least 41% of Penn students enrolled in AP took at least one test, and 31% of those passed at least one AP exam.

The rankings are based on data collected for the 2020-2021, 2019-2020 and 2018-2019 academic years, detailed school-specific information on enrollment, graduation rates, student body demographics, location, school type, and results of state assessments as well as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests. Click here to read more about the methodology.

Indiana high school students typically follow the Core 40 curriculum, which includes required classes in English Language Arts, math, Social Studies and Science, among others. Students who fulfill additional requirements can earn a diploma with academic or technical honors. Penn has a 97% graduation rate with approximately 78% of students in 2019 enrolled in AP, Dual Credit, and Industry certification classes.

For the 2021-2022 school year, Penn maintained the 97% graduation rate and about 76% of students in 2019 enrolled in AP, Dual Credit, and Industry certification classes. 

Class of 2023 included these points of distinction.

The Academies at Penn High School provide the framework for student success. Through their work in each academy, students find relevant and meaningful coursework taught in a supportive environment where each student is known well by his teachers and peers. Through these “smaller learning communities,” students build relationships while engaged in relevant learning experiences.

In 2022, Penn’s Early College Academy was re-endorsed as an “Early College High School” by The Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis. The Academy was first endorsed in 2019; it is regarded as an exemplar for other high schools across Indiana implementing an Early College program. The 8 EC Core Principles (as outlined by CELL) are: 

  1. Targeted Student Population
  2. Curriculum & Plan of Study
  3. College-Going Culture
  4. Rigorous Instruction
  5. Supports for Student Success
  6. Collaboration & Partnerships
  7. Leadership & Staffing
  8. Data Collection, Analysis, and Use

Penn is a Four Star School earning the Project Lead the Way Distinguished High School distinction for 2021-22 school year, and in 2016 the STEM Academy was certified as a Full STEM Certified Program by the Indiana Department of Education. 

Click to see the full list of Indiana High Schools as ranked by US News & World Report in 2021. 

Penn Students make 10,000 Meals with Cultivate Food Rescue

Three years ago, Penn Exceptional Education Teacher Mrs. Amy Zimmer started having her students volunteer every month at Cultivate Food Rescue to make meals for their Backpack Program. Mrs. Zimmer’s Exceptional Education students have worked for a total of 23, 2-hour shifts packing 9,858 meals for food insecure kindergarten and first graders in neighboring school districts who participate in Cultivate’s Backpack Program.

Penn students met the tremendous milestone of making 10,000 meals on the evening of Thursday, April 13! Take a look and watch the video below …

To celebrate their accomplishment Cultivate threw a pizza party for the Penn students and the students and Mrs. Zimmer bought the students a cake to celebrate!

Throughout the three years, Mrs. Zimmer has also incorporated Logan Center’s Transitional Specialists with each visit. One or two Transitional Specialists have served along the Penn group to help facilitate students to have successful volunteer experiences. Specialist Liz Hambruch is pictured above in the green ND Irish shirt on the far right side. They have also helped transport students to and from Cultivate. Mrs. Zimmer states she couldn’t do this special project with out Logan Center’s assistance.

Mrs. Zimmer created the activity to help students explore careers as well as acquire vocational skills in an actual culinary facility. This voluntary program is done outside of school time; parents transport their students to Cultivate or Logan Center assists. Mrs. Zimmer was P-H-M’s 2020 Secondary Teacher of the Year.

The partnership with Cultivate and Logan has been incredible for Penn students.

Penn Art students earn honors

Two Penn High School Art students earned awards in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Violin Art Competition.

Fiona Brodzinski, has been chosen as a Streeter Hadley Matthews Grand Award Winner of the 2022 Juried Exhibition of Student Art.

Rayah Coomes was chosen as a Regional Winner.

Both are students of Penn Art Instructor Barb Miller.

Brodzinski and Coomes will be honored at the Awards Ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Avenue in Indianapolis.

"Legato" - Rayah Coomes

Penn Choir performed at Disney Springs

Penn High School’s Choir performed at the Waterside Stage of Disney Springs in Orlando on Wednesday, April 6. Click to watch the LiveStream on the Penn High School Choir Facebook Page.

A total of 45 Penn students performed a repertoire that included:

  • Rhythm of Life
  • When You Believe (Prince of Egypt)
  • Friend Like Me (Aladdin)
  • Coco Medley (Coco)
  • We Don’t Talk About Bruno (Encanto)
  • Touch the Sky (Brave)

Click to watch the LiveStream on the Penn High School Choir Facebook Page.

This performance kicked-off the anticipated Spring Concert (May 5-6), which has a theme of “Chase the Wind & Touch the Sky”, featuring Disney music and characters. This was the first time the choir has traveled and performed at Disney.

Penn student playwrights to have work showcased at Notre Dame

Three of Penn’s Theatre Arts students (two from Introduction to Theatre Arts and one from Advanced Theatre Arts) have been selected for a staged reading at Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center as part of the 2022 Michiana Young Playwrights Project.

Penn Theatre Instructor Kathryn Hein said that the students were selected among area playwrights to have their work featured at Notre Dame Film, Television, and Theatre.

The chosen pieces and writers are:

  • “F.L.O.W.” by Liam Palmer
  • “I Don’t Dance” by Evelyn Shrout
  • “Misfortune in the Mansura Marsh” by Allison Bridges

The reading will be at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Click here to reserve tickets.

“I am incredibly proud of all of our students who submitted following the masterclass that Stacey Stewart and Becca Campana led with the Intro classes,” Hein said.

Penn community turns out for Hair Donation Event

Penn High School’s Short Hair Because We Care held a Hair Donation Event for people who are suffering hair loss due to medical conditions. The event was held at Penn on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Penn students win National Scholastic Art Awards

Two Penn High School students were named winners of National Scholastic Art Awards.

Images of the artwork are posted below.

Nina Pulja, a Junior, won a Silver Medal for her photograph, “Nightmares”.

Rayah Coomes, a Sophomore, won a Silver Medal for her oil pastel drawing, “Fractured Land”.

Penn’s Bowers named to GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program

Penn High School Social Studies instructor Eric Bowers has been selected to participate in the inaugural GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program sponsored by the Genocide Education Project (GenEd).

After a rigorous selection process, 16 highly qualified secondary-level educators from 14 states were chosen for the program. The group will embark on a ten-day intensive professional development program in Armenia in July 2022, based at the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute.

Upon their return to the U.S., the GenEd Teacher Fellows will carry out their professional development activities for other teachers. 

Bowers has degrees in Social Studies Education and History. He teaches AP European History and AP U.S. History at Penn. He is the Model United Nations club sponsor, the Social Studies Academic Coach, and advises the Armenian Club.

Bowers was named a Fulbright Scholar in 2017, studying at Regensburg University at Germany for four weeks that summer. He is a graduate of Bethel University.