Attention Seniors!

Jostens will be here on Wednesday, November 18th during all lunches to take graduation products, and cap and gown orders.  Please bring your completed form and deposit to the order table in the Cafeteria.  You can also order online at  http://jostens.com.  If you have any questions regarding your order, please call 1-800-Jostens or see the representative on November 18th.

Kamra Solomon IHSAA Mental Attitude Award Winner

  

Penn High School student-athlete Kamra Solomon was named the winner of the Indiana High School Athletic Association Mental Attitude Award on Saturday following the Class 2-A girls soccer state championship game in Indianapolis.

Solomon, a senior, is the 21st Penn High School student-athlete to win the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award.

“There is no greater individual award for a student-athlete than a mental attitude award,” Penn High School principal Steve Hope said. “We have pride in having a Penn student win a prestigious award that factors in academic achievement, sportsmanship and athletic accomplishment.”

Penn girls soccer coach Jeff Hart said that Solomon has been a difference-maker for the Kingsmen, who finished state runner-up this season. “We have a lot of special seniors, but obviously, Kamra stands out,” Hart said. “She stepped on our practice field as a freshman and was a starter from Day 1. Then, we named her a captain her sophomore year. For the first-time in school history, we had a three-year captain,” Hart recounted.

“Kamra continued to elevate her game throughout her career. She was a first-team all-state player as a junior. She’s just such a well-rounded, outstanding, young student-athlete who keeps things in perspective.” Hart said that Solomon carved out a lasting legacy as a leader. “Whether she’s trying to show leadership to a great young player, or a girl who isn’t getting much playing time on the JV, Kamra treats all kids the same, and kids respond to that type of student leadership,” Hart said. “We’re going to miss her a lot, as we’re going to miss all of our seniors, but she’s going to do great things in the future. She’s made a huge impact on our program.”

 Solomon is the daughter of Anthony and Tracy Solomon. Anthony Solomon is an assistant basketball coach on the University of Notre Dame men’s basketball staff. Tracy Solomon is a former track star at the University of Virginia.

 Kamra Solomon credited her parents for teaching her about leadership. “My mom has a really strong personality, so I’m really outspoken, but my Dad is the one who, says, ‘You have to stick up for yourself. If you want to be a leader, then you have to  try to do what’s right, and people will follow.’”

 Solomon said that she was grateful for the award: “It really means alot,” Solomon said. “It speaks to what my coaches and the administrators think of me. I tried to be a leader in this program, but really, my teammates have helped me. It was a team  effort.”

PENN IHSAA MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNERS

1983-84, Football (4-A), Mark Plencner

1989-90, Football (5-A), Eric Kline

1992-93, Girls Cross Country, Jill Nace

1995-96, Football (5-A), Matt Geesman

1996-97, Football (5-A), Scott Becker

1997-98, Baseball (4-A), Blake Gaugler

1997-98, Football (5-A), Brad Monhaut

1999-00, Boys Soccer, Matthew Abbott

2000-01, Football (5-A), Justin Smith

2002-03, Girls Tennis, Lauren Woodward

2003-04, Girls Golf, Casey North

2003-04, Football (5-A), Wade Iams

2004-05, Girls Cross Country, Laura Carr

2005-06, Boys Tennis, Chris Jordan

2010-11, Girls Basketball (4-A), Ashley Lutz

2011-12, Girls Golf, Deanna Song

2011-12, Volleyball (4-A), Kaitlyn Hickey

2011-12, Football (5-A), Patrick Adkins

2014-15, Wrestling, Chase Osborn

2014-15, Baseball (Class 4-A), Tim Lira

2015-16, Football (6-A), Camden Bohn
2015-16, Girls Soccer (Class 2-A), Kamra Solomon

Penn Band on to State & Penn Football after Regional Championship

Three Penn Kingsmen teams and the Band were in tough competition this past weekend vying for sectional and state championships.

  • Kingsmen varsity football team brought home its 22nd Sectional Title in program history with a 49 – 14 win over Chesterton Friday, Oct. 30. The IHSAA Sectional Champs will take on Merrillville this Friday, Nov. 6 for the Regional Championship. Penn Coach Cory Yeoman talks about the win after the game in this YouTube clip.
     
  • On Halloween night, Penn’s Marching Band also took the gridiron to qualify for State Finals. They clinched 9th place with their “Bloom” performance. State Finals are this coming Sat., Nov. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. See how other local high school bands did in this article by the Elkhart Truth.

     
  • Penn Girls Varsity Soccer team won 2015 Class 2A State Runner-up in a heartbreaking loss of Brebeuf 2, Penn 1 in the State Championship game on Oct. 31. Penn senior and Health and Human Services Academy student Kamra Solomon won the IHSAA mental attitude award. The Kingsmen girls had a remarkable season of 21-1-2.
      
     
  • Penn girls Cross Country placed eighth in their State competitions also held on Sat., Oct. 31.

For scores and feature stories on all Kingsmen teams, visit Penn’s student newspaper website The Pennant.

Penn Marching Kingsmen qualify for state

Penn High School Principal Steve Hope (left) accepts the Indiana marching band state finalist trophy from Marching Kingsmen drum majors: (from left) Giselle Goad, Eric Wistreich, Reagan Johanson and Samantha Fluharty. 

It started on the black asphalt of the student parking lot at Penn High School, when July was its steamiest. It will end on Saturday night, Nov. 7, on the green turf of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. After more than 400 hours per student of marching and rehearsing and pouring total commitment into pursuing a dream, the Penn High School Marching Band will showcase its talent in the Indiana State School Music Association state championships.

Penn’s Marching Kingsmen will perform at 8:19 p.m. on Saturday in the culmination of the marching band season – the state championships. The Marching Kingsmen are one of 10 bands to qualify for the Open Class A state finals. Penn will compete with Avon, Carmel, Castle, Center Grove, Ben Davis, Goshen, Homestead, Lake Central, Lawrence Central for the state championship. Admission for the state championship is $20 for adults, and $18 for students and pre-schoolers. Babies under two years who will not be occupying a seat are admitted free.

Penn High School principal Steve Hope lauded the efforts of the entire Marching Kingsmen program, and in particular the efforts of drum majors Samantha Fluharty, Giselle Goad, Eric Wistreich and Reagan Johanson.  “I am very proud of the Penn Marching Kingsmen and their qualifying for state,” Penn High School principal Steve Hope said. “This has been a year where the seniors have had to do a lot of mentoring with the freshmen this year.  “This year's show is a testament to both the band leadership and the great effort from all of the underclassmen,” Hope continued. “The drum majors have done a great job of leading this band into the state finals, and I cannot wait to see the Marching Kingsmen at Lucas Oil.”

 This year’s theme for the Marching Kingsmen is “Bloom”, and it is a unique concept that the Marching Kingsmen have used to elevate their talents.  “I think “Bloom” is a really good theme for a show,” Wistreich said. “A lot of marching band shows tell a story, and they can be restricting, where design for a show says, ‘We can’t do this, because it doesn’t fit into the story.’“With “Bloom”, the idea of the story is look at growth and the verb of blooming and transforming into something beautiful,” Wistreich explained. “It being that, it’s easier for us to have more freedom to have different body movements, or the placement of props, and it’s not as restricting.”

Marching Kingsmen band director Glenn Northern said that the planning starts in the previous winter. He praised the efforts of parents who have invested more than 20 hours a week during the season, providing services ranging from meals to transporting equipment.  “We have some of the best band parents in the state, if not the best band parents in the state,” Goad said. “They donate their time, their money, and their resources. We wouldn’t be where we are without them.”  Northern said that this year’s Marching Kingsmen have been able to make improvements late in the season, which is a challenging task.  According to Goad, the band has been driven by the experience of not making the state finals in 2013.

“A lot of people were a little nervous at semistate, seeing that we didn’t make state in 2013, and we had made state for a lot of years in a row beforehand,” Goad said. “I think it meant a lot to people to prove that we could come back, not only after making it last year, but making it this year, also. I think it’s a sign that we’re on to another road of making a streak of Penn Marching Band advancing to state.  “I love the energy that this band has, and I think that’s going to give us a great chance to do really well at state,” Goad said. “I think the seniors had one common goal, to make state, and now that we’re here, we’re going to push ahead and do our best.”

Wistreich is looking forward to returning to Lucas Oil Stadium.  “Lucas Oil Stadium is really, really cool,” Wistreich said. “Every year that I’ve been there, I’ve experienced it in different capacities. My freshman year, I was blown away. This place is so big. It’s so amazing. There are so many people. I was nervous. I was a freshman. I had never performed in front of 30,000 people before.  ‘When I was a junior, I performed as a soloist. I forever have this image etched in my brain of all of the people. It was just a really great experience. Now, as a senior, I’ll be watching this band that I’m in charge of and that I’m really proud of.”

Performing in the state finals is an exceptional learning experience with long-term benefits for Penn’s students.  “For those of us who are looking for a career in music, to go to state is obviously something that is highly regarded,” Wistreich said. “Indiana is one of the biggest states in the country for marching band. We can put this experience on our applications for colleges. People will recognize that we were part of a really good marching band, and their music program is something that was not a joke. We’re somebody who is to be taken seriously.”

Northern also loves the educational value that marching band offers students.  “The skills that our students have mastered as part of the marching band go far beyond their musical skills,” Northern said. “Their problem-solving and collaboration skills make an activity such as marching band quite valuable in a student's scope of learning.”

DIRECTOR OF BANDS: Glenn Northern

ASSOCIATE BAND DIRECTOR: Chris Paulson

ASSOCIATE BAND DIRECTOR: Bill Leather

ASSISTANT BAND DIRECTOR: Jeff Carnall

ASSISTANT BAND DIRECTOR: Robi Davidson

ASSISTANT BAND DIRECTOR: Isaac Brinberg

PENN MARCHING KINGSMEN STAFF:

Jen Buckholz          Color Guard

Melissa Shull          Color Guard

Kali Marquart       Color Guard

Brittany Wakley    Color Guard

Brandi Holycross   Color Guard

Cassidy Disselberger  Color Guard

Martha Conrad        Color Guard

Jenn Witt                Woodwinds

Stan Garber            Woodwinds

Steve Bizoe               Brass

Dodi Carnall            Brass

Daniel Payton          Brass

Stefan Roose            Brass

Isaac Brinberg         Brass

Clayton Quantz       Percussion

Josh Verub              Percussion

Jeff Perry                 Percussion

Mark Hardiek           Drill Design

Kent Klee                Music Arrangements

The high school is haunted? It will be Friday night!!

Learning takes center stage on Friday, Oct. 30, when the Penn High School Theatre Club presents its annual “Haunted House” event.

A family-friendly “Haunted House” will take place from 6-7 p.m., and then a scarier “Haunted House” emerges from the shadows at 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Cost to the public is $5 a person. Guests can enter Penn through Door C.

“The Penn Drama Club ‘Haunted House’ event is mainly a student-run activity,” Penn High School principal Steve Hope said. “It gives our students an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills, and provide a source of entertainment for our community.”

One Theatre Club member explained how the Haunted House is a meaningful learning opportunity.  “It teaches us to work together and it helps us develop our organizational skills. It also has the acting aspect, so we develop our skills in that area as far learning to stay in character for a long time.”

Another added, “A lot of haunted houses in this area are very expensive. We believe we’re running a quality haunted house, and we wanted to give people a chance to come to Penn and see what we can do, and not pay so much money.”

Penn High School drama teacher Courtney Qualls said that this is the second year for the “Haunted House” at Penn, which will take place in the Penn High School Center for Performing Arts, the Studio Theatre, and the scene room.

This year’s setting is a circus, and the scenes are built around the horrors of what can go wrong at a circus. Penn students stage the event under the guidance of a few adult volunteers.

“The students organize, design, and implement the entire event,” Qualls said. “I provide some guidance along the way and fill out the paperwork, but the whole event is entirely student organized. They will be the ones in the “Haunted House” scaring and out and about the lobby creating the atmosphere.”

Qualls said that “Haunted Houses are a fun Fall tradition and the event is appreciated by a lot of families in the community.

“As theatre people, we tend to love Halloween, because it plays into what we do in the theatre world- dress up, create characters and get to step outside of ourselves to explore something new,” Qualls said. “With involving the community we get to do what we love while providing a safe place for the community to come and enjoy and see how talented our students are with not only acting but with make-up designs, costuming, hidden talents.”

According to Qualls, the event is an important learning experience for Penn’s students.

“I love the unity it brings to the students and the things I learn about them,” Qualls said. “Students from Theatre Club get to interact and have fun and learn about each other. They get to hang out and bond over this weird event and their love of what they do. I get to learn about all of the awesome things they can do that they don’t always vocalize. Last year we discovered some really talented make-up artists, I can’t wait to see what we learn this year!”

Third Coast Percussion: Turning ordinary items into extraordinary learning

Sean Connors of the ensemble Third Coast Percussion draped a white cloth on a table in Penn High School’s percussion room, and set out brass bowls, glass bottles, bamboo placemats and barbeque grates. They were ordinary items, that through the creative mingling of beat, rhythm and melody, were transformed into extraordinary music, and extraordinary learning for Penn students.

Internationally acclaimed ensemble Third Coast
Percussion performed and conducted a workshop
for Penn High School students.  

Click the link to listen to the music of Third Coast Percussion:

http://www.thirdcoastpercussion.com/look-and-listen/audio-and-video/

Pictured at left: Penn percussion teacher Bill Leather, Peter Martin, Sean Connors, Penn High principal Steve Hope, David Skidmore and Robert Dillon.

Third Coast Percussion, the University of Notre Dame’s ensemble in residence, performed for Penn High School’s percussion class and conducted a workshop for the students on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

In the process, the quartet of Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore opened up a gateway to sound exploration for the students.

“As percussionists, everything in the world can be an instrument for us,” Skidmore said. “Anything you can make a sound with is an instrument. That, and a number of other ideas behind our music are new to students, and that’s really fun for us, because it’s a chance for us to show students some ideas behind music that we never got a chance to learn about until we went to college or grad school.

“A lot of what we love about our music is a constant sense of exploration,” Skidmore said. “There’s a whole world out there of crazy, weird sounds, and that’s a part of what we do, as well.”

Penn High School principal Steve Hope appreciated the creative learning opportunity for Penn students.

“Penn High School was extremely pleased to welcome the internationally acclaimed quartet, Third Coast Percussion, to perform at Penn and interact with our students,” Hope said. “Exceptional learning moments like these for our students make our Fine Arts Academy a difference-maker on the secondary education landscape.”

Third Coast Percussion encourages students to ‘Think Outside the Drum,’ and explore creativity and expression through sound. The interactive performance incorporates music and learning objectives that include the scientific properties of sound waves.

Penn High School student David Obert said that he gained insights from the Third Coast Percussion event.

“It was really cool to see (Third Coast Percussion) perform, because they play the instruments that we play, but they play at a level we haven’t heard. They also played a lot of instruments that we’ve never played before or seen. I had a lot of new ideas about what I could do with percussion, and the opportunities that are out there.”

Obert added that he appreciated the fact that Penn offers its music students high-level and relevant learning opportunities.

“I was really impressed that Penn brought in a big-name group like this,” Obert said. “I was surprised we could get there here. They travel all over. We got to talk to them, and they gave us a lot of good advice, about playing with a group or a band. I’ll be able put those ideas into our Kaleidoscope concert in November. We’re working on their ideas in class.”

Allowing students to meet with accomplished musicians enhances the classroom instruction.

“This performance gives Penn students the opportunity to see professionals in action, a group of musicians that has dedicated their lives to performing, and make a living performing,” Penn High School percussion teacher Bill Leather said. “It gives our students a glimpse into that reality of performance as a lifestyle.”

Skidmore said that the group enjoys the opportunity to meet younger musicians.

“We love the music that we play, and we’re very passionate about it,” Skidmore said. “We’re very fortunate to perform and teach for a living. A big part of what we do, when we visit music students at schools, is communicate that passion. We talk about the music that we play, the things we love about it, and find connections between that music and what the students are learning.”

Skidmore said that he appreciates Penn’s commitment to teaching fine arts.

“We were all fortunate when we were growing to have great educational experiences through public schools,” Skidmore said. “That’s something that is sometimes in danger. Everywhere we go on tour, and we go all over the country, we’re almost always teaching in schools. If nothing else comes of that, just showing people how valuable the arts are, and how important it is to continue supporting the arts in school, that alone is something that we really love to bring to everywhere we visit.”

Third Coast Percussion will be performing this Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. The performance will include four world premieres, including a new piece written for hundreds of percussion instruments, the SATB choir and audience participation using their personal cell phones.

Click the link for ticket information to the Third Coast Percussion performance at Notre Dame on Friday, Oct. 30:  http://performingarts.nd.edu/calendar/view.aspx?id=6711

Attention Seniors!

  Jostens will be here on Friday, October 30th and Wednesday, November 4th during lunch to take graduation products and cap and gown orders.  Please bring your completed form and deposit to the order table.  You can also order online at http://jostens.com.  If you have any questions regarding your order, please call 1-800-Jostens or see the representative on October 30th, or November 4th.  

Three teams continue their state championship quests!

It was another great weekend for Penn Athletics! Here is the October 23-25 sports recap:

 

  • PENN FOOTBALL – Won the IHSAA Sectional Semi-Final!  
    • Next: Friday Oct. 30th, Penn vs Chesterton in Sectional Championship game @ Chesterton High School in Chesterton.  Kickoff is set for 7:30pm EDT/6:30pm  CST

 

  • PENN GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY – Placed 4th at the IHSAA Semi-State!  
    • Next: Saturday, Oct. 31st, State Championship meet @ LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.  Race is scheduled to start at 1:45pm EDT

 

  • PENN GIRLS SOCCER – Won the IHSAA Semi-State!  
    • Next: Saturday, Oct. 31st,  Penn vs. Brebeuf in State Championship match @ IUPUI A. Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium in Indianapolis. Game time is set for 3:30pm. EDT. 

 

The girls soccer team celebrate its Semi-State win.
The girls cross country team show off their Semi-State ribbons.
 
 
 

These teams suffered losses in tournament play, Oct. 23-25.  Bottom line: They had exceptional seasons and these student-athletes have much to be proud of!

 

  • Penn Volleyball won the IHSAA Sectional Semi-Final match on Saturday vs. Northridge, but lost the Sectional Championship to Elkhart Memorial on Saturday night.  Their season is now complete at 20-16.

  • Penn Boys Cross Country placed 7th at the Semi-State.  They missed the cutoff for state by 1 place.  No individuals advanced.  Their season is now complete.

  • Penn Boys Soccer lost a heart breaker in overtime (PK's) at the Semi-State.  Their season is now complete at 16-5.  

  • Penn Boys Tennis Doubles Team of Thomas Gifford and Tim Porsche lost on Friday at the IHSAA State Finals. These two had an amazing run! 

Kingsmen Spellers Perfect Again

For the second time this season, the Penn High School Hoosier Spell Bowl team turned in perfect ’90’ scores from both its varsity and junior varsity as the Kingsmen won the Logansport Invitational on Monday night, October 26.

The perfect varsity score was the team’s fifth ’90’ of the season as the Kingsmen swept all seven invitationals which they entered.  The perfect varsity score was Penn’s 45th in history.

The final standings for the Logansport Invitational were:

1.)  Penn                                               90
2.)  Martinsville                                    78
3.)  Kouts                                              74
4.)  Indianapolis Pike                          72
5.)  East Noble                                     62
6.)  Plymouth                                       59
7.)  Logansport                                   49
8.) Marion  (Ind.)                                 29
9.)  Winamac                                       22
10.)  Lafayette Jeff                              14

Perfect varsity spellers for Penn were:  Michelle Tapp, Athreya Sundaram, Muqsit Buchh, Kanika Arora, Hannah McGinnness, Presto George, Maggie Finnessy, Hannah Smith, Faihaan Arif and Chris Yun.

Perfect junior varsity spellers for the Kingsmen were:  Chelsea Chen, Fezaan Kazi, Priya Chaudhary, Ali Sualeh, Yejee Oh, Tingyi Lu, Alice Kwak, Ahsan Suddiqui, Celine Wang and Amy Bernard.

Coach of the Kingsmen is Pete DeKever.

Next up for the Kingsmen is the regional meet on Monday,  November 2, at Plymouth High School.

Submitted by Joe DeKever

The Marching Kingsmen prepare to WOW! judges and fans at Semi-State

The Penn Marching Kingsmen won fourth place honors after performing October 17 at Chesterton High School at the ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) Regional Marching Band Competition. The band earned "With Distinction" Awards for Music and Effect, as well as advancing to the Semi-State Competition!

Twenty Class A Bands will compete at the ISSMA Semi-State on October 31st at Ben Davis High School, located on the west side of Indianapolis. The top ten finishers will meet again on November 7 at the Indiana Marching Band State Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Marching Kingsmen will also perform Saturday, October 24th, at Lucas Oil Stadium as part of the Bands of America Indianapolis Super-Regional Contest. Sixty-four bands are slated to perform over two days, with the highest scoring fourteen bands advancing to the Saturday Evening Finals Competition. The Bands of America event gives the group one more opportunity to perfect their routine ahead of state finals.

This year’s show, called “Bloom,” pairs dazzling choreography and stirring music centered on the themes of life and growth, and ends in the spectacle of colorful blossoms spreading across the field.

The Marching Kingsmen are made up of 205 dedicated students, including drum majors, musicians, and color guard. They are led by band director Glenn Northern, who is assisted by a cadre of staff and volunteers. The Marching Kingsmen have always enjoyed tremendous support from a group of very dedicated parents and the loyal Band Boosters, whose fall weekends are often spent following the band to offsite competitions. 

Stay informed about the band’s semi-state (Oct. 31) and state (Nov. 7) outcomes via Penn’s Twitter account.