Penn Baseball beat Mishawaka, 6-5, on Friday, May 11, on Senior Night.

Please see the photo gallery below. To download a high resolution jpg file from the photo gallery, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function.

We try to explain the mission of Penn High School, but sometimes the words of administrators, teachers and staff really don’t do it justice as much as the students do when told from their perspective.

World Languages Academy student Katrina Kulczar has studied not only French, but also American Sign Language. It’s through these studies of World Languages that she came to understand the language of Penn High school! 

Click the video below to watch Katrina’s Class of 2018 student profile … 

Commencement will be held Friday, May 25, click for more details.

In these final weeks leading up to Graduation, we’ve been introducing you to senior from each of Penn’s seven Academies. Click to watch those videos.
 

From directing musicals, leading Penn's Early College Academy to starting a school for orphaned children in Ethopia … 2018 PHM's Teacher of the Year Danielle Black believes that EVERY CHILD MATTERS!  She was honored at the annual  P-H-M Employee Recognition & Retiree Dinner (May 16, 2018) with this video, with this video …

Mrs. Black’s family was on hand for last night’s honors. Click to learn more about Mrs. Black and to see the video from May 4 when P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker made the surprise visit to Mrs. Black’s classroom to announce that she had been chosen as 2018 Teacher of the Year.

Penn High School will graduate 869 students on Friday, May 25, at Purcell Pavilion on the University of Notre Dame campus.

At the Class of 2018 Senior Recognition Night ceremony on Tuesday, May 15, Principal Sean Galiher announced that just over $8 million in scholarships has been award to the Class of 2018!

“It has truly been an honor and privilege for me to get to know the 2018 graduating class of Penn High School,” Penn Principal Sean Galiher said. “Their talents and skills are bountiful and I have had the privilege to witness their positive leadership and dedication to our school all year long. I wish this class the best with their futures and know each student will continue to represent their families and community with pride. Congratulations!”

Penn’s Class of 2018 features 17 Valedictorians: Nicholas Casetti, Madeline Cullison, Margaret Finnessy, Kendra Fuelling, Kristine Hocker, Morgan Jankowski, Fezaan Kazi, Veronica Kirgios, Sybil Kurian, Kendra Laidig, Erin Ludwig, Bryan Mai, Christopher Mazurek, Matthew Rach, Maheera Siddique, Mackenzie Wood and Renee Yaseen. Click to read more about these students and see what their future plans are. The Valedictorians have an average grade-point average of 4.4 on a scale of 4.0!

Lauren Frank and David Li earned Salutatorian status. The average GPA of the salutatorians is 4.3! Click to read more about this year’s Salutatorians.

Big awards announced for the night were Kendra Laidig as the surprise winner of both the Kingsmen of the Year and the Schmucker Awards.

James Morris was named the recipient of the Donna and Dr. Jerry Thacker Scholarship, which is based on character, service to Penn, and involvement in extracurricular activities.

Matthew Forsey and Jane Musema earned the Principal’s Leadership Award.

Nakala Bell, Jason Gaines, Hope Gilbride, Shane Hullinger, Evan Mercurio, and Charlotte White were named winners of the Principal’s Academic Excellence Award.

Savannah Barrier, Daniel Dautel, Ekachi Emenim, Kelsey Madden, Dimitri Napoleon, Samuel Padrnos, Sara Rodriguez, and Brian Yu won the Principal’s Citizenship and Service Awards.

This year’s class has six National Merit Scholarship Finalists: Nicholas Casetti, Margaret Finnessy, Kristine Hocker, Shane Hullinger, Kendra Laidig, and Renee Yaseen.

Nicholas Casetti also earned Indiana Academic All-State Honors.

Click here to read the full list of the Senior Awards and Commencement Recognitions of the graduating Class of 2018.

This year Penn Administration worked with Exceptional Education Academy faculty and administration to create three awards that would also recognize the achievements of Penn’s Exceptional Ed students. See the award winners listed below and then click here to read more.

Other Award Winners:

• Overall Achievement Award: Jason Gaines (Early College Academy)
• Perseverance Award: Abigail Neal (Early College Academy)
• Leadership Award: Charles Lane (Early College Academy)
• Growth Award: Giselle Leon (Early College Academy)
• Ambassador Award: Jacob Hazen (Exceptional Education Academy)
• Career Excellence Award: Alicia Carr (Exceptional Education Academy)
• Academic Advancement Award: Genevieve Nikolai (Exceptional Education Academy)
• Peer Leader: Emma Bright (presented by Exceptional Education Academy)
• Band: Kendra Fuelling (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Choir: Carrington Neal (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Orchestra: David Richards (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Ceramics: Clara Fitzhugh (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Drawing: Ciera Chavez (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Media Arts:  Taylor Sharpe (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Painting: Gabriella Manczunski (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Sculpture: Mariah Anderson (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Thespian: Alex Buford (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Broadcast Journalism: Lindsey Zimmerman (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Debate: Payton Holland (Health & Human Services Academy)
• The Pennant: Mason Plummer (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Social Sciences: Madeline Cullison (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Spectrum: Lucie Horvath (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Speech: Gabrielle Besse (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Yearbook: Daniel Phend  and Madeline Moore (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Economics: Nick Casetti (Health & Human Services Academy)
• English: Renee Yaseen and Kendra Laidig (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Government: Matt Forsey (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Health and Wellness Award: Chinonso Emenim and Olivia Sautter (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Penn Strength – Male: Jame Morris (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Penn Strength – Female: Naomi Willis (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Accounting & Finance: Steven Krcelich (Management and Business Academy)
• Computer Science: John Monnin (Management and Business Academy)
• General Business: Connor Fisher, Quinn Murphy, Samuel Ghyselinck (Management and Business Academy)
• Marketing: Samuel Padrnos (Management and Business Academy)
• Cadet Teaching Award: Julia Beers (Management and Business Academy)
• Professional Work-Based Award: Anthony Guennel (Management and Business Academy)
• MBA Leadership Award: Adam Chalman (Management and Business Academy)
• Engineering Award: Italia Fields (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Mathematics Award: Nick Casetti (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Science Award: Alyssa McNarney (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Technology Award: Gary Babcoke (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Agriculture Award: Elena Effertz (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• American Sign Language: Mariah Anderson (World Languages)
• Chinese: Nadya Al-Shawi (World Languages)
• French: Kristine Hocker (World Languages)
• German: Chris Mazurek (World Languages)
• Japanese: Julia Yang (World Languages)
• Spanish: Maddie Brown (World Languages)
• Multilingual: Brandine Ishimwe (World Languages)

Kendra Laidig carved her name into Penn High School lore by earning both the Kingsmen of the Year and the Schmucker Awards at the Class of 2018 Senior Recognition Night ceremony on Tuesday, May 15. It was quite a surprise for her. Click to read more about Senior Recognition Night and the other student awards.

The Kingsmen of the Year Award is determined by a vote by students, and the Schmucker Award is an award determined by faculty vote.

And as you watch in the latest Class of 2018 student profile on Management and Business Academy student Kendra Laidig, she’s made the most of her time in high school—taking advantage of every opportunity placed in front of her from running track to participating in DECA …

Laidig is one of Penn’s 17 Valedictorians and was one of six National Merit Scholarship Finalist. She also won the prestigious Lilly Endowment Scholarship Award, which gives her four years free tuition to the college of her choice in Indiana. She will attend Butler University and plans to major in Health Care and Business and minor in Spanish.

Commencement is Friday, May 25 at the University of Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavillion and this year’s graduating class boasts 869 Kingsmen!

Click to watch the other Class of 2018 Excellence Happens Here student profiles on Penn-Harris-Madison’s YouTube channel.

Senior Recognition Night for the Class of 2018 ) was held Tuesday, May 15. Second to Commencement, it’s a night that the graduating seniors and their families look forward to. It’s a time for Penn High School Administration to take out and individually shine the spotlight on students that have exemplified the Kingsmen attitude and represented their Academies well. 

This year was made even more gratifying for a handful of Exceptional Education Academy students. This year Penn Administration worked with Exceptional Education administration and staff to create three awards that would also recognize the achievements of Penn’s Exceptional Ed students:

• Career Excellence Award: Alicia Carr
• Ambassador Award: Jacob Hazen 
• Academic Advancement Award: Genevieve Nikolai 

Genevieve Nikolai’s family took the video below of her receiving the award last night. Click to watch her/their overjoyed reaction: 
 

The Exceptional Education Academy also recognized for the first time this year a student from the general education population who epitomizes kindness, going above and beyond to show compassion to their fellow students, with the Peer Leader Award. This year’s inaugural winner was Emma Bright.

Commencement will be held Friday, May 25 at Purcell Pavilion on the campus of Notre Dame. Please click here for more information and logistical details. 

Penn High School was ranked 17th within Indiana (and one of only two in Northern Indiana) in US News & World Report’s 2018 U.S. News Best High Schools listing. With a 98% graduation rate, Penn was awarded a Silver Ranking. 

Penn’s other points of distinction noted by the prestigious national magazine ranking, students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement course work and exams. The AP participation rate at Penn High School is 49 percent.

Among Indiana schools in the 2018 U.S. News Best High Schools rankings, there are four gold medal schools, 39 silver medal schools and 79 bronze medal schools.

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. At Penn High School, more than 85% of students graduate with High Honors, Academic Honors or Technical Honors. Learn more about the Core 40 Curriculum on the Indiana Department of Education website.

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.

Click to watch Class of 2018 student profiles from each of Penn’s seven academies (videos are being added every week leading up to Commencement on Mary 25, 2018)

Penn is a Four Star School earning the Project Lead the Way Distinguished School distinction in 2017-18 (for the 2016-17 school year), and the STEM Academy has been certified as a Full STEM Certified Program by the Indiana Department of Education. 

Click to see the full list and find out more how US News & World Report ranks the Best High Schools. 

Three Penn students took top awards at the at the Congressional Art Competition (weekend of May 12) at the South Bend International Airport.

Hannah Deschepper’s portrait of a friend took 1st place and her work displayed in the U.S Capitol.

Kenna Musser’s landscape of Penn High took 2nd place and will have her work on display in Jackie Walorski offices in Mishawaka.

Jacob Wintek placed in the top ten for a  multicolored relief print.

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.

Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol.

Penn students are invited to volunteer and participate in an upcoming Safety Exercise. This exercise is for school personnel and first responders only. The exercise will include an active shooter simulation for an after school event.  Registered attendees and volunteers will be included as active participants or non-active participants in various aspects of the exercise. The exercise will focus on the importance of situational awareness, response, and planning in the event of an incident.  

WHEN:  MONDAY, JULY 2, 2018

              SIGN-IN AT 8:00 a.m.

              EXERCISE  9:00 am. – 1:00 p.m.

WHERE:  PENN HIGH SCHOOL

CLICK TO SIGN UP AS A VOLUNTEER

Questions? Please call (574) 258-9535

Penn’s Class of 2018 are eagerly awaiting Graduation on Friday, May 25. In these final weeks leading up to Commencement, we’re introducing you to a member of the Class of 2018 from each of Penn’s seven Academies as they reflect on the past four years.

Health and Human Services Academy student Anna Lang says she credits her years at Penn and all the service learning projects she did for not just sparking her interest in service, but also forming it into a “servant’s heart.”  Anna will attend Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis in the Fall and plans on majoring in Event Management.

Click the video below to watch Anna’s student profile … 

Click to watch the other Class of 2018 Excellence Happens Here student profiles on Penn-Harris-Madison’s YouTube channel.