Penn High's Kingsmen captured the Class 4-A Sectional 3 Championship in Girls Basketball with a 55-46 victory against South Bend St. Joseph on Friday, Feb. 3.

Coach Kristi Kaniewski Ulrich's Kingsmen improved to 24-1 with the victory. Penn advances to the LaPorte Regional on Saturday, Feb. 10. The Kingsmen play Elkhart Central (17-8) at 1 p.m. ET in the Class 4-A LaPorte Regional. The winner advances to the Regional Championship game at 8 p.m. Penn beat Elkhart Central, 54-36, on Nov. 25. St. Joe's season ends at 18-6.

Penn's game against St. Joe featured two programs that win State Championships the previous two years.

Penn won the Class 4-A State Crown in 2016, and St. Joe won the Class 3-A State Championship in 2017.

In the Sectional Championship victory against St. Joe, Senior Sara Doi led Penn with 14 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Senior Tia Chambers and Freshman Trinity Clinton scored nine points each. for 9 points.

Reganne Pate helped the Kingsmen cause with two key 3-pointers.

On Thursday, March 8, P-H-M’s Forum is sponsoring a districtwide parent meeting on Internet Safety.

According to the Pew Research Center, 94% of teens use their cell phone for their online activity and 71% use more than one social media site.

What do you need to know as parents and guardians to keep them safe online when they’re at home?

Hear from cybercrime and internet safety expert St. Joseph County Police Department’s Officer Eric Tamashasky on Thursday, March 8, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., in the cafeteria of Schmucker Middle School (56045 Bittersweet Road, Mishawaka).

This is a districtwide event sponsored by the P-H-M Forum parent group and is open to all P-H-M parents. Because of the nature of Offc. Tamashasky’s presentation concerning the online dangers parents need to be aware of, this event is not suitable for students below 9th grade. Spread the word to other P-H-M parents about this informational opportunity.  

Penn High School’s Girls Swimming and Diving Team will be pursuing IHSAA blue ribbons this weekend as the Kingsmen compete in the State Championships.

Action starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, at the Indiana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis with preliminary action.

The diving preliminaries and semifinals are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 10. The consolations and finals for all events are set for 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Indiana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus.

Saturday's championship and consolation finals will be streamed live at IHSAAtv.org beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

Madilyn Ziegert, who won two Sectional Championships, is entered in the 50 freestyle (seventh seed) and 100 freestyle (10th seed).

Makenna Bottorff is competing in the 100 butterfly (sixth seed).

The Kingsmen 200 freestyle relay team of Makenna Bottorff, Madilyn Ziegert, Sophia Darr and Sydney Acito is the sixth seed.

Penn’s 400 freestyle relay team of Makenna Bottorff, Madilyn Ziegert, Sophia Darr, Sydney Acito is the 11th seed.

Sectional Champion Bailey Betzer is competing in the Diving State Finals.

Due to concerns about the weather forecast for Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, the “Evening of Jazz” scheduled to take place 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Missionary Church has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 15, 7:00 p.m., St. Mark Missionary Church.

Whether you have paid for tickets in advance or were planning to pay on-site, your tickets will still be valid for next week's re-scheduled event. 

If you know that you WILL NOT be able to attend the rescheduled event on February 15, please consider donating your tickets to the Penn Band. We will provide you with a receipt for tax purposes. Otherwise, refunds may be obtained by contacting Sherri Campeau at mikeandsheri99@gmail.com before Tuesday, Feb. 13, 12:00 p.m. awith the following information:

• Your Name
• Table and number of seats you purchased
• Confirmation Number
• Either a mailing address or your student’s name and school

We appreciate your support and your understanding! 

The Penn High School Athletic Department held a National Letter of Intent Signing Day ceremony for 17 Kingsmen student-athletes.

Click here for a list and profile of the student-athletes.

A Photo Gallery of the event is posted below.

Article written by Melinda O’Malley, Director of P-H-M DVT & Planetarium

On the morning of Wednesday, January 31st, Michiana and all of North America will see its first Super Blue Blood Moon in more than 150 years!

P-H-M families will want to rise early and try to find a nice open viewing area to see as much of  this beautiful “lunar trifecta” as possible. On the morning of Jan. 31^st, the moon will be low on the western horizon–opposite the rising sun when the eclipse begins. Around 5:51 a.m., the left side of the moon will begin to take on a slightly pink color as it moves into the outer edge, the penumbra, of the Earth’s shadow. The moon will continue to move deeper into the Earth’s shadow as it slowly sets.  By 6:48 a.m., viewers in our area will begin to see the Moon’s color changing to a deep red as the Moon moves into the center, the umbra, of the Earth’s shadow. 

Now here’s an explanation of the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse is why it is so special …

A supermoon is when a full moon occurs during perigee, its closest distance to Earth within its orbit. This makes the moon appear bigger and brighter than normal.

A “blue” moon, despite the name, actually has nothing to do with the color. Instead, it signifies the second full moon within a single calendar month. The expression “once in a Blue Moon” implies something rare. Blue Moons typically happen every two to three years, but double Blue Moons only happen three to five times per century and 2018 we will experience double Blue Moons in January and March! 

Finally, a Blood Moon is often the name given to a total lunar eclipse because the moon appears a reddish color when it enters the Earth’s shadow. The red coloration is caused by sunlight that is refracted, or bent, as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere.

Just as the entire lunar surface is bathed in a “blood red” tint totality begins and the Moon will start to disappear below the horizon. So, make sure to wake up early to beat the rising sun and witness a once in a lifetime “lunar trifecta!”

The Indiana General Assembly honored the outstanding achievements from the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation on Monday, January 29. Three resolutions authored by State Sen. Joe Zakas (R-Granger) recognized P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, Penn High School Girls Soccer Coach Jeff Hart and Penn Band Director Glenn Northern for their recent accomplishments.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 21 honored Dr. Thacker for being named 2017 Outstanding Educator by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. Dr. Thacker also received this award in 2013. He has received a number of other awards, as well, including Indiana Superintendent of the Year in 2012. The award honors Dr. Thacker for his successful oversight of 15 schools with an enrollment of nearly 11,200 students. P-H-M has consistently been named an “A” rated school district and ranks among the state’s Top 4% of Hoosier public school districts.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 22 congratulated the Penn’s Girls Soccer team for winning their second straight Class 3A state championship. They defeated the Guerin Catholic High School girls team 2-0 for the title. The remarkable Penn team completed the 2017 season ranked first in the nation, as well. Coach Jeff Hart was present at the Statehouse to receive the recognition on behalf of the team’s student-athletes.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 23 honored Kingsmen Band Director & Fine Arts Academy Leader Glenn Northern on receiving the 2018 Outstanding Music Educator of the Year from the Indiana Music Educator Association. Northern arrived at P-H-M in 2001 and he directs more than 450 students in four concert bands, three jazz ensembles, two percussion classes, pit orchestra, pep band, marching band and five winter guards! P-H-M has been recognized as one of the “Best Communities for Music Education” by the National Association of Music Merchants due in great part to Northern’s work.

“It is fitting for the General Assembly to honor these tremendous achievements and to recognize them on a statewide basis,” Senator Zakas said.

State Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Bremen) and State Sen. David Niezgodski (D-South Bend) also served as sponsors of the resolutions. Rep. Dale DeVon (R-Granger) served as the principal sponsor in the Indiana House of Representatives.

One of Penn High School's defending Sectional Wrestling Champs Evan Light is 22-8 this year, 72-22 overall. And on January 27, he'll go for another Sectional Championship title. But what makes Evan so outstanding and worthy of a #PHMExcellence spotlight is that he's achieved these accomplishments DESPITE losing his feet in a devastating accident. As you can see in the Excellence Happens Here video below, Evan has already overcome his biggest challenge …

Click to see more Excellence Happens Here videos about Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation

First Tech Challenge (FTC) is the third phase of the FIRST robotics program. It's way more than robots. FTC teams are challenged to design, build, program, and fabricate the robot to compete in tournaments. Penn FTC Robotics has been around since 2012 with only two teams. Currently, there are five FTC teams: Team 4600: B1nary B0ts, Team 4601: Beta Bots, Team 6360: Brazen Bots, Team 12091: Bermuda Bots, Team 12092: Bravo Bots.

Last Saturday, the five FTC teams traveled to Elkhart Memorial to compete in their first tournament. As a result, B1nary B0ts won the most prestigious award, the Inspire Award. The Inspire Award goes to the team that embodies the ‘challenge’ of the FTC program and qualifies them for the state tournament. They are strong ambassadors for the FIRST program.

The next competition is in Lafayette, Indiana.Thirty-three teams, including five from Penn, will fight for the limited spots for the state tournament.

Twelve students will represent Penn High School in the Indiana State Debate Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 27.

Bowen Ashenfelter, Nick Casetti, Daoud Haque, Payton Holland, Lyvia Li, Tina Lu, Michael Riley, Nick Sergeant, Curtis Whitt, Renee Yaseen, Sufyan Zackariya and Emily Zimmer will be competing for State honors.

The Penn Debate team competed this past weekend at the District Debate tournament.

Michael Riley placed third (and was named first runner-up to go to Nationals) in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Nick Casetti and Renee Yaseen placed fourth (and were named second runner-up to go Nationals) in policy debate. Tina Lu and Lyvia Li placed 7th in policy debate. Emily Zimmer placed seventh in the District Congress tournament.

Dawn Troyer and Jeremy Starkweather are the Debate coaches.