Thank you to EVERYONE who came to the 2024 Homecoming Parade and Football game. It was a terrific time not only for the Penn students, but also for the entire community.

The Parade, Expo, Fun Zone, Food Trucks and Fireworks were all bigger and better than ever.

After the game was over, the fans in attendance were treated to a fireworks show set to music!

There are three photo galleries below, one of the parade floats and participants, one of the parade spectators and one of the fun zone and expo. Take a look and we’ll see you in 2025!

Parade Floats

Parade Spectators

Fun Zone & Expo

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation Robotics programs have been awarded a grant of $53,600 by the Indiana Department of Education. The grant is for 15 teams at eight different P-H-M schools.

The P-H-M proposal was selected from more than 145 grant proposals submitted for this competitive funding opportunity. The DOE stated that its review team was impressed by Penn’s plan to design, construct, program, and operate robots in competitions sponsored by non-profit organizations with the goal of increasing Indiana student interest in STEM.

Penn’s two Robotics Teams each received $14,000 from the grant.

Other P-H-M schools and the benefitting Robotics teams are:

• Grissom (2 existing teams, $5,000)
• Horizon (2 existing teams $6,137.50)
• Elm Road (2 existing teams, $6,137.50)
• Meadows Edge (1 new team, $3,175)
• Walt Disney (1 new team, $3,175)
• Northpoint (4 new teams, $12,800)
• Bittersweet (1 new team, $3,175) 

Penn’s portion of the grant pays for team registration and supplies for building competition robots.

“We are incredibly honored and deeply grateful to announce that Penn High School’s two FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) teams have received a generous grant from the Indiana Department of Education to cover the registration costs for the 2024-2025 season,” Penn First Robotics Coach Kyle Marsh said. “This support is not only a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, mentors, and volunteers but also a recognition of the transformative power of STEM education.

“This grant ensures that our teams can continue to innovate, collaborate, and compete at the highest level, while nurturing the next generation of engineers, scientists, and leaders,” Marsh continued. “We are humbled by this opportunity and remain committed to representing our school, community, and sponsors with pride and excellence.

Thank you to all who made this possible. Your belief in our students is inspiring, and we look forward to making the most of this incredible opportunity.”

For the existing teams, the grant pays for coaching stipends, team registration, competition registration, game specific materials, and supplies for building competition robots.

Most of their supplies will be updating and replacing used parts, tools, storage, and new parts needed for the new game. 

Funds will also be used for transportation to events. 

The new teams will use the grant money to pay for coaching stipends, team registration, competition registration, game specific materials, and supplies for building competition robots.

Most of their supplies will be start-up kits, tools, storage, and game specific parts. 

Funds will also be used for transportation to events. 

“The grant allows existing P-H-M Robotics teams to continue excelling and meet the cost of participating, new robotics teams to meet the extra costs of starting up, and for P-H-M to pay coaches a stipend for all the work they put into robotics teams,” Penn High School Assistant Principal Josiah Parker said. “The grant is really removing barriers for schools to give students opportunities to excel in STEM. It also helps build a pipeline of students with experience and who are excited about Robotics to the high school and eventually into STEM-related fields in our community.”

It was a big day for preschool aged students in our Playschool 2 class this morning. In an effort to get the students to dream about their future, they had the opportunity to interact with professionals in two very different fields.

Two Penn School Resource Officers (SRO’s) brought their police vehicles to Playschool 2. The students had the opportunity to meet the officers and they also got to climb into the drivers seat! Some students honked the horn while others were able to talk on the radio.

Students Learn How to Roll and Cut Sugar Cookies

Next, Serena from Ciao’s Restaurant and Bakery stopped by to show the students how to make Sugar Cookies! Each child had the opportunity to roll out dough, use a cookie cutter, then decorate with sprinkles with colors of their choice.

We’d like to thank School Resource Officers Mr. Wilkey and Mrs. Gresso as well as Serena from Ciao’s Bakery for their time. Take a look at the photo gallery below for more pictures.

Penn High School teacher Eric Bowers found a way to bring history to life by bringing in the “Revolutionary War Traveling Trunk” from the American Battlefield Trust.

The Traveling Trunk came complete with teacher manuals, lesson plans and of course, realistic replicas of common items that would have been used in every day life during the time period of the Revolutionary War.

From playing cards to clothes to fold out paper fans, take a look below of some items the students had the opportunity to experience!

 

On Sunday, September 8, the Michiana community joined Penn and P-H-M in giving Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt a Heroine’s Welcome!

Before Sarah’s “Welcome Home” kicked off, the local media got some one-on-one time with Sarah, her parents, and Penn Head Wrestling Coach Brad Harper during a news conference. Coach Harper was Sarah’s wrestling coach when she was at Penn; he became her personal coach and coached her at the Tokyo Olympics wear she won Bronze. Coach Harper planned this special homecoming for Sarah. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

The parade left from Penn High School and went down McKinley approximately two miles and ended at Zolman’s Tire.

Thank you to all the parade participants who volunteered their time on a Sunday afternoon: Mishawaka and Penn Twp. Fire Departments, St. Joseph County Police, the Marching Kingsmen, Penn Girls and Boys Wrestling Teams, Penn Cheerleaders, Penn Youth Wrestling Club, Rocket Football cheerleaders, and Dr. and Mrs. Thacker. Along with Sarah with her mom Nancy and dad Chris, Sarah’s extended family were also in the parade. Sarah and her parents were in a golden yellow convertible Mustang driven by St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman. Thank you to Zolman’s Tire for supplying some trucks.

After the parade was over, hundreds gathered at Urban Swirl in Granger for an Olympic Celebration emceed by Mark McGill. A representative from Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood’s office read a proclamation declaring September 8th as Sarah Hildebrandt Day! U.S. Congressman Rudy Yakym read the historical entry on Sarah’s Olympic achievement that he will be submitting to the official U.S. Congressional Record.

Sarah was able to see and catch up with the coach who gave her first break, then Discovery Middle School Wrestling Coach Raoul Donati.

Sarah threw out free T-shirts featuring her smiley face tattoo on the front and her viral X tweet on the back.

Grateful for all the love and support that her hometown gave her, Sarah graciously took hundreds of pictures with all of her adoring fans. She also signed hundreds of autographs on posters, shirts, singlets, wrestling shoes and even foreheads! 

Check it all out in the photo gallery below.

Penn held class meetings to welcome students to a new year of learning.

A Photo Gallery of the Class of 2025 meeting is posted below.