In the book “Penn High School Remembered”, which was published by the South Bend Tribune, there is a photo and a story recounting the time that Penn student Dini Cox interviewed Dr.  Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963. 

“An Interview To Remember
Lloydine “Dini” Cox. a 1965 Penn High graduate, got the interview of a lifetime when she went to the Town Tower Motel in South Bend to talk to Dr. Martin Luther King on October 18, 1963.

Dini was a reporter for Penn Points, the school newspaper. Bill Gould, a photographer for the school paper, captured this great photo.

The two of them also finagled an interview with John Johnson, the editor of Ebony Magazine, that same year. Dini pretended to be a reporter for The South Bend Tribune and was then allowed to talk to Dr. King. After telling Dr. King that Penn High School had only one black student, he encouraged our community to integrate our schools with a “new” method called desegregation – something we had never heard of at the time.

But within l0-15 years later, the South Bend Community School Corporation began their busing program to bring diversity to all the schools. That was one
of Dr. King’s major points to achieving racial balance for the next generation.

After graduation from PHS, Dini attended Defiance (Ohio) College, where she planned to study journalism, to ultimately become a foreign correspondent. She was told at that time by many professors, that women were not going to be hired to cover war zones, no matter how qualified they were. She then changed her major to Speech & Hearing Therapy and attended Purdue Campus in Fort Wayne, and also IUSB.

Dini returned to the South Bend area in 1978, after having a plant and garden business in Muncie, Ind. She married Thomas Miller from South ,Bend and is now enjoying a bit of an early retirement, with time to enjoy all the important things in life, like her three daughters and three grandchildren. Dini’s eldest daughter, Jessica Miller (Barnhart), was also a writer for the Penn Points newspaper (which changed its name to The Pennant), from 1989-1991.”

“Penn High School Remembered” recounds the history of Penn High School from 1958-2008 in honor of the school’s 50th anniversary.

The Penn High School student literary magazine, Spectrum, has won the highest honor for recognizing excellence in Art and Literary magazines from the National Council of Teachers of English.

Spectrum is published under the direction of Penn instructor Caelea Armstrong.

Editors of the 2022-2023 Spectrum Literary Magazine were Valentina Gianesi (graduated), Monique Caraman (graduated), Lauren Turnquist, Natalie Reed and Michael Mireles.

“Spectrum has been a literary publication at Penn High School since at least the 1988-89 school year,” Armstrong said. “The mission of Spectrum is to create an outlet for student expression – written, art, and multimedia.

“Over the years, Spectrum has evolved and is now involved in creating monthly newsletters known as “The Bathroom Bulletin,” the People of Penn displays in the stairwells, and events like Reality Cafe,” Armstrong said. “Our main focus is the Spectrum Magazine, and I could not be more proud of our students on the Spectrum staff.”

This year, schools in 46 states and five countries nominated 375 student magazines. Magazines from middle school, high school, and higher education were welcomed for the 2023 contest. A total of 108 magazines were awarded the contest’s highest distinction, REALM First Class.

The REALM program publicly recognizes excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. REALM is designed to encourage all schools to develop literary magazines that celebrate the art and craft of writing. Schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, US territories, Canada, and American schools abroad are eligible to nominate magazines.

For more information about the REALM Program, please visit: https://ncte.org/awards/program-to-
recognize-in-student-literary-magazines/.

Click the PDF for the 2-hour delay schedules during Final Exams:

2 Hour Delay Schedule during Final Exams

Penn High School’s Pep Band, under the direction of D.J. Landoll, performed at the Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Game on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. The Fighting Irish played against North Carolina State.

“Being invited to perform was a reflection of the trust that Notre Dame has in the Penn music program and the P-H-M brand,” Landoll said. “It seems that we have a reputation that inspired confidence in the event organizers, who were gracious professionals and helped create a good experience for our kids.

 “We’re proud of our product and enjoyed getting to show it to a new audience, but I imagine that the students were excited primarily because it was another good reason to be with their friends making fun music – everything else is secondary,” Landoll said. “We honestly love playing together and just being together.”

The Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Team features Penn graduate Markus Burton, who was named Indiana Mr. Basketball last season.

[Show slideshow]

By LANGSTON ARTRIP

The Penn Debate Team won the Team Sweepstakes at the Ben Davis Debate Tournament. Penn Debate has won the last five consecutive meets they have competed in.

This team’s success is due to the immense amount of work that everyone puts into this team and how passionate they are about the Penn Debate Team. This is assisted by the middle school program that Coach Jeremy Starkweather and the debate team’s captains have put time and energy into to make sure that they are ready to compete at the high school level. The Penn Debate Team expects only excellence and success in its endeavors and they have achieved and overshot many of their expected goals.

These are the top individual awards.

• 1st Place Lincoln Douglas- Akul Bhambhani

• 2nd Place Lincoln Douglas- Sarah Rooney

• 2nd Place Policy- Kevin Wu & Rebeca Ramirez

• 3rd Place Policy- Leena Khan & Sarah Ahmed
• 3rd Place Public Forum- Alina Luck & Jaanavi Kaushik

Penn High School’s German Club got into the Winter festivities by creating Gingerbread Houses at a recent meeting.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

[Show slideshow]

The Dance Choreography Showcase is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, at the Penn High School Center for Performing Arts.

Click here for ticket information.  

[Show slideshow]

The Penn Debate Team won the Team Sweepstakes at the Chesterton Debate Tournament. Penn Debate has won the last four consecutive meets that they have competed in. 

Penn Debate coach Jeremy Starkweather credited the team’s success to Leadership and the Middle School Debate Program.

“My team captains have shown some of my all-time best leadership skills, and have put in countless hours preparing not just for their performances, but also for our rookies and veteran members alike,” Starkweather said.

In the last two years, Penn Debate has invested in the middle schoolers, hosting an all-PHM District Tournament.

“With the preparations happening at the middle-school level, our team is starting their careers ahead of the game compared to some of the other teams throughout the state,” Starkweather said. 

Penn’s top individual awards at Chesterton:

• 1st place Public Forum: Noah Schafer and Bohdan Kolomiiets

• 1st place Lincoln Douglas: Akul Bhambani

• 2nd place Lincoln Douglas: Sarah Rooney 

• 2nd place World Schools: Noah Shafer, Stanley Liew, and Danielle Esgeuerra 

• 2nd place Novice Policy: Danielle Cilliberti and Addison Schlundt

• 1st place Novice Congress: Selin Biligicer

• 2nd place Novice Congress: Langston Artrip

In the Lincoln Douglas Category, both Akul Bhambani and Sarah Rooney were undefeated. Their match was very close and came down to a tiebreaker round in which Akul Bhambani persevered to the end.

Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher announced that Matthew Deahl, Jaanavi Kaushik, Stanley Liew and Megan Zhang have been named Rising Stars for the Class of 2025 by the Indiana Association of School Principals.

The Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) is proud to present the Rising Stars of Indiana Class of 2025. Each Indiana high school was invited to recognize up to four students currently in the 11th grade, based on their academic achievement. The Class of 2025 is surely promised success with these students. 

Please join Penn and the IASP in congratulating these students on all they have already achieved, as well as offering support and encouragement as they continue their accomplishments and expand their knowledge, growth and leadership skills well into the future.