Penn High School’s production of “Cinderella” has been nominated for more than 10 awards as part of Lake Michigan College’s WAVE Awards honoring Excellence in High School Musical Theatre.

• Outstanding Lead Actor: Avery King (Ella), Sutter Sherwood (Prince Topher)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor: Mikaylah Daffron (Marie), Tess Kavadas (Gabrielle)
• Outstanding Featured “Special” Cast Member: Fox & Raccoon (Abigael Brooks & Evelyn Shephard), Buttercup the horse
• Outstanding Featured Ensemble: men’s chorus
• Outstanding Lighting Design: Jacob Moehn
• Outstanding Set Design: Nora Noble
• Outstanding Costume Design: Kathryn Hein
• Outstanding Choreography: Jenn Wolfe
• Outstanding Music Direction: Andrew Nemeth
• Outstanding Orchestra / Pit Band: Anne Tschetter
• Outstanding Direction: Danielle Black
• Outstanding Musical Production: “Cinderella”

The WAVE Awards recognizes, encourages, and promotes high school theater. Individuals and productions from participating schools were nominated in 13 acting and technical categories. Winners will be announced during the ceremony, and all students and production staff will receive written feedback from a panel of arts professionals. Nominees may also receive additional performance and scholarship opportunities.

Now in its second year at LMC, the WAVE Awards has grown to include students and art educators from Berrien, Van Buren, and Cass Counties in Michigan and St. Joseph County in Indiana. This year, nine high schools were evaluated by 12 adjudicators. About 550 students participated in the musicals that were reviewed. 

Winners will be announced at the award ceremony held Wednesday, May 24 at the Mendel Center Mainstage on the Benton Harbor Campus. The event will be complete with red carpet arrivals.

Approximately 876 Penn students will be eligible to graduate at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion on Monday, June 5, 7:00 p.m. A live stream of Commencement will again be provided to friends and family not in attendance on Penn’s website, https://penn.phmschools.org/2023PennGraduation.  

On Tuesday, May 9, Principal Sean Galiher, Director of Counseling John Westra, Counseling Department, Penn Faculty, PHM Administrators and members of the Board of School Trustees gathered with graduating seniors and their families to celebrate the accomplishments of the the Class of 2023. The event recognizes the academic success that members of the Senior Class have achieved recognizing them for awards, honors and scholarships that they’ve earned for graduation.

Awards conferred at last night’s Senior Recognition included academic excellence, leadership, service to school and community, citizenship, attendance, athletic accomplishments and a whole host of other accomplishments. The majority of these awards are recognized in this web story. Click here to see the full listing of the Academy Medal Awards.

Click here to see the full photo gallery at the bottom of this story.

Many students were recognized for winning private scholarships during the program. So far the Class of 2023 graduates have earned approximately more than $15 million in scholarships! This number will continue to grow as notifications for private scholarships continue to come in over the summer months. We encourage students to notify the Penn Counseling Office of all your scholarships, even after you’ve gradated; it helps us measure the success of our graduates. Click here to see examples below of just some of the private scholarships recognized during the program.

The 2023 graduating class is the third class to receive recognition through the Latin Honors System:

• 23 students are graduating Summa Cum Laude with the highest praise by earning an Academic Honors diploma with a GPA greater than 4.25.
• 99 students are graduating Magna Cum Laude with high praise by earning an Academic Honors diploma with a GPA greater than 4.0. 
• 110 students are graduating Cum Laude with praise with a GPA greater than 3.75.

More than half of the Class of 2023 are graduating with an Academic Honors diploma! That’s 446 students! To be eligible for an Academic Honors Diploma, students must accumulate a minimum of 47 credits in a prescribed curriculum and have a grade point average of 3.0.

Nearly a third, 253 seniors, are graduating with High Honors! These students have maintained a 3.5 grade point average or above for the first seven semesters of high school study.

The Core 40 with Technical Honors diploma is awarded to students who complete professional internships and or college courses in a technical area; this year 41 graduates will graduate with a Technical Honors diploma. 

The Class of 2023 is the 6th cohort of the Early College Academy. A total of 119 students are graduating from Early College. Click to read more about this year’s ECA senior class.

The Penn High School Principal’s Academic Excellence Award was presented to eight seniors based upon academic excellence and overall achievement: Abigail Crawford, Tory Temeles, Alison Roeda, Nathan Brazeau, Caroline Quinquio, Benjamin Burns, Jordan Koszyk and Lauren Miller.

The Principal’s Leadership Award is presented annually to students who contribute their talent, time, energy, and motivation to the leadership of Penn’s student body. Nathan Pratt and Emily Nochowitz were honored for helping to make a difference in the culture of Penn on behalf of their classmates. Principal Galiher noted that the work and dedication of Natasha and Sophia went above and beyond that of any normal Penn student leader.

The Principal’s Citizenship and Service Award was presented to eight Penn High School students who have selflessly donated many hours to make sure that Penn High School is well represented in whatever service project they are involved in. The winners of the 2023 Principal’s Citizenship and Service Award were: Valentina Gianesi, Paulo Diaz-Enciso, Sandra (Kathure) Kiunga, Isaak Prince, Jessica Ivie, Andrew Wolter, Eshaal Kizilbash, and Sobia Ahmed.

The Class of 2023 boasts 17 valedictorians. This year’s valedictorians’ GPA ranges between 4.30 – 4.47 on a scale of 4.0! Click here to learn more about them and where they plan attending college.

This year’s valedictorians include: Sakina Al-Fadhl, Ryan Cheng, Tanya Datta, Eshaal Kizilbash, Gwyneth Lannon, David Luan, Reagan Ludwig, Zenia Qasim, Abigail Schroeder, Derick Shi (She), Sydney Szklarek, Grace Wang, Zichu Wang, Carl Xu, Allison Yu, Janet Yu and Madelyn Zavada.

This year, Penn has four salutatorians: Jillian Adams, Anna Buckler, Arda Kurama and Amelia Martin. 

The US Presidential Scholars program was established in 1964 to recognize and honor some of our nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors.  Each year, from nearly 3.6 million graduating high school seniors, over 5,200 students are identified as candidates in this program.  620 semi-finalists are identified nationwide and advance to the final round.  Of the semi-finalists, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.  Scholars have all demonstrated leadership, scholarship, and contribution to school and community. Currently, Penn has 8 students who are considered candidates for this program: Jillian Adams, Allison Yu, Tanya Datta, Ryan Cheng, William Chenoweth, Sydney Szklarek, Janet Yu and Madelyn Zavada.​

This year 14 Penn High School students designated as National Merit Semi-finalists based upon their high PSAT scores have ALSO been named National Merit Finalists. These students advanced to Finalist standing in the Merit Scholarship competition of 2023 by demonstrating, through distinguished performance, high potential for future academic accomplishment. They are in the top 1% of all students in the country and eligible for one of the 8,000 scholarships to be awarded this spring. Penn’s 2023 National Merit Finalists are: Sakina  Al-Fadhl, Ryan  Cheng, Tanya Datta, Noah  Durand, Hadley Jessop, Eshaal Kizilbash, Gwyneth  Lannon, Reagan  Ludwig, Derick Shi, Grace  Wang, Zichu Wang, Allison Yu, Janet Yu and Madelyn Zavada.

The following National Merit Finalists also received a scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation: Tanya Datta, Noah Durand, Allison Yu, Janet Yu and Zichu Wang.

Nine students received recognition from the College Board and were awarded National Merit Commended Scholar status: William Chenoweth, Luke Johnson, Amelia Martin, Benjamin Marvin, Jacob Moehn, Samuel Palmer, Rudra Patel, Sydney Szklarek and Elaina Wright.

Valedictorian Allison Yu have also been selected as a 2023 Regional Academic All-Star. Each Indiana high school can nominate one senior for this prestigious award. Allison was selected and honored as one of 50 regional winners chosen by a selection committee from across the state. Awards are presented to the students and an influential educator of their choice. Allison chose her Calculus teacher Denise White to be recognized with her.

Sydney Szklarek was awarded the Community Foundation of Saint Joseph County Eli Lilly Endowment Scholarship based on their high academic merits and test scores. The prestigious Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides full tuition, required fees, required books, and equipment for four years of undergraduate study leading to a baccalaureate degree at any accredited Indiana public or private college or university. Since this award began in 1998, Penn has had 34 total Lilly Scholars which accounts for more than any other high school in the county, accounting for 25% of the total number of Scholars since the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County began administering this scholarship! Sydney plans to attend Notre Dame. Zichu Wang and Allison Yu were also awarded this scholarship, but have plans to attend college outside the state of Indiana. Zichu plans to attend Carnegie Mellon University, and Allison plans to attend Yale University.

Four Penn students have been selected to receive full scholarships to Purdue University! Jasmine Zidan, Steven Sutton, Biddyclair Moore and Tasneem Ahmed were selected to be a part of the Posse Scholars program earning them full tuition and leadership scholarships from Posse partner colleges and universities. Click here to learn more about the Posse Scholarship Program. Jake, Johnnay, and Nikita are Penn’s second graduation cohort of this prestigious award; they were selected from 1,300 nominations to become a recipient of the Posse Scholarship. As a part of Purdue University Posse, they become a member of a larger network of over 10,000 Posse Scholars and Alumni nationwide. 

Every year since 1967, Penn’s faculty vote to recognize an outstanding member of the graduating class based on service, character and leadership; the student must also, at the end of seventh semester, be in the top 10% of their graduating class. The senior selected is awarded the Paul H. Schmucker Award in memory of the distinguished member of Penn High School faculty from 1960-1967. This year’s recipient is Jackson Arter.

Each year, the graduating class also nominates a classmate who best exemplifies the qualities of service to his/her school community, school spirit, respect for classmates and Penn High School for the Kingsman of the Year Award. A tradition since 1970, the recipient is recognized for his/her leadership and willingness to accept challenge and is a great honor and show of respect from the recipients fellow classmates. The Class of 2023 Kingsman of the Year Award winner is Lawrence Johnson-Espinoza.

Penn High School’s Markus Burton carved his name into the Indiana Boys Basketball history books and was named the 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball in a vote by the state’s coaches and media. The honor was announced at the Indiana High School Sports Awards Show, presented by the Indiana Pacers, at Butler University’s Clowes Memorial Hall on Wednesday, April 19. Burton, a Notre Dame signee, is the first Mr. Basketball from Penn High School! He is only the third Boys Basketball player from St. Joseph County to win the coveted Mr. Basketball Award! This season, Burton led the state with a scoring average of 30.3 points a game. The Kingsmen Senior ignited a high-flying attack as Penn led the state with an average of 77.9 points a game. Penn also led the state with a 30.0 point average margin of victory. Burton also earned an IHSAA Sportsmanship Award in the 2022-2023 season, and he is a two-time winner of the Northern Indiana Conference Most Valuable Player Award. Markus will wear the #1 jersey when he plays on the Indiana All-Star Team representing Penn High School when the Indiana All-Starts go up against the Kentucky All-Stars in June.  

PRIVATE SCHOLARSHIPS

Every year scholarships are also awarded for the Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Thacker Scholarship and the Larry Beehler Scholarship. Dr. Jerry Thacker is Superintendent of Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. He and his wife Mrs. Donna Thacker have handed out direct scholarships to Penn graduating seniors since 2014. Mr. Larry Beehler is a longtime member of P-H-M’s Board of School Trustees serving nearly 40 years! Students are in good standing and involved in extra curricular activities. The awards for these scholarships are $1,000 each.

The 2023 recipient of the Larry Beehler Scholarship was Danielle White. This scholarship is presented to a former Madison Elementary graduate. 

Dr. & Mrs. Thacker have been awarding their General Scholarship for nearly a decade. This year there were were three recipients of the Dr. & Mrs. Jerry Thacker General Scholarship: Valentina Gianesi, Tory Temeles, and Emma Sidorowicz. These students are excellent students possessing great character and serve as positive role models.  Seniors eligible for this award must be highly involved in extracurricular activities that benefit Penn High School and the community. Each student received $1,000 scholarship from Dr. and Mrs. Thacker!

Dr. & Mrs. Thacker also sponsor a second scholarship for a Penn graduating senior of color who will be pursuing a degree in teacher education. Outstanding character, leadership and being involved in the community are important factors considered when selecting this winner of a $1,000 scholarship. This year’s awardee was Azra Sirajudin.

Other private scholarships recognized during Senior Night:

• Lawrence Johnson-Espinoza is the recipient of the Gates Scholarship: The TGS is a highly selective scholarship that pays full tuition and is awarded to a outstanding minority high school senior with leadership qualities and exceptional personal success skills.
• Valedictorian Reagan Ludwig is the recipient of two scholarships:
  • Maria DiLoreto Society Scholarship: The Italian-American club formed in 1933 and offers two awarding students who expound upon exceptional character, citizenship and community service.
  • “Doc” Hittle Memorial Scholarship: Doc Hittle taught in Penn’s Science Department for over 24 years. The scholarship acknowledges students who have demonstrated qualities of good citizenship, who will attend a two or four year college, and is in good academic standing.
• The United States Marine Corps awarded the following three awards to Penn graduates:
  • William Chenoweth received the United States Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Award. This award is presented based upon exemplary musical efforts, academics and outstanding character. The Marine Corps Musical Organization was formed in 1793. The Marine Corp realizes that there would be no Marine Band without the efforts of dedicated young musicians.
  • Joe Smith (Boys Basketball) and Jenny Keegan (Girls Soccer) were each recognized with a U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award. The Marines recognize that the foundation for good physical fitness is developed through high school athletics in addition to good training habits. High school student-athletes are well aware of teamwork and discipline, two important elements of the Marine Corps. This award represents students’ who have distinguished themselves in athletics.
  • Zachary Pelletier won the United States Marine Scholastic Excellence Award, which recognizes a student for academic achievement and leadership. The student has shown the greatest determination in the pursuit of his/her studies and has inspired others to excel.
• Mya Nuber is this  year’s  Dale Whitehead  Scholarship  winner, which honors the student who has participated in band, orchestra or choir for three years and will be pursuing a degree in either music education or performance. 
• Emma Sidorowicz and Max Sanders are Class of 2023 recipients of the Penn Booster Club Scholarship. This scholarship has been established by the Penn Booster Club to honor and recognize one female and one male PHS student who has participated in a Penn High School Athletic or Academic Club for at least two years prior to graduation. The selected recipients have volunteered and/or supported Penn Boosters in some capacity, supported the mission of the Penn Boosters, and exemplified the character and traits associated with the level of excellence that is expected from our students and student-athletes here at Penn.
• Valedictorian Zichu Wang is the recipient of the Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Scholarship: This award is given to a student for academic achievement and community service.
• Larissa Evans is the recipient of two scholarships:
  • Notre Dame Credit Union Scholarship, which is awarded to an applicant planning to begin their undergraduate studies in the fall. Selection was based on academic achievement, SAT/ACT scores, letters of recommendation and having a parent that works for Notre Dame Credit Union.
  • Purdue Alumni Club of St. Joseph Valley Scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior from our area who will be attending Purdue University in the fall.
• Cole Cira and Chloe Cruz are recipients of the Patrick Glossenger Honorary Scholarship. The Niles Scream Park is a non-profit project that has been around since 1974.  Since records have been kept, the Scream Park has donated over 2.4 million dollars to more than 65 charities and non-profits.  Each person that volunteers at the Park donates their time to one of these charities/non-profits. Patrick Glossenger, one of their best volunteers, wanted to donate his money raised to a scholarship fund for two students at Penn High School, his alma mater.
• Mariah Forbes is the winner of the Anderson Foundation Scholarship. The award winner of this scholarship is randomly selected from a pool of applicants that meets specific GPA criteria.
• Kotaro Tsuji is the winner of the Hazel Dell Neff Smelser Renewable Scholarship. It is awarded to students who have demonstrated a financial need and exemplified academic achievement. 
• Kendall Foley is the recipient of this year’s Tony ‘Doc’ Portolese, Wally Yeoman, and Steve Ciszczon Scholarship. This award is presented to seniors who excel academically and who have dedicated themselves to service in athletic training.
• Nina Pulja is the winner of the Chick Evans Scholarship for Caddies. The scholarship is in honor of legendary amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. The Western Golf Association awards full tuition and housing to deserving caddies.
• Maxwell Sanders, Anthony Turley and Collin Smagala won the Edmondo DeAmicis Mutual Aid Society Scholarship, which is awarded to graduating seniors who have shown involvement in their school and the non-for-profit community. ​
• Anhaile Wright, Michael Tapp, Liam Mroczek , and Jacob Farney are the award recipients of the Gene Haas Foundation Scholarship: The Gene Haas Scholarship recognizes the future of manufacturing in the U.S. depends directly upon the availability of skilled workers. Therefore they have committed to providing financial assistance for students interested in manufacturing- based careers. 
• Micheal Tapp, Emma Sidorowicz,  Alyssa Brown, and Sam Sullivan received the Granger Business Association Scholarship for their community service and plans to continue their education beyond high school.
• Tasneen Ahmed won 2nd place in the South Bend Human Rights Essay Contest. The contest is open to all St. Joseph County students. Scholarships are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place essays.  This year’s Essay topic was on “Voting Rights…Is the Voting Act is still needed?  Why or Why Not?”
• Nadine Amouri is the recipient of the “Starfish – You Make A Difference Scholarship.” The award is sponsored by former P-H-M Superintendent, Dr. Vickie Markavich, to honor a student  who has shown great perseverance to achieve his or her goals. 
• Elaina Wright is the recipient of the Tri Kappa of South Bend – Epsilon Lambda Chapter Scholarship. The chapter awards a $1,000 scholarship (Epsilon Lambda Scholarship) to a female student from St. Joseph County. Applicants must be a high school senior or currently enrolled at a college or university in Indiana with the intent of pursuing a degree. The applicant must show continuous involvement in leadership positions and community service. 
• Colin Smagala received the Mishawaka Lions’ Club Scholarship. The Mishawaka Lions’ Club strives to support the academic endeavors of highly motivated students in the Mishawaka community.  This student must plan to attend the institution in the fall immediately following graduation from high school, have demonstrated an interest in community service through extracurricular activities and have received grants/scholarships totaling no more than 50% of the institution’s yearly tuition.
• Elaina Wright is this year’s recipient of the Madison Township Lions Club Scholarship. The Club award is presented to a graduating senior who exemplifies dedication to community service. 
• Samantha Simons and Jacob Farney are this year’s recipients of the Madison School PTO Scholarship. The Madison Elementary PTO recognizes former graduates for being involved in their school and community. 
• Isabelle Personette is the class of 2023 recipient of the Mary Frank PTO Scholarship. The Mary Frank PTO Scholarship is given to graduating seniors who attended Mary Frank and are continuing their education. Recipients were chosen on bases of their community impact through extracurricular activities, summer employment and after school employment.
• Isaac Gould is the winner of the Mary Frank Staff Scholarship, based on being a Mary Frank alumni and his impact on his community through his involvement in community service, extracurricular activities and employment during summer and school months.
• Lawrence Johnson-Espinoza and Delaney DuVal were presented with the Grissom Middle School PTO Scholarship.  These scholarships are for Grissom graduates who maintain strong academics, have outstanding character, extra-curricular involvement and a commitment to further their education. 
• Valedictorian Abigail Schroeder and Salutatorian/Presidential Scholar Candidate Jillian Adams are receiving the Discovery Middle School PTO scholarship. These former Discovery students were selected for their commitment to academics and service to the community.
• Lina Mammolenti was honored with the Howard & Ruth Hensler Scholarship: in which recipients must be residents of Madison Township, enroll in an accredited technical program or attend a two- or four-year college and exemplify commitment to academics and community involvement. 

EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY

This is the breakdown of what this year’s ECA graduates have achieved:

• students graduating with Associates Degrees: 89
• students graduating with Indiana College Core: 16
• students graduating with 15 or more credits: 9

OTHER NOTABLE CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

Here are some others stats for the Class of 2023:

• 23 seniors participated in Penn’s Building and Trades program this year (along with 11 juniors)
  • 6 are going into apprenticeship programs.
  • 1 is attending college majoring in Construction Management
  • 10 are pursuing a career in a construction trade
• 15 seniors have completed the Cadet Teaching program and plan to go into teaching
• 3 seniors completed the Start Up Moxie program
• 38 senior student-athletes received athletic scholarships to continue their sport at the collegiate level
• 12 seniors are going into the Military

To download high-resolution jpg files from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. We are happy to provide this service to you, free of charge!

Whether it’s Penn High School’s Marching Kingsmen participating in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, the Penn Symphonic Orchestra Strings performing at the Lincoln Center in New York City, or the Penn Choir singing a moving tribute on the U.S.S. Missouri at Pearl Harbor, Penn has been among Indiana’s most elite music programs.

Penn’s golden legacy in the performing arts is shining even brighter thanks to a State Finals Triple Crown accomplishment.

For the first time in the 65-year history of Penn performing arts, the Choir, the Orchestra and the Band will all be appearing in the State Finals in the same year.

All three music programs in Penn’s Final Arts Academy qualified for the 2023 State Finals, which will be held on Saturday, May 6.

“The students and staff of our Band, Orchestra and Choir programs are exceptional,” Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher said. “We are proud of our students and the diligent work they put in daily to master their instruments and contribute to the group’s overall performance and success.”

This will be the 11th appearance for the Penn Choirs at State Finals and the first since 1999.

The Penn Orchestra will make its 15th appearance in the state finals this year.

The Penn Band will make its 22nd appearance at this year’s event.

“For any music organization, advancing to the ISSMA State finals is a great achievement,” Penn Fine Arts Academy Leader and Marching Kingsmen Director Glenn Northern said. “It is especially fun to see our choir, band and orchestra members accomplish this in the same year. Each of these groups has a history and tradition with the state finals. But for this year, it will be fun for our students and staff to be there together.”

The ISSMA State Concert Finals will take place on Saturday, May 6, at Pike High School and at Lawrence Central High School.

• The Orchestra Performs at Pike High School at 12:25 p.m.
• The Choir performs at 5 p.m. at Pike High School.
• The Band performs at 6:20 p.m. at Lawrence Central High School.

Al Rhodes, the winningest coach in Penn High School Boys Basketball history, announced his retirement as head coach of the Kingsmen.

A Penn graduate and an Indiana Hall of Fame inductee, Rhodes crafted a golden legacy in Indiana high school basketball coaching. He is 693-329 overall in 42 seasons, including a record of 239-128 in 15 seasons at Penn.

“Having coached a Final Four team in each of five decades I’ve coached, I don’t think the game ever passed me by!” Rhodes said. “I have studied basketball all my life and am extremely proud of my past players and their successes on and off the court.  I would also like to thank all my assistant coaches from all the schools I coached at.  Also, I worked for great administrators and I appreciate all they did for our programs!

“Dr. Jerry Thacker here at Penn High School has been great to work for!  His vision as an educator is tremendous and he brings out the best in all around him!”

“It has been a great ride and I have done my best!” Rhodes said.

Penn Athletic Director Jeff Hart said that Rhodes established a standard of excellence at Penn and in Indiana.

“Coach Rhodes’ legendary career speaks for itself,” Hart said. “As an Indiana High School Basketball Coach for 42 years, he ranks among the all-time successful leaders of the sport in our great state.  What can’t be measured by wins and losses is the positive impact he’s had on countless young people during his career.

“From students in his math classes to the players and coaches in the programs that he’s led, he’s educated and mentored consistently with a “teacher’s heart,” Hart continued.  “I’ve been fortunate to watch his leadership with character approach close up for the last several years and I’m a better person because of it.”

Notre Dame signee Markus Burton, the All-Time Boys Basketball leading scorer for Penn and St. Joseph County, said that Rhodes played a critical role in his development as a Division I basketball player. Click here to watch/listen to a podcast with Markus and Coach Rhodes.

“He believed in me more than anyone in Indiana,” said Burton, a frontrunner for the 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball Award. “He believed in me as a Freshman. I appreciate his strategy for the game, and his relationships with his players. Everyone can relate to him and trust him. He’s helped me be the best I can be every day, and taught me to be a leader.”

In the past two seasons, Rhodes has guided Penn to a remarkable record of 52-5. This past season, Penn posted a 28-2 record and reached the Final Four for just the fourth time in the program’s 65-year history. Penn was also invited to compete in the prestigious Hall of Fame Classic this season.

Penn’s combined Varsity (28-2), Junior Varsity (20-2) and Freshmen (22-0) won-loss record in the 2022-2023 season was 70-4.

Rhodes coached Warsaw to a state championship in 1984, and while at Warsaw coached two players to the Mr. Basketball Award – Jeff Grose and Kevin Ault. Coach Rhodes also coached former UNC and Los Angeles Lakers star Rick Fox.

Coach Rhodes has also coached against the likes of former NBA greats like Shawn Kemp and Scott Skiles.

Rhodes’ teams have won 18 Sectional Championships, nine Regional Championships, four Semi-State Championships, and one State Championship.

In addition to his high school coaching, Rhodes has made an impact on the national and international scene. He has coached in the McDonald’s All-American Game, and been an instructor at the heralded Five-Star Camp, where he was inducted into the Five-Star Camp Hall of Fame. He was selected as an instructor for the Five-Star Camp in Turkey, and was an assistant coach on the Bahamas National Team. He also helped develop the Bahamas Basketball Youth Program, and was a director of the coaches development program in Australia.

Rhodes, who graduated from Penn in 1970, is grateful to his family and the Penn community as well as the many coaches who have influenced him.

“In 1967, I met the new Penn High School Coach, Jim Miller!” Rhodes said. “Jim taught us about pursuit of excellence and that the Indiana State Championship was the ultimate goal that could be achieved.  For the past 56 years, I have pursued that goal with all my heart.  

“The byproduct of what Coach Miller taught me has been a wonderful life!  I have tried my best to be the best husband, father, teacher and coach that I could be.  I owe everything to my parents, my wife, and Coach Miller! 

“I would like to thank my wife Kathy for all of her support through the years,” Rhodes continued. “She is a very special person, nurse, mother, and wife!  It is not easy being a basketball coach’s wife in Indiana.  She has been a great one!

“As a father, I am extremely proud of my two sons, Chris and Curtis.  They both understand pursuit of excellence and are building great lives for themselves and their families.  I am glad they never complained about all the time I spent coaching.

“My sister Sandi has also added great support through the years!  I really appreciate her coming to games and being there for me win or lose!”

Rhodes paid tribute to the coaches in his life.

“When I was a young coach, I was fortunate to learn from the best,” Rhodes said. “Besides Coach Miller, my coach at Tri-State, Mark Peterman, was a great small college coach.

“From 1975 on, I was trained by the best coaches Indiana has ever seen.  My first year I worked for Basil Mawbey at Angola High School.  Basil is the hardest working coach the State has ever known.  

“I learned from competing against the best coaches in Indiana history:  Bill Harrell, Sam Alford, Jim Hammel, Jack Edison, Bill Green to name a few.  

“Finally, the greatest coach ever, John Wooden, was a constant influence in our program!  The Pyramid of Success always played a major role!”

Ahead of National Teacher Appreciation Week is next week (May 1-5) Penn-Harris-Madison Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker is announcing the winners of P-H-M’s Teacher of the Year. Today (Tuesday, April 25) with the help of his students, some Penn administrators, coaches, fellow teachers and staff, Dr. Thacker was able to surprise Penn High School AP History Teacher and Tennis Coach Eric Bowers with the news that he is P-H-M’s Secondary Teacher of the Year. Click to see the photo gallery below.

Coach Bowers is in his 20th year of teaching and all of those years have been at Penn High School, including doing his student teaching with P-H-M. All of his years of teach have been in the social studies field. For this school year, Bowers is teaching AP U.S. History and AP European History to more than 230 students over eight sections. Even though today’s surprise announcement disrupted one of his AP History classes, much to the students dismay, it did not postpone their final!

It was clear with today’s show of support, that Bowers is a beloved teacher and coach. He has been the Penn Boys and Girls Tennis coach his entire 20 years at Penn. As Coach, he’s won 26 Sectional Championships, 10 Regional Championships, had four Semi-state appearances, and coached one individual State Champion, Alexandra Brinker, in 2013. Coach Bowers was named the 2018 Indiana Boys Tennis Coach of the Year by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association.

There aren’t too many teachers who can claim the prestige of being named a Fulbright Scholar, but Bowers can! He was named a Fulbright Scholar in 2017 out of more than 3,000 applicants. Just a handful of teaching faculty are awarded this once in a lifetime opportunity to research, study and teach in a country of their choice. Bowers chose to study at Regensburg University in Germany in the summer of 2017. 

In March 2022, Bowers was selected to participate in the inaugural GenEd Teacher Fellowship Program sponsored by the Genocide Education Project (GenEd). Only 16 highly qualified secondary-level educators from 14 states were chosen for the program. In July 2022, the group participated in a 10 day intensive professional development program in Armenia. His work with the Genocide Project and sharing info about the Armenia Genocide with other history teachers at Penn and across the country earned Bowers the opportunity to speak at the National Convention of Social Studies this year in Philadelphia. His work with the University of Pittsburgh enabled him to attend the European Union Conference held in Brussels, Belgium. Next summer, he will participate in the USS Midway Institute for Teachers in San Diego, which offers educational seminars specifically designed for history and social studies teachers so they can go more in depth about the Cold War, the wars in Korea and Vietnam, and World War II in the Pacific.

Amy Tiebout, Penn science teacher, nominated Bowers for Secondary Teacher of the Year commented on the value these rich historical and academic experiences brings to his students, “Eric’s travels around the world strengthens his ability to connect students to the content, as he has real-life experiences to add to the areas he teaches. He connects to such a wide range of students at Penn, including athletes, high ability academics, and everyone in between.”

Bowers has served as a teacher sponsor of a number of cocuricular activities and student clubs, including Model UN and Social Studies Academic Super Bowl both of which he’s coached since 2018. This school year he’s the teacher sponsor of the Muslim Student Association and the newly formed 180 Days Culture Club. The 180 days Culture Club features a monthly speaker, usually a student, who explains their family or native country culture to their classmates. Recently, a student with family in Ukraine impacted by the war presented to a packed room of fellow students.

But probably one of Bowers most favorite student history activity is “Pennstock,” which centers around American History of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Students can chose to perform onstage either in a musical performance or by writing and/or giving a speech. Past topics include “Support our Troops,” anti-Vietnam war, and Women’s Rights. Students who do not want to be onstage can instead set up a booth on such topics as the Space Race, American Indian Movement, or the Cold War. When the weather is nice, it’s held outside and is quite the scene as nearly the entire junior class, a quarter of the student population, is dressed in tie dye and other 60/70s attire.

Talking with Coach Bowers for five minutes it’s clear that he LOVES teaching, “Do what you can to not only promote your classroom but your school as well. I would encourage every teacher to find time to help with at least one club, group, sport, music, theater, or activity to better identify with their students,” says Bowers. “Teachers play a big role with [Penn High School] students from 8:25 – 3:17. The excitement of a student when a teacher helps out, volunteers, or even attends an event is priceless. If a teacher can’t be the head of the program, simply attending and congratulating student achievements works wonders in the lives of our students.” 

It’s hard to believe that Bowers has any free time, but in his spare time he also serves as Penn’s  Intramural Basketball Coordinator. An activity that he also enjoys thoroughly!

Mr. Robi Davidson, music teacher at Walt Disney Elementary School, was announced as P-H-M’s Elementary Teacher of the Year on Monday, April 24. P-H-M Employee of the Year will be announced in the coming days, also as a surprise. All TOY and EOY winners will be officially recognized at P-H-M’s Employee Recognition & Retiree Dinner on Wednesday, May 17th. The two Teachers of the Year will receive a grant from the P-H-M Education Foundation to use in their classroom. Both will go on to compete for Indiana’s Teacher of the Year, which will be announced in early Fall 2024 by the IDOE. Click here for more information.

Penn High School’s Winter Guard will compete in the 2023 International World Championships April 13-15 in Dayton, Ohio.

Penn will compete at the World Level for the first time. There will be over 300 competing teams at this event. Penn competes in the Scholastic Open Class Division against 48 other teams in their classification this weekend. 

Competition is split up into three competitive performances that are judged by a panel of 10 judges. Preliminary competition for Penn is set for 11:03 a.m. Thursday, April 13.

The top 24 teams advance to semi-final competition on Friday, April 14.

The World Championships take place on Saturday, April 15.

Penn Winter Guard competed at two WGI national regionals – at Chicago and at Indianapolis – this season to qualify for the World Championships. Penn qualified by playing as a finalist at each regional, and earned the bronze medalist position at the Chicago Regional.

Set to the soundtrack of Guns N’ Roses “Patience”, the Winter Guard show is titled “Crossroads”.

Penn’s students in Winter Guard have been working on their competition routines since November, and even gave up their Spring Break to practice.

Penn High School’s Markus Burton carved his name into the Indiana Boys Basketball history books, as the 6-foot-1 point guard was named the 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball in a vote by the state’s coaches and media!

The honor was announced at the Indiana High School Sports Awards Show, presented by the Indiana Pacers, at Butler University’s Clowes Memorial Hall on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Click here to see the photo gallery below from the Indiana High School Sports Awards Show taken by Indy Star (Wed., April, 19, 2023).

Burton, a Notre Dame signee, is the first Mr. Basketball from Penn High School. He is only the third Boys Basketball player from St. Joseph County to win the coveted Mr. Basketball Award! David Magley of South Bend LaSalle was named Mr. Basketball in 1978, and John Coalman of South Bend Central was named Mr. Basketball in 1957.

“I’m humbled to be the first Mr. Basketball from Penn High School, and only the third Mr. Basketball from St. Joseph County,” Burton said. “Winning Mr. Basketball means a lot to me, knowing it’s been a long time since someone from South Bend brought Mr. Basketball back home. It means a lot to me, and I hope it means a lot to the community.”

Click below to read and watch the media coverage.

• Indy Star, “Penn guard Markus Burton wins 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball in a runaway” April 19, 2023
• Indy Star, “Indiana High School Sports Awards honored state’s best of the best. See who won” April 21, 2023
• South Bend Tribune, “Indiana Mr. Basketball goes to Penn High School standout and Notre Dame commit Markus Burton” April 19, 2023
• South Bend Tribune, “Mr. Basketball an honor for Penn’s Markus Burton, a win for South Bend-Mishawaka area” April 20, 2023
• South Bend Tribune, Photos: 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball Markus Burton through the years at Penn High School
• ABC 57, “Penn student, Notre Dame commit named 2023 Mr. Basketball” April 20, 2023
• WNDU, “Penn’s Markus Burton named 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball” April 19, 2023
• WSBT, “Penn’s Markus Burton wins 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball award” April 19, 2023

Penn posted a 28-2 record in 2022-2023. The Kingsmen reached the Final Four of the Class 4-A state tournament, claiming Regional and Sectional Championships along the way. Penn also won the Northern Indiana Conference Championship in the regular season.

Burton, who attended Meadow’s Edge Elementary and Grissom Middle School, expressed his gratitude to the many people he said have helped him on his basketball journey.

“I especially want to thank my Mom and Dad for all of their love and support,” Burton said. “Coach (Al) Rhodes for believing in me, even as a freshman. Thank you to the Penn Coaching Staff and all of my teammates. I also want to thank the Penn community for all of the love and support.”

Penn Boys Basketball Head Coach Al Rhodes, who announced his retirement earlier this week, said that Burton deserves the state’s top honor for a Boys Basketball player.

“Markus Burton is the best high school basketball player in Indiana!” Rhodes said. “It is so fitting that he has been chosen Mr. Basketball. No other player has put in the work that he has. Great things are ahead for Markus as he heads to Notre Dame.”

Rhodes owns the rare distinction of coaching three players who won the Mr. Basketball Award – Burton (2023), Kevin Ault of Warsaw (1996) and Jeff Grose of Warsaw (1985).

Burton owns the Penn career scoring record (2,273 points) and the single-season Penn record (909 points this season). He ranks No. 20 on the all-time Indiana high school boys basketball scoring list. Burton scored in double figures in 57 consecutive games in his career. He scored a career-high 47 points in an 85-51 victory against South Bend Washington on Feb. 10, 2023.

This season, Burton led the state with a scoring average of 30.3 points a game. The Kingsmen Senior ignited a high-flying attack as Penn led the state with an average of 77.9 points a game. Penn also led the state with a 30.0 point average margin of victory.

“I’m grateful to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and the Indianapolis Star for this incredible honor,” Burton said. “I want to thank everyone who voted for me. Props to the other candidates – I’m honored to be in their company. I know they worked hard and sacrificed and pursued their dreams.”

Burton won the award over a star-studded list of finalists that included Xavier Booker of Indianapolis Cathedral (Michigan State recruit), Myles Colvin of Heritage Christian (Purdue recruit), Zane Doughty of Indianapolis Ben Davis (Ball State recruit), Joey Hart of Linton-Stockton (Central Florida recruit) and Mason Jones of Valparaiso (Ball State recruit).

Named the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Most Complete Player, Burton led Penn this season in scoring (30.3 points a game), rebounding (5.7 rebounds a game), assists (5.1 assists a game), and steals (3.6 steals a game).

Burton also earned an IHSAA Sportsmanship Award in the 2022-2023 season, and he is a two-time winner of the Northern Indiana Conference Most Valuable Player Award.

Former Purdue standout and Indiana All-Star Brandon McKnight, who played his high school basketball at South Bend LaSalle and has mentored Burton, said that Burton stood above the state’s greatest players this season.

“Markus deserves Mr. Basketball because he has been the most consistent player in the state of Indiana,” McKnight said. “There is not another player who can impact the game with offense, defense, passing like him.”

In an interview with Kyle Neddenriep of the Indianapolis Star prior to the state finals, Head Coach John Peckinpaugh of state runner-up Kokomo said of Burton, “He’s the best guard I’ve seen in this state in a while. His ability to make tough shots is unreal and he does a great job of making teammates better.”

Burton, the first Penn Boys Basketball player named to the Indiana All-Star Team, will lead the 2023 Hoosier contingent in their two games against the Kentucky All-Stars. The Indiana All-Stars play Kentucky in Owensboro, Ky., on June 9. Indiana hosts the historic All-Star contest on June 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. Penn’s Kristi Ulrich is the head coach of the Indiana Girls All-Star Team.

Penn High School’s “Short Hair Because We Care” club held a hair donation event on Saturday, April 15. This year’s event brought in 35 donors who donated more than 200 inches of hair!

This year’s event was the 2^nd held at Penn High School, but the student group actually got the idea in middle school, so this is the event’s 4^th year and biggest year yet.

Students partnered with Salon Noveau to cut volunteers’ hair for free. Anyone in the community could donate their hair, as long as they had a minimum is 8 inches of hair. 

The hair was donated to Children With Hair Loss, a nonprofit organization that provides hair replacements at no cost to children or young adults facing hair loss. Whatever the cause, hair loss can have effects that go deeper than cosmetics. 

A Photo Gallery is posted  below.

Three Penn High School students – Charles Dunn (junior), Leah Moore (sophomore), and Julie Rice (freshman) – were selected among a number of area junior and high school script submissions to be a part of the 2023 Michiana Young Playwrights Project through University of Notre Dame’s Film, Television, and Theatre department.

These students’ plays — “VerMillion,” “Hoaxed & Haunted,” and “Deny Thy Poet and Butcher Thy Play,” respectively — will be performed as a staged reading by ND FTT students.

This is especially exciting news, as these students, along with 12 other Penn Theatre students, are also having their pieces performed in Penn’s Center for the Performing Arts in the Student-Written Play Festival on Thursday, April 13, and Friday, 14, at 7 p.m.

Photos posted below.

Tickets are $5 for the Student-Written Play Festival at Penn: https://www.ticketracker.com/store/selecteventtickets/159067

According to Penn Theatre Teacher Kathryn Hein, “We are excited to be able to offer our young playwrights this opportunity to see their work presented up on stage, be it by their peers or university students.”

The Young Playwrights Project performance will take place on Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m. in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Philbin Studio Theatre on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The reading is free and open to the public, but tickets are required, and can be reserved on the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center website.

Penn-Harris-Madison’s commitment to providing academic excellence is being recognized on the state and national level again. Penn Math teacher Dr. Richard Robinson was recently selected as an Indiana Finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Dr. Robinson is one of three Indiana secondary mathematics teachers eligible to receive a PAEMST award, the nation’s highest honor for U.S. K–12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teachers. The awards program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

State Finalists represent the most outstanding teachers Indiana has to offer and serve as both a model and an inspiration to students and fellow teachers. This is the third time P-H-M has had teachers recognized as a PAEMST award winner. Elsie Rogers teacher Amanda Fox won in 2022 last year for Math; and Penn Biology Teacher John Gensic was recognized in 2019 for Science.