The Penn High School Hockey Team catered a meal to the Ronald McDonald House in November, and collected funds for the Salvation Army in December as part of their monthly service projects.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

The Penn High School Softball Team donated blankets, cookies, toys and other essential items to the Ronald McDonald House in South Bend for one of their service projects. 

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Principal Sean Galiher and Penn FFA sponsor Mel Lenig announced that Penn students MacKenzy Binion and Georgia Pogue were both named national winners in the National FFA Organization's Supervised Agricultural Experience Grant Program.

Each student has earned a $1,000 grant to expand their SAE programs.

Binion is studying the nutritional needs of small reptilian companion animals and Pogue is studying the effects of selection on the genetics of Hereford cattle.

During a normal school year, Penn High School students enrolled in Childhood Development classes would be offering two unique programs for preschoolers in our community,  Playschool and Toddler Time.
 

However due to COVID suspending these programs for the time being, Penn Child Development teachers Mrs. Kylee Wetzel and Ms. Rachael Meyers have created lessons that children can do in their own homes. 

The Penn High School Early Childhood Education Classes are offering free eLearning lessons to children in the P-H-M community within the age ranges of 1-10 years old.

Children can participate at home with a caregiver, or during the school day via Google Meet with the Penn student facilitating the lesson.

Please fill out the Enrollment Form by Friday, Jan. 15 in order to participate.

Please contact Kylee Wetzel at kwetzel@phm.k12.in.us for any further information.

By BRADY SMITH

Penn High School Student Reporter

Penn High School Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Cates, just added another accomplishment to his resume as he was named the State Director of the National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA).

Cates graduated from Portage High School and went on to Manchester University, where he played football. Cates has coached at multiple schools, including Portage, Michigan City, Martinsville and Penn High School. 

Cates graduated with a Physical Education and Health Teaching K-12 at Manchester. He holds certificates for strength and conditioning through 3 additional organizations (USAW, HSSCS, SSC). Cates has served as the Strength and Conditioning Coach at Penn for five years.

“As a coach, I want students to know that they will be given as many opportunities as needed to grow," Cates said. "We are all in this together, good or bad, we will continue to work and have that growth mindset.”

Cates' goal, as a teacher, is to provide a culture of growth. This will cover leadership, physical strength, mental health, accountability, and of course, pride. When you walk into the weight room, he believes there is one mindset, “Be the best version of yourself.”

Cates explained that enhancing athletic performance is a lot more than lifting weights. Penn's Strength and Conditioning classes gives students opportunities to improve their confidence, show accountability, maintain a healthy lifestyle, demonstrate discipline, and allows all athletes to unite for the same common goal of excellence.

Nina Pulja, now a sophomore at Penn High School, said,  “Coach Cates is a coach that motivates met to get up and work harder every single day so I can grow to not only be a better athlete, but also a better person inside and outside the classroom.”

Cates said that being selected as the State Director of the National High School Strength Coaches Association is an enormous honor. The job entails many different responsibilities and expectations.

Coach Cates vision' for the State Association is to continue the resources and educational experiences/relationships for all high schools in Indiana, and to continue to grow the message of importance of strength and conditioning for high school-aged athletes. The organization is not just for strength coaches and physical education teachers, but all who interact with students and student-athletes. The main goal is to continue Indiana’s success in strength and conditioning and make it a flagship state of the nation.

The state director is a three-year term with the option of an additional three years.

Penn High School Principal Sean Galiher and English 9 Teacher Kevin McNulty accepted a donation of 90 Rocketbook Fusion notebooks from PTO President Jessica Saros on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020.

The Rocketbook Fusion notebooks that the PTO donated to McNulty's English 9/Honors students through a PTO grant.

With a class set of Rocketbook Fusion notebooks, secondary students will return to using their handwriting as a way of thinking, analyzing literature, sharing ideas, sketching out thoughts, planning their weeks, organizing their goals, and publishing their handwritten artifacts.

Principal Sean Galiher announced that Parnasi Bandyopadhyay, Salem Fitwi, Shelley Shen and Matthew Zhang have been named Rising Stars of Indiana for the Class of 2022 by the Indiana Association of School Principals.

Students across the state were nominated based on their academic achievement.

PARNASI BANDYOPADHYAY: Bandyopadhyay is a student in Penn’s STEM Academy. She is on track to graduate with Penn’s highest Latin Academic Honors distinction – Summa Cum Laude. Her SAT scores are in the 98^th percentile. She a First Aid, AED and Lifeguard certified. She is on track for membership in the National Honors Society and the MMIA (Molecular Medicine in Action) Symposium (through IUPUI). Bandyopadhyay is also an Executive Freshmen Mentor, a French Club officer, a member of Kingsmen Court, is in the Penn Marching Band, and participates in several other clubs including Pep Band and Around the World in 180 Days. Outside of school, she volunteers at the Food Bank of Northern Indiana and works as an intern at a software consulting company. She is considering a career as a professor in the field of biology or biomedical sciences.

SALEM FITWI: Fitwi is a student in Penn’s STEM Academy. He is a TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science) Regional and State Champion, an AP Scholar with Honor, a MathCon National Qualifier, a Math Academic Super Bowl State Champion. a Spell Bowl State Champion, and had a near-perfect SAT. He has done Sports Medicine Research at Northwestern University, and Investment Research at Notre Dame University. Fitwi also serves as a Schmucker Middle School MathCounts Coach, TEAMS Captain, Model United Nations Executive, MSA Executive and a Kingsmen Tutor, and he is involved in DECA, Math Academic Super Bowl, MathCon and Indiana Math League. He plans to study Finance and go into Investment Banking/Hedge Fund. 

SHELLY SHEN: Shen is a student in Penn’s STEM Academy.  She was a member of the Quiz Bowl team at the 2020 State Finals, was named a Notre Dame Summer Scholar 2020, and is an AP Scholar. Shen is Vice President of Key Club, a member of the Science Academic Super Bowl, TEAMS, the South Bend Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Freshmen Mentoring, Model United Nations, Chinese Club, and Kingsmen Court. She plans to study within the field of biology. 

MATTHEW ZHANG: Zhang is a student in Penn’s STEM Academy. Zhang earned a perfect ACT score (36). He is a TEAMS Regional and State Champion, and an AP Scholar with Honor. Zhang is also a MathCon National Qualifier, Spell Bowl State Champion and DECA Districts Champion. He also played Varsity Football, is a Schmucker Middle School MathCounts Coach, TEAMS Co-Captain, Model United Nations Executive, Key Club Treasurer and Chinese Club President. He is also involved in DECA, Math Academic Super Bowl, Indiana Math League and is a Kingsmen Tutor. He plans to study CS/Finance and either become a Software Engineer or Hedge Fund Manager.

Penn High School Principal Sean Galiher announced that Seniors Jayden Bell and Arnav Kumar have been named semi-finalists for a Coca-Cola Scholarship.

Only 1,609 Semi-finalists were chosen nationally among 99,403 applicants this year (just 1.6 percent). Bell and Kumar were selected because of their outstanding leadership, academic achievements, and dedication to their community.

Bell is a student in Penn’s STEM Academy. He placed first in the DECA State Championships in Financial Team Decision Making, and was also first at the DECA District Championships in Financial Team Decision Making. He was also first at the TEAMS Regionals, and is an AP Scholar. He has pursued cancer research at the Harper Cancer Research Institute, and studied Bioengineering research at Notre Dame. He is the Vice President of the Penn Medical Club, and is a member of DECA, the Science Academic Super Bowl team, and TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Math and Science). He plans to study Business Management & Technology.

Kumar is a student in Penn’s STEM Academy. He is an AP Scholar and a TEAMS National Qualifier. In addition to representing Penn at state and nationals in TEAMS (Tests of Engineering, Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science), Kumar has participated in Medical Club, Chemistry Olympiad, Model United Nations, Junior Varsity Tennis, Dream Commission Society, Freshman Mentors, and Neuroscience and Psychology Research at the University of Notre Dame. He plans to major in Neuroscience.

The Indiana State Department of Health last updated the COVID-19 School Attendance Quick Reference Guide for parents and schools on December 4, 2020.

PLEASE NOTE: For families who are not able to isolate from everyone else at home, the start date of quarantine is determined by last date of exposure to a positive or untested person; this may be after the ill person completes their 10 days of isolation.

Click the image below to download and print.

This resource is also provided in the District Overview Return to Learn Fall 2020 document, under “Important Links at the end of the document. 

On Wednesday, November 18, P-H-M announced that Penn High School and the district’s three middle schools (Discovery, Grissom and Schmucker) will return to 100% virtual learning beginning Monday, November 23, 2020 through the end of the first semester, Friday, January 15, 2021 (with the MLK holiday being Mon., Jan. 18, students would return to hybrid learning on Tues., Jan. 19, 2021). This change was brought about by the St. Joseph County Department of Health’s recommendations that came earlier in the afternoon of November 18.  Part of SJCDH recommendations to districts was to “Pause all extra curricular activities or conduct them remotely as feasible. In the event these activities cannot be paused or done remotely, limit spectators to parents/guardians/siblings until after winter break.”

Click to read SJCDH recommendations and click here to read Superintendent’s Dr. Jerry Thacker’s full letter to parents.

As a result, Penn High School Athletics, along with all P-H-M middle school winter athletic programs, are implementing significant change to the winter athletic programs. Please see the modifications released Friday, November 20, 2020 that will be effective immediately. These modifications will be re-evaluated by Friday, December 18 (P-H-M School Corporation’s winter break runs Dec. 21, 2020 – Jan. 1, 2021).