An active shooter training event will be held Monday, July 2, 2018 at Penn High School. The training exercise will simulate a shooting taking place at an event after school hours. The purpose of this safety drill is to test key Penn High School Emergency Preparedness Procedures and first responder coordination, unified command, critical decisions, communications and the integration of multi-department assets. The exercise is an evaluation and will be conducted in a no- fault atmosphere. It will provide responding agencies an opportunity to meaningfully evaluate player actions against response plans and potential for an active shooter incident during an after school hours event. The last multi-agency, full-scale training exercise held at Penn was in 2013.

P-H-M’s Director of Safety and Student Services Mike Seger has worked with St. Joseph County Police and Mishawaka Police Departments, along with several other St. Joseph County agencies for nearly a year planning this safety exercise. Participating agencies include: St. Joseph County Police, Penn Township Fire Department, Clay Fire Department, Mishawaka Police Department, Mishawaka Fire Department, St. Joseph County Emergency Management, Memorial Hospital, Elkhart General Hospital, St. Joseph Medical System, St. Joseph County 911 Center, South Bend Fire Department and Honeywell Security Group.

Please note most of Penn High School offices will be closed on Monday, July 2 due to the drill. The Bookstore and Athletics Offices will be available by phone. You can also call the Educational Services Center at (574) 259-7941 on questions that cannot wait until Tuesday, July 3. Please do not come to the high school on July 2 because of the training drill. Click here for more information on Penn Summer Hours and contact information.

Click here to read the June 20 issue of #KingsmenNation.

You will find details on the following:

• Penn High School Summer Hours on the following Offices: Main, Counseling, Athletic and Bookstore
• Chromebook return/repair

• First Fall Sports Practice Schedule

• Graduation photos

• Refunds on Lunch accounts for seniors

• Summer Reading for AP Literature & Composition

Penn High School Athletic Director Jeff Hart announced that former Kingsmen Girls Golf standout Katie Zielinski has been hired as the head coach of the Penn Girls Golf Team. She replaces Dominic Demeter, who will remain with the program as an assistant coach.

Zielinski, a 2012 Penn graduate, played for Hall of Fame Coach Jim Garrett at Penn before taking her talents to Saint Mary’s College, where she carved out a successful career at the collegiate level.

Hart said that Zielinski was a natural choice to take over the highly successful Kingsmen program, which owns four State Championships.

“Katie grew up in the Penn program,” Hart said. “She understands and embraces the importance of an energized youth program and her time at Penn and Saint Mary’s has prepared her well to lead this program into the future”. 

Zielinski, a kindergarten teacher at Northpoint Elementary, is eager for the opportunity to coach at her alma mater. 

“I am beyond excited and honored to be the new head coach of this amazing golf program and to be a Kingsmen again!” Zielinski said. “I look forward to creating a team culture, while encouraging excellence for all of our student-athletes. I cannot wait to see the amazing things this team will do.”

The Penn Boys Golf Team earned the 2018 Sectional Team Championship on Friday, June 1.

Penn’s Ben Szklarek won medalist honors.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Penn High School Chemistry Instructor Diane Bowersox was named the initial recipient of the Jeneane Arter Teaching in Excellence Award, which is sponsored by the Penn-Harris-Madison Education Foundation.

This new $2,000 award – named after Northpoint Elementary School teacher Jeneane Arter – will be given to any current P-H-M staff member who exemplifies excellence in education. The award is underwritten by P-H-M parents Jason and Darla Lippert. The annual award will be determined based on a current P-H-M student one-page essay of how the P-H-M staff member has made a lasting impact on his/her educational experience. The Foundation’s Grants Committee selects the award winner from the group of essays.

“Mrs. Bowersox exemplifies excellence in education with her innovative and meaningful engagement with students,” said Mari Linn Wise, the director of the P-H-M Education Foundation. “The P-H-M Education Foundation is honored to partner with Mr. and Mrs. Lippert in awarding the Jeneane Arter Teaching in Excellence Award. The Lipperts want to recognize P-H-M staff members who every day go above and beyond in supporting our children.”

Bowersox was nominated for the award by Penn Senior Alyssa McNarney.

“I met Mrs. Bowersox my sophomore year when she was my teacher for Chemistry honors,” McNarney wrote in her nomination essay. “I then had her junior year for AP Chemistry. She has had a huge influence on my high school career and my career choices. Mrs. Bowersox has influenced me to go into chemistry as next year, I will be studying Chemical Engineering.

“Chemistry is one of those classes that most people dislike and find very difficult, but with Mrs. Bowersox as a teacher, Chemistry is enjoyable and easy to learn. She does labs, interactive activities, and other games that help you learn. One example is from sophomore year in Chem Honors. We played Jeopardy in class with buzzers. The questions were able orbitals and after that game I am pretty sure that everyone in class could give you orbitals for every element.”

The Penn Softball Team rallied for a 3-2 victory against LaPorte to win the Sectional Championship on Saturday, May 26.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

The Penn Baseball Team defeated Northridge, 11-10, on Monday, May 28, to win the Class 4-A Sectional crown.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Since November, Penn Building and Trades students have been hammering away on their 49^th house.

The house on 414 Champery Drive in Osceola’s Newbury Pointe subdivision is now complete and is on the market!

In the video below, Building & Trades Teacher Les Crooks takes us through the completed house …

Interested and want to see the house for yourself? Come check it out at the Open House on Friday, June 1, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

The asking price for the house is $245,000. The proceeds from the house sale goes to the Building Trades Corporation, which is a separate entity from Penn High School.

For more background information on Penn’s Building and Trades program and details on this year’s build, click here.

The Food Service Department of the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is participating in the Summer Food Service Program for Summer 2018.

FREE MEALS will be available to children 18 years of age and under, or persons more than 18 who are determined by a state or local public education agency to be mentally or physically disabled and who participate in a public or non-profit private school program established for the mentally or physically disabled. 

The program will operate Monday through Friday. All sites will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, 2018.

Please click here for more information and a complete list of sites and dates.

On Friday, May 25, 869 Kingsmen graduated from Penn High School in Commencement Ceremonies at Purcell Pavilion on the University of Notre Dame campus. 

All 17 valedictorians spoke during the ceremony. They spoke on a joint theme passing along the lessons they learned the past four years and their defining moments at Penn High School.

Click to read the amazing accomplishments of Penn’s Class of 2018.

Click to watch Class of 2018 Excellence Happens Here student profiles on Penn-Harris-Madison’s YouTube channel.

Please click to see the photo gallery below of Commencement.

PLEASE NOTE REGARDING PHOTOGRAPHY:
These photographs in the photo gallery below were taken by the P-H-M District Communications Office. They are just intended to capture a snapshot of the excitement and mood of the evening, NOT ALL STUDENTS WILL BE PHOTOGRAPHED. 

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.

*HR Imaging photographed all graduates at the ceremony. HR Imaging will contact parents soon after the ceremony with viewing and purchasing options — you'll receive login information to view images securely online at http://shop.hrimaging.com.