On Friday, May 25, 869 students graduated from Penn High School in Commencement Ceremonies at Purcell Pavilion on the University of Notre Dame campus. Click to view the Class of 2018 Commencement photo gallery .

Penn’s Class of 2018 features 17 Valedictorians: Nicholas Casetti, Madeline Cullison, Margaret Finnessy, Kendra Fuelling, Kristine Hocker, Morgan Jankowski, Fezaan Kazi, Veronica Kirgios, Sybil Kurian, Kendra Laidig, Erin Ludwig, Bryan Mai, Christopher Mazurek, Matthew Rach, Maheera Siddique, Mackenzie Wood and Renee Yaseen. Click to read more about these students and see where they’ll be attending college/university. The Valedictorians have an average GPA of 4.4 on a scale of 4.0!

Lauren Frank and David Li earned Salutatorian status. The average GPA of the salutatorians is 4.3! Click to read more about this year’s Salutatorians.

This year’s class also has six National Merit Scholarship Finalists: Nicholas Casetti, Margaret Finnessy, Kristine Hocker, Shane Hullinger, Kendra Laidig, and Renee Yaseen. 

Nicholas Casetti also earned Indiana Academic All-State Honors.

Of the 869 member graduating class:

• 304 are graduating with High Honors
• 446 – Academic Honors
• 105 – Technical Honors
   

Another highlight of this year’s graduating class is that it includes 82 students of the first cohort of the Early College Academy. The Academy was started four years ago to offer students, who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to attend college, to earn dual college credit in the supportive environment of Penn High School. These students have been taking classes at Penn and also earning college credit through courses at Ivy Tech Community College. 

• 37 earned Associate of General Studies degrees
• 31 earned Technical Certificates (earning between 32-62 credits, the equivalent of one year of college or more)
• 14 earned at least 15 college credits

To date, members of this year’s graduating class continuing their academic career in higher education have received just over $8 million in scholarships!

Many students will be attending in-state colleges and universities:

• Purdue University – 86
• Indiana University South Bend – 84
• Indiana University Bloomington – 65
• Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis– 38
• Ball State University – 25
• Butler University – 11
• University of Notre Dame – 6
• University of Indianapolis – 4

A few Kingsmen will also be venturing a little farther from home attending across the country, for example: Oregon State University, University of Southern California, University of Utah, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Mississippi, Florida State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

We take pride in providing a wide array of academics and career learning opportunities to appeal to a wide base of student interests supporting our students for college and career readiness.

Fourteen students have enlisted in the military and armed services to honorably serve our country.

Several members of the Class of 2018 will also pursuing Electrician School, Apprenticeship for Photography, Apprenticeship for Carpentry, and finishing Cosmetology Programs.

Click to read more about the Penn’s Class of 2018 and the Student Awards handed out at Senior Recognition Night held last week (Tuesday, May 15, 2018). 

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

High School Graduation is a major milestone in one’s life—a stepping stone and catalyst for the next phase of life. However, sometimes it’s taken for granted … but not for Patrick Cichoracki.

Tonight, Patrick, an Exceptional Education Academy student, will be among Penn’s 869 member Class of 2018 graduating at tonight’s Commencement (May 25, 2018) at the University of Notre Dame. Patrick will graduate with a Core 40 diploma. This is quite an accomplishment for Patrick, his family and his Penn High School family and friends! Patrick was diagnosed with Autism when he was two-years-old—doctors telling his parents he’d never speak and recommended they put him in respite care.

But Patrick and his parents never gave up … Patrick enrolled in PreK at Elsie Rogers Elementary School and began using an adult speaking device—which he mastered in just two days! He eventually started speaking at the age of seven. Patrick has always loved technology, taking apart the family's VCRs and putting them back together again. By elementary school, Patrick quickly learned keyboarding and developed his fine motor skills by doing all of his “writing” homework on a computer. At Schmucker Middle School and later at Penn, he took computer classes. Tonight he’s 18 and graduating on time with the rest of his classmates his age with a Core 40 Diploma! He loves coding and will enroll in Ivy Tech Community College next fall and plans to major in Technology.

Patrick is inspiration to us all, watch the video below to see how he brightens the hallways of Penn High School every day …

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

All year long, Penn junior and senior Building & Trades students have been building a home in Osceola. On Tuesday (May 22, 2018), the students were honored for their hard work and dedication on this longstanding project-based learning project. Click to see the photo gallery below of the home under construction all year.

Several seniors were recognized for their achievements and hard work over the course of this school year.

Award Winners:

• The Ross Anderson MVP Award: Tanner Shaw
• $1000 scholarship (renewable for four years): Connor Bretlinger, Luciano Rulli, Alan Kreig and Chase Fenner

In addition to the standout awards, every student received a Golden Hammer award. This award recognizes that students made it through the course successfully.

Penn High School has offered students this terrific hands-on experience for 49 years through the Building and Trades class!

The year-long course is offered to juniors and seniors and gives students the unique experience to build a house from the ground up. This year’s class has 17 students; and four seniors are in their second year in the course.

This year’s house is in the Newbury Pointe subdivision in Osceola at 414 Champery Drive. The asking price for the 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 1685 sq. ft. home is  $245,000. The house will be completely finished at the end of May and ready for an Open House scheduled for Friday, June 1, from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Click here for more information on the Building & Trades program and to watch a video on Phase 1. Click here for a video on Phase 2.  

Please see the photo gallery below of the home under construction. To download a high resolution jpg file from the photo gallery, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function.
 

We’re in the final stretch … Commencement is just two days, May 25 at the University of Notre Dame. 

In these weeks leading up to Graduation we’ve been profiling Class of 2018 graduating seniors from each of Penn’s Academies.

On Friday, The Early College Academy will graduate its first cohort this year; and Abigail Neal will be among Penn’s first group of students to earn an Associate's Degree while in high school! About 80 Early College students will graduate with dual credit earnings and about half of those will have earned their Associate’s Degree. Abigail is taking that degree to college and pursue her bachelor's degree in Engineering at IUPUI, so she will start college as a junior with a AGS degree in General Studies … pretty amazing!

Click to watch the video below …
 

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

Three Penn student teams took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the finals of the LimeBike of South Bend Innovation Challenge today (Tuesday, May 22, 2018).

1st Place Winning Idea (Adjustable Bike Stand) & Team Members:

Austin Waech shown above during the presentation. Team members not pictured: Michael Wujcik, Zachary Craft and Moon Jay. The team was also made up of Mishawaka students: Morgan Van Damme, Izzy Fielding and CJ Fisher.

2nd Place Winning Idea (Work Layout) & Team Members:

Penn students: Hunter Lederer, Kayra Nugroho and Anthony Vaccaro

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3rd Place Winning Idea (The LimeStand) & Team Members:

Penn students: Keshaun Lee, Joseph Shockey, Brandon Scarberry and Peter Yang

For the Innovation Challenge, students had to create a solution or discover an innovation that will help LimeBike improve its service. Students had to design and build prototypes of their pitches to LimeBike and then presented them to panels of local experts and teachers.

At stake was a paid summer internship hosted by The Sibley Center to expand on and implement designs from the competition. A for-profit company that receives no tax dollars, LimeBike is a bike-sharing program that seeks to promote a cleaner environment through riding bicycles.

The LimeBike Challenge is one of the relevant learning opportunities that distinguishes Penn’s STEM Academy, which is one of 33 schools in Indiana that is STEM-certified by the State of Indiana.

The Penn Girls Tennis Team beat Jimtown, 5-0, on Senior Night.

Please see the photo gallery below. To download a high resolution jpg file from the photo gallery, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function.

Penn Baseball beat Mishawaka, 6-5, on Friday, May 11, on Senior Night.

Please see the photo gallery below. To download a high resolution jpg file from the photo gallery, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function.

We try to explain the mission of Penn High School, but sometimes the words of administrators, teachers and staff really don’t do it justice as much as the students do when told from their perspective.

World Languages Academy student Katrina Kulczar has studied not only French, but also American Sign Language. It’s through these studies of World Languages that she came to understand the language of Penn High school! 

Click the video below to watch Katrina’s Class of 2018 student profile … 

Commencement will be held Friday, May 25, click for more details.

In these final weeks leading up to Graduation, we’ve been introducing you to senior from each of Penn’s seven Academies. Click to watch those videos.
 

From directing musicals, leading Penn's Early College Academy to starting a school for orphaned children in Ethopia … 2018 PHM's Teacher of the Year Danielle Black believes that EVERY CHILD MATTERS!  She was honored at the annual  P-H-M Employee Recognition & Retiree Dinner (May 16, 2018) with this video, with this video …

Mrs. Black’s family was on hand for last night’s honors. Click to learn more about Mrs. Black and to see the video from May 4 when P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker made the surprise visit to Mrs. Black’s classroom to announce that she had been chosen as 2018 Teacher of the Year.

Penn High School will graduate 869 students on Friday, May 25, at Purcell Pavilion on the University of Notre Dame campus.

At the Class of 2018 Senior Recognition Night ceremony on Tuesday, May 15, Principal Sean Galiher announced that just over $8 million in scholarships has been award to the Class of 2018!

“It has truly been an honor and privilege for me to get to know the 2018 graduating class of Penn High School,” Penn Principal Sean Galiher said. “Their talents and skills are bountiful and I have had the privilege to witness their positive leadership and dedication to our school all year long. I wish this class the best with their futures and know each student will continue to represent their families and community with pride. Congratulations!”

Penn’s Class of 2018 features 17 Valedictorians: Nicholas Casetti, Madeline Cullison, Margaret Finnessy, Kendra Fuelling, Kristine Hocker, Morgan Jankowski, Fezaan Kazi, Veronica Kirgios, Sybil Kurian, Kendra Laidig, Erin Ludwig, Bryan Mai, Christopher Mazurek, Matthew Rach, Maheera Siddique, Mackenzie Wood and Renee Yaseen. Click to read more about these students and see what their future plans are. The Valedictorians have an average grade-point average of 4.4 on a scale of 4.0!

Lauren Frank and David Li earned Salutatorian status. The average GPA of the salutatorians is 4.3! Click to read more about this year’s Salutatorians.

Big awards announced for the night were Kendra Laidig as the surprise winner of both the Kingsmen of the Year and the Schmucker Awards.

James Morris was named the recipient of the Donna and Dr. Jerry Thacker Scholarship, which is based on character, service to Penn, and involvement in extracurricular activities.

Matthew Forsey and Jane Musema earned the Principal’s Leadership Award.

Nakala Bell, Jason Gaines, Hope Gilbride, Shane Hullinger, Evan Mercurio, and Charlotte White were named winners of the Principal’s Academic Excellence Award.

Savannah Barrier, Daniel Dautel, Ekachi Emenim, Kelsey Madden, Dimitri Napoleon, Samuel Padrnos, Sara Rodriguez, and Brian Yu won the Principal’s Citizenship and Service Awards.

This year’s class has six National Merit Scholarship Finalists: Nicholas Casetti, Margaret Finnessy, Kristine Hocker, Shane Hullinger, Kendra Laidig, and Renee Yaseen.

Nicholas Casetti also earned Indiana Academic All-State Honors.

Click here to read the full list of the Senior Awards and Commencement Recognitions of the graduating Class of 2018.

This year Penn Administration worked with Exceptional Education Academy faculty and administration to create three awards that would also recognize the achievements of Penn’s Exceptional Ed students. See the award winners listed below and then click here to read more.

Other Award Winners:

• Overall Achievement Award: Jason Gaines (Early College Academy)
• Perseverance Award: Abigail Neal (Early College Academy)
• Leadership Award: Charles Lane (Early College Academy)
• Growth Award: Giselle Leon (Early College Academy)
• Ambassador Award: Jacob Hazen (Exceptional Education Academy)
• Career Excellence Award: Alicia Carr (Exceptional Education Academy)
• Academic Advancement Award: Genevieve Nikolai (Exceptional Education Academy)
• Peer Leader: Emma Bright (presented by Exceptional Education Academy)
• Band: Kendra Fuelling (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Choir: Carrington Neal (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Orchestra: David Richards (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Ceramics: Clara Fitzhugh (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Drawing: Ciera Chavez (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Media Arts:  Taylor Sharpe (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Painting: Gabriella Manczunski (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Outstanding Artist of Sculpture: Mariah Anderson (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Thespian: Alex Buford (Fine Arts/Communications Academy)
• Broadcast Journalism: Lindsey Zimmerman (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Debate: Payton Holland (Health & Human Services Academy)
• The Pennant: Mason Plummer (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Social Sciences: Madeline Cullison (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Spectrum: Lucie Horvath (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Speech: Gabrielle Besse (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Yearbook: Daniel Phend  and Madeline Moore (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Economics: Nick Casetti (Health & Human Services Academy)
• English: Renee Yaseen and Kendra Laidig (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Government: Matt Forsey (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Health and Wellness Award: Chinonso Emenim and Olivia Sautter (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Penn Strength – Male: Jame Morris (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Penn Strength – Female: Naomi Willis (Health & Human Services Academy)
• Accounting & Finance: Steven Krcelich (Management and Business Academy)
• Computer Science: John Monnin (Management and Business Academy)
• General Business: Connor Fisher, Quinn Murphy, Samuel Ghyselinck (Management and Business Academy)
• Marketing: Samuel Padrnos (Management and Business Academy)
• Cadet Teaching Award: Julia Beers (Management and Business Academy)
• Professional Work-Based Award: Anthony Guennel (Management and Business Academy)
• MBA Leadership Award: Adam Chalman (Management and Business Academy)
• Engineering Award: Italia Fields (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Mathematics Award: Nick Casetti (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Science Award: Alyssa McNarney (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Technology Award: Gary Babcoke (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• Agriculture Award: Elena Effertz (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Academy)
• American Sign Language: Mariah Anderson (World Languages)
• Chinese: Nadya Al-Shawi (World Languages)
• French: Kristine Hocker (World Languages)
• German: Chris Mazurek (World Languages)
• Japanese: Julia Yang (World Languages)
• Spanish: Maddie Brown (World Languages)
• Multilingual: Brandine Ishimwe (World Languages)