The cool, damp weather on Tuesday afternoon (April 24) did not stop Biology teacher John Gensic and 24 Early College Academy students from planting nearly 85 trees!

Mr. Gensic and his students were in Lake Albert (Elkhart County) today working hand in hand with about 20 Indiana Tool Road Concession Company LLC’s employees on the ITRCC’s sustainability program called “Strengthening Our Roots.” Click here for a photo gallery.

Mr. Gensic’s idea for the project came to him while driving along the Toll Road on his way to Chicago over winter break with his family. He recounts seeing a sign about the ITRCC project, which resulted in 700 trees being planted in 2017. He wanted to do something similar on a stretch of road near Penn-Harris-Madison’s School Corporation’s school territory.

Mr. Gensic reached out to the ITR to discuss his idea and learned while the Department of Transportation doesn't let students on the Toll Road, it does owns a plot of land in Elkhart County and Lake Albert was in desperate need of some “Kingsmen T.L.C.” (tender loving care). Even better, Mr. Gensic learned that the ITR project qualifies for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to provide trees to help replenish the forests after so many Ash trees were lost due to the Emerald Ash Borer Beetles. 

And just like that Mr. Gensic had another service learning project for his students! Under the guidance of the ITR, Mr. Gensic and his Early College students were able to “strengthen the roots” of Lake Albert by planting Burr Oak and Northern Pecan trees, 85 in all!

Other project contributors included NIPSCO, who donated recycled mulch for today’s project, and Cleveland Fire Department, which sent four personnel and two vehicles to provide water. Mr. Gensic’s class gave a combined total of 52 service hours on the project (24 students + 2 staff members x 2 hours each). ITR Concession Company’s 20 volunteers invested a combined total of 100 hours.

Planting trees is not a foreign concept to Mr. Gensic. The “Giving Trees” project was the brainchild of Mr. Gensic (P-H-M’s 2016 Teacher of the Year and top 10 finalist for Indiana TOY). That project was made possible by an initial 2016 grant from the P-H-M Education Foundation. The project continued through the 2017 school year; Mr. Gensic combined his P-H-M TOY prize money from the Education Foundation with a donation from the Springhope Farm. Between 2016 and 2017, more than 60 fruit trees planted at four P-H-M elementary schools: Horizon, Elsie Rogers, Mary Frank and Elm Road schools! The idea behind Mr. Gensic’s project based learning project “Giving Trees” was for students to participate in a real world event that not only focuses on improving the local environment, but also provides food for the P-H-M school community.

It is Mr. Gensic’s hope for students involved in all of his projects to be inspired to become agents of change leading the charge for a healthy environment and community.

See the photo gallery below of today’s Lake Albert “Strengthening Our Roots” tree planting.

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 wile viewing it in the Photo Gallery function.

The Penn Baseball Team beat Jimtown, 13-0, on Friday, April 20.

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.

Community Connections Fair

Saturday, April 21, 2018

10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Walt Disney Elementary School

In an effort to expand outreach to the families of all of our ENL students (grades K-12), P-H-M’s ENL Services is hosting a community resource fair to make families aware of the services not only available within the district, but also in the Mishawaka and South Bend areas. Bilingual interpreters will be on hand at the event to assist those families who need it.

Click here to download a copy of the event flier in English. Copies are also available in Spanish, Chinese and Korean.

*Adobe Acrobat Reader will be required to view pdf documents. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, please visit Adobe’s website, at this link www.get.adobe.com/reader/, to download your free version.

As the vibrant sounds of “Thriller” bounced around the Penn High School Cafeteria, about 50 Kingsmen students sprang onto floor and danced to the uber-catchy classic.

Beach balls and hula hoops punctuated the festive scene.

In one corner of the Penn Cafeteria, a young child’s cheek was being painted neon green and blue. A few feet away, a bounce house was rocking. On the other side of the cafeteria, children who have benefitted from the Riley Hospital for Children were lined up to get balloon animals.

Penn’s For-The-Kids Dance Marathon celebrated the wonders of the Riley Hospital for Children, and showcased the amazing efforts of Penn students.

Kicking off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2018, the highlight came with the big reveal at 6 p.m., that Penn’s students spearheaded a drive that raised $25,090.16 for the Riley Hospital for Children!

Top student fundraisers for the event were Olivia Coughlin, Cassandra McCoige, Maggie Sullivan, Sheila Patel, Rachel Wobbe, Ashley McCoige and Matthew Pruitt.

Penn teachers Michele Ball and Kate O’Brien sponsored the event.

“Being a part of the Dance Marathon has been an incredible experience, and it is very exciting that we were able to raise over $25,000 in our first year,” Penn Junior Matthew Pruitt said. “At our event, we had several families who visited the Riley Children's Hospital share their experiences, and that was when I realized that we will be impacting so many lives as a result of our hard work and dedication.

“I am very proud to be part of this club and all that it has accomplished so far, and I am excited to continue raising money for the Riley Children's Hospital in the coming years,” Pruitt said.

Ball said that the event was far more than one morning and afternoon of activities.

“We have been raising funds in earnest from the end of January,” Ball said. “We held Parents' Night Out events at Bittersweet and Horizon.  We entertained the students while the parents enjoyed a little time on their own.  We had two restaurant fundraisers, at Hacienda and Chipotle.”

Corporate sponsors included Paige's Custom Lettering, Gibson Insurance, Korhorn Financial Group, Bruno's in Granger, Jimmy John's, Lippert Components, and Martin's Supermarkets.

Penn High’s Baseball Team defeated Bremen, 12-5, on Friday, April 13, 2018.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Penn High School is hosting a Dance Marathon for Riley Hospital for Children is Saturday.

Dance Marathon is a multi-hour, multi-faceted event that blends dancing, games, crafts, food, and fun into one philanthropic experience. Students are on their feet the entire duration of the marathon as well, as they stand for the kids at Riley.

Stop by for dancing, games, and a chance to hear the stories of our Riley families.

The event is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, at the Penn High School Cafeteria.

Donations may be made at http://donate.rileykids.org/site/TR?fr_id=3579&pg=entry if you are unable to attend the event.

A total of 39 Penn High School students have qualified for the TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Math and Science) Nationals.

Coached by Penn Math Instructor Becky Tagliaferri, the Penn students will compete in the Nationals in Atlanta, Ga., from June 22-25.

Tingyu Lu and her team – Amy Bernard, Yewon Oh, Michelle Kwok, Riya Patel, Ian Baker, Zach Simon and Chelsea Chen – won the state championship in the 11/12 division.

David Wang’s 9/10 team of Gabby Haywood, Joey Meier, Peter Tiebout, Olivia Venditti, Ryan Ludwig and Sydney Domal placed third in the state.

“This competition reflects the strong STEM education we have here at Penn High School,” Tagliaferri said. “This is our fourth state championship in a row and out of the six years there has been a national competition under the TSA umbrella, we have excelled all six years and have brought home several Top 10 placements every year!  Penn is a powerhouse at TEAMS national competitions.”

Other national qualifiers included the 11/12 team of Nick Casetti, Alyssa McNarney, Amanda George, Sunny Sun, Elisabeth Casetti, Dhruv Khanna, Corey Wang and Matt Rach; the 11/12 team of Leah Ingle, Sage Marchand, Siddarth Das, Sabrina Kurian, Trang le, Moon Joy, Emma Doshi and Sydney Doshi; and the 9/10 team of Grace Waddell, Allison Nguyen, Sharon Ni, Anna VanAvermaete, Janusha Cooray, Madeline Calvin, Julia Son and Anna Wong.

In the TEAMS competition, regional scores are taken from tests and a design build. Those scores are compared with scores from around the state to determine state champions and national qualifiers.

A total of 250 students representing 32 teams competed in the Indiana event.

Penn’s state championship TEAMS group is ranked No. 4 in the nation.

According to Tagliaferri, the event encompasses what engineers do in their jobs. There is an 80-question multiple choice math test, a paper that must be written, and a design/build portion. All of these are centered around the theme this year of "Engineering the Enviroment,"  narrowed by eight topics that the students research.  

Congratulations to these young men on their acceptance into the Startup Moxie program for the 2018-2019 school year. This is a transformative experience, one in which students will become self-reliant, goal-oriented individuals who will feel empowered to begin their own venture. This program provides the opportunity for students to learn through real-life experiences.

Startup Moxie is a year-long, four-credit high school course with college dual accreditation through Ivy Tech for Entrepreneurship 101 & 105. The class meets in local businesses and changes locations throughout the year.

Each student in the Startup Moxie Program will be paired up with a mentor from the St. Joseph County business community. Mentors help students immerse themselves in real-life learning experiences with the opportunity to take risks, manage the results, and learn from the outcomes. The student selection process is a defined process in which students submitted a written request for admission, letters of recommendation and complete an entrepreneurial profile.

Penn High School students will be participating in the ISTEP Part 2 testing April 16 through May 4.    All testing will be completed online.

Click here for the testing schedule.

Math ISTEP Testing

Math ISTEP testing will begin on Monday, April 16, and conclude on Thursday, April 19. 

English ISTEP Testing

English ISTEP testing will begin on Monday, April 23, and conclude on Monday, April 30.

Biology Testing

Biology ISTEP testing will begin on Tuesday, May 1, and conclude on Wednesday May 2.

Below are a few tips to help prepare students for this standardized assessment. We encourage all parents to implement these ideas with your student. 

The Week before ISTEP and during ISTEP Testing:

• Establish an early bedtime routine to ensure students receive at least 8 hours of sleep each night.
• Remove any technological devices from his/her bedroom to ensure they have an uninterrupted night of rest.
• Make sure your student eats a healthy breakfast before school and limit sugary drinks.
• Be positive about the test and encourage your student to do his/her best.
• Encourage your child to review math skills and read at home regularly.
• Encourage your student to exercise for at least 30 minutes daily to help relieve any stress.

Experience Online Testing

The Indiana Department of Education is providing the ISTEP+ “Experience” opportunity through Pearson. The purpose of Experience is for students, educators, parents, and community members to see how test items similar to those on the ISTEP assessment are presented in the online system.

You can access the ISTEP+ Experience on the following IDOE website:

http://download.pearsonaccessnext.com/in/in-practicetest.html?links=1

The answer keys for the Experience Online Assessment can also be located on the main page.

The P-H-M Safety & Security Team has added information for Summer construction at Penn High School in regards to traffic flow. These additions involve maps showing pick up, drop off and parking for Summer Camps and Summer School at both Schmucker Middle School and Penn High School. Please click here to see the information.