The Penn Debate Team won the Team Sweepstakes at the Chesterton Debate Tournament. Penn Debate has won the last four consecutive meets that they have competed in. 

Penn Debate coach Jeremy Starkweather credited the team’s success to Leadership and the Middle School Debate Program.

“My team captains have shown some of my all-time best leadership skills, and have put in countless hours preparing not just for their performances, but also for our rookies and veteran members alike,” Starkweather said.

In the last two years, Penn Debate has invested in the middle schoolers, hosting an all-PHM District Tournament.

“With the preparations happening at the middle-school level, our team is starting their careers ahead of the game compared to some of the other teams throughout the state,” Starkweather said. 

Penn’s top individual awards at Chesterton:

• 1st place Public Forum: Noah Schafer and Bohdan Kolomiiets

• 1st place Lincoln Douglas: Akul Bhambani

• 2nd place Lincoln Douglas: Sarah Rooney 

• 2nd place World Schools: Noah Shafer, Stanley Liew, and Danielle Esgeuerra 

• 2nd place Novice Policy: Danielle Cilliberti and Addison Schlundt

• 1st place Novice Congress: Selin Biligicer

• 2nd place Novice Congress: Langston Artrip

In the Lincoln Douglas Category, both Akul Bhambani and Sarah Rooney were undefeated. Their match was very close and came down to a tiebreaker round in which Akul Bhambani persevered to the end.

Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher announced that Matthew Deahl, Jaanavi Kaushik, Stanley Liew and Megan Zhang have been named Rising Stars for the Class of 2025 by the Indiana Association of School Principals.

The Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) is proud to present the Rising Stars of Indiana Class of 2025. Each Indiana high school was invited to recognize up to four students currently in the 11th grade, based on their academic achievement. The Class of 2025 is surely promised success with these students. 

Please join Penn and the IASP in congratulating these students on all they have already achieved, as well as offering support and encouragement as they continue their accomplishments and expand their knowledge, growth and leadership skills well into the future.

The P-H-M Education Foundation has wrapped up the grant announcements for the 2023-2024 school year; and it’s been a big year with tons of recipients. Walt Disney was the recipient of 12 grants for the combined total of $12,123.04!!!

English teacher Caelea Armstrong partnered with student Akash Singh to apply for $1,000 to purchase basic self-care and hygiene products for students. The money will be used to buy soap, hair products, deodorant, etc., as well as storage containers and distribution bags for students in need. Printed awareness materials, such as posters and other informational materials, will also be paid for out of the funds.

Robotics and Manufacturing teachers Kyle Marsh and Scott Shelhart applied for and received $3,000 for the “Kingsmen Karting through STEM project. Students collaborate with each other to design, manufacture, fabricate, test and evaluate two go-karts. The initiative encourages collaboration and further develop students’ understanding of physics, math and technology.

Penn Art Gallery Curator Jessica Marsh was awarded $1,000 to purchase the necessary materials to start a jewelry program at the high school. Students will be encouraged to submit to Scholastic Arts and Writing competitions while learning a real applicable life skill (related to/uses welding, manufacturing, robotics and other disciplines.)

Early College Biology teacher Toni Boger-May received $1,000 to use in her Integrated Chemistry and Physics classes. Students are required to design, build and refine a device that converts one form of energy into another form of energy. Students will construct a simple AC generator using Neodymium batteries and magnets as well as build dye-sensitized solar cells to harvest sunlight into electricity.

The National Honor Society teacher sponsors Karen Tagliaferri and Lana Ealdama worked with student David Son to write a grant for $610 to purchase five plastic recycling bins for classrooms. NHS plans to increase student awareness of recycling materials in the school. The Foundation is encouraging NHS to look into expanding it to a school-wide recycling program partnering with other clubs/local agencies as necessary.

John Gensic and Amanda Bates were awarded $2,770.70 to purchase MyGardyn 3.0 to cultivate edible plants within Penn to support students facing food insecurity. The funds will also be used to provide hands-on learning experiences for Agriculture Students, Plant Club, Key Club, Environmental Awareness Club and Biology students who will all participate in the growing and harvesting of plants. 

American Sign Language teacher Delicia Huckleberry was awarded $1,577 to buy a second projector for ASL room which will allow student presenters to reference the screen on the other side of the room when presenting. Unlike other presentations, students are not able to reference their presentation slides when doing ASL so the projector will support confidence In student presentations.

Penn also received five EZ Grants:

• $216.34 to purchase fishing equipment and supplies for Penn Fishing Club, “Luring Biodiversity”
• $200 to purchase mobile white boards for students in computer science classrooms
• $249 to purchase new music selections for use at Penn and in demonstrating to 4th and 5th grade students
• $250 to purchase t-shirts for Penn Counselors to wear at school and raise awareness about the Safe School Helpline and Suicide Prevention
• $250 to purchase small gifts, candy, and cards for Penn’s “Random Acts of Kindness Club.” The items will be distributed to students.

This cycle the Foundation Grants Committee awarded $42,819.63 in funding to 15 EZ grants and 20 traditional grants. Click here for the full list of funded grants.

PHMEF has moved to one grant cycle per school year, now moved to the Fall, to allow teachers and schools time to put their grant dollars to good use right away.

Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom traveled across the district to surprise various grant recipients with the good news of their funding amount. Grants awarded this year cover a wide array of innovative programs and activities from $10,000 to Grissom Middle School to purchase keyboards for the music room to milkweed plants for Madison Elementary so the school could attract monarch butterflies.

Click here to see the photo gallery on the District’s website of the check deliveries or click to follow PHMEF’s Facebook page.

Penn High School’s National Honor Society held its 2023 Induction Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 20.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

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Today in Eric Bowers’ European History class, his students experienced a little bit of a time warp. Mr. Bowers had been going over the French Revolution, but then he did a quantum leap of 131 years to Le Francport near Compiègne, France.

That’s where the Germans signed the armistice with the Allies to end World War I. It was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day, of the 11th month in1918. The day became known as Armistice Day, later as Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and eventually Veterans Day, a federal holiday in the United States.

Mr. Bowers then had students sign a Veterans Day card for fellow Penn teacher Matt Rollins, who teaches Government in the Early College Academy. 

Mr. Rollins was in the Army and served in the Iraq War. Students got a chance to ask Mr. Rollins questions about his service. One student asking him if he ever interacted with anyone famous while he was in the Army. Surprisingly Mr. Rollins answer was YES!

Mr. Rollins was actually assigned to then Vice President Joe Biden’s security detail, and he told the students if they “Googled” it, they’d find a picture of him in the background of a picture of now First Lady Jill Biden.

The students did in fact find this picture of Dr. Jill Biden taken July 4, 2010 when she was visiting Camp Victory, Iraq, and who was in the background? Mr. Matt Rollins!!!

Mr. Bowers’ G1 European History class got a very well rounded Veterans Day history lesson!

The Showcase will be held from 6–8 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4 (“Snow Day” will be Tuesday, Dec. 5, 6–8 p.m.)

This year the IDOE honored Penn High with the Excellence in College Readiness Award for being #1 in the state with the most students earning ICC (Indiana College Core) or AGS (Associate of General Studies) certificates earned! Click here to read more about Penn’s Points of Excellence.

Penn High School’s exceptional learning opportunities and programs will be on display for prospective and current students at the 2023 Penn High School Showcase.

Incoming Freshman click here for additional details.

Sophomore Scheduling information click here.

The Showcase allows incoming Freshmen (current Eighth Graders) and prospective move-ins, along with their families, to have the opportunity to tour Penn, meet with staff and students, and hear about the all the college and career readiness opportunities Penn offers through its eight Academies.

All prospective Penn students and current Penn 9-11 graders and their families are welcome to join us to learn about classes and clubs they can look forward as Penn students.

Student Last Names A-L (it is suggested you enter through Doors B, C, or D)

• Begin in the CPA at 6 p.m. to hear a presentation from administrators and counselors.
• After the presentation, families can tour the building, visit open classrooms, talk to staff & students.

Student Last Names M-Z (it is suggested you enter through Doors A, M, or L)

• Begin by touring the building, visiting open classrooms, talking to staff & students.
• Report to the CPA at 7 p.m. to hear a presentation from administrators and counselors.

Penn High School is filled with so many opportunities that the choices can be overwhelming. This is a great time to speak to teachers and current students about course options. Some classes will be available to see live in action!

 Besides the Live Classrooms, students and parents are encouraged to visit the Academy booths, which will be set up around the building, to gain information into the Academy structure at Penn High School. Teachers representing both Academy and elective classes will be available to answer questions and provide information. We will also have representatives of the Early College Academy, Exceptional Education and the Elkhart Area Career Center. We will also have tables with club representatives set up in the Sunshine Hallway. Stop by to see the many club and extracurricular activities available to Penn students.

Penn Administrators and Freshmen Counselors will give presentations about Penn, both what to expect, support structures, and information about four-year planning. Last names A-L will attend the presentation at 6 p.m., while last names M-Z will have this opportunity at 7 p.m. Counselors will also be on hand to answer questions and meet with students and families.

Your involvement in your child’s education is vital to making their high school experience a positive one. We value your participation in decisions related to planning your child’s class schedule. A collaborative effort between parents, students, teachers and counselors is essential and represents P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success!”

Incoming Freshman click here for additional details.

Sophomore Scheduling information click here.

Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher announced that nine Penn students have earned National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist status.

Owen Black, Jacob Ciliberti, Lillian Gregory, Lily Meyer, Olivia Nijim, Noah Schafer, Connor Schmitt, Jayden Wang and Felix Zhang are the academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.

“We are extremely proud of these students,” Galiher said. “This accomplishment is a culmination of the great efforts of these students including all the wonderful teachers they have had while attending P-H-M schools.”

More than 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

From over 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists.

Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. National Merit Scholarships Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2024. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit® $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis.

As part of the P-H-M Education Foundation naming rights campaign, Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Thacker have generously donated $10,000 to the Education Foundation to have the basketball court in Penn High School’s Main Arena named after Hall of Fame and Penn’s legendary coach, Al Rhodes, renaming the court “Al Rhodes Kingsmen Court.”

The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted to approve the sponsorship agreement at the Monday, October 9, 2023, Board meeting. The donation will be paid in one lump sum to the Foundation.

Coach Rhodes retired at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, with a 28-2 record. The Kingsmen reached the Final Four led by Rhodes protégé and standout Markus Burton who won the coveted Mr. Basketball Award. Burton is only the third player from St. Joseph County to be named Mr. Basketball. Now at Notre Dame, he was the MVP of the 2023 Indiana-Kentucky All-Star series.

Rhodes also played for the Kingsmen from 1966-1970. He went on to play for Tri-State University (now Trine University) before embarking on his coaching career.

Starting his head coaching career at Warsaw in 1980, Rhodes coached the Tigers through the 2002 season. His 1984 Warsaw team claimed the State Championship.

Rhodes and his Kingsmen teams cut down the nets six times as Sectional or Regional Champions. Penn reached the Final Four in Indiana’s revered Hoosier Hysteria state tournament for the third and fourth times in the school’s 65-year history. Rhodes posted an overall record of 693-320 in 42 seasons, including an overall state tournament record of 101-41. The Kingsmen won 18 Sectional Championships, nine Regional Championships, four Semi-state Championships and one State Championship. Coach Rhodes retired as the winningest coach in Kingsmen Boys Basketball history with a record of 239-128 in 15 seasons.

Dr. and Mrs. Thacker’s donation to name the court after the Hall of Famer was a natural decision, said Dr. Thacker. “It’s only fitting that the hardwood where Kingsmen student-athletes racked up so many wins under Coach Rhodes’ leadership would be named after him. This is an excellent way to commemorate and celebrate Penn Basketball’s winningest coach ever!”

The unveiling of the new court signage is scheduled to take place at the Penn-Clay game on December 1, 2023. The new court name will be displayed above the scoreboard.

Per PHMEF’s naming rights fundraising initiative, 80 percent of the donation will go into the Foundation’s endowment, which will in turn provide alternative and additional funding for various co-curricular and extracurricular programs. The remaining 20 percent directly funds professional development initiatives for P-H-M teachers. Continuing the education and training of teachers is a major priority for P-H-M School District.

The mission of the Education Foundation is to develop alternative sources of income to support education initiatives in the School Corporation by strengthening partnerships between the community and the District. PHMEF supports education through awarding innovative teaching grants, scholarships to students, staff development and other corporation-wide initiatives.

Dr. Thacker has been superintendent of Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation since 2006 and has supported the Education Foundation wholeheartedly. Over the course of 17 years, Dr. and Mrs. Thacker have donated $202,500 to the P-H-M Education Foundation, including this most recent donation of the naming rights. Most of this money has either been unrestricted donations or used as matching funds for fundraising initiatives. This is the second time they have made a donation to the naming rights campaign. In 2021, they donated $25,000 to have the Kingsmen Athletic Center renamed the Chris Geesman Kingsmen Athletic Center after Penn’s legendary football championship coach. Click here to see pictures and video of the dedication.

“The Foundation Board and I are so appreciative of Dr. and Mrs. Thacker’s generosity through the years,” said Jennifer Turnblom, Executive Director of the P-H-M Education Foundation. “Their unwavering support has been a tremendous help to us fulfilling our mission. The Thackers’ donations alone have made it possible for the Foundation to fund approximately 20% more classroom grants, activities and programs possible for the students of all P-H-M’s 15 schools. Their impact has been nothing less than incredible!”

The Arena is still available for naming rights.