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.

This afternoon P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker handed out the last two teacher Impact Awards as part of Round 1. This portion of the awards highlighted the teachers with the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year.

Today’s awardees are both math teachers. Penn’s Brian Griman teaches College Algebra, Pre-Calculus & Trigonometry, and Calculus courses; and Tony Krupa teaches 8th grade Math at Schmucker Middle School. Dr. Thacker was able to surprise both Griman and Krupa with the help of some other members of P-H-M A Administration: Asst. Superindent of Instruction Dr. Heather Short, Director of Professional Development Dr. Lavon Dean-Null, and Director of Literacy & Title I Ryan Towner. P-H-M Education Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom was also on hand. The Foundation covered the cost for the awards given to each winner.

To surprise Mr. Griman, Dr. Thacker enlisted the help of Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher. At Schmucker, Principal Sarah Smith and Assistant Principals Cam Brundage and Matthew Garber helped surprise Mr. Krupa in the middle of class.

Serendipitously, both Griman and Krupa’s children were both in their father’s classroom today when they received the surprise awards, making the awards even more special.

Click here to see more pictures on Facebook.

Griman received his Impact award because he had the largest increase of student growth in passing, from PSAT to SAT. The growth in the number of students proficient from PSAT to SAT was 11%.

Krupa was recognized because his students had 85% growth in proficiency from Clear Sight 1 to ILEARN. Krupa also had two of the top three highest growth 8th grade math classes.

P-H-M appreciates all teachers across the district for their commitment to helping their students achieve academic success. 

Round 1 of the Impact Awards is now complete. Round 2 of the Impact Awards will be handed out mid winter.
 

This afternoon (Friday, Sept. 29) representatives from Riley Children’s Foundation visited Penn High School to thank members of Kingsmen Court, Penn students and staff for their generosity. 

Last year Kingsmen Court organized the “Turkey Legs” competition, during which teachers wear shorts and/or dress up in costumes in the days leading up to Thanksgiving Break, and collect money from students and staff with all proceeds going to Riley Children’s Hospital.

Last year’s “Turkey Legs” raised $7,436.25 teachers participated, and three raised over $1,000: Glenn Northern, Kyle Berres, and Jeremy Starkweather. Glenn Northern raised just over $1,600 in donations!

With this gift to Riley, the Foundation was able to sponsor an actual Red Wagon at the hospital–the patients’ main method of transportation in the facility–with a special license plate bearing Penn High School’s name to honor the Kingsmen’s generous philanthropic spirit.  

Today Susan Miles, the Riley’s Kids Caring & Sharing Officer came to Penn to honor Penn for achieving its Red Wagon Sponsor status presenting a duplicate license plate to Kingsmen Court representatives, teacher sponsors Sandy Hunter and Sarah Klein, as well as Principal Dr. Sean Galiher and P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker.

Penn High School has a history of raising thousands of dollars for Riley Children’s Foundation. In 2018 and 2019, Penn students held a Dance Marathon FTK (For The Kids) raising $25,090.16 and $36,929.21 respectively. And even during the 2020 pandemic shutdown without holding the Dance Marathon, Penn students were still able to raise $25,008.12 virtually!

In year’s past, Penn’s annual Dodgeball Tournament proceeds have also been donated to Riley. In 2019, the Tournament raised $4,154.25. Click to read more.

We are very proud of our students and staff for their commitment to community service.

Today (Friday, September 29, 2023) Penn-Harris-Madison Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker awarded another P-H-M teacher with the Impact Award. Dr. Thacker visited Penn High School to surprise 9^th grade Early College Biology teacher Dr. Lee Morris. Click here to see photos on Facebook.

The P-H-M Impact Award is being presented to educators who have helped their students achieve individual academic growth on their formative assessments over time. All P-H-M teachers across the district are dedicated to helping their students achieve personal academic success. The P-H-M Impact Award is shining the spotlight on those teachers who are showing the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year. They are prime examples of how our teachers and students achieve P-H-M Excellence!

Dr. Morris had the highest percentage of growth year over year with passing percentage growth; in 2022, it was 61%, and 83.4% in 2023. Her students’ growth was 28% higher than the overall Penn High School ILEARN Biology proficiency rate.

Dr. Thacker popped into Dr. Morris’ class and surprised her in the middle of reviewing an experiment with her students. In on the surprise was Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher, Associate Principal Rachel Fry, Assistant Principal Josiah Parker, Early College Academy Leader Danielle Black, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, and Director of Professional Development Dr. Lavon Dean-Null.

P-H-M is grateful to the Education Foundation for covering the cost of these beautiful awards. 

There are more P-H-M teachers to recognize in the days, weeks and months ahead!

The 2023 Homecoming Weekend will be bigger and better than ever! 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

• Homecoming Parade
  • 5:00 p.m. Start
  • Final route details coming soon!

• Expo
  • 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
  • Meet area vendors that have a shared interest in supporting P-H-M School Corporation
  • Silent Auction, the proceeds benefit the PHM Education Foundation
• Fun Zone
  • 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
  • Wrist bands cost $5. Free Admission to the football game with wrist band purchase!
  • Inflatables, dunk tanks and more
• Penn vs St. Joseph Football Game
  • 7:30 p.m. kickoff
• FIREWORKS AFTER THE GAME! 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

• Homecoming Dance (Sponsored by Ashley Rene’s Prom & Pageant)
  • 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Location: Everwise Freed Field
  • Click here to purchase tickets, $25 a person
  • Dress-to-Impress semi-formal/festive attire. Have fun with your look.
  • No heels are permitted on the field, only the dance floor
  • Outdoor Fun, Games, and Dancing
  • Music Mix provided by DJ CPTN Jack & DJ EVN
  • A variety of food trucks (additional to ticket cost) will be on hand to sell food items
  • All students must show ID