The baseball field at Penn High School’s Jordan Automotive Baseball Stadium was officially dedicated and renamed on Saturday, April 26 as Greg Dikos Field after Hall of Famer Kingsmen and current coach. 

The field renaming was a $10,000 gift from retiring School Superintendent Dr. Jerry and Donna Thacker to the P-H-M Education Foundation Naming Rights Campaign. This makes the fifth donation Dr. and Mrs. Thacker have made as part of the Naming Rights Campaign, recognizing the contributions P-H-M employees have made to the community. Click here for more details.

The ceremony took place in the outfield between the doubleheader between the Kingsmen and Lake Central with the 12-2 Kingsmen win on the scoreboard as the backdrop. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

On hand with Coach Dikos and his wife Sally were their three children, extended family and friends, current and former Kingsmen players and coaches, Penn Hall of Famer Football Coach Chris Geesman, P-H-M School Board Members, P-H-M Education Foundation Board Members, Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher, P-H-M Administrators Dr. Heather Short and Dr. Tom Kelley, and of course Dr. and Mrs. Thacker.

[Show slideshow]

1 2 ... 17 ►

Penn has won six State Championships during Dikos’ tenure as head coach – 1994, 1998, 2001, 2015, 2022. 2023.

Coach Dikos has also led Penn to seven Semi-State Championships, 13 Regional Champion-

ships, 21 Sectional Championships and 22 Northern Indiana Conference Championships.

A graduate of Swartz Creek High School (Mich.) and Ball State University, Coach Dikos was selected by the Atlanta Braves as a third baseman in the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft in the 31st round.

Coach Dikos was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Penn High School’s Fine Arts Academic Super Bowl team and Social Studies Academic Super Bowl team have both qualified for the state competition on Saturday, May 10, at Purdue University.

Fine Arts Team: Coach Mr. Coudret

Social Studies Team: Coach Mr. Bowers

Team members: Connor Geoghegan, Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Kyan Fogarty, Bryce Herman, Logan Hubbard.

As a reminder, the last day of school for students is Thursday, June 5, 2025. This is one day earlier than previously scheduled. 

Due to the absence of local, state, or national elections on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, all P-H-M schools were in session and no longer had a Recess Day on this date. P-H-M Teachers Association worked collaboratively with the District Administration to make these calendar changes.

Indiana law requires schools to be in session for 180 days each year. If necessary, P-H-M can utilize up to three weather-related eLearning days, as permitted under Indiana law (HB-1093). If additional makeup days are needed, they will be added to the end of the school year, following the new last student day, Thursday, June 5, 2025. 

The updated 2024-2025 school year calendar is posted on the P-H-M website, click here to view the updated calendar.

David (DJ) Landoll has been named the Director of Bands for Penn High School. He follows Glenn Northern as the Director of Bands for Penn. Northern will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year after 24 years of service as an educator at Penn, 14 as the Director of Bands.

Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher announced the appointment of Landoll as the Director of Bands for Penn.

“This job is an opportunity to more meaningfully take care of the people in our band community, the way that Glenn Northern has done for 14 years,” Landoll said. “I would not be here without his guidance and the support of the many great people in and around P-H-M’s band programs.”

Landoll’s primary responsibilities will include leadership of the concert band curriculum and management of the larger band program, encompassing the booster organization, resources and budget, and staff coordination.

He will also supervise and instruct one of Indiana’s elite Marching Bands. The Marching Kingsmen have competed in the Indiana State Marching Band Finals 20 times in the largest school Open Class A Division. Penn’s Marching Band has performed in the historic Tournament of Roses Parade, the Orange Bowl Parade, the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Landoll has served as Assistant Band Director at Penn since 2017, with responsibility to the competitive marching band, each of the concert bands, the pep band, the Music Technology class, the Tri-M Music Honors Society, and the leadership development curriculum. He has held coordination/leadership roles in various aspects of the marching band program, as well as the recruitment and retention of students. 

Presiding over a period of growth and development in the pep band, Landoll’s concert bands have consistently earned top marks at adjudications, including, most often, the “gold with distinction” honors achieved by only about 15 percent of statewide high school entries. He assisted Glenn Northern in last year’s State Runner-Up Concert Band.  In 2024, he was named one of “Michiana’s Outstanding Music Educators” by the Quinlan and Fabish Music Company.

Landoll earned a Master of Music in Conducting from James Madison University, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Duquesne University. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Landoll attended St. Ignatius High School, where he was active in the band program, a National Merit scholar, and an Eagle Scout. He is an avid fan and advocate of the marching arts, and has a combined 12 seasons of marching and teaching experience in DCI’s World Class.

Freshman AP History teacher William “Cub” Irons got quite the April Fool’s surprise this morning, except it was no joke!

With the help of Penn High School’s Administrative Team, P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker dropped by Mr. Irons’ class to let him know that his class had the highest AP History passing percentage at Penn, scoring a 3 or higher on AP History of the World exam.

In classrooms across the district, our experienced teachers are working hard to help their students learn, retain and grow their knowledge base.

The Spring 2025 P-H-M Teacher Impact Awards are given to educators who had the most significant individual student growth with DIBELS, IREAD, ILEARN, and AP testing. Dr. Thacker awarded four other teachers with Impact Awards on April 1st. Click here more details.

Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation for covering the cost for the beautiful crystal awards which teachers can proudly display in their classrooms.

Glenn Northern, who has guided Penn bands to a nationally regarded status, will hand over the conductor’s baton at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

Northern’s retirement was announced by Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher.

Northern has carved out a remarkable legacy in his 36-year journey as an educator.

Serving the Penn-Harris-Madison community for 24 years, Northern has been the Director of Bands and Fine Arts Academy Leader for the past 14 years. Prior to that, he was the assistant band director at Penn for 10 years.

“My twenty-four years at Penn have been the highlight of my teaching career,” Northern said. “The students, colleagues and parents have been a joy to work with. I will miss everyone very much. I am so proud to have been a part of life at Penn High School for all of these years.”

Penn bands students have consistently earned Gold Ratings at ISSMA contests under Northern’s direction.

The Marching Kingsmen have an elite status among high school marching bands, competing in the Indiana State Marching Band Finals 20 times in the largest school Open Class A division. Penn’s Marching Band has performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Orange Bowl Parade, the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Northern graduated from Ashtabula (Ohio) High School and the University of Evansville. He was named the Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Bandmaster in 2015 and Northern was named the Indiana Music Educators Association “High School Music Educator of the Year” in 2018.

The Penn High School Symphonic Winds, directed by Northern, were the 2015 Indiana State Champion Concert Band and the 2024 Indiana State Concert Band Champion Runner-Up.

A new chapter in Penn High School’s rich sports history will begin in the Fall of 2025, as the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted to approve the formation of a Girls Flag Football Program. 

The P-H-M School Board vote on Monday, March 24, gives a green light to join the Girls Flag Football initiative in Indiana. The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) announced on Monday that 55 schools have committed to Girls Flag Football Teams for the 2025 season, an increase from 27 teams in 2024.

“We are thrilled to add girls flag football as a fall sport at Penn,” Athletic Director Jeff Hart said. “With the strong support of the IHSAA and the Indianapolis Colts, the interest around the state has been strong and we look forward to building a program that competes at a high level.  We will begin the process soon of hiring a head coach and meeting with interested students. We can’t wait to get started!”

The IHSAA is one of 19 state associations currently piloting the Girls Flag Football in conjunction with the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts. The NFL and the Colts are providing grants to Penn High School totaling $6,500 to support the 2025 and 2026 seasons. In addition, they will provide 25 black jerseys with “Vegas gold” lettering.

Plans are for Penn to play a seven-game regular-season schedule followed by the state tournament. The Northern Indiana Conference is projecting six teams for the 2025 season – Penn, Elkhart, South Bend Adams, South Bend Riley, South Bend St. Joseph and South Bend Washington.

Girls Flag Football will be played in a 7-vs.-7 format, with games lasting 60 minutes.

Plans are for Penn to field a Varsity team in 2025, with a Junior Varsity team to be added later. Tryouts/practice for the Penn Flag Football Team are scheduled to start on Monday, August 4.

Previously, Penn offered a Girls Flag Football tournament once a year around Homecoming, called “Powder Puff.” Four teams, made up of student-athletes from each class year, playing each other. The annual tournament has been very popular, and will remain part of Penn’s Homecoming week traditions.

Girls Flag Football at Penn will provide a new competitive outlet that fosters teamwork, leadership, and increased participation in education-based athletics. As the sport gains traction nationwide, this program will offer female students access to emerging scholarship opportunities and potential career pathways in sports. Additionally, it will strengthen the Penn Athletic community, build school spirit, and further enhance Penn’s reputation as a leader in Indiana high school sports.