At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, student members of Kingsmen Court, the student leadership of Penn High School, approached Penn’s Administration with concerns about the current academic ranking system and how students are recognized at commencement. Student representatives expressed concerns about the social and emotional wellness of our students who are impacted by the pressure of the current ranking system. Principal Sean Galiher felt it was important to investigate these student concerns more throughout the year, especially since the social and emotional wellness of our students is a top Penn initiative. This collaborative conversation started a journey of inquiry into what other schools are doing across the state, including research on the opinions of several state and national universities and how they view student achievement and recognition.

In recent years, Penn High School has found that more high schools throughout the state of Indiana and across the country have revised how students are recognized for their academic achievements. Penn’s Administration discovered the recurring theme of many large high schools throughout the state moving away from the use of the Valedictorian and Salutatorian distinction. The National Association of Secondary School Principals recently reported that about half of schools no longer report class rank.

Upon further investigation, Penn Administrators also found that the majority of colleges do not use class rank as a determining factor for admittance and many colleges and universities agreed that the Valedictorian and Salutatorian distinction does not significantly separate candidates from one another during the admission process. During these discussions, college admission advisers also told Penn that they look at the system that the high school uses to evaluate and recognize its graduates.

Penn High School currently recognizes Valedictorians and Salutatorians on a yearly basis representing approximately the top 2% of the senior class. Penn High School also includes the class rank of each individual student on report cards and student transcripts.

At the November 26 Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees Meeting, Principal Sean Galiher, along with several Kingsmen Court student representatives, presented a proposal to remove the Valedictorian and Salutatorian distinction and instead incorporate a Latin designation of Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Cum Laude for recognizing students at commencement beginning with the Class of 2023. Penn High School Administration believes that these changes will support the social and emotional well-being of all of our students.

The proposal also includes incorporating a new system for determining commencement speakers beginning with the Class of 2023 that would include an application and selection process. A student’s class rank would also be removed from official school documents beginning with the Class of 2022 and replace it with a student’s decile. A student’s ranking would be provided to any college or university that requires or requests it.

In doing research on the proposed changes, Penn High School sent surveys to students, parents and teachers asking for feedback. Click here to review the parent letter Principal Galiher sent to parents on November 13.

Penn High School strives to establish a culture where students can focus on their academic goals without competing against their peers. We want to foster an environment that allows students to pursue their true intellectual interests and avoid unhealthy competition among classmates or letting worries about rank drive their course selections.

Data from students and our school counselors tells us that students are making scheduling decisions based on where they rank in the class. Over the years, this ranking system has created a sense of unhealthy competition that has impacted relationships and the social and emotional well-being of our students.

Penn High School administration believes the new proposed system will still recognize high academic achievement but incorporate a more fair, balanced, and objective approach to identifying students. In addition, the changes being recommended will not impact college admittance or reflect a decrease in academic rigor at Penn High School. The tradition of excellence at Penn High School will continue.

The proposal will be discussed again at the upcoming P-H-M Board of School Trustees Meeting on Monday, December 17 to be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Education Services Center (55900 Bittersweet Rt., Mishawaka).

In the meantime Principal Sean Galiher is happy to answer student, parent or staff questions. Please contact him at srgaliher@phm.k12.in.us.

‘Tis the season for the “Sounds of the Season!” Get in the holiday spirit by attending any one of the four holiday concerts put on by Penn High School’s Fine Arts & Communications Academy.

“Sounds of the Season 2018 Hear Them Ring!” is a holiday concert performed by the Penn Kingsmen Choir.

Performances will be Thursday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 p.m. 

The doors will open one hour before the show start time. Advanced tickets are only $6. Click here to purchase tickets online.

Rounding out the holiday season is the Penn High School Orchestra’s performance of “’Tis the Season.” This one night only performance will take place on Thursday, December 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Advanced tickets are only $5. Click here to purchase tickets online.

All performances will be in the CPA; please use Door C.

This is a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit while supporting the hard working and talented Fine Arts students.

Penn High School is an “A” rated school and ranks in the Top 5% of all Indiana public high schools!

As one of the top high schools in Indiana, we offer educational opportunities for a vast variety and selection of college and career pathways. Prospective and current students can explore these options during the Penn Showcase, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 10 (enter Door C).

The Showcase event for current P-H-M 8^th graders and new prospective students will start with an introduction to Penn and welcome from Principal Sean Galiher in the Center for the Performing Arts. Events will then be held in the Cafeteria, Commons and classrooms across the building. Incoming Freshmen and their families can then:

• Tour Penn on your own
• Visit Live Classrooms
• Visit Clubs and Activity Booths in the Commons Area
• Visit the Cafeteria

*For current Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors; we will not offer a welcome session. They may simply enter the building at 6:30 p.m. and begin their own tours of the Showcase locations mentioned above.

Current P-H-M 8^th graders can get information about Penn High School courses from their middle school counselors, or the Program of Studies. 

Parents can also visit the “Incoming Freshmen” webpage for more information on required courses and electives.

At the conclusion of the welcome sessions, students may visit the cafeteria, where teachers representing the Academies and elective classes will be available to answer questions and provide information. Representatives of Penn Exceptional Education Academy will also be available to answer questions.

*There will be a Dual-Credit Class Presentations will be from 7:10 to 7:35 p.m. in LGI-A.

Juniors will be able to get  Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition questions answered in Room 196 from 6:30 p.m.

Elective areas to tour and meet teachers include:

• Visual Arts
• Business
• Family and Consumer Science
• World Language
• Performing Arts
• Health & Wellness
• Technology  

The Elkhart Area Career Center will also have staffers available to provide information in the Commons area.

Representatives of Penn’s Counseling Center will also be available to provide support in the course selection process.

The Showcase is designed to help incoming parents and students learn about all Penn has to offer, from Academies, to classes, and even extra-curricular activities. The Showcase also helps current 9th, 10th, and 11th graders and their parents make educated decisions about the pathways they should be following and the classes in which they should be enrolling.

Current 8th grade students can explore possible pathways, electives, and clubs and activities.

Current 9th, 10th and 11th graders can explore elective courses and the achievement academies.

Current Penn-Harris-Madison students and families, along with those who live within P-H-M boundaries but attending other schools, are invited to attend. The is an opportunity for community members, students and families to learn more about all the amazing programs Penn High School has to offer.

All visitors should enter Penn High School at Door C on Monday, Dec. 10.

The Freshman Academy, the Achievement Academies, the Counseling Department, and the Elkhart Area Career Center will be set up in the cafeteria.

Clubs and Activities (that are not part of a class) will be in the Commons Area.

Students/families will be encouraged to tour the building with the help of:

• Maps marked with all Showcase Locations, including all Live Classrooms, the Commons area and the Cafeteria.
• Freshmen Mentors – Wearing their “Freshmen Mentor” T-Shirts for easy identification, and assigned to specific locations throughout the building to help families find Live Classrooms.
• Other selected students – Selected by teachers and/or Academy Leaders to be in a designated spot to answer specific questions about classes or programs.

With a graduation rate of more than 97 percent, Penn High School offers exceptional opportunities for college and career readiness through its academies – STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), Health and Human Services, Management and Business, Fine Arts and Communications, World Languages, Exceptional Education, Early College, and Freshman Academy. 

Penn stresses the Penn-Harris-Madison “Triangle of Success” – rigor, relationships, and relevance – while also being dedicated to a technology-rich learning environment. Each Penn student is issued a personal Chromebook.

For more information about Penn High School, email Principal Sean Galiher at srgaliher@phm.k12.in.us.

2013 Penn alumna Jennifer Huang has been named a 2019 Rhodes Scholar! Huang was also a co-valedictorian at Penn High School and went on to attend Indiana University as one of the university’s 20 Wells Scholars—IU’s most prestigious scholarship! She is just one of 32 students nationwide to receive the world famous Rhodes Scholarship!

Huang graduated from IU in December 2017 with honors and a B.S. and B.A. in mathematics and social and cultural analysis. She is IU's 4th recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship in the past 10 years!

Learn more about Jennifer Huang by visiting Indiana University’s website, click here.

Penn High School’s Marching Kingsmen Band will perform at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida on Friday, Nov. 23.

The event will not be televised.

The Marching Kingsmen, under the direction of Penn’s Fine Arts and Communications Academy Leader Glenn Northern, will perform an arrangement of “Joy to the World”. Penn’s Marching Band will perform as part of a pre-parade in the Magic Kingdom on Friday afternoon (Nov. 23), 

“Student travel always seems to open our eyes to the unique sights and people in various regions of our country,” Northern said. “This is especially fun for those students who have not been to a place like Disney World.”

The Magic Kingdom appearance continues a proud Marching Kingsmen tradition of performing at some of the nation’s top venues. The Penn Marching Band has performed in the Rose Parade, The Fiesta Bowl Parade, The Hollywood Christmas Parade, and The Philadelphia Christmas Parade.

A total of three buses and one truck will transport nearly 130 band members and their equipment to Florida for the event. Students pay for their own trip.
 

The Penn High School Fine Arts and Communications Department presented its annual Kaleidoscope Concert I, a two-part musical event, on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Kaleidoscope II will be presented on Thursday, Nov. 15, in Penn’s Center for the Performing Arts.

 Kaleidoscope I featured the combined eighth-grade bands from Discovery, Schmucker and Grissom, the Penn Symphonic Winds, Advanced Jazz and a rare indoor performance by the Marching Kingsmen.

On Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., Kaleidoscope II will feature the Penn Freshmen Concert Band, Intermediate Jazz Ensemble, Advanced Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Symphonic Winds.

Pre-sale tickets are $5 and available at www.ticketracker.com.

The IDOE released the 2017-18 Accountability grades on Wednesday, November 14 and once again the Indiana Department of Education has recognized the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation as an “A” rated school district! Along with the district’s “A” rating, Penn High School and six other schools also received “A” letter grades:

• Elsie Rogers Elementary School
• Horizon Elementary School
• Moran Elementary School
• Northpoint Elementary School
• Prairie Vista Elementary School
• Discovery Middle School

P-H-M has received an “A” rating every year since 2011—making this the seventh consecutive year!

Overall, nearly 64 percent of Indiana Schools received an A or B. For more information on and to view the 2017-18 School Accountability Grades, please click here to visit the IDOE website. For more information on Penn’s’s rating and 2017-18 ISTEP+ scores, please click here.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation serves more than 11,100 students in 11 elementary schools, three middle schools and Penn High School. With the release of the Spring 2018 ISTEP+ results, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation ranks in the state’s Top 5% of public school districts for grade 10 ISTEP+ results and in the Top 6% for grades 3-8.

Penn High School ranks in the Top 5% of all Indiana public high schools and has a 97% graduation rate, exceeding the state’s graduation rate.

P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success” connects students, teachers and parents for excellence in education.

The Penn High School Fine Arts and Communications Department presents the annual Kaleidoscope Concert, a two-part musical event, on Wednesday, Nov. 14, and Thursday, Nov. 15.

Kaleidoscope I and Kaleidoscope II will both be held in Penn’s Center for the Performing Arts.

 Kaleidoscope I is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14. It features the combined eighth-grade bands from Discovery, Schmucker and Grissom, the Penn Symphonic Winds, Advanced Jazz and a rare indoor performance by the Marching Kingsmen.

On Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., Kaleidoscope II will feature the Penn Freshmen Concert Band, Intermediate Jazz Ensemble, Advanced Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Symphonic Winds.

Pre-sale tickets are $5 and available at www.ticketracker.com.

Penn High School Athletic Director Jeff Hart announced that 21 Kingsmen student-athletes are signing college letters of intent on National Signing Day.

Click here for a PDF that features individual profiles of the student-athletes who are participating in National Signing Day.

*Adobe Acrobat Reader will be required to view the pdfs on this page. 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.

Penn High School Senior Logan Hill stopped by the Osceola Post Office on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 23, to drop off a parcel.

Hill and another Postal customer noticed no one was at the counter. The other customer rang the bell, and a voice from behind the counter called out, “We can’t help right now. We have an emergency situation.”

While the other customer stepped out, Hill stepped up.

“I can help – I know CPR,” Hill called back as he hurried behind the counter.

Hill, using the knowledge and CPR skills that he learned in Penn’s Health class, applied chest compressions for about seven minutes on the Paul Anderson, who was suffering from cardiac arrest. While Hill applied chest compressions, a Postal employee applied mouth-to-mouth.

When police and medical personnel arrived, Hill let them take over. Medical personnel said that without Hill’s assistance, Anderson likely would not have survived.

Hill and Penn Health Instructor Rod Pawlik were honored by the American Heart Association, Penn-Harris-Madison Supt. Dr. Jerry Thacker and the Board of School Trustees on Monday, Nov. 12. Hill and Pawlik received the “Heartsaver Hero Award” from Stephanie Rosenberg, Youth Market Director of the AHA, and Sunni Rossi, AHA Regional Vice President in Youth Markets, at Monday’s School Board Meeting. Click to see the photo gallery of the recognition posted below.

A State Finalist last season as a wrestler for Penn and also a pole vaulter on the Kingsmen Track and Field team, Hill credited Penn Health instructor Rod Pawlik with teaching him CPR.

“I learned CPR my sophomore year,” Hill said. “I learned it from Mr. Pawlik in Health Class. He’s a really good teacher. He taught me the courage to actually do this.

“As a sophomore, I have to admit, I was thinking, ‘Man, I’ll never use this,’ when we started to learn CPR,” Hill said. “Mr. Pawlik got me to realize how important this was to learn. He stressed it a lot.

“I realized, what if something happens to someone in my family? I really need to learn this. So I really paid attention and tried to learn CPR and the Heimlich. When the time came to use CPR, it just all came back to me.”

Hill, who intends to pursue a career in law enforcement, said that Pawlik always stressed the importance of stepping up in the heat of action.

“You have to step up and be strong,” Hill said. “You have to do the right thing. That’s where our Kingsmen Strong motto in wrestling comes in. I was there at the right time. God put me there and gave me the courage to step up and help.”

“I’m thankful that Penn teaches CPR,” Hill said. “I would tell the younger students to always pay attention in all of your classes. You never know when you’re going to need what you’re learning.”

Pawlik has been teaching at Penn since 1997.

Penn’s Health classes have included CPR long before the State required it as a graduation requirement.

The American Heart Association championed a law requiring CPR training as a high school graduation requirement in Indiana in 2014, ensuring that every year thousands of graduating students are trained in this life-saving skill. Across the country, more than 350,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest every year. Only 46 percent of those people receive immediate CPR from bystanders, and 90 percent of those individuals die. Immediate bystander CPR can triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.

“At the beginning of class every semester, I try to explain how important this class can be to the students and I mention, even life-saving,” Pawlik said. “This is a great teaching moment that I can use for the rest of my teaching years.

“I’m so very proud of Logan, to step in and do what he did, because some people will just step back and not put themselves in a tough situation like this, but he did.”