Two groups of Penn STEM Academy students made up from a multiple of disciplines (Robotics Team 135, engineering, architecture, and design classes) have spent the better half of the month of February designing and building structures from cans, and all for a good cause!

All this week (Feb. 12 – 19), a full-sized Kia car has been on display at the Chicago Auto Show as part of the Auto Show’s Food Drive benefiting a Chicago charity. Click here to see the photo gallery below. The “Kingsmen Cans” team used four different colored cans to make the car:

• Blue Cans – cut green beans, French style green beans, cream corn, whole corn, and sweet peas
• Yellow cans – corn
• Red cans – tomatoes
• White cans – white corn

There were many other types of cans used for the interior of the car for support. Students got support from sponsors like Kroger, Gurly Leep, Lowes, It’s Tops, McCarthy Insurance Group and of course Kia for the supplies needed to build the can car.

Students transported all the cans and supplies and delivered them to McCormick Place. It took the students about five hours to build the car on site. When the car is dismantled on February 19, the cans will be donated to A Safe Haven in Chicago. More information about the project can be found in this South Bend Tribune article from February 7.

This wasn’t the only can design Penn STEM students worked on this month. From Feb. 5 – 11, STEM students also participated in the annual Canstruction event held at University Park Mall benefiting Hope Ministries. For that event, Penn students used about 2,500 cans to build two structures—a sand castle and a light house—winning “Best Design” by the panel of judges. In this year’s Canstruction competition five area schools competed. All the canned goods used to build the structures are then donated to Hope Ministries and area food banks.

Penn High’s Kingsmen used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Elkhart Central, 58-43, in high school basketball action on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

“Crucial defensive stops and excellent execution on offense were the keys to the Kingsmen's win over Elkhart Central,” Penn Head Coach Al Rhodes said. “Each time the Blazers made a run, the Kingsmen were always prepared to answer.”

Penn improved to 11-7 overall and 5-4 in the Northern Indiana Conference. Elkhart Central is 8-11 and 4-6.

Beau Ludwick, Noah Applegate and Noah Krathwohl scored 13 points each.

Drew Lutz scored 12 points and dished out nine assists.

Penn connected on a torrid 65 percent of its shots (22-of-34). The Kingsmen hit 67 percent of their shots (12-of-18) in the first half.

Penn forced 17 turnovers and went on to outscore the Blue Blazers 25-8 in points off of turnovers.

PENN                         16        12        13        17 – 58

Elkhart Central         8          12        15        8 – 43

Three-pointers: PENN 3 (Drew Lutz 2, Noah Applegate 1), Elkhart Central 7 (Kiedon Warrell 3, Richard Wayker 2, Cole Alberson 2).

The Penn Boys Basketball Team defeated Elkhart Central, 58-43, on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Penn High School will host the FIRST Robotics St. Joseph District Event on Saturday, March 10, and Sunday, March 11.

Including Penn’s Team 135, there will be more than 40 high school robotics teams from Indiana and Michigan participating in the event, which will involve more than 5,000 students, coaches, mentors, parents, and fans. The FRC teams will compete on a basketball court-sized field with four-foot tall, 120-pound robots.

Nearly 400 volunteers are needed for the event. Click here for information on the volunteers roles and how to sign up.

Teams of high school students have six weeks to design and build a fully functional robot to compete in this year’s challenge. Teams will qualify for the State Championship through their performance in district events, such as the one at Penn.

Qualifying teams will advance from the State Championship to represent Indiana at the World Championship in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-28.

“Penn High School is looking forward to hosting another Indiana FIRST Robotics Competition,” Penn High School STEM Academy Leader Josiah Parker said. “Some of the brightest students in Indiana and Michigan will bring 40 teams to compete on March 10-11.” Parker went on to say, “Penn and the STEM Academy are excited to showcase the amazing experiences our students participate in, the outstanding support we receive from our school and community, and the enjoyment and learning that FIRST provides.”

For more information, check:

• The Indiana First website: https://www.indianafirst.org/2018StJoseph
•  The Indiana First Facebook page: https://www.indianafirst.org/2018StJoseph
• Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-st-joseph-first-robotics-competition-tickets-41047909402

Saturday, March 10

• 10:30-11 a.m. Opening Ceremonies
• 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Qualification Matches
• 1-2 p.m. Lunch
• 2-7 p.m. Qualification Matches

Sunday, March 11

• 9-9:30 a.m. Opening Ceremonies
• 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Qualification Matches
• 12:30-1 p.m. Alliance Selections
• 1-2 p.m. Lunch
• 2-5 p.m. Playoff Matches
• 5-6:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony

Penn High School Principal Sean Galiher and Scholastic Gold Medal Winner Mariah Anderson.

Penn High School students excelled in the Scholastic Art Awards, which is the largest and oldest (established in 1923) Art competition in the nation. Penn students received 13 Gold Key Awards, 16 Silver Key Awards, and 25 Honorable Mentions.

Click here for the entire list of Penn’s Scholastic Art winners.

“It has gotten more selective and more prestigious over the years and the students that are have work selected to be entered, even if not chosen for an award, should be extremely proud of doing such high quality work,” Penn High School Art Instructor Barb Miller said.

There are 3 levels of awards: Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention. The Gold Key winners will be sent to compete at the national level in New York City. Recognition at the national level usually brings with it many scholarship offers as well as tremendous honors, according to Miller.

Miller stated that all three levels of award winners will be displayed for an impressive public exhibition in the Warner Gallery at the South Bend Museum of Art in the Century Center from Feb. 2 until March 10.

The awards presentation for the winners and their families will be Sunday, Feb. 4, at 2:30 p.m.  in the Bendix Theater, also in the Century Center, to be followed by reception and viewing of the artwork in the Warner Gallery.

A “Meet Me in the Gallery” is the public reception/opening on Friday, Feb. 2, from 5-9 p.m., complete with music and refreshments. Tickets for “Meet Me in the Gallery” are $5 each.

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Penn's Eric Bowers was named the Indiana Boys Tennis Coach of the Year by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association.

Bowers, who is also the Kingsmen Girls Tennis Coach, teaches AP U.S. History and AP European History at Penn. His combined overall record at Penn is 310-62.

Coach Bowers has led Penn to 18 sectional titles, 7 regional titles, and 4 State Finalist appearances. Penn has had several participants at the state finals for singles and doubles, including 2012 state champion Alexandra Brinker.

Prior to coaching, Bowers was captain of the Bethel College (Mishawaka, Ind.) tennis team that won 2 NCCAA National Championships.

Bowers currently serves as one of the Vice-Presidents of IHSTecA and is the District 1 head rater.

Penn All-State candidate Noah Applegate scored 25 points, including a silky baseline jumper in the third quarter that pushed him past the 1,000-point plateau in his career, and the Kingsmen defeated Bremen, 79-38, Tuesday night in high school basketball action. He is the sixth player in Penn Boys Basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point mark.

Applegate entered the game against Bremen with 978 points. The 6-foot-6 Junior wing hit 8-of-15 shots, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range against the Lions. He was 6-of-6 free-throw shooting.

Penn point guard Drew Lutz scored 19 points, dished out 13 assists and ripped off six steals. Lutz was a sizzling 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

Kegan Hoskins scored 10 points and Jeffrey Hemmelgarn scored nine points.

Penn stormed to a 23-2 lead after one quarter.

The Kingsmen outrebounded Bremen 37-19, and cashed in for an 11-3 advantage in second-chance points. Penn held a 14-5 edge in points off of turnovers. The Kingsmen boasted 38 defensive stops, compared to 21 by Bremen.

The Penn Boys Basketball Team beat Bremen 78-39 on Tuesday, Feb. 6

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Penn’s defensive effort sparked the Kingsmen in a 72-46 victory on the road against Crown Point in high school boys basketball action on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Penn forced 16 turnovers while only committing eight. The Kingsmen cashed in, scoring 21 points off of turnovers, while only giving up six points off of turnovers.

Penn’s relentless defense limited Crown Point to 39 percent.

Kingsmen hit 53 percent of their shots – including 7-of-14 from 3-point range.

Penn hit a torrid 58 percent in the first half. The Kingsmen outscored Crown Point 22-9 in the second quarter to take a 38-21 halftime lead.

Beau Ludwick scored 14 points in the first half and finished with 17.

Noah Applegate, who finished off the first half with two thunderdunks, scored 23 points.

Drew Lutz scored 21 points.

Drew Schneider dished out 10 assists for the Kingsmen.

The Penn Girls Basketball Team rallied in the second half to stun Lake Central, 43-41, on Saturday, Feb. 10, to capture the Class 4-A Regional Championship at LaPorte.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.