Penn High School’s newest official sport is already making history. The Penn Girls Flag Football program hosted its first-ever Prospect Camp on July 22-23, welcoming over a dozen incoming middle school athletes. The two-day camp focused on building foundational skills in flag football, while also emphasizing teamwork and leadership development.

To see the full Flag Football Prospect Camp photo gallery click here.

The camp follows the official launch of the Girls Flag Football program at Penn, approved by the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees in March. The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) announced earlier this year that 55 schools have committed to fielding teams for the 2025 season—more than double the 27 teams that participated in 2024.

The IHSAA is one of 19 state associations currently piloting the Girls Flag Football program in partnership with the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts. As part of this initiative, Penn High School will receive $6,500 in grant funding from the NFL and Colts to support the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

While the new IHSAA-sanctioned Girls Flag Football program marks a major expansion in athletic opportunity for student-athletes, Penn’s long-running “Powder Puff” Homecoming tournament will continue as a separate tradition. The event features four teams—one per class year—and remains a popular part of Penn’s Homecoming week festivities.

Penn Flag Football’s inaugural season is set to include a seven-game regular season, culminating in a postseason that features a sectional round and a state championship. The Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) is projecting six teams for the 2025 season: Penn, Elkhart, South Bend Adams, South Bend Riley, South Bend St. Joseph and South Bend Washington.

The NIC schedule kicks off with four conference games at School Field on Saturday, Aug. 23. Regular doubleheaders will follow at rotating locations throughout the season. Penn’s first home game is scheduled for Wednesday, September 3, against South Bend Riley. Game times will be announced at a later date.

The Penn team will hold practices after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, with games played on Wednesdays. Matches will be played in a 7-on-7 format, with each game lasting 60 minutes.

Leading the program is Head Coach Jerimiah Maggart, a 2007 Penn graduate and former football and wrestling standout. Maggart joined the Penn faculty for the 2024–2025 school year as a Fitness, Health, and Strength and Conditioning instructor. He previously taught and coached at Jimtown High School, where he served as head coach of the boys and girls wrestling programs. He has also coached at North Montgomery and Manchester High Schools. Maggart is a graduate of Purdue University.

Maggart aims to grow the program quickly, starting with a varsity team this fall. His long-term goals include adding a junior varsity team by the 2026 season and building out youth and middle school feeder programs.

Tryouts and official practices for the Penn Flag Football Team are scheduled to start on Monday, August 4.

Click here for a Google Form to fill out if you are interested in playing Girls Flag Football.

You can also email Coach Maggart at jmaggart1@phm.k12.in.us for more information.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation (P-H-M) proudly shares the outstanding performance of its students on the Spring 2025 ILEARN assessment, as released by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). P-H-M students once again outperformed the state average by an impressive 20 percentage points in the percentage of students passing both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. This achievement places P-H-M in the top 4% of public school corporations across Indiana (see the charts below).

“These results reflect the exceptional work of our teachers, students, and staff,” said Superintendent Dr. Heather Short. “We remain deeply committed to ensuring every child reaches their full potential, and this data shows that our efforts are paying off.”

P-H-M has maintained its Top 4% ranking for a second consecutive year, a testament to the district’s commitment to academic excellence and the strategies that drive student success. Out of Indiana public schools that passed both ELA and Math, Northpoint and Prairie Vista Elementary Schools are in the Top 10; and Discovery Middle School is #3 in the state.

A closer analysis of the data shows strong gains across grade levels and student groups. Middle school students, in particular, demonstrated significant improvement in math, based on the state’s 2021 benchmark. P-H-M 8th grade Math performance is up 24% since the benchmark year and now the variance over the state average is 28%.

The district’s Free and Reduced Lunch (F/R) student population, which now exceeds 30%, continues to demonstrate notable progress. Among Indiana’s largest public school districts testing close to 5,000 students, P-H-M ranks #1 in the state for the percentage of F/R students passing both ELA and Math.

“These achievements are not by accident,” added Dr. Short. “They are the result of intentional investments in teacher professional development and the implementation of evidence-based instructional practices. We are fortunate to have educators and staff who are deeply committed to supporting every learner.”

Indiana junior high school students are now required to take the SAT for graduation. The IDOE also released SAT results. Among public high schools in pass percentage, Penn High School moved up from #27 last year, to #15 this year.

Results from the Spring 2025 IREAD assessment are expected to be released in early fall, and P-H-M looks forward to sharing those outcomes as well.

ILEARN Math

ILEARN ELA

Sponsor: Kyle Berres

The aim of the Penn High School Harbor for Hope Club is to bring awareness to our community and school about the importance of helping the victims of domestic violence. The purpose of the club is to collaborate with domestic violence shelters around the area to volunteer, and to start projects to help bring awareness to the issue.

Club dues are $10 for the 2025-2026 school year.

Meetings: The second Monday of the month in Room 253.

Penn High School students participated in a field trip to the Inland Seas Schoolship Experience on Lake Michigan on May 25-26.

Students from Mr. Sanders and Mrs. Tiebout’s classes traveled to Suttons Bay, Mich., to experience sailing on a tall-masted Schooner on Lake Michigan.

Activities included building Remotely Operated Vehicles that can navigate the water, and conducting water quality experiments.

[Show slideshow]

Sponsor: Anne Napoli

Meets: Room 154 every other Friday, 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Sponsor: Antonia Boger-May

The purpose of the Penn Science and Engineering Competition Team is to facilitate a place where students can learn and cooperate on science and engineering ideas, for them to compete in local, state, and international competitions. It provides a place where students can work on science and engineering projects for competition.

Club dues are $10 a year.

Meetings will be every Gold Wednesday.

Sponsor: Kyle Marsh

The mission of the Computer Science Honor Society Club is:

1. Equity: a realization that any student has the potential to enroll, to grow, and to excel in computing.
2. Service: empowering members to become ambassadors of the computer science discipline, helping underscore its importance as a mainstay in the school and community.
3. Excellence: a commitment to promoting outstanding scholarship in computer science coursework.

The organization seeks to cultivate thriving environments for success in computer science in the school’s community by encouraging students’ enthusiasm, honoring academic excellence, and promoting service. This will be accomplished through instructional meetings to teach students about the skills they will need to fulfill service projects throughout the year.

Club dues: $10-to-$15 a year.

Meetings will be held every other Monday in Room 258.

Sponsor: Debra Swerman

The purpose of the It’s Our Future Club is to raise money for education supplies and materials for schools across the world. The club will empower Penn Students to learn more about education and charity as well as how to provide opportunity to kids across the globe.

Club dues are $5 a year.

Sponsor: Ms. McNamara.

The purpose of the Penn Psychology Club is to educate and discuss topics relating to psychological science outside the sphere of wellness. We are open to any discussion of this academic subject.

There are no club dues.

Meetings will be held the first Wednesday of each month from 3:30-4:15 p.m. in Room 153.