What’s recently happened?
The Penn Harris Madison (PHM) School Board approved a request by Penn High School Senior Sarah Rooney to revitalize the prairie at Prairie Vista Elementary School earlier this month.
Inspired by an original plan from nearly a decade ago, Rooney brought the project back into the spotlight at the beginning of this school year. This past week, the burning process finally began, which will allow the grassland to be properly nourished.
“It was really cool to see all the kids, parents, and community members out there to see the prairie burn,” Rooney said. “The burn will do a bunch of great things that will help keep our prairie a prairie instead of a forest.”
Rooney also received recognition on a national level this past month. Her project for the YoungArts National Writing Competition, “Marvin,” led her to win the Presidential Honor Award. She was esteemed for this distinction from her academic achievement, personal characteristics, leadership, and writing ability.
AP World History Teacher William Irons was honored with the PHM Teacher Impact Award last month due to his classes from the previous school year having the highest percentage on the AP exam, all scoring a three or higher.
Penn Senior Brice Bellman was also recently recognized for his hard work and commitment to the school. Bellman was the winner of the “South Bend Tribune’s” Student of the Week competition for the week of April 21-25.
“I’m honored for being nominated by all of my teachers and people who have known me and helped me at school,” Bellman said. “Their generosity for voting and then reaching out to have others vote for me, I’m really honored to have that.”
Bellman’s involved in several aspects of Penn, from the Early College Academy to Robotics, and from the National Honors Society to Spanish Club.
On Saturday, April 26, the Penn Baseball Field was named after Legendary Coach Greg Dikos. The field renaming happened between the games of the Penn vs. Lake Central doubleheader.
Under Dikos, Penn has racked up six State championship rings. Heading into this season, Dikos had a 839-298 record in 37 seasons. In 2011, Dikos was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.
What’s coming up?
With only around two weeks until this year’s Penn Prom, preparations are in full swing. The event is to be held at the Century Center on May 10 from 7:30-11:30 p.m.. Tickets go on sale on May 1, with this year’s theme being “Starlight on the Seafloor.”
As a part of years of Kingsmen tradition, a senior serenade will highlight the musical expertise that some Penn students have.
“We like to have a senior with special singing talent to serenade the Prom King and Queen’s first dance,” Prom Committee Sponsor Amy Tiebout said.
The dance will also feature free food and a 360 photo booth.
Women in Engineering is a new club at Penn that brings female engineering students together to mentor others. No experience in engineering is required for the club.
Sometime in the next few months, a six foot fiberglass shoe statue will be placed somewhere on the Penn campus.
This comes after the Mishawaka Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council surpassed its fundraising goal for its ‘Shoe City’ initiative which aims to highlight the history of Red Ball Jet sneakers, an iconic piece of Mishawaka history.
The project is being made in the memory of the Ball Band Plant that once was based in downtown Mishawaka, and the shoes will resemble what was once manufactured in that location.
The PHM School Corporation purchased one of these shoes for $2,500 last month, and it will be placed in the coming months.
With the recent news of Glenn Northern’s retirement as fine arts department director, the baton of Penn’s band director is now being passed to current Assistant Director DJ Landoll.
“It feels about a hundred different ways: excited is one, nervous is one, and grateful is a big one,” Landoll said. “I always feel like I got really lucky with this job eight years ago, especially because of all of the wonderful people I get to work with — that’s what makes me most excited to take the most care with the job.”
As Landoll takes over for Northern as band director, reports of who will be taking over his role as fine arts department director are yet to come.
Staff spotlight:
Regardless of a flow of constant change in director’s assistants these past few years, the Penn Orchestra has found its match.
Ashlyn Graham began her overall teaching journey just a few short months ago, but the difference she’s made already is widely apparent.
After growing up in Holland, Michigan — where she attended West Ottawa High School — Graham studied instrumental Music Education at Western Michigan University from 2020 to 2024.
Through her years of higher education and even now, Graham’s spirit and love for music follows her through the days, guiding her with every step.
“I really love music and I felt like teaching music was the best avenue for going down the music route,” she said.
During her short time at Penn so far, Graham has adjusted herself to fit the needs of her students, and to specifically make their lives at least a little bit more fun.
In late January, Graham and the rest of the Penn Orchestra performed a unique tribute to the “Star Wars" film franchise, where she dressed up as the notorious Princess Leia.
The tribute was aimed to a younger audience, as it was primarily performed to promote orchestral music as a path in middle and high school for elementary school students,
It’s been a smooth transition to teaching for Graham so far, and her devotion doesn’t seem to be fading.
“I was very impressed with the school's academic achievements and I liked the teachers I got to meet,” Graham said. “I am expecting to grow my teaching abilities and skills and just help as many students as I can find their passion, whether it's in music or something else.”
As Graham continues to grow, so will her relationships with students, and, with that, so will the students’ musical talent.
Student spotlight:
Although she spent the majority of her senior year watching from the sidelines, the upbeat spirit of long-time Cross Country and Track Runner Harley Kent hallowed her through.
Kent is regarded by peers as a naturally enthusiastic person, and she’s been running since she participated in the annual Running is Elementary races in her fourth and fifth grade years.
Despite obtaining a sudden stress fracture near the end of this year’s cross country season, Kent has bounced back with broad resilience for her senior track season.
Now, instead of running her average three miles, Kent runs the half-mile at every meet.
“It hasn’t been that difficult, it’s just weird to me that I only have to run two laps instead of four to eight,” she said. “I think my body has liked the change with the injuries I’m still kind of dealing with.”
Throughout her entire high school journey, and especially through her injury, Kent has stuck with the people of the Penn News Network (PNN) to get her by.
“It really has been a safe place for me, and we really are one big happy family,” she said. “PNN is something that I could go on and on about, it really has made an impact on my life.”
Besides the dynamic between her and other PNN members, Kent’s explored countless options for her future within the class. She eventually landed on attending Belmont University in Tennessee for journalism.
“Even my mom agrees that it probably is best for me to get out of Indiana to start fresh,” Kent said.
As the academic year rounds out, Kent is excited for her commencement and what the future in front of her holds.