What’s recently happened?
Several Penn Harris Madison (PHM) schools are now being named among Indiana’s best. “US News and World Report” released its best schools rankings, announcing the best public schools in every state.
For Indiana, 1,000 elementary schools and almost 5,000 middle schools were ranked. PHM elementaries Northpoint and Prairie Vista were ranked first and second while Discovery Middle School ranked fifth in its category. Out of 395 public high schools in Indiana, Penn High School ranked 25th.
It was lively in the Penn instructional media center throughout a week last month when second and third grade students from most PHM elementaries visited for the yearly Young at Art program.
The purpose of this event is to expose students to the importance of art and to the environment of Penn. Librarian Caelea Armstrong is one of the masterminds behind the collaboration.
“It is so important to be exposed to art because whenever times get tough, I think we always turn to things like art and music to heal our souls and to give us inspiration and a sense of peace to keep fighting on,” Armstrong said.
This is the 10th year of the Penn art students helping the elementary students create artwork with paint and oil pastels.
On Nov. 13, 16 Penn athletes signed to colleges to continue their future athletic and academic careers. Friends, family, and coaches all gathered to celebrate the athletes. D1 softball commit Ava Zachary signed to the University of Notre Dame at this event, and she says she’s excited to be part of the Notre Dame culture.
“I’m feeling really good. I’m just excited to get the process going and finally be committed,” Zachary said. “From the first moment I stepped on campus, they really made it feel like a family.”
This was the first of four annual events where athletes announce their dedication to colleges across the nation.
Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt is now inducted into the Penn Wrestling Hall of Fame. Hildebrandt returned to Penn last month for the Girls Wrestling match named in her honor: the Sarah Hildebrandt Invite.
At the event, the Kingsmen placed third as a team and Penn’s Giuliana Reed placed first in the 235 lb weight class. She was also nominated for the “South Bend Tribune’s” High School Athlete of the Week the following week.
What’s coming up?
Penn Choir and Orchestra’s annual Sounds of the Season concert series is set to be combined this year. On Dec. 5 and 6 in the Penn Center for the Performing Arts (CPA), “A Symphony of Joy” will be on display.
On Dec. 18 at 7 p.m., the Penn Student Dance Showcase will be held in the CPA to demonstrate all dance students have been learning so far this semester.
In other fine arts news, 20 time Indiana State Marching Band Finalists, The Penn Marching Kingsmen, will be performing at the Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2025.
Incoming Penn freshmen will be able to take a tour of the high school and see everything it has to offer. On Dec. 2, the Penn Showcase will be held to display how class is set up and all of the extracurricular activities Penn has to offer.
Each December, Penn’s student government, also known as Kingsmen Court, hosts its annual Giving Tree donation event in partnership with the Youth Service Bureau (YSB) of St. Joseph County. From the beginning of the month to Dec. 18, students will be able to leave a gift under a Christmas tree in the Penn library to donate to YSB. These gifts range from hygiene products to clothing items, and all goods will go to local youth.
Right across the street from Penn, Bittersweet Elementary School’s Arthur M. Klinger Planetarium hosts viewings of “Season of Light” on Dec. 4 and Dec. 17. This light show will celebrate the diverse cultures that spread holiday joy during the latter months of the year. The show will sight the kindlings of the Menorah, the burning of Yule Logs, and the glittering of Christmas tree lights.
The entryway of the school will be decorated as a winter utopia, as two other holiday-themed laser light shows will commence. Dec. 8 and Dec. 11 will present two “Laser Holidays” shows. Tickets for all three events range from three to five dollars and are available through the PHM website or at the door.
Finally, winter break begins for Penn students on Dec. 23. Students will resume class on Jan. 6.
Staff spotlight:
Each month, McKinnies Realty Homes for Heroes awards a Michiana “Teacher of the Month” to honor the dedication of the builders of the future. This month's award was gifted to Penn Journalism Teacher Ally Starkweather. She was nominated by the administration team at the high school.
Starkweather has been teaching at Penn for three years; instructing English 9 her first two and transitioning to journalism in the middle of last year. With journalism, she advises the school’s Penn News Network (PNN).
From graduating Penn in 2013 to graduating Franklin College in 2016 to working at WSBT 22, South Bend’s CBS and Fox affiliate studios, for nearly five years, Starkweather is qualified for her job as advisor.
“During my senior year of high school I heard of a program at Franklin College where I could be a reporter inside the Indiana State House as part of my classes, and the rest is history,” she said. “I fell in love with the profession from that point forward.”
Educating students is something she had to learn to love, however. Long nights of lesson planning, grading, meetings, and copy-editing is a lot of work, but it’s given Starkweather the structure she’s always craved.
The main accomplishment Starkweather is known for is her remodeling of PNN. At this time last year, weekly news shows were nothing but a dream to the student journalists reporting for PNN, but their dream became a reality as soon as Starkweather started her first full year with the network. With an eclectic group of students, the PNN crew has welcomed her with open arms, eager to learn.
“I believe that everyone learns best from their own mistakes, so I try hard to set my students up for success, while also giving them grace when they inevitably fail,” Starkweather said.
Outside of the news, she’s an assistant coach for Penn’s Girls Cross Country team and advisor of the schools branch of National Honor Society. With all of this responsibility comes an ounce of stress.
“It can be stressful, but seeing the difference I help make in students' lives makes it all worthwhile. There is no job more fulfilling than teaching and coaching,” she said.
This year is just Starkweather’s third year of many at Penn, and her impact has affected the future of many students already.
Student spotlight:
Lights. Camera. Action. That’s what Penn Senior Lucas Robertson seems to hear every morning as he gets out of bed, prepared to pursue the world of performing arts.
Ever since his first day of orchestra in sixth grade, Robertson has always loved performing. His love continued to grow as he joined Penn Choir his freshman year and as he realized how it’s his true calling as he grew.
Now, years later, music is all he knows. On top of singing and the cello, Robertson is heavily involved in musical theatre. He was lead in Penn’s 2024 rendition of “The Music Man,” and has participated in various other performances with Elkhart’s Premier Arts. The key to managing this, though, is that it’s all related.
“The advantage of doing all that I do is that often I’m able to take what I know from one group and apply it to the others - it all builds upon each other,” he said.
Robertson always leaves special thanks to the people who have helped shape the person he is today. These people have inspired him to pursue a career in music education.
“I know that I want to leave a legacy behind me, and I want to inspire people through music as my mentors and directors have inspired me,” Robertson said.
With his lead role as Harold Hill in “The Music Man,” Robertson won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical from Lake Michigan College’s WAVE Awards. Additionally, he achieved a Gold status at Indiana State School Music Association’s Vocal State Finals in early 2024.
Robertson’s achievements perfectly exhibit the dedication he puts into everything he does. His future accomplishments are yet to come, but his passion for what he does guarantees his success.