GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Penn Kingsmen recognize those who serve their community

What’s recently happened?

Penn High School’s fine arts students found themselves under the sea from March 7-9 as the choir and drama departments presented their production of “The SpongeBob Musical.”

The plot of the musical followed SpongeBob as he tried to save both Bikini Bottom and his friends in response to an impending volcanic eruption. Senior Nix Hardman starred as Patrick Star in the performance.

“This show was so much fun,” Hardman said.” “There was so much energy backstage and everyone was so nice.”

Students from all grades at Penn were tasked with performing the works of songwriters such as David Bowie and Cyndi Lauper to fully convey the musical’s message of ambition and teamwork.

Penn’s Distributive Education Club of America traveled down to Indianapolis in early March for its annual State competition, the State Career and Development Conference.

At this year’s business conference, 33 Penn students won awards in the respective categories. Seniors Stanley Liew and Matthew Deahl won their team roleplay event and Seniors Avery Ferris and Lucy Salwin took first place in their marketing contest - all coached by Business Teacher Kyle Berres.

“Penn brought over 188 students this year, and it’s probably our most successful year yet,” Berres said. 

There were 35 Penn students who broke through at the event to go to the International Career and Development conference in Orlando coming up in late April.

The third annual Penn Culture Fest was held the night of March 20 in the school cafeteria. It was a collaboration with the many culture clubs at Penn, with the goal of the event to celebrate the various cultures at the high school.

Games, food, performances, and more were at the event to entertain guests and fully immerse them into the surrounding culture. The Latino Student Union (LSU) was one of the biggest clubs at the celebration.

“I feel like it’s just fun and interesting because you don’t normally see this every day, so I feel like you get to see every country and the culture of every country,” LSU President Antonella Mata said. 

Clubs such as the American Sign Language Club, the Muslim Student Union, and Japanese Club were all at the event. Attendees were encouraged to do anything they could to represent their heritage, be it through traditional clothing or sharing traditions.

What’s coming up?

After 19 years as superintendent, Dr. Jerry Thacker has announced his retirement from the Penn-Harris-Madison (PHM) school district, set to go into place this July.

From teaching at Madison Elementary to being principal at Mary Frank Elementary, Thacker has climbed up the administrative ladder to support and enhance the public school experience for all PHM staff and students. Known for his great memory and emphasis of the PHM Triangle of Success - connecting students, staff, and teachers - Thacker’s legacy will go down in Penn history.

Another beloved staff member is retiring at the turn of the school year. Bandmaster and Fine Arts Academy Leader Glenn Northern is in his last year with the school. Even though it was unexpected, Northern still feels as if he chose the right time to retire.

“A big part of the band is that our learning is so sequenced. We’re always thinking about next year and what happens after that one. It now feels really strange, because suddenly everything I’m doing is now for the last time,” Northern said.

As 24 years have passed, every Penn band member in this time span has had Northern as a teacher. Nearly thousands of students have been under Northern’s instruction. Braedon Hoy has had Northern for the past four years.

“Whenever I’ve been here, he’s always been there. He’s super dedicated and he loves what he does, and that love really influences others to try their best,” Hoy said.

As the leader of a band who’s performed at both the Hollywood Christmas Parade and the Tournament of Roses Parade, Northern’s legacy won’t go unnoticed.

After 18 years in education, 11 of which were spent at PHM, English Teacher Bonnie Manningham also recently announced her retirement from teaching.

All of these retirements were announced at the March 24 school board meeting, preceding the announcement of a new girls sports team making its way to Penn next year.

Next fall, the Kingsmen will have more than just one Powderpuff game in terms of Girls Flag Football, as a Girls Flag Football team is in the process of being made at the high school. 

Staff spotlight:

The world of public education saw a bright future in the fall of 1972 when Dr. Jerry Thacker began his career as a sixth-grade teacher in Saginaw, Michigan.

Now, Thacker paces around his office in the PHM Educational Services Center as superintendent of the public school district. In less than six months, this office will belong to someone else.

With top-notch facilities and one of the lowest tax rates in the area, Thacker thought the turn of this school year would be the best time for him to step away from his role.

“It is truly a bittersweet moment. My wife's extremely happy that I'm going to have more free time, but the timing is perfect,” he said. “Somebody else can take the district and continue that path toward better being and focus on continuous improvement.”

After July, Thacker plans to spend half of his time in his house down the road from Penn and the other half in his house in Florida. He’s not quite ready to leave education entirely yet. However, he plans on working as an educational consultant all the while.

“I love teaching. I love watching and supporting our students and everything that they're doing, interacting with the teachers and the community,” he said.

Thacker is known for his exceptional memory and unwavering support of the Penn community, as he can be found doing anything from running the Silver Mile with PHM students to greeting local business owners on their day of opening. He does this all with hopes that his natural mentees will share the enthusiasm he has.

“If you have passion for any kind of work, it's not going to feel like the same kind of work and you're going to make a difference. You'll enjoy life,” he said. “I want people to make sure that they live life with passion and enjoy the journey.”

His dedication and passion has been recognized on multiple state levels, as he was named Indiana Superintendent of the Year in 2012. He was named the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendent’s Outstanding Educator in 2013.

In 2015, Thacker was even awarded a Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest honor, by Former Governor Mike Pence.

All together, Thacker appoints his accomplishments to the pride he gets from his district. No matter who he passes the baton over to, he’s set the district up to thrive in the coming years.

Student spotlight:

As baseball and softball season ramp up early this month, Sophomore James Mason will make their way up to the press box to broadcast the games live on The Pennant YouTube channel.

He has been live streaming football, basketball, and baseball games since the middle of his freshman year with his friend and Sophomore Nate Zizzo. The quality and quantity of their productions has increased rapidly in the past year and a half.

Mason is the mastermind behind these broadcasts, as he essentially lives and breathes sports.

“Ever since I was born, my dad has had me watch sports,” Mason said. “There are tons of pictures of me watching them with my dad from even when I was an infant.”

After obsessing over the Florida Panthers as a Cinderella team, he began his practice of commenting on every game he watched on his own in 2022 during the National Hockey League Playoffs.

“My dad always said, ‘You should be a broadcaster! You have the voice for it,’ so I did it and then fell in love with it,” Mason said.

In 2024, Mason submitted his broadcast of Penn’s Basketball Sectional Quarterfinal game against Northridge High School to Ball State University’s National Student Media Contest, taking home a superior award with top honors.

While he enjoys things such as free seating and special access at sporting events, he also appreciates the people who help him out with said broadcasts.

“Our technical directors, our camera people, our advisors, anybody who helps out, everybody has a part in making our broadcast good,” Mason said.

Beyond The Pennant, Mason is the technical director for the Penn News Network. Outside of his sports and technical work, Mason is a key bowler for the Penn Varsity Boys’ Bowling Team.

Mason and The Pennant crew are back in action, with the first baseball game of the season taking place on April 1 against La Porte High School. Afterwards, the crew is set to stream the Penn against Mishawaka High School softball game on April 16.