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April 8 Solar Eclipse Information

While the Indianapolis area and south will experience 100% totality for the solar eclipse occurring on Monday, April 8, 2024, the St. Joseph County area will only experience 96%.

The Michiana area will start experiencing darkness at 1:53 p.m., lasting until 4:23 p.m., with 96% totality occurring at 3:09 p.m. and lasting just over 4 minutes.

Click to watch the video below and hear from P-H-M Digital Video Theater and Planetarium Director Melinda O’Malley as she shows us what to expect in our area.

Click here to see a Indiana Department of Natural Resources map of Indiana regions that will experience varying degrees of darkness. Click here to also get more background information on the Great American Eclipse website.

Because the partial eclipse time is occurring around elementary school dismissal times and based on the recommendations of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the IDOE, P-H-M will have an eLearning day on April 8. Click here for more information on that decision.

Thanks to Old National Bank and P-H-M Education Foundation, all students will have a pair of eclipse glasses to use at home when watching the eclipse with their families. The glasses will be sent home the week of March 25 before P-H-M’s Spring Break.

DVT Director Mrs. O’Malley demonstrates how the eclipse glasses should be used.

2024 Penn Musical, “The Music Man”

Penn’s school musical this year is “The Music Man.”

You won’t want to miss Penn’s talented student performers as they act out the play that follows fast-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band that he vows to organize – this, despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef!

This year’s musical also includes the talents of a few P-H-M elementary and middle school students:

Mary Cortes, 5th grade, Prairie Vista Elementary School
Maxwell MacMillan, 5th grade, Mary Frank Elementary School
Anniston Steele, 7th grade, Grissom Middle School
Ezra Carrico, Katherine Hawkins, Benjamin Robertson and Noah Rohde, all in 8th grade, Schmucker Middle School

This isn’t the first year Penn’s musicals have included students from younger grades. In 2016, younger students also participated in “Mary Poppins.” But this is the first year in recent memory to have this many!

Visit bit.ly/PennMusicMan to purchase tickets.

FIRST-IN District Robotics Competition, March 2 & 3

The 2024 FIN Mishawaka FRC District Event will once again be held at Penn High School March 1st – 3rd (open to the public on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3). The event will be held in Penn’s Main Arena. See below for a daily schedule:

Saturday, March 2

10:30 – 11:00 a.m., Opening Ceremonies
11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Qualifying Matches (No matches during Lunch, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.)

Sunday, March 3

9:30 – 10:00 a.m., Opening Ceremonies
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Qualifying Matches
12:30 – 1:00 p.m., Alliance Selections
1:00 – 2:00 p.m., Lunch
2:00 – 5:00 p.m., Playoff Matches & Awards Ceremony

For elementary aged children, there’s also the Next Gen event from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The event will be upstairs–above Penn’s Main Arena–in the Fitness Center. This event is open to all children, not just P-H-M students. Children have the opportunity to do hands-on STEM activities, even operate a robot! Click here for pictures from last year’s event.

This year’s game is CRESCENDO^SM presented by Haas; click here to view a video about the game. FIRST^© Robotics Competition teams will use their STEM skills and creative power to turn up the volume as they design, build, and program their robots for action-packed game play. Watch the game animation to inspire ideas.

During our 2023-2024 arts-inspired robotics season, FIRST^® IN SHOW^SM presented by Qualcomm, FIRST Robotics teams will celebrate the roles STEM skills play in the arts and design, and how these skills help build a world of endless possibilities for students. Click here to learn more about FIRST^® IN and the District event being held at Penn High School.

2024 Young Authors’ Conference, Books & Bots

This year P-H-M Education Foundation’s Young Authors’ Conference is partnering up with the Next Gen Robotics event to bring you Books & Bots! This event blends literary innovations with robotic creations. It’s a wonderful opportunity for P-H-M students in Kindergarten – 5th grade. Click here to view photos on Facebook from last year’s Young Authors’ Conference; click here to view photos of the 2023 Next Gen event.

The event will start at 9:15 a.m. in Penn’s Fitness Center. There will be the three rotations at three locations within Penn High School. Families and students will visit each station for 45 minutes, with a 15 minute break in between. The rotations will be an author visit, reader’s theater, and fun with the bots! Next Gen (the bots area) will be open until 1:00 p.m. Registered participants will receive a S’more with confirmation details the week of February 26. You and your student’s rotation schedule and starting location will be provided in the S’more. If you have any questions after receiving the email, please contact ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.

Please enter Door D. Parking is available in the front of Penn, at Schmucker Middle School, and in the parking lot near River Valley Church. Click here to access a Penn Building Map. Once inside Penn, look for “Books and Bots” signage and please arrive at your room between 9:00-9:15 a.m. With record attendance expected, plan plenty of time to park and walk to your designated area.

Books & Bots is completely FREE! Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation and P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and his wife Donna Thacker for covering the cost of the YAC for the second year in a row from the proceeds of #GivingTuesday donations.

NEW THIS YEAR … both events will be held at Penn High School!

While the events are FREE, registration is required!
Registration is NOW OPEN! Click here to register today! Registration closes Friday, February 23.
One parent only must accompany students! Younger siblings may not accompany adults. Due to the planned activities and available space, this experience is for your young author and one parent.

As part of the morning activities, students will participate in two rotations: one with well-known children’s author and speaker, Carolyn Crimi; and the other with Jocelyn Dupuis. Following these rotations, students will enjoy spending time exploring technology, with an opportunity to share a piece of their piece of writing on a FlipGrid or online writing platform.

Thanks to Better World Books, parents can purchase ahead of time Carolyn Crimi books online and then bring them to the March 2 event. Click here to preorder your student(s) books.

As a way to support Better World Books’ mission of providing books to children around the world to do their part in achieving global literacy, a collection box will be set up near Penn’s Door D for families to donate their gently used books.

BACKGROUND ON CAROLYN CRIMI:
Carolyn Crimi enjoys snacking, pugs, Halloween, and writing, although not necessarily in that order. Over the years she has published 19 books for children, including Weird Little Robots, Secondhand Dogs, Don’t Need Friends, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Where’s My Mummy?, There Might Be Lobsters, and I Am The Boss of This Chair. When she’s not snacking, Carolyn enjoys giving author talks to elementary schools all over the country.

BACKGROUND ON JOCELYN DUPUIS:
Also as part of Young Authors’ Conference, participants and parents will also enjoy an interactive experience with P-H-M’s extraordinary Jocelyn Dupuis. Jocelyn has a passion for music education and the performing arts. As a music teacher, she has taught many students to enjoy music as well.
*Questions, please contact Candace Cussen at ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.

IDOE Recognizes Northpoint for IREAD Results

Our school, along with Prairie Vista Elementary School, was celebrated for outstanding IREAD-3 achievement rates. Third grade teacher Nichol Mondy attended with Principal Lorraine White.

With Northpoint students having a 98.00% pass rate and Prairie Vista students achieving 95.30%, the schools were among 241 Indiana elementary schools to receive 95% or higher on the 2023 IREAD-3 assessment.

A celebration took place Thursday, February 15 at Indiana State House South Atrium. Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner was on hand along with President Pro Tempore of the Indiana Senate Roderic Bray and Speaker of the Indiana House Rep. Todd Huston.

These accomplishments are not only a credit to our students and families, but also of course to our K-3 teachers, aides, and educational assistants.

Running is Elementary Date Announced, May 6, 2024

We are thrilled to announce that the P-H-M Education Foundation is providing funding for the 15th annual Running is Elementary program!

SAVE THE DATE! The date is May 6 (Rain Date May 8).

All P-H-M 4th & 5th grade students are invited to participate. Students will practice at their home schools with the culminating run at Elm Road Elementary School.

More details will follow so be on the lookout for communication regarding signups.

Take a look at the video below to see how fun and exciting it is!

Penn Orchestra Performs Elementary School Pops

“Captain Jack Sparrow” made an appearance at Penn High School today (Tuesday, January 30) performing the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song for 4th and 5th grade students. This mini concert is a great way to introduce students to instruments they might not be familiar with as they think about what possible instrument they might want to pursue in middle school. In P-H-M middle schools, students can pursue orchestra, band or choir as a Fine Arts elective.

Students got a real treat … the Orchestra’s drummers performed a song written by Senior Clayton Hopper; it was called “March of the Clumsy.” All the drummers performed it together to demo percussion.

Orchestra performing at Penn Elementary Pops Concert — Penn Orchestra Elementary School Pops Concert

Penn Orchestra Elementary School Pops Concert performance — Penn Orchestra Elementary School Pops Concert

Due to scheduling logistics, only half of P-H-M elementary schools participated and traveled to Penn for this year’s show. The other half attended last year. That way every P-H-M student will see the show in either 4th grade or 5th grade.

Shining Stars are 100 Days Smarter!

January 26th, 2024, marks the 100th day of the 2023-24 school year!

Our younger students marked the occassion by dressing up like 100 year olds with wigs, canes and more.

Today is more than just a dress up day as teachers used the occassion to do academic lessons based on the number 100.

Take a look at some pictures in the gallery below.

2023 Cereal Box Food Drive a Success

Thank you to everyone who donated to this year’s Cereal Box Food Drive, it was a huge success. Northpoint families donated more than 1,500 boxes of cereal for Clay Food Pantry.

We continued our tradition of setting up the boxes like dominos in the hallways and knocking them down. The students always love it. Take a look …

What Fans Need to Know Before Heading to Penn Homecoming Parade & Game

Friday, September 29 is Penn’s Homecoming Parade, Fun Zone, Food Trucks & the Penn football game versus St. Joe. The P-H-M Education Foundation is once again sponsoring all the fun and new this year–FIREWORKS after the football game!

The entire P-H-M community is invited to come out for this fun-filled family event. All the fun starts with the Homecoming Parade. Be sure to grab your spot on the route by 5:00 p.m. Parade starts at 5:30!

Here are some things that will be helpful for families as they head out for all the festivities.

Parking:

Paid Parking ($3 cash) at these lots:
- Penn High School (Front Lot & Jefferson Rd. Lot)
- Softball/Tennis Lot
- Bittersweet School Lot
Free Parking at these lots:
- Soccer Lot (Bank Lot)
- Pennway Lot
- Schmucker Lot (front, Sides & in Back of School)

Penn 2023 Homecoming Map

Fun Zone:

5-7:00 p.m.
Penn Baseball Field
Teacher Dunk Tanks, Jumpies for elementary students
- FREE for EVERYONE!
Food Trucks:
- Ben’s Pretzels
- Junbuggies
- Keim’s Elephant Ears
- Kona Ice
- Prized Pig
- REAL Grille
- Rulli’s Pizza
Fans will be allowed to take food purchased at the Food Trucks into the stadium. However, no other outside food will be allowed!

Gate & Ticket Info:

Penn vs. St, Joe, Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
P-H-M students K – 5th grade get in FREE with paying adult!
Tickets are on sale now-Thurs., Sept. 28 online, ticket price is $6 (students & all other age groups same price)
- Click here to buy your tickets online
Tickets on Friday, Sept. 29 are $7 (online or at the gate)
PHM Employees plus one guest get in FREE, but you must have ID badge & the guest must be with the employee
Please remember middle schoolers cannot be dropped off unsupervised. Once in the game, the students are free to walk around. At least one responsible adult must be onsite.
Tickets are sold at the North & South gates only!
Penn All Sports Passes and tickets (hard & online) are accepted at all gates
The Center Gate is reserved for Penn All Sports Passes and online ticket holders only
No Reentry!

Fan Safety:

Click to download and red the Lost Child Policy
Please utilize crosswalks when crossing Bittersweet Road after the parade

Rules to Remember:

No reentry to Everwise Field; once you leave, you are not allowed back in.
No outside food or beverages, no insulated cups
No backpacks
- Diaper bags & large women’s purses are allowed
Penn does not have a clear bag policy
No electronic noise makers
No Footballs or Beach Balls
No weapons of any kind
No alcohol
No Smoking/Vaping products of any kind. All PHM school property is smoke free.
No open flames at private tailgating