On Wednesday, June 12, approximately 125 Night School students received their high school diplomas. Some pictures from the ceremony are in the photo gallery below. To see the full gallery, please click here to visit Penn High School’s Facebook page.

The Commencement services were held in Penn High School’s Main Arena. Officiating the ceremony were P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, Penn Principal Sean Galiher, Director of Counseling John Westra, Director of Alternative Learning Seth Molnar, and Pennway Night School Director Ginny Mueller. Click here to view the Graduation program.

The graduates family and friends clapped and shouted cheers of joy for their loved ones who had completed their goals of getting their high school diplomas.

Congratulations to the Class of 2019 and their families!

To download high resolution jpg files from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. We are happy to provide this service to you free of charge.

On Friday, June 7, 868 students graduated from Penn High School in Commencement Ceremonies held at Notre Dame. Click to view a partial photo gallery on Penn’s website, or you can view the entire photo gallery on Penn’s Facebook page.

Watch the highlights of Graduation in the video below …

​Penn’s Class of 2019 included 18 Valedictorians, three Salutatorians, eight  National Merit Scholarship Finalists, and the class as a whole earned $11.2 million in scholarships! Click to read more about the Class of 2019’s accomplishments.

Click here to view the program.

This year's Penn High School Class of 2019 has 868 students, everyone of them with their own story.

As part of our Excellence Happens Here series leading up to Commencement on June 7, we introduced a handful of these wonderful, gifted, talented, and dedicated students.

Watch and hear from these amazing group of students sharing their hopes, dreams and future plans after Penn High School. Click to watch all eight Class of 2019 “Excellence Happens Here” graduate profiles on Penn-Harris-Madison’s YouTube channel.

In March, Discovery Principal Sheryll Harper announced that she was retiring after 32 years with P-H-M, 23 years as principal of Discovery. Click here for more information on Principal Harper’s impact on Discovery.

On June 6, Principal Harper helped Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker introduce Discovery teachers to Elizabeth Willkom-Cunha. Her administrative appointment is scheduled to be approved by the Board of School Trustees at the June 17th Board Meeting. Her first day will be July 1, 2019.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha has served as Principal of the Nuner Fine Arts Academy in South Bend since July 2016.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha's educational career began in Miami-Dade Public Schools in Florida. She served as an Assistant Principal at Fulford Elementary School in North Miami Beach, Florida, 2015 to 2016. Before becoming Assistant Principal, she was an Instructional Teacher (4th Grade General Ed/Special Ed Inclusion) 2010 to 2012.

From 2012-2015, Mrs. Willkom-Cunha served as an Exceptional Student Education/Special Education (ESC/SPED) Chairperson. She also served as the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) Coordinator/Instructional Coach for two years, 2013 to 2015.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha began her career as an Instructional Teacher (SPED Inclusion and Self-Contained) at Fienberg-Fisher K-8 Center in Miami Beach, 2005 to 2010. Prior to becoming a teacher and after getting her degree in psychology from Notre Dame, she worked as a counselor at the Indiana Boys Juvenile Corrections Facility in South Bend for two years.

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame, a M.S. in Education – Integrating Technology in the Classroom from Walden University (Minneapolis), and a Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University (Davie, Florida).

Mrs. Willkom-Cunha has also served as an Adjunct Professor at IUSB, an ELL online teacher for students in China, and was recently recognized among Michiana’s “40 under 40” Class of 2019.

This will be a homecoming of sorts for Mrs. Willkom-Cunha; she went to Schmucker Middle School and is a 1998 Penn grad. She and her husband William have three young children.

A “Meet and Greet” will be scheduled closer to the start of the school year so that parents and your students can meet Mrs. Willkom-Cunha.

On Friday, June 7, 868 students will graduate from Penn High School in Commencement Ceremonies at Purcell Pavilion on the University of Notre Dame campus. 

Held earlier in the week (June 4th and 5th), Penn started a new tradition for the graduating class … taking the students back to their P-H-M elementary alma maters for “Senior Parade!”  Click to learn more, see the full photo gallery and watch a video!

Penn’s Class of 2018 features 18 Valedictorians: Ammaar Basher, Amy Bernard, Ella Boardley, Charlotte Chang, Xi (Chelsea) Chen, Siddharth Das, Lucas Jerzak, Aidan Kaczanowski, Hasaan Kazi, Shurun Kim, Sabrina Kurian, Tingyi Lu, Abigail Meckstroth, Zainab Nasser, Sophia Patel, Justin Ralston, Alvin Wang, and Corey Wang. Valedictorian Corey Wang was also selected as a 2019 Indiana Academic All-Star. This year’s valedictorians have an average GPA of 4.38 on a scale of 4.0!

Click to read more about these students and see where they’ll be attending college/university. 

The salutatorians are McKenna Hillsdon-Smith, Christian Marshall, and Zachary Simon. Their average GPA is 4.29 on a scale of 4.0!

Penn’s Class of 2019 has earned $11.2 million in scholarships!

Eight graduating seniors are National Merit Scholarship Finalists:  Amy Bernard, Xi (Chelsea) Chen, Aidan Kaczanowski, Brandon King, Tingyi Lu, Corey Wang, Eric Wood, and Tinale Zhang.

Of the 868 member graduating class:

• 313 are graduating with High Honors
• 430 – Academic Honors
• 87 – Technical Honors

Another highlight of this year’s graduating class is that it includes 100 students of the second cohort of the Early College Academy. The Academy was started in 2014 to offer students, who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to attend college, to earn dual college credit in the supportive environment of Penn High School. These students have been taking classes at Penn and also earning college credit through courses at Ivy Tech Community College. 

At the time of Commencement, 

• 50 are expected to have earned Associate of General Studies degrees
• an additional 34 are expected to have earned Technical Certificates (earning between 32-62 credits, the equivalent of one year of college or more)
• 14 are expected to have earned at least 15 college credits
• 2 are expected to have earned less than 15 college credits

Many students will be attending in-state colleges and universities such as: University of Notre Dame, Purdue University, Indiana University – Bloomington, Ball State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Butler University, University of Indianapolis, Bethel College, Holy Cross College, Indiana University – South Bend, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, and Purdue – Fort Wayne.

A few Kingsmen will also be venturing a little farther from home attending colleges and universities across the country, for example: United States Military Academy West Point, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Miami University of Ohio, University of Virginia, University of Texas, University of Oregon, Nova Southeastern University, Vanderbilt University, Brigham Young University, University of Lorraine (France), and Fontys University (Netherlands).

We take pride in providing a wide array of academics and career learning opportunities to appeal to a wide base of student interests supporting our students for college and career readiness.

Thirteen students have enlisted in the military and armed services to honorably serve our country: one each in the Air Force and the Marines; three each in the Army and Army National Guard; and five in the Navy.

Several members of the Class of 2019 will also pursuing the vocational trades at Ohio Technical College, Tom Savini's Special Makeup Effects School, the Culinary Institute of America, apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, along with various cosmetology programs.

Read more highlights about the Penn’s Class of 2019 and the Student Awards handed out at Senior Recognition Night held Friday, May 10.

Click to watch all eight Class of 2019 “Excellence Happens Here” graduate profiles on Penn-Harris-Madison’s YouTube channel.

This year we started a new tradition with our graduating seniors … Senior Parade!

Members of the Class of 2019 went back to the halls of their former elementary schools to say "Thanks" to their teachers & inspire future Kingsmen!!!

All in all, about 300 seniors will visit their former P-H-M elementary schools … all 11 schools today & tomorrow (June 4 and June 5)!!!

A group of nearly 50 seniors visited Northpoint. Watch the video below and click here to view the full photo gallery of the Northpoint visit on our Facebook page.

A group of students that attended Discovery Middle School also made a special stop at their old middle school to drop in to surprise their former principal, Mrs. Sheryll Harper. Students wanted to deliver a special heartfelt thanks to Principal Harper as she enters in to retirement at the end of this school year. Nearly 100 students, one by one, handed Principal Harper a single long stem rose … that’s eight dozen roses!!! Principal Harper is retiring after 32 years with P-H-M. She’s opened Discovery and is its first principal; she was at Discovery for 23 years! Click to see the full photo gallery on Discovery’s website.

The Food Service Department of the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is participating in the Summer Food Service Program for Summer 2019.

FREE MEALS will be available to children 18 years of age and under, or persons more than 18 who are determined by a state or local public education agency to be mentally or physically disabled and who participate in a public or non-profit private school program established for the mentally or physically disabled. 

The program will operate Monday through Friday. All sites will be closed on Thursday, July 4, 2018.

Please click here for more information and a complete list of sites and dates.

As shared with the Northpoint Elementary School community approximately two weeks ago, Principal Mrs. Diane Wirth announced her intention to retire at the end of the 2018-2019 school year after 32 years of service to the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. Mrs. Wirth had been principal at Northpoint since 2013.

Today (Thursday, May 30), P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker introduced the Northpoint teachers and staff to their new recommended principal, Mrs. Lorraine White. Her appointment is slated for approval at the June 17 Board of School Trustees Meeting.

The appointment will be a homecoming of sorts for Mrs. White, who has been serving as Assistant to the Principal at Bittersweet Elementary School for the 2018-2019 school year. Prior to her assignment at Bittersweet, Mrs. White was an elementary teacher at Northpoint Elementary School since the school opened in 1998, where she taught grades one through three. Mrs. White’s first teaching position was at Walt Disney where she served as a Title I teacher from January-May of 1998.

Mrs. White received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Ball State University, has a Master of Science in Education from Indiana University South Bend, and her Principal Licensure Program from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Mrs. White is the wife of Mr. Derrick White, an Assistant Principal at Penn High School.

Mrs. White’s experience and knowledge of the Northpoint community will serve her well as she continues to develop connections and relationships with Northpoint students, staff, and parents.

Monday, May 20th, the P-H-M Board of School Trustees approved Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker’s recommendation of Mr. Gary Gardner as the new principal of Meadow’s Edge Elementary School.

Meadow’s Edge teachers and staff got a chance to meet Mr. Gardner May 16 when he visited the school with P-H-M Administration.

Mr. Gardner has served as Principal of Osolo Elementary School in Elkhart since 2013. From 2011 to 2012, Mr. Gardner was an Academic Dean at Osolo, and from 2012 to 2013 served as Assistant Principal, before being promoted to Principal. He started his career as a third grade teacher at Cleveland Elementary School in Elkhart from 2000 to 2011.

Mr. Gardner received a B.A. in Elementary Education (with a Computer Endorsement) from Purdue University. In 2003, he completed his Master’s Degree in Education from Indiana University South Bend, and he completed the Administration Licensure Program from Bethel College in 2012.

Mr. Gardner went to school in Penn-Harris-Madison schools, attending Mary Frank Elementary and Schmucker Middle School, graduating from Penn in 1996.

Mr. Garner is replacing Mr. Kent Mikel who expressed a desire to return to classroom. Mr. Mikel will be teaching middle school science for the 2019-2020 school year.

P-H-M’s 28th Annual Employee Recognition Dinner was held on Wednesday, May 15 honoring the District’s Teachers of the Year, Employee of the Year, and retirees. Service Awards were also given to employees who have dedicated 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of service to Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. Click here to see a full list of this year’s Service Award honorees. Several employees received standing ovations as part of their recognitions. Along with members of P-H-M’s Administrative Cabinet, Board of School Trustees President Chris Riley, Vice President Larry Beehler, and Board Member Jim Garrett were also on hand to applaud and congratulate employees for their honors. The dinner was generously sponsored by Teachers Credit Union.

P-H-M’s Teachers of the Year Christine Austin Elementary Teacher of the Year and Secondary Teacher of the Year Jeanie Mitchell, as well as Employee of the Year Diane Dyer all spoke at last night’s dinner; they also received a commemorative plaque for their award. As part of the recognitions for Austin and Mitchell, each teacher received a $500 grant from the P-H-M Education Foundation to use in their classrooms; Dyer received a gift certificate from the District. Click here to view the photo gallery below for pictures of the recognitions.

Walt Disney’s Christine Austin is in her sixth year of teaching. She started with P-H-M full-time in 2014 as a teacher at Prairie Vista Elementary School. She moved to Walt Disney in 2015 and is currently teaching fourth grade there. Christine is a Spell Bowl Coach, a sponsor for after school learning clubs, teaches Saturday Enrichment for the District, and volunteers for Young Authors’ Conference. She’s also an important integral part to Disney’s Teacher Leadership Team (TLT), supporting all grade levels as well as her own fourth grade team. Christine has led staff PDs for Guided Math, Guided Reading for Exceptional Education, and presented at Technovation. Christine and her husband Lamar lived in Bulgaria for several years doing humanitarian work. These are just some of the reasons why her colleagues nominated her for P-H-M’s Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Click to watch the video below and learn more about Christine …

Penn’s Jeanie Mitchell came to P-H-M and to Penn High School to teach French in the World Languages Academy in 2008. Last September, she also became Freshman Academy Leader.  Mme. Mitchell provides classroom project based learning projects, as well as field trips to the French Market in Chicago and even to France! As the Freshman Academy Leader, Jeanie helps make the transition from middle school to high school more manageable and less daunting for incoming freshmen. Jeanie has also worked on a Tier 3 RtI program to identify Penn’s most at-risk freshmen students pairing them up with an administrator, counselor or dean. Jeanie also frequently leads staff professional development on a variety of topics such as technology, literacy strategies, effective parent communication, and how to use social media to develop teachers’ personal learning networks.

Click to watch video below and learn more about Jeanie …

Kids Club Assistant Program Coordinator Diane Dyer was chosen as P-H-M’s Classified Employee of the Year and was also recognized as part of the program. Diane Dyer has worked for P-H-M for five years; she started at Prairie Vista Elementary School as a Kids Club Assistant in August 2014. In 2015, she was promoted to Site Coordinator at Horizon Elementary. And in February 2019, she was promoted as the Kids Club Assistant Program Coordinator, based at Elsie Rogers Elementary School, helping to train the other Site Coordinators. As Program Coordinator, Diane is now working with the rest of the Kids Club staff to put into place the best practices at all other nine P-H-M Kids Club locations. During her time as a Site Coordinator for Horizon, Diane implemented “After Homework Clubs.” Horizon’s Kids Club also had the largest Kids Club enrollment.

Click to watch the video below and discover how well loved Diane is by her students and colleagues …

This year 40 longtime employees retired from P-H-M.

The names listed below noted with an asterisks (*) submitted a reflection. You can click here to read those reflections in the Dinner program.

Those retirees noted in bold were present at the dinner and their picture is in the photo gallery posted below. Click here to view that photo gallery.

• Dennis Addison, Teacher *
• Mark Baldwin, Teacher*
• Debra Barrier, Transportation
• William Bauer, Food Service
• Diane Bowersox, Teacher*
• Donna Christensen, ESP* 
• Lorri Csakany, ESP
• Tom Csenar, Teacher*
• Cynthia Davenport, ESP*
• Mary Davison, Teacher
• Karen Edison, Educational Assistant
• Janet Germann, Transportation
• Cindy Grover, Exceptional Education*
• Kimberly Grunawalt, Teacher
• Jan Hank, Teacher
• Sheryll Harper, Administrator*
• Thomas Hartman, Administrator*
• Pam Hollenberg, Teacher*
• Jane Hostetler, Teacher*
• Joel Howard, Custodian
• Lynn Johnson, Custodian*
• Leslie Kistler​, Teacher*
• Charlotte Koelndorfer, Kids Club
• Barbara Langle, Food Service
• Susan Lynn, Educational Assistant*
• Ann Metzner, Educational Assistant
• Richard Moroni, Custodian*
• Deb Nehls, Teacher
• Valerie Ong, Teacher
• John Rice, Teacher*
• Richard Roberts, Custodian
• Eileen Sherk, Educational Assistant
• Kathleen Strycker-Healey, Educational Assistant
• Vicki Topolski, Teacher*
• Laura Vanderheyden, Teacher
• Denise VanHulle, Educational Assistant
• Debra Wassenhove, ESP*
• Mark Watts, Teacher*
• Nietta Wright, Teacher
• Conley Yoakum, Transportation

Click here to download a pdf copy of the Employee Recognition Dinner program to read the submitted retirement reflections. Only those noted above with an asterisks (*) submitted a reflection.

*To download high resolution jpg files from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function.