Saturday, March 1, 2025   

9:15 a.m. – 11:25 a.m. 

at Penn High School

for P-H-M students K – 5th grade

FREE! There is no cost for this event, but registration is required and limited.

REGISTRATION: Opens January 17 – deadline is Friday, February 14, https://bit.ly/BooksandBots

Sponsored by the P-H-M Education Foundation, Young Authors’ Conference is an opportunity for P-H-M students in Kindergarten – 5th grade to meet and hear from well-known children’s author and speaker, Shannon Anderson, participate in a variety of robotic explorations, and hear from WNDU Meteorologist, Matt Englebrecht!

Shannon Anderson has spent 25 years teaching, from first grade through college level. She is now a full-time author, with picture books titled: B is for Belonging, Heroes Don’t Have to Fly, I Love Strawberries, and more.  She is also known for her biography series, with books like The Story of Benjamin Franklin, The Story of Helen Keller, and so many more.  A champion of kindness and positivity, Shannon believes that every day offers a new opportunity to make a meaningful difference.  

Participants and parents will also enjoy an interactive experience with WNDU Meteorologist Matt Engelbrecht.  Matt  has a passion for weather and science communication.   His talents include inspiring people to explore and learn about these subjects.  

As part of the morning activities, students will participate in three rotations:  one session with Shannon Anderson, one with Matt Engelbrecht, and one where students will enjoy the hands-on exploration of technology.  Students will be given the opportunity to explore the Sphero Bots, Dot and Dosh, Bee Bots, Ozobots and more!  

At least one parent or guardian must accompany the student(s)!  If more than one child is registering for Books and Bots, the family will stay together so only one adult is needed.  Siblings YOUNGER than kindergarten may not accompany adults.  This experience is for your young author(s) and the parent/guardian.

CONFIRMATION: Participating students will receive additional information prior to the conference through their home school at the end of February.

QUESTIONS: If you have any questions, please contact Candace Cussen at ccussen@phm.k12.in.us.

U.S. News and World Report released its “Best Schools” rankings for K-8 public schools by state and Madison is among Indiana’s top 20%. Madison is ranked #200 out of Indiana’s 1,000 elementary schools.

P-H-M’s elementary schools are at the top of the list:

• Northpoint #1 in Indiana  
• Prairie Vista #2 in Indiana  
• Horizon #19
• Mary Frank #32
• Bittersweet #56
• Moran #163
• Madison #200
• Elm Road #205
• Elsie Rogers #393
• Meadow’s Edge #239

P-H-M’s middle schools were also recognized:

• Discovery #3 in Indiana
• Schmucker #40

This year’s “Short Hair Because We Care” will hold a hair donation event for the Children With Hair Loss organization will be held Saturday, November 16 at Penn High School’s Studio Theater.

Anyone in the community can donate their hair, but the minimum is 8 inches of hair. Hair that is colored and permed is accepted. Local professional hair stylists will be donating their time to cut volunteers hair for free. Because this is for hair donation, the service provided is just a simple cut, no style.

This event was started in 2019-2020 school year by a group of 7th grade Grissom Middle School students. 

“It started as something that students could give, that wouldn’t be money or something they wouldn’t have control over being young students, but everyone can donate their hair, so that’s why we started it: to give everyone an opportunity to serve even if they don’t have other resources,” Ella Smoker Class of 2024. Click to see the WNDU-TV’s story.

Last year, 33 people donated a total of 334 inches (click to see photos)! Donate this year and help beat last year’s totals!

If you’re interested in donating, click here to sign up using the Google form.

Email shbwcphs@gmail.com with questions, and follow the group on Instagram at @shbwc_phs. 

If you can’t make it to the event or don’t have enough hair to donate, you can still help out by donating directly to Children With Hair Loss.

Children With Hair Loss is a nonprofit organization that provides hair replacements at no cost to children or young adults facing hair loss at no cost. Whatever the cause, hair loss can have effects that go deeper than cosmetics. Providing this hair is how this organization gives back to the community. You can help us give back to your community and the children facing hair loss by donating your hair or simply spreading the word about the event to everyone! 

At Madison Elementary, students celebrated Halloween with a festive “Falloween Celebration,” bringing the spirit of the season to life with creative costumes. From superheroes and storybook characters to first responders and animals, students proudly wore their costumes, filling the school with laughter and excitement.

The “Falloween” event was a chance for students to showcase their imagination and enjoy Halloween fun in a safe, school-friendly way. 

Madison Elementary is thrilled to share the amazing results from this year’s Riley Bike-a-Thon! With over 50 riders, our participants biked an impressive total of more than 700 miles.

Even more exciting, thanks to the generous support from our community, we not only met our fundraising goal but exceeded it—raising over $5,160 for Riley Children’s Foundation!

This event was a huge success, and we are so proud of all the riders and supporters who helped make it possible.

Each year the Madison students are invited to pedal their bikes in an effort to raise money for Riley Children’s Foundation which goes to support sick and injured children receiving life-saving care at Riley Hospital for Children.

The Madison school community began a partnership with Riley 34 years ago and has since raised over $100,000 for the organization!  

Click below for a full photo gallery.

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Thank you to EVERYONE who came to the 2024 Homecoming Parade and Football game. It was a terrific time not only for the Penn students, but also for the entire community.

The Parade, Expo, Fun Zone, Food Trucks and Fireworks were all bigger and better than ever.

After the game was over, the fans in attendance were treated to a fireworks show set to music!

There are three photo galleries below, one of the parade floats and participants, one of the parade spectators and one of the fun zone and expo. Take a look and we’ll see you in 2025!

Parade Floats

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Parade Spectators

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Fun Zone & Expo

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On Sunday, September 8, the Michiana community joined Penn and P-H-M in giving Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt a Heroine’s Welcome!

Before Sarah’s “Welcome Home” kicked off, the local media got some one-on-one time with Sarah, her parents, and Penn Head Wrestling Coach Brad Harper during a news conference. Coach Harper was Sarah’s wrestling coach when she was at Penn; he became her personal coach and coached her at the Tokyo Olympics wear she won Bronze. Coach Harper planned this special homecoming for Sarah. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

The parade left from Penn High School and went down McKinley approximately two miles and ended at Zolman’s Tire.

Thank you to all the parade participants who volunteered their time on a Sunday afternoon: Mishawaka and Penn Twp. Fire Departments, St. Joseph County Police, the Marching Kingsmen, Penn Girls and Boys Wrestling Teams, Penn Cheerleaders, Penn Youth Wrestling Club, Rocket Football cheerleaders, and Dr. and Mrs. Thacker. Along with Sarah with her mom Nancy and dad Chris, Sarah’s extended family were also in the parade. Sarah and her parents were in a golden yellow convertible Mustang driven by St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman. Thank you to Zolman’s Tire for supplying some trucks.

After the parade was over, hundreds gathered at Urban Swirl in Granger for an Olympic Celebration emceed by Mark McGill. A representative from Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood’s office read a proclamation declaring September 8th as Sarah Hildebrandt Day! U.S. Congressman Rudy Yakym read the historical entry on Sarah’s Olympic achievement that he will be submitting to the official U.S. Congressional Record.

Sarah was able to see and catch up with the coach who gave her first break, then Discovery Middle School Wrestling Coach Raoul Donati.

Sarah threw out free T-shirts featuring her smiley face tattoo on the front and her viral X tweet on the back.

Grateful for all the love and support that her hometown gave her, Sarah graciously took hundreds of pictures with all of her adoring fans. She also signed hundreds of autographs on posters, shirts, singlets, wrestling shoes and even foreheads! 

Check it all out in the photo gallery below.

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