Congrats to the Beta Club

PPHS had 14 students attend the Beta Convention in downtown Springfield.  They competed in 6 different events.  We received 1st place in Engineering, 2nd place in Service Learning Showcase, and 3rd in Portfolio.  We had 2 individuals take academic tests.  Caitlyn Hecker won 1st place in the 12th grade group Social Studies, and Drew Washam won 1st in the 11th grade group for Spanish!. Congratulations to the the kids and sponsors!

Boys win Sectional title!

Congratulations to the boys basketball team for wining the Sectional championship over Tremont.

https://www.sj-r.com/sports/20190302/plains-pulls-away-from-tremont-for-sectional-title

student collaborative work

Students in Engineering Design and Development have been working hard on their remote control door lock. I want the first one. 

Yearbook students working on digital sports calendars for spring sports!!

WYSE Regional Champs

Congratulations to the WYSE Team on winning their Regional!!

Individuals:

2nd place chemistry Evan Saebeler and Anna Kanllakan

1st place chemistry Blake Hermes

3rd place computer science Luke Ozenkoski

1st place computer science Sam Hutcherson 

3rd place engineering graphics Luke Ozenkoski

2nd place Evan Saebeler 

1st place engineering graphics Justin Holding

3rd place English Erin Riley

3rd place math Jenni Osmond

3rd place physics Will Drake  and Otis Sanders

1st place physics Blake Hermes

Sectional Champs / Fall Sports

Congrats to the volleyball team on winning the Class 2A Riverton Sectional Championship by defeating Maroa Forsyth!

 This is a big weekend for PPHS. We have the boys' football team hosting Greenville in a 2nd round IHSA playoff game, the girls' XC team competing at the IHSA state XC meet, and our volleyball team will be at Beardstown for the Super-Sectional against Eureka. Congratulations to all the coaches and players.

Regional Champs!!

Congratulations to our volleyball team on their Regional Championship. They will play Williamsville Monday night at Riverton.

A Change to Graduation

I sent this letter out to students and parents ta the beginning of the year, but wanted to re-send...

Dear Parents,

I hope this letter finds you enjoying your summer! I wanted to make you aware of a change we are making to the graduation ceremony beginning with the class of 2022.  I’m excited about this change and feel it is beneficial to many students at PPHS.Beginning with the class of 2022, we will no longer recognize Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and top ten during our graduation ceremony. In its place will be Latin honors recognition that includes Summa Cum Laude (with greatest honor), Magna Cum Laude (great honor), and Cum Laude (with honor). The top 5% of students in a graduating class will receive the Summa Cum Laude distinction, the top 10% of students will receive Magna Cum Laude distinction, and the top 20% will receive Cum Laude distinction.

There are several reasons for making this change. Largely, I hope to eliminate some of the unhealthy competition for Valedictorian and Salutatorian which seems to happen from time to time. Competing for the top two spots leads to students more interested in a GPA than taking courses they enjoy or will seek a future in.  In short, the focus is not on learning, but rather competing for a spot. Beginning their freshman year, students can calculate courses and weigh options to position themselves for a top spot. Additionally, the difference between the top 3-4 students is often statistically insignificant. It becomes hard to decipher exactly what separates 2-3 students when the difference is only thousandths of a point. That issue is exacerbated when you factor in scheduling conflicts that don’t allow students to take certain courses that would impact top spots.  By transitioning to the Latin honors system, we also recognize students who achieved academic excellence in non weighted courses. Human intelligence is more than one prescribed academic criteria, and I believe this system better reflects that. For all the above reasons, I believe this is a productive and positive change for PPHS that encompasses a more holistic approach to academic recognition.

I want to be clear that we are not doing away with class rank. Every student at PPHS will still have their class rank on their transcript and will receive that distinction if it applies to the college admissions or scholarship process. The only change that is being made is to our graduation ceremony. Speaking roles for students will still be present in the form of class president, NHS President, Student council, etc.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Luke Brooks
Principal, PPHS

Golf Team wins 4th straight Regional Championship.

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Congratulations to the boys' golf team on winning their 4th straight Regional Championship!!

Welcome Back!

I'm excited to start the 2018-19 school year. Let's have a great year PPHS.

 https://youtu.be/r6vlIhlDYgw

WYSE Team Advances to State

The PPHS WYSE team advanced to the state competition by taking 2nd place in sectionals. The results are as follows.......

Will Drake:  3rd in chemistry

Sam Hutcherson: 2nd in Computer Science

Justin Holding:  3rd in Engineering Graphics

Blake Hermes: 2nd in Engineering Graphics

Evan Moore: 2nd in English

Erin Riley: 1st in English

Ellen Reinert: 1st in Mathematics

Brock Brummett: 2nd in Physics

Evan Moore: 1st in Physics (tie)

Kevin Ingram: 1st in Physics (tie)

State Competition is on 4/19 at the University of Illinois in Champaign

2018 Regional Champs!!

Congratulations to the girls' basketball team on winning the 2018 Regional Championship. They move on to play Alton Marquette on Tuesday night in Riverton.

Blood Drive

Congratulations to the WYSE Team!

The PPHS WYSE team are Regional Champs!! They move on to compete in Sectionals on March 12. 

Biology - 2nd Place Jeremy Parker

Chem - 3rd Ellen Reinert

              2nd Justin Holding

              1st Will Drake

Comp Sci - 3rd Jack Snyders

                   2nd Luke Ozenkoski

Enginering Graphics   3rd  Jack Snyders/Justin Holding

                                    2nd Blake Hermes

                                    1st Luke Ozenkoski

English  3rd Erin Riley

Math  3rd Ellen Reinert

Physics  2nd Kevin Ingram

               1st Brock Brummett

Illinois State Scholars

Congratulations to the following students for being named 2017 Illinois State Scholars! Illinois State Scholars have excelled in a combination of GPA and ACT/SAT scores.

Top Row L to R: Jeremy Parker, Lucas McGraw, Brock Brummett, Evan Moore, Kevin Ingram, Blake Young
Middle Row L to R: Adrianna Trader, Alaina Helmerichs, Ashley McKechan, Jillian Hergenrother
Bottom Row L to R: Ellen Reinert, Carolyn Nika, Jenny Rush, Grace Sinclair
Not Pictured: T.J. Painter and Jillian Yakel

Veterans day Assembly

Steve Wheeler from the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight speaks to PPHS. 

PPHS students watch videos from local service men and women about what Veterans Day means to them

Boys Soccer wins Regionals

Congratulations to the boys' soccer team on winning their Regional by defeating Riverton 4-3.

Band Competition

Congratulations to the PPHS Marching Band who  took 1st place in their class at the Dunlap competition on Saturday. They also won best color guard and best percussion in their class!!

Cardinal Student News

Grant McCormick and Abi Robinson have recently started Cardinal Student News, a live broadcast from PPHS every A day at 2:15. They will recap the days announcements, as well as highlight other PPHS news, interview students and faculty, and provide some other entertainment through their own segments. Please check out the live feed at www.ppcusd8.org/csn.

National Merit Commended Scholars

Congratulations to Evan Moore and Brock Brummett on receiving National Merit Commended Scholar status. About 1.5 million high school students take the PSAT, and only about 3% are recognized as Commended Scholars.

Congratulations to Bradley Campbell on winning first place in the MTI welding competition!