OUR SCHOOL

Sophomore Slump

Emma Davis ‘27 & Tyler Primm ‘27

Sophomore Brody Thurman says that he is feeling good regarding his classes, but he knows there are some that he needs to work on and focus on. Thurman says the sophomore slump is affecting his view on school because he is just excited to be done. Thurman says one thing he wishes he had done differently this school year is to study more for tests and quizzes. One thing Thurman would tell lowerclassmen is “don’t slack off on your schoolwork, give it your all, and pay attention as much as you can.” Thurman says he is concerned about how attending CACC will affect his classes and his focus for his junior year.

Sophomore Coltin Harris feels that his academic reputation is getting worse as the school year comes to an end. Harris says that the “Sophomore slump” has affected him pretty hard, resulting in him having no motivation to do any schoolwork, and he is only thinking about his summer plans. Harris says that he wishes he had tried a little harder before we got this close to the end of the year, because he just ended up going with the flow of things and not putting in the effort that he should have. Some advice that Harris has for the future sophomores is “don't fall behind in English or Physics, if you take physics.” Harris says that he is not scared for his junior year because he had a pretty bad sophomore year and says that his junior year can't get any worse than that.

School is Coming to an End

Layla Wesley ´27

Freshman Sam Pennock's thoughts on school ending soon are that she is going to miss her senior friends because they were a huge part of her freshman year, and they are probably going to be a forever memory for her. Over break, Pennock is going to be doing some swimming and visiting her horses. Her favorite memory from this year is all of the fun events she enjoyed, follies, concerts, and the play. One of her struggles this year was meeting new people at the start of the year, but she learned that talking to new people isn't that scary.

Summer Plans

Mia Wells ‘28

Freshman Ellie Bowen plans on going to a national park this summer with her family. She plans on training for cross country and basketball, and plans on taking driver's training. Bowen is looking forward to having free time, being tan, and going to the beach. She isn’t looking forward to the bugs, mainly the mosquitoes. When she is training for cross country and basketball, she plans on going to the practices and the weight lifting program that they are doing over the summer for fall sports.

Freshman Joni Schwartz plans to go up north this summer with her family. She plans to work on basketball, soccer, and volleyball, going to practices and training on her own. Schwartz also plans on hanging out with her friends and taking driver's training classes.

Tyler Primm

Francesca Dunn 27’ & Chelsea Hayward 27’

Sophomore, Tyler Primm, says that her favorite part of her school day is getting to see her friends because they make her laugh and make her day better. Primm states, “A class that I would love to be in all day would have to be my art class, because Mr. Kirkland is nice and funny and I have two really good friends in that class.” Primm would say that Mrs. Treadway is the teacher she looks up to the most in our school, because even though she doesn't have her as a teacher anymore, she is one of the kindest people Primm’s ever met. She also says that Mrs. Treadway is always willing to help students at any time and loves to joke around with students. Primm states, “I am ready to get the end of the end-of-the-year testing over with. Testing is so draining that it makes my whole day go bad, and whenever there is testing, it makes the class feel longer.” What keeps Primm motivated to keep her grades up and to do her work is knowing that when things look good with her grades, it means she has the opportunity to go to college and have a good job. “What also motivates me is knowing that my parents can be happy that their daughter is getting smarter and growing every day with new knowledge from school.”

student spotlight

Tyler McKenzie ‘27 & Amiel Bradd ‘28

Cooper Fausey is a junior at Pennfield. In the mornings, he attends CACC for welding and then returns to Pennfield for his regular classes. Fausey´s favorite subject is English. He plans to get a good job and eventually move out after high school. In his free time, he loves to be outside and ride quads. His favorite time of year is summer, since it's the warmest weather. He is also excited for trips and a concert this summer.

student spotlight

Layla Wesley ‘27

Sophomore Bella Gillson has been going to Pennfield since Kindergarten. Outside of school, she likes to watch TV, go to youth group, and play outside. Gillson is mostly ready for summer break because she gets a break from school, but she is not ready to become a junior. Gillson’s favorite class is Family Relations because the teacher teaches them important things.

Cheer Egg Hunt

DeeAna Black 28’ & Hunter Anthony 27’

The Pennfield cheer team held an egg hunt to raise money for new equipment. Freshman Anayah Jordan participated in hiding eggs for Easter. Her group got to hide eggs at 3 different houses, with a total of 160 eggs. “We started at 9 PM and got done at 10 PM.” Jordan's favorite part was when they were all laughing, having fun in the car, and accidentally finding cows from getting lost.

Freshman Makayla Freds participated in hiding eggs for Easter. Fred’s group got to hide eggs at 2 different houses, with a total of 200 eggs, 100 eggs each house. “We started around 8:50 and ended close to 10:15.” Fred’s favorite part was driving around and listening to music.

Spotlight on Jade

Alyssa Brown ‘25

Junior Jade Powell attended CACC this year to take their Criminal Justice class. “I wanted to take it because I’m interested in how the criminal mind works. I’m glad I chose to because I’ve made so many friends along the way, and I can learn about one of my favorite subjects.” Jade loves the teacher because of how laid back he can be, and because he’s not only there to teach, but to listen as well. “I don’t plan on going to CACC next year, but I do plan on going to KCC to study criminal justice. Even though I loved the class this year, I want something different.” She doesn’t prefer CACC over having a full day at Pennfield because she rarely has a clue as to what’s going on at the school anymore.

Easter

Francesca Dunn 27’ Chelsea Hayward 27’

Sophomore Brooklyn Merriam celebrated Easter at her Nanas' this year. Merriam says, “My favorite part of Easter is celebrating with family.” She attended church on Easter Sunday with her family to celebrate that Jesus had risen. This year, Merriam and her family had an adult Easter Egg hunt for money instead of candy. One of her favorite sayings about Easter is, “Easter reminds us that even after the darkest days, light returns.” Merriam hopes everyone who celebrates Easter remembers the true meaning of the holiday.

Sophomore Marianna Leins-Moore celebrated Easter Sunday with her family this year. Leins-Moore did an Easter egg hunt with her family on Sunday and had a lot of fun. She states, “I've always celebrated Easter, it’s a tradition. My family always gets together on Easter.” Leins-Moore’s favorite part of Easter was hanging out with her cousins and eating a lot of candy that she had gotten from the Easter egg hunt. She states, “I went to church on Sunday Morning and then my family and I went to the Leila Arboretum to do our Easter egg hunt.”

Women's Awareness

Amber Draper ‘27 & Emily Vincent ‘27

To wrap up National Women’s month, Ms. Collins's 5th hour class watched “Truth Be Told: The Fight of Professional Women's Soccer.” Junior Madalin Wixon says what stood out to her most was that the girls were being treated differently by coaches because they were girls and didn’t respect them, and management didn’t pay them correctly. Wixon thinks it affects women’s sports because it makes them not enjoy it anymore because of what the coaches do. She states it makes you realize the amount of disrespect the coaches give the girls and the pressure to do certain things for them. Wixon realized it was more than just a game when they did whatever they could to get playing time and the steps they took to get rid of the coaches so they could play happily. She believes that the outcome was fair for the girls but that the coaches should not be able to work anywhere else.

Spring Break

Francesca Dunn ‘27 & Chelsea Hayward ‘27

Brooke VanIwaarden favorite activity over spring break was studying at Willard Library with her friends for the big tests that were coming up after spring break. VanIwaarden’s most interesting thing that happened over spring break was that she had to call the cops because she thought someone had broken into her house, but everyone was okay. She states, “I hated the weather on spring break. I wanted to sit outside, tan, and be happy in the sun.” VanIwaarden is happy to be back at school because she gets to see her friends again. She didn't travel anywhere over spring break, but she wishes that she could have traveled somewhere for spring break. She states, “My mom went to Cancun, Mexico, and I wanted to go so bad.”

Junior Jade Powell went on a cruise over spring break called the Norwegian Jade. Her cruise lasted five days; it started in Miami and stopped in the Bahamas. Powell's favorite thing she did over spring break was buy a new purse in the Bahamas. She loved the weather while on her cruise. She said, “While it was super cold in Michigan when we were on the boat, it was so warm, and I got to tan in the sun all day.” Powell was excited to go on her long-awaited cruise after it was canceled last year due to bad weather. So she was happy she finally could enjoy the weather and see all the Islands had to offer. While on one of the Islands, Powell got to do a dolphin excursion where she got to pet some dolphins. Powell states, “I had so much fun. I haven't had that much fun in a long time, and I'm glad I was able to have fun with my family in the warm weather.”

Brady Conley

Alex Miller ‘27

Junior, Brady Conley, is quite busy with sports, playing baseball, basketball, and soccer. His favorite things are spending time with friends and family and playing sports. Conley said his favorite class would be gym because “I can play and learn a new sport instead of English or math.” He is not sure what he will do after high school but said, “I will finish my education at KCC.” Conley's dream job would be something that involves sports to entertain him.

Erica Gregorie

Amiel Bradd ‘28

Erica Gregorie is a freshman here at Pennfield High School. Gregorie states that she plays softball because she thinks it's fun; she believes there are many opportunities for her. She will be playing 3rd base, 2nd base, and center outfield. Their first high school softball game is on April 8. Gregorie says, “Softball tryouts were fun. I can't wait for this season.” Her first ever softball game that she played was in fourth grade. After that, she fell in love with the sport and is now starting her 4th year of softball.

Brooke Miller

DeeAna Black ’28

Brooke Miller is a freshman at Pennfield. Miller's favorite class is English, she has Mr. Boyd as her teacher. “English is my favorite because it's fun and easy for me.” One of her favorite things about school is learning and meeting new people. Right now, Miller takes weight lifting as one of her electives. She states that more girls should sign up for weight lifting, as she is one of the two girls in her class. After high school, she plans to attend college to become a physical therapist.

Lillianna Eatherton

Francesca Dunn ‘27

Sophomore Lilliana Eatherton’s goal this school year is to pass all her classes. Eatherton knows she could improve her grades and accomplish more work on time. Her favorite class is chemistry, which is her seventh hour. Eatherton states, “I like my seventh hour because my friends are in that class, and it’s the last class of the day.” Eathorten regrets not playing sports in high school, but she still knows that there are two more years left of high school to do so if she wants. If Eatherton could give any advice to the underclassmen, it would be, “If you stay off of your phone and do your work on time, everything will be okay.”

Avianna Gearin

Chelsea Hayward ‘27

Sophomore Avianna Gearin attended Pennfield from kindergarten through second grade and just came back to Pennfield this year. Gearin has been a student at the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center since her freshman year. What she enjoys the most about the BCAMSC is meeting people from other schools who value their education. What she dislikes most about the center is that some people who go there take it for granted and don't try their best. Gearin attended Lakeview and Battle Creek Central while she wasn’t at Pennfield. She says she doesn't enjoy Pennfield because she misses her friends from her old schools. Gearin's favorite subjects in school are math and history, and she enjoys learning new things. She says, “Learning new things lets me better understand what’s happening around me.” Gearin likes to hang out with her friends at the movies outside of school. She isn’t sure what her future holds when she’s older, but she knows she wants to do something she enjoys.

Lily Odette

Layla Wesley '27

Sophomore Lily Odette's favorite band is Voila because they are kind, inclusive, and they produce rock and pop. Odette's favorite class is chemistry because she does so much learning. Her dream job is writing because she wants to write love and fantasy stories. If she could travel anywhere she would travel to Antarctica, because there's lots of snow there. She is passionate about being kind and moral and believes that everyone has a purpose in life.

Amiah Torres

Emma Davis ‘27

Junior Amiah Torres is attending the CACC this year, taking Graphic Communications, and says one of her favorite things about the class is the amount of creative freedom they have. Torres says she decided to do the CACC because she feels it was an excellent opportunity to explore her interests and possible careers. Torres states, “I think it benefits me in the future because I have realized, even though I enjoyed the class, I would like to explore other options.” Torres chose Graphics because she enjoys designing things and thought it would be something she would be interested in. Something Torres would like to change is the strict dress code. She believes it can be bothersome, especially when warmer weather hits.

Spotlight on Connor and the Spring Play

Ryleigh Mix ‘26 & Emma Rodriguez ‘28

Freshman Connor Holder participated in the play that took place the past few days. Connor says his favorite part of the play was hanging out with his friends after school every day. Holder thinks that his performance was good but he messed up on some parts. The cast members got along well, and if they had a problem they did well putting it aside. Connor made a lot of new friends during the play. He says that his lines were easy to remember but the hardest part was remembering when to say his lines.

Upcoming Drivers

Tyler McKenzie '27 & Amiel Bradd '28

Connor Wood is a sophomore on the verge of turning 16, meaning he´ll be road-ready on April 1st. Wood's most difficult task while driving is controlling his speed. He is excited to listen to his music and drive wherever he wants alone or with friends. Behind the wheel, he thinks he has no problems while driving.

Blake Lum is also a sophomore about to start driving, Lum is turning 16 on April 11th. His most difficult driving task is to stay focused and control his speed. Lum is excited to open up a new chapter of freedom and be able to drive where he usually wouldn't.

Drop Everything and Read

Emma Davis ‘27 & Tyler Primm ‘27

Here at Pennfield, we are having 30 minutes of reading time every Wednesday during sixth period. This is happening just during March.

English teacher Mrs. Delano said her first thoughts were excitement and happiness that she had more time to read her book. She thinks it benefits students by allowing them to explore different types of books and find one that they enjoy. Delano says “One setback is that my sixth hour is getting behind my third hour. It would be nice to switch the hour that we do it in so it isn’t affecting the same hour each week.” A book that Delano would recommend is “Twilight.” She says she was hesitant to read it after a student recommended it, but when she did, she loved it.

Math teacher Mr. Collins says he was surprised because he didn’t remember hearing anything about the reading time. Collins says he doesn’t think his students are benefiting as much from this time because many do not have books. Collins says a setback is losing time that he has with his Algebra 1 classes throughout the day. Collins says he would always recommend the Bible, especially the Gospels, along with “The Fisherman’s Lady” by George MacDonald.

Sophomore Samara Gasser says that her first thought about having to do 30 minutes of reading was that she didn’t understand why. Gasser now understands and thinks that it is giving the students time to focus on one thing and gives them a break from all the school work we get throughout the day. Gasser also says that there are some setbacks to the reading 30 minutes. She says that it is taking away work time from students which can result in students not getting their work done on time or students not having enough time to finish a test if they are taking one that day. But even with these pros and cons, Gasser would still like to recommend a book for everyone, which she says would have to be “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.

Spanish Class

DeeAna Black ‘28 & Hunter Anthony ‘27

Freshman Makayla Freds is taking Spanish this year. Freds took Spanish because she wanted to learn a new language. She plans on using Spanish in her future job. “My favorite part is when Mrs. Bunning starts singing.” One of the projects they did was drawing her dream house and layout.

Freshman Elijah Cason says that he took Spanish because it was the only class he thought was interesting. His favorite part of the class is the people in it he thinks they make the class go by faster. He plans on using Spanish for work down south or out of the country. Cason did a project on his dream house in Spanish.

AI Affecting Students

Ryleigh Mix ‘26 & Emma Rodriguez ‘27

Mr. Grennes thinks that Artificial Intelligence (AI) allows students “the ability to enhance creativity, find resources to help students break down any learning barriers in a very quick manner, and improve studying efficiency.” Grennes thinks using AI is very useful because “AI makes the grading processes faster, more efficient, and often more consistent, it also allows teachers to deal with concerns about plagiarism more effectively.” With the new technology and teenagers now being reliant on them he thinks “students are losing the human interaction in learning, which is crucial in developing life skills that are needed.” Grennes thinks that using AI can affect students' GPAs because “students would lose the ability to access instant information to provide feedback and would have to rely on traditional resources.”

Quarter Three Pressure

Emma Davis ‘27 & Tyler Primm ‘27

Sophomore Francesca Dunn says the biggest challenge in school is failing her classes and not making it through high school. Something that Dunn says has helped her during this quarter is studying for her tests and paying attention in class. A trick that helps her is making rhymes to help her remember the material. Dunn feels confident that she will be able to work hard enough to pass her classes and overall high school. Dunn says she is proud of her performance so far because she is currently passing and has been turning her work in on time.

Math teacher Mrs. Gammons says that one thing she tends to worry about during this quarter is students not passing. She feels there is a big loss of steam during this point of the year. Gammons says that she likes to have her students do a grade check on PowerSchool because she finds that it helps her students remotivate and focus, especially during the final crunch period. One thing Gammons feels confident about is the routines she has set in place for missing assignments and how to turn them in. Gammons is happy with some class performances, but others not as much, and says “That goes back to the loss of academic steam that happens at this point in the year.”

Sophomore Madalynn Inman says that the biggest thing she worries about for this quarter is not getting the GPA she wants. Something that Inman would say helps her this quarter would be not having any sports or after-school activities so that she can focus on her school work. Inman feels confident about passing all of her classes this quarter because she has been working hard to make sure she is getting her work done and turned in on time. Inman says that she is happy about her performance and about how things are going for her so far but wishes that some of her grades would improve so she could get an even better GPA than she has right now.

Winter Carnival Dance

Ryleigh Mix 26’ & Emma Rodriguez ‘27

Sophomore Madisyn Hudson thinks the Winter Carnival this year was enjoyable because she was with her friends. Hudson said that the best part of the dance was the photos and the props. She thinks that the DJ this year is so much better than the last DJ. She said she liked seeing everyone dressed up and dancing, and she really enjoyed seeing people participate in the dances.

Sophomore Ariana Kilgore says the dance wasn't horrible. Kilgore thinks the DJ this year played some good songs but she wishes they wouldn't have cut words out. She also thinks that the photo booth and the props were fun.

Paige Pomerville

Layla Wesley ‘27

Freshman Paige Pomerville's favorite class is choir because the class gets to have fun and sing. She loves that the class gets to sing amazing songs by different people. Outside of school, Pomerville mostly reads and sings, but during the summertime, she rides her quad or helps her mom out with the chickens and her outside cats. Pomerville says, “My thoughts on high school is that it seems easy and hard at the same time.” She said that it’s cool that she gets to meet new people.

Louis & Adelfi

DeeAna Black ’28 & Hunter Anthony ‘27

Freshman Louis Wilcox is on the JV wrestling team. He said that the season is going well. Wilcox has a great bond with his team and the coaches. He enjoys the meets and learning from his matches. Wilcox says, “Watching film back has helped me improve my skill and grow as a wrestler.”

Sophomore Adelfi Dominguez-Disla said he likes the classes he takes. He says that his favorite class is Spanish because he likes the people he sits around and how Mrs. Buning teaches. He also enjoys the people he has met throughout the years, from middle school to high school.

Working with Clay

Destiny Crumb ‘27, Emma Davis ‘27 & Tyler Primm ‘27

Sophomore Marianna Leins-Moore is participating in the clay unit in art class and says one of her favorite things about clay is that “you can be creative and make whatever comes to your mind.” Leins-Moore hopes to create a clay flower vase during this unit. So far, she has made an octopus on a clay tile and a pineapple container. Leins-Moore says she enjoys this year's unit better than last year’s because she knows how to work with it and likes the assignments.

Sophomore Kadence Henry is in Mr. Kirkland's Art 2 class and is participating in the clay project. One of Henry's favorite parts about the clay unit is creating something of her own and being able to take them home when she's finished. Henry wants to make a mug or cup that she can eventually drink out of. They have just finished their hidden containers project which is making an object out of clay that doubles as a container. Henry thinks that this clay unit is much better than last year's clay unit. This year they are doing more advanced clay projects and they are way more fun and creative.

Sophomore Brody Thurman is in Mr. Kirkland's Art 2 class. Thurman says his favorite part about working with clay is that he can make anything he wants: animals, cups, containers, pots and more. One thing Thurman would like to do this year is make a cup that he could drink out of or a cup that he could put pens and pencils in. So far Thurman has made a hidden container and a 3D tile.

student spotlight on

Brent marzic

Brody Thurman '27

Sophomore Brent Marzic said, “The second semester is a fresh start and a new way to kick off 2025.” Brent mentioned that none of his classes changed and he wouldn't change any of them. Marzic said that his favorite class is either art or weight training because he can go at his own pace. Brent also mentioned that his least favorite classes are either English or geography because he said he isn't the best at learning them.

Pennfield's Headphones

Julianah Stengel ‘26 & Julian Bennett ‘26

Sophomore Ava Garcia says if she had to pick her favorite artist it would be Kendrick Lamar. Her favorite album from him is good kid, m.A.A.d city. She’s been to a few Kendrick concerts but her most memorable one was the high school reunion for Snoop Dogg. Garcia's first time hearing a Kendrick song was from her older brother and she's been hooked ever since.

Junior Gavin May has a couple of favorites but only picking 3 he went with Babyfxce E, Skilla Baby, and Steve Lacey. He hasn’t been to any concerts yet but if he was to go to one it would be a Babyfxce E concert. May says he forgot how he found Babyfxce E but “ever since I started listening to Babyfxce E my heart lit up with joy and I couldn’t stop.”

Mrs. Simmons's favorite artist depends on what mood she’s in but her top three are Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Quinn Xcii. She has a few albums competing for favorite but if she had to choose it would be Reputation by Taylor Swift. Simmons has been to 15 concerts this year alone Cody Jinks being the most recent. Simmons grew up on Taylor since she was 12, she’s been listening to Quinn Xcii since 2015 and got to meet them in person, and Sabrina since 2017 finding Quinn and Sabrina through Spotify Discover Weekly.

Spotify Wrapped

Ryleigh Miix ‘26 & Emma Rodriguez ‘27

Emily Vincent’s spotify wrapped is quite interesting. Emily’s #1 artist was obviously Billie Eilish. Vincent spent 76,542 minutes listening to music this year. Her top artists were Billie Eilish, DcTheDon, PoloG, Juice Wrld, and Onlykenn. Emily listened to the song “let's pretend?” by DcTheDon the most this year. Her top songs were Let's pretend?, Quikkscope, Ocean eyes, Essentials, and When the party’s over.

Amber Draper's spotify wrapped came out a little disappointing. Amber's top artist this year was Taylor Swift although she thinks that's more accurate for last year. Draper listened to music a total of 56,356 minutes this year. Amber's top 5 artists are Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, $cuicideboys, Mac Miller, and Tyler the Creator. Her top song this year was Space Song and she was 0.005% top listener for the song. Lastly, Amber's top songs were Space Song, Agora Hills, Pink Matter, Champagne Coast, and Small Worlds.

Christmas Spirit

Emily Vincent ‘27 & Amber Draper ‘27

Londyn Swift is a sophomore who just recently moved here. Her favorite Christmas movie is “The Grinch.” She says it puts a smile on her face and makes her laugh. Swift loves to have soft cookies with milk as her snack. Just recently, we had a snow day, and Swift wore a onesie and caught up on her sleep.

Sophomore Kylee Berger says her favorite Christmas movie has to be “Home Alone.” Berger says this movie never fails to make her laugh whenever she watches it. Berger does not particularly have a favorite Christmas snack she likes. On snow days Kylee usually sleeps in and hangs out with friends.

Exams

DeeAna Black ‘28 & Mia Wells ‘28

Junior Brady Treadway is feeling stressed going into exam week soon. In the past Treadway has studied for the exams and likes to have his friends quiz him to prepare. “I'm looking forward to getting my grade up in math.” He feels confident going into his US history exam. Treadway thinks he is going to have a harder time with his exam in math.

Coach Porter is getting ready for exam week. He said he hasn’t thought about exams but everything that they have been working on in the weight room will lead up to that point. He stated that the students should be ready for exam week and that it should be easy if you’ve done your work the whole year. Porter said, “We prepare every day for exam week, every week we have a routine.” Porter has given exams in many different ways at different schools. Porter stated for his exam his students have to show him proper technique and form from the things that they've learned throughout the semester, they also have to show that they can apply it not only in the classroom but outside too, where it will hopefully help them later in life. Porter said “I’m looking forward to seeing growth in the students so that they can apply what we do in the weight room and the gym and seeing them be able to apply it to something that's going to make them a better person or an athlete.”

Pennfield’s Biggest Fears

Julianah Stengel ‘26 & Julian Bennett ‘26

Everyone is scared of something, Junior Deondre Manalac says his biggest fear is being followed. He gained this fear from an experience he had when he was 11. “I ran off in the store and couldn't find my mom. When looking for her I realized that this guy was following me. In a panic, I ran around looking for my mom to then find her a couple of aisles over. ” Manalac Doesn’t think he’ll ever get over this fear.

Junior Michaela Lindsey’s worst fear is big storms. She says it came from “when I was six years old at our old house, I woke up one night to lighting crashing and I was so scared. I went downstairs and the power was out so we just sat on the couch to then find water flooding my dad's office. He tried to clean it but the water was just too much.” She’s gotten over it since getting older, but there is always that thought when a big storm hits.

Junior Gracie Darlington is most scared of getting kidnapped. She saw “A movie where this girl got kidnapped and I’m scared it’ll happen to me and I won’t be able to escape.” This fear has stuck with her since then and she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to shake it.

Madalin & Seth

Emma Davis ‘27 & Tyler Primm ‘27

Junior Madalin Wixson says that one thing she likes to do over the weekend is hang out with her boyfriend because she likes spending time with him and he makes her happy. Wixson enjoys playing softball because it is outside and she can do more things and play different positions. Wixson attends the CACC and is in the power equipment course. Wixson explains what she does there as “getting my hands dirty and working on diesels.”

Junior Seth McLeod says his favorite thing to do over the weekend at this time of year is to go hunting and spend time working on his family's farm. McLeod says football has to be one of his favorite sports to play because it never has the same situations, which helped him grow a bond with his team when trying to learn what and what not to do. He says one of the main reasons he likes football the most is because “I get to hit people.” McLeod works a job that is very hands-on and likes it, which gave him the idea to enroll in the construction program at the CACC, which has now given him a perfect idea for what job he wants to do in the future.

Teagan Sabin

Layla Wesley ’27

Freshman Teagan Sabin has been going to Pennfield for 2 years. One thing he does outside of school is play games and hang out with his family and friends. Sabin states “My favorite class is Acting because it is fun to get to know people and interact with them.” Sabin plans on joining the bowling team because he thinks it will be fun to go against other schools.

Class President

Ryleigh Mix ‘26 & Emma Rodriguez ‘27

Freshman Gavin Troost, also known as class president, says being the class president feels amazing. He loves representing his class and the trust the class has given him. Troost helps around the classroom, ensuring everyone is on task and not messing around. When Troost earned the role of being class president he was surprised that people wanted him to be the president. Troost likes that he has the leadership role and with him being in football his teammates call him Mr. President.

Panthers with Jobs

Danika Rothchild ‘26 & Alaina Simmons ‘26

Kaylee Reed is a junior at Pennfield High School. Reed works during the school year at Sunrise Cafe. It didn’t take her long to adjust to work and school because she has always been good at multitasking and time management. She states “The only thing that took time to adjust to was not having time to do homework because I work night shifts.” Reed doesn’t think school and work are too much for anyone to handle and she recommends to any teenager to get a job as it helps you become more responsible and can prepare you for your future.

Mathew Martinez is a junior at Pennfield High School. Martinez works year-round at Boondocks. He states “It didn't take me long to adjust to work and school, due to me getting home at a decent time every night.” Martinez says that he does have to skip some classes to get work done for other classes or he does the homework at work on his break. He states “Having a job is worth it and not as difficult to manage as people say.”

Alayna

Emily Vincent ‘27 & Amber Draper ‘27

Sophomore Alayna Tanner says her favorite class is nutrition because she gets to cook, which she really enjoys. “Cooking speaks to me because I get to express myself in my treats.” Mrs. Rzepka is her favorite teacher because she tries her absolute best to get the students to understand everything so there aren’t mistakes in the kitchen or on the worksheets given. The things Tanner has made in nutrition are jack o'lantern grilled cheese, granola bars, smoothies (strawberry and banana), french bread muffins, and apple bran muffins.

Brooklyn

Emma Rodriguez ‘27 & Ryleigh Mix ‘26

Sophomore Brooklyn Merriam's favorite class is her culinary class because she gets along with Mrs. Rzepka, she also likes that the class is with people who get along well. Her favorite outside-of-school activity is cheer or hanging out with friends. Merriam thinks one thing we could change about the school is the 10-minute rule for using the bathrooms. She states that something that stands out the most about Pennfield is how unique the people that go here are, she thinks there are unique friend groups of every kind. Some advice she would give to middle school students is that people make high school out to be so much worse than it is and they will get the hang of it. Merriam wishes she knew that high school isn't as scary as people made it out to be in the beginning.

Wrestling

Brody Thurman 27’

Collin Stacy a sophomore at Pennfield High School. He joined the high school wrestling team last year and this year is no exception. Stacy mentions that wrestling keeps him in shape and disciplined. He says he has gone to almost every practice since the end of last season at a separate program to prepare for this season. Stacy says his favorite wrestling move is the cradle because of how versatile and consistent it is.

Music Interests

Layla Wesley '27

Mr. Grennes listens to a wide variety of artists that he likes in different genres, but his favorite artist right now is Old Dominion. One way Grennes found out about them is because he heard them on the radio and his family/friends told him to listen to one of their songs. Grennes’ favorite song by Old Dominion is their new song “Coming Home.”

Freshman Sophie Trogdon's favorite artist is Kanye West. She first heard Kanye’s music from her dad listening to him in the car. Her favorite song by him is “Violent Crimes” because she thinks it's a great song that portrays a story about not growing up too fast and the reality of the world.

Riyanna Smith

Ariana Kilgore ‘27 & Destiny Crumb ‘27

Junior Riyanna Smith has been at Pennfield since kindergarten. She enjoys seeing her friends at school. Her favorite classes are Algebra 2 with Mr. Kuhse and Art with Mr. Kirkland. Smith enjoys seeing Kuhse because he is funny and tries to explain problems differently for her to understand. She says, “Art is just a good class and it has a good group of friends.” Smith enjoys drawing, driving, or hanging out with her friends outside of school. Smith states that the best part of her year would have to be meeting Londyn because she is a good person to hang out with and to be around.

Lorenzo Bradd

Amiel Bradd '28

Lorenzo Bradd, a freshman, has been going to Pennfield since his 6th grade year. Bradd thinks that it is cool that we have an opportunity to dress up and have fun. His hobbies are playing basketball, watching sports and spending time with family and friends. Bradd states his favorite class is weight training because he has the mindset to get stronger and work harder.

Isaiah Gray

Alex Miller ‘27

Sophomore Isaiah Gray has gone to Pennfield for two years now, with last year being his first year. Gray says “I've enjoyed it here, they were welcoming on my first day.” Gray has a few hobbies outside of school like boxing, spending time with his loved ones and going out with friends. Gray’s favorite teacher is Mr. Lesnau. He says “He's a cool guy and can make anyone laugh.” Gray plays one sport for Pennfield, he had a very good football season going 5-4 as a team and even having 6 touchdowns in a game vs Jackson Northwest.

Brooke VanIwaarden

Francesca Dunn '27

Junior Brooke VanIwaarden has been going to Pennfield since kindergarten. She says that there is an even amount of school spirit in Pennfield, she states “Some people have too much school spirit, some people have none.” Outside of school, VanIwaarden makes jewelry with animal bones, beads, wire, ect. VanIwaarden states “My favorite class is U.S history with Mr. Lamb, because I really like history and Mr. Lamb is super funny.” VanIwaarden goes to CACC and is in the welding program. She states “I like the welding program a lot right now, because we're making pumpkins out of metal, and it is really fun.”

Jade Powell

Allie King ‘25

Jade Powell is a Junior at Pennfield High School. She has attended Pennfield and plans to graduate here next year. She likes Pennfield and the spirit everyone in the school has. Powell does both Sideline Cheer and Competitive Cheer and has been part of our school's dance team which she enjoys. Jade’s favorite class is Choir. Jade loves Choir because she loves to sing and perform, it’s something she’s just grown accustomed to being in front of crowds and doing things in front of people. Powell attends CACC for half of her day and she loves it. Powell studies Criminal Justice at the CACC and plans to be a Forensic DNA Analyst.

Connor Wood

Tyler Mckenzie ‘27

Sophomore Connor Wood has been at Pennfield Schools since kindergarten! Wood is an athlete and plays football and lacrosse. He enjoys hanging out with his friends, watching the Detroit Lions play, and playing with his dog Moose. Wood states, “The Lions have been my favorite team since I was little.” Wood also likes to swim since he has a swimming pool for hot summer days! Wood doesn’t really participate in school spirit. His favorite class is P.E.

Go Pennfield!

Addysen Gregory

Emma Rodriguez ’27

Addysen Gregory is a sophomore here at Pennfield High School. She has been attending Pennfield her whole life. Gregory thinks that more people should participate in spirit days because the school spirit isn’t too strong. She has been on the dance team since her freshman year and enjoys it because of the friendly team and all the fun dances they get to do. Other than dance, her favorite part of school is her Spanish class. During summer, she works at a baseball park.

MaryJane Nault

Tyler Primm ‘27

Sophomore MaryJane Nault has been going to Pennfield schools since she was in kindergarten. Nault says that each student should always show school spirit, even if it’s not a lot it can still go a long way and make a difference. Nault’s favorite things to do outside of school are lifting weights and going to the gym because it is a way for her to decompress after a long day of school. One of Nault's favorite classes is women’s fitness because it’s a class that she can feel safe in because of all the other people around her who are just like her. As Nault is a sophomore she can not attend KCC nor CACC yet, but already has her mind set on going to CACC to take the welding program and is very excited.

Joni Schwartz

Mia Wells ‘28

Freshman Joni Schwartz has been at Pennfield for 2 years. Schwartz really likes our school spirit. She loves how people dress up on the dress-up days. Outside of school, her favorite hobbies are, playing the guitar, playing drums, basketball, volleyball, and she loves to swim. Schwartz said, “My favorite class is English because I love to read and write.”

Willow Schantz

Destiny Crumb ‘27

Sophomore Willow Schantz has been going to Pennfield since kindergarten. Schantz states that our school spirit is not very strong but school spirit is important because it shows that you like being a part of the school. Schantz says that outside of school she loves to hang out with her dog, hang out with her friends, and play softball. Schantz's favorite class is economics because she has a lot of friends there to joke around with and do work with.

Kadence Henry

Emma Davis ‘27

Sophomore Kadence Henry has been going to Pennfield since preschool. Some of Henry’s hobbies are cross country and watching TV. Some of the things she enjoys watching are “10 Things I Hate About You," “The Notebook,” “Outer Banks,” and “The Vampire Diaries” which she watches with her dad. Henry says her favorite class is art because she gets to spend time with her friends and says “I get to do art instead of the other, more stressful assignments in other classes.” Henry's opinion on school spirit is that she thinks we have an exceptional amount, especially at football games.

Chelsea Hayward

DeeAna Black ‘28

Sophomore Chelsea Hayward has been at Pennfield for her whole school career. Hayward has just started her first year of cheerleading, she did gymnastics and dance before cheering. She also likes going to concerts. “I've been to almost 20 concerts this year.” Hayward worked at Binder Park Zoo this previous season. She said she liked working at the gift shop in Binder Park Zoo because they had flexible hours for students. She enjoys history because she likes to learn about what happened in the past. Hayward went to BCAMSC (Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center) as a freshman; she liked getting to meet new people from other schools and the classroom environments.

Dancing with Brianna

DeeAna Black ’28 & Mia Wells ‘28

Freshman Brianna Treadway has been dancing for 10 years. She goes to 360 Dance Company. Her favorite type of dance is acro. Treadway said, “My favorite thing about dance is to learn new things and create new friendships.” She has good friendships with her teammates because they have known each other since they were little. She said, “They are like my second family, dance wouldn’t be the same without them.” Her team did well last year and they hope to do better this year.

8th Grader Spotlight

Ryleigh Mix ‘26 & Emma Rodriguez ‘27

The high school is welcoming new eighth graders into the building. Eighth-grader Hayden TenBrink is enjoying the high school experience but she thinks it's more crowded compared to the middle school. Eighth-grader Reagan Murphy is also enjoying high school because of the opportunities and more freedom. They both agree that the teachers are less strict than those at the middle school, “We know high school will be good!” TenBrink added that the school spirit at the high school is more amped than the middle school. School spirit weeks are creative and fun with everyone dressing up, Hayden and Reagan said.

Ending of the First Quarter

Francesca Dunn ‘27 & Chelsea Hayward ‘27

Sophomore Marianna Leins-Moore is happy the first quarter is almost over. Leins-Moore states, “All of my grades are good but I want to get one of them up, because it is a B+ but I want to get it up to an A.” Leins-Moore feels that she is prepared and ready for the second quarter, because this first quarter has gone by so fast for her and Leins-Moore feels that she is ready for the next one. Leins-Moore states, “I feel that the first quarter went by so fast because it doesn't even feel like it's almost over, I feel like there is still two months left of the first quarter.”

Sophomore Becca Zapata Brown has had a good first quarter. She states “I do feel like it flew by quickly, It just really doesn't feel like it's already been two months.” Zapata is ok with her grades, she's doing better in some classes more than others. She would like to improve some of her grades if she can before it officially ends. Zapata says “I am prepared for the next quarter because I have most of my work turned in. What I like about starting a new quarter is that you kinda get a clean slate with all your grades.”

Band

Emma Rodriguez ‘27 & Ryleigh Mix ‘26

Junior, Cole Robertson has been in the band since his freshman year. Robertson joined the band because he wanted to one-up his brother, who was also a band member. He plays the sextets, which are six drums. “I think I am very good at playing my instrument,” he says. For Robertson, the band has been a helpful experience. It is fun and allows him to be involved with the school, especially with band concerts and playing at sporting events.

Freshman, Gavin Troost joined the band in sixth grade and is only getting better. Troost joined the band and started playing the clarinet because “Squidward is cool.” Unfortunately, he says he doesn't think he's very good at his instrument but he will get better someday. He enjoys playing at concerts/sporting events, “If I’m not in trouble with Mr. Driver.”

Mr. P’s Rocket Launch

Brody Thurman ’27 & Amber Draper ‘27

Physics teacher Mr. Piotrowski, says that he likes the rocket launch assignment because the students can think and discuss how the rockets work and they can find the formula. He also said that he likes to watch the student's reactions to the rockets flying in the air so high. Piotrowski mentioned that he has been doing this activity for 15 years. Alex Miller participated in the rocket activity and he said, “It was fun to see the rockets fly high in the sky.”

Choir

Layla Wesley ‘27

Freshman Paige Pomerville joined the choir because she loves to sing and ever since she was young she always wanted to be in the choir. The one thing Pomerville is excited about in choir is making new friends. She is nervous and excited about singing at the homecoming game.

Sophomore Sophia Lambrich joined the choir because she loves to sing and she has been singing since she was a year old. Lambrich is looking forward to learning new music, going to festivals, symphonies, and concerts. Sophia states “I'm a little nervous to sing at the homecoming game, but I know everyone will do great!”

Sophomore Levi Hoffman joined the choir because he likes to sing and he thinks the class is fun. Hoffman is looking forward to learning new music, going to festivals, and singing at their concerts. Levi states “I might be a little nervous to sing at the homecoming game but I know that we will do a good job.”

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