PHS MEDIA NEWS

The Knights of Pythias of Indiana is a scholarship program that is available for seniors in the state of Indiana. It offers a minimum of 12 scholarships of $1,000 each.

In order to apply for one of these scholarships, seniors must be attending a high school in Indiana or be a resident in Indiana, have a 3.0 GPA or higher, be registered in a college or university prior to distribution of funds, write a short typed essay about goals after college and postmark the application before January 25, 2020. 

All questions on the application must be answered and follow the order they are listed on the application. All other forms, such as transcripts or essays, must accompany the application at the time of submission. 

To access application blanks online, go to www.knightsofpythiasofnewcastle.com.

Story by Makiya Russelburg

Seniors at PHS have the opportunity to apply for and receive the Lilly Scholarship each year. The Lilly Scholarship covers tuition, required fees and provides a special allocation of up to $900 per year. This money is used for required books and equipment for four years of full-time undergraduate study leading to a bachelor’s degree at any accredited Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Seniors Lauren Rutherford, Aron Busick and EB Kerby are the scholarship finalists from Paoli. These students had to write a timed essay and had a formal interview with the Lilly panelists.

“At the moment, I still do not know where I want to attend next fall, and honestly, the Lilly Scholarship will not influence my decision of where I go. But getting the Lilly Scholarship would be such a great accomplishment because you are competing with the top kids from the entire county. To be selected as a finalist is such an award, but to actually be able to graduate college debt free would be such an amazing opportunity and relief,” said Kerby.

To be eligible for the Lilly Scholarship, students must be in the top 25 percent of their graduating class, score 1,000 or better on the SAT and be on track to obtain an academic honors diploma.

“I plan to attend Indiana State University if I were to get the Lilly Scholarship to major in exercise science to become an athletic trainer,” said Busick.

Each student who applied for the Lilly Scholarship went through an application process and the top students from Paoli High School, Orleans High School and Springs Valley High School were selected to move on to the next round.

“If I were to be awarded the Lilly Endowment Scholarship, I would plan to attend Rose-Hulman to study biochemistry. After obtaining my degree, I would seek employment at the Eli Lilly Company considering they focus around medicine development and that is what I plan to pursue a career in,” said Rutherford.

These finalists are currently waiting for the final decision on the Lilly recipient, which should be decided in the near future.

Story by Angie Ceja

Jim Houghton, a designer from the Leather and Associates company out of New York, came to Throop Elementary on November 6 and 7 to design a unique playground for the students. Leather and Associates have designed playgrounds all over the country, including Mitchell and Salem’s community playgrounds.

Houghton visited the playground site and went on a tour of the community to see local and historical landmarks that may be incorporated into the playground. Not only did Houghton meet with the playground committee, but he brainstormed ideas with students from different grade levels to get their opinions. 

“On Thursday morning, he met with students at Throop in 15 minute ‘brainstorming’ sessions with each grade level. On Thursday afternoon, he took all of the information gathered from the committee and students and began to design our one-of-a-kind playground,” said Playground Committee member Holly Vincent. 

On November 7 at 6:30 p.m., Houghton and the Playground Committee hosted a presentation open to the public to show the plans for the new playground. The Elementary Choir students did a short presentation and sang two songs about the new playground as well.

“Jim revealed our playground and then there was a volunteer sign up and fundraising tables in the foyer. We also had fun activities in the auxiliary gym, along with refreshments,” said Vincent. 

Anyone is welcome to sign up to help build and fundraise for the playground once the design is ready.

“The playground will benefit our whole community. It is also a ‘community build,’ which means WE will build the playground,” said Vincent. 

The community, faculty and students are looking forward to seeing the new elementary playground and the fun that will surround it.

Story by Corinne Magner