Pike Central Middle High School

Dear Pike Central Families and Students,

Fall is officially here, and September has been an incredible month! Our students have been busy serving the community, honoring American heroes, and excelling in both athletics and the performing arts.

Community, Character & Remembrance

• United Way Day of Caring: Chargers from both the Middle School and High School rolled up their sleeves to give back during the annual United Way Day of Caring. Our students spent the day volunteering across the local community and helping with various beautification and support projects right here on our own school grounds.

• 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb: In honor of Patriot Day, Middle School PE classes participated in a special 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. Students climbed stairs during class to pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the first responders who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. It was a meaningful and moving physical tribute.

Athletic Achievements: Golf & Cross Country

• HS Lady Chargers Golf Advances: Congratulations to our High School Lady Charger Golf team for another outstanding postseason run! Their hard work on the course paid off as they officially advanced to the Regionals!

• MS Cross Country Heads to State: Our Middle School runners delivered incredible performances at their championship meets! The MS Girls Cross Country team qualified and advanced to the State meet! On the boys' side, Aiken Whitehead ran a brilliant race to punch his individual ticket to the State championship as well. Good luck at State!

Fine Arts Spotlight

• Our performing arts programs are off to a roaring start! Both the Swing Choir and the Charger Brigade marching band have been putting in countless hours of practice and delivering phenomenal performances. A special congratulations goes out to the Charger Brigade, who took home a fantastic 2nd place finish at their competition at Evansville North High School! We are so proud of their artistry, precision, and dedication.

Keep Up the Great Momentum!

As we move toward the end of the first grading period, let's keep working hard, staying engaged, and supporting one another.

Go Chargers!

September is Attendance Awareness Month!
At Pike Central Middle High School, every day counts. Every student matters. And every day is an opportunity to learn, grow, connect and succeed. Attendance is about more than being in a seat. It’s about being present for the lessons, relationships, activities and experiences that make a difference.

Here are a few reasons every day matters:

• Chronic absence is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year — about 18 days in a typical 180-day school year.
• Nearly 1 in 4 students nationwide was chronically absent during the 2024–25 school year.
• Research consistently shows that higher attendance is associated with stronger academic achievement, while increased absences are associated with lower grades and test scores.
• September matters! Research has found that students who miss 2–4 days in September are more likely to experience chronic absence during the school year.

On Wednesday September 23. The Pike Central High School NHS and Middle School Student Government were hard at work throughout our community on the Day of Caring. The 8th graders traveled to Winslow and Petersburg Elementary to tackle some projects, while the 6th and 7th graders stayed on campus and worked here. The High Schoolers were hard at work painting at Prides Creek and helping out at Somebody's Place!

Pike Central Culinary students had the opportunity to showcase their skills at the Pike County Chamber’s Taste of Pike on Sunday the 13th!
Mrs. Hunt’s Culinary class spent time preparing everything from scratch, including 200 hand-rolled turkey and pork meatballs served with a chili and grape jelly sauce. They also made two varieties of Puffcorn Crack — traditional almond bark and a delicious Cookies & Cream version!

We were so excited to serve over 100 people throughout the event! One of our favorite parts was watching people come back for seconds… and even thirds! But even better was watching our students experience something really special—hearing people compliment the food and watching them interact with the community. There is something powerful about seeing the pride on a student’s face when someone tells them, “This is really good!" and "Do you sell these?"

These students worked hard, stepped up, and represented Pike Central Culinary so well. We are incredibly proud of them and thankful to the Pike County Chamber for giving our students the opportunity to be part of such a great community event. #WeAreChargers

📸Photo Credits: Mick Hetman

Our 6th grade Social Studies students have been busy investigating the mystery of Ötzi the Iceman! Working with partners as history detectives, students examined clues and studied scientific evidence to piece together what may have happened during Ötzi’s final days more than 5,000 years ago. After analyzing the evidence, each team developed its own theory about what happened to him.
Learning history is even more exciting when you get to solve a mystery!

Big News for our BioMed Crew!!
A huge thank you to Ariel Eck of Trilogy for stopping by to talk with our PC BioMed students about the incredible job opportunities open to them right now - while in high school! The Trilogy- Pike Central Partnership continues to grow stronger every year and student interest is off the charts! We are proud to watch our students gain real-world healthcare experience even before graduation day.

PCMS 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

Mr. Gudorf’s PCMS PE students participated in a 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb to honor the more than 400 first responders who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. As students made their way to the gym, they passed memorial cards displayed along the hallway honoring individual first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice that day. A traditional 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb consists of climbing the equivalent of 110 stories—the height of the Twin Towers, or approximately 2,200 steps. For our students, climbing the bleachers 44 times up and down represented that same distance. Today was about more than physical endurance. It was an opportunity for our students to remember, honor, and learn about the courage and sacrifice of the first responders of 9/11.

We will never forget.

Mrs. Anderson's Biology students conducted a hands-on scientific investigation testing the strength of different toilet paper brands. This wasn't just about having fun; students learned how to write a proper hypothesis, conduct a controlled experiment, collect and analyze data, and interpret results and draw evidence-based conclusions. By comparing how much weight different brands could hold before tearing, students got real practice with the scientific method in action. They discovered that science is about asking questions, testing ideas, and explaining what the evidence tells us.

The Biology classes have also been researching exciting careers in the field of biology and creating informative posters to share what they've learned! From marine biologists and genetic counselors to wildlife conservationists and medical researchers, students discovered the incredible variety of career paths available in the biological sciences.

A huge thank you to Charger Manufacturing Enterprise for creating this one-of-a-kind clock for our new School Board Room at Central Office! The students and staff surprised Superintendent Dana Deffendoll with this special project on Friday! The class used wood from the original Pike Central bleachers and laser engraved it to create this beautiful piece. We love that they even included the logo for each one of our schools! What a meaningful way to preserve a little piece of Pike Central history while creating something special for our new space. We are so proud of the creativity and hard work that went into this project!

This past weekend, the FIRST Tech Challenge had the reveal for the 2026-27 Robotics competition. Teams were shown the competition challenge that they would be facing this season. Students from various teams got together to discuss the competition, brainstorm ideas and just help each other out. That is what is so awesome about FIRST Robotics, it is a competition but also very much a community atmosphere!

Several students went with Mr. Scott to this reveal. If you know anyone who would be willing to be a mentor, please contact Mark Scott at PCHS.

Learning, creating, and having a little fun along the way!

Mrs. Mariah Poteet captured some great moments this morning as our students in English 10 Honors worked hard, and had fun, creating their very own memory jars! This creative activity wrapped up their study of the short story “1000-Year-Old Ghosts,” in which characters have the unique ability to pickle their bad memories rather than having to carry them with them. Our students put their own creative spin on the idea, and their finished memory jars will soon be displayed in the hallway for everyone to enjoy! We love seeing our students take what they’ve learned in the classroom and turn it into something creative, meaningful, and memorable!

Mr. Ziegler's Chemistry classes have been learning about chemical reactions and how to know when one has taken place. Reactions like gas bubbles, color or temperature change usually means something is changing chemically. The students then combined various chemicals given to them to determine if there was a chemical reaction taking place or not, and what the indicator was that gave it away.

Sept 21- Flex Day: No students

Sept 28- Powderpuff Football

Oct 2- Fall Homecoming

Oct 9- End of 1st grading period

Oct 14- Parent Teacher Conference: No students

Welcome Back!

• Just a friendly reminder for any new students and returning seniors, state required immunizations need to be scheduled or completed to begin the school year.
• Annual update will be available in homerooms, these forms need to be completed and signed by a parent. This form includes a consent to treat- this is required to be seen in the nurse's office outside of anything emergent.
• THIS FORM NEEDS TO BE TURNED IN WITHIN THE 1ST WEEK OF SCHOOL.
• Religious and medical exemption forms, if applicable, are available in the school nurse office.

Adult Pass: $80 each

Student Pass: $60 each

Senior Citizen: $60 each

Family Pass: Purchase 2 Adult Passes, then you can purchase Student Passes at $20 each. (one student pass per child in immediate family)

Adult Passes and Student Passes are different. Students will not be allowed to use the Adult Pass to enter the gates.

🚨Passes must be shown at EVERY event, every time!🚨

Contact the athletic department to find out how!

OUR GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY TEAM HAS QUALIFIED FOR STATE!!!

• 5 of our 7 girls also qualified INDIVIDUALLY! For team qualification, the times of the top 5 runners are added together — and our girls got it done!

• Boys: 12:15
• Girls: 13:30

• AIKEN WHITEHEAD ALSO QUALIFIED FOR STATE!!! And we aren’t finished yet! Athletes have through September 30 to qualify, and we are looking GOOD!

We are thrilled to share news that, due to the generosity of German American Bank and the community’s use of the PC Spirit Card, we are going to provide FREE Sports Passes to ALL of our K-12 students for 2026-27 Home MS/HS Events!
GO CHARGERS!

As we navigate this new opportunity together, please be aware of the following:

• We HOPE to have passes delivered to students on Tuesday, though we cannot currently make that guarantee.
• If you already purchased a Student Pass for 26-27, you will receive a refund.
• Passes will be provided for K-12 students attending PCSC schools
• The Pass is valid for all 6-12 PC home events (excludes tournaments & club events).
• Your Pass must be shown to get in. Gate is $6 to enter without a pass.
• Do not lose your Pass. A fee of $10 will be charged for re-issuing it.
• Students aged K-8 must be accompanied by an adult
• Once you leave an event, you cannot re-enter
• Students should not stay after school unsupervised prior to an event.

PCHS SWING CHOIR IS BACK!
We’re kicking off the year with our first Swing Choir performance! And before they take the stage, meet the students helping keep Swing Choir in tune and on track this year!
Swing Choir Officers

• President – Karly Gideon
• Vice President – Josh Harker
• Secretary – Jessa Ridao
• Treasurer – Charleigh Pancake
• Social Media Coordinator – Emiley Riker

The Charger Brigade competed at their 2nd competition at North HS. It was HOT and as usual North was windy, but they brought home the hardware. 2nd place! Job well done!

Pike Central High School

Principal: Mr. David Couchenour

HS Asst. Principal: Mr. Hunter Elliott

MS Asst. Principal: Mr. Randy Meece

HS Main Office: Mrs. Dawn Lehmkuhler

MS Main Office: Mrs. Dawn Biesterveld

Athletic Director: Mr. Dustin Powell

Athletic Secretary: Mrs. Kathy Kixmiller

Website: https://pchs.pcsc.k12.in.us/
Location: 1810 IN-56, Petersburg, IN 47567
Phone: (812)354-8478
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pikecentralhs/
Twitter: @PCHSChargers