MMI Preparatory School in Freeland conducted its 127th commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 23 as seniors were awarded diplomas by MMI Acting Head of School William A. Shergalis, Ph.D. ’58 and Chairman of the Board of Directors John H. Hersker ’76.
MMI 2019 graduate Summer Evancho will continue her academic and volleyball careers at Marywood University.
MMI 2019 graduate Matthew Marchetti will continue his academic and basketball careers at Misericordia University.
MMI Preparatory School announced the dedication of its softball field as Warner Field during a ceremony Friday at the school. The name follows a donation of $250,000 from the Warner Family, a four-generation MMI family.
Forty-five MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top 26 during the regional Envirothon competition, including the team of Alexander Sessock, Kaitlyn McGeehan, Kai Mele, Dominique Kline, and Benjamin Putnam, who captured first place in the event. The winning team will represent MMI and Luzerne County at the Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition on May 21-22 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Johnstown campus.
Andrew Krzywicki Straw ’75, the global portfolio manager for fiber optic connectivity product development for Corning Incorporated and a retired Army Reserve Colonel, will serve as the commencement speaker at MMI’s 2019 Commencement Ceremony on May 23.
In his role at Corning, Straw manages a portfolio of more than 50 development projects for fiber-to-the-home, data center, and distributed antenna system products. He has worked in the fiber optic communications industry for more than 30 years in a variety of engineering and management roles, including applications and field engineering, manufacturing, and research and development.
The MMI Preparatory School Board of Directors announced today that Justin S. Kleinheider has been appointed as MMI’s new Head of School beginning on July 1.
Kleinheider is a New Jersey native with nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools. He comes to MMI from Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School in Joplin, Missouri, where he oversees the liberal arts, college preparatory curricular program in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. In addition to curricular oversight, Kleinheider works directly with faculty on professional development and is an active participant in daily student life. He led the school’s accreditation process and self-study for ISACS (Independent School Association of Central States) and served on accreditation visiting teams for several independent schools, most recently co-chairing a visiting team.
MMI Preparatory School inducted 17 eighth-grade students into the National Junior Honor Society and 13 students into the National Latin Honor Society during a ceremony at the school.
MMI Preparatory School has announced the names of students who achieved Honor Roll status during the third quarter of the 2018-2019 school year.
MMI Preparatory School students completed community service projects at nine locations throughout Greater Hazleton to honor a late MMI alumna as part of the annual Athena Ford ’01 Day of Service.
Athena Ford was a 2001 MMI graduate who passed away on October 23, 2016, as a result of complications sustained in an automobile collision where she was a seat-belted passenger and suffered a traumatic brain injury. The Athena S. Ford ’01 Endowed Fund for Community Service was established in 2017 by members of the MMI Class of 2001 as a way to honor Ford. This fund is restricted by MMI to be used solely for expenses needed to establish and perpetuate The Athena Ford ’01 Day of Service. Each year, on a designated day of service, all MMI students will volunteer in the community to accomplish service projects by grade level in Athena’s memory.
Thirteen MMI Preparatory School students in the German Language program participated in German Day at Penn State University’s Main Campus.
Senior Daniel DeMelfi placed first in Level 3 Spelling. The Trivia Team of Anna Hoxha, Paige Matchick, Natalie Graham, Morgan Hosier, Louis DeAngelo, Reiley DeStefano, Daniel DeMelfi, Elias Bachman, Peter Walko, Dustin Paul, Allain Benetiz, Joshua Galbiati, and Althea Stewart tied for first place.
Sophomore Louis DeAngelo was second in Level 2 Spelling and freshman Allain Benitez finished 3rd in Level 1 Poetry.
Fifty-two MMI Preparatory School students attended the Pennsylvania FBLA State Leadership Conference, which was held from April 8-9 in Hershey. Seven students placed in the top 10 and five of those students will represent MMI at the National Leadership Conference, which will be held in July in San Antonio, Texas.
MMI Preparatory School announced that Wyoming Valley BMW will serve as the event sponsor for its Parents Association Designer Bag Bingo, which will be held on Sunday on the MMI campus at 154 Centre Street in Freeland. Doors open at noon and bingo games begin at 1 p.m. Tickets are $25 and will be available at the door.
Twenty MMI Preparatory School students, four faculty and staff members, and two parents visited Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai during a nine-day educational tour of China. The tour, which was coordinated by Education First Tours, was led by T.R. Laputka and chaperoned by MMI faculty members Christina Spencer, Michael Mele, and Christine Lizbinski.
MMI Preparatory School has limited openings for the next school year in grades 6 though 10 and will conduct an Entrance Exam on Saturday, May 18 on the MMI campus at 154 Centre Street in Freeland.
Five MMI Preparatory School students completed several community service projects across Greater Hazleton as members of the 2018-19 Junior Leadership Hazleton class.
Juniors Carter Frask, Catherine Havrilla, Madyson Hornack, Josiah Pacchioli, and Benjamin Putnam joined other students from schools throughout Greater Hazleton to carry out the projects. The class members are assigned a team who then prepares a project. The project teaches students about delegation of power, how to work together to achieve a goal, and ways they can bring some joy to parts of the community.
Four MMI Preparatory School students received awards in the 24th annual Israel T. & Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest, marking the first time in the history of the contest that one school won all four awards in the Middle School and High School categories.
Eighth grader Jakob Narrow placed first in the Middle School division and junior Adam Tron won the High School division. Eighth grader Lauren Urosevich was second in the Middle School category and senior Wesley Guarneri was second in the High School category.
Motivational speakers group Be a Hero, LLC, returned to MMI and gave two presentations to the students about the impact bullying has on our schools, neighborhoods, and individuals.
Lisa Marie Ferry, MMI Dean of Students and art instructor, played an integral role in bringing the program back to MMI. The organization’s unique perspective, action plan for every member of the bullying cycle, and unmatched ignition to make change puts Sweethearts and Heroes at the top of the list when it comes to changing schools’ climates.
MMI Preparatory School recently inducted students into the Art, Mathematics, and Science National Honor societies during a ceremony at the school.
MMI Preparatory School recently inducted students into the Chinese, German, and Spanish National Honor societies during a ceremony at the school.
Forty-one MMI Preparatory School students were inducted into the Andrew J. Stofan Chapter of the National Honor Society during MMI’s Honor Societies induction ceremony at the school.
MMI English instructor and National Honor Society advisor Donna Titus presided over the induction ceremony. National Honor Society officers are: Alexander Sessock, president; Keefer Hoover, vice president; Elise Hreha, secretary; Zachary Young, treasurer, and David Antolick, Historian.
MMI Prepper Playhouse will present “The New Mel Brooks Musical, Young Frankenstein” on Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m. in the MMI Athletic and Drama Complex.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students and $12 for reserved seating. To reserve seats, please call the office (570) 636-1108 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Fifty-nine MMI students presented during the 58th annual Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) Regional II competition at Wilkes University.
Thirty-six of those students earned first awards and will advance to the PJAS State Competition, which will be held May 19-21 at Penn State’s University Park campus.
Additionally, MMI received 23 second awards and one third award.
MMI senior Frederick Mejia placed first in the individual competition and joined classmates Brian Payne, Zachary Young, Alexander Sessock, Daniel DeMelfi, Wesley Guarneri, Alexander Kline and Coleman Smith to capture the top prize in the team event at the 71st annual Luzerne County Council of Teachers of Mathematics (LCCTM) contest, which was held recently at Wilkes University.
The Wister Quartet, a nationally renowned and Grammy-nominated chamber ensemble, will perform at MMI Preparatory School for the 16th consecutive year on Monday, April 1 at 7 p.m..
The concert is sponsored by Dr. James W. Feussner ’65 in memory of Elizabeth Feussner and The Sowers & Turri Music and Arts Fund of the Luzerne Foundation.
The performance is free and open to the public and will be held in the Athletics and Drama Complex on the MMI campus at 154 Centre St., Freeland. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
MMI Preparatory School, located at 154 Centre Street in Freeland, will hold its annual Open House event this Sunday, March 24, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
The annual event, which is free and open to the public, gives MMI students the opportunity to showcase their academic and culinary arts projects. State Street Corporation is the event sponsor for the second year.
MMI Preparatory School Acting Head of School Dr. William A. Shergalis recently announced two administrative changes at the school. Justin Vincent was named to the newly-created position of Academic Dean and will have all duties related to academic matters and Lisa Marie Ferry was named to the newly-created position of Dean of Students and will have responsibility for student discipline, dress code, and general student comportment.
Between them, Vincent and Ferry will be handling all responsibilities previously assigned to the Assistant Head of School, and therefore the Assistant Head of School position has been eliminated.
MMI Preparatory School recently implemented the “Safe2Say Something” anonymous reporting system in conjunction with a school safety initiative organized by the Office of the Attorney General. In 2018, the General Assembly passed Act 44 mandating the establishment and use of the “Safe2Say Something” anonymous reporting system by every Pennsylvania school entity. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has established “Safe2Say Something” and will manage and maintain the program. The OAG is organizing the program in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise, a leader in anonymous reporting systems, who is building out the app, website, and PA-based 24/7 Crisis Center platform.
MMI Preparatory School senior Nicholas Carrato was recently awarded the 2019 Jeff Patterson Scholarship from the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association (AEMCA).
The scholarship is presented to a qualified high school senior who plans to pursue a career in logistics. Carrato, the son of Dr. Anthony and Carmine Carrato of Hazleton, plans to attend the Penn State Smeal School of Business to major in logistics and supply chain management.
MMI Preparatory School has announced the names of students who achieved Head of School list status during the first semester of the 2018-2019 school year.
MMI Preparatory School has announced the names of students who achieved Honor Roll status during the second quarter of the 2018-2019 school year.
MMI sophomore Katherine Lewandowski took second place in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) state-level Voice of Democracy competition. Lewandowski was one of 24 winners out of the more than 3,000 essay entries received at the district level.
MMI Preparatory School’s 2017-2018 edition of the Angst Literary Magazine received a Superior ranking in the 2018 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) Program.
MMI Preparatory School sophomore Darren Zheng participated in a special, state-only project and earned the right to advance to the Pennsylvania Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Leadership Conference based on his work in the Computer Game and Simulation competitive event.
Zheng, the son of De and Hongzhi Zheng of Jim Thorpe, was one of 15 finalists in the preliminary round who advanced to the final round of the competition. MMI Social Sciences instructor Katherine Zucco is the FBLA advisor. The PA FBLA State Leadership Conference will be held from April 8-10 in Hershey.
MMI Preparatory School senior Alexander Kline and junior Andrellie Puntiel received Honorable Mentions in the Scholastic Writing Awards competition.
Kline, the son of Dr. Gerard and Cathy Kline of Mountaintop, won in the Critical Essay category for his piece entitled "The Four Frankensteins - Character Duplication and the Gothic Doppelganger in Frankenstein." Puntiel, the daughter of Jose and Yesenia Rivera of Hazleton and Pedro Puntiel of Monroe, NJ, captured the award in the Poetry category for her poem "The 21st Century." MMI English instructor Jennifer Novotney served as the advisor for the competition.
Michael Kranyak captured first place in MMI Preparatory School’s sixth grade science fair. Kranyak won for his project entitled “Are Permanent Markers Really Permanent?”
Danical Karlick was the runner-up for her project “Gel Polish vs. Traditional Polish” and Kendall Orozco finished third for her project “The Birthday Paradox.”
MMI Preparatory School received a $1,000 contribution from FNCB Bank through the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program that the school will use to support need-based scholarships for students. The EITC program is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
MMI Preparatory School seventh grade student Heath Williams won the school’s National Geographic GeoBee competition and eighth grader Jakob Narrow placed second.
Williams will now take an online qualifying test for entrance into the state competition. MMI Social Sciences instructor Grete Floryshak served as MMI’s GeoBee coordinator and the moderator for the competition. MMI faculty members Rev. Lawrence Barriger, Christine Lizbinski, and Laurie Mele were the scorekeepers.
MMI Preparatory School junior Benjamin Putnam placed third out of 11 string bass musicians at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District Orchestra Festival seating auditions and will advance to the Northeast Region Orchestra Festival in February. He prepared for the audition under the guidance of MMI music instructor Christine Lizbinski.
James Kelly captured first place in MMI Preparatory School’s annual Spanish II Piñata contest.
Kelly, the son of James and Chris Kelly of Mountaintop, won the contest for his rendition of Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi’s jersey. Gregory Leonard, the son of Gregory and Karen Leonard of Hazle Township, placed second for his Venezuelan Devil. Ryan McNelis, the son of Atty. Edward and Florence McNelis of Conyngham, was third for his Cuban missile piñata.
Contact
If you have any admissions questions, please contact:
Marci Hosier
Director of Enrollment Management & Marketing
admissions@mmiprep.org
570-636-1108
