MMI Preparatory School honored students for their athletic performances during the annual Upper School Awards Convocation on May 16.
MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins and Athletic Director Jason Tribbet presented the awards, along with coaches from each team.
MMI Preparatory School held its annual Upper School Awards Convocation on May 16 to honor students in ninth through 12th grades.
MMI Head of School, D. Scott Wiggins, welcomed everyone in attendance and recognized Class of 2018 Valedictorian Gabriella Kupsho and Salutatorian Aaron Harman. Stephanie Shandra Swietnicki, MMI college admissions counselor, served as emcee for the program, where more than $600,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded to students.
Mallory Brown '02 will give the Founder’s Day Address at MMI’s commencement ceremony on May 24.
After graduating from MMI, Brown attended the University of Notre Dame and majored in Political Science with a minor in German. She landed a position at Egon Zehnder, a global management consulting and executive search firm, immediately upon graduating from Notre Dame in 2006. The firm has 69 offices globally and works with companies in a variety of industries and sectors.
MMI Preparatory School inducted 32 students into the National Junior Honor Society and 26 into the National Latin Honor Society during an induction ceremony at the school.
During the ceremony, MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins welcomed the audience and the Very Reverend Lawrence Barriger, the advisor for both honor societies, gave the criteria of members, presided over the induction ceremony, and introduced the guest speaker. MMI eighth graders Benjamin Zhao and William Smith provided the processional and recessional music, respectively, for the ceremony.
Eleven MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top 10 at the Pennsylvania Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition and four students will advance to the national competition, which will be held June 28 to July 1 in Baltimore. 51 MMI students participated in the state competition.
MMI Preparatory School has announced the names of students who achieved Honor Roll status during the third quarter of the 2017-2018 school year.
MMI Preparatory School students Julia Snyder, Sydney Karpowich, and Anna Haber each won awards in the 2018 Art Youth Expo. The annual two-day art exposition was held April 6-7 in downtown Hazleton. The students submitted their art selections under the guidance of MMI art instructor Lisa Marie Ferry.
The MMI Prepper Playhouse will present The Wizard of Oz on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the MMI Athletic and Drama Complex. General admission ticket prices for all performances are $8 for adults and $6 for students. Reserved seating is available for $12 per ticket. Tickets will be available at the door or by calling the school at 570-636-1108 or e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
MMI Preparatory School junior Zachary Young, the son of Christian and Nicole Young of Freeland, will receive recognition in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program after finishing as one of the top 50,000 entrants in the country on the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
MMI Preparatory School junior Frederick Mejia, left, placed second in the Junior Division in the Wilkes University/Luzerne County Council of Teachers of Mathematics (LCCTM) content. Mejia competed against approximately 80 other students in the division. Pictured at right is Susan Moyer, MMI mathematics instructor and contest advisor.
MMI Preparatory School’s team of Rachael Betz, Alistair Plotnick, Connor Spencer, and Benjamin Zhao placed fifth out of 16 teams during the annual MATHCOUNTS competition in February. Zhao also earned the fourth highest individual score in the competition and placed fifth in the Countdown Round. Additional MMI individual competitors were Brenna Eckhart, Edgar Lopez-Rodriquez, Nathaniel Neidlinger, Frankie Martinelli, Elizabeth O'Donnell and Abigail Sparich.
Fifty of MMI Preparatory School’s 69 competitors placed first in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science competition and will advance to the state competition, which will be held May 20-21 at Penn State University’s Main Campus in State College.
MMI students presented 76 projects. Seven students finished in the top two in multiple categories. Junior Coleman Smith placed first in two math categories and recorded a perfect score in the one event. Freshman McKenna Gallagher (biology and chemistry), junior Mahum Ahmed (microbiology and math), senior Lauren Babinetz (engineering and math), and senior Joshua Kalada-Kania (botany and zoology) all placed first twice. Junior Andrew Decker was first in biology and second in math and junior Jessica McClellan finished first in behavioral and second in physics.
MMI Preparatory School inducted students into the Chinese, German, and Spanish National Honor societies during an honor societies induction ceremony at the school.
MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins welcomed those in attendance and provided closing remarks.
MMI Preparatory School inducted 27 students into the Andrew J. Stofan Chapter of the National Honor Society during an honor societies induction ceremony at the school.
MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins delivered a welcome address to the attendees and provided closing remarks. MMI English instructor and National Honor Society advisor Donna Titus presided over the induction ceremony. National Honor Society officers are: Marc Lobitz, president; Benjamin Lloyd, vice president; Wesley Guarneri, secretary; Andrew Decker, historian, and John Malay, treasurer.
MMI Preparatory School inducted students into the Science, Math, and Art National Honor societies during an honor societies induction ceremony at the school.
During the ceremony, MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins delivered a welcome address to the attendees and provided closing remarks.
Four MMI Preparatory School students placed in the 23rd annual Israel T. & Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest. The contest is sponsored jointly by the Hazleton Jewish Community Council and the Greater Hazleton Ministerial Association.
Senior Sydney Karpowich captured first place in the High School division and senior Julia Snyder placed second. Eighth grader Lucy Butkiewicz and seventh grader Jakob Narrow tied for second place in the Middle School division. MMI English instructor Jennifer Novotney and History instructor Grete Floryshak were the faculty advisers for the competition.
MMI Preparatory School, located at 154 Centre Street in Freeland, will host its annual Open House this Sunday, March 18, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and features special research projects in academic fields and the culinary arts that were created by MMI students. State Street Corporation is the event sponsor.
Visitors can view the academic projects from 2 to 4 p.m., while the culinary projects will be available to see and sample from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
The Wister Quartet, a nationally renowned and Grammy-nominated chamber ensemble, will return to MMI Preparatory School for the 15th consecutive year for a performance at the school on Monday, March 5, 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, which is free and open to the public, 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.
Eleven MMI Preparatory School students were recipients of 2018 Scholastic Writing Awards in the Northeast Writing Region-at-Large division. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12.
Senior Lauren Babinetz, the daughter of Michael and Patricia Babinetz of Jim Thorpe, received a Gold Key for her critical essay “Whistleblowers – The Only Way to Know” and will advance to the national competition. Regional Gold Key work is currently being considered for national recognition in New York City and national medalists will be announced on March 13.
MMI Preparatory School has announced the names of students who achieved Head of School List status during the first semester of the 2017-2018 school year.
Students are as follows:
MMI Preparatory School has announced the names of students who achieved Honor Roll status during the second quarter of the 2017-2018 school year.
Students are as follows:
Eighth grader Noah Poesnecker won MMI Preparatory School’s in-school competition of the National Geographic Bee and will advance in the competition for a chance to win a $50,000 college scholarship. Sixth grader Heath Williams was the runner-up in MMI’s competition.
Poesnecker is the son of Renee Poesnecker of Mountain Top and the late Devon Poesnecker. Williams is the son of Atty. Richard and Shannon Williams of Mountain Top. MMI Social Sciences instructor Grete Floryshak is the National Geographic Bee adviser.
The School National Geographic Bee, at which students answered questions on geography, was the first round in the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, a geography competition designed to inspire and reward students’ curiosity about the world.
MMI Preparatory School’s literary magazine, Angst, was ranked as Recommended for Highest Award in the nation from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) as part of its 2017 Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines (PRESLM) Awards. The latest edition of Angst was displayed at the NCTE Annual Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, in November of 2017.
MMI received a Superior score (scores of 91-100 points) in the first round of judging, which is completed by state and national judges and based on a point system. Magazines scoring 91-100 points are recommended by the state and national judges for the Highest Award. The PRESLM Advisory Committee then determines if a magazine meets enough criteria to win the honor of Highest Award.
Fifty-one of MMI Preparatory School’s 78 competitors in ninth through 12th grades advanced to compete at the Pennsylvania Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference, which will be held from April 9-11 in Hershey.
MMI competed against students from throughout Luzerne County during the FBLA Regional Leadership Conference and saw 24 students capture first place in individual and team events.
First place winners and their categories are: Jakob Schwabe (Accounting I); Alexander Kline (Business Communication); Kelisa Hysenbegasi and Mahum Ahmed (Business Ethics); Kaitlyn Bellizia (Client Service); Zachary Young (Economics); Amanda Kalada-Kania and Alyssa Sweda (Entrepreneurship); McKenna Gallagher and Sydney Kohl (Graphic Design); Elliot Blasko (Impromptu Speaking); Samantha Sparich (Business Procedures); Jacqueline Snyder (Into to Public Speaking); Julia Snyder (Job Interview); Marc Lobitz, James Lambert, and George Palermo (Management Decision Making); Katharine Pinto, Philip Byriel, and Marcus Kassick (Management Information Systems); Chava Kornblatt (Organizational Leadership); and Julie Amentler, Kimberly Amentler, and Elizabeth Borchick (Publication Design).
MMI Preparatory School’s winter Visitation Night, which was postponed on Wednesday due to inclement weather, will be held Thursday, January 18 starting at 6 p.m.
At Visitation Night, families can learn more about an MMI education, the advantages the school offers for their children, and the steps to admission which include the entrance and merit scholarship exam. Visitation Night gives students and parents an opportunity to come to MMI and explore the campus.
The event will begin with a presentation by the school’s administration. Families of children entering sixth, seventh, and eighth grade next year are encouraged to explore the value of an MMI Middle School education because several of the upper grade levels had wait lists last year.
MMI Preparatory School junior Andrew Decker, the son of Aaron Decker, Kingston, and Elizabeth and Troy Topolski, Sugarloaf, finished third in the regional Poetry Out Loud competition at the WVIA-TV studios in Pittston. Decker represented MMI for the third consecutive year and was competing against students from parts of six counties.
During the regional competition, students recited three poems each to determine the overall winner. Decker competed against students from throughout Luzerne, Lackawanna, northwestern Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and eastern Wyoming counties. The regional competition, which was held under the direction of Arts in Education in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19, will be televised in April on WVIA-TV as part of the station’s National Poetry Month celebration.
Students in 10th and 12th grades delivered presentations as part of MMI Preparatory School’s annual “Best of the Best” program during an assembly held at the school.
Sophomore Benjamin Putnam, the son of Benjamin and Andrea Putnam of Sugarloaf, was the overall “Best of the Best” winner for the first semester for his presentation entitled “The Science of Stranger Things.”
The assembly program is designed to help MMI students improve and enhance their communication skills, which are important as they progress through high school, college, and beyond.
MMI’s Relay For Life team raised $700 for the American Cancer Society with a Dance-A-Thon fundraiser it hosted at the school on December 1. Prior to the dance, team members sold t-shirts. Any student who purchased a t-shirt was permitted a dress-down day on the day of the dance.
Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s largest fundraising initiative, with volunteers in more than 5,200 communities across 27 countries gathering annually to raise money to fight cancer. All money raised benefits the American Cancer Society’s mission of funding research, education, advocacy and service programs for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers.
Three MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top ten during the recent Monroe County Mock Trial Invitational at Pocono Mountain West High School. Junior Andrew Decker topped 78 other individuals to take the title of Best Witness and senior Hunter O’Clair finished among the top 10 witnesses. Senior George Palermo placed in the top 10 for attorneys.
A total of 26 MMI students competed in the Mock Trial Invitational, which sees students take on various roles in a fictitious case, including attorney, witness, plaintiff, defendant, and timekeeper.
MMI Preparatory School students Fredrick Mejia, Alexander Sessock, Zachary Young, and Aaron Harman placed fourth as a team in the Brain Teasers event during the annual Bloomsburg University Math Contest. Susan Moyer, MMI math instructor and department chair, was the adviser for the competition.
Mejia is the son of Carlos and Esperanza Mejia, West Hazleton. Sessock is the son of Jennifer and James Denion, Freeland, and the late John Sessock. Young is the son of Christian and Nicole Young, Freeland. Harman is the son of Ronald and Yvonne Harman, Drums.
Lauren Talbott, Robert Orbin, and Nathaniel Neidlinger placed in the top three during MMI Preparatory School’s Sixth Grade Science Fair, which was held on December 1 in the MMI Cafeteria.
Talbott captured first place for her project entitled “What’s in Your Water?” Orbin was second for his project called “Veggie Power!” Neidlinger came in third for his project entitled “How Yeast Affects the Size of Bread.”
Senior Julia Snyder and junior Bailey Slusser will represent MMI Preparatory School at the state finals of the Pennsylvania School Press Association’s Student Journalism Competition. The state finals will be held on March 27, 2018, at Penn State University’s University Park campus.
Snyder and Slusser tied for first place in the Literary Magazine Artwork category during the regional competition at Penn State’s Berks campus. During the competition, students were given a poem written by a professional poet. After reading the poem, the students were tasked with creating a drawing that was relevant to the poem and would accompany the poem in the literary magazine.
Seven MMI athletes received regional recognition for their performance during the 2017 fall sports season.
Junior golfer Jessica McClellan was selected as a First Team All-Star by both the Citizen’s Voice and Times Leader newspapers. She is a two-time regional qualifier, finished as the runner-up among District 2 Class AA girls, and advanced to the state tournament this season.
The MMI Chamber Ensemble, under the direction of music instructor Christina Lizbinski, performed at the 25th annual CAN DO Community Christmas on Dec. 6. The ensemble members played three selections to open the 90-minute show that featured other musicians and choral groups from schools through the Hazleton area.
An hour-long version of the concert will be rebroadcast on WYLN-TV 35 on the following dates and times: Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 12 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m., Monday, Dec. 18 at 4 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 22 at 9 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 24 at 1 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 25 at 9 p.m.
MMI’s German language students, under the guidance of instructor Gabriela Moustardas, recently traveled to the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, where they learned about the history of the Moravian founders of Bethlehem.
The Moravians are a German-Protestant sect that dates back to the 15th century. They came to the United States in the 18th century as missionaries. A small group of Moravians founded Bethlehem in 1741 and went on to contribute a great amount to the regional culture of the city.
MMI Preparatory School’s Upper School Drama Club will present three one-act comedies during its annual An Evening of One Act Comedies on December 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. in the MMI cafeteria.
All tickets are general admission only and seating is limited. Tickets are just $5 and are available at the door the night of the show or any time before the performance at the MMI Main Office.
Students at MMI Preparatory School honored their school’s founders, Eckley Brinton Coxe, and his wife, Sophia Georgianna Coxe, during an assembly at the school and graveside service on Wednesday, giving thanks for the Coxes’ contributions to the school and the area.
Students were treated to a Thanksgiving lunch, with the Parents Association providing pies and drinks, and an all-school assembly. Senior class officers presented a history of Eckley Coxe’s life, including the mining industry and the beginning days of the Mining and Mechanical Institute, the school he founded that is now known as MMI Preparatory School. They also spoke about Sophia Coxe’s contributions and generosity to the area. At the conclusion of the assembly, the senior class officers traveled to the grounds of St. James Episcopal Church in Drifton, where they held a wreath-laying ceremony at the gravesites of Mr. and Mrs. Coxe, more than 120 years after Eckley Coxe’s death.
Speakers included Stephanie Zellner, senior class president, who provided an introduction and presented on being thankful; Caelyn McGran, senior class vice president, who provided information about Eckley Coxe; Gabriella Kupsho, senior class secretary, who spoke about Sophia Coxe; and Julia Snyder, senior class treasurer, who presented the history of MMI.
The school also welcomed back young alumni from the last six graduating years to visit with faculty, staff and students in the Joseph A. Turri ’45 Library and Learning Center.
Nine MMI students attended the Pennsylvania School Press Association’s Regional Student Journalism Competition and seminar.
Alyssa Sweda, Lauren Herman, Mahum Ahmed, Julia Snyder, Jaclyn Braunstein, Macy Zenier, Bailey Slusser, Christine Park and Kelisa Hysenbegasi traveled to the Penn State University Berk’s campus and either represented MMI in the yearbook or literary magazine competitions or attended the workshops and seminars that were held in conjunction with the competition.
Competition results are expected to be announced soon. The seminars that the students attended included one conducted by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter and another on how to take the perfect yearbook photo.
MMI Preparatory School crowned James Lambert and Caelyn McGran, pictured at center in the first row, its 2017 Harvest king and queen during the annual Harvest Dance on November 4. Additional court members are: Jaclyn Braunstein (first row far left), Julia Snyder (first row far right), Michael Badamo (second row far left) and Joseph Taylor (second row far right). Also pictured in the second row are MMI Head of School D. Scott Wiggins and MMI Parents Association representative Elizabeth Hreha.
Junior Andrew Decker captured MMI Preparatory School’s Poetry Out Loud competition for the third consecutive year and will once again represent MMI in the televised regional Poetry Out Loud competition on December 13 at the WVIA-TV studios in Pittston.
Decker won the regional competition last December and placed among the top five in Pennsylvania during the state competition this past March. He was one of only 15 students who advanced to the state finals out of a total of 7,000 students from across the state who entered the competition starting at the school level.
Contact
If you have any admissions questions, please contact:
Marci Hosier
Director of Enrollment Management & Marketing
admissions@mmiprep.org
570-636-1108
