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.
Read more ...
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.”
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
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.
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School art instructor Lisa Marie Ferry was honored with the 2017 Pennsylvania Art Education Association Outstanding Non-Public Art Educator Award and delivered a presentation at the 2017 Pennsylvania Art Education Association (PAEA) conference, which was held in October in Pittsburgh.
Earlier this year, Ferry was selected to receive the 2017 Pennsylvania Art Education Association Outstanding Non-Public Art Educator Award. The award recognizes exemplary contributions, achievements and service to art education at the state, regional and national levels. It is given on behalf of the PAEA Awards Committee and PAEA Board. She received the award at the conference.
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School has announced the names of students who achieved Honor Roll status during the first quarter of the 2017-2018 school year.
Students are as follows:
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School will hold its fall Visitation Night on Wednesday, Nov. 15, starting at 6 p.m. where families can learn more about an MMI education and the advantages the school offers for their children. Visitation Night gives students and parents an opportunity to come to MMI and explore the campus.
Families will learn about MMI’s proven record of success with preparing students for college and beyond. They will also get details about the school’s curriculum, which includes Advanced Placement classes, financial aid, athletics and extracurricular activities. The school will offer light refreshments. Families will also have the opportunity to talk with current students, parents, faculty, and staff.
Read more ...
Debra Minzola, PhD, MSN, CRNA, program director at the Geisinger Health System/Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Nurse Anesthesia Program, recently visited MMI Preparatory School to provide 10th and 11th grade students with a hands-on information session designed to help them learn about becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).
Minzola, along with Assistant Program Director Shannon Slabinski, MSN, CRNA and nine graduate students, set up multiple stations for hands-on experience, including two stations with heads for intubations, a gowning and gloving station, and a station for epidural and spinal puncture.
During the program, the students watched a video on what it’s like to be a nurse anesthetist and Minzola delivered a presentation where she discussed what a CRNA is, identified the requirements for becoming a CRNA and informed the students on how they could locate information on one of the 116 nurse anesthesia educational programs that are available across the country.
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School students completed community service projects at six locations throughout Greater Hazleton to honor a late MMI alumna for the inaugural Athena S. Ford ’01 Day of Service.
Athena S. 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. “Athena was one of the most self-less individuals I had ever met. She was always the first to help someone in need, to advocate for those who could not speak for themselves or to be part of an environmental or global cause,” said Nina C. Zanon ’01, a classmate of Athena’s. “This fund is a perfect way to keep Athena’s passion for serving others alive right here in her home community.” This fund is restricted by MMI to be used solely for expenses needed to establish and perpetuate The Athena S. Ford ’01 Day of Service. Each fall, 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.
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School senior Aaron Harman was named as a Semifinalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Harman, the son of Ronald and Yvonne Harman of Drums, is among a national field of just 16,000 students to be named Semifinalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School’s Interact Club collected much-needed school supplies for Humble Middle School in Humble, Texas, and partnered with the Freeland Fire Department to organize a collection drive of non-perishable food and other supplies for Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas.
Interact Club members reached out to MMI students, faculty, staff, and friends of the school to collect 12 boxes, which weighed more than 350 pounds, of school supplies that were shipped to Humble Middle School. New MMI faculty member, Robert Olive, grew up and taught middle school in Humble, which was one of the areas that was most drastically affected by the hurricane.
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School junior Joel Cruz received the Raymond G. Weber award during the Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW) program, which was held in July at Lycoming College in Williamsport. The program is presented by the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education.
The Raymond G. Weber award, which is rarely given at PFEW, is the only individual student award ever presented during the program. It is named after one of the founders of PFEW, whose passion and vision made the program what it is today. The award is presented to students who rise above extraordinary challenges, exhibit remarkable courage when faced with adversity and makes a profound impact on their teammates and all those around them.
Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW) is a unique summer program that offers incoming high school juniors and seniors an intensive and challenging opportunity to see what it is like to run their own business. Participants create an imaginary management team and learn first-hand about the American free enterprise system. The students develop their own marketing strategies for their businesses, design a website and make all the decisions that are demanded of real life company executives.
Read more ...
MMI Preparatory School seventh graders Jakob Narrow and John Schwear III received recognition and will have their artwork exhibited as part of the 2017 International Interdependence Hexagon Project competition.
For the competition, which was completed during the 2016-17 school year, Narrow and Schwear competed in the Elementary Division (grades 4-6) in the 2-D category, which indicated a single student worked to create a two-dimensional hexagon. Narrow won the award for Most Effective All-Over Interpretation, while Schwear was an honorable mention selection in the Most Relevant Interdependence Theme category.
The International Interdependence Hexagon Project is a visual arts opportunity for young people ages 4 to 18 worldwide that is based out of Scranton. The annual project asks young people to create art within the infinitely inter-linking shape of a hexagon, a metaphor for interconnectedness. Entrants are asked to create their art in relation to the theme of our interconnectedness and acting interdependently. The symbol of the hexagon was used for the 11th consecutive year as a format to explore ideas about interdependence.
Read more ...
