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 Olivia Minzola, senior class secretary, who presented a history of MMI Preparatory School; Dana Carrato, senior class president, who provided information about Sophia Coxe; Nicholas Young, senior class treasurer, who spoke about Eckley Coxe; and Kevin Cibak, senior class vice president, who talked about the meaning of Thanksgiving. The Rev. Lawrence Barriger, MMI faculty member, provided closing remarks.
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.
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Sophomore Andrew Decker won MMI Preparatory School’s Poetry Out Loud competition for the second consecutive year and will represent MMI in the televised regional Poetry Out Loud competition on December 7 at the WVIA-TV studios in Pittston. Senior Gabriella DeMelfi placed second and junior Chava Kornblatt finished third.
Andrew Decker is the son of Aaron Decker, Kingston, and Elizabeth and Troy Topolski, Sugarloaf. Gabriella DeMelfi is the daughter of Daniel and Esme DeMelfi of Hazleton, and Chava Kornblatt is the daughter of Joseph and Georgia Kornblatt of Kingston.
Jennifer Novotney, Katherine Zucco and Madison Below served as judges and Novotney is the MMI Poetry Out Loud faculty adviser.
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MMI Preparatory School recently inducted 43 new members of the Andrew J. Stofan Chapter of the National Honor Society during a ceremony at the school.
MMI Interim Head of School D. Scott Wiggins welcomed guests and adviser and faculty member Donna Titus gave opening remarks and introduced the guest speaker, Captain Charles Stoffa ’88.
During the induction ceremony, chapter officers gave presentations on the criteria of the National Honor Society for its membership. Historian Gabriella Kupsho presented the history of the National Honor Society, Secretary Stephanie Zellner spoke about service, Treasurer Nicholas Young talked about scholarship, Vice President Lois Polashenski gave a speech on character and President Samuel Sessock spoke about leadership and inducted the new members.
Adviser and faculty member Katherine Zucco recognized the junior and senior members and gave closing remarks. MMI senior Gabriella DeMelfi provided musical accompaniment.
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MMI Preparatory School crowned Lacee Gera and Kisan Patel, pictured at center in the first row, its 2016 Harvest Queen and King during MMI’s annual Harvest Dance on Nov. 5. Additional court members were Elizabeth Pinto (first row far left), Erin Sari (first row far right), Garrett Kost (second row far left) and Keenan Overa (second row far right). Also pictured in the second row are MMI Interim Head of School D. Scott Wiggins and Parent Association representative Andrea Putnam.
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The Freeland American Legion honored MMI Preparatory School senior Garrett Kost following his attendance at the Pennsylvania American Legion’s Keystone Boys State program this past summer. Garrett Kost is the son of Joseph and Natalie Kost of Freeland.
Keystone Boys’ State is a week-long program held at Shippensburg University where rising high school senior boys from across the state gather to learn about Pennsylvania’s system of government. The 250 participants were divided into eight simulated cities, two simulated counties, and one simulated state. The students learned how to draft city laws and ordinances as well as the process of attempting to pass bills in counties and the state House of Representatives and Senate.
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MMI Preparatory School will hold fall Visitation Night on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 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 the small class sizes and individual attention at MMI. They will also get details about the school’s curriculum, which includes Advanced Placement classes, financial aid, athletics and extracurricular activities. Light refreshments will be offered. Families will also have the opportunity to tour the campus.
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MMI student-athletes Dana Carrato and Garrett Kost were recently named the school’s winners for the prestigious Wendy’s High School Heisman award which highlights exceptional high school seniors and their achievements in the classroom, on the field, and in the community.
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MMI Preparatory School inducted 23 new members into the Science National Honor Society and 16 new members into the Mathematics National Honor Society during a ceremony at the school.
During the ceremony, Assistant Head of School Charles Seidel welcomed guests, and National Science Honor Society Advisor Michael Mele introduced the officers of the two honor societies. Jonathan Smith, president of MMI’s Mathematics National Honor Society chapter, and Ali Aijaz, president of the MMI’s Science National Honor Society chapter, each gave a speech. National Math Honor Society Advisor Susan Moyer introduced the guest speaker, William Van Horn ’98. MMI Interim Head of School D. Scott Wiggins gave closing remarks. Skyler Stabin provided piano accompaniment.
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MMI Preparatory School seniors Garrett Kost and Danielle Pileggi will be featured on WVIA-TV Artist of the Week segments and are among the finalists for the WVIA Artist of the Year Award.
Garrett Kost and Danielle Pileggi visited the WVIA studios in Pittston to record a one-minute Artist of the Week piece that will appear on WVIA-TV the week of Jan. 15-21 and online at wvia.org for a year.
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The Wister Quartet, a nationally-renowned and Grammy-nominated chamber ensemble, opened their 2016-2017 season with a premiere performance of a song composed by students from MMI Preparatory School.
The Wister Quartet, along with guitarist Allen Krantz, performed “Song for Peace,” which MMI students composed last fall, on October 17 for the 1807 & Friends Concert series at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. The concert featured music of famous composers such as Boccherini, Barrios and Brahms, as well as a world premiere from Frank James Staneck, in addition to the professional premiere of “Song for Peace.”
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Students taking the SAT and ACT examinations in preparation for college applications may do so at MMI Preparatory School in Freeland. The school is a certified testing center for both examinations this year.
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Five MMI Preparatory School seniors were recognized as Semifinalists or Commended Students in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Ali Aijaz, Anirban Chowdhury, Allison McGeehan and Nicholas Young were among a national field of just 16,000 students to be named Semifinalists, while Samuel Sessock was among only 34,000 individuals who were selected as Commended Students in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
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MMI Preparatory School seniors Anirban Chowdhury, the son of Bhaskar and Saumitri Chowdhury of Hazle Township, and Ali Aijaz, the son of Fakhruddin and Dr. Naghma Aijaz of Mountaintop, attended the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University this summer. The pair joined high school students from across the state to complete research and problem-solving projects.
The Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences is an annual summer enrichment program for rising high school seniors. The program hosts some of the state’s brightest students for five weeks and provides them with course work and lab work in biology, chemistry, physics, computer science and mathematics.
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MMI Preparatory School held its 11th annual Wall of Fame dinner on Saturday, September 17, welcoming four new members to its Wall of Fame.
Established in 2006, the MMI Wall of Fame honors alumni in addition to past faculty, staff, and board members who have distinguished themselves in the areas of athletics, business, sciences, education, government, public service, the arts, or humanities. Wall of Fame inductees are selected in the following categories: Athletic Achievement, Community Service, Service to MMI, and Professional Achievement.
During this year’s dinner and awards ceremony, the following inductees joined the Wall of Fame: John E. Hollis ’64 (Athletic Achievement), Lewis J. Matuella ’77 (Athletic Achievement), the late Dr. Thomas J. Conahan ’26 (Community Service), and Llewellyn F. Dryfoos, III ’82 (Community Service).
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MMI Preparatory School art instructor Lisa Marie Ferry recently earned the prestigious Master of Arts degree in Art Education with an Emphasis in Special Populations from Moore College of Art and Design. It is the only degree of its kind in the country and they are very selective in the application process. The rigorous program trains and empowers art educators to develop skills for adapting and implementing strategies that enrich the lives of all learners.
Once accepted into the master’s program, candidates develop and test innovative techniques through their action-based research in a field setting, while critically assessing art education policies and documenting the study of contemporary art education issues for diverse learners.
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MMI Preparatory School seniors Keenan Overa, Katherine Eschenbach and Jessica Smith were among a select group of students from 20 different countries who attended the month-long Pennsylvania School for Global Entrepreneurship at Lehigh University in July.
The program is open to sophomores and juniors ages 15-18, who were selected to attend during the 2015-2016 school year. The Global Entrepreneurship program exposed the students to the topics of entrepreneurship, globalization, team building, project management, leadership and working within a culturally diverse environment and ignited the students’ spirit of creativity, innovation and learning.
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The MMI Preparatory School campus was full of activity this summer and students saw multiple facility upgrades both inside and outside the school when they returned to classes on August 23 to open the 2016-17 school year.
Highlights of the facility improvements include ongoing construction on a new multi-purpose building near MMI’s athletic fields, improved drainage at the baseball and softball fields and new display cases outside the library to house Native American artifacts that were donated by an MMI alumnus.
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MMI Preparatory School rising sophomore Jessica McClellan, the daughter of Bruce and Patricia McClellan of Freeland, scored a 94 to capture the Girls 9-10 grade division of the Wyoming Valley Country Club Invitational at the Wyoming Valley Country Club in Wilkes-Barre. McClellan defeated five other golfers in her first year competing in the annual event. The tournament has four divisions for boys and girls in grades 9-10 and 11-12.
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MMI Preparatory School rising senior Garrett Kost, the son of Joseph and Natalie Kost of Freeland, was selected to attend the Pennsylvania American Legion Keystone Boys State civic leadership program at Shippensburg University. More than 230 rising high school seniors from across Pennsylvania attended the weeklong program in June.
The students learned about leadership, state and local government and civic participation. Participants are among the best and brightest of Pennsylvania’s future leaders.
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Four MMI Preparatory School students competed at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Rising senior Allison McGeehan placed fifth in the nation for Business Law.
McGeehan was one of 55 Pennsylvania students to earn a national award. She will serve the state chapter on the Executive Committee as the Pennsylvania FBLA State Reporter for 2016-2017. Of her experience, McGeehan said, “Getting to spend a week in Atlanta with both my MMI and state office families was really amazing, and the pride I felt representing not only my school but all of Pennsylvania FBLA on the national stage is something I will never forget."
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