MMI Preparatory School in Freeland, conducted its 124th Commencement Exercises on Thursday, May 19, as seniors were awarded diplomas by Stanley B. Warner III ’92, chairman of MMI’s Board of Directors.
This year’s graduating class of 31 seniors amassed more than $5.9 million in merit scholarships and awards, an average of more than $190,000 per student. The 2016 graduating class also attained an average SAT score of 1708. The Class of 2016’s average ACT score is 26.
Members of the Class of 2016 were accepted at over 90% of the colleges they applied to and will attend over 19 different colleges and universities this fall.
Brian Rosen ’75, a partner in the Business Finance and Restructuring Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Manhattan, delivered the commencement address.
During commencement exercises, valedictorian Jay P. Solgama spoke to his fellow graduates about time and how it passes more quickly as you get older, and about the impact of technology on our social interactions.
Salutatorian Sarah K. Moyer also addressed her classmates about "first impressions" and unique contributions to MMI made by the Class of 2016.
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MMI Preparatory School inducted 18 eighth-grade students into the National Junior Honor Society and 12 eighth graders into the National Latin Honor Society during a ceremony at the school.
MMI Head of School Thomas G. Hood provided opening remarks and greeted those in attendance before the ceremony. Faculty member and adviser, the Very Rev. Lawrence Barriger, presented the criteria for membership, inducted the students into the honor societies, and introduced the speaker.
Justin Richard, Esq. ’04, assistant district attorney for Luzerne County, was the guest speaker. Assistant Head of School Charles C. Seidel provided closing remarks. Benjamin Putnam, an eighth-grade student at MMI, provided music for the processional and recessional.
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MMI Preparatory School senior Karalyn Sitch, seated at center, will continue her academic and athletic careers at Immaculata University, where she will run cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field. Seated with Karalyn are her parents, from left, Rosemarie and Mark Sitch. Also pictured are, second row, from left: MMI Assistant Head of School Charles Seidel, MMI Athletic Director Jason Tribbet, MMI Cross Country Coach Jon Weaver, and MMI Head of School Thomas G. Hood.
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MMI Preparatory School Head of School Thomas G. Hood announced that Atty. Brian Rosen ’75 has accepted his invitation to deliver the Founder’s Day Address during MMI’s 124th commencement ceremonies, which will be held on Thursday, May 19 at the school.
Rosen is a 1975 MMI Preparatory School graduate and was a point guard on the school’s basketball team. He is a partner in the Business Finance and Restructuring Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Manhattan and focuses on chapter 11 bankruptcy (through pre-packaged and in-court solicitations) and out-of-court debt restructurings, acquisitions of distressed companies or assets, and the collection of sovereign indebtedness.
Rosen has been recognized several times as a “Best Lawyer” by Best Lawyers in America for his work in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. He was named a “Recommended” lawyer for Corporate Restructuring, including Bankruptcy, in the United States by The Legal 500 USA.
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Five MMI Preparatory School juniors will receive 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program recognition after placing among the top 50,000 out of 1.5 million participants on the qualifying test.
Ali Aijaz, Anirban Chowdhury, Allison McGeehan, Samuel Sessock, and Nicholas Young finished among the top 50,000 nationwide on the Preliminary SAT (PSAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT). All five students recorded a Selection Index score of 209 or above and have the opportunity to be one of the 16,000 students who will be named National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists in September.
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Five MMI Preparatory School teams finished in the top 15 overall out of 36 teams at the 2016 Luzerne County Envirothon.
The Luzerne County Conservation District coordinates and sponsors the Envirothon, an annual environmental competition for high school students in grades 9-12, each spring. It tests their knowledge of the environment with five 100-point tests: Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife, and a Current Topic. A cumulative score is tabulated based on the performance in those five tests.
The team of Joshua Kalada-Kania, Samuel Sessock, Taylor Peluso, Sarah Moyer, and Jay Solgama captured first place with 410 out of a possible 500 points and clinched the top category in the individual components of Aquatics, Current Topic, Soils, and Wildlife. They will represent Luzerne County in the two-day Pennsylvania Envirothon on May 24 and 25 at Susquehanna University.
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Elliot Blasko, pictured in the second row at left, won the overall title in MMI Preparatory School’s Spring Best of the Best competition for his speech entitled “How to Be Funny.” Each MMI student in grades 7-12 makes at least one appearance in an assembly program each school year. The best student performances from each semester's assemblies, chosen by the MMI faculty, are presented to a joint assembly of both upper school and middle school students to determine the "Best of the Best." Additional Best of the Best competitors and their assembly presentations were, first row, from left: Irene Altmiller, “Number 32: Christian Laettner;” Kaitlyn McGeehan, “The Human Memory;” and Jacqueline Snyder, “Lucy the Elephant.” Second row: Elliot Blasko and Eric Degenhart, “Liberty of Babel.”
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MMI Preparatory School senior Nash Wenner finished 26th in the nation in the Junior Men’s (16-17-year-old) boardercross division at the 27th annual United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) National Championships at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado.
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MMI Preparatory School junior Danielle Pileggi is one of only 160 students worldwide who were recently selected from hundreds of applicants to attend this year’s Leadership in the Business World program offered by Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Pileggi, the daughter of Daniel and Sandra Pileggi of Albrightsville, will attend the highly-selective program from July 3 to July 30 on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus in Philadelphia.
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MMI Preparatory School juniors Ali Aijaz and Anirban Chowdhury were recently accepted into the summer 2016 Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences.
The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences (PGSS), which is hosted by Carnegie Mellon University, was established in order to provide a summer enrichment experience in the sciences and mathematics for talented Pennsylvania high school students and to encourage them to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics. The program provides instruction in biological sciences, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science, with emphasis on collaborative learning and team research.
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Thirteen MMI Preparatory School students and two faculty members recently completed a 10-day educational European tour of Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The group learned about the culture, history, geography and people of each region and sampled traditional European meals.
Seniors William Bower, Samanta Cottone, Brian Galbiati and Sarah Moyer; juniors Ali Aijaz, Niklas Byriel, Garrett Kost, Anna Olivieri, Keenan Overa, Dylan Slusser and Jacob Weiksner and sophomores Nicolo Cottone and Joseph Taylor attended the trip. T.R. Laputka, MMI IT Director, and Gabriela Moustardas, MMI world language department chair and German instructor, were the faculty advisers. The trip was planned in conjunction with educational tour company EF Education Tours.
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MMI Preparatory School students Allison McGeehan and Abigail Walters captured first place in their respective divisions in the 21st annual Israel T. and Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest, which is sponsored jointly by the Hazleton Jewish Community Council and the Greater Hazleton Ministerial Association.
Allison McGeehan, a junior and the daughter of Thomas and Sandra McGeehan of Drums, was first in the high school division. Abigail Walters, an eighth grade student and the daughter of Teisha and Christopher Hardy of White Haven, finished first in the middle school division. Both students will read their winning entries and receive their awards prizes at the Hazleton Holocaust Community Service on May 4 at Beth Israel Temple in Hazleton. MMI English instructor Jennifer Novotney was the faculty adviser for the competition.
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MMI Preparatory School seniors Desiree Dinko and Edward Herbener recently announced they will continue their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level in the fall of 2016.
Desiree Dinko will continue her academic and athletic careers at Immaculata University, where she will be a pitcher on the softball team.
Edward Herbener will continue his academic and athletic careers at Bloomsburg University, where he will be a pitcher on the baseball team.
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Ten MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top three within the school’s competition on the Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competition 8 (AMC 8). The annual AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills.
In the eighth grade competition, Grant Warren placed first, Philip Byriel and Marcus Kassick were second and Kai Mele, Adam Tron and Abigail Walters finished third. In the seventh grade competition, MMI’s overall school winner Charles Dick placed first, Hannah Falatko and Kevin McNulty were second and Hunter Blasko came in third.
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MMI Preparatory School recently held a student induction ceremony for the Spanish, Chinese and German national honor societies.
Head of School Thomas G. Hood welcomed those in attendance to open the ceremony and MMI Spanish instructor Dennis Clarke served as guest speaker. Clarke, who has been teaching at MMI since 1979, is the founder of the school’s Pablo Picasso Chapter of the Spanish Honor Society and began MMI’s annual piñata contest.
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MMI Preparatory School will host its annual Open House on Sunday, April 17 from 2:00-4:30 P.M. The public is invited to attend the event where students will showcase their projects.
Each year, MMI students are challenged with preparing special research projects, which are displayed at Open House. Students in grades six through 12 will display, explain, and demonstrate their projects in classrooms and locations throughout the school.
Visitors will be able to observe a variety of student projects in the areas of literature, mathematics, science, and social studies. In addition, food projects prepared primarily by world language students will be featured. The food, which will be available for sampling, will be served in an atmosphere authentic to the nation of the food’s origin.
Non-food projects are open to the public from 2:00-4:00 P.M., and culinary projects are open to the public from 2:30-4:30 P.M.
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MMI Preparatory School announced that junior Jessica Smith, the daughter of Jonathan Smith and Beatrice Russo-Smith of White Haven, will also participate in the Pennsylvania School for Global Entrepreneurship this July at Lehigh University.
Jessica Smith and classmates Katherine Eschenbach and Keenan Overa will be among 76 students from around the world who will participate in the four-week learning experience.
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The University of Pennsylvania will present a free mock admissions committee workshop to help area families and local college/school counselors learn more about the admissions process at selective universities on Sunday, May 1 at 3:00 P.M. in the Joseph A. Turri ’45 Library and Learning Center on MMI’s campus at 154 Centre Street in Freeland.
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MMI Preparatory School Head of School Thomas G. Hood has announced the names of students who achieved Honor Roll status during the third quarter of the 2015-2016 school year.
The Honor Roll recognizes sound academic performance each quarter. To earn a place on the Honor Roll, a student must have a cumulative average in all core subjects of 85, have attained an average of 70 or better in each course, have no “incompletes” at the end of the nine-week grading period, be enrolled in a complete schedule of courses, and have a satisfactory citizenship record.
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MMI Preparatory School chamber ensemble students performed three songs they helped compose with the nationally renowned Wister Quartet during the Grammy-nominated ensemble’s visit to the school last month.
This is the 13th consecutive year that the Wister Quartet has performed at MMI. The performance was made possible through the support of Dr. James W. Feussner ’65 in memory of Elizabeth Feussner.
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