MMI News

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 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.

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.

Senior Alyssa Sweda and sophomore Katherine Lewandowski tied for first place as MMI Preparatory School’s “Best of the Best” for the first semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. As part of the biannual competition, 10th and 12th grade students delivered presentations during an all-school assembly.

MMI Preparatory School received a $500 grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation that will be used toward the purchase an X-Carve machine for the school’s science department. Liberty Petroleum Distributors nominated the school for the grant. The X-Carve is a multi-axis milling machine that can automatically carve very detailed pieces from a variety of materials, including wood, plastic, acrylic, and aluminum. Michael Mele, MMI Science Department chair, said many students will have an opportunity to use the device.