MMI Preparatory School announces dedication of softball field as Warner Field

MMI Preparatory School announced the dedication of its softball field as Warner Field during a ceremony Friday at the school. The name follows a donation of $250,000 from the Warner Family, a four-generation MMI family.

MMI Preparatory School wins regional Envirothon competition and teams featuring 45 students place in top 26

Forty-five MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top 26 during the regional Envirothon competition, including the team of Alexander Sessock, Kaitlyn McGeehan, Kai Mele, Dominique Kline, and Benjamin Putnam, who captured first place in the event. The winning team will represent MMI and Luzerne County at the Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition on May 21-22 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Johnstown campus.

Andrew Straw ’75 will deliver speech at MMI Preparatory School’s 2019 commencement ceremony

Andrew Krzywicki Straw ’75, the global portfolio manager for fiber optic connectivity product development for Corning Incorporated and a retired Army Reserve Colonel, will serve as the commencement speaker at MMI’s 2019 Commencement Ceremony on May 23.

In his role at Corning, Straw manages a portfolio of more than 50 development projects for fiber-to-the-home, data center, and distributed antenna system products. He has worked in the fiber optic communications industry for more than 30 years in a variety of engineering and management roles, including applications and field engineering, manufacturing, and research and development.

Justin S. Kleinheider chosen as new Head of School at MMI Preparatory School

The MMI Preparatory School Board of Directors announced today that Justin S. Kleinheider has been appointed as MMI’s new Head of School beginning on July 1.

Kleinheider is a New Jersey native with nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools. He comes to MMI from Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School in Joplin, Missouri, where he oversees the liberal arts, college preparatory curricular program in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. In addition to curricular oversight, Kleinheider works directly with faculty on professional development and is an active participant in daily student life. He led the school’s accreditation process and self-study for ISACS (Independent School Association of Central States) and served on accreditation visiting teams for several independent schools, most recently co-chairing a visiting team.

MMI inducts students into National Junior Honor Society and National Latin Honor Society

MMI Preparatory School inducted 17 eighth-grade students into the National Junior Honor Society and 13 students into the National Latin Honor Society during a ceremony at the school.

MMI students experience China

By T.R. Laputka
Director of Technology

On Thursday, March 7, 20 students and two parents from MMI embarked on a nine-day educational tour of China. Coordinated by Education First Tours, some of the major stops included Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai. The tour was led by T.R. Laputka and chaperoned by MMI faculty members Christina Spencer, Michael Mele, and Christine Lizbinski.

MMI students tour the British Isles

By T.R. Laputka
Director of Technology

Over spring break, sixteen MMI students, four parents and three faculty members traveled to the British Isles for an incredible educational tour. Coordinated by Education First Tours, the trip took them through Dublin, Belfast, Derry, Edinburgh, London, and many other locales. For most of the students this had been the first time they had traveled to Europe. T.R. Laputka, MMI technology director; Michael Mele, Science Department Chair and Science instructor; Christina Spencer, Chinese Language teacher; and Jaime of Education First Tours led the private group.

PA School for Global Entrepreneurship, a Student Perspective.

By Sydney Karpowich
MMI Senior

The Pennsylvania School of Global Entrepreneurship (PSGE) has ignited my entrepreneurial spirit and helped me expand on business ventures I am involved in, as well as sparked creativity to develop other business ideas.  I have been working on an idea to develop a free women’s self-defense organization to combat rising abuse rates against local women.  Additionally, I am currently working with a team of four girls on an iDeX pitch, featuring an app that allows users to more effectively medically diagnose themselves at home. 

For my company project at PSGE, I was on a team with six other students to work for Soltech Solutions. The company produces grow lights that not only allow plants to flourish indoors, but also increases the ambiance of one's space. Our job was to create a new marketing campaign for the company and increase sales to other businesses.