MMI News

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.

Fifty of MMI Preparatory School’s 75 student competitors qualified for the Pennsylvania FBLA State Leadership Conference during the recent Regional Leadership Conference competition. The top five students in each test event advance to states and the top two students or teams in each performance event advance to the state competition, which will be held April 8-10 in Hershey. MMI Social Sciences instructor Katherine Zucco is the FBLA advisor and Flashback Cinema sponsors MMI’s FBLA chapter. 

The MMI Interact Club collected disaster relief items that will be sent to California wildfire victims through the Faith Assembly Church.

MMI Preparatory School sophomore Katherine Lewandowski captured first place in the District 11 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Voice of Democracy Audio-Essay Scholarship Competition for her essay on this year’s theme, “Why My Vote Matters.” Lewandowski is the daughter of Nancy and James Lewandowski of Mountaintop.

MMI Preparatory School senior Andrew Decker won the regional Poetry Out Loud competition at the WVIA-TV studios and will advance to the Pennsylvania state championships on March 4, 2019, in Harrisburg. Decker, the son of Atty. Elizabeth and Troy Topolski of Sugarloaf and Aaron Decker of Kingston, won MMI’s school competition for the fourth consecutive year. He previously won the regional championship as a sophomore and finished in the top five in the state competition that year. Decker has placed in the top three at regionals each of the past four years, having finished second as a freshman and third...

MMI Preparatory School recently purchased two Harkness tables to transform two classrooms into Collaborative Learning Labs to help prepare students for the discussion-based learning courses they will find in college. The purchase was made possible by a donation from Dr. Philip A. McHale ’58 and Ms. Linda Tishko. The Harkness table-teaching concept was developed by philanthropist Edward Harkness in 1930 and first instituted at the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. Students sit around an oval table and their teacher instructs them in a tutorial or conference method, where each student is encouraged to speak up. Students are given...

MMI Preparatory School’s team earned second place at the King’s College Math Contest. Thirteen schools and more than 140 students competed in both individual and team competitions. Frederick Mejia took home top honors for the MMI team. 

The MMI Chamber Ensemble, under the direction of music instructor Christina Lizbinski, performed at the 26th annual CAN DO Community Christmas on Dec. 5. Ensemble members played several selections to open the 90-minute show. The free concert featured student musical and choral groups from schools throughout Greater Hazleton. The concert will be rebroadcast on WYLN-TV 35 on the following dates and times: Dec. 11 at 7 p.m., Dec. 12 at 9 a.m., Dec. 13 at 2:30 p.m., Dec. 15 at 6 p.m., Dec. 16 at 12 p.m., Dec. 17 at 11 a.m., Dec. 19 at 8 p.m., Dec. 24 at...

The MMI Upper School Drama Club will present “An Evening of One Act Comedies IV” this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the MMI Cafeteria. Tickets are $5 in advance through the Main Office and at the door. Mrs. Joanne Oakum is the Upper School Drama Club advisor.

MMI Preparatory School’s team of Frederick Mejia, Alexander Sessock, Zachary Young, and Darren Zheng finished fourth in the Brain Teasers and Quiz Bowl categories in the annual Bloomsburg University Math Contest. Susan Moyer, MMI math instructor and department chair, was the adviser for the competition. Approximately 200 students representing more than 20 schools competed in the annual event. The competition’s categories, which also include the Game of 24 card challenge, vary in difficulty and work off a foundation of geometry, trigonometry, algebra, logic, and statistics.

Students at MMI Preparatory School honored their school’s founder, Eckley Brinton Coxe, and his wife, Sophia Georgianna Coxe, during an assembly at the school and graveside service on Tuesday, giving thanks for the Coxes’ contributions to the school and the area. An all-school assembly was held in the MMI cafeteria, where senior class officers presented information about MMI’s history. At the conclusion of the assembly, the senior class 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....

Tessa Peluso and Justin Weiksner, pictured at center in the first row, were crowned queen and king at the 2018 MMI Preparatory School Harvest Dance. Also pictured are, first row, from left: Kaitlyn McGeehan and Summer Evancho. Second row: Coleman Smith; Valerie Rudawski ’89, Parents Association Representative; D. Scott Wiggins, Head of School, and Tyler Degenhart.

MMI art instructor Lisa Marie Ferry gave a presentation for the third consecutive year at the Pennsylvania Art Education Association (PAEA) conference, which was held in October in Harrisburg. Ferry’s presentation was entitled “Holy Lesson Plan Batman! Adaptables to Encourage Student Success.” During the presentation, she shared several lesson plans that can be adapted to all grade levels which encourage a student’s voice, opinion, and critical thinking. The plans also examined how to incorporate techniques for relaxation that are not only fun for the students, but also the teacher.

MMI Preparatory School senior Andrew Decker, the son of Atty. Elizabeth and Troy Topolski, Sugarloaf and Aaron Decker, Kingston, won the school Poetry Out Loud competition and will represent MMI for the fourth consecutive year at the regional competition on December 12 at the WVIA studios in Pittston.