Middle School Students Honored During MMI’s 2026 Awards Ceremony

Image: The MMI Class of 2030 celebrated their “Rising Up” to the Upper School at the event.

On Tuesday, May 12, MMI Preparatory School held a ceremony to honor middle school students for their academic achievements, induct members into the National Junior Honor Society, and honor the eighth graders with a Rising Up Ceremony as they move into the Upper School next year.

Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long noted, “This ceremony celebrated so much more than academic success. It recognized perseverance, creativity, leadership, and the willingness of our students to challenge themselves and grow. From the classroom to Open House projects to service and scholarship, our middle school students continue to impress us with their character and enthusiasm for learning. We are excited to watch our eighth graders rise into Upper School and continue making their mark on the MMI community.”

During the ceremony, representatives from the Freeland American Legion and Auxiliary presented the American Legion Award to four eighth graders with the highest grade point average: Sihiba Kaur, Rian Patel, Riley Mason, and Owen Farrell. Sahiba Kaur and Owen Farrell were also honored with the Good Citizenship Award. This award is given to students who exemplify good citizenship through character, leadership, and scholarship.

Pictured from L to R: Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long, Freeland American Legion and Auxiliary members Paul Thomas and Nadine Bott, Owen Farrell ’30, Rian Patel ’30, Riley Mason ’30, Sahiba Kaur ’30, and Academic Dean Mrs. Jennifer Novotney.

MMI also presented subject awards in each grade to the following students:

Sixth Grade – Caden Rebarchak (Music), James Wilson (Visual Arts), George Skuba (Geography, Science), Bennett Young (English), and David Falcheck (Math).

Seventh Grade – Aria Karnowski (Music, Math, Science), Elaina Seltzer (Visual Arts), Mason Makowiec (Geography, English), Evelyn Jacobs (Health), and Athena Lee (Latin).

Eighth Grade – Rian Patel (Music, Science, Foreign Language), Janelle Cabrera (Visual Arts, Geography), Owen Farrell (English), and Sihiba Kaur (Math).

Ryan Bonifacio ’30, David Falcheck ’32, Kamil Gonzalez Arias ’30, Aria Karnoski ’31, Sahiba Kaur ’30, Riley Mason ’30, Maahi Patel ’31, and Caden Rebarchak ’32 were also recognized for their outstanding work in the annual MATHCOUNTS competition.

*The MMI MathCounts Team was honored at the Awards ceremony. First row: David Falcheck* ’32, Caden Rebarchak ’32, Aria Karnoski ’31, Maahi Patel ’31, and Advisor Mrs. Shannon Falcheck. Second Row: Head of School Mrs. Theresa Long, Sahiba Kaur ’30, Kamil Gonzalez Arias ’30, Ryan Bonifacio ’30, Riley Mason ’30, and Academic Dean Mrs. Jennifer Novotney

Next, students were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. NJHS represents an organization of the world’s highest-achieving middle-level students and provides an outstanding opportunity to grow with academically accomplished peers who are sharpening the habits needed for success in high school and beyond. The students inducted were: Kamil Gonzalez Arias ’30, Nathaniel Belanger ’30, Paxton Bleiler ’30, Ryan Bonifacio ’30, Janelle Cabrera ’30, Alexander Diaz ’30, Kai Duran ’30, Owen Farrell ’30, Ernesto Ahmari Garay ’30, Odin Hixenbaum ’30, Sahiba Kaur ’30, Zachary Lobitiz ’30, Jaxon Lyman ’30, Riley Mason ’30, Avery Orozco ’30, Ivan Ortiz ’30, Rian Patel ’30, Addison Postko ’30, Mathias Santana ’30, Gabrielle Serock ’30, Gabriella Vasquez ’30, Megan Yamulla ’30, and Kamila Zea ’30.

During the ceremony, the winners of MMI’s annual Open House were named. This year, Open House was reimagined. Each student was required to develop an independent research project while working collaboratively with other grades. The project reflected pride in the subject matter through research and extensive preparation. All projects were evaluated by an off-campus team of judges who selected the winners in the two categories of STEM and Multicultural. Sixth graders worked collaboratively with ninth graders on STEM projects, and seventh graders worked with tenth graders on Multicultural projects. Members of the eighth grade had fun working with the 11th grade on food projects that were held in the gym.

The middle-school winners who were recognized at the awards ceremony include:

STEM (Sixth Grade Winners): Bennett Young (First Place), Eliot Elick (Second Place), and Alexander Cabe (Third Place).

Multicultural (Seventh Grade Winners): Jake Hoffman (First Place), Derek Reyes (Second Place), and Dylan Duran (Third Place).

The event concluded with the Rising Up Ceremony for MMI’s eighth-grade students, who were recognized by their advisors, Mrs. Shannon Falcheck and Ms. Jennifer Gerhard. The students received a gift as they ended this school year by “Rising Up” to start their Upper School careers in the fall.