highlights INSPIRING AND EDUCATING HEARTS, MINDS, AND HANDS
Sewickley Academy
2020-2021
STUDENT LIFE
COVID-19 presented challenges and opportunities for the 2020-2021 school year. Students came back to campus in a staggered fashion, with all grades back in the classrooms by the end of September. Approximately 11% of students opted to begin the year remotely. The Academy adopted new policies to maintain distance, promote mask-wearing, and make frequent handwashing the norm. The mitigation efforts were successful, and Sewickley Academy offered outstanding programming in person for the entire school year.
The 50th Lower School Sewickley Academy Spirit of Giving Toy Drive was a success! Student council representatives from Grade 5 were ambassadors of goodwill and thoughtfulness as they helped to load 28 bags of toy donations into the school van, which were brought to the East End Cooperative Ministries in East Liberty.
STUDENT LIFE The Middle School introduced X-Block to its schedule this year. X-Block, an experiential learning opportunity developed through faculty collaboration, was created to help students develop new skills. At the end of each trimester, students demonstrated their mastery of learning through project- and performance-based tasks. Senior Robert Incorvati proudly enlisted in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in September to serve our community, commonwealth, and country! Global Studies students had an opportunity to connect with our partners from the Perse School in Cambridge, England, on October 1. The Perse “green team” enabled a virtual conversation via Zoom about sustainability and the human impact on the environment complicated by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Students from both schools shared initiatives they support to help eliminate plastic and waste.
Sewickley Academy’s annual Veterans Day program was delivered virtually this year. On November 11 at 11 a.m. (the hour and day in 1918 when the guns of World War I fell silent), a digital program was sent to the entire Sewickley Academy community. Our invited speaker Mr. Christopher Chiusano, United States Air Force (ret.), focused on his personal experience in the armed forces. During his remarks, he asked the community to appreciate the life of service that so many, past and present, have given and the selfless sacrifices they have made and continue to make so that we can live in the land of freedom. The Sewickley Academy community donated over $2,150 to the 2020 Spirit of Community Food Drive, which allowed 45 families (approximately 125 people) to enjoy the festive holiday season without worrying about putting food on their tables. The money raised purchased 900 units of nonperishables and 40 turkeys. The remaining $567 was used to purchase grocery store gift cards to assist families in buying perishable items like milk and eggs. Sewickley Academy proudly announced its membership in Global Online Academy (GOA), a nonprofit organization that provides modern, global, online learning opportunities for students. The mission of GOA is to reimagine learning to empower students and educators to thrive in a globally networked society. The organization expands educational opportunities for our students by making available teaching expertise and excellence from more than 115 member schools. Several students piloted the program when the GOA semester began on January 13.
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Throughout the winter, some of our Senior School students partnered with a local chapter of Steel City Codes, a peer-mentorship organization, to teach Middle School students how to program using Java, a programming language. At first, the older students asked their younger peers to complete simple tasks like displaying “Hello World” on the computer screen, and then they challenged their students to program the computer to complete more complex tasks. Something new was taught each week, always building on the skills from prior weeks. Students were consistently asked to create new challenges and find new solutions. The Senior School students enjoyed sharing their knowledge of Java with the Middle School students, and they are hopeful the opportunity will be presented again next year. During the spring, Middle School students learned how to program a virtual robot to complete various tasks in a virtual world using motors and sensors. Students in the robotics course collaborated with Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (CMRA), located at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Lawrenceville. CMRA is working on a submission to the National Science Foundation’s Research on Emerging Technologies for Teaching and Learning, and Sewickley Academy students tested their products and provided feedback.
Middle School students in the “Sketchup” class designed and 3D-printed their own chess pieces. Using the skills they developed over the trimester, students used scale, proportion, and artistic flair to design one pawn and one other piece of their choosing. Checkmate! The Senior School’s Asian Culture Club hosted a fundraiser in April to help support the organization Stop AAPI Hate and raise awareness regarding anti-Asian hate crimes. They raised over $500. Freshman Claudia Kronk, owner of Desserts by Claudia, was featured on KDKA’s Pittsburgh Today Live (PTL) Deal Days on April 16. KDKA’s Heather Abraham highlighted Claudia’s background and shared other fun facts about Claudia, including that scenes from Sweet Girl were filmed at her home (Claudia even had the opportunity to meet actor Jason Momoa!). The Alumni Office celebrated the seniors with Class of 2021 yard signs! Faculty, staff, and administrators delivered the signs to each student’s home in honor of 50 Days to Graduation.
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ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS The Class of 2021 graduated on June 10 in the Events Center and Means Alumni Gym. Nicholas Wilson received the Faculty Award, Jacquelyn Jardini received the Head of School’s Award, Navin Rana was presented with the Academy Award, and Prateek Adurty was given the Cavalier Cup. Grade 5 students William Bojalad, Lauren Grand, Landry Glessner, and Lauren Purpura are this year’s Lower School Community of Respect Award recipients. Grade 8 students Avni Kathju and Jaydon Kurian are this year’s recipients of the John W. Heagy Award. The 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program recognized nine seniors. Prateek Adurty, Simran Bedi, Jacquelyn Jardini, Emily Szabo, Ashwin Tayur, and Jiaji Wang were named commended students, and Aidan Ragoowansi, Navin Rana, and Aeyoung Song advanced as finalists. Aidan, Navin, and Ace were each selected as winners of a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship. On May 12, Sewickley Academy inducted 14 students into the Cum Laude Society. The 2021 inductees are Prateek Adurty, Simran Bedi, Mia DelVecchio, Jacquelyn Jardini, Diya Kad, Joshua Kurian, Neeve Lamba, Matthew Meakem, Aidan Ragoowansi, Navin Rana, Aeyoung Song, Emily Szabo, Ashwin Tayur, and Christina Walton.
Anthony Wiles was one of five high school juniors across the county to be named a National Student Poet, which the National Student Poets Program identifies as “the nation’s highest honor for youth poets presenting original work.” The student poet program, launched in 2011, is a partnership between the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. In the spring, the National Student Poets present an original poem during the 2021 Scholastic National Ceremony. Oprah introduced the students! 4 | highlights
CLASS OF 2021 FACTS & STATS SAT
ACT
On February 27, the Sewickley Academy Science Bowl team participated in the Western Pennsylvania Science Bowl competition, which was completely virtual this year. The team, which included Ashwin Tayur, Prateek Adurty, Jiaji Wang, Stephanie Ma, and Aditya Menon, came in third out of 39 teams after an intense competition. Freshman Abby Bojalad’s article, “Healthcare Disparities in Rural Regions of the United States,” was published in the Pre-Collegiate Global Health Review (PGHR), a Johns Hopkins University student- and faculty-led publication, in April. The publication is the first international, peer-reviewed journal that features articles on global health topics written by high school students. Seven Senior School students received high honors in the 2021 Pittsburgh Regional Scholastic Writing competition, a program sponsored by the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project. Senior Milla DobrovolskaIvanova received an American Voice Nomination in Flash Fiction for her piece, “I Know Her Name.” Simran Bedi, Jacquelyn Jardini, Aysu Turkay, Xipei Wan, and Anthony Wiles received Honorable Mentions, Mia DelVecchio and Anthony received Silver Keys, and Milla and Anthony received Gold Keys. Clearview Federal Credit Union selected senior Kipauno Washington as one of 10 students in Southwestern Pennsylvania to receive the 22nd Annual Ralph B. Canterbury Scholarship of $1,500. Sophomore Daniel Torres and junior Madeleine Wren received the 2021 Pennsylvania High School Chinese Speech Award, and their teacher, Jing Zhou, received the Excellent Mentor Award. In his speech, “My favorite city San Juan,” Daniel introduced the capital city of Puerto Rico, his mother’s hometown. He also won the Best Video Award. In her speech, Maddie introduced Sewickley Academy’s track team, which she has been part of for three years. This event was organized by the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania.
The SAT average for the Class of 2021 is 1301, which is 250 points above the national average. The ACT average for the Class of 2021 is 28 versus a national average of 20.7. 94% of the seniors were admitted to a topchoice college or university. (Top Choice = listed as “first choice” or “high level of interest” by the student.)
26 students received 56 scholarships totaling $4,495,000, as reported by families to the College Guidance Office. 13% of the class graduated with a Global Studies Certificate. 100% of Sewickley Academy graduates were accepted into college.
ATHLETIC DISTINCTION Senior Tim Fitzgerald captured the WPIAL Individual Championship on October 1 at Allegheny Country Club, posting a score of even-par 70 to win by five strokes. The varsity golf team captured their eighth straight WPIAL Class AA team championship on October 15 at Cedarbrook Golf Course with a score of 418, 18 strokes ahead of the second-place finisher. The varsity girls tennis team concluded an outstanding season in an intense wellplayed 3-2 loss to Knoch in the WPIAL Class AA Championship on October 22. The Panthers completed the season with a record of 13-1 as Section Champions and WPIAL Finalists. The varsity golf team finished second at the PIAA Team Championships on October 26 at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York, Pennsylvania, breaking the school record by posting a score of 307 as all five players shot scores in the 70s. The Panthers also broke the previous AA PIAA record of 309, but that was still not enough to overcome Scranton Prep, who also broke the previous record with a score of 300. Senior Simon Iwanonkiw captured the silver medal at the WPIAL Diving Championships on February 26 at North Allegheny High School. This was the second straight year that Simon earned a silver medal.
The varsity girls swim team finished second at the WPIAL Team Championships on March 6 at Upper St. Clair High School. Junior Isabel Huang placed second in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke in the WPIAL Swim Championships. She was also a part of the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay that captured gold medals. Isabel Huang finished second in the 200m individual medley and fourth in the 100m backstroke at the PIAA Swim Championships on March 18 at Cumberland Valley High School. Isabel was also part of two medley teams that took third place in the 200m medley relay and the 400m free relay. Junior Jack Gordon was selected by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL) as the player of the month for February for scoring a total of 14 points in six games. Senior Jacquelyn Jardini was one of 20 scholarathletes who received a James Collins ScholarAthlete Scholarship Award from the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). This is the first time in Academy history that we have had students selected in consecutive years, as Zoe Luther ‘20 earned this honor last year. Sewickley Academy held its annual college signing ceremony on May 25 in front of the Hall of Fame in the Events Center. This year, 11 student-athletes will continue playing their sport at the collegiate level. highlights | 5
ARTS EXCELLENCE This fall, six students from all three divisions participated in an all-school Virtual Piano Recital, performing in the safety of their own homes. The Senior School presented War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast outdoors in the Gregg Family Theater Courtyard in October. Broadcast from New York’s Mercury Theatre in 1938, this infamous radio play, based on the novel by H. G. Wells, had many terrified listeners convinced that an actual alien invasion of Earth was taking place. This original script detailing the frightening tale of an extraterrestrial takeover provided the audience with thrills and chills! Middle School students performed Dancing Through the Decades, a musical revue presented to help the community cope with its pandemic blues, in a completely digital format in November. Grade 6 students grooved to songs and dances from Hairspray (‘60s); Grade 7 students caught boogie fever with selections from The Wiz (‘70s); and Grade 8 students kicked off their Sunday shoes with numbers from Footloose (‘80s).
Freshmen Max Peluso and Avani Venkat entered the Butler University Vocal Competition, a nationwide voice competition for high school students in grades 9-12, in January, with both receiving positive critiques in the process. The competition was capped at 39 performers. Max was one of eight students, and the only freshman, who earned an invitation to participate in a Master Class. He performed on February 20 via Zoom for professors from the university and received feedback. Sewickley Academy started its first handbell choir this school year due to COVID-19 restrictions on singing in the Middle and Senior School choruses. Students debuted their new musical skill set with a taped performance for the Veteran’s Day assembly.
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FACULTY ACCOLADES Eighteen Middle and Senior School students participated in a Virtual Student Recital on February 17, performing various pieces on the violin, piano, cello, flute, and guitar, as well as vocals. The Senior School presented the 2021 Winter One-Acts, which included Retribution, Who Killed Delia Emsworth?, and Leave a Light On, in February. These three pieces were student-written, student-directed, and virtually presented. Grade 5 presented the musical Super Happy Awesome News virtually on Friday, May 7. In this show, two siblings launch rival “Good News” networks and find themselves competing for the title of the happiest news show. Soon, their correspondents are in a whirlwind of ecstatic musical reporting – from joyful weather forecasts to cheerful cooking segments and blissful political updates! Middle and Senior School Art Teacher Kate Mason put together a virtual art exhibition to display and share her students’ work. “Historically, this has been an in-person event, gathering together to marvel at the wide range of artworks, creating opportunities for discussion, and learning about what others have done,” Ms. Mason said. “Last year, with the unexpected shift to virtual learning, that didn’t happen. This year, I was proud to share the work of our amazing Sewickley Academy artists in a virtual exhibition.” The Senior School spring musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, was held on May 27-30 outdoors in Melodia Plaza. In this show, an eclectic group of young teens vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Many spellers enter; one speller leaves!
Sewickley Academy held its annual Opening of School assembly via a Zoom webinar on September 4. Four faculty and staff members were honored with awards for their commitment and service to the Academy, its students, and the community. Mike Elson, a member of the Buildings & Grounds team, was presented with the Jerry Smith Award; Senior School science teacher Ben Spicer was presented with the Elizabeth Bishop Martin Award; Middle School history teacher Christy Mulhollem was named the Clark Faculty Chair, and Senior School math teacher Shane Mills was named the sixth R.P. Simmons Family Chair for Excellence in Teaching. Middle School history teacher Kate Lukaszewicz was selected as one of the 10 winners of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s inaugural “American History in 100 Documents: An Innovative Curriculum Contest.” Kate picked a historic document from the institute’s digitized collection and developed a lesson plan based on that document for the contest. Her lesson is entitled, “If You Pay Taxes, Should You Get to Vote?”
In order to bring our alumni community together during this time of quarantine, Sewickley Academy’s Alumni Office launched a virtual alumni book club hosted by former faculty member Dr. Joan Cucinotta. Alumni voted on a book that they’d most like to read for the Zoom book club discussion every other month. Nick Valenta ‘20 was awarded a full scholarship from Eduitalia, an association of 111 schools, colleges, and universities that offer courses for international students in Italy, in October. Nick will spend three weeks in 2021 studying Italian language and culture at the Scuola Dante Alighieri in Recanati. Brian Hutchison ‘89 played the role of Alan in the 2020 film adaptation of The Boys in the Band on Netflix. He starred alongside actors such as Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, and Matt Bomer. Robert James ’85 was named Highmark Health’s new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer in January. In his new role, Bob will, according to The Trib, “use his experience to align diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the entire Highmark Health enterprise.” On May 12, the Alumni Office held a Senior Celebration for the Class of 2021 to officially welcome them into the Alumni Association. Students, faculty, and staff celebrated outdoors with fun games, treats from Sewickley Confectionery, and senior gifts!
ALUMNI Sewickley Academy welcomed Marita Garrett ‘04, Mayor of Wilkinsburg Borough, as the keynote speaker during Sewickley Academy’s annual Learning Equity, Acceptance, and Diversity (L.E.A.D.) Conference on November 18. Ms. Garrett was also the guest speaker at the Class of 2021’s graduation ceremony. The Sewickley Academy Advancement and Alumni Offices launched the Battle of the Decades Challenge in September of 2019. The challenge continued into the 2020-21 school year and ended on April 30, 2021. The winning decade, with the highest percentage of participation in the Annual Fund, is the 1970s! The 1970s decade will receive a plaque on campus highlighting their commitment to the Sewickley Academy Annual Fund. Jackson O’Neill ’16 partnered with Middle School students in the SA Art Curators X-Block this spring. The class was granted money by the Home & School Association’s Above and Beyond grant to identify areas in the school that would benefit from art, research mediums, and artists, discuss possibilities with school stakeholders, and purchase art. Jackson met with the class via Zoom to discuss his journey as an artist and athlete at Sewickley Academy and his inspirations for his work. The class commissioned two pieces of his artwork to be hung in the Middle School. highlights | 7
Sewickley Academy FOR WHO YOU ARE. FOR WHO YOU WILL BECOME. 315 Academy Avenue | Sewickley, PA 15143-1213
ADVANCEMENT
The 15th Annual W. Gregg Hansen Memorial Golf Tournament was held on September 14 at Allegheny Country Club. Over 50 golfers attended the event, which raises money for the W. Gregg Hansen Memorial Scholarship Fund. Since its inception, the fund has grown to nearly $400,000, directly supporting student success at Sewickley Academy. On October 14, members of the Sewickley Academy community came together for virtual book discussions centered on racism and injustice. Led by our knowledgeable faculty and staff, participants engaged in small group discussions focused on one of three texts: “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi, “The Person You Mean to Be” by Dolly Chugh, and “Biased” by Jennifer Eberhardt. The Sewickley Academy community donated over $60,000 for the Annual Fund on Giving Tuesday (Tuesday, December 1)! These gifts support every aspect of the Sewickley Academy experience, providing ways to learn and discover, as well as the ability for us to be responsive to emerging opportunities and challenges. 8 | highlights
As a goal of Sewickley Academy’s strategic plan EnVision SA 2024, the Academy launched its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice plan in April 2021. In a letter shared with the community Chair of the Board of Trustees Kate (Poppenberg ‘82) Pigman and former Head of School Kolia O’Connor wrote, “The plan represents just the latest step in the long journey on which Sewickley Academy has been embarked over the last three-plus decades to strengthen our school by strengthening our community. We know that relationships are at the heart of any outstanding education, and the community is best positioned to support the development of those relationships when it is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and socially just.” Sewickley Academy hosted its 34th Annual – and firstever virtual – Auction, The Sky’s the Limit, on Saturday, April 10. With the help of our sponsors, advertisers, donors, parent underwriters, and participating businesses, the Auction grossed over $116,000 to support educational excellence at Sewickley Academy. Sewickley Academy hosted our first-ever virtual Grandparents and Special Friends Day on April 30, when we engaged with guests in North America, Europe, and Asia! Sewickley Academy held its sixth annual Day of Giving on April 30. A total of $44,060 was raised from 212 donors, including 52 parents, 22 members of our faculty and staff, and nine trustees.