highlights 2016-2017
INSPIRING AND EDUCATING HEARTS, MINDS, AND HANDS
Sewickley Academy FOR WHO YOU ARE. FOR WHO YOU WILL BECOME.
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STUDENT LIFE
Look What We’ve Been Up To! Schmitty The Weather Dog made a surprise appearance at the Lower School’s morning assembly on Tuesday, September 27, 2016. Along with author Elly McGuire and meteorologist Ron Trotta, Schmitty presented a fun and educational STEAM enrichment program. Author Elly read her book, “Schmitty The Weather Dog: Daydream,” followed by a weather lesson with Schmitty and meteorologist Ron, and ended with the “Schmitty The Weather Dog” song.
Grade 3 students Bella Menzock, Raghav Vajpayee, Cadence Stancil, Grace Jardini, and Sophia Khan post their dreams to the Dream Board.
Lower School students and faculty honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday with a community display in the Marion Hutchins Library hallway highlighting Dr. King and his dream for equality and peace. Students, faculty, and staff wrote down their dreams which were posted as a collection on the dream board. Lower School Librarian Sarah Wilson organized the dream board to shift the students’ focus from the hateful things going on in the world today onto something hopeful and positive like dreams. Teams from each division participated in Battle of the Books. Grade 5 team The Bookworms won first place; Grade 6 team Rise of the Reading Magicians placed third out of 21 teams; and Grade 7 team the iNinjas took third place, making this their second consecutive year of placing in the top three. Junior Claire Meakem befriends a child in Belize during the “Global Issues: World Health” service learning trip.
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In the fall of 2016 the Makerspace, comprised of a Brainstorming Space with whiteboard walls and tables, a Maker Room with craft supplies, tools, 3-D printers, and a laser engraver, and a Green Screen Studio outfitted with a full green screen wall and audio/ video equipment, opened its doors. Projects that were once inconceivable have already been brought to life as students continue to design, innovate, and create in new ways.
Grade 7 student Brooke Menzock works on a project in the Makerspace.
Freshman Luke Tyson was selected by Rustic Pathways as one of 10 students to travel to Morocco this summer as part of their first “By Invitation Only: Peace, Wonder, and Understanding Islam” program. Out of 400 applicants, Luke represented SA alongside students from diverse locations as part of this fully-funded scholarship program. Over spring break, 14 of Sewickley Academy’s “Global Issues: World Heath” students traveled to Belize in cooperation with Global Public Service Academies to participate in authentic service learning. Students walked through the villages with a community health worker offering to take blood pressure, blood sugar, pulse, and height and weight measurements for those who do not have the ability to see a doctor on a regular basis.
STUDENT LIFE
EVENTS CENTER AND MEANS ALUMNI GYM OPENS ITS DOORS IN 2016 On Tuesday, November 22, 2016, the entire Sewickley Academy community gathered together indoors for the first time in recent history in the brand new Events Center and Means Alumni Gym. The building is a silver LEED certified, multi-purpose space which now serves as the centerpiece of the Academy’s commitment to building community. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the faculty, staff, and students of Sewickley Academy, Mr. O’Connor declared the Events Center and Means Alumni Gym open. On Thursday, June 8, 2017, approximately 750 family members and friends, along with administrators, faculty, and staff, gathered in the Events Center and Means Alumni Gym for the first time in Academy history to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2017.
On October 8, 2016, approximately 270 people gathered in Rea Auditorium to hear co-authors Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell of “March,” The New York Times bestselling trilogy of graphic novels centered on the Civil Rights Movement, speak. Congressman Lewis discussed his role as a leader of the Movement, recalled interactions with the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and spoke of his work with the Freedom Riders and the horrific experiences of being jailed and beaten throughout the south during a historic Civil Rights march. On November 11, 2016, both the Lower School and Middle and Senior School assemblies hosted Academy graduates who are members of the armed forces to celebrate Veterans Day. Major Alison Thompson ’95 shared a video of her experience as a member of the first all-female combat flight crew and discussed her service in the armed forces with Lower School students, while Anthony Innamorato ’03 spoke about his personal definition of service to the Middle and Senior Schools. With help from 310 stackers at Sewickley Academy, a new Guinness Book of World Records for “Most People Sport Stacking at Multiple Locations in One Day” was set on November 17, as part of the 2016 STACK UP! According to the World Sport Stacking Association, 619,906 stackers took part on Guinness World Records Day, breaking the 2015 mark of 618,394.
The 11th Annual Hansen Cup Memorial Golf Outing took place on Monday, September 12, 2016, at Allegheny Country Club. The committee raised more than $51,000 which directly benefits a current student by awarding him or her the W. Gregg Hansen Memorial Scholarship.
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HOORAY FOR SA!
Niche.com named Sewickley Academy the #1 Best Private High School in Pittsburgh in 2017. Sewickley Academy maintained an A+ Overall Niche Grade.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) named Sewickley Academy a Silver Award Winner in its 2016 Circle of Excellence awards program. SA’s “First Day” commercial was selected among 43 entries in the Video - PSAs and Commercial Spots. It was the only independent school to win in this category. In its first Brilliance Awards, InspirEd School Marketers named the Academy’s “Let’s Talk About the Annual Fund” video the Gold Winner in the Annual Fund category. highlights | 3
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS The Class of 2017 was the first class to graduate in the Events Center and Means Alumni Gym on Thursday, June 8, 2017. Katherine Malus received the Faculty Award, Lakshmi Rivera Amin received the Head of School’s Award, Mia Krohn was presented with the Academy Award, and Tessa Lisanti was given the Cavalier Cup. Twelve students were recognized by the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. Lakshmi Amin, Matthew Rooney, Luke Ross, Garrett Stocker, and Raj Thimmiah were named commended students; Tessa Lisanti, Alexandra Oh, Priya Rajawat, Neil Rana, Ain Shajihan, Natalie Wei, and Jacob Winningham were named semifinalists; and Tessa, Priya, Neil, Ain, and Natalie were selected as finalists. Priya, Neil, and Ain are this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners.
Tessa Lisanti, Cavalier Cup awardee, celebrates the honor after graduation.
“ AND THE AWARD GOES TO...” Grade 8 students Prateek Adurty and Jacquelyn (JJ) Jardini were the 2017 John W. Heagy Award recipients. For only the second time since its inception, the Community of Respect Award was awarded to two Grade 5 students, Aekam Kaur and Will Manning.
Grade 9 students Luke Tyson and Lena Sharara were awarded first place as the most outstanding delegation in their committee on Disarmament and International Security at Duquesne University’s Model United Nations Conference for high school students on January 27, 2017. Luke was also named second place for the best delegate overall in the entire conference which awarded him a $2,000 scholarship to Duquesne.
STUDENTS EXCEL IN SCIENCE On February 4, 2017, Grade 7 student Srimayi Mulukutla, Grade 8 student Prateek Adurty, and Grade 10 student Saarang Mulukutla earned first place prizes at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Regional Competition held at Duquesne University.
Grade 8 student Prateek Adurty was selected as a Broadcom MASTERS program semifinalist of the Society for Science and the Public. This select group of 300 semifinalists was chosen from over 6,000 entrants.
Two Middle School students placed second at the Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair on March 31 – April 1, 2017, at the Carnegie Science Center. Grade 7 student Srimayi Mulukutla took second place in the intermediate medicine/health/microbiology category, and Grade 8 student Prateek Adurty placed second in the intermediate chemistry category.
Junior Cole Luther qualified as a semifinalist and placed in the top 10% of students nationally who took the USA Biology Olympiad Open Exam through the Center for Excellence in Education.
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THE ARTS The Sewickley Academy Theater’s 2016-2017 season was filled with laughter, tears, tragedy, and plenty of drama. The Senior School presented two plays – The Glass Menagerie and A Midsummer Night’s Dream – and a musical, Sweeney Todd. The Middle School performed the high energy comedy Crazy for You, and Grade 5 had the audience cracking up during their performance of Monty Python’s Spamalot Young@Part®.
Grade 5 performs Monty Python’s Spamalot Young@Part®, a comedy filled with puns, jokes, and laughter.
On Friday, October 14, 2016, Little Lake Theatre of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, presented Letters to Sala, a production designed to bring the history and atrocities of the Holocaust to life, to Grades 6-9. Broadway actors Rob McClure and Maggie Lakis visited campus to talk with Senior School students about managing a life in the performing arts, fielding questions about acting, college, and career choices. Two cast members of the touring production of An American in Paris taught a dance workshop to Grade 4 students on Wednesday, May 31, 2017. The professionals demonstrated choreography from the show, taught several sections of dance to the students, and ended with a Q&A session.
PMEA HONORS ■ Orchestra
– Jeremy Gu, Neev Lamba, William Sands, Natalia Solano
■ Band
– Isabella Murano, Priya Rajawat, William Sands, Nicholas Valenta
■ Northern
Area Honors Band – Elim Chen, Aizah Kamal, Aditya Menon, Arjun Schuchert, Sofia Smith, Nicholas Wilson
Junior Will Sands joined the “best of the best” for the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) 2016 All-National Honor Ensembles on November 13, during the 2016 NAfME National In-Service Conference in Grapevine, Texas. Will was one of 672 students from 49 states and territories selected for this honor. He was also selected to perform in NAfME All-Eastern Division Honors Band in Atlantic City in April. Junior Priya Melonio was awarded the Regional Gold Key Award for her entry in the 2017 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for her portrait, “My Sister, Serena.” She also received an award from the Congressional Art Competition for her oil-painting, “Kindred.” Six Sewickley Academy English students were recognized by the Pittsburgh Regional Scholastic Writing Awards for their writing skills. Juniors Cole Luther and Ali Mganga won Gold Keys for their humorous works, “INSERT CREATIVITY HERE ____________.” and “When Worlds Almost Collided,” respectively. Junior Cerys Miller was awarded a Silver Key in the humor section for “Titanic 2.0.” Freshman Sophia Fruehauf, junior Natalia Arbelaez, and senior Sarah Fruehauf each received an Honorable Mention in the flash fiction, humor, and poetry categories. Grade 4 students are all smiles after learning dance combinations from An American in Paris cast members Tom Mattingly and Nathalie Marrable.
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ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE Director of Athletics and head varsity basketball coach Win Palmer was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Coach of the Year on Friday, April 14, 2017. Coach Palmer led the Panthers to a 25-4 record this season which included the fourth WPIAL title and third PIAA title for the Academy. Coach Palmer won his 600th basketball game this past January and was named the state’s Class 2A Coach of the Year by a group of Pennsylvania sports writers. Seniors Justin Pryor and Chris Groetsch both joined the basketball team’s 1,000-point club. Justin scored his 1,000th point on December 27, 2016, when the Panthers beat Franklin Regional 82-71 at the North Allegheny tournament, and Chris scored his 1,000th point at Sewickley Academy on January 17, 2017, when the Panthers defeated OLSH 70-45. Senior Chris Groetsch was selected as Player of the Year in Class 2A Boys Basketball by the Post-Gazette and was named to the AP All-State First Team. Sophomore Nate Ridgeway was selected to the Class 2A Boys Basketball Team by the Post-Gazette and was also named to the AP All-State First Team. Senior Justin Pryor was named to the AP All-State Second Team.
The varsity boys tennis team celebrates their WPIAL and PIAA Championships during an all-school pep assembly in May.
Senior Mike Napoleone was selected as the Player of the Year in the section for boys soccer, and Coach Boone was selected as Coach of the Year in the section.
SENIORS SIGN WITH ELITE COLLEGES The Academy hosted two Athletic College Signing Ceremonies, one in the fall and one in the spring, for 13 seniors who have committed to play sports in college. All athletes signed a letter of intent, accompanied by his or her parents and coach, in front of the Hall of Fame in the Events Center. STUDENT ATHLETE
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
SPORT
Chris Groetsch
Johns Hopkins University
Basketball
Grace Guerin
Lafayette College
Lacrosse
Declan Hickton
University of Rochester
Golf
Jason Li
Carnegie Mellon University
Golf
Derrick Littlefield
Marion Military Institute
Baseball
Griffin Mackey
Dartmouth College
Track & Cross Country
Teddy McClain
Franklin & Marshall College
Lacrosse
Ben Mulholland
Washington and Lee University
Lacrosse
Justin Pryor
The Catholic University of America
Basketball
Luke Ross
Georgetown University
Tennis
Sam Sauter
St. Joseph’s University
Tennis
Mia Tsudis
Georgetown University
Rowing
Chandler White
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Softball
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ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE
CLASS OF 2017
FACTS & STATS
They were offered more than $5.2 in merit
million
scholarships
96%
w ere admitted to one of their top choice colleges
6,128 HOURS SPENT ENGAGED IN COMMUNITY SERVICE Emily Szabo competes in the Junior National Mogul Skiing Championship in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Grade 8 student Emily Szabo won the Junior National Mogul Skiing Championship held in Sun Valley, Idaho, on March 13-19, 2017. She is the youngest competitor to win this event and will represent the United States at next year’s Junior World Championship. The boys soccer team captured its seventh WPIAL Championship and competed in Hershey for the PIAA Championship for the fifth consecutive year. The Panthers finished as runner-ups in the state with a record of 21-5.
40%
were admitted to a college or university with an acceptance rate lower than 25%*
* Less than 2% of the colleges in the country have acceptance rates in this range.
19 GLOBAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE AWARDEES
82%
W ILL VENTURE OUT-OF-STATE FOR COLLEGE
They were admitted to 135
colleges
and universities
The boys varsity swimming and diving team won its third consecutive WPIAL Championship. Freshman Alyse Ray of the girls team captured the gold medal at the WPIAL Championships in the 200 freestyle relay. The boys varsity golf team captured their fourth straight WPIAL Championship. In individuals, senior Jason Li finished second at the WPIAL Championship and fourth at states with a two-day total of 150. The boys varsity tennis team captured its 14th consecutive WPIAL Championship and a second PIAA Championship with an undefeated record! Senior Luke Ross became the first WPIAL boys tennis player to repeat as State Singles Champion since 1963. Seniors Ryan Gex and Neil Rana won the PIAA Doubles Championship, making Ryan the first four-time WPIAL Doubles Champion.
The Class of 2017 sports a shirt of their college of choice for the annual college T-shirt photo.
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Sewickley Academy
FOR WHO YOU ARE. FOR WHO YOU WILL BECOME. 315 Academy Avenue | Sewickley, PA 15143-1213
FACULTY & ALUMNI During the Academy’s annual opening assembly on Friday, September 2, 2016, dance teacher Mr. Joe Jackson was named a recipient of the R. P. Simmons Family Chair for Excellence in Teaching by the Board of Trustees and Head of School Kolia O’Connor. Dr. Bevan Koch, Middle School math teacher, was presented with the 14th Clark Faculty Chair.
Director of Support Services Dr. Shannon Mulholland and Senior School Dean of Students Ken Goleski presented at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) 2017 national conference in Baltimore, Maryland, in March. Their presentation was entitled, “Building Effective Resource Teams to Help Students Reach Their Goals.”
Head of School Kolia O’Connor and Board member Brad Busatto ’88 pose with 2016 Clark Faculty Chair recipient Bevan Koch.
Senior School Technology Coordinator Cristy McCloskey’s Sharing Knowledge Grant proposal for library and media resources was approved by Westfield Insurance. Mrs. McCloskey submitted the proposal for funds for the new Makerspace in Hansen Library for a $1,500 grant.
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The 1997 boys basketball team celebrated the 20th anniversary of Sewickley Academy’s first State Championship on Saturday, February 4, 2017. Returning players were eager to prove their skills once again by taking on the 2004 state finalist team and the 2010 state championship team. Fourteen former Panthers played in the game, split between the Red Team and the Black Team. The Red Team ultimately defeated the Black Team, 57-53. Beth (Richardson ’60) Clements, better known as author Beth Gutcheon, was inducted into the Sewickley Academy Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame on Friday, September 30, 2016. Beth has written 10 Beth (Richardson ’60) Clements is novels to date. inducted into the Distinguished
Alumni Hall of Fame by Head of School Kolia O’Connor over Reunion Weekend in October.