Cheers to 15 Years! – During Sewickley Academy’s annual opening of school assembly, the Chair of the Board of Trustees Kate Pigman ’82, accompanied by Vice Chair Brad Busatto ’88, and Trustees, past and present, honored Head of School Kolia O’Connor for 15 years of service at Sewickley Academy.
Hansen Cup Raises Over $41,000 – The 13th Annual Hansen Cup Memorial Golf Tournament raised over $41,000, which directly benefits a current Sewickley Academy student who is supported by the W. Gregg Hansen Memorial Scholarship.
Clothesline Sale Success – The Home and School Association’s 65th annual Clothesline and Used Book sale raised over $99,000 for the Academy.
SA Helps Set New Guinness World Record – The Guinness World Record for “Most People Sports Stacking at Multiple Locations on the Same Day,” which was 622,809 in 2016, was broken this year. With help from 351 Sewickley Academy community members, the record was shattered with 624,390 people participating!
SA Inducts Alumni into Arts Hall of Fame – Henry Chalfant ’55 and David Hollander ’86 were inducted into the Arts Hall of Fame on Friday, October 5, 2018, in Rea Auditorium.
NYT Bestselling Author Visits SA – As part of the Geller and Sector Speaker Series, Erika Christakis, New York Times bestselling author of “The Importance of Being Little: What Young Children Really Need From Grownups” and early childhood educator, spoke to the community on Wednesday, October 10, 2018, about "The Essential Connection: Supporting Healthy Emotions in an iPad World."
Sixth in a Row! – The varsity boys golf team won its sixth straight WPIAL Class AA Championship on Thursday, October 11, 2018, at Cedarbrook Golf Course in Belle Vernon.
Twice as Nice – Sewickley Academy’s varsity girls tennis team won the WPIAL Class AA Championship for the second consecutive year on Thursday, October 18, 2018. They completed their undefeated season by capturing the state title in Hershey, Pennsylvania, with a 3-2 victory over Wyomissing in November. It is the Panthers’ first team title since 2011, marking the only repeat title in the WPIAL for Class 2A.
Let Them Eat Pancakes! – Sewickley Academy held its 11th Annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, October 20, 2018. Over 100 people attended the breakfast, and the community raised $680 that was split equally between the Sewickley and Edgeworth Police Departments and Cochran Hose Fire Company.
Spirit of Giving Food Drive – Students, faculty, staff, and Academy families gave generously to the Spirit of Giving Food Drive which benefited St. Vincent de Paul’s Good Samaritan Food Pantry. The Academy purchased 45 turkeys to feed 41 families (132 individuals). An additional $312 was donated towards nonperishables for their holiday meals.
Hip-Hop Hooray – Middle School students took a hip-hop master class from the Hip Hop Nutcracker cast member Brandon Ron on Wednesday, December 12, 2018.
Junior Enhances The 7th Pillar – Junior Erin Mahoney revived the Senior School digital student newspaper, The 7th Pillar, by launching a new website that can be accessed on- and off-campus. The interactive publication provides students with a new way to share their perspectives on the Academy and the larger world.
Athletes Commit to Sports in College – Sewickley Academy held two college signing ceremonies – one in the fall and one in the spring – in front of the Athletic Hall of Fame in the Events Center to celebrate student-athletes who will continue their sport in college. Tatum McKelvey will play golf at Bucknell University, Alex Gordon will play soccer at Northwestern University, Sydney Larson will play lacrosse at Amherst College, and Lexi Bosetti will be a cheerleader for Wake Forest University.
Three Students Take First at PJAS Competition – Srimayi Mulukutla, Prateek Adurty, and Saarang Mulukutla all won first place prizes in their respective categories at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) Competition on February 2, 2019, at Duquesne University.
Srimayi presented her project “Increasing Efficiency of Biofuel Extraction” in the ecology category and won a special award from Duquesne’s Center for Environmental Research. Prateek presented his project “Investigating Cardiovascular Hemodynamic Models in Silico.” Saarang presented his project “Response to Light with Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy” in the behavioral sciences category and won a Perseverance Award for participating in PJAS for five years.
SA Throws a Masquerade – On Saturday, February 9, the Academy held its 32nd Annual Auction, “Unmask the Possibilities: The Red and Black Masquerade Ball," at Allegheny Country Club. With more than 150 in attendance, the event grossed over $257,000 for the Academy.
SA Embraces Mr. Rogers – Sewickley Academy screened Won’t You Be My Neighbor on Sunday, February 10, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. and Tuesday, February 12, at 6:30 p.m. The film from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom) looks back on the legacy of Fred Rogers, focusing on his radically kind ideas.
Junlei Li, the Saul Zaentz Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, visited Sewickley Academy on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Mr. Li presented his work at two assemblies – one for the Lower School and one for the Middle and Senior Schools – as well as an evening talk entitled “What Did Fred Rogers Say?” that was open to the community.
In the Lower School assembly, Mr. Li explained how his work in studying helpers involves observing how people help one another and, in doing so, create ordinary magic. During the Middle and Senior School assembly, Mr. Li talked about what makes someone a helper. He closed the assembly with a connection to Fred Rogers’ messaging, quoting the famous TV personality by saying, “Always look for the helpers. Because when you look for the helpers, you’ll know that there is hope.”
Freshman Takes Gold in Swimming – Freshman Isabel Huang captured two gold medals at the WPIAL swimming championships in March and set two new school records in both the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:07.34 and the 100m backstroke with a time of 58.13!
The Panther Den Raises Funds for Performing Arts – Grade 6 students Chase Martin, Kirsten Close, and Carson Davis, members of the Middle School Store Club, opened The Panther Den, the Middle School pop-up store funded by the Academy’s Home & School Association, during the Grade 5 musical, Tut, Tut! They sold Skittles to benefit Sewickley Academy’s Melodia Performing Arts Scholarship Fund, which raised a total $112!
SA and QV Girl Up Clubs Collaborate – Sewickley Academy and Quaker Valley’s Girl Up Clubs teamed up and rented space in The Tull Family Theater in Sewickley to show Girl Rising on Monday, April 15. Approximately 75 people attended the screening, which highlights the stories of nine girls from developing countries who overcome great obstacles to obtain an education and change their fates. The event raised over $2,000, which was donated to Girl Up, an organization by girls, for girls aimed at improving the well-being of women all over the world through education, fundraising, and advocacy.
SA Inducts 16 Students into the Cum Laude Society – Sixteen members of Sewickley Academy’s senior class, who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship during their junior and senior years, were honored with membership to the Cum Laude Society during the Senior School Awards Ceremony on May 20, 2019. The 2019 inductees included: Lekha Amin, James Grosz, Amber Huang, Kathryn Jones, Shanzeh Kamal, Sydney Larsen, Zoya Mahmood, Henry Meakem, Jayvir Monga, Saarang Mulukutla, Daniel Phillips, Sarina Sandhu, Ishika Saxena, Linsey Szabo, Aydin Turkay, and Shiyuan Wang.
Yearbook Excellence – The yearbook club was presented with the Jostens National Yearbook Program of Excellence Award, a first for the Academy, during the yearbook assembly on May 29, 2019.
Two Seniors Awarded B kind Foundation Scholarship Award – Lekha Amin and Zoya Mahmood received the 2019 William P. Mahoney B kind Foundation Scholarship Award. The B kind Foundation generously, privately, and unexpectedly awards nominees $2,500 for their efforts to build community through acts of kindness.
Eight Students Recognized by the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program – Rees Blaylock, Amber Huang, Shanzeh Kamal, Henry Meakem, Ishika Saxena, and Linsey Szabo were named commended students; James Grosz and Aydin Turkay were named semifinalists, and Aydin advanced as a finalist. Aydin was selected as a winner of a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship.
Athletic Excellence – For the sixth consecutive year, Sewickley Academy was awarded the Trib Total Media Cup for overall athletic excellence! The Panthers finished the year with 287 points, accumulating points in 16 varsity sports.
Middle School Student Featured on Podcast – Grade 7 student Abby Bojalad’s essay addressing yellow journalism, the Spanish-American War, and the importance of seeking multiple news sources to obtain a better understanding of important issues was featured on the podcast “1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories and Mysteries.”
Three Faculty Named Faculty Emeriti – On Tuesday, May 14, 2019, three retiring faculty members were named Faculty Emeriti by Head of School Kolia O’Connor, Board Chair Kate (Poppenberg ’82) Pigman, and Vice Chair Brad Busatto ’88. Congratulations, Joan Cucinotta, Susan Zawacky, and Lawrence Connolly!
Alumni Wins Tony Award – Brian Hutchison ’89 and the cast of "The Boys in the Band" won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Brian and the entire original cast will reprise their roles for a new film version this summer produced by Ryan Murphy and Netflix!
