News
Fall 2009
Senior Jasmine Azizi was accepted into the Archdiocesan All-Catholic Chorus.
The chorus will perform at a three-day festival in February and also at the Archdiocesan Honors Convocation in May. Five students have been honored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as members of the All-Catholic Band: Mackenzie Halter ‘11, viola; Angela Petrone ‘11, oboe; Gianna Cappelli ‘11, clarinet; Elizabeth Dierkes ‘13, clarinet; and Kaitlin Peck ‘12, clarinet. The three clarinet players have also earned the distinction of being seated one, two, and three.
Sarah Hospodar '11 has been named to the 2009 Harrow Sports/National Field Hockey Coaches Association High School All-American Team.
Ten members of the class of 2010 have achieved recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Jasmine Azizi, Saara-Anne Azizi, Stephanie Kan, Caitlin 
Mattera and Rachel Ryley have been named Semifinalists; Gabrielle Bruno, Cecilia Cammisa, Rebecca Daily, Victoria Romvary and Allison Theveny have been named Commended Students.
The MMA Volleybears won the PIAA State Champioship for the third consecutive year.
Senior Maggie Hock came in first in her age group at the National Sudoku Contest in Philadelphia on October 24.
Sophomore Kaitlin Peck, who has participated in the sport of dragon boat racing for several years, was selected for the Junior World Team that represented the US at the international championship in Prague in August. Her 16-and-under team of boys and girls won the Gold Medal and brought home the Junior World Cup.
Juniors Jasmine and Saara-Anne Azizi and Rachel Ryley were among the 15 students who qualified for the AP Scholar Award by achieving scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. Twelve members of the class of 2009 also earned that distinction. In addition, 13 members of the 2009 class qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on four or more exams.
The 2009 edition of Image Explosion, the MMA literary magazine, has earned the highest initial ratings given by both the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Pennsylvania School Press Association. Both have sent the magazine on for further judging. Congratulations to the current students who worked on the '09 edition: Katie Schaad, assistant editor; Caitlin Mattera, copy editior; Allison Theveny, layout editor; and staff members Cecilia Cammisa, Gabrielle Slater, Alyssa Beck, and Katie Smith.
Spring 2009
On Saturday, May 9, the lacrosse team defeated Villa 15-14 to capture the Association of Catholic Academies Championship. Kimmy Keating led the scoring with five goals and three assists. Casey Rooney and Emily Corcoran each added three goals.
The sophomores, juniors, and seniors earned national recognition for their performance in the WordMasters Challenge critical reading competition this year. Participating with 556 high school teams from across the country, the sophomores tied for ninth place in the nation in the cumulative standing at the end of the four meets. The juniors tied for twelfth place and the seniors tied for eighth place.
The MMA lacrosse team defeated rival Sacred Heart on April 16, but off the field there was collaboration, not competition. Both teams, with support from their school communities, turned their game into a fundraiser to benefit the Kelly Rooney Foundation. Read more here.
Sherry Woods '09 has been named a Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship competition.
Leah Tassoni '10 Has been awarded
Founded in 1992, the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF) is an independent, educational organization established to help prepare extraordinary young people for their professional careers. Its mission is to bring various professions to life, empowering outstanding young people with confidence to make well-informed career choices.
The team of freshmen Kerry Candolero, Stephanie Furlong, and Sharisse Sutherland have won their division in the regional Toshiba Exploravision Contest.
Erin Rademaker '09 competed at the District 1 diving championship, finishing as the Runner Up.
The Varsity Mathletes have maintained a perfect record with their first place finish at the February competition. Colleen Quinn and Emma Han earned perfect scores in individual rounds. They have been invited - along with Alyson Hall- to participate in the April championship meet between the public league and Catholic league.
On February 16, Gianna Yanelli '10 took center stage at The Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia, winning first place in the Philadelphia Branch Competition of the English Speaking Union annual Shakespeare Competition. Gianna will compete at the national competition in New York in April.
Anne Wechsler '10, this year's MMA Poetry Out Loud champion, won the Philadelphia area competition on Saturday and will compete next month at the state contest in Harrisburg. State winners go on to compete at the national event in Washington. This is only the third year that MMA has participated in the Poetry Out Loud program.
Students and faculty enjoyed an entertaining assembly on Feb. 3, as contestants competed in the annual Shakespeare Competition. The following students earned distinction: Ali Krick '09, honorable mention; Joanna Gardner '09, third place; Teresa McCann '10, second place; Gianna Yanelli '10, first place. Gianna will represent MMA at the Philadelphia Branch Competition, sponsored by the English Speaking Union, on Feb. 16.
Five student musicians have auditioned and been selected to play in the Philadelphia All-Catholic band and orchestra. Gianna Cappelli '11 will perform with the Concert Band; Mackenzie Halter '11 and Alexandra LaMonaca '11 will perform with the Orchestra; Kaitlin Peck '12 and Angela Petrone '11 will perform with both.
Fall 2008
At the fall sports assembly on December 5, coaches presented awards to the following Most Valuable Players: Liz D'Eramo, cross country; Ali Moran, field hockey; Sara McCusker, golf; Alex Ondik, soccer; Kelli Fox, tennis; Danielle Carrozza, volleyball.
Twenty members of the class of 2008 have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP exams. Eleven students earned "Scholar" distinction for scoring grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams; five students earned the designation of "Scholar with Honor" for scoring an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more exams; four students achieved "Scholar with Distinction" status for earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams and grades of 3 or higher on five or more exams.
"Dancing With The Stars" celebrity and rising country music star Julianne Hough performed for MMA students at a private concert on Dec. 4. Students earned the concert by winning a texting contest sponsored by WXTU radio station.
MMA juniors tied for sixth place in the nation in the first round of this year's WordMasters Challenge critical reading competition, and the senior team tied for thirteenth place. Competing with more than 54,000 students from across the country, several MMA students earned high honors for individual achievement: Lucy McInerney '11 was among the top 41 sophomores in the country. Class of 2010 members Saara-Anne Azizi, Cecilia Cammisa, Sara Haines, and Amy Jarrell were among the top 77 juniors.
The Varsity Mathletes have placed first in their division for the third consecutive month. Colleen Quinn '09, Alyson Hall '09, and Emma Han '11 repeated their perfect-score performance and are tied for overall scores. Alyson Hall, Mary Lynch '09, Colleen Quinn, and Emma Han were the highest individual scorers at the November competition. Jasmine Azizi '10, Saara-Anne Azizi '10, and Laura Buongiorno '10 achieved perfect scores at the October competition.
On October 1, MMA Senior Olivia Nowinski became one of fewer than 100 high school seniors nationwide to be named to the US Rowing Scholastic Honor Roll. Olivia is one of 43 student-athletes whose grades and SAT/ACT scores earned honorable mention scholastic accolades.
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association has awarded the 2008 Image Explosion a Gold Medalist rating, its highest. CSPA’s judges evaluated literary magazines from across the on their organization, their content, and their design. Congratulations to staff members Nora Kelly ’08 (editor-in-chief), Lili Dodderidge ’09 (assistant editor), Sherry Woods ’09 (layout editor), Kristen Valosky ’08 (copy editor), Adrianna Savarese ’08, Nora Sullivan ’08, Carla Caso ’09, Clare Coffey ’09, Erin McGinley ’09, Colleen Quinn ’09, Rosemary Bencher ’10, Caitlin Mattera ’10, Katie Schaad ’10, and Allison Theveny ’10.
Sherry Woods '09 has been honored as a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. The following seniors have earned Commended Student honors: Eileen Browne, Clare Coffey, Joanna Gardner, Meghan Githens, Shannon O'Neill, Colleen Quinn, Katherine Rymal, Carolyn Sciblo, and Mary Siki.
Meghan Pierce and Jessica Javage represented MMA at the annual Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminars(HOBY) at Temple University. For more than 50 years, HOBY has identified and worked with young people who make a difference in the world, starting at their schools, homes, communities, and workplaces.
