WORMLEYSBURG, PA – Two students at Harrisburg Academy were named as Finalists in the 2010 National Merit® Scholarship Program: Sophia Kitlinski ’10 and Reuben Mitrani ’10. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Sophia and Reuben are currently competing for 8,200 available National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million.

It’s 8:30 a.m., and Loran Jackson, Jasmine Kennedy, Dana Washington and Kuron Taltoan have already been at school for a half-hour. It’s an early start to a day that probably won’t end until midnight or later.

The SciTech High School seniors are typical of today’s sleep-deprived teens. Washington considers a midnight bedtime a “great accomplishment.”

“I have to tell myself to go to sleep sometimes,” she said. “I’m often up till 2.”

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – The Harrisburg Academy Alumni Council has selected Mark Parsells ’78 as the Alumnus of the Year and featured speaker for the Class of 2010’s graduation ceremony in June. This is the first year that the Alumni Council has been responsible for choosing the award’s recipient.

Harrisburg Academy congratulates its students who made the Honor Roll for the second quarter and commends their hard work.  Please click on the link to view the complete list.

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – Harrisburg Academy Middle School (MS) students welcomed loved ones to school today for Grandparents and Special Friends Day yesterday.  The morning feature musical performances, project displays, and refreshments.  Grandparents and special friends of the students had the opportunity to meet teachers and experience first-hand what the students are doing at school — including the excitement of the Middle School’s yearly Science Fair.

If you're a young, aspiring baseball, basketball or soccer player and want to play outside your high school season, there are plenty of opportunities to sharpen your game  There's American Legion baseball, AAU basketball, club soccer and travel soccer programs available to a variety of age ranges.  But what about a sport such as tennis? Sure, there are junior programs all over the area, but there never was that much available to get the competitive juices flowing.

Steve Pancoski has been a fixture not only at Harrisburg Academy but in the midstate hoops scene as well.  He's in his 17th year leading the Spartans boys team, making him one of the longest-tenured basketball coaches in central Pennsylvania.  In his 16 years of coaching at Academy, he's guided the Spartans to nine District 3 playoff appearances, five Susquehanna Independent Athletic Conference championships and a 154-190 overall record.

For all the moves Harrisburg Academy senior Zach Cohen shows off with a basketball, he saved his best one for off the court.  He started his high school career at Susquehanna Twp., a basketball hotbed where Cohen mostly sat and watched for two years. But then he made what turned out to be a fortuitous decision.

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – Marie Graupner Elias, who died earlier this year, and her husband, David A. Elias, Jr., who died in 1989, bequeathed a generous portion of their estate to Harrisburg Academy.  The bequest will come to the Academy in two installments, totaling more than $200,000. 

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – The Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) honored Harrisburg Academy this month with a Global Classroom Award Honorable Mention. The Global Classroom Award recognizes schools that bring international issues and global awareness into the school and larger community.  This is the second year in a row that Harrisburg Academy has received this honor.

Continuity just isn't what it once was.  After another summer of coaching changes within the midstate's boys' basketball ranks, it was time to stop and think: Which coaches have been around longer than the beat writer? Who has the most years with the same team?  Where is the continuity?  No one has a longer sustained run than Patrick Dieter, who just tipped off his 27th season at Boiling Springs.  "When I first came to Boiling Springs we were like a farm school," he said. "All these places the kids know, that have been there all their lives, weren't even there when I was a kid. It was all farm fields."

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – Harrisburg Academy is proud to announce that AnnElizabeth Konkel ’10 has been selected to the Patriot-News All Star Girls Tennis Team.  Konkel beat Class AAA competition and was the Mid-Penn playoffs runner-up.  In addition to making it to district playoffs in singles tennis, she advanced in doubles tennis with partner Sophia Kitlinski ’10.

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – The 2009 Leaders of Tomorrow program honored Rose L. ’12, a Harrisburg Academy sophomore, at its awards banquet last night.  The competition, sponsored by CenturyLink and The Sentinel (Carlisle) and now in its sixth year, honors local youth in grades nine through 12 who exhibit outstanding leadership and community service.   This year’s 107 nominees, eight finalists, and one winner, were recognized at the event.

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – Harrisburg Academy students collected a staggering 4,000 non-perishable food items during their annual food drive from Nov. 2-10, 2009.  The initial goal to collect 2,000 items was not only successfully attained, but surpassed by 100%.  Roughly, the number of donated items averages out to 10 cans per Academy student.

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – Harrisburg Academy Early Childhood (EC) and Lower School (LS) students will welcome loved ones to school today for Grandparents and Special Friends Day.  This annual favorite, fittingly themed, “Celebrating 225 Years of Tradition & Three Generations of Family,” will feature an afternoon of musical performances, class displays, and refreshments.

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – For one day, a piece of world history will fly over Harrisburg Academy.  On Monday, Nov. 23 during Morning Meeting time (10:42 a.m.), Harrisburg Academy Middle School students will conduct a brief ceremony while raising a special American flag on the school flagpole. The last time this flag flew was on Flag Day, June 14, 2009 – over the U.S. Embassy in Iraq in honor of Harrisburg Academy.

This collection of game day photos is courtesy of Patriot-News’ photographer Sean Simmers.  Featured Harrisburg Academy students include Ted O. ’10 and Alec D. ‘11.

WORMLEYSBURG – Harrisburg Academy named Beth Zak Operations and Special Events Associate of its pre-K through 12th grade independent school in Wormleysburg.  Beth will manage the coordination of all Development office events and Parents Association events in addition to coordinating the activities of the Development office staff.  Before joining Harrisburg Academy, Beth was the President/Owner of Eventz, Ltd., a Charlotte, NC events management firm that she founded.  Beth is a graduate of Winthrop University. 
 

WORMLEYSBURG –Harrisburg Academy is pleased to announce its 2009-10 Board of Trustees:  Thomas Schmidt III (President), Joyce Kantor (Vice-President), Stacey Zuckerman (Secretary), David Desfor (Treasurer), Jayne Abrams, Dawn Altmeyer, Elizabeth McInnis Benito, Helen Colvin ’60, Jan Coxon, Joyce Davis, Benedict Dubbs, Tom Farr, Linda Goldstein, Nirmal Joshi, Joyce Levin, Bill Miller, Diane Mulcahy (Parents Association representative), Michael Silver ’83, Addison Taliaferro, Jr., Ellen Warren, and Gene Trindell. 
 

HARRISBURG – Trinity girls' tennis coach Will Stonebraker was concerned.
His Shamrocks were scheduled to face Harrisburg Academy in the Mid-Penn Class AA Team Championships with a district spot on the line. And they had to do it without all of their weapons.
 

HARRISBURG – Liz Clarke began her Tuesday morning with a math test at Camp Hill before jettisoning over to East Pennsboro for the final day of the Mid-Penn Conference Class AA girls' tennis championships. Here is a tried and true tennis equation -- steady ground strokes + consistent first serve x minimal unforced errors = singles gold.
 

HARRISBURG – It's easy for AnnElizabeth Konkel to fly under the local tennis radar.  She plays at Harrisburg Academy and isn't part of the Mid-Penn Conference, and it's tough to garner any star power or respect at an independent school.  Konkel made a name for herself Monday by carving her way through the No. 1 singles bracket and taking a semifinal win over Bishop McDevitt's Lauren Lacey to advance to today's 9:30 a.m. final of the Mid-Penn Class AA Tennis Championships at East Pennsboro High School. 
 

WORMLEYSBURG – Two students at Harrisburg Academy have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP Exams. The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. About 18 percent of the 1.6 million students worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award. 
 

<p>HARRISBURG &ndash; What do the years 1784, 1809 and 1959 have in common? Each marks a milestone in the illustrious history of Harrisburg Academy, which celebrates this threefold anniversary this year.&nbsp; Harrisburg Academy was born in 1784 in one room of the John Harris Mansion, which today houses the Dauphin County Historical Society, three years before the ratification of the Constitution of the United States and 76 years before the City of Harrisburg was incorporated.</p>

HARRISBURG – In 1988, Judge Francis Young, former chief administrative law judge at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, ruled in favor of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in its case for the legalization of medical marijuana.

HARRISBURG – Marcie Boyer is deep into her first season as the field hockey coach at Harrisburg Academy. It might be just her first year of coaching at the high school level, but she brings a wealth of experience to the job.   After a successful playing career at Northern High School, she played at the University of New Hampshire, then starred for two years with the United States national U-23 team. 

WORMLEYSBURG – The students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of Harrisburg Academy are preparing to celebrate yet again – this time with packed weekend of homecoming events. The school, founded in 1784 by John Harris, Jr., is observing a special Triple Anniversary Homecoming this year with stewardship and celebration.
 

HARRISBURG – Back in the 1950s, scientists and sociologists predicted technological advances would make it easier for future generations of American women to keep their houses clean and shiny.  Included in the list of modern developments: plastic houses that homemakers could clean just by rinsing with a hose.  We're still waiting for that one.   Not all of the predictions made over the years have come true, but they're still interesting and important to examine, according to Amy Miller, a teacher at Harrisburg Academy.

WORMLEYSBURG – Two students at Harrisburg Academy were named as Semifinalists in the 2010 National Merit® Scholarship Program:  Sophia K. ’10 and Reuben M. ’10.  The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.  Sophia and Reuben will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for 8,200 available National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring.

WORMLEYSBURG – Harrisburg Academy named Arthur Moore Director of Development and Alumni Relations and Kristina Burlew Pae Communications Associateof its pre-K through 12th grade independent school in Wormleysburg.  Arthur will manage the Academy’s development operations.  He has successfully led development programs in a number of other independent schools in Wisconsin, Georgia, New York City, Arizona, and most recently the Poughkeepsie Day School in the Hudson Valley (New York). 

HARRISBURG – In this second year of Harrisburg Academy's football co-op agreement with Trinity, one player has crossed over. The important thing is that one player has his chance.  "That was my big push, to be able to provide the opportunity for the students to be able to play," Harrisburg Academy athletic director Jeane Serino said. "It's easy when you're part of a big school," said the Shippensburg High School grad. "But when you go to a smaller school and kids want to play ... why not?" 

WORMLEYSBURG, PA – The readers of Central Penn Parent magazine have spoken, and Harrisburg Academy has been recognized as the #2 private school in Central Pennsylvania – and the #1 independent (non-religious) school in the region for the 2009 Family Favorites Awards.  Thirty-one schools were nominated for this honor. 

HARRISBURG – Fans lined the sidewalk as the Harrisburg Academy boys' tennis team pulled out from the school in a chartered bus for its trip to Williamsport's Memorial Park. The teachers cheered. The students waved. It was the perfect sendoff for a team that had achieved so much. Get ready for another celebration. 

HARRISBURG – Competition for making the wrestling or debate team could get stiffer at public schools if a bill in the state Senate becomes law.  School districts would be required to allow nonpublic school students the chance to participate in extracurricular activities in their home districts if their own schools do not offer the activities. 
 

CARLISLE – Eight-year-old Hayden Q isn’t the only person who thinks he has a great mother. Hayden’s winning nomination in The Sentinel’s Mother’s Day Contest drew 223 votes.  “It was a big surprise,” Qualls said. The 38-year-old Carlisle Borough resident explained that her husband, Karl Qualls, found out about the contest and suggested to Hayden that he enter it as a sort of Mother’s Day gift. 

HARRISBURG –Harrisburg Academy recently received a $318,000 bequest from the estate of businessman and philanthropist George C. Hoopy, Class of 1926, to create an endowed scholarship fund. Revenue from the Patricia R. and George C. Hoopy Scholarship Fund will be used annually to provide financial aid to needy families.

HARRISBURG – Its graduates go on to schools like the University of Pennsylvania, New York University and even the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.  It strives to be academically challenging and globally minded, teaching students not only how to excel scholastically but also how to be engaged in and focused on their community and their world.  Harrisburg Academy is now celebrating its 225th anniversary, making it one of the country's oldest private schools. 
 

WORMLEYSBURG – The school’s triple anniversary – 225th year of its founding, 200th year of its incorporation by the Commonwealth, and 50th year at its current site – kicks off at 9:30 a.m., Monday, April 6, in the State Capitol Main Rotunda. (The actual anniversary is April 4 – a Saturday this year.) State Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola and State Reps. Glen R. Grell and Sheryl Delozier will be hand to present legislative citations. Executive Deputy Sec. of Education Thomas E. Gluck will present a citation from Gov. Edward Rendell.
 

HARRISBURG, PA –The Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) honored Harrisburg Academy last month with a Global Classroom Award Honorable Mention. The Global Classroom Award recognizes schools that bring international issues and global awareness into the school and larger community.