RADNOR PROUD 2012-13

• Each year, students of French at Radnor Middle School and take the Le Grand Concours, or the National French Exam, administered by the American Association of Teachers of French. This year 22 RHS students and 13 RMS students scored very well and received awards. Pictured below, they are: at RHS, top picture, right to left, front row: Ariane Abadi and Sofia Demopolos; middle row: Morgan Dambra, Jessica Amarant, Katherine Banwell, Morgan Coren, Shefain Islam and Phoebe Cai; back row: Cameron Ittner, Robert McGrane, Jacob Friedman, Rodrigo Castro, Jacob Rhode and Santiago Restrepo. Not pictured: Jacob Schultz, Sasha Abadi, Shreyash Purnar, Annabelle Chardonnet, Emily Lu, Cassandra Maz, James Speranza and Renee Khouri. At RMS, left to right: Jan Kozlowski, Abigail Slate, Natasha Lowy, Maya Al-Soufi, Emma Majercak and Lina Moscol. Not pictured: Grace Moore, Nicole Massimino, Lily Tang, Melissa Tiong, Ava Jacobsen and Courtney Schreiber.

• The Radnor High School team celebrated its season at Senior Night on May 17. The team had a successful year, finishing 17-3 and earning the #1 seed in the AAA District 1 playoffs. Sadly, the team lost 8-6 to Chichester in the first round. Four girls were named to All- Central League Team and two others earned honorable mention: Kyla Crombie (1st team; infielder), Izzy Schaefer (2nd team; pitcher), Bari Margolis (2nd team; infielder), Becky Maz (2nd teaml outfielder), Ali Birtwistle (honorable mention) and Holly Pachella (honorable mention). Congrats!

• Radnor High School senior Michael Staples was recognized by the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame with the Scholar-Athlete Award on May 8. High school seniors are selected based upon football performance, academic achievement and leadership. The awards dinner was hosted by Villanova head football coach Andy Talley, president of the Philadelphia Chapter. Pictured below is Staples (right) with fellow honoree Corey Power of Marple Newtown High School.

• Ithan Elementary School principal Tronya Boylan took one for the team at IES' annual Spring Thing fair on May 11! The popular event, presented by the school's Parent-Teacher Organization, helps raise funds for projects, supplies and services not included in the school's budget, but necessary in order to help students excel and reach their full potential in a fun, safe and caring environment. A principal willing to get soaked for her students? It's true what they say: Ithan CARES!

• At the 2013 Congressional High School Art Competition on April 22, four of eight Radnor High School art students earned awards for their artwork. Seniors Sofia Demopolos and Julia Reichert earned first place honors (Sofia for mixed-media category and Julia for acrylic/oil paint) and senior Grace Collins earned 3rd-place for her work in mixed- media. Freshman Katherine Hung earned 2nd-place honors for her work in watercolor. This annual art show, hosted by U.S. Congressman Patrick Meehan, is a chance for talented young artists in the 7th Congressional District to display their skills. Congressman Meehan personally handed out the awards. The other participants were Emma Bolton, Camilla Bowden, Youjin Choi & Emily Lu.

From left to right: RHS art teacher Erik Barrett, Katherine Hung, Grace Collins, Camilla Bowden, Emma Bolton, Julia Reichert, Sofia Demopolos and Emily Lu and RHS art teacher Tracey Dean. Not pictured: Youjin Choi

• Radnor Middle School 7th-grader Emily Chen was named a winner of Boeing's 2013 "Diversity through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)" Essay Contest and joined other winners from local middle and high schools throughout Delaware County for an awards luncheon at the Boeing Philadelphia campus on May 1. Fifteen schools submitted a total of 278 essays, so Emily's truly stood out from a packed and accomplished crowd. Congrats, Emily! Read her essay.

• Radnor High School sophomore Abigail Browngoehl won 1st-place in the Sophomore Division at the Central League Writing Competition on April 25 at Marple Newtown High School. Students Katherine Hung, Hannah Ross, Laura Zamsky, Catherine Mosier Mills, James Gurian and Alison Mosier Mills also participated, but Abagail was Radnor's only place- winner. Congrats, Abby!

• The Radnor Boys Crew Club took wintery conditions in stride as they participated in the 2nd Manny Flick at the Schuylkill River on Sunday, March 24. The Freshman 8+ took second place in their heat and third place overall out of 15 boats competing as a group for the first time. Freshman (bottom photo below, left to right) Drew Addis, Benton Duncan, Griffin Monaghan, Ryan Borowski, Oscar Glassman, Colin Zwagerman, Liam Williams, Stephen Ching and coxswain Zach Pepper combined for a great effort. The Radnor Boys Junior Varsity 8+ were outstanding, placing first in their heat and first overall by time among 11 JV boats. Crew members (top photo below, left to right ) included coxswain Will Moore, Jack Palmer, Chad Beverly, Will Aftring, Evan Horvath, Alex Bowden, Sam Hastings, Jack Breen and Jake Bragdon. Great job by all Radnor crews!

• Seven 6th-grade band students from Radnor Middle School participated in the annual PMEA District 12 Delaware County Intermediate Band Fest on Feb. 28, hosted by Chichester Middle School. More than 100 students representing public and private schools throughout Delaware County rehearsed throughout the day and performed a public concert that evening.

From left to right: Nick Mlodzienski (bass clarinet), Patrick Walker (percussion), Anna Gurian (oboe); Luke Kilby (bassoon), Blake Heath (alto saxophone), Sydney Brumfield (horn) and Julia Grossinger (mallet percussion) Photo courtesy of Roger Morgan, RMS director of bands and jazz bands

• Twenty-three Radnor High School students were recognized by the Radnor Township School District Board of School Directors at the Feb. 26 School Board meeting for being named 2013 National Merit Scholarship finalists. They are: Christopher Blazey; Bryan Cai; Jake Campolo; Brady Clapp; Sofia Demopolos; Alison Elliott; Sophia Faude; Yuichiro Iwamoto; Joelle Khouri; Alex Kim; Lindsay Korzekwa; Andrew Lin; Emily Lu; Dan Michelson; Matt Ming; Shaiba Rather; Suhaas Reddy; Natalia Salinas; Claire Song; Sarah Trachtenberg; Griffin Unger; Boen Wang; and Kevin Yim. Fifteen of the 23 attended the meeting. Congrats! (see more pictures)

• Each Radnor Township School District school was formally recognized by the RTSD School Board at its Feb. 26 meeting for once again achieving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The designation marks the 10th straight year all RTSD schools have made AYP. RTSD is the only district in Delaware County in which all schools have made AYP since the measurement's inception. Receiving the plaques on behalf of the schools were, from left to right, Tronya Boylan (principal, Ithan Elementary School), Terry Borden (principal, Radnor Elementary School), Tony Rybarczyk (principal, Wayne Elementary School), Esther Purnell (assistant principal, Radnor Middle School) and Mark Schellenger (principal, Radnor High School).

• Radnor High School senior Michael Staples committed to playing football at Cornell University at the D-1 football signing day on Feb. 6. A defensive end, Michael received first team All-Main Line football honors last fall and was highly regarded among Southeast football experts. He also received second team Class AAA all-state honors at defensive lineman by Pennsylvania Football News. He is pictured below with his mother Anne-Marie, his father Bill, and RHS football coach Tom Ryan. Congrats, Michael!

• Pulitzer Prize-winner Jesse Eisinger, a columnist for Pro-Publica and "The New York Times'" DealBook section, phoned into Radnor High School's Viewpoints class on Feb. 27. It was the class' second conference call from a renowned writer this year (Dan Pink called into the class, taught by Carl Rosin and Paul Wright, on Oct. 24). Eisinger and Jake Bernstein shared the first Pulitzer for National Reporting ever awarded to an online outlet for their series "The Wall Street Money Machine." In the photos below, Cat Mosier-Mills asks Eisinger about collateralized debt obligations and Quincy Shuda asks about hedge funds.

• Radnor Middle School 7th-grader Sahil Purohit won second place in the Crescendo International Piano Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 17. He performed Sonatina in C, Op. 20, No. 1 by Friedrich Kulau. Sahil has been learning piano for seven years and is a student at the Nelly Berman School of Music in Haverford.

• As a special Valentine's Day treat, the Parent-Teacher Organizations at each Radnor Township School District school sponsored a RTSD Bus Drivers Appreciation Breakfast on Thurs., Feb. 14. Radnor High School parents Sherry Summers and Elisa Locke once again coordinated the lovely event - an annual tradition which brings joy to the dedicated men and women who safely transport Radnor children to and from school each day. Members from all the PTOs were represented at the breakfast and they happily saw appreciative bus drivers enjoying their meals and the special acknowledgement of their efforts. Thank you to all Radnor families whose contributions to the PTOs make these kind of events possible.

• From MainLineMediaNews.com: Radnor High School senior wrestler Matt Pelton completed his second consecutive undefeated regular season and earned his 100th win in his last match on his home mat on Feb. 11. Amazing job, Matt! (Photo courtesy of Journal Register Company/Eric Hartline)

• The Radnor Middle School 8th-grade squash team took home third place in Division 2 competition at the Mid-Atlantic Squash Association Middle School Championships at Penn Charter on Feb. 4. The team proudly represented the RMS squash program of 48 middle schoolers which had a successful season of learning the game and competing at Fairmount Athletic Club under the coaching of Radnor High School teacher Paul Wright and Adrian Leanza and Bryan Cassey of Fairmount Athletic Club. (Pictured left to right: Front Row: Jonathan Lee, Davis Rosato, Rico Hernandez, Travis Schwartz, Paul Owens. Back Row: Mac Updike, Emmett Burns, Cal Hanson, Coach Paul Wright)

• Congratulations to the Radnor Middle School's MathCounts team for taking second place overall at the Delaware County Finals on Feb. 9! Priya Ganesh placed 9th overall and Niles Huang won! Niles will head to Harrisburg to compete in the 2013 Pennsylvania State Final on March 23. The National Final is on May 10 in Washington, D.C. The other team members are Katie Lee, Ryan Low, Arch Morrison, Dennis Xiao and Kail Yuan. Every student is welcome on the MathCounts team. Look for announcements next fall about joining this group. Next year the team is aiming to bring the trophy cup back to RMS where it belongs!

• Radnor High School chorus members Alex Kim, MaryAnn Han and Katie Horner were selected from more than 500 students from across Delaware, Chester and Philadelphia counties to participate in the District Chorus, Feb. 7-9 at Owen J. Roberts High School in Pottstown. Alex and MaryAnn moved on to the Regional Chorus Festival, which takes place March 21-23 at Ridley High School in Folsom. (From left to right: Alex Kim, Tenor 2; MaryAnn Han, accompanist; Katie Horner, Soprano 2)

• At a Jan. 9 farewell for retiring Radnor Township School District superintendent Dr. Linda Grobman, friends, family and colleagues shared their best wishes, including PA State Representative William F. Adolph, Jr. (R-District 165). Rep. Adolf expressed appreciation for Dr. Grobman's 37 years of service to public education and conferred a citation commending "her exemplary record of service and lasting contributions to the lives of the students, faculty and staff of the Radnor Township School District" and offering her "best wishes for a most happy and rewarding future."

• Radnor High School senior Griffin Unger was honored by the RTSD Board of School Directors at the Dec. 18 board meeting for his service as student representative to the board and the Policy Committee during the past year. Griffin's parents joined him at the meeting and board member Charles Madden conferred a Certificate of Recognition.

• This year's Radnor Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization Book Fair kicked off with renewed spirit and energy! The Book Fair opened on Nov. 15 and ran throughout parent-teacher conferences just before Thanksgiving. Thanks to RMS parent co-chairs Susan Mlodzienski and Claudia Dustin, RMS librarian Catherine Horan, and library assistant Joanne Lawson, the book fair welcomed many new books, eager students, supportive parent shoppers and dedicated parent volunteers for a fun and successful week in the beautiful RMS library. Submitted by Claudia Dustin

• Approximately 160 guests were inspired by 2006 Radnor High School graduate Matt Miller's captivating tale of his journey from traumatic brain and physical injuries to succeeding as a triathlete on Nov. 29 in the RHS auditorium. Miller was joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning "Philadelphia Inquirer" reporter Michael Vitez, whose book, "The Road Back: A Journey of Grace and Grit," chronicles Miller's accident and his amazing comeback. John J. Brennan, Chairman Emeritus and Senior Advisor of The Vanguard Group, introduced Miller and Vitez. Chris Massaro was instrumental in organizing the event as a member of the Radnor Alumni Council. (From left to right: Massaro, Vitez, Miller and Brennan)

• Current and retired Radnor teachers were "guest chefs" at the Ronald McDonald House on Nov. 28. This is the sixth year teachers have provided and prepared dinner for house guests. From left to right, front to back row: Susan Melchiore, Lois Wysocki, Susan Wolf, Gilda Edelstein, Donna Gola, Nancy Zion, Vicki Boettcher, Jeanne Lynam, Gail Furman, Nancy MacKenzie, Susan Underwood, Sue McFarland and Candace Stringer.

• The Radnor High School Girls' Team finished their season 9-0 and won their second straight District 1 championship. The team will play for their first state title on Oct. 24. Six Radnor players - Jamie Susanin, Allie Ziegler, Abby Sydnes, Juliann Horgan, Julia Curley and Brynn Walker - qualified for districts as individuals. Jamie Susanin placed 5th at Districts and 1st at Regionals. Brynn Walker placed 6th at Districts and 3rd at Regionals. Both Jamie and Brynn are competing at States on Oct. 22 and 23. Seniors Jamie Susanin and Allie Ziegler, junior Juliann Horgan, sophomore Julia Curley and freshman Brynn Walker were named first team all Central League and senior Abby Sydnes earned 2nd team honors.

• Despite the rainy weather, Radnor High School's football team and squad happily supported the 10th annual Buddy Walk & Family Fun Day on Oct. 7. The event benefits the Trisomy 21 Program at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the National Down Syndrome Society. In just 9 years, supporters like the RHS students have raised over $1.9 million.

• Philly.com's Kristin Holmes reports on the opportunities provided to students through Radnor A Better Chance and details recent funding woes that threaten the program's existence Read more • Radnor High School senior Christopher Merken had an article about his memories of 9/11 published in the September 2012 issue of the "Mensa Bulletin," the national magazine for members of American Mensa. Read "9/11 Through A Child's Eyes" here

• RTSD to Name RMS Field for Marjorie McCone Delco Times | Main Line Media News | Patch

• From Main Line Media News: RHS girls' soccer team should be strong this Fall Read more