Kennett High School is proud to announce that senior Colin Petersen has been recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist in the 64th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Colin is among approximately 1.6 million juniors who entered the 2019 National Merit Program by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screening of program entrants.

In addition to singing with the choir, Colin is a member of the spring musical and the academic team.

“We are tremendously proud of Colin for his accomplishments,” said Kennett High School principal Dr. Jeremy Hritz. “He is an outstanding student who represents everything that is great about Kennett High School.”

The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less than 1 percent of high-school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

National Merit Commended Students

Kennett High School is also proud to announce that seniors Amanda Bell, Johnathan Bell, Emma Giancola, Molly Hohner, Rachel Hyzny, Peter Magasiny, Caleb Pebly, and Davis Peircy have been named Commended Students in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program.

A Letter of Commendation from Kennett High School and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, has been presented by Dr. Hritz to these scholastically talented seniors.

These eight students represent diverse academic and extracurricular interests:

• Amanda Bell is a member of the track and cross-country teams as well as Earth Club. She is also active with the high school’s musicals.
• Johnathan Bell is a member of the tennis team, Future Business Leaders of America, and marching band.
• Emma Giancola is a member of the marching band and is involved with Farrago and the fall play.
• Molly Hohner plays the violin and is a member of the Demon Robotics team, the Society of Women Engineers, and the tennis team.
• Rachel Hyzny is a member of the Society of Women Engineers, the Special Friends Club, and the cross-country and track teams.
• Peter Magasiny plays football and Ultimate Frisbee and is involved with the high school’s musicals.
• Caleb Pebly plays Ultimate Frisbee, is a member of the varsity academic team, and plays in the jazz band.
• Davis Piercy is a member of the track and tennis teams and Future Business Leaders of America.

“We are so proud of these outstanding students—not only for their exceptional performance on standardized tests, but also for all the other ways they enrich the Kennett Square community,” Dr. Hritz says.

Although these students do not continue in the competition for Merit Scholarships, Commended Students place among the top 50,000 of the 1.6 million students who entered the 2019 Merit Scholarship competition by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The Kennett High School Blue and White Chapter of the National Honor Society welcomed the 2018-19 inductees at a ceremony and reception on April 4, 2018. The ceremony had been previously scheduled for March 21, but was postponed due to snow.

Chapter adviser Dr. Alicia Tamargo opened the program. Four National Honor Society members from the Class of 2018 delivered speeches highlighting the Cardinal Objectives, the qualities expected of members: Maxwell Judd (character), Francesca Caccamo (scholarship), Claire Dawyot (leadership), and Erin Duffy (service). Senior speeches were delivered by Allison Taylor and James Rosser.

Next, Mr. Jeffery Thomas, Assistant Principal, called the role of the existing members of the Chapter. These students were inducted into the Society last year: Ashton Albert, Leo Battalora, Jose Becerra, Tyler Bowdoin, Megan Bunke, Francesca Caccamo, Daniela Carmona, Clare Catanzaro, Hannah Church, Giulianna Claricurzio, Katherine Clarke, Anna Colamarino, Madelyn Conlin-Day, Michael Crognale, Jillian Curran, Abby Davidson, Claire Dawyot, Abigail Devestine, Kaitlyn Devonshire, Daniel Drennan, Abigail Duckworth, Erin Duffy, Nicholas Erni, Eliane Esparza Villarruel, Kevin Fiss, Melissa Fitzgibbon, Eric Gaver, David Geller, Victoria Gonzalez, Ryley Harris, Caroline Hertz, Sydney Holder, Nicole Huff, Quinn Huffaker, Alexa Hussey, Kelsey Jernegan, Cedric Jones, Benjamin Jordan, Delaney Joyce, Maxwell Judd, Jake Kalscheur, Brinda Kapur, Meghann LaCosta, Keiri Lemus Ramirez, Benjamin Lesher, Caroline Maroko, Matthew Patterson, Cameron Petrillo, Gianna Pippin, Elizabeth Rauscher, Lily Reilly, James Rosser, Katherine Rowe, Alena Rybarczyk, Jennifer Schaen, Morgan Schaen, Kathleen Schuetz, Linus Silbernagel, Elijah Smith, Lukas Staudenmayer, Samantha Sullivan, Allison Taylor, Emily Thompson, Madison Thureen, James Tuley, Citlaly Weed, Trinette Wheeler, Kaitlyn Willey, Chase Williams, Anna Wilson, Karma Yang, and Cynthia Zern.

Dr. Tomorrow Jenkins, Assistant Principal, called the role of new inductees who were welcomed into the Chapter: Seniors Sarah Anderson, Merritt Connolly, Joseph Davidson, Eliza Fantazzi, Pathampon Moonthianngam, Sarah Ploener, Lauren Sugar, and Anneliese Werner; Juniors Lilian Alba Rodriguez, Emily Augustine, Camille Avedisian, Kassandra Ayllon, Lizette Bedolla-Zavala, Amanda Bell, Jonathan Bell, Claire Borman, Julia Bradley, Jayna Bruno, Madison Canter, Mara Castleton, Avery Chapman, Ava Charlton, Heather Cooper, Alexandra Cresci, Maya Das, Zhuanel Du Toit, Kathryn Erisman, Christopher Ferrighetto, Victoria Freire, Timothy Freligh, Emma Giancola, Holly Gouge, Molly Hohner, Mary Holguin, Alexandra Hughson, Rachel Hyzny, Rhea Jiang, Mitchell Kosara, Meredith Krieger, Kevin Lemus Moreno, Samuel Lesher, John MacMillan, Peter Magasiny, Brenna McGowan, Olivia McLaurin, Sydney Mentzer, Tamblyn Mitchell, Jack Mullen, Zoe Nguyen, Caleb Pebly, Colin Petersen, Mirella Petrillo, Davis Piercy, Noal Rasero, Hildi Reiter, Kyle Robertson, Cole Robinson, Katherine Roche, Katelin Rumbold, Erin Salameda, Joseph Schlitz, Connor Schmidt, Evan Shinn, Ananya Shivakumar, Samuel Starr, Kristina Testa, Sydney Thureen, Tamryn Whyte, Elizabeth Wilkie, Emma Yue, and Brenna Zdebski.

Following the induction ceremony and roll call, Assistant Principal Raymond Fernandez administered the pledge of honor, and Dr. Tamargo announced the newly elected officers for 2018-19: President Rachel Hyzny, Vice President Tamblyn Mitchell, Secretary Victoria Freire, Treasurer Alex Starr, and Historian Rhea Jiang. Dr. Hritz then closed the ceremony and invited all to a reception in the cafeteria.

Members of the Blue and White Chapter must demonstrate and maintain high standards of the four hallmarks of the National Honor Society: scholarship, leadership, character, and service. Throughout the year, National Honor Society members participate in service activities, including tutoring and fundraising. This year they have organized two blood drives for the American Red Cross, worked on volunteer crews for the Mushroom Festival, and ushered patrons at this year’s musical Fiddler on the Roof. The group is also looking forward to activities in the community this spring, particularly volunteering at the Kennett Run.

Members of the Blue and White Chapter became eligible by posting a 3.75 grade point average (GPA) by the second semester of their junior year. Additional qualities of character, leadership, and service were assessed by the faculty of Kennett High School and reviewed by members of the National Honor Society Faculty Council, who are chosen by the principal from among the faculty and serve for a period of two years. This year’s Faculty Council included Mr. Robert Anthony, Mr. Vincent Civiletti, Ms. Sara Donovan, Mr. Joseph Hutcheson, Ms. Heather Morihara, Ms. Amanda O’Connor, Ms. Elizabeth Richey, Ms. Chanel Ruffin, Ms. Jennifer Schmalzbach, Mr. Robert Socash, Mrs. Hannah Taylor, Mr. Frances Vanderslice, and Mr. Robert Virgin.

A dedicated and enthusiastic group of over two hundred KHS students will remain on their feet from 8 p.m. Friday, February 23, to 6 a.m. on Saturday morning for Mini-THON, an event to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund to benefit pediatric cancer research and families whose children are battling the disease. Through a variety of events, raffles, generous corporate contributions, donations, and the Wizards basketball game, students have already raised thousands of dollars in pursuit of this year’s goal.

Kennett High School Mini-THON logo

Modeled after Penn State’s Dance Marathon (THON), Kennett High School’s Mini-THON features ten hours packed with fun activities, music, and food. Participants this year will be treated to a luau theme.

Faculty advisors for the event are Lisa Teixeira, KHS librarian and Humanitarian Club moderator, and Shawn Duffy, social studies teacher and Humanitarian Club assistant moderator. Student organizers are led by senior event co-chairs Erin Duffy and Anna Wilson, along with junior chair Jayna Bruno, and committee chairs M.J. Patterson, Allie Taylor, Tyler Bowdoin, Abby Davidson, Ashton Albert, Will Michael, and Ryley Harris and returning alumnus Michael Bellino.

“I am so proud of the KHS Mini-THON team, particularly my co-chair, Shawn Duffy, and this year’s student leaders, Erin Duffy, Anna Wilson, and Jayna Bruno. They are the most dedicated and selfless individuals and have clearly identified a future-forward vision for our Mini-THON. Our group seeks to not only raise money for Four Diamonds but to provide the community, in and out of school, with a framework for unity, inclusiveness, and fun,” said Ms. Teixeira.

New Garden Elementary student Grayson Savery and his mother, Mrs. Jaclyn Savery, speaking at the Kennett High School Mini-THON rally on January 26.

Again this year, a community open house will kick off the evening’s schedule. For a recommended donation of $5 per family, members of the Kennett community are invited to Reynolds Gymnasium from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, February 23, for a sneak peek at the Mini-THON event. Faculty and student organizers are excited to welcome everyone to share in the fun and support a very worthy cause.

Event co-chair Erin Duffy said, “Mini-THONs empower high school students to organize their communities in the fight against childhood cancer – a difficult and daunting task. However, passionate members of the Kennett community have shouldered our cause with us, and they have been my examples of the ideals of leadership, citizenship, and service.”

Co-chair Anna Wilson added, “Every step of the way, we have one thought in our minds — the children. Throughout this process of planning, organizing, and fundraising for our Mini-THON, we have done all that we can to improve the lives of children battling cancer, especially those fighting cancer within our o

Come join Kennett High School for a night of family fun as KCSD teachers play the Harlem Wizards on Saturday, February 10th at 6:00 pm at Kennett High School. The Wizards are a performance basketball team delivering widely successful fundraiser events for schools and nonprofits, last season alone playing in over 400 communities across the USA, while raising over $200 million. They are a unique basketball team that is not primarily focused on winning games, but rather entertaining the crowd with a variety of basketball tricks and alley oops.

What makes a Wizards show “awe-inspiring”? Some say it’s the oohs and ash created by the thunderous, sky-high slams. For others it’s the humor and seeing the teachers being good sports and having fun on the court with the Wizards. The comedy, audience participation, spontaneity delivered as a world class show, in an intimate community setting adds up to a night to be experienced and treasured.

Advance tickets are $10 for students and $12 for adults and can be purchased online at HarlemWizards.com. Tickets can also be purchased by emailing requests to khsminithon2018@gmail.com or calling 610-444-6617. Depending on the volume of advance sales, some tickets may be available at the door, $12 for students and $14 for adults. All proceeds benefit Kennett High School’s MiniTHON, a club based on Penn State’s THON that fundraises to support “Four Diamonds”, which is an organization dedicated to funding research for childhood cancer and helping afflicted families with the cost of treatment. For more information about MiniTHON and how to donate to our cause, visit www.khsminithon.org

We hope everyone can join us on February 10th for an evening in which all of our schools and the whole Kennett community comes together!

Doors open at 5:00 pm!

Kennett High School Senior Eliza Fantazzi has signed her National Letter of Intent to play Division III lacrosse at Moravian University.

Eliza (sitting, middle) was surrounded by her parents Christie and Rocco Fantazzi, as well as (standing from left) Assistant Principal Mr. Jeff Thomas, Coach Carrie Killgore, Head Coach Dale Watkins, and athletic director Mr. Sean Harvey.

A dedicated and hardworking player, Eliza has played lacrosse for seven years at Kennett Middle School, Kennett High School, and with the Brandywine Majors Lacrosse Club. She also played field hockey at Kennett High School for four years.

For Eliza, the best part of playing for Kennett High School was building relationships with her teammates and having supportive coaches in both field hockey and lacrosse.

Eliza’s high school achievements include the Blue Demon and Coaches’ Award for field hockey, along with being on the Distinguished Honor Roll.

Along with playing lacrosse, Eliza also coaches the Blue Demons lacrosse team and the Belles, a travelling lacrosse team. She also participates in the Big Sister Little Sister club and is a member of the Allied Health program.

Eliza intends to study nursing.

“I’m excited to play for Moravian,” Eliza says. “I really appreciate all that my coaches have done for me throughout my high school career.”

Congratulations, Eliza!