The Pennington School held ceremonies at the Pennington United Methodist Church on June 9 for 41 students graduating from its Middle School.
Head of Middle School Todd D. Paige announced eighth-grade award-winners, and Headmaster William S. Hawkey and faculty advisors joined him in presenting the diplomas.
Erin Heyeck of Pennington was valedictorian, judged first in scholarship for the eighth grade; she also received an award for excellence in German.
Salutatorian Leah Balerna of Princeton greeted the audience. Other eighth-grade speakers offering reflections were Griffin Papa of Hamilton Square and Anna McLaughlin of Pennington.
Among the other eighth-grade awards presented were those for excellence in French to Eva Ondreyka and in Spanish to Elise Hawkey; both students live in Pennington. Vincent Colalillo of Delaware Township was recognized for excellence in Latin. Abigail Bulger of Hopewell and Olivia Ernst of Chesterfield received awards for excellence in English and social studies, respectively.
Artem Rukavishnikov of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, played a trumpet solo; he was recognized with awards for excellence in science and in music. The Middle School Singers performed, as did the sixth-grade handchimes and handbells group.
Members of the Class of 2020, by hometown, are:
Allentown: Richard Weise;
Burlington: Jordan Bostick;
Chesterfield: Olivia Ernst;
Delaware Township (Stockton): Vincent Colalillo;
Hamilton Square: Griffin Papa;
Hopewell: Abigail Bulger;
Lambertville: William Miller;
Lawrenceville: Alexa Lepold;
Pennington: Julianna Alito, Leah Balerna, Elise Hawkey, Erin Heyeck, Jenna Kollevoll, Christopher Long Jr., Anna McLaughlin and Eva Ondreyka;
Princeton: William Jones, Jonathan Lee and Raul Shah;
Ringoes: Lucas Musto and Jacob Washton;
Robbinsville: Chad Brunner;
Sergeantsville: Laura Mertz;
Skillman: Alyssa Gasior, Katherine Long, Connor Ort and Lucas Ort;
Stockton: Blake Hart and Gavin Hart;
Titusville: Lila Yazujian.
Holland, Pa.: Andrew DiDomenico;
New Hope, Pa.: Jon-Henri Marlow, Matthew Shipley
Newtown, Pa.: Mitchell Mavellia, Karis Sneed
Yardley, Pa.: Sophia Amaro, John Fancher
Shanghai, China: Yaoxin Mo and Huiyu Yang;
Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Artem Rukavishnikov, and
Odessa, Ukraine and Kostiantyn Rogankov.
