SJA News - February 19, 2025

National Merit Scholarship Program Finalist

Senior Dillon Chen is one of the 16,000 semi-finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program who have met all of the criteria to advance to Finalist standing in the competition. Over 1.3 million juniors participated in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Merit Scholar designees are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, regardless of gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. Scholarship winners will be notified in March.

Science Olympian Success

Eight Science Olympians attended the Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday and competed against 15 other teams. The SJA team included (Front row) Madalyn Towle '26, Charlie Peralez '27, Autumn Eichler '28, and Donley Johnson '26. Back row: Zeze Davis '27, Jada Wood '26, Michael Chirkov '27, Paulie Xin '27.

Specific medals are as follows:

• Donley Johnson and Zeze Davis  - Silver Medal for Dynamic Planet (Glaciology)
• Donley Johnson and Charlie Peralez - Silver Medal for Optics
• Paulie Xin, Zeze Davis, and Charlie Peralez - Bronze Medal for Codebusters
• Zeze Davis - Bronze Medal for Astronomy
• Paulie Xin - Bronze Medal for Anatomy & Physiology 

Additional photos from the event can be viewed here.

Nordic Ski Qualifiers

On Sunday, 2/9, the SJA Varsity Boys and Girls Nordic Team traveled to Rikert Nordic Center to compete in a qualifier for the Eastern High School Championships and U16 Championships. This was an all-day event with a 3k classic race in the morning followed by a 3k skate race in the afternoon. SJA racers Sisu Lange, Tillie Lange, and Anya Moriarty qualified to race for the State of Vermont at the EHSC in March. Graham Moriarty, Stella van der Linde, Effie Dunn, and Amalie Pratt qualified to race for the State of Vermont at the U16 Championships in March. Cyrus Kidder was named as an alternate for the U16 team.

Posing at a recent home meet are Coach Jolliffe, Sisu Lange '25, Tillie Lange '27, Anya Moriarty '26, Stella van der Linde '28, Amalie Pratt '28, Effie Dunn '27, Cyrus Kidder '28, Graham Moriarty '28, and Coach Lindley van der Linde.

All-Around Champion

Junior Lydia Ruggles repeated as the All-Around Champion at the Gymnastics State Championships held last weekend at CVU. Hannah Wood, '28, was fourth. As a team, SJA finished second.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, February 22

Winter Break Begins

Wednesday, March 5

Classes Resume

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Summer Boarding Experience

St. Johnsbury Academy launches the Summer Boarding Experience for rising 8th and 9th graders. It is a great opportunity to get a taste of boarding school life in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The two-week program will run from July 14-27, 2025. For more information, check out our website.

AROUND CAMPUS

During advisory time last week, the Legendre and Mitchell senior advisories met with Dr. Howell at her home.

It was an afternoon filled with stories about friendship, time travel, and Greek Gods as the SJA Theatre Department performed a number of One Acts on Friday. With the addition of an original musical, improv comedy, and easy-listening heavy metal music, it was a very enjoyable afternoon. Photos from the event can be viewed here.

Mr. Roberts and his electricity students have been busy on a variety of projects, including new construction and commercial work at the Barnet School. Additional photos can be viewed here.

Erica Heilman, the creator of the podcast Rumble Strip, spoke in Fuller Hall Basement Wednesday morning. Students in several English, social studies, and film classes learned about the process of editing a podcast and how to ask the right questions for a successful interview.

Photos from last week's Nordic race in Walden can be viewed here.

The Bowling team practiced Tuesday for the upcoming championship tournaments. Photos can be viewed here.

Photos from Tuesday's Varsity Boys' Basketball game can be viewed here.

Additional photos from Senior recognitions for Indoor Track, Hockey, and Game Day Cheer can also be viewed in our SmugMug galleries.