The American Academy

Dr. Allen Guelzo to Appear on “Radio Times”

admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:23:22 +0000

WHYY (the Natl Public Radio outlet in the Philadelphia area, at 91 FM) is going to feature TAA Advisor Dr. Allen Guelzo in a live interview on Lincoln and Douglas as part of their morning call-in feature, “Radio Times,” with Marty Moss-Coane http://www.whyy.org/91FM/radiotimes.html Tuesday May 13th from 10.45 am until noon. This is in connection with an appearance he’ll be making at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia later that day.

Delaware County Young Poets Winners

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:07:16 +0000

Congratulations to David Matej, who won first place in the second grade category for his poem “Spring Baseball and Winter Basketball,” and to his sister Barbara Matejova, who won second place in the twelfth grade category for her poem “Not Yet Right: A Villanelle,” in the Delaware County Young Poets competition, sponsored by the Delaware County Library System. They have been invited to read their poetry aloud at the awards ceremony.

Poems Published in Cricket Magazine

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:03:29 +0000

Congratulations to Stephanie Meell (”My Sledding Hill”) and David Null (”The Slingshot Sled”), whose poems have been published on Cricket Magazine’s web site at http://www.cricketmag.com/activity_display.asp?id=2019

Delaware Valley College Writing Competition Winner

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:53:14 +0000

Congratulations to Sam Anthony, whose short story “The Accidental Invalid” won first place in the writing competition sponsored by the Delaware Valley College English department. Sam’s story will be published in Delaware Valley’s literary magazine The Gleaner.

Creative Communication “Top Ten” Winners

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:49:32 +0000

Congratulations to the following students, whose poems received “Top Ten” recognition from Creative Communication:

Grades K-3: Maggie Harnish (“A Horse Named Pete”) and Sarah Null (“Sewing with my Mom”)
Grades 6-12: Patrick Devine (“Right Down Santa Claus Lane”) and Ace Robinson (“Dad Travel”)

Each of these students will receive a savings bond and a complimentary copy of the book.

We think that this is a Creative Communication record, that is to have four of the “Top Ten” poems authored by students from the same school, and they were competing with students throughout the nation. Hearty congratulations to the students for all their hard work and to Dr. Traver for getting them to do it! This is a huge honor for our school and wonderful national recognition for our language arts/writing program.

Scholastic Art and Writing Award Winners

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:46:13 +0000

Congratulations to the following students who won “Gold Key” in the prestigious Scholastic Art and Writing Awards: Sam Anthony (Humor “The Accidental Invalid”), Josh Carroll (Humor “Star Heck”), Patrick Devine (Humor, 3 poems, “Right Down Santa Claus Lane,” “How the Brinch Stole Easter,” and “The Night of the Living Dad”), Noelle Ludlum (Personal Essay “Many Roads Diverge in a Yellow Wood”), and Samuel Miller (Humor “A Day in the Life of Oliver Kendal Colmes”). Patrick and Sam Miller were also offered scholarships for a summer writing program through the Young Scholars Program, and all TAA entries have been sent on to the national level. Bravo! Out of more than 100,000 works submitted to the 76 regional programs throughout the country, 30,000 received recognition, and 10,000 have been submitted to the national level. From this number, 400 will win either a Gold or Silver Medal in the National Awards, across all writing categories (including those above, plus “Short short story,” “Poetry,” “Drama,” etc. This is a huge honor for Dr. Traver and our school.

TAA Student’s Story Considered for Use in SATs

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:43:19 +0000

Congratulations to Barbara Matejova, whose story “The Hike” was chosen by the ETS ( Educational Testing service) to be considered for use as an SAT passage. “The Hike” was written when Barbara was in 9th grade and won top honors in the nationwide writing contest, “Take it from the Top,” sponsored by Weekly Reader’s Writing Magazine. We can now say that we not only do well on the SAT tests, but we are now helping to write the tests!

TAA Student Helps Hockey Team to Victory

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:40:10 +0000

TAA fifth grader David Null’s Downingtown East Middle School hockey team won the championship for the middle school league. They won 4 to 2 against Avon Grove for the championship game on March 12. It was a tie game 2-2 and David scored a goal to make it 3 to 2. He scored the goal late in the third period so the Downingtown team was able to keep Avon Grove from scoring again. Avon Grove even pulled their goalie to see if they could score with another player on the ice, only to have Downingtown score on their empty net. Congratulations, David!

TAA Student Wins Accordion Competition

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:37:54 +0000

We are thrilled that Albert Manginelli participated in the American Accordion Musicological Society Festival in March at The Inn at Valley Forge. He entered the young people’s competition for children up through 16 yrs and he won first place. He received a $50 cash award and a large trophy. It was quite exciting since this was a first-time experience. Albert will play the accordion at TAA for our April 18 spring music performance, which is always fun for our students and families. He’s looking forward to playing his Sigmund Romberg (jazz composer) piece at that time, too. Way to go, Albert!

Students Attend FPRI Lecture by Walter McDougall

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:35:11 +0000

On Thursday March 13, our older students were privileged to attend Dr. Walter McDougall’s spellbinding lecture at the Foreign Policy Research Institute at the Union League on his new book, Throes of Democracy: America in the Civil War Era, 1829–1877 (HarperCollins), sequel to McDougall’s Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585–1828. Walter A. McDougall is Co-chair of FPRI’s History Institute for Teachers and Co-chair of FPRI’s Center for the Study of America and the West. He is also the Allyn-Ansin Professor of International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago in 1974 and is a veteran of the Vietnam War.