Eleven Pennington School seniors were inducted as student members of the School’s chapter of the Cum Laude Society on Tuesday, October 13. Students inducted are within the top ten percent of their class, as determined by grade point average, and the School views selection for membership as one of the highest honors it can confer.
The Cum Laude Society is an international organization dedicated to recognizing academic achievement
in secondary schools. The Society comprises over 380 institutions, primarily independent schools, located
across the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Philippines, England, France, Spain, and other
countries. Annually, approximately 4,000 new student members are welcomed into the Society.
The new members of Pennington’s chapter of Cum Laude are Haokai Cao, Heyi Fan, Maura Halpin, Logan Hyndman, Katharina Koppenhofer, Charles Lewin, Vivian Mysliwiec, Chi Fui Ni, Lilia Phillips, Gus Shapiro, and Sydney Zipp.
The induction ceremony was held in Pennington United Methodist Church. Following an invocation by
the Reverend David Hallgren, Head of School William S. Hawkey, PhD, delivered a welcome address.
Information about the Cum Laude Society’s history and motto was provided by Teacher of Music Donald Dolan, and Head of Upper School Scott Peeler introduced the faculty members in Pennington’s Cum Laude chapter. Director of Cross-Cultural Experiential Learning Dr. Lida Castro introduced the event’s speaker, Teacher of Environmental Science Dr. Margo Andrews. Cum Laude Chapter President Lisa L. Houston then formally inducted the newest student members while Science Department Chair Stephanie Heyeck presented each with their certificates.
A list of the fall Cum Laude inductees, arranged by state or country and hometown, follows.
NEW JERSEY
Lawrenceville: Katharina Koppenhofer, Charles Lewin
Millstone Township: Sydney Zipp
Princeton: Gus Shapiro
Robbinsville: Maura Halpin
Titusville: Haokai Cao
PENNSYLVANIA
Doylestown: Vivian Mysliwiec
New Hope: Lilia Phillips
Newton: Logan Hyndman
CHINA
Beijing: Heyi Fan
Shanghai: Chi Fui Ni
