Four members of the Birchwood graduating class of 2022 and current Hawken seniors have earned recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Jeremy Rotberg and Yining (Nicholas) Shang were named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this month, which places them among just one percent of the nation’s high school seniors.
In the next step, NMS Semifinalists vie for more than 6,000 scholarships worth approximately $25 million to be awarded in the coming spring.
By JOE PARRINO 5th-8th Social Studies Dean of Teaching & Learning
School may be out but the National History Day national contest results are in! Birchwood has 10 more reasons to cheer. Ten of our students placed in the top 10 in their respective categories. That's competing against the best projects from all 50 states.
Before we get to the Xfinity Center packed with cheering throngs, some more context can help. Twenty-one Birchwood students qualified for the national contest by placing either first or second in their category at the Ohio contest last April. They had several weeks to improve their paper, documentary, website, exhibit, or performance before the national event in College Park, Md., a suburb of the nation's capital and the home to the University of Maryland.
Congratulations to Birchwood School of Hawken second grader April, the Grade 2 Northeast Regional Winner in the 2025 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest!
Congrats are also in order for third grader Tara and fourth grader Mina who were judged best in Birchwood for each of their respective grade levels.
Handwriting is a key to literacy development, and we see it pay off every day at Birchwood School of Hawken. April is one of the top four competitors nationwide for her grade.
For each of seven grade levels – kindergarten through Grade 6 – one winner is chosen in each of four regions in the United States. Those 28 compete to be chosen as the lone Grade-Level Grand National Champion.
Birchwood School of Hawken is a member of the Ohio Association of Independent Schools (OAIS), the Cleveland Council of Independent Schools (CCIS), the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). Birchwood School is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States.