August 2023 Student Spotlights (Prattville, Autauga, & Elmore County )

Out WMS Cheer Team enjoyed their week at CHEER CAMP with Coach Duncan and Coach Lee. Take a look at a few of our AMAZING squad’s accomplishments while at Auburn’s UCA Cheer Camp.
Two All Americans: Lauren Avery Castro & Chloe Strength; Pin it Forward recipient: Xion Morris. The team placed: 3rd in Sideline, 3rd in Camp Dance, 4th in Cheer, 4th in GameDay Overall Performance and much more! Way to go ladies!

HOSA ILC 23 – Two ECTC Medical Sciences students, Allye Justiss and Kirsten Cummings, both from Elmore County High School, competed at HOSA’s International Leadership Conference in Dallas, TX this summer.

ECTC Electrical Technology student, Victor Mendoza (Wetumpka High), placed in the top 5 of the Ideal Electrical Challenge at SkillsUSA’s National Championships in Atlanta in June.

Robby Johnson, Autauga County Sheriff Deputy and Marbury High School’s School Resource Officer, was awarded The Alabama Association of School Resource Officers (TAASRO) Life Saving Award for his heroic actions and exemplary service while on duty at the high school on January 12, 2023. This award is given to an SRO or school staff member for the act of saving a life and is presented during the organization’s annual Safe Schools Conference.
The massive tornado decimated parts of north Autauga County leaving a war-like path of destruction severely limiting accessibility and spreading thin first responders from across the River Region. Deputy Johnson administered first aid treatment for 45 minutes until an ambulance was able to transport all three victims to the hospital for further treatment. His emergency training and quick action allowed all three victims to make a full recovery without any complications. In the days after the tornado, Deputy Johnson and his Autauga County Sheriff’s Department colleagues aided in the search, rescue, and security of the impacted areas.
“Robby is everything that is commendable and worthy of immolating in a School Resource Officer,” said Tony Camara, Coordinator of Operations for Autauga County Schools. “As the one charged with safety and security in our school district, I rely on these guys to keep our students and employees safe in everyday and extraordinary situations. Deputy Johnson’s immediate instinctual action in the midst of chaos is the very thing that we need in today’s unpredictable world.”

Autauga County Schools students were awarded 265 Career Readiness Indicator (CRI) certifications during the 2022-2023 school year. These CRI certifications ensure alignment with industry-recognized standards and are available to secondary students throughout the district as a part of ACS’ Career and Technical Education program offered through the Autauga County Technology Center.
Career Readiness certifications and credentials provide students with the industry-required skills necessary to compete in today’s economic environment, producing globally competitive students with 21st-century skills, as well as validating knowledge of skill attainment, increasing student confidence, higher income potential, opening doors for industry networking, and demonstrating a commitment to continuous learning. “We want to give every student in our district the opportunity to be as successful as they desire to be,” said Holly McNider, Curriculum and Instruction Director for Autauga County Schools. “Our district’s career and technical program provides for dozens of industry opportunities that can be customized based on the student’s plans beyond high school. Graduating with immediate employability skills or a deeper understanding of the pathway a student pursues with additional education is a win for everyone, most certainly for the student, but also our community and the organizations that operate here in our area.”
Autauga County Schools currently offers 14 of the 16 national career clusters. These clusters include courses that teach academic and technical knowledge and skills students need to pursue various career industries.
To learn more about Autauga County Schools’ career and technical education programs, visit www.autaugatech.com/.

At Pine Level Elementary School this summer we hosted Summer Camp for our students. The students pictured are using cooking sheets and magnetic letters to build the alphabet arc. The alphabet arc is a good way for children to have visual and multi-sensory support to practice blending, segmenting and auditory processing. It also allows them to practice the sequence of the alphabet. These skills are essential for reading and spelling.

This summer, several faculty members from Prattville Intermediate School were able to attend the professional development conference, Get Your Teach On. Get Your Teach On (GYTO) specializes in professional development and encouragement for educators and administrators in the form of conferences, workshops and events. Our teachers were able to gain valuable insight and learned tricks, tips, and teacher secrets to build successful, engaging and rigorous classrooms that challenge the students of PIS and leave them hungry for more!

Congratulations to our MMS cheerleaders for winning 1st place Camp Routine and 2nd place Game Day Routine! Great job ladies!

Mrs. Dickerson’s 6th grade students enjoy participating in “Books n Bagels” in her classroom. They start by having a book scavenger hunt. Students then break into small groups to share about the books they are currently reading. Lastly, they get some time to silent read while eating bagels and other treats. This helps students see reading as a shared experience rather than an assignment.

PCA’s cheer teams headed to Auburn University for UCA Cheer Camp and came away with long-lasting memories, new skills, awards, and experiences. PCA concluded the camp with the entire PCA program winning the Leadership Award, an award voted on by the 500+ cheerleaders at camp. Each camper is asked if they could be on any other cheer team, which would it be? PCA being chosen for the Leadership Award speaks volumes to our program and the examples they set for other cheerleaders. Varsity won 1st place in the Camp Routine and Sideline, and JV was awarded a Superior trophy. PCA also ended with six All-Americans: Ella Grace Byrd, Brady Hardman, Mady Roy, Eboni McKee, Rich Moxley, and Anabelle Weedon. Three members were invited to join the UCA staff: Pearson Goff, Brady Hardman, and Ella Montiel. Our mascot, Prowler, also won the mascot Mushy and the School Traditions Award. We are so proud of our cheer program and all they accomplished last week! Congratulations!

Brooklyn Woods graduated from Prattville High School in May 2023 as a highly decorated member of the Speech and Debate Team as well as Senior Class President. As a member of the debate team, Brooklyn learned critical thinking, writing and presentation skills and showcased these qualities in competitive civil discourse where she explored both sides of an argument. As a junior, Brooklyn was State Champion in Programmed Oral Interpretation (POI) and Poetry and repeated as State Champion in POI again her senior year. In February of 2023, she competed in the Mockingbird Speech and Debate District Tournament held in Birmingham and, since she placed first in her event, she qualified for the National Speech and Debate Tournament held last month in Phoenix, Arizona. Katie Olienyk, Brooklyn’s Debate Coach, took three PHS students to Arizona where they competed against 275 students from across the country. Brooklyn ultimately finished in the top thirty in the nation – she is the fifth Prattville High Student to place in the top 30 since 2006.
Brooklyn will attend the University of Alabama this fall where she was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to be a member of the award winning UA Forensic Council. She will be traveling throughout the country competing. Brooklyn is the 16th Prattville High School student to receive the full tuition scholarship since 2006.

Fifth graders in Ms. Bradley’s math class worked in groups to construct zoo animals using rectangular prisms. Groups measured the dimensions of the boxes to determine the total volume for each zoo animal. Boxes were then wrapped to showcase student creativity and make their designs come to life!

A record number of 8th grade students participated in the Elmore County Technical Center’s Camp Discovery over the summer where they learned about the many CTE programs available to them during high school.

Chamber Luncheon – Students from ECTC’s Hospitality & Tourism program teamed up with Front Porch Grill to serve at the Millbrook Chamber annual awards luncheon.

Julia Smith ’24 represented PCA at Girls State held at Troy University. The competitive leadership program is focused on teaching responsible citizenship, leadership, and love for God. Julia described it as a “life-changing experience” that equipped her with the skills and confidence to stand up for her beliefs. In some ways, her experience was “indescribable.”

Kharli (WES), Adelyn (RES), and Mason (HMS) were chosen for the WSFA weather camp, along with other students from the River Region. They were recently live during Today in Alabama and they showed it again in the 5 PM Weather.

Addison Sims and Anna VanErmen were accepted into a summer research program at the department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University. They both received a Microbial Genomics and Evolution summer research fellowship.
This was an awesome opportunity as they got to learn about microbial science, genomics and get hands-on experience in research in the lab. They spent two weeks learning about computational biology and doing various wet-lab experiments in this amazing program which encourages a passion for STEM.