Montgomery Student Spotlights – December ’22

Kindergarten students at ECS recently treated parents, students, and faculty with a performance of The Three Piggy Opera. These young thespians delivered lines, sang songs, and recited verses. The theme of the story is illuminated in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…”

Biscuits for a Teacher Program was presented by Whataburger! The Biscuits for a Teacher program was opened to let family and friends nominate teachers across the Montgomery community they feel should have special recognition for the work they do in the classroom. ACA had two teachers nominated for this and received the award. Mrs. Tonya Prempramot and Mrs. Stephanie Solar were nominated, and both received a special recognition package and a visit from Big Mo and honey butter chicken biscuits from Whataburger. It was a special day for both teachers and we are so thankful for the impact they have on our students at Alabama Christian Academy.

With Veteran’s Day celebrations in full swing at Montgomery Catholic campuses, the high school was proud to host a Military Lunch and Learn. Representatives were on campus from the Air Force Academy, West Point Military Academy, Auburn Army ROTC, and Marion Military Institute to speak with students about the various avenues to service offered in today’s armed forces. Thirty students attended to learn more about the culture of each branch, what it means to be commissioned as an officer, opportunities through enlistment, and careers available to our young men and women. Nearly twenty percent of the Montgomery Catholic community are currently active duty or retired military. Thank you to our veterans, and thank you to the students that are discerning their own call to service.

Macon East Academy seniors, Anna Glynn Lott, and Kylee Smith represented the Lady Knights in the AISA All-Star Volleyball game on Saturday, October 30th at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex. Coach Codi Berry served as one of the East teams’ coaches. The Lady Knights and the East team defeated the West in 3 sets.

Micahi Gilchrist and Allison Bowen of Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School have been named 2022 Heisman High School Scholarship winners.
The Heisman High School Scholarship program honors the nation’s most accomplished, community-minded high school senior athletes. By inviting male and female students from schools across the country to share their stories of leadership and impact, the program aims to inspire all students to harness their potential, push their limits, and use their talents not only to advance their own futures, but to improve the communities and world around them.

The Saint James Performing Arts Department performed William Gibson’s play The Miracle Worker during the weekend of November 2-5. The play was directed by Saint James Theater teacher Lonny Harrison.

The production is based on the true story of Helen Keller, and her dedicated teacher Annie Sullivan. Twelve-year-old Helen Keller was trapped in her world of isolation and silence as a deaf, blind, and mute person. Annie Sullivan, half-blind herself, began a determined journey to reach Helen and share the world with her. Eighth grader Abigail Roark portrayed Helen Keller, along with freshman MaryEllis Killough as her teacher, Annie Sullivan. Other cast members included Natalie Magee, Will Gulsby, Jaxon Mason, Lizzy Dickens, Mae Puckett, Caleb Hendrick, Mary Ann Coon, Zach Rains, Sadie York, Cecilia York, Maddy Stuart, and Dresden Merritt.

The student crew consisted of a team of students who worked behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly. Sophomore Lily Everett was stage manager for the production, along with assistant manager Keira Thompson. The crew also consisted of Jimmie Thompson, Caroline Gregory, Ayah Mahmoud, Ryan Phillips, Joshua Campbell, Jackson Clovis, Tyra Davidsson, Aileen Mulligan, Jessica Tran, Eric Vo, Abby White, Davis Taylor, Parker Henry, Sophie Caradori, Braylon Frazier, Alex Clenney, and Charlie White.

The Saint James Performing Arts Department’s fall production is an annual event with numerous shows for audiences to attend.

Montgomery Academy’s Speech & Debate team, led by coaches Jay Rye, Chris Colvin, and Evan Price, recently earned the 2021/2022 Leading Chapter Award in the Mockingbird District. This honor is the highest recognition a school can receive from the National Speech & Debate Association. Only the top school in accumulated members and degrees per district earns this designation each year. Out of more than 3,000 member schools nationwide, Montgomery Academy is one of only 109 to receive the Leading Chapter Award.

Once a school receives this honor, a minimum of five years must pass before that same school can be eligible again for the Leading Chapter Award. With this most recent honor, MA is one of only two schools in the nation to receive this designation for a 6th time in 30 years. Past awarded years were 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017.

Additionally, coach Jay Rye was also recently awarded the prestigious Sixth Diamond Award, reflecting a minimum of 30 years of coaching and representing an accumulation of at least 150,000 coaching points. Since the founding of the National Speech & Debate Association in 1925, Mr. Rye is only the 2nd coach from Alabama to attain the Sixth Diamond Award level and is one of only four coaches nationally to achieve this level of excellence in 2022.

It’s been quite a while since Floyd Middle Magnet School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a school wide presentation. The Spanish 1/Club students in Sra. Henley’s class performed a variety show on Oct. 25, 2022. The program consisted of a show of student’s many talents. There was a Spanish dance, a monologue of famous Spanish figures, an original Spanish Rap song, a Magic show and a Fashion Show. Best of all, the program was presented in both the Spanish and English languages. The focus was on Diversity. Students in Ms. Griswell’s class also had the opportunity to parade all Spanish-speaking countries. Señor Noe Vasquez-Alvarez and his 2 children were our Special Guests. They played a medley of Mariachi music. This event was evident in promoting a rich and cultural heritage of the Spanish language and culture. Students were able to learn about appreciation and acceptance of other cultures and Diversity.

TEAM AWARDS:
JV Girls- 1st Place
JV Boys- 1st Place
Varsity Boys- 2nd Place
TOP TEN JV Girls:
1. Sophia MacLeod
2. Rivers DeHuff
3. Mariam Jacobsen
TOP TEN JV Boys:
2. Knox DeHuff
3. Matt Hodges
6. Porter Johnson
8. Pace Walker
9. Stephen Spooner
TOP TEN VARSITY BOYS:
1. William Givens
2. Johnson DeHuff
7. Steadman Meadows

ECS has two State Champions
William Givens in the 5K with a time of 18:11
Sophia MacLeod in the 2 Mile with a time of 14:38

As an enrichment for fourth grade Alabama History, Mrs. Johnson’s class took a field trip to learn all about cotton. As a special bonus, the students also enjoyed a presentation about the native Americans who inhabited the very land that we walked on during the field trip. The trip began at the Milstead Gin Company in Shorter, AL. Mr. Joey Scarborough and Ms. Donna Dicks arranged for the students to tour the gin. Mr. Scarborough conducted the tour that started in the upstairs classroom where students “ginned cotton” by hand, and learned about the gin and how it worked. Students then toured the seed house, looked at cotton modules, and saw what a finished bale of cotton looked like.

Students then visited Segrest Farms in Shorter, a seventh generation cotton farm. Students were amazed at the snowy white fields and the equipment that was used to harvest the cotton. The highlight of the trip was getting to walk through the fields and pick a bag of cotton to take home as a souvenir. Mr. Clay Segrest and Mrs. Kellie Sirmon were our presenters at the cotton field.

After picking cotton, students enjoyed a picnic at the Sirmon’s home. They enjoyed lunch and playing outdoors on a beautiful fall day! Lunch was followed with a special presentation on native American artifacts and lifestyles. Each student received a projectile point to keep and made a dream catcher to take home.

A huge thank you goes to our presenters and hosts who have graciously welcomed us for more than 30 years!

The war in the Ukraine has taken such a toll on the whole country but mostly has impacted the children and the means in which they get fed. In the month of November each of our High School classes and each Middle School house had a bucket in the lobby. These buckets were used to collect coins to help with this challenge. We encouraged all the upper school students during the month of November to bring in any extra change you have and add to the buckets! We are truly so blessed in America, and it is amazing to think that we could help to feed a child three meals a day for less than $2.

Macon East Academy multiport athlete, Kylee Smith, signs her National Letter of Intent today to play softball at the University of Alabama Huntsville. Kylee is the workhorse for Macon East softball with a 2 year batting average of .455, totaling 16 Home runs, 39 wins and 405 strikeouts in the circle. Kylee also plays for the Vipers organization.

Follow along this season with Kylee as she finishes her high school career with the Knights and makes the transition to college athletics. We are so proud of the accomplishments and success of Kylee and can not wait to see her in action again this Spring. Go Knights!

Saint James School is honored to have more than 80 military families, representing both the United States and our international allies, as part of its school family this year. During the week prior to Veterans Day, there were numerous special events held on campus which recognized and honored the military service of these families.

The special events began with Military Recognition Night held at the Saint James vs. Wellborn playoff football game on Friday, November 4. Military members and their families were recognized in numerous ways during pre-game festivities. As Saint James fans entered the football game, they received a sticker to wear in support of the school’s military families. In addition, the Trojan football team added the US flag to their helmets in honor of the men and women who serve our country here and abroad.

As military families took the field and were recognized, they were joined by students from the 3rd grade at Saint James School. They sang a piece entitled, “This is America.” Further, the Saint James family welcomed Air Force ROTC Detachment 19 from Alabama State University for the presentation of colors as the national anthem was performed by the STJ Marching Trojans Band. The captains for the game for the Trojans were seniors Eli Griggs and Cosner Harrison, as well as juniors Jonathan Livingston and Paxton Wingard. Joining the captains were two special Honorary Captains, Col. Jay Spohn and Lt. Col. Paul Griggs. Colonel Jay Spohn is the stepdad of senior Cosner Harrison. Colonel Spohn has served for 23 years and is currently the 187th Fighter Wing Vice Commander. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Griggs is the father of senior Eli Griggs. With 35 years of military service, Lieutenant Colonel Griggs is a member of the Alabama Air National Guard where he is currently the Commander of the Logistics Readiness Squadron, 187th Fighter Wing.

On Thursday, November 10, Saint James held a Veterans Day Assembly in the school’s gymnasium. Along with performances by the Saint James Combined Choirs and Marching Band, the assembly featured speaker Colonel Keolani W. Bailey of the U.S. Air Force. Col. Bailey spoke of how character and courage are fostered and practiced before it is needed. He also spoke of honoring those who have served in our armed forces and those who are currently serving. His speech was followed by a dramatic recitation of Herbert Lee Wadkins’s poem “Come Fly with Me” by Mrs. Norma Jo Roberts. The assembly concluded with a prayer by SGA President, GeorgeAnn Killough and remarks by head of school, Dr. Larry McLemore.

Saint James School is proud to have such a robust number of military families as a part of its school family.

Montgomery Christian School Kindergartners attended Governor Ivy’s pardoning of turkeys at the Alabama Governor’s Mansion. MCS students said a poem at the pardoning of “Gobbles” and “Cranberry”. This was the 74th year of this Thanksgiving tradition. MCS was thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this year’s event.

Bear Exploration Center’s environmental club, The Green Team, was recognized at the Alabama PALS Governor’s Awards ceremony. They received the 3rd Place Clean Campus Award for their efforts in keeping their campus litter free and their recycling and environmental education programs.

Saint James School centers its focus and mission around educating the whole child. Whether the child finds his/her talents to be in academics, arts, or athletics, Saint James encourages and fosters those talents throughout the student’s years at Saint James. As a college preparatory school, Saint James offers academics which allow students to achieve their highest potential and go on to any number of institutions of higher learning both in state and out of state.

The Fall Recognition Ceremony held each year celebrates the nationally recognized academic achievements of its high school students. These achievements include National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Students, AP Scholars, Global Seal of Biliteracy, as well as perfect scores on AP and ACT/SAT testing. These achievements show just what can be accomplished with the tools and education provided during the Saint James experience.

This year’s group honored at the Fall Recognition Ceremony are a group of students, many of whom have been at Saint James beginning in K3, K4 or K5, who have used a combination of their talents and the education provided at Saint James to do great things.

As the ceremony commenced on Thursday, November 3, Academic Dean Susan Atkins congratulated ten students from the Class of 2023 who have been named as National Merit Commended Students and National Merit Semifinalists. Commended students are Sophie Caradori, Jason Jeong, AJ Kavlick and Preston Phillips. The National Merit Semifinalists are Alexander An, Justin Kang, Matthew Ohliger, Kelsey Shaffer, Selina Sun, and Kendal Wright.

Also recognized at the ceremony were AP Scholars. Saint James students in this category total 31, but this includes eleven students who were a part of the Class of 2022. Current students include Alexander An, Jack Bixby, Will Gulsby, Caden Hayes, Jason Jeong, Matthew Ohliger, Taylor Potts, Davis Taylor, and Tucker Williams. Students receiving the designation of AP Scholar with Honors are GeorgeAnn Killough, Clint Shores, Jarrett Simpson, and Kendal Wright. In addition, students were honored who have received the designation of AP Scholar with Distinction: Brooke Bender, Anna Dickey, AJ Kavlick, Kevin Oh, Preston Phillips, Kelsey Shaffer, and Selina Sun.

The Fall Recognition Ceremony further recognized students who scored a 5 on the AP exams associated with AP classes taken at Saint James. Saint James offers a variety of Advanced Placement classes in most disciplines. Students who were recognized for making a perfect score on the AP exam are the following. For European History, Will Alexander scored a perfect 5.

For AP US History, Josh Harvey, Caden Hayes, AJ Kavlick, Kelsey Shaffer, Selina Sun, Davis Taylor, Tucker Williams, and Kendal Wright scored a 5. In AP Human Geography, perfect scores were achieved by Anna Dickey, Will Gulsby, and Jason Jeong. In AP Language and Composition, perfect scores were achieved by Sophie Caradori, Justin Kang, GeorgeAnn Killough, Preston Phillips, Kelsey Shaffer, Selina Sun, and Kendal Wright. In AP Chemistry Alexander An, Jason Jeong, Preston Phillips, Kelsey Shaffer, Selina Sun, and Kendal Wright made a 5. Natalie Magee scored perfectly on the exam in AP Drawing, and in AP Music Theory Davis Taylor scored a perfect score. Four students scored a 5 on the exam for AP Calculus AB: Alexander An, Sophie Caradori, Kelsey Shaffer, and Selina Sun.

An additional group to be recognized consisted of students who have made a perfect score on all the AP exams that the student has taken at Saint James to date. This group of stellar students includes Will Alexander, Sophie Caradori, Justin Kang, Kelsey Shaffer, Selina Sun, Davis Taylor, and Kendal Wright.

Students who earned perfect scores on ACT or SAT sections were also lauded. Two in particular were Alexander An and Selina Sun. Alex made a composite score of 36 on the ACT, and Selina made a perfect score of 1600 on the SAT.

Further, a special recognition was given to Taylor Potts who earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish as a junior. Saint James had four additional students from the class of 2022 earn this distinction.

The Fall Recognition Ceremony is another way Saint James celebrates the achievements of its students. The honorees and their families attended a special reception after the ceremony.

Top AR readers in elementary for the first quarter at Trinity School. These students celebrated with doughnuts and story time!

The City as Our School initiative aims to provide opportunities for Montgomery Academy students to learn and gain a philanthropic understanding about the different cultural institutions, governmental agencies, and businesses necessary for a thriving city. This year, our 9th & 10th grade Upper School students were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. They heard from various staff who spoke about their areas of expertise including development, curation, costumes, and education. We are grateful for our partner organizations who made this experience possible!

MCS Kindergarteners and first graders had the opportunity to visit Penton Farms on November 3. This was their first field trip of the year. The students were able to pet farm animals, pick out pumpkins, slide down the Super Slide, ride on the wagon train, run through the corn maze and have a picnic. It was a super fun day!

Students from Evangel Christian Academy recently participated in the AISA District 5 Spelling Bee. The event was held at the Autauga County Agricultural Center. The ECA team had an amazing day. Everyone who competed won an award. Noelle Felder and Schyler Jackson won first place. Aiden Thomas, Leo Lewis, and Anyah Ray all won second place in their division.

Trinity Cross Country Team was Runner up in the AHSAA State XC meet in Birmingham. Congratulations to these runners!

Congratulations to Senior, Camden Bell, who signed a letter of intent to continue his baseball and academic career at Huntingdon College! Camden will join the Hawks Baseball Team in the Fall!

Bear Exploration Center students had several sculptures on display in the Montgomery Botanical Gardens Sculpture in the Garden Exhibition at Oak Park. Students enjoyed the gardens and were able to speak to Alabama artist Charlie “Tinman” Lucas who was the inspiration for the exhibit.

Montgomery Catholic senior, Gabe Russo, has earned a spot to play in the 2023 Under Armour All-American Football Game in Orlando, FL on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Gabe is the #3 punter in the country and is a 5-star recruit. Not only is Gabe an outstanding football player, he is also a high achieving student in the classroom. He has been a Montgomery Catholic student since Kindergarten and is a 2nd generation Knight.

It was a great night for the Wildcat Carnival at Trinity School! From the games, bounce houses, hay ride, pony rides, petting zoo, bake sale and more, there was something for everyone! The 11th grade students help put on the annual carnival each year.

Saint James School is proud to announce that a number of its middle school and high school art students were winners in the 44th Annual School Art Show for the Alabama National Fair.
Middle school winners in Mixed Media were Joseph Light who was awarded 2nd place and Sarah Johnston who was awarded Honorable Mention. Kaleigh Soto was awarded Honorable Mention in Watercolor.
In high school, students were awarded ribbons in a number of different divisions. In Mixed Media, Natalie Magee and Izzy Pappas were awarded 1st place. Rose Statam was awarded 2nd place in Mixed Media and 3rd place in Printmaking. Hailey Vance was awarded Honorable Mention in Mixed Media. In Sculpture (relief), Stella Sponseller was awarded 1st place. Cole Williams received 2nd place in Color Drawing, and Emerson Hagen received Honorable Mention in Watercolor.
These students are taught by high school art teacher Evelyn Shoults and middle school art teacher Aimee Bentley.

Congratulations to Trinitye Robinson and Ayden Brown, members of the Lady Mustangs volleyball team. These young ladies were recently selected to play on the 2022-2023 ACAA All-Star 2A South Volleyball team. The exhibition games were played on October 29, 2022 and hosted by Mountain View Baptist School in Birmingham. Girls’ volleyball is one of the most competitive sports from start to finish. All-Stars are selected each year from junior and varsity teams statewide. The Lady Mustangs volleyball team is coached by Katina Robinson.

The five-year-old kindergarten class at Evangel Christian Academy recently celebrated Career Day. The class had been learning about community helpers and how each one is important to a community. To culminate the unit of study, each child came to school dressed in a costume to represent the job he or she wants when he or she grows up. Each student had an opportunity to tell about his/her future career. There were teachers, nurses, doctors, firemen, a zookeeper and even a bee keeper in class that day.

Second grade students at Trinity School had a fun time of learning in the Trinity ER last week! They did number surgery, noun surgery (sorting them by type), read and wrote about life as doctors, and more. They scrubbed in for fun doctor duties for two days, learning subject matter and teamwork at the same time! All Operations were successful!

Montgomery Academy Kindergarteners recently visited the fire station on Maxwell Air Force Base for their first field trip. Maxwell’s fire station is unique because they are equipped to fight both structural fires and airplane fires. Students had a blast learning all about fire stations, fire safety, and of course, having a turn at the fire hose!

Montgomery Christian celebrated National STEM/STEAM day on November 8. This day helps to encourage young people to explore science, technology, engineering and math education programs. Students at MCS dissected a desktop computer, used an architecture set to build homes, created chain reactions with bridges and marbles, and built lego robots. We love our STEM/STEAM classes at MCS.

Montgomery Christian School’s kindergarten through third grade female students are taking ballet with Meredith Peden. A donation from a generous donor has made this program possible. Montgomery Christian is intentional about getting its students involved in all things movement.
The students will have a recital at the end of the school year.

Entertains Audience with Calypso Flavor SUA’s Drama Department’s recent performances of Once On This Island Jr. were amazing and showcased the multitude of talent of its cast. Performances were in Hawkins Hall on the lower campus on November 10 and 11, 2022. Under the theatrical direction of Kaylee Baker and musical direction of Tricette Savage, the student actors did an incredible job in this adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s popular fairy tale, The Little Mermaid and the Tony-nominated Broadway musical by the legendary writing team, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. With Caribbean-flavored music and dance, the audience was transported to the remote island as the story unfolds. Congratulations to the entire cast and production team for a job well done! Pictured is the cast of the play. (Photo credit – Christie Aitken)

Montgomery Academy has been named by niche.com as the #1 K-12 School in the Montgomery Area as well as the #1 Best Private High School, and #1 Best High School for Athletes!

Saint James School is proud to announce the hiring of a new position of Chief Financial Officer to the school’s leadership team. Mrs. Lauren Smith was hired in August in the newly created position. An Alabama Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Mrs. Smith comes from Jim Wilson and Associates, where she has worked since 2014. Previously, she held roles at Alfa Insurance, Energen Corporation, and Ernst & Young. Mrs. Smith earned a masters of accountancy from the University of Alabama and a bachelor of science in business from Samford University. This new role is a direct outcome of the school’s recent strategic planning process, which identified an opportunity to expand on the foundation that our current business office and operations team has established with an increased focus on long-term planning and financial forecasting, data analysis, project modeling, and operational efficiency.
Saint James is excited to welcome Mrs. Smith to its administrative team.

LAMP High junior Rhea Rastogi achieved the degree level of “Outstanding Distinction” from the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA). This places Rhea in the top 3% of students across the United States who earned an NSDA degree.
Rhea serves as a team captain for LAMP Speech and Debate and has represented her family, school, district, and state for the last two years as a qualifier for the National Speech and Debate Tournament.

Heavenly Father! You have given my fellow
students and me . . . TEA Christian Academy-a
safe haven to be ourselves, the security that
makes us feel safe and centered, a shoulder to
cry on when needed, and a hand to hold when
we are lost and can’t see our way.
Thank you Lord for our parents and
all who play a role in our up-bringing.
Lord, we thank you for our school,
our principal, staff, and board members. And ALL schools! Keep the students, staff and all workers safe all over the World!
We say a special prayer, and ask that you will bless all the Cancer survivors and those who
are in the fight to survive, we ask that you will give them the strength, will and to keep fighting.
We love You, Lord and we give you Praise
in everything. In Jesus Name, Amen!

TEA Christian Academy Inc. would like to introduce the Student of the Month for the virtue of Obedience! Zoe Harris is a Kindergartner who has a kind heart, sweet disposition, strong values, and a clear willingness to listen and learn. Zoe displays these positive attributes daily in her attitude toward her teacher, peers and in careful completion of her work.
Zoe is such a helpful student who always wants to help others; she is usually the first person to set a positive example for others by cleaning up her area quickly and quietly, after cleaning up she invites her friends to join her during recess time. She is a hard worker and wants to do her best and loves when that is acknowledged. Zoe also displays quiet obedience to God. She loves to talk about God’s love. Zoe, thank you for being a good listener and friend and for always sharing your love of God with us. We are so proud of you and the hard work you have done this Month at TEA Christian Academy Inc. Congratulations!

Some of The Students and staff surprised Lamine Sougou an eight-grade student at Talent Education & Art Christian Academy, Inc. with a birthday cake, Ice-cream and an envelope with some money.
Sougou was very surprised, and grateful. The birthday student is wearing the blue head-gear, along with the school’s lead teacher Bonnie Robinson. We Love You Lamine!

Addison Brunson from Bear Exploration Center was recognized by Alabama PALS with an Honorable Mention award for her “It’s Up To You in 2022, Keep Alabama Litter Free” poster. She attended the Governor’s Awards Luncheon with her family to receive the award.

Success Unlimited Academy was recently recognized by Cognia as a 2022 School of Distinction. Accreditation from Cognia is a valuable mark of distinction recognized around the world. During the 2021-2022 school year, Cognia conducted approximately 1,500 school engagement reviews for accreditation. This year, 96 schools and 38 systems in 34 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and nine countries were recognized. The number of institutions reviewed and those that earn this designation vary from year to year. Winners carry the designation for one year.

In a press release, Cognia’s President and CEO, Dr. Mark A. Elgart stated, “Congratulations to the 2022 Schools and Systems of Distinction for demonstrating excellence in education in meeting the Cognia Performance Standards. Based on the results of their 2021–2022 accreditation reviews, each of these schools and systems demonstrated evidence of growth in learning, a healthy culture for learning, engaging and high-quality instructional environments, and effective leadership for learning.”
Susan Alred, SUA’s Headmaster, accepted this award at the 2022 Cognia IMPACT Conference.

Students in Pam Watson’s class recently enjoyed their annual field trip to the Governor’s Mansion in historic downtown Montgomery. They received a warm welcome from the mansion staff, especially from Nicole Owens, who served as their tour guide. The Alabama Governor’s Mansion was designed in 1907 by T. Weatherly Carter and was originally the private home of the Ligon family. Since 1951, it has served as the official residence of the Governor and First Family of Alabama.

Their tour included the formal dining room were Governor Ivey hosts state dinners. Of particular interest was the fine china and the sterling silver Dixon Tea Set made in England in1859 and later purchased by First Lady Julia Dixon in 1939. Continuing their tour, students visited the drawing room where numerous photos of the governor are displayed. Before departing the mansion, Mrs. Watson’s class gathered on the grand staircase for a group photo.

TEA Christian Academy, Inc. acknowledged Praysha Smith for the month of November 2022, as the high school student of the month. This achievement is given to the student for achievements in academics, hard-word, classroom performance, as well as attending school daily and on time, dressing appropriately in her uniform with a pleasant personality. Praysha takes pride in modeling positive character traits, and carrying out the school’s creed. Preysha is indeed a model student-who goes above and beyond being a student. As our motto says . . she “Takes an Extra Step Towards Educational Excellence.” We are so Proud of you. Keep up the great work Praysha!

The oldest and largest national drug prevention program, Red Ribbon Campaign Week, was celebrated with a pep rally on SUA’s lower campus recently. The Mustangs gym was filled with red balloons and ribbons creating a spirit of support. Students were encouraged to unite and take a visible stand against drugs. Connie Dacus, an SUA teacher, coordinated the efforts to host the pep rally. The SUA Mustang cheerleaders help lead the pep rally, as well.