Sixteen students were recently inducted into Montgomery Academy’s Troupe No. 1085 of the International Thespian Society. Through hard work in the classroom and onstage, sacrifice and dedication, the candidates earned the right to be called Thespians. The Society was established in 1929 by a group of college and high school teachers whose guiding principle was a dedication to excellence in theater arts in secondary schools.

The event included remarks from Troupe President Zoe Zink and Vice President Sarah Kate Barton. New members include seniors Will Ashworth, Chandler Brazil, Marguerite Dillon, Tristan Dumas, Elle Hughes, Mary Evelyn McLemore, Sadie Sease and Jeb Tucker; juniors Katie Brown and Brett Westhauser; sophomores Isabella Johnson, Susannah Miller and Myers Pinckard; and freshman Emon Jackson.

Brewbaker Technology Magnet High robotics won two of the four awards given at the tournament held on the BrewTech campus. This was the first VEX Robotics tournament held at the school in nearly two years.

Both winning BrewTech teams are now qualified for the Alabama VEX Robotics State Championship on Feb. 18 at Auburn University.

The team of Travis Karvwnaris, Ashley Tiblier, Robert Parker and Braden Chambless won the Excellence Award, which is the highest award given at VEX Robotics competitions. The team of Mason Hatch, Jacob Young, Owen Thomson, Tucker Black and Marus Causey won one of two Tournament Champion Awards.

This year the top three winners of the 2021 Eastwood Christian School Spelling Bee were all 8th-grade students. Caroline MacLeod placed third and Isaiah Jacobson placed second. The first-place winner was Lily Givens and the winning word was “irreversible.” Givens will advance to the Montgomery County Spelling Bee where students compete to advance to the state competition.

Lanier High celebrated Football and Cheerleaders Pride Day with an early dinner in the gymnasium catered by the King’s Table and hosted by First Baptist Church on South Perry Street. MPS Chief Academic Officer Bernard Mitchell and First Baptist Youth Minister Russell McCrory shared words of encouragement during the event. First Baptist members and Pastor Jay Wolf assisted along with the Poet Nation PTSA and Poet Super Grands. Each football player, coach and cheerleaders received a “Delayed But Not Denied” T-shirt.

A student from Evangel Christian Academy recently played in a national football championship playoff. Carson Rivers-Lee and his team, the Montgomery Gators, advanced to play in the 8U level at the event.  The championship playoffs were held in Miami December 11 and were sponsored by Battle Youth National Football.

Key Alabama Christian Academy experiences such as Chapel, student organizations, class officers, PLI, WeServe, intramural events, and other similar activities will be organized and managed together so that they can better support one another and better create the ideal environment for student growth. As a result, current Assistant Principal Manuel Guice will now serve as ACA’s Director of Student Life, in addition to his roles as science department chair and baseball coach. His newest role complements his current responsibilities as assistant principal and builds upon his strong work as a coach, administrator and advocate for holistic student growth. He is passionate about creating on-ramps for student involvement, increasing the quality and relevance of student growth opportunities, and ensuring that each student feels fully supported as they navigate the challenges of personal growth.

Trinity Presbyterian School junior Lilly Yancey made the podium at the AHSAA Swimming State Championship Meet December 4 in Auburn. She placed third in the 500 yard freestyle and 5th in the 200 yard freestyle.

Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama (GSSA) recognizes Montgomery Academy senior Ellie Stevens for receiving the Gold Award. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the pinnacle of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, and it’s available exclusively to Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors in 9th through 12th grades. To earn the Gold Award, girls typically spend one to two years exploring the root cause of a local or global issue and partner with the community to create lasting solutions.

For Stevens’s project, she created a self-defense patch to help every girl learn how to protect herself against attackers through three basic steps. In this program, Stevens challenges girls to research, learn and develop self-defense skills through a series of classes and videos that she designed. In these videos, Stevens teaches girls tactical ways on how to defend themselves if they get attacked. She has a black belt in taekwondo and believes that “every girl should learn how to protect herself against an assault.” She says that “knowing how to defend yourself can boost your confidence, and more importantly, save your life.” Once girls have completed this patch, they will feel confident in their self-defense skills and be educated on protecting themselves in case of an attack.

Stevens has earned all of the Girl Scout highest awards—the Silver, Bronze and Gold Awards throughout her Girl Scout career. She says that earning the Gold Award has made her feel “more confident in [herself] and when speaking to other people.”

On November 28, a group of Saint James high school art students volunteered their talent and time to help decorate for Christmas at the Chick-Fil-A at EastChase. The students, along with art teacher Evelyn Shoults, painted holiday-themed windows. Art students Mae Puckett, Kelsey Shaffer, Sophie Shoults, Wendy Stombaugh, Selina Sun and Elaine Vo enjoyed using their talents as a way to brighten the holidays!

From left, Selina Sun, Wendy Stombaugh, Mae Puckett, Elaine Vo and Kelsey Shaffer are proud of their work!

Alabama Christian Academy’s lower school kids gave Christmas toys for children who shelter with Family Promise of Montgomery, a program for homeless families with children. Jayme Teague, the director of Family Promise, came to ACA December 3 to speak to the students about the program and we presented her with many toys for the children. This project aligned with our 4th-graders’ literature study of the book, The Family Under the Bridge. It is a story of a homeless family and the struggles they encounter at Christmas.

For the past several years, Macon East students in K-3, K-4, 2nd- and 4th-grade classes have participated in Scholastic’s Pajama Program. Students are encouraged to donate brand-new pajamas for this annual great bedtime story pajama drive. For every pair of pajamas donated, Scholastic Book Clubs donates a brand-new book to the Pajama Program. The purpose of this program is to give kids affected by instability a good night—for a good day! This year these Macon East classes donated more than 50 pairs of new pajamas! The fourth-grade class is shown.

Carver Elementary and Arts Magnet student Noelle Waters is the winner of the Montgomery Rotary Club’s Dictionary Project Essay Contest. Waters; her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Waters; and her teacher, Mrs. Griffin, attended the Rotary Luncheon at the RSA. Waters was allowed to read her essay. She received a cash prize for herself, a pizza party for the class, and her teacher received a cash prize for the class.

She is shown here with Montgomery County Board of Education President Clare Weil, her teacher Mrs. Griffin, and State Superintendent Dr, Eric Mackey.

Middle school students from Churchill Academy took a break from P.E. and played life-size Jenga and Yahtzee while enjoying unseasonably warm weather recently. Students set up the games on the basketball court at Churchill.

Saint James School Baseball Program held its inaugural STJ Baseball Golf Tournament fundraiser at Wynlakes Golf and Country Club on November 29. Saint James parents Guy Shores, Steve Cutler and Chad Wright organized the event with baseball coach Keith Lucky. The winning team was Todd Shores, Brandon Godwin, Brian Paulk and Wilson Adams. The event raised more than $4,000 for the baseball program.

Shown, Golf Coach Keith Lucky and Coach Jeff Corley enjoyed the day.

The Alabama Christian Academy 5th- graders participated in Hour Of Code hosted by Faulkner University. The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify “code,” to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with one-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts.

Booker T. Washington Magnet High is integrating the arts into academic lessons, expanding and deepening students’ understanding of subjects. The BTW math department recently explored the Unsung Heroes in History project, provided by the Alabama Arts Alliance.

BTW students learned about civil rights heroes and lesser-known people in history who changed the world. Then they etched the portrait onto a foam sheet and made a print of their etching. Students created a collage of their hero using their name, one quote, at least one symbol representing their person, and the print-ed portrait.

The Alabama Arts Alliance provided all art supplies and the book, The Fierce 44:  Black Americans Who Shook Up the World.

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s elementary campuses held their schoolwide spelling bees this fall. St. Bede Campus classroom winners were Zuzu Cullen (6th), Gillian Smith (6th), Raven Blackburn (6th), Charlotte Carroll (5th), Sophia Collett (5th), Cate Noell (5th), Jack Thompson (4th), Bennett Hudson (4th), and Kendall Johnson (4th).

Holy Spirit Campus classroom winners were Declan McTear (4th), Bentley Porter (4th), Justin Lee (4th), James Moore (4th), Julia Taylor (5th), Landon Widmer (5th), Jaxson Dodds (5th), Alexander Zhvania (5th), Leah Lee (6th), Aly Tarkowski (6th), Claire Aaron (6th), and Ethan Levanda (6th).

After two fantastic competitions, Justin Lee and Charlotte Carroll were the winners from their respective campuses with Aly Tarkowski and Bennett Hudson coming in 2nd place. The winners will compete in the Regional Spelling Bee Competition.

Top photo, Charlotte Carroll and Bennett Hudson

Bottom, Justin Lee and Aly Tarkowski.

Over the Thanksgiving break, twenty-seven Montgomery Academy Upper School students and their teachers traveled to Spain where they immersed themselves in the language, art and architecture in order to learn and experience the culture that they have studied.

Their trip began in the cosmopolitan capital of Madrid. They enjoyed the Plaza Mayor, the famous bullring Las Ventas, the royal palace, and the magnificent Prado art museum. From Madrid, the group traveled to Toledo, Spain’s former capital, where students enjoyed a culinary class before visiting the city’s Gothic Cathedral and the Medieval Synagogue. They then continued south to Granada, the former seat of Spain’s Moorish kingdom. There they visited the legendary Alhambra, a magnificent Moorish palace, and also enjoyed a flamenco dance lesson and performance in the caves of the Sacromonte neighborhood. From Granada, the group traveled to Sevilla, where they visited the Gothic Cathedral, burial place of Christopher Columbus, and the grand Giralda Tower.

They also visited Triana, where they learned about the neighborhood’s famed ceramic tiles and even decorated their own tile! The group took a day trip to Córdoba, where they visited the mosque cathedral, one of Spain’s cultural wonders. On Thanksgiving Day, the group traveled by high-speed AVE train to Barcelona and arrived in time to visit La Boqueria food market and then have a traditional Spanish paella dinner. They experienced the highlights of Barcelona, including Antoni Gaudí’s Parc Güell and the still-unfinished Sagrada Familia. The group spent the rest of the final evening wandering the magnificent streets of Barcelona before their departure the following morning. What an aMAzing trip!

The Montgomery Academy Robotics team competed in the Montgomery BEST Robotics Competition recently. The competition began the first week of September and ran through November 6. Students spent time after school and on weekends building a robot to score points on the competition game floor. This year’s theme was Demo Daze. Robots scored points by cleaning up a construction site. Students had three minutes to score as many points as possible in six rounds.

#MARobotics did a fantastic job for their first year competing, and for their first year of robotics. They are excited to have more join the team and prepare for the next year’s competition. The team had help from MA Alum & previous teacher Emory Kimbrough, Dr. Gleason and Mrs. Gleason. Team members are Picasso Avezzano, Grant Casey (not pictured), Armaan Darynani, Ben Gaston, Mason Kim, Ted Lee, Nico McIntyre, Charles Norris, Myers Pinckard, Louis Rubio and Valentina Rubio.

Petting snakes, handling turtles and observing tarantula spiders and hissing cockroaches up close were all in a day’s activity for Survival Skills students at Academy Days Co-op in Montgomery. Toni Bruner of Auburn University’s Museum of Natural History brought these exotic creatures and a few others to class and explained how they survive in the wild and how the museum works to protect them.

Participating in class were Thomas Ghigliotti, Adam DuPre, Titus Hewlett, Waylon Chappell; Tiffany Lipska, Jane Lipska, Jameson Ryals, Malachi Lipska, Toni Bruner, Roman Lipska, Anaya Garrett, Noah Garrett and Kyle Dannelley. In addition to Survival Skills class, Academy Days Co-op offers more than 30 homeschool classes in science labs, creative writing, literature, art, history and PE for preschool through high school. Visit AcademyDays.com for more info.

Middle School students recently began a short five-week intensive class learning the basics of fencing from Montgomery Academy Drama Director Scott Bowman who, in addition to being a fight choreographer for the stage, was a Junior Olympian and varsity fencer for the University of North Carolina.

It’s a tradition for each Montgomery Academy kindergarten class to select the just-right Christmas tree for their classroom. Parents and grandfriends then have the opportunity to craft ornaments with their child’s class. By the time winter break arrives, the kindergarten Christmas trees are covered in sweet student creations. Thank you to our friends at Wadsworth Tree Farm for hosting us!

For the past 20 years, the students of Saint James have donated money to help families who have patients at the UAB Bone Marrow Transplant Unit have happy holidays. Students from all grades, except fifth grade, brought monetary donations or gift cards which were then given to the families to use for Christmas purchases. The fifth-grade students donated money which was then used by students to go shopping at Target for blankets for the families. This special tradition is meaningful for the participants and the recipients.

Service to community is a big part of the Saint James mission. Students are given opportunities throughout the school year to volunteer time, donate goods, and donate money which helps the local community and those around us.

Saint James Elementary Counselor Laura Gibson is shown with a group of fifth-grade students shopping as part of their community service project.

Booker T. Washington Magnet High senior Jayden Amir Robinson was named a 2022 YoungArts Finalist for his outstanding photography portfolio! He is recognized as one of 720 of the nation’s most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts.

YoungArts program is a national competition that identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts. All award winners receive critical, ongoing support from leading artists in the industry to propel them forward at every stage of their artistic careers. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects 20 YoungArts award winners at the Finalist level to receive The U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts awards, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students in the arts.

Past YoungArts recipients are a distinguished group of accomplished artists including Viola Davis, Josh Groban, Judith Hill, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Andrew Rannells and Hunter Schafer.

Music Director Nelda Williams and lower school students at Churchill Academy performed Candy Cane Lane the Musical in December for friends and family at Thorington Baptist Church. Students practiced for several weeks singing Christmas-themed songs and practicing their lines. The night consisted of tap dancers, a piano solo and lots of fun and music. Students that weren’t in a costume were allowed to wear their pajamas for the musical.

Shown, Candy Cane Jane, played by Taylor McKeithen, is joined by her classmates on stage.

The Saint James Theater Department performed Psyche by Lisa Rowe December 2-4 in the Saint James Performing Arts Building. This delightful comedy starred Saint James high school and middle school students and was directed by Lonny Harrison. The Saint James Tech Theater class built the set designs for the performance. The play’s manager was senior Taylor Schofield. Assistant stage manager was Lily Everett, and Jimmie Thompson was responsible for publicity.

Cast members were Paul Kreischer, Hamilton Cunningham, Lizzie Dickens, Jack McGraw, Dakota Alexander, Emily Headley and Mary Ann Coon.

The play features Edward Baxter, a successful psychiatrist, beloved by his many patients—until he is framed for murder. Edward seeks help from Dr. Robert Smith, a fellow psychiatrist and a man with inner demons of his own. When Edward’s meeting with Dr. Smith goes wildly awry and leaves Edward clinging precariously to his last shred of sanity, Dr. Smith’s patient Lydia (a goodhearted psychic woman with clues to Edward’s past) does her best to gain Edward’s trust and help him find justice as his world rapidly approaches critical mass. Psyche’s humor is broad in scope including slapstick, wordplay and a bit of dark humor. The Saint James Theater department produces three student productions each school year.

Photo by Christy Headley.

Eastwood Christian School recently competed in the Roxie Lancaster citywide holiday writing competition. Winning students were Garland Thomas, 2nd place; Eliza MacLeod, 3rd place; and James Bledsoe and Sadler McClure, Honorable Mention.

Each year, the Montgomery Academy 11th-Grade AP Language and Composition class undertakes a process called the AP Reading Society. Students create their own reading lists for each semester, selecting what they wish to read from a list of 130 college-level nonfiction and fiction titles. Students contract to read a certain number of books to receive the grade they desire. At the end of the year, a champion reader is honored for his or her outstanding reading.

The AP Reading Society Champion Reader for 2021 is Clara Ryan. Clara read more than thirty-five books, many of which went beyond what she had contracted to read for the year.

Eastwood Christian School hosted a Medieval Games-themed field day on November 19 at the school’s Arts and Athletics Campus at the corner of Chantilly Parkway and Vaughn Road.  This full-day event featured a medieval feast, several themed competitions (costumes, banners and limericks) and some themed field day events.

Medieval Games is a part of the year-long house-based competition known as the Certamen. This competition pits the Caerulei (blue) vs. the Candidi (white) in a series of academic, athletic and arts-based events. This year the winner of medieval games was the Candidi, who now holds a narrow lead over the Caerulei.

Alabama Christian Academy second-graders collected 73 pairs of pajamas and donated them to the Family Sunshine Center. This is a yearly tradition service project for the second graders.They ended the very successful pajama drive with a pajama day at school Friday!

Alabama Christian Academy took on the second-largest WeServe opportunity as a partnership with Randy Allen and the Wesley Gardens Assisted Living Complex. All 75 residents there were given a Christmas wish list card. Then ACA was given the cards and bought the gifts each resident had requested. Students gathered at Wesley Gardens on December 12. They played Christmas bingo, sang Christmas songs, danced with Santa, passed out gifts and ate together. It was a wonderful time of fellowship that lifted everyone’s spirits.

Mrs. Sumerlin’s and Mrs. Simmons’s lower school students at Churchill Academy created a service project for MANE. Students painted their hands and made horses to honor their time visiting the equestrian facility located on Wallahatchie Road in East Montgomery. They provide safe therapeutic horseback riding opportunities for children and adults. Churchill visits monthly and helps wash the horses and participate in other instructional and educational lessons.

Shown, Tiffany Atkinson, Abby Houchin and Jes von Gal from MANE pose with Churchill students Felix Pritzel, Machai Ester, Aaron Green, Hannah McGowan, Huck Howell, Jacob Mincey, Andrew Humphrey, Dominic Porco, Dontae Babers, Corde Penn, Marcus McNeil, Grayson Buckalew, Jayln Anderson, Nyo Ward, Ka’lias Lee, C.J. Zeigler and Beau Terry.

Montgomery Christian School’s purpose is like no other school in Montgomery. It is an elementary, non-profit (501c3) where every student receives a scholarship in order to experience a quality private Christian education. Noticing a need, in 2007 (after two years of prayer and fundraising) MCS was established for families with limited school choice. Every family contributes as much as possible toward tuition plus every family volunteers to help MCS in other ways. We believe in our families, know each student by name and provide a rigorous education.

Montgomery Christian School has flourished and is now at 90 students and 66 families. Every year we must raise enough money to provide each student with a solid education. Tuition is more than $8,000 a year: $600 a day per class; $40 a day per student. Every monetary gift helps provide an education for our students. Businesses, churches, families and individuals of Montgomery – will you choose to help educate our students who otherwise would not have the opportunity for a Christian worldview, holistic education? Donate through www.montgomerychristianschool.org or we welcome you to come explore and tour our amazing school at 3265 McGehee Road in Montgomery. Call Ann Amster for a tour or to know more at (334) 386-1749 or e-mail development@montgomerychristianschool.org.

A number of Montgomery Academy Upper School students use their advisory period to pack weekend food bags for the Food for Kids Backpack Program. This program delivers food bags every Thursday to a local school where students who’ve been identified as at-risk for hunger are given food for the weekend before returning to school on Monday.

Led by Lower School Art instructor Bee Lee Tullos, Montgomery Academy fourth-grade students used straws and India ink to create trees on watercolor paper. The trees are the foundation for a fall landscape project. The creation of these pieces is fascinating to watch unfold, as a multitude of factors ensure that no two creations will ever be the same.

Several students from Evangel Christian Academy were recently recognized for their outstanding talent. The Alabama Christian Athletics Association awarded senior Jeremiah Maldon-Williams the CFA All-League Wide Receiver Award.  Junior Nii Addy was presented the CFA All-League Defensive Line Award. Freshman Tobiyas McLemore won the CFA All League Defensive Back Award. The ECA Lions football team had an outstanding year. The team played for the CFA Championship and placed second in the state.

Heather Walski, a ninth-grader at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, will be a delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders March 26-27. The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields. The purpose of this event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country interested in these careers, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal.

Walski’s nomination was signed by Dr. Mario Capecchi, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and the Science Director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists, to represent Montgomery Catholic based on her academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine. During the two-day Congress, Walski will join students from across the country and hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science winners talk about leading medical research; be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what to expect in medical school; witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies; and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology.

The Academy offers free services and programs to students who want to become physicians or go into medical science. Based in Washington, D.C. and with offices in Boston, the Academy was chartered as a nonpartisan, taxpaying institution to help identify, encourage and mentor students who wish to devote their lives to the service of humanity as physicians or medical scientists.

The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) – and by formal Proclamation issued by Governor Kay Ivey – launched the 2nd Annual Thank Alabama Teachers Week at a press conference held at Dalriada Elementary School. Extending through Nov. 21, Thank Alabama Teachers Week was created in 2020 for Alabamians to show gratitude in numerous ways for the essential role teachers perform in society.

“Teachers are too often unsung heroes. And while they painstakingly nurture our children, cultivate young minds and invest in students on every level, many times they go without being told ‘thank you’ for answering their important life calling,” said Alabama State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey. “This week is meant to focus on giving that much-deserved gratitude to teachers in various ways across the state.”

As part of Thank Alabama Teachers week, communities, businesses and individuals were encouraged to participate. To enhance involvement, ALSDE provided an online hub of shareable assets intended to make saying ‘thank you’ turnkey, including social media graphics and visuals for use via Instgram, Facebook and Twitter.

As part of Thank Alabama Teachers Week, ALSDE aligned with noteworthy influencers across the state to share personal stories regarding Alabama teacher impact. Alignments include Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Malachi Moore, who thanked his mother, Penny Moore, a teacher at Paine Elementary in Trussville.

“I’d just like to thank my mom for all the things that she’s done and for her being a great example of love, hard work and dedication for her students – and both me and my brother,” said Moore.

“We would like others to follow suit in showering our teachers with gratitude,” added Mackey. “We urge you to use this traditional season of Thanksgiving to recognize Alabama educators as added blessings to our lives and invite you to do your part in expressing thanks for what past, present and future teachers mean to us all.”

For more info, visit weteachalabama.com.

Two Brewbaker Technology High seniors received top honors in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. International Essay Contest. Camryn Perine, left, was selected as first runner-up and Kaitlin Peterson was selected as the Omega Iota Iota Chapter winner. Additionally, Peterson’s essay received first place at the state level, and she will represent Alabama against winners from Mississippi, Georgia and Florida.

On December 1, the 10th-grade class of Saint James School visited the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum as the culminating activity for the class’s unit on social justice. This unit, taught by English teacher Joanna McCurdy, involved reading Just Mercy by Montgomery attorney and activist Bryan Stevenson and the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. After reading these novels, the class scheduled a field trip to downtown Montgomery to visit the Museum and Memorial. This impactful experience helped students see the experiences of others in a more personal way.

McCurdy’s class theme for the year is “Identity and What Shapes Us,” which is aimed at helping students further develop empathy for others around them. Saint James School values the offerings in the Montgomery community which are so poignant for its students.

On December 3, Saint James seniors Shaun Bridges and Cameron Greene signed their letters of intent to play sports at the collegiate level. Both seniors and their families celebrated this momentous occasion.

Bridges has signed to play baseball with Alabama State University. He has been a member of the STJ baseball team for five years and has been an active role model on the team. Bridges has also helped as a coach at the STJ Baseball Summer Camps for younger players. He was described by his coach, Keith Lucky, as an outstanding and gifted infielder who is always working to improve his game.

Greene has signed to play softball at the University of South Carolina at Aiken. She began playing varsity softball as a middle school student. Her coach Mark Hall commented on her impressive statistics and her ability to compete alongside much older players during her time as a member of the softball team.

Both seniors and their families were congratulated at the signing event held in the Saint James Gymnasium. Other speakers included Saint James Athletic Director Katie Barton and Head of School Larry McLemore.

Bridges and Greene are shown.

Mrs. Lawrence’s kindergarten class recently visited “Christmas at Choctafaula” in Auburn. The children enjoyed hayrides to see exotic and domestic animals, and the many Christmas activities.  They ended with a visit from a special friend, Santa Claus!

Montgomery Public Schools has entered a new chapter in its partnership with EdFarm, MGMTech and the city of Montgomery.

MPS leaders, teachers and principals joined EdFarm at the Lab on Dexter to announce the Teacher Fellows Program. This program will help teachers introduce cutting-edge technology to students in the classroom. MPS is looking forward to seeing the strides these teachers make as the district continues to provide more STEM opportunities for our students.

During November, the Saint James Elementary School collected items for the annual holiday community service project. This yearly event is geared to show younger students the value of giving back to the community. This year the students brought in and collected oatmeal, grits and hot chocolate for a food drive benefiting Montgomery Area Council on Aging (MACOA).

All donated items were picked up by Traci Herndon, co-chair of MACOA’s holiday bag program. Fifth-grade students helped load the Meals on Wheels van, and Herndon even gave them a little lesson on why this project is so important to their program. These items were packed in grocery bags that the students decorated and were given to senior citizens over the week of Christmas to ensure that they had plenty to eat.