Montgomery Student Spotlights June ’22

Trinity K4 classes had a fabulous time hosting a Muffins for Mom morning. Each child introduced their mom and shared something special about her. They sang songs to their mothers to let them know how much they love them. They also shared 10 of the 27 Bible verses they have learned and recited the entire chapter of Psalm 100. They finished their time by singing silly songs that were written about each child. 2nd pic- Mary Katherine Skipworth with her son Oliver  

ACA Kindergarten graduation had a wonderful graduation May 13th, 2022. The ceremony was perfect and the graduates felt as special as they deserved.  Since covid, the kindergarten teachers decided instead of a reception for the graduates, they would do a graduation parade.  Well, even though the normal way of life is coming back around, the graduation parade stuck because of how special the kids felt.  They each get their own moment praised by the whole lower school and are showered with love and a little present from their teacher! It truly is such a special time!

Trinity’s baseball team led by head Coach Jarrod Cook, defeated Peidmont to win the Class 3A State Baseball Championship! MVP went to senior Coleman Stanley.  

Pictured: Webber, Mac and Walker McClinton celebrate the victory!  

Trinity Girls Soccer team is the 1A-3A Girls State Champions, winning back to back titles! MVP is Katherine Warren.

On April 7, Saint James School students from middle and high school participated in the 2022 AISA State Technology Fair at Troy University at Montgomery. These students competed earlier in the year in the ACTE (Alabama Consortium of Technology in Education) Region 5 competition.

In Individual Programming, Paul Kreischer placed 1st and Jaeah “Jake” Lee placed 2nd.In Multimedia, Selina Sun won 2nd place. As a team in the Senior High Division, Emerson Hagen, Junseo Oh, Paul Kreischer, Jaeah “Jake” Lee, and Selina Sun won the 2nd place team award. Emily Trock placed 1st in Level I Digital Video, and Aidan Saldanha placed 2nd in Level II Digital Video.

Saint James School offers technology classes at all division levels. Technology teachers at Saint James are Tina Waggoner (Elementary), Martha Cavanaugh (middle school), Wes Smith (high school) and Deborah Otis (high school).

On April 22, three Saint James student-athletes signed letters of intent to play sports at the collegiate level on athletic scholarships.

Two sport athlete Danielle Greene signed to play volleyball at Birmingham-Southern. Danielle played both volleyball and basketball for the Trojans. In volleyball, she helped her team return to the state playoffs in 6A this year. In basketball, was an integral part of the team that made it to the state finals.

Jonathan Harris signed on to play football at Tuskegee University. Jonathan is also a two-sport athlete at Saint James. In football, he has been a starter for the past three years. In track and field, he runs the 4×100, 100-meter dash, and 200-meter dash.

Bradley Thomas will continue his athletic career in football at Alabama State University. Bradley has played both sides of the ball for the Trojans and has been a starter for two years. Bradley has also been a team leader of the Trojan basketball team. He has been named to the All-State team and led his team to the Final Four this year. Bradley is also a 1000-point player.

All three of these student-athletes were recognized at a signing ceremony on the Saint James campus in front of family, friends, and the high school student body.

Saint James high school art students submitted pieces for the 2022 “Doing Our Own Thing” (DOOT) Competition. A number of these students placed in their specific categories. A reception and awards ceremony was held on Tuesday, April 12 at 5:30pm at the Anita P. Folmar Gallery. Their artwork will hang in the Anita P. Folmar Gallery through April 29th.

For Black & White Drawing, senior Aroa Jung received Honorable Mention. For Color Drawing, junior Natalie Magee won first place while sophomore Wendy Stombaugh received Honorable Mention. In Graphic Art/Digital Design, senior Dakota Alexander won 2nd place. Senior Jack Catchings received Honorable Mention in Color Photography.

All of these students are a part of the high school art classes taught by Mrs. Evelyn Shoults.

During the weekend of April 21-24, the Saint James School performing arts department performed its spring musical, Godspell. Students from all three divisions, elementary through high school, were a part of this incredible musical. The show was the vision of creative director, Lonny Harrison, with the help of guest directors, Kristy Meanor and Adrian Bush.

Godspell, the hit musical which premiered off-Broadway in 1971, was written by Stephen Schwartz, the Grammy winning composer of Wicked. This musical follows the gospel of Matthew. The Saint James production starred senior Paul Kreischer as Jesus and Hamilton Cunningham as Judas. The more modern-day re-telling of the story and parables of Jesus included a cast and crew from grades 2-12.

The student cast also included Ruthie Blakeney, Anna Colson, Mary Ann Coon, Emily Headley, Jack McGraw, Morgan Montgomery, Jalen Trammer Lizzy Dickens, Jimmie Thompson, Abigail Roark, Caleb Hendrick, Alzareiah Stewart, Rose Statam.

The Saint James elementary choir, The Rising Stars, also had parts in show. The show was a delight for audiences each show.

On Saturday, April 9, several Saint James students and their teacher, Mrs. Priscilla Hadden travelled to compete in the second round of the Alabama Statewide Mathematics Competition which was held on the campus of University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.

The first round took place on Saturday, February 26. The first round was a written exam round.  Saint James School received the results in March and were notified those students competing received first place awards in Division Two, District Six for Comprehensive Mathematics (students in Pre-Calculus or above) and Algebra II.

Further, Jason Jeong received a second-place individual award on the written comprehensive exam.  Woochan Kim received a first-place individual award on the written Algebra II exam.

Then, students that took the comprehensive mathematics exam were invited to participate in round two which was a ciphering round.  This portion of the competition is by invitation only and is based on the results of the first-round team comprehensive scores.  Jason Jeong, Justin Kang, Kelsey Shaffer, and Selina Sun took part in the tournament on Saturday, April 9 and placed first in the ciphering round for all of Division Two.

Division Two includes 5A and 6A schools, all private schools in the state who do not offer a Math Team Course, and Middle Schools averaging 225 students or more per grade level.

The Saint James high school mathematics program features classes that include Geometry, Algebra II, Honors Algebra II with Trig, Algebra III with Trig, Pre-Calculus, Honors Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus AB, and AP Calculus BC.

On April 13, 2022, several Saint James students participated in the YMCA’s Youth in City, a division of YMCA’s Youth in Government. Saint James junior Anna Dickey was sworn in as youth mayor by Montgomery Probate Judge JC Love. Brooke Bender and Austin Oh served as city council members, and AJ Kavlick had an ordinance passed unanimously.

Students who participated in the day’s events were seniors Anna Fett, Ellen Lane, Caroline Yancy, and Jake Yohn; juniors Brooke Bender and Anna Dickey; and sophomores AJ Kavlick and Austin Oh.

Montgomery Academy Upper School History teacher Dr. Scott Morris took his AP US Government class to the Frank M. Johnson U.S. Courthouse to attend a sentencing hearing and to talk with Judge Austin Huffaker about judicial practices, including appointment, following precedent, and due process. Thank you to Judge Huffaker for being such a gracious host, and to Dr. Morris for creating an opportunity and space for this first-hand experience for his students

Sketchbooks are an integral part of each art class beginning in the second grade. In September, fifth-grade students were starting “Pet in My Yard,” an oil pastel drawing of their pet. At the beginning of the assignment, Erika Tracy brought a service dog, Frog, to pose for the students. Working in their sketchbooks, they made sketches of Frog in several different poses. This was the first time the students drew from life. Usually, the sketchbook drawing is an object placed on a small sculpture box on their table; it does not move. Frog definitely did move.

The Eastwood Christian School kindergarten class performed a musical program, “Around the World,” for family and friends.  Students dressed in colorful costumes, sang songs, and danced to demonstrate and celebrate what they learned through their study of countries and customs around the world.

Montgomery Academy Fourth Graders got to play with Pi! No, not p-i-e, but “Pi!” Pi Day was celebrated in Mrs. Kranzusch’s class with friendly competition as students worked in teams to measure the circumference and diameter of any and all common classroom objects to find Pi a total of ten times. Accurate measurements, astute recording, and teamwork were the keys to a fun Pi Day!

The girls got to dance for a teacher luncheon & then they went out & asked the teachers to come up & participate in a fun YMCA dance! Tonya Speed goes to Garrett each week to teach ballet, jazz & tap.

[Montgomery, AL] – The YMCA of Greater Montgomery announces Judson Lindsey, Julienne Pharroms, and Mary Alice Sasser are the recipients of the 2022 Jimmy Hitchcock Award. A total of 40 high school seniors were nominated at an awards banquet held at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel Tuesday night.

Judson Lindsey is a senior at The Montgomery Academy. He plays football, basketball, and baseball. In addition to his rigorous sports schedule, he is taking many AP and honors classes and has a 4.5 GPA. He regularly attends First United Methodist Church.

Julienne Pharrams is a senior at Montgomery Catholic whose primary sports are volleyball and basketball. She is a member at New Beginnings Baptist Church in Phenix City. She has a 4.25 GPA and has taken every AP and Honors class available at Montgomery Catholic.

Mary Alice Sasser is a senior at Trinity Presbyterian School. Sasser is a tri-sport athlete playing volleyball, basketball, and soccer. She is also a member of First Baptist Church. Outside of her many sports and church duties, she is also involved in many clubs at her school. She has a 4.22 GPA and is planning to major in Nutrition at Auburn University in the Fall.

The Jimmy Hitchcock Committee honors young athletes for Christian leadership. Students are nominated by their coaches and administrators for setting a Christian example of moral fitness in their athletic development.

The Jimmy Hitchcock Award is a program of the YMCA of Greater Montgomery. Hitchcock was the first All-American football player at Auburn University. Hitchcock played 3rd base for the baseball team and later signed with the New York Yankees. He also started little league baseball in Montgomery.

Six students from Evangel Christian Academy recently made the AISA All Star Basketball Team. Zaria Johnson, Karley Blankenship, and Kysha McNeely were chosen to play on the Girls’ East All Star team. Kennedy Holland, Jeremiah Maldon-Williams, and Jhamari Giles were selected to play of the AISA East All Star Boys’ team. Both the girls and boys selected were chosen from among all of the senior basketball players in the AISA. Only 30 girls and 30 boys made the All Star teams. For ECA to have three girls and three boys chosen was an outstanding accomplishment. The game was played at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.

Halcyon Elementary played host to the first-ever Fifth-Grade Pitch Competition in partnership with MGMWERX and Alabama Power.

The winners were the “Halcyon Coding Corporation,” which won a $5,000 donation to complete their robotics program upgrade project. Each student also received a Quest 2 Oculus headset.

The title of the competition was “If It Is To Be…It Begins with Me!” and involved 12 students from Halcyon’s fifth-grade class along with a teacher-facilitator. The winning facilitator was technology teacher Christopher Tsuing.

All participating students received a medal and certificate of appreciation. Another team, the Environmental Friendly Action Plan Club, so impressed the judges that MGMWERX, through Alabama Power, awarded the team $5,000 on the spot. Those students also received Quest 2 Oculus headsets.  A total of $10,000 was awarded to the school!

Principal Shannon Schmidt is pictured with MGMWERX Director Trent H. Edwards. MGMWERX serves as Air University’s innovation and collaboration hub hosting government-to-government and government-to-industry collaboration and assessment events.

Mary Alice is a senior at Trinity Presbyterian School where she has lettered as a varsity athlete in Volleyball, Basketball, and Soccer. She was named 3A area all- tournament team and Jack Sweer’s  All -Tournament team in basketball. She has helped lead her Volleyball team to state championships in 2020 and 2021 and Soccer teams to state championships in 2018 and 2021. Her Soccer team will be competing for another state title in May.

Mary Alice serves as the schools SGA vice president. She is a member of the National Honor Society, French Honor Society, Interact club, Middle School girl’s bible study leader, Show Choir, Trinity School Ambassador, and the FCA leadership team. Mary Alice has been a part of the Headmaster’s list every semester since the 9th grade earning a 94.5 or greater GPA. She will graduate from Trinity with an overall GPA of 4.22.

She is a member of First Baptist Church Montgomery where she serves as the youth choir chaplain,VBS volunteer, Missions Montgomery volunteer. Mary Alice was awarded the “Giving Tree Award” at JH Ranch for her Christian leadership.

Mary Alice is the 9th  female from Trinity to receive the prestigious Hitchcock Award.

Trinity was honored to host a ceremony celebrating Beck Tuley’s appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Joan Cox, the service Academy Coordinator and Office Manager for representative Barry Moore, presented Tuley with the Certificate of Appointment. The senior class, family, and special guests were in attendance.

Tuley has been a student at Trinity since kindergarten and has been a member of the track team, the swim team, and the soccer team. He has well over a 4.0 gpa and has taken seven AP classes and multiple honors classes.

In his address to the audience, Tuley said, “I am honored to have received an appointment to West Point and I know I could not have done this by myself. I want to attend West Point to repay the sacrifices of those who came before me and to carry on their legacy of defending our country and safeguarding our freedom. Thank you to the Trinity Family for the opportunities, the support, and for being like a second family to me.”

Tuley will begin his training this summer.

Four students from  the homeschool community, Classical Conversations Taylor Road, recently finished months of study by correctly reciting over 400 facts from a variety of subjects as part of the Classical Conversations Memory Master program.

The students ranging in age from nine to twelve years old earned the Memory Master award in April, when each child spent approximately five hours total recalling facts from six subjects, as well as a history timeline.

Besides a chronological timeline of 160 events and people, the students had other subjects of study such as; history, 24 facts about ancient world history; over 120 ancient world geographic features including ancient historical empires, major rivers and mountain ranges ;  Science, including facts about biology and Earth science; Latin noun declensions; English grammar facts including prepositions and verbs; Math, including multiplication facts to the 15’s, common squares and cubes, basic geometry formulas, and unit conversions; and reciting all 46 US presidents.

“Memory Master takes serious effort and practice on the part of the students,” says Amanda Nyberg, director of Classical Conversations Taylor Road campus.  “The goal is mastery, which is committing the information to long term memory. There are four oral tests given over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. The last two tests require the student to exhibit 100 percent accuracy in order to receive the title Memory Master.   Not only is it exciting to see these students achieve this goal they set for themselves, it is encouraging to see their determination and persistence throughout the process.”

Two MPS students were awarded scholarships from the Birmingham Chapter of the Professional Athletes Foundation.

Kennedy Robinson, a senior at Brewbaker Technology Magnet High and Nicholas Harris, a senior at LAMP High, were both awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the organization.

The PAF Chapter Student Scholarship is designed to reward high school athletes for their non-athletic achievements and assist them in achieving their academic career goals.

The ACA senior class had their annual WeServe day and went to several different places for each member of the class to be able to participate.  They all were dispersed to the Montgomery Area Council on Aging, EAT South and the Dalraida church of Christ Ukraine Missions warehouse.  They were all able to help different people of different stages of neediness.  Their eyes were opened to those less fortunate and those who are facing times of uncertainty.  These seniors were happy to have the opportunity to step out of their world for a day and totally pout themselves into others.  It truly is such a blessing to be able to give back to the community we live in.

Several students from Evangel Christian Academy recently won awards at the AISA District 5 Art Show. The district event was held at Eastwood Christian School in Montgomery, Alabama. Kennedy Softley and Riley Jones both won first place. Second place winners were Reese Anderson, Deonna Arnold, Julia Jennings, and Blake Softley. Reese Anderson, Layla Johnson, Jonas Brown, and Lillie Rose Parrish all won third place. The first place winners will advance to the AISA State Art Show.

Isabella Dennison of Booker T. Washington Magnet High was the winner of U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell’s 2022 Congressional Art Competition.

Her winning piece, “Legacy,” will be framed and displayed in the U.S. Capitol along with other winners from around the nation.

The Alabama Independent School Association State Art Show was held Tuesday, May 10, at Faulkner University.  All 1st place District winners were invited to compete in most age groups, and 1st and 2nd places could compete in 10th-12th grades.

Eastwood Christian School had a record number of 17 pieces in the show!  Congratulations to our two ECS 2022 AISA State Art Show winners:

Florence Cook, 1st place, painting, K-1st grade, and Liv Menza, 2nd place, color drawing, K-1st grade.

Two Brewbaker Technology Magnet High robotics teams competed at the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas. There were over 810 robots and 20,000 students and parents attending the event from around the world.

BrewTech’s two teams competing were 4828-W, featuring Travis Karvwnaris; Braden Chambless; Ashley Tiblier; and Robert Parker; and team 4828-S with Mason Hatch; Jacob Young; Aiden Gutierrez; and Marcus Causey.

Out of 83 robots in each of their division, 4828-W ranked 43rd, and 4828-S ranked 63 out of 81 robots in their division.

NASA landed at T.S. Morris Elementary with its Destination Station learning center, teaching students all about space travel. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell and her office made the visit possible.

Students learned about the International Space Station, including the robotics that astronauts use and the food they eat. They even got to see one of the only moon rocks available to the public.

NASA scientists were on hand at the event, which was a way to introduce students to STEM studies.

Recent Brewbaker Technology Magnet High graduate Hailey Mullins has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar. She is one of only three students in Alabama to receive this distinction. The U.S. Department of Education chooses up to 161 Presidential Scholars nationwide each year.

Being named a U.S. Presidential Scholar is one of the nation’s highest honors for a high school student. Hailey is in the Medical Academy at BrewTech and plans to pursue a medical degree.

McKinnon Hammonds was honored at a luncheon recently where he received a scholarship from Montgomery Lions Club. He was chosen by his teachers and was interviewed by members of the Lions Club last month for the scholarship. He was one of seven chosen from Montgomery. Congratulations McKinnon!

Congratulations to 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 who was recently recognized by Mayor Steven L. Reed and the Montgomery City Council for his academic excellence!  Way to go Teron!!!🎉 

MPS elementary robotics teachers and District K-5 Science Education Specialist Shaniece Williams attended the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas. Schools from every country in the world were present with almost 30,000 students and teachers.

The MPS robotics teachers who represented the district were from Highland Avenue, Wilson, Morris, and Johnson elementary schools.

Seniors, Rachel Major (cheer) and Luke Noffsinger (baseball, football, and travel baseball) represented Macon East Academy at the 63rd annual Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award ceremony.  Since 1959, the objective of the Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award program has been to recognize Christian leadership in athletics and to encourage and inspire others to emulate the man whose memory is perpetuated by this award. Each year coaches nominate senior athletes who have displayed the most outstanding qualities of Christian leadership in athletics and possesses the following qualities: strong character, dependability, 100% effort, team leadership, church leadership, school leadership, and scholastic leadership. 8th grade students who exhibit these same qualities are also invited to attend the annual banquet and be recognized.  This year, Berkley Harris and Braiden Watkins represented Macon East Academy as 8th grade certificate winners.  We are proud to have these athletes a part of our Knight family!

Montgomery Catholic was blessed to have 2 teams make it to the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, TX this year. These students have been incredibly driven, spending countless hours perfecting their robot’s design and programming to compete on the world stage. Through hard work and prayers before every match, the Middle School team went 9-1 in qualifying and made it to the round of 16. Our Middle School team consists of Gavin Cummins, Bennett Webb, Tye Rountree, Lucy Logsdon, Erik Ojala, and Will Tarkowski. The High School team finished the tournament 25th out of 81 teams and consisted of Turner Clements and Hunter Dailey.

Coach Tim Davenport enjoyed sharing some of his family’s Native American traditions to the Macon East lower school.  He brought a talking stick, medicine pouches, clothing, jewelry, a turban that the chief would wear, and dream catchers to show them. The students really enjoyed the hands-on learning and personal stories about his family.

Montgomery Christian School’s Fifth grade class spent the first week of May at Maxwell attending their Starbase program.  This program gives students hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) experiences.  They had the opportunity to launch rockets, “walk” on Mars, build and program robots, and so much more.

On May 5th, Montgomery Christian School students had their Spring Art and Music Festival.  Trinity Presbyterian Church was the gracious host of this event.  All students had an art piece in the art show and performed songs with their class. The fourth and fifth grade classes played the hand chimes as well.  This festival highlighted the many talents of MCS students.