Montgomery Student Spotlights – March ’23

Montgomery Catholic had two freshmen students awarded the Gold Key award for their entries in the 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Award Competition. Ellis O’Connor submitted her short story, Unspoken and Lexia Varoli submitted a personal memoir titled Brave Enough.
The Scholastic Arts & Writing Award is a national recognition program for young writers. The highest honor students can earn at the regional level is Gold Key. All Regional-level Gold Key winners automatically move on to National competition for further recognition. Students who achieve Gold Key recognition are also eligible to apply for Scholastic Arts Summer (SAS) Scholarships to attend summer writing programs. The Alabama Writing Region of the Scholastic Arts & Writing Award is supported by the Wiregrass Writing Project through Troy University.

Justin Lee, a fifth grader, at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School won the Montgomery County Spelling Bee on February 6. Justin successfully spelled 20 words correctly, including the championship word “verbiage” to win the competition. This is Justin’s 2nd consecutive year winning the County Spelling Bee. He will move on to the Statewide competition on March 18 in Birmingham. Justin is an avid reader, an honor roll student, and Vice President of the Student Council at Montgomery Catholic’s Holy Spirit Elementary Campus.
Montgomery Catholic is proud to have been represented by 3 students from each of the eligible campuses at the County Spelling Bee. Aly Tarkowski, a seventh grader, and Charlotte Carroll, a sixth grader, also participated in the competition with Charlotte finishing in 3rd place. The Montgomery County Spelling Bee is sponsored by the Alabama District of Kiwanis International as a feeder for the renowned Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School welcomed 70 sixth grade students to their Middle School as part of their annual “A Day in the Life” program. Students were greeted by Middle School SGA Officers, Representatives, and Knight Ambassador hosts and hostesses to tour the school, make new friends, and meet the administration, faculty, staff, and coaches at Montgomery Catholic. School President Justin Castanza welcomed all of the guests and taught them how to play “Entourage”, a form of Rock, Paper, Scissors where the loser of each competition then joins the cheering squad of the winner until the final two victors face-off with the entire room cheering them on! Students travelled throughout the Middle/High School Campus by sitting in on classroom lessons, visiting the Broadcast Room, beautifully renovated chapel, expansive band room, and the outstanding weight room. The guests completed the day by enjoying snacks from the cafeteria and receiving Montgomery Catholic spirit swag. Applications are now being accepted for the 2023-24 academic year. Visit www.montgomerycatholic.org to schedule a personal tour today!

On Wednesday, January 26, the Saint James ASL (American Sign Language) Club welcomed speaker, LaShawn Washington during their club meeting:
LaShawn Washington is a native of Richmond, VA. Her biggest achievements during her school years were being a member of the Delta Zeta Sorority during college and participating in several pageants. She was crowned the 1995 Miss Deaf Virginia, her high school homecoming queen in 1996 and the 1997 Miss Washington DC Black Deaf Advocates queen. She graduated from Gallaudet University (a deaf college) with a BA in Social Work. She is currently the president of Alabama Black Deaf Advocates. Before becoming a case manager for the deaf, she has been the independent living skills teacher for the deafblind for 5 years. LaShawn resides in the Birmingham area with her husband, who is also a case manager for the deaf, and their 3 children.
LaShawn spoke on growing up deaf and deaf culture. She involved the students in a fun game of ASL telephone. Then ended with questions from the students and door prizes of merchandise made by LaShawn.
The ASL Club is one of the many high school club offerings at Saint James School. The club is advised by Mrs. Evelyn Shoults.

The Saint James School 8th grade Robotics Team, The Pliers, attended their first VEX Competition event on Saturday, January 21st at Wetumpka High School. The team members, Will Steinwinder, Lucas Kang, and Conrad Miller, were excited to bring their robot, named James IV, to the competition.
The team joined 40 other registered teams. The team competed in 3 matches of “Teamwork Challenge” during which they were paired with another team randomly to try and score the most points. At the end of the 3 matches, Saint James finished 6th in qualifying which entered them in the finals. Finals consisted of the top 20 teams paired up to make 10 teams. Saint James was part of the 3rd highest ranked team. The Saint James team and their ally combined for 69 points and finished 2nd overall in the finals
The Pliers also competed in a “Robot Skills Challenge” which was one minute of running the same field on their own. The team ran their robot through the field twice and received a high score of 56 points, the 5th highest driving score.
The team’s sponsor, sixth grade science teacher Mr. Jeremy Turner, was proud of the work and dedication of the students. Mr. Turner worked with the students to build and program the robot that was brought to the competition.

The Saint James Equestrian team competed in an IEA (Interscholastic Equestrian Association) competition in Birmingham, AL on January 7-8. The whole team (varsity and JV/middle school) pitched in to help host the show for all of the teams competing!
A huge congratulations to the middle school (JV) team for placing Reserve Champion over all! These girls had some tough competition, but they were tougher. This being the last team show of the season everyone rode their best.
Saint James School is the only school in Alabama to offer an Equestrian Team. Team members include high school juniors Alex Clenney and Ava Donaldson; 9th grader Josephine Foshee; 8th graders Elley Goff and Maggie Harris; 7th graders Charlie Jenkins and Dominic Troccia; and 6th graders Matilda Butner, and Lizzy Scarpate.

K4 students at Trinity School gathered to witness the marriage of Q and U. The couple exchanged vows and promised to remain together to create the “qua” sound forever and ever. After K4 students, teacher bridesmaids, and esteemed guests witnessed the beautiful ceremony, a reception was held in the Commons complete with a wedding cake. The happy couple left the reception in grand style to the delight of their guests.

Each year Macon East fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students participate in the AISA Science Fair. With entries in either the biological or physical category, each student is required to present a project complete with display board, research paper and experiment results. The fair is judged by a panel of experts, and the top projects advance to the AISA District and State Science Fairs. This year 5 MEA students were honored at District and advanced to the State fair – Sophie Clark, Jon David Spires, Reese Hasson, Ella Grace Hagans, and Wyatt Streetman. 5th grader, Ella Grace Hagens, won 2nd place for her project at the State fair, “Are Dogs Really Color Blind”, in the elementary physical science division.
School Science Fair Winners were: Ella Grace Hagans, John David Spires, Sophie Clark, Caroline Vocino, Lee Battle, Bella Ann Spires, Ramsey Harless, Taylor Freel, Perry Harless, Amelia Jean Freeman, Wyatt Streetman, Reese Hasson, Caden Luis, Lane Wallace, Kwesi Jernigan, Berklee Grimes, Hayden Herring, Ava Noffsinger, Harper Sirmon, and Logan Sconyers.

Armed with 6 AISA state championships, Chandler Lunn returns home to Macon East Academy as Head Coach of the JV Baseball team and assistant for the Varsity Baseball team. Chandler will also be filling in around the school as a substitute teacher. “We are glad to have Chandler back on campus,” Coach Lott said. “Chandler was a great student leader when he was here as a student and hopefully will pass that as well as his hard work ethic to our students and athletes.”
Lunn, who graduated from Macon East Academy in 2017, was a part of the 2017 and 2022 state championships for the Knights. He attended Troy University and recently graduated with a degree in Physical Education. Chandler assisted Pike Liberal Arts school in their football, basketball, and baseball programs. He was a part of three state championships in baseball and one state championship in football for the Patriots. He interned this past fall at Wicksburg Elementary and High School in Newton, Alabama.
“I’m grateful that Coach Lott gave me this opportunity to be a part of the Knight family again with this role,” Lunn said of his return to Macon East. “Macon is an extremely special place to me. The program is heading in a great direction with the new facilities being built. There has never been a better time to be at Macon East, and I’m very excited to get to work!”
Chandler is engaged to Anna Starling of Troy. We are excited to welcome Coach Lunn back to the Macon East family.

Saint James School held a school-wide coin drive on Tuesday, January 24, to benefit the victims of the recent tornados in Autauga County, Alabama. Students from the middle school and high school SGA groups organized the drive under the supervision of Community Service Coordinator, Venna Everett.
The drive raised over $1800.00 to benefit those affected by the tornadoes. The money will be given to the Central Alabama Community Foundation Autauga County Disaster Relief Fund and City of Selma Disaster Relief to aid their efforts.
Saint James School is committed to community service and provides opportunities for students at all ages to contribute to the communities around them, especially those in need.

Saint James School’s 10th grade class recently visited the EJI Legacy Museum and Memorial. This visit follows the students’ assigned readings in English class of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee followed by Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The Social Justice unit, taught by English teacher Mrs. Joanna McCurdy, brings up important conversations and perspectives as part of a Social Justice Unit.

Trinity first graders enjoyed the 101st day of school as top dogs!! The students dressed up as Dalmatian pups and wore unique 101 day hats they created to mark this special. Day. They participated in counting, writing, art, and reading stations. They made 101 edible necklaces and snack mixes to reinforce their number sense and make concrete connections to numbers. Check out some of the Dalmatian inspired activities that had the students wagging their tails in excitement for the 101st day of school.

Eastwood Christian School had nine winners in this year’s Roxie Lancaster Children’s Holiday Writing Competition. Students from private and public schools in the city competed in this holiday-themed writing opportunity.
Third Grade
First Place – Charlotte MacLeod
Second Place – Micah Lawrence
Third Place – James Freeman
Fourth Grade
First Place – Eliza MacLeod
Second Place – Audrey Gardenier
Third Place – Christina Humphreys
Fifth Grade
First Place – Andrew McLure
Second Place – Phillip Thomas
Third Place – Christopher Lee

Otasowie Dion and Corey Landers both signed on National Signing Day. Otasowie signed with Mississippi College and Corey signed with Western Kentucky University. These young men worked hard to get to this point in their lives, having outstanding stats on the field and being amazing leaders off the field. ACA was blessed to have each of these students, and we are excited for their futures and what all they will achieve.

MCS kindergarten celebrated the 100th day of school on February 2. Kindergarteners hopped out of their cars dressed as 100-year-olds with gray hairs, fun outfits, canes and a fun demeanor. They did all types of fun and educational activities around the number 100 like math facts with skittles, reviewing the history of the last 100 years in a timeline, and crafts. Montgomery Christian School students are excited to learn with all types of hands-on activities.

LAMP High held its second VEX Robotics competition of the year, and its teams did a great job representing the school. The tournament included 40 teams from 13 schools, including 15 teams total from LAMP, Brewbaker Technology Magnet and Park Crossing high schools.
LAMP’s team the Krusty Krabs won the Excellence Award, the highest award presented at a VEX competition. LAMP team the DingDongs won the Design Award based on their Engineering Design Notebook. A third LAMP team, the Goofuses, lost in the finals by just two points. BrewTech’s Reagan Slagle won the Judges Award.
LAMP, BrewTech and Park Crossing all have teams that qualified for the state competition. Pictured here is the LAMP team the Krusty Krabs.

Montgomery Public Schools has received a $100,000 donation from the Montgomery Chapter of the AFCEA Education Foundation through an anonymous donor.
With this generous donation, the Education Foundation will launch and support robotics programs at Catoma, Dalraida and Bear Exploration Elementary Schools and McKee, Goodwyn and Capitol Heights Middle Schools. In addition, funds will support the growth and expansion of chemistry programs at Sidney Lanier, Robert E. Lee and Booker T. Washington High Schools. Over the past 30+ years, the Education Foundation has provided over $1.5 million to Montgomery Public Schools to advance tech programs, purchasing equipment and providing internship and scholarship opportunities.

Evangel Christian Academy’s kindergarten class recently held a special tea party for Valentine’s Day. The students had recently discussed basic mealtime etiquette. The party gave the students the chance to display their good manners. The students dressed in formal attire to enjoy their special lunch. Everyone had a great time and displayed wonderful manners!

Every year ACA’s upper school students are treated on Valentine’s Day with pancakes made and served by their teachers. This is a special time that the students get to be served instead of doing the serving. This year we had our Head of School, Upper School Principal, and many other faculty and staff members making and serving the pancakes to the students.

Evangel Christian Academy recently held its annual art show to highlight the students’ work from this year. Mrs. LaDonna LeMaster, ECA’s art teacher, hosted the event. Students from kindergarten through middle school participated. Parents and students were invited to view the art pieces that were on display. Several students in various grades and categories won ribbons. All art work that won first or second place advanced to compete at the AISA District Art Show.

Brewbaker Technology Magnet High student Arnija Boyd has won the Alabama Association of Career Technical Educators (ALACTE) design competition.
The contest was open to all Alabama High School students and Arnija’s design was selected as the grand prize winner.
The ALACTE is affiliated with the National Association for Career and Technical Education and advocates for good career and workforce development in the state.

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, so we brought in Dentistry for Children to help bring awareness about the importance of dental health. The Dental Magician performed an exciting show for the 1st grade classes. The students thoroughly enjoyed this experience and all of them walked away with goodie bag filled with a toothbrush, toothbrush cover, tooth paste and dental floss.

Lighthouse Christian Academy first graders recently took a field trip to the fire station. They have been reading about fire safety.

The red carpet was rolled out for Trinity second graders as they came to school dressed as their biography book report! This project was the perfect introduction for the study of Historical Thinking where the students learned about people from history. First, students gathered in the common room for a red carpet interview where students shared a little about what they learned, showed the biography they read, and walked the runway showing off their fabulous outfits! Next, the classes returned to the classrooms for students to read and share their book reports.

Montgomery Academy seniors Katie Brown and Claire Gary have been named Finalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented students will continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered this spring.

Marcus the motorized mallard duck decoy came to visit third graders at Trinity School! Mr. Will Hester came to discuss an open and closed circuit. He demonstrated how a closed circuit can make Marcus MOVE. What a fun way to learn about circuits!

A sibling trio from Montgomery Public Schools was ranked No. 1 in the state of Alabama and 16th in the United States after an impressive showing in a major VEX Robotics tournament.
Going by the name Penguin Robotics, Abraham Yang of Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet and Johanna and Elijah Yang of Forest Avenue Academic Magnet competed in the SCORE VEX IQ Showdown Signature Event in LaGrange, Ga. This Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama-sponsored event included 179 teams from Alabama, California, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina and Canada.
Penguin Robotics took second place in the Teamwork Challenge and received the Amaze Award. After this showing, they were ranked first of 150 teams in Alabama, 16th of 2,523 in the U.S. and 60th of 3,061 teams worldwide.

Dalraida Elementary School 4th grade QUEST student Iris Escobar won the Alabama News Network Eastdale Mall Valentine’s Day Coloring Contest. She won a certificate for a free roller skating party for 25 friends and a delicious cookie cake from Great American Cookie company. We are so proud of you, Iris! She is pictured with Dalraida Elementary School principal Dr. Bryan Cutter and QUEST Teacher Misty Trussell.

Students and their families at Bear Exploration Center celebrated Science Night with exciting, hands-on science experiments and activities. Exploding soda bottles, chemical reactions, and candy atoms were just a few of their favorites. State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey even joined in on the fun!

In Montgomery Academy’s Lower School STEM lab, fourth graders attempted to answer the question of, “Can you create an inclusive playground?” Students researched and designed their own custom creations, concluding with a 3D-printed model of their work!

Third graders at Bear Exploration Center celebrated Valentine’s Day with an old fashioned ice cream social and 50’s style sock hop!

Bear Exploration Center third grade student, Aubrey Rose Hudson, was honored by Mayor Steven L. Reed at a Montgomery City Council meeting for her work of art commemorating Rosa Parks’s birthday. She won 2nd Place in the K-6 category.

Over the winter break, Montgomery Academy fifth graders read a fiction book of their choice with an end goal of creating a t-shirt book report as a “walking billboard” for their book. Students wore their shirts collectively to flood the campus with great book recommendations! In class, they presented their custom shirt along with a one-minute talk to try and persuade their fellow classmates to read their books. Additionally, students recorded these book talks, making them accessible in the halls of the middle school for friends & visitors to watch and enjoy!

Principal Maggie McElroy-Washington presented a mentoring workshop to the students of T.E.A. Academy, Inc. on “Acknowledging Blessings” and living up to the school’s creed; which is “Taking an Extra Step Towards Educational Excellence.” Additionally, Dr. Washington expressed to the students the importance of helping to make a Difference in the World. .
The staff at TEA Christian Academy begins each day with Devotion, and imposes Godly Principles on their students. According to Dr. McElroy-Washington the staff make sure students are learning, and their mental and physical needs are met in a safe environment. We are committed to providing students with a quality educational experience; that will help prepare them to excel in college and in life. The students understand that nothing can be done without the help from God. Philippian 4:13 says… “I can do ALL things, through Christ who Strengthens me.”

Montgomery Academy is proud to announce that Dr. Damion Womack, Director of the Arts and Middle and Upper School Choral Director, will host a residency at New York City’s vaunted Carnegie Hall in May 2024. He’ll conduct a full concert on May 11, 2024 featuring Bob Chilcott’s “A Little Jazz Mass” and excerpts from Robert Ray’s “Gospel Mass.” Dr. Womack’s residency is part of MidAmerica Productions’ 41st Season. In its history, MidAmerica Productions has brought together conductors, soloists, and choral & instrumental ensembles from the U.S. and abroad to appear at New York’s top venues, including Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Weill Recital Hall, and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; and Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) at Lincoln Center. Additionally, MidAmerica Productions has presented concerts in numerous U.S. cities and in countries throughout the world, including Greece, England, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Portugal, and Russia.

Montgomery Public Schools has named McKee Middle School band instructor Jammie Phillips its 2023 Teacher of the Year.
This is not the first time Phillips’ talents have been recognized. She was named National Teacher Leader for the National Association for Music Education and a 2022 Golden Anniversary Award Winner for the National Flute Association.
During a meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Education, Montgomery County Commission Chairman Doug Singleton presented her with a bicentennial pin and a proclamation by the commission.
Phillips, who has been teaching music for 15 years, is now in the running to be the Alabama Teacher of the Year. She is pictured here with Dr. Melvin J. Brown, superintendent of MPS, left, and McKee Principal Patrick Nelson.

The Montgomery Academy Indoor Track & Field team competed in the 2023 AHSAA State Finals in Birmingham on Friday, February 3. Here are the results:
Isabella Johnson: State Champion in Shot Put
Boys 4×200 Team (Picasso Avezzano, Bobby Bradford, Eli Jernigan, Rick McBride): State Champions (1:36)
Rick McBride: 2nd Place, 400m (51:32)
Elle Ingram: 2nd Place, 800m (2:25)
Grant Casey: 3rd Place, 1600m (4:33); 3rd Place, 3200m
Girls 4×800 Team (Bea Farley, Elle Ingram, Megan Link,Tara Samant): 3rd Place (11:08)
The Boys team came in 2nd Place Overall (1A-3A) and the Girls team finished in 6th Place Overall (1A-3A). Congratulations to all our incredible athletes and their aMAzing accomplishments this season!