November 2023 Student Spotlights – Montgomery

Evangel Christian Academy’s elementary students had the opportunity to join ECA’s Cross Country Running Club. The elementary students trained two days a week during PE. The team recently competed at the Warrior Classic at Gateway Park in Montgomery Alabama. The race was one mile in distance and had 41 participants in first through fifth grades. Even though ECA did not take home top honors, the elementary students did extremely well for their first time competing in a Cross Country Event. Chase Kendrick lead the ECA boys with a time of 10 minutes and 11 seconds. Ella Lewis lead the ECA girls with a time of 11 minutes and 45 seconds. The ECA Elementary Cross Country Running Club members were MaKyrick Smith, Major Taylor, Evangeline Brown, Ella Lewis, Morris Brown, Kameron Morgan, Lucas Rosa, Athena Osburn, Chase Kendrick, Kameron Green, Gabby McLemore, Reese Anderson, Akyra Johnson, and Aiden Thomas.

Evangel Christian Academy’s Elementary students recently enjoyed a trip to Cornfield County Farms in Wetumpka, Alabama. Each student enjoyed a hayride to the pumpkin patch where each child picked a pumpkin to take home. In addition, the students enjoyed various other activities including a zip line, several slides, various swings, a corn crib, construction play area, and hay jump just to name a few.

In an effort to foster a sense of community and provide valuable life lessons, ACA has continued the heartwarming program where lower school students are paired with mentors from the upper school. This initiative not only connects students from different age groups but also creates a platform for sharing experiences and discussing the challenges they’ve faced in their lives.
The ACA program is a testament to the power of bridging gaps between different age groups within a school. Lower school students often look up to their older counterparts, and these mentorship lunches create a unique opportunity for both to connect on a personal level. Through these interactions, students build lasting bonds and learn that they have more in common than they might have initially thought.

Fifty-eight students at The Montgomery Academy have earned AP Scholar Awards by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) Exams. Students took AP Exams in May 2022 after completing challenging college-level courses in the Upper School. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP Exams.
Twenty students were named AP Scholars with Distinction which is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams: Will Hardin ’24, Adrianne Lin ’24, Ellery Link ’24, Megan Link ’24, Sophia Link ’24, Rick McBride ’24, Susannah Miller ’24, Anna Powell ’24, Luis Rubio ’24, Katie Brown ’23, Forrest Dockery ’23, Claire Gary ’23, Holden Habermacher ’23, Ted Lee ’23, Charles Norris ’23, Elizabeth Ray ’23, Katherine Sinco ’23, Kareena Singh ’23, Carson Springer ’23, and Laura Stanton Strickler ’23.
Seven students were named AP Scholars with Honor, which is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams: An Wilkes Cavanaugh ’25, Jocelyn Gleason ’25, Christopher Obenhaus ’25, Isabella Johnson ’24, Molly Selman ’24, Allie Fitzpatrick ’23, and Charlie Hill ’23.
Thirty-one students were named AP Scholars, which is granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams: Nathan Applegate ’25, Anna Brown ’25, Ways Holloway ’25, Arden Horne ’25, Marianna Lassner ’25, Price McLemore ’25 (not pictured), Frank Williford ’25, Edwin Wu ’25, Ethan Yi ’25, Layne Beaver ’24, Emma Brinkman ’24, Josh Hollister ’24, Sarah Kate Ingram ’24, Eli Jernigan ’24 (not pictured), Ron Sharma ’24, Holt Speir ’24, Ava Thomas ’24, Killian White ’24, Jane Abbie Alford ’23, Picasso Avezzano ’23, Frannie Brazil ’23, Carlyle Chandler ’23, Fionah Desautels ’23, Norah Desautels ’23, Campbell Long ’23, Claire Moore ’23, Isabella Navidad ’23, Cydney Pepple ’23, Jai Ivy Raines ’23, Emory Roth ’23, and Brett Westhauser ’23.
Eleven students earned AP Capstone Diplomas which are granted to students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing: Layne Beaver ’24, Will Hardin ’24, Ellery Link ’24, Megan Link ’24, Sophia Link ’24, Susannah Miller ’24, Anna Powell ’24, Killian White ’24, Charlie Hill ’23, Elizabeth Ray ’23, and Laura Stanton Strickler ’23.
One student was granted an AP Seminar and Research Certificate, given to students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research: Holt Spier ’24.

Dalraida Elementary School parent Ms. Marquetta Johnson was awarded the 2023 AAGC Gifted Conference Gifted Parent Advocate Excellence Award in Birmingham. She was nominated by Dalraida Elementary gifted teacher Mrs. Misty Trussell. Congratulations!

As part of Dinah McLemore’s Upper School Engineering Disciplines course at The Montgomery Academy, students visited two construction sites with Kenneth White, Jr. of Flowers & White Engineering. In their study of civil engineering, students have been learning about watersheds and watershed delineation. Part of a civil engineer’s job is to anticipate, and sometimes alter, where water will flow on a project. Thanks to Flowers & White for letting our students experience this type of work in a real-world workspace!

Congratulations to The Montgomery Academy Middle School and Junior Varsity Volleyball squads on closing out their respective seasons as both CCC regular season champions and CCC Tournament Champions! This year’s CCC win makes this a four-peat for the Middle School volleyball team!
Led by Coaches Ginger Lowe and Rob Goerke, each team also had members recognized for All-Tournament and MVP honors: MSVB CCC All-Tournament: Emma Grace Thomas and Caroline Wood; MSVB CCC MVP: Ella Gaines Thomas; JVVB CCC All-Tournament: Addison Kitchens and Bennett Britt; and JVVB CCC MVP: Elinor Grace Hines.

Since 1969, The Montgomery Academy has honored academic excellence by awarding membership in Cum Laude Society to its highest-achieving students. The Montgomery Academy Chapter of the Cum Laude Society was chartered in 1969 and remains as one of only three chapters in the state of Alabama. The Cum Laude Society recognizes academic achievement in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (arete), justice (dike), and honor (time). The major objective is to recognize the highest levels of academic excellence based on grade-point average and level of academic courses taken.
The number of students chosen for membership in Cum Laude cannot exceed the top 10% of the senior class based on work completed through the junior year, and the top 20% based on work completed in the senior year. In addition to a student’s average for the five core classes and all AP classes, the Cum Laude Faculty Committee also considers the rigor of the student’s academic load and his or her scholarship and intellectual curiosity. Students inducted this fall include Adrianne Lin, Ellery Link, Rick McBride, Anna Powell, and Luis Rubio.

Montgomery Academy was once again ecstatic to welcome Dr. Stuart Bell, president of The University of Alabama, to our Upper School last week. Dr. Bell started his visit with a group of MA seniors in our College Advising office, followed by stops in a number of classrooms with Head of School, John McWilliams. It’s always a joy to host Dr. Bell when he’s in town, and we look forward to the next time he’s able to stop by!

Booker T. Washington Magnet High strings students had a performance to remember when a giant puppet visited Montgomery with a message of hope.
The students performed as part of the Little Amal event that took place in Montgomery’s Cottage Hill neighborhood. Little Amal is a 12-foot tall puppet of a 10-year-old girl from Syria who has been driven from her home by war. Amal brings a message of human connection and hope for all displaced people.
The day before Little Amal’s walk through Cottage Hill, she walked from the state Capitol to the Court Square fountain, meeting civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks along the way.

Trinity SGA’s presented a $3,000 check to Women of Hope, thanks to the funds collected from their Change 4 Change Mondays. Students bring change each week to support local charities in our community.

It was an exciting time at the Dozier Elementary STEM Lab when three eggs that were incubating hatched.
Once the chicks are older, they will be moved to a chicken coop assembled by Ms. Taylor and Coach Wade. This is the first time students and teachers have had a chance to keep chicks and watch them grow past a couple of weeks. MPS offers thanks to Panda Express for funding the chicken coop.

The Saint James Marching Trojans performed on Saturday, September 30th in the 3rd Annual Camellia Marching Band Festival held at Marbury High School. Bands from all over Central Alabama competed for top honors.
The Saint James Marching Trojans gave an outstanding performance. The band received all superior ratings (1st Place) for band, percussion, and drum major.
The Saint James Band program is led by Mr. Andy Martin. Saint James offers classes in Beginning Band, Intermediate Band, and Advanced Band. Students in grades 6-12 can participate in these classes.

Trinity senior volleyball player, Isabel Hill, broke the school record for career digs with 1,569. Drue Walker previously held the record with 1,559 career digs.

Congratulations to the 2023 Trinity Homecoming Court. The attendants were Micaiah Shelton (7th), Kate Hale (8th), Sarah Jessie Avant (9th), Carsyn Kerr and Maggie Stephens (10th), Elsie Hufham (11th), Bentley Harris, Erin Mitchell, and Mary Blake Pemberton (12th). Erin Mitchell was crowned the 2023 Trinity Homecoming Queen.

The George Washington Carver High School Ambassadors visited Tuskegee University’s Homecoming to be mentored by the Tuskegee University Ambassadors and met Booker T. Washington’s great granddaughter, Edith Washington Charles (daughter of Ernest Davidson; Booker T. Washington’s youngest son).
This was definitely a full circle moment learning about the history of their school with intentions of sharing and giving future tours to visitors. Students learned all about George Washington Carver and got to see his gravesite, see where he stayed on campus and learned about Booker T. Washington’s leadership at Tuskegee University.

On Saturday, October 7, Saint James School students participated in the YMCA’s Youth Judicial Regional Competition. Twenty-one teams from the local area competed for invitations to the state competition in November. Saint James seniors Amolika Mishra and Austin Oh served as judges. The rest of the Saint James students participated in a mock trial as attorneys or witnesses during 3 rounds. Mrs. Beth Poe, Mr. Andy Donaldson, Caitlin Cobb, and Sydney Brasfield served as advising attorneys.
Saint James had two teams place 1st and 9th making them eligible for the state competition in November. The winning team was comprised of Ava Donaldson (lawyer), Will Alexander (lawyer), Jaden Rossell (witness), Jordan Rossell (witness), Alex Ruona (lawyer), Carter Miller (witness), Madison Walton (alternate/witness), and Michael Phan (witness). The team placing 9th was made up of Charlotte Brown (lawyer), Margaret Hornsby (witness), Jenny Johnson (lawyer), Aashvi Patel (witness), Virginia Driver (alternate/witness), and Bailey Woods (lawyer). Other participating students included Chloe Taylor (witness), Maddy Chames (lawyer), Izzy Pappas (lawyer), Haley Hust (lawyer), Karly Bailey (witness), Stella Sponseller (bailiff), and Elaine Vo (bailiff).
The Saint James Youth Judicial program is sponsored by Government and Economics teacher, Mrs. Michelle Studdard.

On Friday, October 13th, Saint James School celebrated Military Appreciation Night as part of the school’s matchup against Trinity. Saint James School is honored to have more than 90 military families, representing both the United States and its international allies, as part the Trojan family this year.
The evening’s festivities began with a tailgate specifically for military members and their families, hosted by the Saint James Parent Association in the Community Garden. Military families were treated to free game tickets.
Pre-game activities began as all U. S. and International Military families who are a part of the Saint James family were recognized on the field. Soloist, Tatyana Webb, C’13, then performed “America the Beautiful.” Tatyana is currently a contracting officer at Maxwell Air Force Base. Saint James junior Campbell Wright (daughter of Retired Colonel Jason Wright) lead the invocation.
Air Force ROTC Detachment 19 from Alabama State University presented the colors as the Marching Trojans, along with the Trinity Wildcat Pride Marching Band, performed the national anthem. Senior cheer parents, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Dex McCain, USAF, and Captain Tom Wojak, USAF, were announced as the honorary captains for the coin toss. In further recognition of the sacrifices and dedication of our military families, the Saint James football team players added an American flag decal on their helmets.
The student section, The War Zone, was dressed out in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness.

During the first week of October, the Saint James School High School Choir received a visit from Huntingdon College’s Director of Choral Activities. Dr. Scott Sexton discussed the many choral opportunities at the collegiate level. He also worked with the students on a few of their upcoming pieces, leading them in warm-ups and providing critiques on how students can improve their skills.
The Saint James High School Choir is led by Dr. Sallye York. Saint James offers classes in the performing arts at all division levels.

Macon East Academy recently inducted 14 new members into their chapter of the Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society: Hannah Ray Hubbard, Pressley Graham, Livi Robinson, Berkley Harris, Kacy Rutland, Casey Stengell, Addison Little, Julia Mathis, Tiffany Marshall, Braiden Watkins, Jamya Powell, Jackson Todd, Cole Streetman, and Hunter Wren. Mu Alpha Theta is a national organization that promotes the knowledge, enjoyment, and understanding of mathematics among high school and 2-year college students. The Macon East Academy chapter is sponsored by Mrs. Melissa Baker.

Elementary students at River Region Academy learned about elections and voting, while gaining an appreciation of the process of voting and participating in an election. Congratulations to the winning candidates and to all who voted! Every voice matters! Every vote counts!

Oh, dear! I think our Senior Class of 2024 is confused!
Seniors – definition 1 – older or more experienced people; senior citizens, elderly people
Seniors – definition 2 – students in their final year of high school or college
Pictured here are some of our senior seniors.

Students of all ages at River Region Academy joined together as they celebrated International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration, based on Peter H. Reynolds’ book, The Dot. Students participated in a myriad of activities using dots, including drawing, graphing, listening, writing, building, painting, community outreach, and discovery. Shout-outs to Ms. Johnson, Mrs. Bonner, and all the participants for making this celebration a success!

The River Region Academy Senior Class of 2024 enjoyed each other’s company and a delicious breakfast at Chappy’s Deli on Perry Hill Road. There is a genuine camaraderie among these students, and it is a privilege to witness this harmony and unity.

MPS principals are gaining firsthand experience of the student’ perspectives with their new student shadowing initiative.
Principals followed students throughout their school day, from small group instruction to PE to math classes to lunch. Pictured is Park Crossing High Principal Cheryl Fountain who accompanied a student to a career technical education class at Montgomery Preparatory Academy for Career Technologies (MPACT).

Carver Elementary students in Mrs. Smith’s third-grade class and Ms. Avera’s fourth-grade class brought more beauty to the school’s campus while learning all about gardening and plants.
Fourth-grade students reviewed life cycles and the greenhouse effect while learning how to care for indoor plants. Meanwhile, the third graders reinforced the life cycle of a plant and learned how to transplant and care for outdoor plants. Also, the school now has sun-thriving annual chrysanthemums that match the school colors.

Montgomery Christian School kicked off its 2023-2024 Parent University on Tuesday, September 5th, at Young Meadows Presbyterian Church with over one hundred parents in attendance. MCS parents were very engaged with guest speaker and MCS counselor Ellen Bush as she discussed the important topic of how to make a strong connection with your child with the use effective parenting skills. We are so proud of our MCS family members for taking time out of their busy schedule to attend Parent University.

Montgomery Christian School third graders in Mrs. Williams studio theme class are getting hands on by planting many different types of vegetables in their hydroponic tower garden. Mrs. Williams’ students are super excited to have planted parsley, cilantro, arugula, mini red cabbage, chives, and four different types of lettuce. Over the next few weeks, they will nurture and care for these vegetables. Soon the MCS third graders will be able to enjoy a delicious salad that they grew from seedlings.

Several LAMP High students had their artworks selected in the “Master” Works exhibition at the Montgomery Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition will be on display until Jan. 7, 2024.
The students and their families were invited to an open reception at the museum on Oct. 12 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
The students who had artworks selected were Sydney An, Sophia Holmes, Ella McCrory, Jimin Lee, Londyn Anderson, Lily Stypinski and Andy Tran.

Several Bear Exploration Center students currently have their art on display at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in the “Master Works” Corridor Exhibition. Mrs. Berney’s 4th grade class created a work based on Matisse’s Icarus. Mrs. Norred’s 4th grade class created a work based on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Fifth graders Samuel Galicia, William Guyette, and Matthew McGaughey created a sculpture, also based on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Kennedy Walker designed a shoe in the style of Mondrian. Their art will be on display through January 7th.

Montgomery Christian School Kindergarten classes were excited to go on their first field trip of the school year to the Penton Farms pumpkin patch in Verbena, Alabama on Thursday, October 12, 2023. The kindergartens had a fantastic time while picking pumpkins, petting farm animals, riding on the wagon, climbing the hay mountain, and sliding down the super slide.

Alabama State Representative Reed Ingram awarded a grant to Mrs. Misty Trussell’s Dalraida Elementary School Gifted Classes! We appreciate ALL that he does for our teachers and students. Thank you Mr. Ingram!