Every month we compile a list of students doing great things across the River Region. We have so many talented students in our area. River Region Parents joins with their families and schools to celebrate their achievements!
Prattville Primary Secretary Honored
Laurie Wesley of Prattville Primary School was recently named Secretary of the Year. She helps make PPS a great school each and every day.
Book Authors Visit Billingsley Students
Billingsley School third-graders met with the authors of North’s Pole, a book about an elf finding her perfect job at the North Pole. The authors discussed how they became writers and encouraged the students to create ideas and write them down. The authors read their book, which is now published and distributed through Amazon, and conducted a question-and-answer session for the students. The third-graders asked about the writing process and how the sister authors began their writing career. Students were excited about sharing their writing ideas after talking with the authors.
VEX IQ Challenge Kicks Off for Elmore County Robotics Students
Millbrook Middle School, along with Airport Road Intermediate, hosted the first of a four-part series of VEX IQ challenges at MMS January 7 for 3rd-8th grade Robotics teams in Elmore county. Millbrook Middle, Holtville Middle, Wetumpka Middle, Eclectic Middle, Redland Elementary and Airport Road Intermediate robotics teams came together to have a night of excitement, collaboration and competition. Seventeen teams in the district competed.
The competition was held in Millbrook Middle’s new STEM lab in the library. The new lab was built this past summer, thanks to the Elmore County Board of Education and Superintendent for Elmore County Schools Richard Dennis.
“This was an excellent opportunity for us to share with our parents and community stakeholders our passion for STEM education and highlight are students growing talents in coding and robotics,” Millbrook Middle Principal Sean Kreauter said. “Millbrook Middle School has been in the forefront of STEM education in the county and our Middle School director, Ayena Jackson, as well as our STEM director, Tracy Wright, have been instrumental in expanding the STEM program throughout Elmore County.”
The next three parts of the series took place at Millbrook Middle on January 21, 28 and 31. The events may be viewed on YouTube.
Wetumpka Students Place in Science Fair
Wetumpka High School recently recognized the following Science Fair winners:
Rhett Pinkston, first place in Animal, Plant, Computational & Bioinformatics Sciences
Adrianna Orsi, first place in Behavioral & Social Sciences
Jasmine Anderson, first place; and Madison Corkran and Chad Strickland, second place in Cell, Molecular, Microbiology & Biochemistry
Julian Vilardi, first place; and Dylan LaPorte, second place in Chemistry
Judson Wood, first place; and Kaleb Sims, second place in Engineering Mechanics
Jackson Rodriguez, first place in Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
Wyatt Hardee, first place; and Timothy Hughes and Jacob Norrell, second place in Medicine, Health & Translational Medical Sciences
Luke Sipper, second place in Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics & Materials Science
Logan Bracknell and Nathan Currier, first place in Robotic Systems & Communication Technology
Lily Vilardi, first place in Bio-Engineering
ECTC Students Meet Safety Credentials
Six Elmore Country Technical Center students from Plumbing & Pipefitting have credentialed in NCCER Construction Site Safety so far in the 2021-2022 school year. Shown top row from left are Trey, Jason and Chris; and bottom from left: Cesar, Bryant and Jaylon.
PPS Names Luker Teacher of the Year
Prattville Primary School first-grade teacher Pami Luker has been named one of Autauga County’s Teachers of the Year.
PJHS Parents Rock
When Prattville Junior High students returned from semester break, parents teamed up to provide breakfast for the teachers. A bagel and cup of coffee warmed tummies and hearts.
We are so grateful for the great support from our community. Thank you to all those who send a positive message and support local educators. Your kindness goes a long way!
Celebrity’ Makes Zoom Appearance at PJHS
Due to a rise in COVID cases, Prattville Junior High had to go virtual for a week in January. Each day, each teacher held a Zoom session available for students to keep up with assignments, ask questions, and interact with other students and their teachers. During a recent shutdown, Batman made a special appearance for the PE Zoom session at PJHS. A shoutout to all the teachers out there making the magic happen!
Pine Level Goes Virtual
Pine Level Elementary students went virtual for seven days in January. While virtual learning is challenging and certainly not ideal, Pine Level teachers and students made the most of the situation. During these days, students received their instruction through the Schoology platform. Teachers met with their students over Zoom to deliver instruction. This student found her favorite place and set up camp to do her schoolwork!
Pine Level Students Learn Basic Coding
Pine Level’s fourth-grade students learned the basics of coding in Mrs. Gregory’s class. Students used the Code and Go Robot mouse kit to learn the basic steps in programming and moved a mouse through mazes the students designed. The students were able to use kits that PLES received through a collaboration with the Civil Air Patrol.
Wetumpka Senior Wins SETC Keynote Award
Wetumpka High Theatre Guild senior Logan Oakley has won the Southeastern Theatre Conference’s Keynote Emerging Artist of Promise (KEAP) Award. SETC is the largest theatre conference in North America, and the KEAP Award is designated to help talented, scholarly high school theatre students attend the annual SETC Convention. Students are nominated based on scholastic aptitude and artistic potential.
Oakley will be recognized at the conference in Memphis, Tenn., March 9-13, where he will have exclusive access to Keynote speakers who are industry leaders in theatre, film and television. Only four KEAP Awards are given each year. Oakley is Wetumpka’s fourth winner and first technician to win.
Prattville Primary Students are Generous!
Prattville Primary School students contributed $5,169.80 to Rice Bowls. That equals 15,500 meals to orphaned children or roughly 22 truckloads of locally sourced food.
Knife Skills at ECTC
Hospitality & Tourism students at Elmore County Technical Center have been learning specific cuts and practicing knife skills during their recent culinary labs. The students graduated from basic to more complex as they prepared ingredients for making potato soup – which is always a delicious reward for their efforts!
PLES Students Conduct Physics Experiments
The students in Mrs. Gregory’s gifted class at Pine Level Elementary spent the first semester learning about force and motion. The students conducted experiments on physics and the three laws of motion each week in class. They then were asked to design, build,and share a roller coaster model with their peers. Students used the Engineering Design Process as they designed, problem solved and created.
Troy Professor Visits ECTC Students
Recently, Elmore County Technical Center’s Education & Training students chatted with Dr. Marie Kane, assistant professor from Troy University’s College of Education, about future educational opportunities, pathways to teacher certification, and benefits of becoming a teacher in Alabama.
