Prattville, Autauga, & Elmore County Student Spotlights – January ’23

Ms. King’s 4th grade class at Pine Level Elementary School just completed a science unit on electricity. We learned about different types of electrical circuits, energy sources, conductors/insulators, etc. Pictured above is a group of students that successfully created a circuit in order to turn on a lightbulb! Some students even figured out how to use their energy source and wires to create audible static electricity in headphones!

Students in Ms. K. Ferguson & J. Grotlisch’s fourth grade classes at Prattville Elementary School researched, wrote, and created a “bottle buddy” to introduce their science inventor “bottle buddy” inventor to their classmates.

The Elmore County Technical Center’s 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year is Building Construction instructor Michael Miller. He is pictured (center) with Elmore County Schools Superintendent, Richard Dennis (left), and Director of High Schools, Dr. Jamey McGowin (right).

Prattville Christian Academy proudly announces that Sarah Williams, one of the team’s three seniors, signed a Letter of Intent to continue her softball career collegiately with Faulkner University.
Williams, the Lady Panthers’ catcher, is a silent giant on the field. While she doesn’t talk much or rarely raises her voice, her stats and accolades speak loudly about her athletic gift and leadership abilities. Sarah is one of the most decorated student-athletes on campus, earning three state championship titles since 2018. As just a seventh grader starting on the varsity roster, she was critical in turning a 5-1 game against Gordo High School around giving the team the opportunity to advance in the 3A State Tournament, ultimately winning it all to capture PCA’s first state championship after joining the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Prattville Christian Academy is proud to announce that Patrick Litz, Panther senior, signed a Letter of Intent to play baseball with Huntingdon College, a local NCAA Division III program.
Litz is a three-year starter for the Panthers with an average ERA of less than 2.00 – recording a 1.74 earned run average during his junior season last year. He was an integral part of the team’s success last year, defeating Alabama Christian Academy and Trinity, the eventual state champions, for the first time in program history and made a post-season run for the first time since 2016.
“For the past three years, Patrick has been one of the hardest working guys on the team,” said Tommy Goodson, PCA’s head baseball coach. “He’s dedication has been top-notch, and we’re expecting a lot out of him on the mound and at the plate this season.”
Patrick will be remembered on campus for his many contributions to the Panther baseball program, but the walk-off homeroom to beat the ACA Eagles in the final game of the 2022 regular season will be at the top of the list.

Billingsley School FBLA students attended the Alabama Joint Leadership Conference in Mobile, AL.
LDC provides leadership development for CTSO students. The goal of JLDC is to build Alabama’s College+Career-Ready workforce with employability skills, leadership training, exposure to Alabama’s career opportunities, and increased knowledge of CTE+CTSO opportunities.
Students participated in team bonding activities and listened to motivational speakers.

PCA proudly announces that Hannah Jones signed a Letter of Intent to play volleyball with the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. Following the school’s first state volleyball championship title, of which she was an integral part of, she continues to blaze new trails as the program’s first student-athlete to commit to an NCAA Division I institution to further her passion for volleyball while advancing her education.
“Hannah has been such an important part of our program for the past six years, helping the program to grow and compete at the highest level,” said Coach Cantrell. ”The time and effort she put into her play, this program, and her team is appreciated more than she will ever know! She definitely leaves a legacy on campus, and we are excited for her as she starts this next journey. We know she will continue to do big things at Memphis!”

Maggie Kervin ’24 and Ty Yost ’26 brough the most beloved Christmas tale to life on Prattville’s Way Off Broadway Theatre stage. The sold-out “A Seussified Christmas Carol” is a whimsical reinvention of Dickens’ timeless story in wacky rhymed couplets.

On Friday, December 9th, Prattville Intermediate School hosted a festive Winter Wonderland evening of memorable sing-alongs, special guests, and Christmas cheer for students and their families.

Prattville Intermediate School is so proud of our 38 5th Graders and 46 6th graders that were officially inducted into Jr. Beta Club on Friday, December 9th. Congratulations to our students who have worked hard, served their community, and maintained all As for this great honor!

The Prattville Intermediate School Cougar Choir and Prattville Elementary School Bobcat Choir weren’t monkeying around with their fun and festive Christmas Concert at the Montgomery Zoo on Wednesday, December 7th. From “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas” to “Feliz Navidad,” they put on a wonderful, entertaining show for all.

PCA’s competition cheer team is the 2022 Space Center Regional Champions after a stunning performance, earning them a bid to the National High School Cheerleading Championships in Orlando later this school year!

We had a BLAST celebrating our Edge Virtual School K-6th students who reached their IXL goals! Thank you to Domino’s Pizza in Wetumpka for helping provide pizzas to our hardworking students! Students enjoyed pizza as well as a Christmas craft!

“Research shows that IXL accelerates learning. Studies have found that IXL leads to higher test scores. IXL schools score as much as 15 percentile points higher in math and 17 percentile points higher in language arts on state assessments.” — IXL.com

Mrs. Shavers’ and Ms. King’s 4th Grade classes at PLES worked in groups to research 7 different astronauts. Each group was responsible for researching an astronaut, creating a Google Slides presentation, and presenting it to their class. They also enjoyed watching the video of the launch of Artemis 1-Orion to the moon and learning about NASA’s new initiative. This was a concluding activity for their Reading Unit on Science and Space.

Congratulations to our 2022 Spelling Bee winner, 6th grader, Kristen! We’re very proud of all participants! We’d like to say a special thank you to Alabama State Senator, Will Barfoot for coming and announcing and also to Mrs. Boone and Mrs. Powell-Williams for all their hard work to put on our first ever RMS Spelling Bee!

Elmore County has named Shelby Howe the Secondary Teacher of the Year for Elmore County. Shelby Howe is the 7th-12th grade History teacher at the EDGE Virtual School in Elmore County. She has fourteen years of experience teaching both English and History at the secondary level. Mrs. Howe was a double major at Samford University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Arts in English. She also holds a master’s degree in Secondary English Education from Auburn University. She is certified to teach Advanced Placement U.S. History, Advanced Placement Language, and Advanced Placement Literature and scores for the AP U.S. History exam every summer. Mrs. Howe especially enjoys educating others about the unique opportunities EDGE Virtual School has to offer.

The Teaching & Training and Hospitality & Tourism programs at ECTC held an FCCLA Canned Food Drive for the Elmore County Food Pantry.

RES knows how to celebrate the holidays! First grade had an elf day. They even had some visitors from the North Pole!

Hospitality and Tourism students have been learning about reading recipe, selecting correct ingredients, and making the correct measurements to make pizza. Their final project results were delicious treats for the class to enjoy.

Aviation Technology students from ECTC visited the Alabama Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing in Montgomery for a tour.

On November 14th, 2022, Judge Joy Booth came to Prattville Elementary School and read a book written by Ganit & Adair Levy entitled What Should Danny Do? Judge Booth spoke to students about making decisions that are responsible, respectful, and safe. Under the leadership of Mr. Jeff Stockman, Principal at Prattville Elementary School, students are educated to be well-informed, independent contributors to society.

The RES Choir went on a field trip to Crowne Nursing Home to spread Christmas cheer with the residents! They had so much fun performing their Christmas program, and all of the residents loved it. Christmas with RES is the best!