May 2024 Student Spotlights – Pike Road

The Pike Road Jr. High and High School Choirs including the Concert Choir, Jr. High Show
Choir (Panache), and Sr. High Show Choir (Prestige) sang the National Anthem at the Biscuits Season Opener. This is the second year in a row they have been invited to kick off the Biscuit’s baseball season. There were almost 100 students representing the Pike Road Choir Programs on the field. Before the game, Pike Road Schools Baseball players, Caleb Rhodes and Adam Foley threw out the first pitches.

The District FFA Competitions were held at Southern Union State Community College on Friday, April 19. The 2nd place FFA Quartet was from Pike Road High School —coached by Mr. Jerry Cunningham!
Pike Road FFA Quartet: Reese Graydon, Carlee McFarland, Morgan Dozier, and Phoebe Cole

Congratulations to Seoyun Ha, a senior at PRHS for placing 2nd at the State Level of the PTA
Reflections contest this year!

Macon East Academy Senior 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 was selected as a member of the 2023-2024 AISA All-State Academic Team. Additionally, 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗼𝗻, and 𝗞𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗺 have been chosen as the recipients of the AISA Student-Athlete Award for the 2023-2024 academic year. This recognition speaks volumes about their unwavering commitment and drive in both their studies and sports endeavors. Congratulations Seniors!

Pike Road High School Robotics and STEM teacher, Catherine Kenny, spent a school day a little differently last week. Mrs. Kenny had a rare opportunity to fly with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels! After being nominated by a coworker she was chosen out of many nominees to fly with the Blue Angels at Maxwell Airforce Base ahead of their weekend air show. Mrs. Kenny was treated to a backseat flight by a Blue Angels pilot, who performed numerous stunts and maneuvers typical of their air shows. Mrs. Kenny has been an educator for 26 years, so she is no stranger to unique learning experiences, but she never expected this! Although she has done so much for her students over the years, she never thought she would be selected for this amazing opportunity.

Pike Road Schools is proud to recognize Eighth Graders, Will Ballard (Baseball, Basketball,
Football, Gymnastics, Soccer), Gunner Gibbs (Baseball, Football), Sarah Gulsby (Cross
Country, Tennis), and Caileb Wilson (Basketball, Football) as nominees for the esteemed Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award. The purpose of the Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial is to recognize outstanding 8th-grade athletes, who by their actions have consistently represented the highest ideals of Christian leadership in athletics. Congratulations Will, Sarah, Gunner, and Caileb!

In the 2024-2025 school year, students from PRJH will be able to participate in A+ College Ready, a statewide initiative that partners with secondary schools to develop a diverse pipeline of students prepared for success in college, career, and life through expanding access Advanced Placement (AP) and other challenging coursework in grades 6-12. Participating schools receive high-quality training, incentives, supplies, curricular materials, student study sessions, AP exam subsidies, and other ongoing support through two different offerings, listed below.
The AP Training and Incentive Program (APTIP): Schools receive support for Advanced
Placement students and teachers, as well as training, supplies, and incentives for ALL teachers in grades 6-11 in math and grades 6-10 in science, English, social studies, and computer science. The Alabama State Department of Education has partnered with A+ College Ready for more than 15 years to develop this initiative, serving the majority of Alabama’s high schools during that time.
Middle School Training and Incentive Program (MSTIP): In addition to the APTIP, A+ College
Ready also offers a program focused solely on middle schools. These schools receive the same training and support to raise academic expectations and to increase rigor in middle grades to ensure students are ready for their high school curriculum.

Senior, Ellis Edmonds has earned her Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama (GSSA) Gold Award.
Not only is this an outstanding achievement, but Ellis is the first Girl Scout of Pike Road to earn this award! The Girl Scout Gold Award is the pinnacle of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.
Through the Gold Award, girls engage in a rigorous leadership process, as they tackle issues
they are passionate about to create long-term, sustainable change. To earn the Gold Award, Girl Scouts explore the root cause of a local or global issue and partner with the community to create lasting solutions. Two years ago, Ellis visited the Children’s Center Adult Program (CCAP), an organization that supports individuals with disabilities. While there, she learned that each student had the potential to cook for themselves, but they were unable to understand a typical recipe (i.e. one with written words). That is when she decided to bridge that gap and find a way for each student to cook recipes by themselves. Ellis created a spiral-bound cookbook, called Chefs Beyond Bounds, for developmentally disabled adults that uses pictures as steps. The cookbook consists of five categories: breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert. Each category contains four recipes, allowing dietary restrictions to be met and making it more accessible to the students. The cookbook contains a total of 20 recipes. It also uses the colors yellow and blue because they contrast with each other and are more visible to people who are colorblind.

Macon East Academy Seniors Ethan Jones and Kaiden Byrom are both Pike Road Ladies Auxiliary 2024 Community Service Scholarship recipients.
Ethan is the son of Jeffrey and Rachel Jones of Pike Road. He is very passionate about volunteering. His volunteering includes Macon East Academy baseball, football, and cheer team manager, Vaughn Forest Church Camp Leader, Vaughn Forest Student Worship Team, Night to Shine buddy, Joy to Life Foundation volunteer, 12 Days of Giving Can Drive, and Elementary field day PTO volunteer. Ethan excels in leadership as well. He is the SGA president, National Honor Society President, SGA Chaplain, Theatre President, Photographer President, Chess Club President, and Yearbook Editor at Macon East Academy. He was selected as Activity Director, House of Representative member, Clerk of House, and Chief of Staff at American Legion Alabama Boys State. Ethan plans to attend Troy University and major in secondary Mathematics.
Kaiden is the daughter of Charles and Kimberly Byrom of Pike Road. Kaiden is an avid volunteer including Heart to Heart of Montgomery, Night to Shine, Operation Christmas, Alabama Baptist Children’s Home Foster Family, and MANE. Kaiden is the captain of the Macon East Academy cheer team and received many honors including UCA All American (received this award in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), AISA All-Star cheerleader and AISA All-Star Cheerleading Scholarship Recipient. She is a member of the Macon East Knights basketball team, softball team, Drama Club, Student Government Association, Yearbook Committee, Photography Club, Math Competition Team, National Honor Society and National Thespian Honor Society. Kaiden plans to attend Faulkner University or the University of Alabama and major in Child Psychology.