The Dreaded Stomach Bug

The dreaded stomach bug. I shudder to even whisper its name. It can put a damper on anybody’s summer plans. What are the typical symptoms? And what can you expect when the inevitable hits your house?

Common stomach bug symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and fever, but any combina tion of these can manifest. Older children and adults will typically have very different symptoms and duration than younger chil dren, even within the same household.

Vomiting in younger children, although it is traumatic to witness as a parent, is usually very short-lived when compared to adults. An adult may become extremely miserable with a stomach bug, however children will often return to baseline in between bouts of their symptoms, which can be very confusing to parents. Typically, diarrhea hits younger children more so than vomiting. For the first few days of illness, their diarrhea can be intense. It will then likely decrease to a few times a day, but can also take up to ten days to return to baseline.

Proper hydration is a parent’s biggest tool to help the child with a stomach bug. Signs of good hydration are drool, presence of tears, and wet diapers. Keep in mind that keeping a small child hydrated takes fewer fluids than would be the case for adults. Small children generally only need a few sips of fluids an hour to maintain proper hydration. Older and larger children may require a bit more, but it is often easier to manage than one may think. When children have a stomach bug, they may lose their appetite, and that is okay. As long as they are taking in some fluids, then it is alright to not have a full meal while sick. Follow your child’s lead regarding appetite when offering food. Kids are generally quite good at regulating when they may want to start eating again, and what they may want to eat.

You’ll probably want to call your pediatrician if your child is listless, continuously vomiting for longer than a few hours without tolerating even sips of fluids, has diarrhea greater than 6-8 times a day for longer than 2-3 days, or if they are just not improving after a few days of illness.

Autauga County Schools

St. Ignatius May Crowning

St. Ignatius honored all the important mothers on May 1st beginning with Mary, Mother of God with our annual May Crowning Mass. We invited all Impala moms to join in on this special Mass. After Mass we had an early mother’s day celebration with coffee and muffins. It is such a privilege to see our beautiful new church filled up with adoring mothers and Impala students all honoring the true mother of our Catholic faith. Mary was crowned by eighth grader Isabella DeFalco with the help from her fellow eighth grade girls and by kindergarten girls

Show at Tech Fair

Clark-Shaw Magnet School recently hosted its first-ever Tech Fair. Organized by our technology teacher, Mr. Joseph Sikes, and judged by staff from MCPSS Instructional Technology, the fair attracted over 75 entries in both group and individual categories. Madison Knight won Best in Show as well as 1st place in Digital Art/ Graphic Design. Congratulations to all participants and winners!

St. Dominic Catholic Pastries with Parents

Thank you to our Saint Dominic Catholic School PTO for hosting Pastries with Parents. It was a

McGill-Toolen

Juniors Recognized for Outstanding Performance in Chemistry

McGill-Toolen Catholic Juniors

Anthony Hantouche and Christopher Hunt were recognized by the University of South Alabama chapter of the American Chemical Society for their outstanding performance in chemistry. Also pictured are Barry Debski, Secretary of ACS Mobile.

Denton Magnet Teacher Recognized as STEM Teacher of the Year

Mrs. Spencer of Denton Magnet School of Technology was honored as the Air & Space Forces Association, Mobile Chapter, STEM Middle School Teacher of the Year at the 36th Annual Military Appreciation Luncheon presented by Atlas Industrial Outsourcing

Acton Academy Mobile Students

Gardening Skills

Students from Acton Academy Mobile research, discuss, plan, and implement their new garden. Students planted vegetables, herbs, nuts, and wildflowers to kick off the Spring semester. They are in charge of checking their garden planters, watering plants, and using natural pesticides based on their observations.

Cypress Grove Academy Talent Show

Cypress Grove Academy students showcased their unique talents in our first annual House Talent Show! Martial arts, vocal and instrumental performances, dance routines, comedy acts, and even recordbreaking speed cubing was part of the show! Great job CGA students!

Autauga County Schools

Congratulations to Phillips Preparatory’s Class of 2023

We would like to wish Phillips Preparatory’s 8th grade Class of 2023 the best of luck in their future endeavors. We are so proud of this group of students, and we cannot wait to see what their futures hold.

Mertz Magnet Team Wins 1st Place at District Math Competition

Mrs. Uroe and Mrs. Bolger led Mertz Magnet Math Team in a District Math Competition. Mertz Magnet won the trophy for overall first place in the Division 3 competition. They also won 3rd place in ciphering, and five students scored a 100 percent on the written test. We are so proud of our math team. Their math coaches and the entire Mertz Family are ecstatic!!!

St. Ignatius Phonics in the Sun

St. Ignatius runs a Phonics First curriculum from 2K-2nd grade. We believe that developing the skills to be a strong reader gives students the foundation to be a confident, strong learner across all academic fields. Each classroom 2K-2nd begins their day with phonics, phonemic awareness and comprehension. Students’ brains are freshest in the morning so we focus on this content first thing each day. On beautiful days our teachers take phonics outside! Although academics at St. Ignatius Catholic are rigorous, we still like to have fun. Getting out of the classroom on a beautiful day is one way to make learning different and fun.

Dunbar Magnet Team Scores 3rd at Competition

Congratulations to Dunbar Magnet School 6th grade math team who won 3rd place overall and 3rd place in ciphering at the MCPSS Math Competition at Davidson High School this morning!!! And Elizabeth Pettis won an individual award! We are so proud of the students’ perseverance and mathematical knowledge. Thank you to Mrs. Stacey for working with this team all year.

Teacher Appreciation Week at Acton Academy Mobile

Teacher Appreciation Week gets kicked off at Acton Academy Mobile with deliveries from local small business Reney’s Honey Butter. Acton Spark Guide Ms Samantha Dozier is all smiles to receive the surprise from her students!

Autauga County Schools

St. Dominic Catholic National Junior Honor Society Inductees

Congratulations to St. Dominic’s newly inducted members of the St. Dominic Catholic School Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society; Catherine Adams, Piper Connell, Beck Connell, Genevieve Peck, Madison Ward, Emma Craddock, Addison

MCPSS 2023 Air Force Association’s Teachers of the Year

Congratulations to Alesha Spencer of Denton Magnet School of Technology and Michael Fletcher of Davidson High School, who were honored as the 2023 Air Force Association’s Teachers of the Year. They received their awards at the Military Appreciation Luncheon on May 3 at the USS Alabama Battleship Park. They are shown with (from left) Scott Hunter, Vice President of the Air Force Association; Alastair Stevenson, principal of Denton Magnet; Steve Carey, President of the Air Force Association; Leif Dunn, Treasurer of the Air Force Association; and Jason Richardson, principal of Davidson High.

Baker High Student Recognized with Impressive Awards

Baker High School’s Labaron Philon is one of the best high school basketball players in the Southeast. He was named the Gatorade boys’ basketball Player of the Year in the state of Alabama this year, and was also named the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Mr. Basketball for the 2022-23 season.

St. Luke’s Freshman Wins Tennis Blue Map

St. Luke’s freshman, Ella Bentley, won the AHSAA State Tennis Girls Class 1A-3A singles #1! We’re so proud of you, Ella!

Corpus Christi Student Places 1st in Competition

Corpus Christi Catholic School Fifth Grade student, Peyton Gee participated in the “Color by Kids Art Competition” sponsored by Springhill Medical Center. She placed 1st in the 3rd-5th grade category. Her “Dogwoog” painting will go on tour around Mobile afterwards it will be permanently placed at the Springhill Medical Center.

Congratulations Peyton!!

Autauga County Schools

St. Mary Scholars Bowl Double Champions and Sam Hanks, Regional Highest Scorer

The St. Mary Scholar’s Bowl team brought home the 1st place trophies for both A Team and B Team in their division and Sam Hanks won the highest overall score in the entire region! Scholar’s Bowl is an academic competition involving 36 schools (both public and private) throughout Mobile and surrounding counties. Scholar’s Bowl A Team members include Feirman, Sam Hanks, Thomas Arensberg, Bud Urquhart, Xavier Montague, John Dudley, Henry Hewitt, and Patience Strickland.

Scholar’s Bowl B Team members include Andrew Stowe, Alex Gould, Archer LeGrone, Ellis Dean, Casten Padgett, Jack O’Dowd, and Braydon Arata.

Thank you to our Scholar’s Bowl Moderators, Mrs. Stephanie LeGrone and Mrs. Carolyn Davidson! Submitted by Marcelle Naman.

Photos by Stephanie LeGrone