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Montgomery County Schools

Saint James Students Take Top Honors at AISA State Art Competition

Saint James School congratulates the elementary, middle, and high school students who placed at the AISA State Art Competition on Tuesday, April 4th at Faulkner University. Saint James had one elementary student, one middle school student, and thirteen high school students compete at AISA State. Among those students, four students received awards. From elementary, Arush Patel placed 2nd in Color Drawing. In the middle school division, Sara Johnston won 1st place in Printmaking. Among the high school students, Caroline Gregory won 1st place in Painting, and Steven Na placed 2nd in Drawing Non-Color. Among the state winners, Sara Johnston’s artwork will go on to represent Alabama in the Southeastern Commission of Independent Schools (SECIS) Art Show. The SECIS is composed of the independent school associations of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Lighthouse Christian Enjoys Field Day

On April 28th grades K5-8th participated in Field Day. Students were divided into teams of five and competed against each other in the obstacle course, football throw, sack race and many other activities.

Sara Walker Foundation Award at ACA

Sara Pigg Walker is one of ACA’s most beloved alumni. This year the Sara Walker Foundation sponsored ACA’s EagleFITT 5k and also awarded a $5,000 scholarship to one senior. All scholarship applicants had to provide letters of recommendation as well as complete as essay prompted by portions of the journal Sara kept while battling cancer. Hunter Barfoot was the recipient of the inaugural Sara Walker Foundation Scholarship. Coach Steve Phillips, Sara’s uncle, presented the award on behalf of the Pigg family.

TEA’s Mother’s Day Celebration

Mother’s Day is celebrated throughout the world; even though it originated in the United States as a result of a women’s group promoting friendship and health.

TEA Christian Academy, Inc. held its annual Mother’s Day Luncheon, and students presented their mothers with poems they had written as a class assignment. Students understand that Mother’s Day is all about celebrating the most important woman in your life.

Montgomery County Schools

MPS Students Make It to VEX Robotics World Championship Finals

Penguin Robotics, a team of siblings who attend MPS schools, made history at the VEX Robotics World Championship this year. They finished the season as the No. 10 team in the world and were the first Alabama VEX IQ team to compete in a world championship finals match. Also, while the team competes at the middle school level, two of its members were in elementary school.

The team consists of Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet student Abraham Yang and Forest Avenue Academic Magnet students Johanna and Elijah Yang. They competed against about 800 middle school teams representing about 50 countries and all 50 states.

MA Lower School Culture Study

Now in its 26th year, The Montgomery Academy Lower School Culture Study offers students a glimpse into life in different parts of the world, and has featured such countries as India, Brazil, South Korea, Germany and Japan. This year’s culture focus: Australia!

Through research, hands-on projects, visits from native Australians, and special meals in the cafeteria, students learned about the people, the land, and the animals of this fascinating country. By the middle of February, the children had studied Australia in every discipline - music, math, geography, STEM Lab, computer, language, and art. This immersive experience ended with a week of “festival” activities, as students made traditional Ab original clap sticks and didgeridoos, practiced throwing boomerangs, and learned an Aboriginal dance. What an aMAzing experience at the Lower School!

Macon East Academy K4 Class Enjoys Learning

Mrs. Hathcock is getting creative with her K4 class! They learned new ways to review sight words! Sight word BINGO with cereal was approved by her K4 class! They also had fun learning about the weather recently and made edible cloud art! We have some great hands-on teachers and the students in our preschool program love learning!

Carver’s Joshua Maye Chosen as Gates Scholar

George Washington Carver High School student, Joshua Maye, was chosen as a Gates Scholar! Out of about 51,000 applicants, nationwide, Joshua is one of just 750 to receive this prestigious honor.

Dalraida QUEST Students Enjoy Lanark Field Trip

Misty Trussell’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Dalraida QUEST students enjoyed a wonderful visit from Lanark School Tours where they participated in some wonderful brain activities! Our students have been learning all about the brain during the second semester of school, and this was a fun and exciting final activity for the school year! Thank you Lanark for challenging our brain senses!

Montgomery Catholic Hires Volleyball Coach

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is proud to announce the hiring of Jenn Denham as Head Volleyball Coach. Bringing years of experience at the high school and collegiate level to Montgomery Catholic’s volleyball program, Coach Denham will continue to elevate the state-champion ship caliber team. A Missouri native and 3rd generation catholic school graduate, Den ham brings the power of her faith and her love for the game to Montgomery Catholic. Jenn is a highly decorated high school and collegiate volleyball player. After college she followed in the footsteps of her Hall of Fame father, David Fall, who is a two-time Missouri Coach of the Year and back to back state champion coach in 2007 and 2008. Coach Denham served as Assistant Coach at Sacred Heart High School for five years alongside her father as the team compiled an overall record of 139-28-12. In 2022 the back-to-back state championship, fatherdaughter team was inducted into the Sacred Heart School Hall Of Fame. Jenn and husband, Randy, are proud parents to son, Rowan (5), and will be celebrating 20 years of marriage this year as their family settles down in Pike Road, AL. Coach Denham begins immediately getting the program ready for the 2023 season in an effort to repeat the State Championship performance of 2022.

Trinity K3 Students Study Bees

K3 students at Trinity School had an unBEElievable time with Farmer Allison. Farmer Allison brought some of her honeybees for students to see (in an enclosed case). She talked with them about the different kinds of bees, what bees do with pollen, and how honey is collected! She brought each student a honey stick to enjoy!

Montgomery County Schools

Saint James Math Team Wins Statewide Math Competition

The Saint James School high school math team traveled to the University of North Alabama on Saturday, April 15 to compete in the 43rd Alabama Statewide Mathematics Competition held at the University of North Alabama. For the second year in a row, the Saint James team won the state championship for Division Two. This event featured ciphering. The members on the team are HaeSoo (Jason) Jeong, Woohyun (Justin) Kang, Woochan Kim, Kelsey Shaffer, and Selina Sun. These students are sponsored by Saint James mathematics teacher

New High-Tech Library, Opens at Brewbaker Middle

The future has arrived at Brewbaker Middle School. MPS and Birmingham-based nonprofit Ed Farm revealed the new Library of Technology, aka The Loft, with scholars showcasing the array of hightech features now available to them. This revamped library includes a video lab, a podcast studio, a 3D printer, virtual reality, animation, coding, makerspaces, reading nooks and more. Students led tours and gave demonstrations of the amazing capabilities of this new space for 21st-century learning.

Ed Farm CEO Waymond Jackson said the Loft is an exciting step forward for the nonprofit and its biggest project to date. Dr. Melvin J. Brown, MPS superintendent, said the library is another step toward providing the equity, access and opportunity that all students deserve.

Dr. Brown cut the ribbon along with Jackson, Dr. Brenda Deramus-Coleman, Montgomery County Board of Education

Macon East Fourth Graders Enjoy Field Trip

Ms. Johnson’s fourth grade class enjoyed an educational field trip this past Friday that goes along with their study of Alabama State History. The students were able to tour Alabama’s historic Capitol. They were able to view the beautiful rotunda, the spiral staircase, the Avenue of Flags, and the portraits of the former governors. The students also enjoyed touring The First White House of the Confederacy and The Alabama Department of Archives and History. Their special treat added to an already fun-filled day was eating lunch at Chris’ Famous Hot Dogs. Special thanks to Mrs. Custard and her daughter for taking time to guide us and give their expertise at all these historic places.

Macon East Students Participate in AISA All-Star Football

Montgomery County Schools

Saint James Students Take Top Awards at ACTE Region 5 Tech Fair

Eight Macon East student-athletes were honored to participate in the 2022 AISA All-Star Football game held December 2 at Cramton Bowl. Deonte Powell, Sanders Manning, Gabe Spencer and Hunter Tillman all represented Macon East for the East team. Gabe Spencer was honored as Most Outstanding Offensive Back for the East team. Madison May, Ar’monni Payne, Hannah Kate Hodges and Mikalah Belser cheered the East team on from the sidelines as part of the all-star cheerleading squad. The participants enjoyed a few days of practice with their fellow AISA teammates. The East team beat the West team this year 36-22.

Saint James middle school and high school students recently placed in the Alabama Consortium of Technology in Education Regional Tech Fair for Region 5 in their respective levels and categories. These students all have the opportunity to go on to compete in the State ACTE Tech Fair. In Level 2, Molly Phillips won 1st Place in Audio. Matilda Buckner and Sean Woessner won first place in Digital Game Design, while Will Roark Walker Wilsford placed 2nd in Digital Game Design. placed 1st in Mul timedia Applications, Jamison Cantrell placed 1st in Robotics. Yeriel Kim and Phillips also placed 1st in Video Produc tion (group entry). Emerson Weeks placed 1st in Video Production (single entry).

For Level 3, Jack Davis placed 1st in Digital Game Design, and Aidan Saldanha won 1st place in Video Production. Aileen Mulligan won 2nd place in Robotics. In Level 4, Stella Kim won 1st Place in Multimedia. At Level 5, Brooke Bender won 1st place in Web Design, and Selina Sun 1st place in Multimedia. Alex An won 1st Place in Hardware Modification, and Alex Ruona won 2nd Place in Programming. Saint James School offers technology classes for all division levels.

Pike Road High School Leo Club Collects Chrismtas

Toys for Kids

Our Leo club did a great job collecting toys to help make Christmas merry and bright for lots of children!

Montgomery Christian School End of Year Music, Art and Dance Program

On Thursday, May 11th, Montgomery Christian School celebrated its arts program with an end of year festival. Each student had a piece of art in the art show and each class performed by either singing songs or playing the bells. Girls in grades kindergarten through third grade performed a ballet dance. Music, art and ballet are an important part of Montgomery Christian School enrichments. The school is thankful to the community for the support of these programs.

Montgomery County Schools

MA Students Visit Jekyll Island

The Montgomery Academy seventh graders participated in the 4-H Environmental Education Program at Jekyll Island, GA. This field study program allowed our students to experience hands-on learning experiences in a real-world environment, and it encouraged teacher-student interactions in an atmosphere much different than the traditional classroom. Students took classes in Perch Dissecting, Seining, Coastal Geology, Salt Marsh Ecology, Maritime Forest Ecology, Beach Ecology, Endangered Species, Marine Mammals, and Fish Printmaking (Gyotaku). Students visited and explored Driftwood Beach where they were able to climb 200 petrified oak trees while hunting for hermit crabs and sea urchins. At the Tidelands Nature Center, students (and chaperones!) were able to get up close and personal with sea turtles, snakes, and even a baby alligator! The week culminated with making s’mores around a gia while telling historic tales and ghost stories of Jekyll Island.

From teacher Kim Jordan: “We loved being able to have our students develop an awareness, knowledge, and appreciation for the environment; cultivate curiosity, critical thinking, and evaluation; and develop positive relationships among the students and teachers. Being able to use our scientific processes, such as observing, measuring, and classifying in the real world made each student’s experience so much more engaging

Montgomery Catholic New Middle and High School Assistant Principal

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is proud to welcome Dr. John Johnston to the Middle and High School Campus as Assistant Principal. Dr. Johnston brings more than three decades of classroom and administrative experience to Mont gomery Catholic as he embarks on a new chapter to both educate and share the Faith. School President, Justin Cas tanza, shared “Dr. Johnston is an enormous addition to our school community. He brings expertise and experience to our Middle and High School, but also the compassion, fairness, and love of Christ. Mrs. Aaron, Middle and High Principal, and I are excited about the opportunity to support the needs of our students and families with Dr. Johnston at our side.”

A native of Montgomery and graduate of Sidney Lanier High School, Dr. Johnston attended Auburn University at Mont gomery and earned a bachelor’s degree in social science education. He carved out a 33-year career working for Montgomery Public Schools serving as coach, teacher, and administrator while continuing to advance his education. Dr. Johnston has been married to his self-proclaimed greatest asset for 25 years, Rockie Johnston, who is a special education teacher. They have three wonderful children - Olivia, Scott, and Mia. The Johnston family attends St. Peter Catholic Church, where Dr. Johnston has been serv

Montgomery County Schools

MA Kindergarteners Study Matisse

After months of learning and experimenting and drawing and painting in BeeLee Tullos’s kindergarten art class at The Montgomery Academy, our youngest Eagles are given (nearly) free rein to create a selfportrait in the style of French painter Henri Matisse: big, abstract, and absolutely bursting with color all the way to the edges. Truly, no two paintings are ever alike and you’ll see a world of self-expression in every square inch of the final product.

TEA Christian Academy, Inc. Students Visits Troy State University

The students were excited to learn they would be visiting Troy State University’s campus in Troy, AL. Staff member Mr. Daniel Barlow served as the trip’s coordinator. He planned a full day of learning about the culture and life of Troy State University. The students learned about the enrollment criteria, campus housing, various career curricula, and extra-curricular activities. While visiting, students had the pleasure of enjoying lunch at a local restaurant. As a class assignment, the students provided noteworthy details regarding their trip.

Dalraida QUEST Student Top Winner in Contest

Dalraida Elementary School 4th grade QUEST student on a field trip to the Montgomery public library on High Street. The fourth grade, second grade and first grade classes were able to see what the public library has to offer. Students toured the library, saw areas that they could visit on their own and areas to visit with a parent then spent time in the children’s area. In the chil dren’s area they looked at the books and played games on the interactive boards. Now MCS students know where they can go over the summer with their family to continue their reading as some students took home an application to apply for their very own public library card.

Natalie Guidos Martinez was chosen as a top winner for the state in the State Farm Color The Concept Illustration Contest. Her winning illustration was for the concept “budget.” We are so proud of her hard work!

She is in Mrs. Misty Trussell’s 4th grade QUEST class.

The Eagleaires, The Montgomery Academy’s Lower School Chorus, recently performed at the Southern Star Music Festival in Atlanta they received “Supe rior” ratings. Under the direction of Choral Director Beverly Fain, the Eagleaires finished out their choral season with a final performance for their schoolmates and families.

Macon East Lady Knights AISA AAA State Champions

Winning an amazing 62 games, the Lady Knights softball team stepped up with great leadership from our seniors and swept the competition at the AISA AAA state tournament. Entering the tournament as the third seeded team, the Lady Knights fought hard and went through the double-elimination bracket undefeated! In the state tournament at Lagoon Park May 4-6, MEA defeated Bessemer (17-8) and Glenwood (13-8) on the first day of play. On Friday, the Lady Knights got the win over Lee-Scott (8-6) to reach the finals. On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Knights faced Lee-Scott Academy again for the championship game. Macon East defeated the Warriors 8-7 on Jamya Powell’s walkoff hit in the bottom of the seventh to win the state championship. Kylee Smith, Casey Stengell, Jamya Powell and Miya Tatum made the All-Tournament team for Macon East.

In 23 previous AISA fastpitch tournaments, the Knights have had 18 appearances, nine championships, four runner-up appearances, 15 appearances in the final four and two fifth-place finishes.

Kylee Smith was selected as a member of the AISA Senior All-Star Team and Kaiden Byrom, Lathan Johnson, and Casey Stengell were selected as a member of the Junior All-Star Team. The All-Star softball game was played at Lagoon Park on Saturday, May 8, 2023.

Kylee Smith signed an athletic scholarship to participate in softball at the collegiate level at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

PRHS Student Selected for BryantJordan Scholarship

Congratulations to Kasey Reybitz as she has been selected to represent Pike Road High School as the Region 2 Class 6A Scholar Athlete Winner in the Bryant-Jordan student-athlete scholarship program.

By being selected, Kasey won $3000 in scholarship money!

Pike Road Elementary Patriot Games

Patriot Games 2023 couldn’t have happened without all of the amazing lead learners, PE coaches, and especially the volunteers

PRIS Girls on the Run Complete 5K

Shout out to Pike Road Intermediate Girls on the Run group for completing their 5K! This organization really pours into our young

Pike Road Rising 4th Graders

and Montgomery Biscuits

Our C6 team had a great day on their last field trip for the year! They visited the Legacy Museum to accompany what they have been learning about civil rights in social studies. Then they celebrated the end of an awesome school year with a Biscuits baseball game!

Pike Road Ladies Auxiliary Scholarships

The Pike Road Ladies Auxiliary awarded its Community Service Scholarship for 2022-2023 to two excellent students. The two individuals were selected from a large pool of applications. Scholarships recipients Allison Bowen and Anna Glynn Lott were honored with an appreciation dinner on April 21, 2022. Bowen, daughter of Allen & Dawneese Bowen of Montgomery, is an upcoming graduate of Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School. She plans to attend Tennessee State University and major in Interior Design. Bowen is a member of Student Government Association Delegate, yearbook editor, Brew Tech track & field team captain, National Honors Society, National Technical Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Skills USA, and Scholar athletes vice president. She is a member of the track & field team and is the 2022 Outdoor State Champion and 2022 Indoor state runner-up. Bowen volunteers with the Tuskegee Marching Crimson Pipers, volunteers in food drives, prepared meals during the pandemic and assisted with preparing essential supplies for the Selma tornado victims. Lott, daughter of Glenn & Michele Lott of Cecil, is an upcoming graduate of Macon East Academy. She plans to attend Troy University and major in nursing. Lott is a member of the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society (vice president), Macon East Scholars Bowl, Macon East Drama Club, Macon East Honors Society, Fellowship of Christian Students, National Honor Society, Chapel Band, Scholars Bowl, yearbook co-editor, and LIMUN Conference. She is a member of the volleyball, basketball, and softball team. Lott has been very active in volunteering with her school from assisting with various camps, field day, school fundraisers, deer hunt, Santa store and athletic events. Bowen and Lott both received $500.00. They have demonstrated a passion for volunteering while maintaining a level of academic

Macon East First Graders Visit Let’s Pretend Hospital

Macon East Academy first grade students have been busy! They recently visited the Let’s Pretend Hospital, an education program designed by Baptist Health that introduces children to healthcare in a fun and interactive way! Our class was “admitted” into the pretend hospital and had the opportunity to visit and learn more about the lab, the Harvey Heart Room, patient rooms, the oper ating room, radiology, the nursery, and the emergency room. They learned so much at each stop in their tour of the hospital!