SCHOOLS

Vestavia Hills Teachers of the Year Share Their View of Education During a Pandemic

By Emily Williams-RoBERtshaW

The 2020-21 school year has been colored completely by the pandemic, with educators working on the frontline and adapting their methods to continue to educate children.

In the Over the Mountain area alone, teachers, school staff and administrators sprang into action, adapting to virtual learning and navigating safe ways to reintroduce children into classrooms. Many have extended that service beyond school walls through community service efforts, organizing ways for children to receive school meals during lockdowns, hosting drives to collect items for local food banks and taking other actions.

Each year, school systems throughout the community and across the nation recognize Teachers of the Year. Candidates are nominated by their fellow teachers.

We will be sharing words and thoughts from Over the Mountain Teachers of the Year this month to shine a light on not just those recognized but all educators, in our last issue we heard from Homewood and Hoover teachers. This week we talk with Vestavia Hills city schools Teachers of the Year.

Photos courtesy Vestavia Hills City Schools

Elementary Teacher of the Year: Heather Hurt, Vestavia Hills Elementary East

Describe your teaching philosophy.

I feel strongly that my role as a teacher is to guide my students to be the best they can be by creating an environment that is welcoming, inclusive and loving. I get to know my students and make sure each student is seen, heard and knows they matter. I know that understanding their strengths and weaknesses is the first step toward helping them be successful and then I strive to provide what they need emotionally, socially and academically.

What have been some of the most notable hurdles this school year?

One of the most notable hurdles for this school year is how to keep an engaging classroom while students keep their distance from each other and don’t share supplies. Another hurdle is how to have students collaborate with each other in these circumstances. Hearing every child’s answer while they ‘turn and talk’ is extremely important to me and is one way I check for understanding in my lessons. Determining a way to still have these conversations between students was a hurdle worth jumping this year. A final hurdle faced this year is how to continue teaching my quarantined students while they are at home. I decided early in the school year to use Google Meets to include absent students in our lessons. This keeps these students learning and on track with the rest of the class.

Have you experienced any big victories in 2020-21 despite the pandemic?

I think the biggest victory for this school year is to have provided as normal a school year for my students as possible while in the midst of a pandemic. With the leadership of my district and collaboration with my team, I have been able to safely teach and even provide engaging lessons as close to normal as we can make it.

Are there any lessons you have learned this year that you will carry with you into a post-pandemic school year?

One lesson that has been made even clearer this year is it is imperative for me to be focused on the needs of the students and meeting them. There are a lot of uncertainties in the world for my students, but I can create an environment in my classroom that is constant and steady.

Secondary Teacher of the Year: Jerell Horton, Vestavia Hills High School

Describe your teaching philosophy.

I believe that the study of music offers the opportunity for students to learn very important life skills.

What have been some of the most notable hurdles this school year?

I asked the students during the fall of the year, ‘Can you continue to do your job to the best of your abilities, even when the conditions aren’t favorable?’ The answer to this question is a good indication of the maturity necessary to become productive citizens. Life is not always easy or fair. The hurdle for every teacher and student has been to look past what we all have lost and extract the lessons we should gain!

Have you experienced any big victories in 2020-21 despite the pandemic?

The big victory for me this year is that I feel even more connected with my students than I ever have.

Are there any lessons you have learned this year that you will carry with you into a post-pandemic school year?

As long as there are students, there will always be a need for teachers. Connection is oftentimes more important than content. Music can heal. Every situation can be an opportunity for learning.

Hoover Schools Plant Arbor Day Trees, City to Host Celebration March 6

As the city of Hoover looks forward to Arbor Day celebrations on March 6, Hoover City Schools kicked off its annual ceremonies by planting trees with the city and Hoover Beautification Board.

The first tree planting was Feb. 18 at Trace Crossings Elementary, where students helped plant a crepe myrtle. Greystone Elementary School planted a nuttall oak on its campus Feb. 19, joining four previous Arbor Day nuttall oaks along an island at the school.

“It’s an opportunity for our children to understand the importance of trees,” Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said in a release.

“And over the past few years as I’ve attended these, you hear all the great things that trees do and how they contribute to our actual living.”

The Beautification Board provides trees for the schools. Fourth grade students participate in the Arbor Day Essay contest with contest winners recognized at the March 6 ceremony, to be held at Aldridge Gardens. They will receive prizes for their work, such as a one-year membership to the gardens, cash and tree ID books.

Trace Crossings essay winners were Hampton Sign, Ava Collins and Charlotte Toomy. Greystone winners were Caroline Gilliland, Emily Walker, Dylan Propper and Ellis Byrne.

This year, eight schools have planned to hold celebrations on their campuses, according to city officials, which will include a brief history of the national holiday, information on the tree that’s to be planted at the school and the benefits of trees in general.

After students help plant their school’s tree, Hoover Urban Forester Colin Conner will lead the kids in taking the Arbor Day Pledge.

“I pledge my attention to this tree – its roots, its leaves and its branches. I promise I’ll take care of it on days when Mother Nature passes. I’ll water it and feed it as time goes by and watch it grow and be. A wonder of nature I can one day call my very own Arbor Day tree.”

This year’s communitywide Arbor Day Celebration will be March 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. at Aldridge Gardens. The program will include free tree giveaways, crafts for kids, educational tables, recognition of the World’s Largest Oak leaf and the planting of a new community orchard.

Mountain Brook Elementary Extended day program director Kaye Merritt gets COVID-19 shot at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights. Below, VHHS senior Grace Elliss, a health science student, assisted at the event.

Vestavia Partners with Medical Organizations to Host COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

Vestavia Hills City Schools provided the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to hundreds of its faculty and staff Friday. A temporary clinic was set up at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights through a partnership with Coosa Valley Medical Center and Alabama Immunization Partners.

A number of students of the VHHS health science program were able to assist at the clinic by providing refreshments to patients getting the vaccine.

In addition to Vestavia faculty, vaccines were offered to a number of employees of Mountain Brook City Schools. Second doses will be administered in March.

Hoover Schools, Businesses and Government Organize Annual Be Kind Week

Throughout Hoover, a spotlight is being placed on kindness to recognize the week of Feb. 22-29 as “Be Kind Week.” The festivities have been a Hoover tradition since 2018.

The campaign and events are being co-sponsored by the Hoover City Schools along with the city of Hoover, the Hoover Public Library, the Hoover Chamber of Commerce, the local food insecurity nonprofit Hoover Helps, the Hoover City Schools Foundation and Neighborhood Bridges, a national organization focused on spreading acts of kindness that is locally managed by school counselors.

According to a release, the week is dedicated to inspiring others to take a stand against bullying and ensuring a kind culture.

A proclamation announcing Be Kind Week was read Feb. 15, and as the week approached, Celebrate Kindness Banners have been hung at all of the city’s major intersections.

In addition, city hall has been lit pink each night.

On Feb. 24, community members were encouraged to don pink shirts for Pink Shirt Day to help promote Be Kind Week’s mission.

The first Pink Shirt Day was held in 2007, organized by David Shepherd and Travis Price of Berwick, Nova Scotia. That first year, the founders bought and distributed 50 pink shirts for classmates to wear to honor a male ninth grade student who was bullied on his first day of school for wearing a pink shirt.

Throughout the week, a schoolled book drive is collecting elementary-school-level reading materials for local children. Books can be dropped off at the Hoover Board of Education and any of the Hoover City Schools.

Students also created affirmation cards that are spread throughout the community, with help from local businesses. —Emily Williams-Robertshaw

Shades Cahaba Second Graders Surprise Children’s of Alabama Patient

On Feb. 17, members of Shades Cahaba Elementary School teacher Victoria Snow’s second grade class partnered with Magic Moments for a reveal.

Makenzie Prowell, a cancer patient from the Tuscaloosa area, was surprised with a trip to Disney World and told she was leaving for her trip this weekend.

According to Magic Moments officials, Snow’s class raised funds to sponsor the reveal and send Prowell and her family to Disney World for a week in the midst of her cancer treatment by hosting a pumpkin patch in the fall.

Journal photo by Jordan Wald

Shades Cahaba Elementary School teacher Victoria Snow with Makenzie Prowell a cancer patient from the Tuscaloosa arera.

Hoover Schools Finley Committee Names 2021 Teachers in the Trenches

three educators representing each level of school Each year, have been Hoover City recognized. Schools’ 2021 Robert O. Teachers in the Finley Awards Trenches are Committee Russell Sirmans recognizes of Bluff Park three teachers Elementary with its Teacher School, Kristin Snowden of Simmons in the Trenches Middle School and Jennifer Johnson of Award. Russell Sirmans Spain Park High School.

The award honors teachers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, something Hoover officials say all teachers in the school system have done during the Kristin Snowden past 11 months.

While the school system recognizes all teachers for their actions amid the pandemic, Jennifer Johnson

Vestavia Hills City Schools Accepting Hall of Fame Nominations

For the second year, the Vestavia Hills City Schools system will honor retired faculty and staff members by holding its Hall of Fame awards ceremony. Nominations for 2021 inductees are open now.

The first Hall of Fame class was inducted Oct. 5, 2020.

Nominations for the 2021 class are being accepted through March 1 via a form online at vestavia.k12.al.us.

Submissions will be reviewed by the VHCS Hall of Fame Committee and the date of the 2021 ceremony will be announced later.

OLS Celebrates Catholic Schools Week

Our Lady of Sorrows recently celebrated Catholic Schools Week with creative and fun service-oriented activities to honor everyone who contributes to the school’s success.

Students paid tribute not only to families, faculty and staff but also to volunteers, community supporters and local leaders.

They also took part in a weeklong service project, with the school collecting items for the Fultondale tornado victims who lost their homes last month.

This year’s theme, “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.”, was designed to teach students to be good citizens of the world and good neighbors, as well as being good students and Catholics.

Mending kids’ HEARTS

It’s what we do best.

Our team of more than 325 healthcare professionals is recognized for its excellence in providing world-class cardiac care in an environment best suited to the needs of our patients. From tiny babies to teens, we care for Evelyn Kluka and every child like our own.

About our Center

l 26 board-certified cardiologists, intensivists, anesthesiologists and surgeons l 435 cardiac surgeries performed in 2020, including 4 heart transplants l More than 675 cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology procedures performed in 2020

SCHOOLS 900 and Counting

Spain Park Softball Coach Urse Hawkins Reaches Milestone for Victories

By RuBin E. GRant

Finally!

Spain Park softball coach C.J. Urse Hawkins finally got to celebrate her milestone 900th career victory.

The triumphant moment came Friday when senior pitcher Annabelle Widra tossed a shutout in the Jaguars’ 5-0 victory over Oxford in the Leeds Greenwave Classic.

Hawkins, in her 25th season coaching, took the milestone victory in stride.

“It just means I have worked with a lot of good people, coached a lot of great players, elite players, and had two good schools to coach at,” Hawkins said. “I am blessed and honored.”

Hawkins spent the first 11 years of her coaching career at Clay-Chalkville and is in her 14th season at Spain Park.

She entered this week with a career record of 903-370, but she’s most proud of the number of former Spain Park players she has currently playing in college, including Mark Katherine Tedder at Texas, Jenna Olszewski at UAB, Destini England at Campbell University, Caroline Kendrick at Hofstra and Caroline Wooley at Gulf Coast Community College.

She had two other former players who recently graduated, Kynadi Tipler from Campbell and MK Bonamy from Clemson, where she played a season while earning a master’s after playing as an undergrad at Notre Dame.

Hawkins was poised to reach the milestone victory in 2020. The Jags had a perfect 21-0 record and were ranked No. 4 in the nation when the season was cut short in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Hawkins two wins shy of 900 and perhaps keeping her from winning her first state championship.

“It was frustrating,” Hawkins said. “We had remarkable team chemistry, great upperclassmen leadership and we were all focused on the same goal. When the season stopped the way it did, it was heart-wrenching. It was like a movie without an ending or a terrible ending.

“But it wasn’t isolated to us. Just because we were undefeated it didn’t mean the other teams didn’t have the ability to win the state championship. We were no different from anyone else.”

COVID Battles

During the summer, Hawkins had her own battle with COVID when she and her daughter Emma, a freshman on this year’s team, were infected during a travel ball tournament in Nashville. Both received anti-bodies and recovered, but Hawkins said she still doesn’t have a sense of taste or smell.

Not only that, but when the softball season officially began on Feb. 11, the Jags found themselves still dealing with COVID. They were without one of their top players, senior center fielder-middle infielder Lydia Coleman, during the Leeds tournament.

Coleman, a Penn State signee, was in quarantine after being in contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID. She is expected to rejoin the team next week.

The Jags are expected to contend for the Class 7A state title this season, especially with the versatile Widra, a Michigan signee and one of the top players in the nation, and Coleman back for their senior seasons. But Hawkins figures it will be a challenge because she has a completely different team.

“We’ve got a young team,” she said. “We’ve got a good senior class, but we’ve got a lot of young players who we are expecting to make an impact, but some are starting on the varsity for first time.”

Spain Park opened the season with a 15-0 loss Feb. 12 at Bob Jones in a game that had to be postponed for a day because of weather. The conditions weren’t favorable when they played.

“We should not have played, but it was something both teams had to deal with,” Hawkins said. “They were ready. They have a very good (team), a team that could win state.”

Snow and rain have played havoc with Spain Park’s early season schedule, plus Hawkins said the Jags are dealing with a changing school schedule that’s been virtual, blended and last week returned to a full five days of in-class learning.

“That’s been one of the biggest challenges,” she said.

Yet, somehow the Jags had managed to play

Spain Park softball coach C.J. Urse Hawkins entered this week with 903 career wins.

seven games, posting a 5-2 record.

Spain Park bounced back from the loss to Bob Jones to beat Pike Road 15-0 last Thursday, then won four games in the Leeds tournament Friday and Saturday before falling 2-0 to Helena in the championship game.

The Jags will compete in ultracompetitive Class 7A, Area 6, which also includes Vestavia Hills, Oak Mountain and Hewitt-Trussville.

Hawkins said her team will have to battle any time it steps on the field.

“Because of what we did last year, it’s put a target on our backs,” she said. “Every team we play is fighting us tough.”

PLAYOFFS

From page 28

The Eagles have won eight of their last nine games, including a 64-53 victory at James Clemens last Friday in the Northwest semifinals.

Senior forward Noah Young led Oak Mountain with 18 points. Will Shaver, a 6-foot-11 junior center added 14, junior guard Brady Dunn, 13, and junior guard Evan Smith, 10.

Young and Smith are two of the football guys Love mentioned. They were key contributors on last year’s Final Four team.

“Those two guys have started for us for three years,” Love said. “They’re a big part of what we do.”

The 6-5 Young is the team’s secondleading scorer, averaging 12.4 points. Smith averages 7.4.

Shaver leads the team in scoring at 14.2 points. Dunn averages 8.1 and junior guard Wilder Evans averages 8.3.

“We just really kind of spread it around,” Love said.

Love expects a challenging game in the regional final whether its Hoover or Florence. The Eagles split two regular season games against Hoover, but they lost to the Bucs 54-43 in the Class 7A, Area 5 championship game on Feb. 13.

“Either one will be hard to beat,” Love said. “When we were swapping film with James Clemens, I got to see Florence and they’re really good.”

Oak Mountain is one of several Over the Mountain schools competing this week with a berth in next week’s

Journal photo by Jordan Wald

Mountain Brook beat Jackson-Olin 88-45 in sub-regional play last week. The Spartans’ Rayven Turner drives past a Mustang defender. state tournament, March 1-3, on the line.

Mountain Brook Boys

The Mountain Brook boys (27-6) were scheduled to play Huffman (224) at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Class 6A Northeast Regional final at Jacksonville State University.

The Spartans, the 2020 Class 7A runners-up, earned their spot in the regional final with a 58-48 victory over Oxford (30-3) in the semifinals last Friday, extending their winning streak to 16 games.

Mountain Brook trailed 42-40 entering the final quarter but opened the period on an 11-0 run while outscoring the Yellow Jackets 18-6 to end Oxford’s 26-game winning streak and season.

“It’s been a strange year with COVID and everything,” Mountain Brook coach Tyler Davis said. “They (players) have grinded all year. I think the one thing we learned is Mountain Brook isn’t going anywhere.”

Vestavia’s Anna Towry drives past a Hewitt defender in the Rebels’ Area 6 championship win over the Huskies.

Spain Park Boys

The Spain Park boys (26-7) will play Huntsville (23-6) in Class 7A Northeast Regional final at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Jacksonville State. The Jaguars advanced with a 55-45 victory over Sparkman last Friday, while Huntsville routed Vestavia Hills 58-34. Regional final at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Jacksonville State. The Rebels advanced with a 66-42 semifinal victory over Huntsville. They are 3-0 against Hewitt this season.

Hoover Girls

The Hoover girls (29-1) will play Austin (18-10) in the Class 7A Northwest Regional final at 9 a.m. Thursday in Hanceville. The Lady Bucs advanced with a 79-35 semifinal victory over James Clemens.

From page 28 very much a team effort with all 14 guys contributing. Every kid did what we asked them to do.”

Flurry said it was simply a matter of dedication and hard work.

“It was amazing to win it,” Flurry said. “After we lost in the Duals, everybody came back to practice working hard and getting after it like we never had before.”

Junior John Edwards (20-3) at 170 pounds, senior Bryce Littleton (25-1) at 220 pounds and senior Dawson Ray (17-2) at 285 pounds joined Flurry as individual champions for the Rebels.

Edwards, the younger brother of James Edwards, posted a 12-8 victory over Florence’s Joseph Grijalva (254) to win his second state title. He won the 160-pound crown in 2020.

“It’s awesome to win again,” Edwards said. “My brother James was a two-time champion and now I have a chance to become a three-time champion and beat his record. That’s the plan.”

Littleton beat Kyle Watson (33-1) of Smiths Station with a 2-1 decision and Ray won a 3-2 tiebreaker against Drew Lawson (36-2) of Bob Jones.

The match judged the best by the coaches was the 160-pound final between Thompson’s Will Miller (340) and Vestavia Hills’ Jack Lamey (25-4). Miller won the match with a 6-5 decision to earn his second championship. He won in the 152-pound weight class in 2020. Lamey won the 145-pound title last year.

Two other Vestavia Hills wrestlers also suffered losses in championship matches, Carson Farris (16-4) to Thompson’s Yanni Vines (31-3) at 126 pounds and Christopher Hays (18-3) to Smiths Station’s Devin Stone (34-1) at 132

Journal photos by Jordan Wald

Bouncing Back

Hoover senior Nick Smith came back from two offseason knee surgeries to win his second straight 120pound title. Smith (10-1), wearing a sleeve on his right leg, earned an 11-7 victory over Thompson’s Nick Dempsey (39-4) in the final.

Grissom’s Warren Hoyt (20-1) was named the 7A MVP by pinning previously unbeaten J.T. Foster (21-1) of Hoover in the 182-pound final.

In the 195-pound final, Hewitt’s Hunter Jones (30-0) got a takedown in the final 30 seconds – lifting his opponent off the ground – to earn a 4-3 victory over Hoover’s Dawson Rye (20-6) and complete an undefeated season.

In the 106-pound final, Oak Mountain sophomore Camden Tipton (32-8) scored an 8-6 decision over Spain Park’s Bradley Williams (34-1), a seventh grader, who fell one match short of a perfect season.

Nothing Doing

Homewood sophomore Sam Sutton (35-4) lost to Moody junior Cory Land by technical fall in the 126-pound weight class final. Land (44-0), who won his fourth straight state crown and finished undefeated for the third straight season, was leading 21-6 when the match was called at 2:43. Land has won 151 consecutive matches.

Mountain Brook senior John McKimmon (35-1) lost by disqualification in the 195-pound title match to Gulf Shores’ Drake Ewing (38-3).

McKimmon had edged Homewood senior John-Mark Crocker 8-7 in a battle of unbeatens in the semifinals. Crocker (24-1) bounced back to win the consolation final with a 7-6 decision over Arab’s Jonathan Pugh (44-5).

Homewood finished sixth in the team standings with 122 points. Gardendale won with 189.5 points.

Senior Bryce Littleton (25-1) at 220 pounds (above), Junior John Edwards (20-3) at 170 pounds (right), and senior Dawson Ray (17-2) at 285 pounds (below) joined teammate Zach Flurry as individual champions for the Rebels.

Hoover senior Nick Smith came back from two offseason knee surgeries to win his second straight 120-pound title.