7 minute read

SCHOOLS

Next Article
LIFE

LIFE

Nostalgic Pregame

Dublin Performance Announced as Homewood Patriot Band Members Reunite for 50th Anniversary

A pregame performance and a major announcement at halftime set the tone for the Homewood High School Patriot Band’s 50th Anniversary Reunion on Sept. 23.

Former band members joined the marching band in the performance, held before kickoff at Waldrop Stadium as the Patriots played Pinson Valley. Alumni were treated to a barbecue dinner provided by Two Men and a Pig under a pavilion at the end of the stands near the scoreboard during the first quarter of the game.

At halftime, it was announced that the Patriot Band had been selected to march in next year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin.

“This is a huge opportunity for our students,” band Director Chris Cooper said. “The St. Patty’s Day Parade is a worldwide parade, and we will be marching with music groups from all around the globe.”

The Patriot Band is the largest high school marching band in the state and has appeared in many nationally televised parades, including nine appearances in the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade. The Patriots are not strangers to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade either. The band marched in Dublin in 1993 and 1997.

Reunion activities continued Sept. 24 with a tour of the high school’s new band room and fine arts facility, with lunch and a video/slideshow presentation of the band’s 50 years.

Former band members joined the marching band in a special 50th Anniversary performance, held before kickoff at Waldrop Stadium. Above, Alan Henderson, Kevin Burke and Will Fletcher. Above right, Kendyl Hamner and Emily Dickinson. Right, Pete Pitts. Below, Cynthia Thompson Parris, Audra White and McKenna Whitaker.

Fromer Star Spangled Girls, Lauren Ellis, Jennifer Durban Mann, Sarah Smith Litchfield, Molly Morris Naylor, Grace Ann Sooter Cink, and Jessica Johnson Denton.

Join us for an Open House!

Sunday, Oct. 30 | 2-3:30 p.m. | Altamont Campus

Learn more about The Altamont School, one of the nation’s premier independent schools for students in grades 5-12.

Her support of innovative music programs has earned Edgewood Elementary School Principal Laura Tate the 2023 Outstanding Administrator Award by the Alabama Music Educators Association.

“I was really surprised and excited,” said Tate, who didn’t know that school music teacher Sadie Wall had nominated her for the honor.

Tate was recognized for her strong support of the school’s music program, which, beyond regular music instruction, includes a choir and drum circle. Wall is the person who proposed the programs, as well as a Fine Arts Night that invites students’ families to join them in playing music.

“I’m really thankful and grateful to Sadie for all she does,” Tate said. “I’m really lucky to have an innovative, smart teacher. It’s an honor to support her.”

The state Music Educators Association honors outstanding administrators who have shown a special interest and dedication to music education in Alabama.

“We are thankful for our schools’ strong music programs and for our amazing music teachers and supportive administrators,” a Homewood City Schools press release stated.

While the state does not require music education in elementary schools, Homewood does have music instruction in its three K-5 schools, Tate noted. Fourth graders at Edgewood, for example, learn to play the recorder and the school has a “wonderful” selection of instruments, she said.

Music is an important component in a school curriculum, Tate said. It’s a discipline that helps students develop focus, for example, and enriches their education.

“Our philosophy in Homewood for an educated student is to maximize their full potential,” she said.

Although the award has been announced, it won’t be presented until after New Year’s. That will happen Jan. 19, when Tate will receive it during the annual Alabama Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference at the BirminghamJefferson Convention Complex.

Laura Tate was recognized for her strong support of the school’s music program, which, beyond regular music instruction, includes a choir and drum circle.

Altamont Student Named Young Hero for Work With Homeless

Altamont School seventh grader Ethan Hill has been named a winner of the 2022 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, according to a press release from the school.

The Barron Prize annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders in the U.S. who have made a significant positive impact on people, their communities and the environment. Fifteen top winners, of which Ethan was one, each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education.

Ethan, 12, created Ethan’s Heart Bags4Blessings to support individuals experiencing homelessness in Birmingham. Since 2017, he and his team have packed and distributed nearly 2,000 survival care bags containing items such as a sleeping bag, cold weather clothing, first aid supplies, food and hygiene products. He works to develop relationships with the people he serves and to refer them to shelters and support services.

Most days on his way home from school, Ethan and his parents drive around area parks and homeless camps to check on the estimated 300 people living there. When needed, they provide essentials from a supply kept in their car or return later to help with specific requests. Ethan also partners with local police, who carry his duffel bags and supplies in patrol cars to distribute in areas unsafe for Ethan to visit. Corporate sponsors and individual donors support his work.

Each December, he organizes more than 100 volunteers from across the state to pack hundreds of duffel bags. The next morning, his team serves breakfast in a local park and distributes the supplies. Ethan has also aided a homeless veteran in transitioning to permanent housing and has partnered with a company that makes cots, offering them for free to the people he serves. He began his work as a 6-year-old after noticing a homeless man, whom he now knows as Mr. Marcus, living under a freeway. Ethan researched “emergency needs of homeless individuals,” used his Christmas Ethan Hill money to purchase essential items and gave them to Mr. Marcus and others living nearby. “Those without addresses are disregarded, criminalized and judged, but they’re people who want to be seen, loved and supported,” Ethan said in the press release. “I don’t focus on why a person became homeless. I just look at what I can do to make life a little easier for them.” Ethan is using his prize money to finish converting a trailer into a free mobile store for the homeless. The Barron Prize was founded in 2001 by author T.A. Barron and was named for his mother, Gloria Barron. Since then, the prize has honored more than 500 young people who demonstrate heroic qualities such as courage, compassion and perseverance as they work to help their communities or protect the planet. “Nothing is more inspiring than stories about heroic people who have truly made a difference to the world. And we need our heroes today more than ever,” T.A. Barron said in the press release. “Not celebrities, but heroes – people whose character can inspire us all. That is the purpose of the Barron Prize: to shine the spotlight on these amazing young people so that their stories will inspire others.”

Hoover Career Connection Center Recognized by Governor

Hoover City Schools Riverchase Career Connection Center has been selected as a Regional Best Practice School by the governor’s office, according to a press release from Hoover City Schools.

This distinction is awarded to career training programs throughout the state that demonstrate the diverse ways work-based learning is being used.

This recognition puts the center in the running for the Governor’s WorkBased Learning Seal of Excellence. Dr. Debra Walker Smith, Hoover City Schools executive The center focuses director of on college and career and career readiness technical and soft skills. It education, serves students at was surprised Hoover, Spain Park and excited and Homewood about the high schools. designation and said it was the result of a team effort.

“I am very proud that people outside of our school district recognize the quality of our work,” Smith said.

The center focuses on college and career readiness and soft skills. It’s five career training academies are Skilled Trades, Cyber Innovation, Culinary and Hospitality, Fire Science and Emergency Services and Health Science.

The Career Connection Center, which is at 853 Willow Oak Drive in Hoover, opened in 2019 and is a high-tech career center with simulated workspaces. The facility is made possible through a collaboration among education leaders, city officials, and business and industry partners.

It serves students at Hoover, Spain Park and Homewood high schools.

TICKETS JUST $10!

This article is from: