Student Spotlights-January 2022

Each December, Council holds an annual Holiday Read-a-Thon where community members are invited to read to our students. Our purpose is to show our students that reading is important no matter what career you choose while also spreading holiday cheer throughout the community.  Judge Naman was one of our guest readers this year. The students thoroughly enjoyed him getting comfortable to read. They even suggested he take off his shoes. Our Holiday Read-a-Thon is a fun time for all!

Hundreds gathered for a Champions Parade Celebration in Prichard on Sunday, Dec. 5, to honor Vigor High School’s football team, which won the 4A state championship with a 52-14 victory over Oneonta.

Congratulations to Mary G. Montgomery senior Kelvin Powe for being named Mobile United’s Outstanding Student Leader. He’s one of two high school students in our district selected for this honor. Kelvin is involved in many activities at MGM, including Academy Ambassador, Student Council President, and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

St. Mary Catholic middle school students and families, under the direction of religion teacher Ashley Thompson, collected 2 truckloads of items and made delicious baked goods for The Little Sisters of The Poor Yard & Bake Sale. As the Little Sisters had to cancel their annual lawn party fundraiser due to Covid-19 safety concerns for their residents, the Yard and Bake Sale helped make up for the cancelled event.

Congratulations to St. Paul’s student, William Jameson, who achieved a perfect score on the AP English Language and Composition Exam in May 2021. His score was so superior that it falls into an extremely select category. He not only received the top score of 5, but William also was one of only 11 students (amounting to just 0.00% of 2021 AP English Language and Composition Exam takers) from around the world to earn every point possible on this challenging, college-level examination!

The ASMS Varsity Chess Team is undefeated this school year. In preparation for their next major tournament, the school hosted its annual Chess Pep Rally. Students showed up with posters, the cheerleaders cheered, and the ASMS band played! It was just what the team needed — They won all their matches that day and are advancing to regionals.

The Scholars Bowl team from Clark-Shaw Magnet School is having a productive year so far. Recently, they had their first virtual competition vs. Alba Middle School, and they defeated them 250 to 40. Team members are Madeline Borchert, Violet Borchert, James Colelli, Andres Gonzalez, Grant Langham, Garrett Langham, Max Norris, and Eli Weatherford, and they are coached by Mrs. Tracy Steiner and Mrs. Alecia Howell. We are proud of these students’ hard work and dedication.

Lunch, songs, student presentations, and patriotic decorations were part of the Veterans Day celebration at Little Flower Catholic School.  Students, staff and friends invited veterans to come to the school for the ceremony and celebration.  The cafeteria was decorated with student-made art, and a balloon arch and background were available for the 25 family members and honorees present to make memories with photos.

December 8, students at Mobile Christian helped lay new rubber mulch under our beautiful oak trees in the front play area of our campus. The school was able to purchase new border and mulch with money raised from our annual fall fundraiser, the Harvest Run. Over $19,000 was raised for improvements across campus. The elementary students are so excited to have an additional area to play in along with our regular playground. The high school students will also receive service hours for their help.

Mrs. Hightower’s 4th and 5th graders recently conducted a STEAM experiment in class. Each student created their own Simba Mosaic using dry beans, glue and a clear CD case! She loves bringing lessons to life in new/interactive ways for her students. According to Mrs. Hightower, Heart of Mary Catholic is, “A great place to learn about Christ and a great place to teach! We are keeping our feet on the ground as we reach for the stars!”

Join St. Ignatius families and parishioners on January 15, 2022 after 4 PM Mass for a live band, gumbo competition and fellowship in the church parking lot. Each reservation comes with the price in votes for the Fan Favorite Gumbo!  Winning teams receive a trophy and bragging rights. Come join the fun and kick off the new year with St. Ignatius! Visit www.stignatiusschoolmobile.org for details. This is an adult only event. Tickets are $25/person. Team entries and sponsorship opportunities available.

Mrs. Aplin, Phillips Preparatory’s Media Specialist, uses Oculus Quest goggles during STEM rounds.  Students enjoyed using smart phones and iPads to connect to the goggles and explore virtual worlds.

Mobile County Public Schools asked its schools to Stuff the Bus and they did just that, donating about 7,000 toys in the annual Stuff the Bus toy drive. With some help from Santa and Mrs. Claus, two buses crossed the county, picking up the toys from each of the 46 participating schools, plus Central Office. The toys were then delivered to WKRG’s Magical Christmas Toy Drive and unloaded with help from students from Phillips Preparatory and Murphy High School and from the MCPSS Transportation Department. MCPSS thanks all who participated!

We want to give a huge congratulations to the CHCA Swim Team for bringing home the title of State Champion in several competitions! Together, the team, consisting of members Zora Rich, Kaelyn Mitchell, Dylan Santa Cruz, and Marie Wittman, received first place awards for the 200 Yard Medley Relay, 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, and 400 Yard Freestyle Relay. They’ve worked hard together over the past several months in order to reach this moment. In addition to the team medals, Kaelyn Mitchell won first place in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and Dylan Santa Cruz won third place in the 50 Yard Freestyle. Their success as a team and as individuals means they have brought home 14 state medals. Congratulations ladies!

We can never do enough for the people who protect our school, students, faculty and guests on a daily basis. To show our appreciation for their dedication not only to our school but also the surrounding community, UMS-Wright welcomed Local First Responders and treated them to a Thanksgiving feast in November. Boxes were prepared by our cafeteria staff, Lexington Independents, with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, pecan pie and more! Students lined Bulldog Drive and welcomed the First Responders as they arrived on campus and gave them gratitude bags as they exited.

Congratulations to two Davidson High School students, Wesley Hunt and Ewan Marshall, for their success at Alabama’s Trumbauer Competition 2021. Wesley is a junior at Davidson who takes AP courses, in addition to theater. He won 2nd place in the category for pre-contemporary solo acting. Ewan, who is a senior in the IB program, won 1st place in the category for playwriting: novice. These students went on to perform in Davidson’s production, The Great High School Whodunit, an interactive comedy-mystery dinner experience in December. They will also be participating in Davidson’s spring production of Annie on April 2-3 at the Lewis Copeland Auditorium.