June 2023 Student Spotlights

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.

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!

Thanks to a Keep Mobile Beautiful grant won by second grade teacher, Mrs. Milwee, students at Little Flower Catholic School have a wonderful new area to learn. With money from the grant, two picnic table benches and a large shade sail were purchased. Having class outside at a new table in the shade is one of the great reasons students love Little Flower.

The Alabama School of Mathematics and Science is celebrating 30 years of graduates and naming a day in honor of their school founder – Ann Bedsole Day. The school gathered for a lunch in their gymnasium with students, faculty, staff, alumni, board members, past school leadership, state leaders, and even Governor Kay Ivey and Mayor Sandy Stimpson.
“I am pleased to announce that today and every future Ann Bedsole Day at ASMS, we will award one leader of our school community with an honorary diploma and name them as an honorary graduate of our school with an official ASMS graduation stole. Today’s recipient is Ms. Ann Bedsole,” said school president, Dr. John Hoyle, during the lunch.
In addition to awarding Ms. Bedsole with an honorary ASMS diploma, the celebration featured a keynote speech from Governor Ivey, several student speakers who shared about their ASMS experience, and even a surprise awards presentation for two students who completed graduate-level research work at the school this year. Mayor Stimpson also honored Ms. Bedsole with the Exceptional Citizenship Award. She is one of just 6 recipients to receive this recognition from the mayor.
“ASMS is a result of local Mobile leaders with a state-wide mindset,” says the school’s Vice President of Development and Outreach, Dr. Samantha Church. “For 30 years, ASMS has recruited and educated 10th – 12th graders from all 67 counties by providing them with a tuition-free advanced STEM education. Today, we are so proud that our nearly 3000 graduates have made good on the mission Ms. Bedsole and other leaders set for the school all those years ago,” shares Church

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 Addison 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! #makingmaryproud Submitted by Marcelle Naman. Photos by Stephanie LeGrone

Three Mobile County Public Schools student-athletes were named as regional winners of the Bryant-Jordan Scholarships: Jayden Sawyer of Mary G. Montgomery; Faron Brown, Jr., of Vigor; and Garrett Sullivan of Citronelle. These scholarships recognize students who are standouts in the classroom and in athletics, or who have overcome some obstacles in their lives to excel.

Five Mobile County Public Schools students were selected as Youths of the Year by the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama: Rashaad Johns of Davidson High School, Kayleigh Morgan of Murphy High School, Ryan Mosley of Baker High School, Ashleigh Robinson of Theodore High School, and Brooklyn Rowell of Mary G. Montgomery High School. They will be honored at the Youth of the Year Luncheon, set for May 25 at the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel.

Congratulations to Davidson High School’s Ryker Quinones, who was named a recipient of a corporate-based National Merit Scholarship. Quinones, who plans to study aerospace engineering in college, was awarded the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division Scholarship. He is one of five MCPSS seniors named as National Merit Scholarship finalists.

Fonde Elementary’s PACE students enjoyed their downtown Mobile tour of Greek Revival Architecture to complete their study of Ancient Greece.

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.

The Quinton Ellis Zirlott Memorial Scholarships were presented last month to Dustin Davis, Caden Marcell and Asher Taft, students at Bryant Career Technical Center. All three are interns at Joe Bullard Automotive and will attend the training required to become fully certified mechanics. The scholarships honor the memory of Quinton Zirlott, who was tragically killed in a boating accident on Dauphin Island on July 22, 2022. From left are Tony Tillman, presenter and Quinton’s teacher; Autumn and Lori Zirlott, Quinton’s sister and mother; Asher, Dustin and Caden; and Kevin Dean, Chief Development Officer at Joe Bullard.

On May 4th, we held Honor Chapel on the West Campus where high school students were honored for their hard work and success in the classroom and on the field this school year. We are proud of our determined students who walk through our halls and have done their best to succeed in the classroom, in competition, and in the arts! Congratulations to the winners of the special awards given to seniors who were nominated by the entire faculty and determined by the administrative team
CHCA Spirit Award – Hunter Behr
CHCA Warrior Award – Rebecca Steedley
Mary Ann Lang Service Award – Gracie Vo
Charles V. Lang Scholarship Award Finalist – Lucy Dunn, Becca Steedley, Allyson Ho
Charles V. Lang Scholarship Award – Allyson Ho

Christy LeGros, visual arts instructor at Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies, was honored as Mobile’s Arts Educator of the Year at the Mobile Arts Council’s annual awards, the Artys. LeGros is in her 25th year as an arts teacher. She has also worked with the city’s Special Events Department to coordinate Kids Days in Bienville Square, Elfapalooza, the Christmas Tree Lighting, the Azalea Trail Run, and other events. Additionally, she hosted the hands-on art booth with the Mobile International Festival, and served as President of the Bay Area Art Educators.

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.

Students at Little Flower Catholic School are enjoying the renovations to their middle school library. The new selection of books entices the students to check out more books, but the biggest draw seems to be the bean bag chairs which provide the best seating to accompany a good book.

Every year, Davidson High School hosts Engineering Week, or E-Week, for all students who are in the EPIC program. This year, the week kicked off with a creative, collaborative build project. Students worked in small groups to create a catapult using limited materials, including rubber bands, paper clips, popsicle sticks, and a spoon. After designing and sketching a model, the future engineers constructed their catapults, then tested them by seeing how far they could launch a marshmallow. Other challenges included landing a marshmallow on a target or clearing ten feet. Teams who completed the most challenges successfully were recognized at the end of the event. Later in the week, students were able to hear from guest speakers who spoke about careers in the EPIC pathways: biomedicine, engineering, and computer science.

Disney’s Aladdin Junior was present by CHCA students. Under the direction of Susan Sanders, nearly 80 students from both campuses joined together for this must-see event. We are grateful for the countless hours put in by our students and the support of so many of our stakeholders as well.