Student Spotlights– January 2022

Congratulations to Volleyball Coach Gretchen Boykin for winning the ACVA Team Academic Award. She has actually won this award several years in a row for having a team GPA above 3.5.

Most measure the success of a coach in win and losses, but when you win, you make a difference in the lives of your players, AND you hold them to a high academic standard, that is truly what all desire from those who coach our children. Congratulations Coach Boykin! So thankful to have you there to get the best out of our students! GO TOROS!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from St. James Episcopal School! Our Christmas program was presented in the Church for family and friends. Pictured are some of our first and second graders in the nativity scene.

Renaissance School student’s third Toys for Tots drive is a success! Great job, Adam!

CTKCS was the host for the November chess match. The CTKCS teams won 3, lost 5, and drew 2. The middle school team is in contention for first place in the league, and our elementary school team is in contention for third place in the league! Go Saints!

Larry Newton students recently celebrated Hour of Code, a one-hour introduction to computer science that promotes critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration. Olivia Speer, a second grader in Mrs. Bowman’s class is pictured walking Avery Bishop, a first grader in Mrs. Vivar’s class, through her first coding challenge.

Cub Scout Pack 177 of Spanish Fort had special guest Reno’s Reptiles visit. Dad and den leader, Tim Dozier, with son, Oliver Dozier, of Tiger scouts got to learn about and hold a skink.

Health Science students at North Baldwin Center for Technology are participating in hands-on practice in order to perfect their phlebotomy skills, under the guidance of teacher Jessica Stanford.  NBCT serves students from Baldwin County High, Daphne High and Spanish Fort High Schools as well as the Baldwin County Virtual School Program. Applications are available now for those interested in taking Health Science courses at NBTech for the 2022-23 school year. To apply visit www.bcbe.org/nbct and then scroll down to ‘NBCT School News’ and choose the appropriate tab.

Students from Spanish Fort High school had a great experience at the Baldwin County Model United Nations Conference.

Ashleigh Bock chaired ECOFIN (Economic and Financial Committee) and won best chair; Eren Kacar chaired SOCHUM (Social and Humanitarian); Carolyn Lippold-Vice President of the General Assembly; Krista Hull (not pictured) won Premiere Speaker delegating for Russia on the Security Council.

Congratulations to Damien Langham on winning first place at the Bay Minette Middle School Spelling Bee! Noelani Raybon was the runner-up. Damien will now represent BMMS at the county-wide spelling bee early next year!

The University of West Alabama is launching Project REACh, a program ideal for those with a bachelor’s degree without teaching certification, but who are interested in improving children’s futures through education. Project REACh is a teacher residency program that aims to improve the critical teacher shortage in high-need schools in Alabama. The program was developed to address challenges such as increasing teacher turnover, teaching outside of qualified content areas and low student achievement in three Alabama counties. Qualifying teacher residents will receive a $45,000 stipend during the residency, which funds the cost of living in one of three school districts as they take part in an immersive learning experience. Learn more about the Project REACh program from UWA by clicking this link

Project REACh not only provides a $45,000 stipend to teacher residents, it also incorporates an M.Ed. degree, a rigorous professional development training component and an induction program thereafter, which supports teachers in their new roles. Based on content areas of interest, the Master of Science in Education degree can include an emphasis in one of the following areas: • Early Childhood Education • Elementary Education • English Language Arts Education • History Education • Mathematics Education • Science Education • Special Education • Teaching residents will gain content knowledge and teaching experience coupled with inquiry-based instruction methods.

St. Michael has a new drivers ed car! Thanks to our friends John & Jen Blanchard at Gulf Chrysler Dodge Jeep – we now have our very own car (Jeep Patriot – Cardinal red in color) for students for years to come! Very thankful for this gift that will be used multiple times to educate our students. Many thanks to Terry Thompson Chevrolet for loaning us Drivers Ed cars for the last 5 years and for outfitting this one with a brake! Pictured are sophomores Mary Hart Watson, Jenna Thompson & Molly Helton.

Foley High School’s Hospitality and Tourism students participated in Mock Interviews with outside community business partners. The students were critiqued on hand shakes, eye contact, body language, posture, content of answers, their resume, and more. What a great opportunity for these students to get real interview experience! A huge thanks goes to A&R Group, Waterville, Spectrum Resorts, Perdido Beach Resort, Cobalt and Cosmos, and Career Coaches for partnerships and interviewers.

At Foley Elementary School Miss Bishop’s class traveled to England today for the holidays! We got our passports checked, learned about their traditions for Christmas, what the UK flag stands for. We landed safely back in the USA.

What an amazing time Bayshore Christian School students had during this year’s Fairhope Christmas Parade! Thank you to everyone for coming out and cheering on our outstanding athletes! Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor! Romans 12:10

Baldwin County High School National Honor Society members held a food drive scavenger hunt recently. The students were divided into groups and each was given a list of items to collect from friends and neighbors. All items collected will be donated to Prodisee Pantry for distribution to families in Baldwin County during the holiday season. The NHS members appreciate all who contributed to the success of this community service project.

Bayside Academy is proud to announce that senior Stillwell Bacon has been awarded Best in Show Overall in the 2021 SALT Alabama Land Trust Photography Competition.

Every year, SALT invites amateur photographers from across coastal Alabama to submit photos that showcase the natural beauty throughout coastal Alabama. More than 400 photographers entered this competition, and in addition to the overall Best in Show award, Bayside students placed or won in five divisions. All winning photos can be seen at https://southalabamalandtrust.org/salt-photo-contest/.

Best in Show: Stillwell Bacon ’22. Junior Cellphone: 2nd Place: Garrek Snell ’26. Junior People in Nature, 1st Place: Luke Ferguson ’25. 2nd Place: Samuel Carpenter ’23. 3rd Place: Anna Grace Spitzer ’25. Junior Habitat, 1st Place: Samuel Carpenter ’23. 2nd Place: Aiden Seward ’25. 3rd Place: Cade Morris ’23. Junior Flora, 1st Place: Caroline Ernest ’28. 2nd Place: Cade Morris ’23. 3rd Place: Allysa Bullock ’24. Junior Fauna, 1st Place: Claire Hamilton ’23. 2nd Place: Sophia Haines ’25. 3rd Place: Sophia Haines ’25. Congratulations to all of these students! Pictured, right, Bayside Academy senior Stillwell Bacon’s winning photograph. Pictured, left, Bayside Academy photography students hold their winning pictures. Front row: Anna Grace Spitzer, Stillwell Bacon, Sophia Haines, and Alyssa Bullock. Back row: Luke Ferguson, Cade Morris, Samuel Carpenter, Garrek Snell, and Aiden Seward. Not pictured: Caroline Ernest and Claire Hamilton.

On December 1, Bayside Academy held its inaugural Lighting of the Trees on The Bluff. It was an enchanted evening filled with hot chocolate, cookies, band concerts, and caroling, and there was even a surprise visit from Santa Claus!

The Academy at Fairhope Airport Aviation Students getting the opportunity to WEIGH the Plane. They positioned the weights under the wheels, connected the red, green and yellow cables to the weights and then pushed the plane up on them. These students are so dedicated to learning the skills for their future Aviation career.

Cottage Hill Christian Academy won the AISA District I Middle School Scholars Bowl. Team members are Ellie Olsen, Elizabeth Olsen, Dawson Tippens, Walker Jackson, Baylor Jackson, and Morgan Stanton, and they are led by teachers Sarah Olsen and Lindsey Lear. The team will advance to the AISA State competition in January.

Students from Daphne Elementary School collected toys for the local Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

Big thank you to our local educational foundation SEEDS (Educational Excellence in Daphne Schools) for providing several grants this year!

Margaret Sharp received a Student Leadership Opportunities grant from SEEDS which will be used to remove financial barriers for outstanding student leaders to participate leadership programs – Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Summer Seminar, Alabama Governor’s School, and Lott Leadership Institute. Students who complete these programs learn about themselves and their leadership potential while developing a network of young leaders from around the state and beyond.

Griffin Hood received a Multimedia/Digital Film Series grant towards our “This is Daphne” student film project. We appreciate SEEDS, their staff and board, and all the sponsors who help the educators at Daphne High School provide opportunities for our amazing students.

The Robertsdale High School Bear Nation Band did a fantastic job at their 2021 Christmas Concert.

Spanish Fort Middle School students and community showed up and stepped up bringing in tons of new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots. Thank you to everyone who helped out! Huge shout out to our Peer Helpers and their sponsors Mrs. Heather Price and Ms. Nigia Bolton for sponsoring this toy drive.

Baldwin County Public Schools, Human Resources Department, proudly presents the Baldwin Proud Future Teacher Scholarship Program. The mission of the program is to recognize high school seniors who have a goal to enter the field of education and become one of Baldwin County’s future teachers. Please join us, in supporting our 2022 graduating seniors ready to enter the field of education.

For additional information please see this link: https://www.bcbe.org/futureteacher

Baldwin County Education Coalition had the pleasure of preparing these gift bags for the 78 nurses who provide health services for the children in all Baldwin County Public Schools! Our nurses have gone above and beyond the past two years and we appreciate them so much!  We extend our deepest gratitude to the businesses who offered items for the gift bags: OWA, Baldwin County Sewer Service, Bryant Bank, Coastal Alabama Community College, Tanger Outlet, Byrdco Real Estate, Baldwin EMC, & Alabama Credit Union. And a very special thanks to South Baldwin Regional Medical Center for sponsoring their t-shirts!

Dustin Weinberg and Trey Street are Fairhope High students of Coach Coleman’s Engineering 3 class. They are pictured here working on a recent welding project. Dustin and Trey are some of the best high school welders in the county.

Students in Daphne High School Trojans Mrs. Hudgins’ history classes toured the Federal Courthouse in Mobile. They were able to sit in on a court hearing, tour the holding cells, and participate with a Q & A with a defense attorney, federal judges, prosecutors, probation officers, and US Marshals.

W. J. Carroll Intermediate School is so proud of the wonderful performances of our choir and band during our Holiday Concert at Trojan Hall. They partnered with Daphne Elementary School choir and Daphne Middle School band to perform some of our favorite carols during our shared concert.

Construction students from South Baldwin Center of Technology students built 28 Cedar duck houses for Gulf Coast RC&D Council.

Kindergarten students at Stapleton Elementary School sure enjoyed the Peter Pan play they saw at the Daphne Civic Center, not to mention the delicious meal they had at Olive Garden after the show. We’re so glad they had such a good time and are so proud of their excellent behavior on the trip!

The Mother Teresa Service Club at St. Michael Catholic High School collected 143 backpacks with help from our St. Michael community, Orange Beach High School and Bayside Academy, as part of The Backpack Project for the homeless. Thanks to Sydney Wilhelm and Molly Sims for heading this effort!

Mrs. DeFee is teaching the North Baldwin Center for Technology Cosmetology students how to do pin curls and finger waves. If you are a BCHS, DHS, SFHS, or BCVS student interested in Cosmetology, NBTech online applications for the 2022-23 school year are now open. Visit our website at https://www.bcbe.org/nbct to apply, just scroll down to ‘NBCT School News’ and choose the appropriate tab.

Ms. Heather Hall, teacher at Spanish Fort Middle School, got a surprise visit from WKRG to award her the Golden Apple Teacher of the Month award! The award came soon after she finished the fall Toro Theater performance!

Bayside Academy freshman Annie Midyett was selected by the Mobile Optimist Club as 1A–5A Runner of the Year for Mobile and Baldwin County. The Mobile Optimist Club recognizes cross country athletes during the season as Runners of the Week and then chooses one male and one female athlete from 1A–5A and 6A–7A as Runners of the Year. Annie was recognized at the Mobile Optimist Club’s luncheon on Thursday, November 18, 2021.

Annie was chosen as Runner of the Year in large part to her 4A State Championship individual win with a new 5K time school record of 18:59. Annie was presented her award by Arthur Mack, a Mobile Optimist Club member who makes the final selections.

Pictured: Bayside Academy freshman Annie Midyett with Mobile Optimist Club member Arthur Mack.

Mrs. Stewart’s First Grade class at Loxley Elementary School synergized with Mrs. Cissels 6th grade class to code with Microbits. The students learned how to make the Grinch’s digital heart grow!

It was a jolly day at BCVSS! Students and teachers alike enjoyed our Winter Wonderland, which included cookie decorating, games, singing, card making, hot cocoa, and spreading Christmas cheer.

Fairhope High Students in Coach Berry’s Outdoor activities class are moving forward with the Airbrushing Lures project. Local lure designer and friend of the Fairhope Fishing team, Green Fish Bait Brewery, donated the Airbrushing system for the students to learn the process of creating new lures or giving new life to old lures.

Florence B Mathis Elementary School Project Jubilee students took part in a Robotics Competition in December.

Spanish Fort Middle School Toro Theater presented The Twelve Daze of Christmas last month. They were magnificent!

Congrats to Air Force JROTC cadet Haley Wicker, a student at Baldwin County High School. She has been selected to the Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy. Haley is one of just 200 Air Force JROTC cadets worldwide to be selected out of more than 10,000 applicants.

Haley now has the opportunity to attend a university program next summer for 6-8 weeks where she will learn how to fly and earn her Private Pilot Certificate.

Fairhope High FBLA members Samantha Turner, Kate Bezeredi and Savannah Smith add “angels” to the 2021 FBLA Angel Tree. Each year, the student organization adopts several Fairhope “angels” to purchase items from their Christmas list for Christmas. Last year, the student organization purchased Christmas items for 21 Fairhope students with the help of students, other student organizations, faculty, and community donations.

Creativity meets learning! Renaissance School students learn about and create Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats.

Mrs. Steedley’s sixth grade science class designed, built, and demonstrated active volcanoes as the culmination of their science unit. Student scientists worked in groups and made their presentations to visiting classes of younger students. It was an explosive way to end their unit of study!

Renaissance School brings Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to life with a theatrical walk through!

So exciting to have Daphne High School football players come and join our Belforest family in getting into the Christmas spirit! These young men read some of their Christmas favorites to our kiddos, and we heard about elf and snowmen adventures from mischievous holiday characters! We love our Trojan family!

CTKCS students made over 500 cards and our families donated over 1500 granola bars in a special Thanksgiving outreach for local healthcare workers at Thomas Hospital. Assistant Principal Lisa McDuff and members of the CTKCS leadership team presented the gifts in a livestream event to Thomas Hospital representatives at school on Tuesday, November 23.

Fairhope East Elementary students are GLOWING for geometry in the STEAM lab! This week our students investigate 2D shapes, 3D shapes, measurement, area, and perimeter!

As part of the curriculum of the personal finance elective at St. Michael, students must learn how to be successful in a job interview. Thanks to Mrs. Missy Calvery, Mrs. Jill Roh and Mrs. Elizabeth Thomason (pictured here interviewing senior Luke Edmiston) for their assistance in serving as “mock” employers!

J. Larry Newton 6th graders Lance McKenzie, Baze Alexander, and Bryant McKenzie recently attended a fieldtrip to Dauphin Island with their teacher, Ms. A. Smith. The experience had such an impact on them that they are now working to support ocean cleanup and want to invite you to join their campaign. The boys are hoping to inspire other students and families to care more about taking care of our area and to increase contributions to the site they have chosen to support. You’re invited to contribute to the campaign or learn more about helping our environment at https://teamseas.org/. Thank you for supporting our students and ocean clean up.

J. Larry Newton Whitley Harrison and Joseph Muller, 6th graders in Mrs. Cassibry’s class, helped clean up Dauphin Island Beach in an effort to reduce human impact on our local environment.

Daphne High School Trojans student and AFJROTC Cadet De La Garza was recently selected to receive a full Flight Academy pilot scholarship to attend a college this summer to learn to fly.

This approximately $26,000 scholarship came from the United States Air Force for deserving AF JROTC students throughout the nation. This is one of only 200 scholarships handed out around the nation.

Cadet De La Garza’s application included physical fitness as well as Aviation Qualifying Testing in addition to other factors. Cadet De La Garza completed the Daphne High School AL-935 AF JROTC Honors Ground School class last year as part of his AF JROTC curriculum offering and passed the end-of-course FAA Ground School Exam in preparation for competing for this scholarship. Cadet De La Garza is interested in military aviation service after graduating from college.

Daphne East Elementary School Project Jubilee took a field trip to Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

Baldwin County Virtual Elementary School fourth grader, Matilda, delivered the treats and letters she and her classmates made to the Veterans Home in Bay Minette. They were very appreciative

J. Larry Newton first graders learned about chemical reactions in the Discovery Lab. They made candy canes out of pipe cleaners and added them to a borax mixture which eventually allowed crystals to form. Kamoni Figuerrao-Robbins is excited to see how her candy cane crystal is going to turn out!

Fairhope East Elementary 6th graders had a great time visiting Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

Mrs. Fleck’s environmental science students have been working on identifying an issue found in a local aquatic ecosystem, proposing a feasible solution to that problem, illustrating the methodology via posters and models, and taking action by writing letters to politicians. These Toros have been busy, and their presentations look incredible!

Renaissance School student facilitates Prodisee Pantry holiday food drive! Great job, Nick!

Mr. Brazell, Head of School, and seven CHCA seniors were invited to attend the annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast downtown in November. We are thankful for the opportunity to participate in these events in conjunction with the mayor’s administration.

We are so proud of the performance of the Daphne Elementary choir. They did a great job at Trojan Hall for A Christmas to Remember.

Bayshore friends and family enjoyed a wonderful performance of A Christmas Carol directed by BCS student Abi Doremus! We are so proud of all of our students that helped bring this fantastic play together!

Mrs. Davis‘s class at Fairhope West Elementary has adopted a calf called Lovie! Through Discover Dairy the class will receive updates and do zoom meetings with their host farm! They will get to watch the growth of their calf all year!

100% of the Class of 2022 at CHCA has applied to college. They have worked alongside Mrs. Cindy Hall, Academic and College Advisor, to reach this goal. We are proud of these seniors for taking this step to plan for their future!

Middle school math students at Summerdale School learned how to budget during a trip to the Penguin Patch. Students learned how to manage their money while trying to shop under strict financial constraints.

Project Outreach at Daphne High School celebrated the holidays with cookies hot cocoa, and ornament making! So fun!

Awesome art project with the Christmas Angel, Gabriel! Everyone at Belforest Elementary Art Club enjoyed painting Gabriel with lots of shiny gold metallic and sparkles with heavenly colors. The Daphne colors of Purple and Gold were used a lot.

Spanish Fort Middle 6th grade students in Mrs. Cochran’s 21st Century class are sharpening their multimedia skills. They recorded puppet shows today and are editing them using green screen technology.

South Baldwin Center for Technology marketed all their programs to Foley High recently to the entire 10th grade. If the student starts a dual enrollment CTE class in the 11th grade they could possibly graduate with up to 15 credit hours of free college credit in a high demand/high wage technical job field (welding/automotive /carpentry etc). Go CTE!

At Robertsdale Elementary School Mr. Amos’ students are learning their letters and sounds by playing a Team Sounds letter game.

Gulf Shores Middle School 8th graders cheerleaders Portia Hollis, Emmie Johnson, Ella Godbold, and Ella Gilbert were named All-Americans during their time at UCA Summer Camp at the Foley Sports Complex. They were invited to participate in a special Thanksgiving Day Parade at Walt Disney World.

Students from Florence B. Mathis Elementary School spread a little Christmas cheer to the medical staff at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center, in Foley. The idea originated from Isabella, the 2021 Mathis Red Ribbon Week Winner and a member of the school’s Peer Helper group.

Students collected breakfast bars, cookies, snacks, popcorn, coffees, and created a special coffee mug to show their appreciation for the health care workers. Students wanted to give back to the medical staff who have worked tirelessly this past year. While delivering the Christmas Cheer baskets students and staff from the school were interviewed by WKRG Debbie Williams

Congratulations to BCS Senior Virginia Rainer, who signed to swim at Milligan! We are so proud of you!

Students from Foley Elementary created beautiful ornaments for the Foley Fire Department. Chloe Crosby is the art teacher at Foley Elementary. The Fire Department brought a fire truck to pick up the ornaments.

J. Larry Newton students in Mr. Terry Janes’ class had a great time learning about the engineering process as they designed and built structures to withstand the weight of an encyclopedia for at least 10 seconds.

The Fairhope Police Department visited with tomorrow’s leaders! Students from the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership Program toured the facility and discussed issues with officers during their “Law & Government Day”.

Congratulations to the Bayshore Christian School Lady Eagles for placing 2nd in the state in the 1A-5A Classification! We are so proud of you ladies! Go Eagles!

The St. Michael Catholic High School annual girls retreat, “Known & Loved” was held recently at Camp Baldwin in Elberta. The girls experienced Mass, Adoration, Confession and small groups talks by guest speakers! Thanks to Miss Melanie Miller and Miss Gabrielle Smith for organizing this special weekend.

Thank you SEEDS for supporting our Daphne schools! Belforest Elementary received a $6000 grant school-wide grant. This grant will be used to purchase all students Leader in Me workbooks so they can continue learning characteristics of personal leadership. $4000 was provided to individual teachers for various educational materials, such as class books sets, STEAM kits for classrooms, social-emotional learning, and literacy learning materials in special education. Thank you to all our parents who support seeds events! The next event will be the 5K and Fun Run in the Spring!

Mrs. Nisewonger’s First Grade class at Fairhope West Elementary is loving Code.org

Daphne High School Fine Arts was well represented at the state Trumbauer theater competition with Isabel Davis, Savannah Crawford, Lilah Nagel, Sadie Houston, Addison Ratliff, Eve Woods and Jake Houston in attendance!

Daphne High School Trojans Football team members were special reading buddies at Daphne Elementary School.

Kindergarten and first graders at Fairhope West Elementary are collaborating in STEAM to code Beebot. (sight words, vocabulary, matching, and sequencing a story).

Congratulations to Fairhope Middle School 8th Grade Girls Basketball Team who were tournament champions! Go Pirates!

BCS Rhetoric students enjoyed a Shark Tank Project. Students teamed up to create an original product/service, they researched costs, wages, utility cost, profit/losses. Students had to translate their written proposal into an actual sales presentation! Great job students!