Student Spotlights January 2023

Fairhope East Elementary 6th grade STEAM students taught 2nd graders all about paper circuits. They created a simple circuit to create an LED holiday card.

The Keva Engineering Club at J. Larry Newton had a blast engineering the highest tower!

Belforest Elementary 5th Grade Project Jubilee visited Flightworks. The students learned all about Sublimation, Aerospace, and flying drones with the four forces of flight.

Congratulations to Daphne East Elementary Spelling Bee winner, runner up, and the participates!
Winner- Josiah Dandridge 6th grade
Runner Up- Lundyn Hackworth 6th grade

The Alabama School Counselor Association held its annual awards luncheon on Thursday, November 17 during the Alabama Counseling Association Conference. During this awards luncheon, Mrs. Natalie Ward and Mrs. Kim Powell, school counselors from Belforest Elementary School; and Mrs. Dianna Wolchina and Mrs. Kim Windham, school counselors from the Baldwin County Secondary Virtual School, were recognized for winning the Program of Distinction Award.
The Alabama School Counseling Program of Distinction recognizes school counseling programs that demonstrate an exemplary level of implementation of a comprehensive, data-driven school counseling program. The application process for this prestigious award is an all-inclusive collection of 18 components that align with the Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Model for Alabama Public Schools (State Plan) and the American School Counselor Association National Model. Recipients of the Alabama School Counseling Program of Distinction also receive the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) Award, which is the highest award any school counseling program can earn.
In attendance at the awards luncheon to help celebrate these school counselors were Mr. Eddie Tyler, Superintendent; Mr. Marty McRae, Assistant Superintendent; Ms. Patrice Davis, Prevention and Support Services Coordinator; Mrs. Rocky Moore, Assistant Principal, Baldwin County Secondary Virtual School; and Mrs. Gina McClure, Assistant Principal, Belforest Elementary School.
Congratulations are extended to Kim Powell, Natalie Ward, Kim Windham, and Dianna Wolchina for achieving this exceptional honor and recognition. They join the ranks of the other ten schools from Baldwin County who have achieved this monumental milestone.

Baldwin EMC surprised Mrs. Frank, J. Larry Newton School Media Specialist, with grant funding to start a new Vox Book collection!
The Vox Books are just like our other library books, but also have the special ability to read the story to our students. These are a fabulous addition to our library for our emerging readers, ESL students, and all of our students that just love to have a great story read to them.
Thank you Baldwin EMC for giving back to our community and helping stoke our students’ love of reading!

Congratulations to Daphne High School teachers Nikki Minoso and Mary Donna Helms. Together they are the recipients of Daphne High’s annual Spirit of Daphne Award. This award was born out of an idea to recognize individuals who embody the Trojan Spirit. Minoso and Helms have worked together for years to create experiences for the Daphne community, and it is in these experiences we come to know ourselves as family. We are grateful for both of you.

Mrs. Norrell’s and Mrs. Marshall’s students at Daphne Middle School have been hard at work in class recently learning about trial and courtroom procedures in their current unit of study. The classes recently traveled to Montgomery to see the judicial system in action.

Belforest Elementary first graders experienced a theatrical performance, Tiramisu With a Touch of Christmas. Afterwards, the students picnicked at Centennial Park, and with the help of parent volunteers, made a keepsake ornament. The children enjoyed learning about Christmas traditions!

Congratulations to the DHS Trojan Theatre kids for their fantastic weekend at the State Trumbauer Theatre Festival. They were all fantastic competitors in their events, cheerleaders for each other, and supporters of the arts. A special congratulations goes out to the following for their State wins:
ACT Performance Scholarship Recipient – Savannah Crawford
ACT Performance Scholarship 1st Alternate Recipient – Isabelle Davis
Chelsea Williams – 3rd Place Musical Comedic Solo
Audrey Alcathie – 2nd Place Musical Dramatic Solo
Jake Houston & Cole Wilson – 2nd Place Musical Comedic Duo
Sadie Houston & Lauren Taylor – 3rd Place Musical Comedic Duo
Emily Mercer & Olivia Powe – 2nd Place Duet Pantomime

Mrs. Hurst’s class at Stonebridge Elementary worked with fractions and data collection while doing a winter craft.

Stonebridge Elementary held the official ribbon cutting for the new elementary school located in the Spanish Fort Feeder pattern. Members of the school’s Lighthouse Team were on hand to commemorate the official opening of the school along with Loxley Mayor Teal, Spanish Fort Mayor McMillian, State School Board Representative Jackie Ziegler, community representatives, BCBE Board Members and staff.
An overview of the 132,235 S.F. elementary school includes:
• Shelter incorporated in classroom wing
• 56 Classrooms
• 2-Pre-K Classrooms
• 2-STEM Classrooms
• 6 Special Needs Classrooms
• 2-Pathway Classrooms
• Cafetorium with seating for 480 with Stage
• Gymnasium with seating for 450
• Chorus Room
• Band Room
• Media Center with collaborative seating
• Security Cameras for the entire campus
• Covered Car Rider and Bus Drop off areas

Spanish Fort Elementary students in Mrs. Montee’s class were on the case today! The detectives used their fact and opinion skills to solve cases and figure out who did it!

Spanish Fort Middle School band and choir had the privilege of traveling to all 3 elementary schools today to spread a little Christmas cheer!

Silverhill students are spreading holiday cheer to soldiers in the army. We would like to thank one of our parents, Ms. Stabler, for reaching out to give us the opportunity to make Christmas cards for Mr. Chipper Drinkard and his friends who will spend their holidays serving our country in Germany.

4th graders in Mrs.James’ and Mrs Oppliger’s classes at Foley Elementary School had an “elf-mazing” time on their field trip to see Elf, Jr. at the Foley Civic Center. Thank you so much to the Foley High School Drama Department- the show was phenomenal!

Thanks Toros for donating enough canned goods to the Spanish Fort Middle School Prodisee Pantry food drive to earn the school a PJ Day!

A HUGE congratulations to Ms. Brittany Eames and Ms. Carol Turner for earning National Board Certification! These two friends and amazing educators have been working very hard to earn this distinguished title. If you wander into the classroom of either teacher, you will consistently find students actively participating in collaborative and engaging learning experiences. Ms. Eames and Ms. Turner join Dr. Salinas and Dr. Brantley as National Board Certified educators at RHS. We have another group of teachers currently in the process of attaining this certification. We are so proud!

Field trip fun in Mrs. Brockett’s class! Foley High School put on an awesome production of Elf Jr. Then we went to the park to picnic and mail our Santa letters!

Mrs. Foran’s fifth grade class at Elsanor Elementary School showing off their Recycled Art Projects. The students took trash and turned it into art or something useable. Some students made windchimes, a guitar, birdhouses, maracas, shields, ornaments, and more!

Renaissance School Seniors, Hunter Moore, Gabe Reynier, and Jonathon McCammon, have been accepted and have chosen Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida to obtain their bachelor’s degrees. Hunter and Gabe will major in Computer Science, and Jonathon will major in Business. They have all completed dual enrollment classes at Coastal Community College. Beacon representative Katy Reinke even traveled and presented their acceptance certificates in person in front of the entire school. Congratulations!

W. J. Carroll Intermediate School is so excited to share that five of our teachers were awarded grants to fund projects for their classrooms. We were also awarded funding for the CompassIILife youth mentoring program for our school! WJC was awarded a total of $13,500 by our Daphne education foundation, SEEDS, Supporting Educational Excellence in Daphne Schools. Congratulations to Mrs. Erin Tyler, Mrs. Samantha Bender, Mrs. Pam Earle, Dr. Blair Heald, and Mrs. Jessica Johnson! We want to thank SEEDS for continuing to support the education of our Daphne students each year!

Ella Thorjusen and Eden Fillingim (and Corey Bentley from Foley Middle) competed in a Hackathon at the Alabama School of Math and Science last October, competing against High School students. Their project won second place and they were asked to come back and present their project to the mayor of Mobile, Sandy Stimpson at the Innovation Portal facility in downtown Mobile. Their presentation was a hit! They met the mayor and toured the facility. Innovation Portal is a shared space and nonprofit incubator for accelerating startup growth for entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives. They also met with Nathaniel Nuon, Co-founder of 3rd Realms Creations, base in Mobile, which makes the Megaverse virtual reality arenas and virtual production systems for movies (similar to Mandalorian series virtual sets).

The Baldwin County High School Cheerleaders placed second in Varsity Coed at the Alabama High School Athletic Association. Coach Lindsey White said this is the first time in school history that our school has placed at the State level and noted that there are only award placements for the top two teams – so this is a tremendous feat. “These athletes have put in countless hours of work since March to accomplish this goal. We want to thank each one of you for the support you have given this team,” White said. BCHS Cheer Coaches include Lindsey White, Chelsea McCain and Alex Sutherland #playlikealadytiger

On Friday, December 9, Bayside Academy kindergarten parents had a Christmas breakfast on the bluff with their children. All attendees were clad in Christmas pajamas and snuggled on family blankets. The children sang Christmas carols for their parents and were read a holiday story by Head of School Dr. Scott Phillipps. The event was a surprise for the children, who thought they were singing only for Dr. Phillipps and were thrilled to be greeted by their parents on the bluff as well! A joyous time was had by all. Pictured: Bayside Academy kindergarteners sing carols for their parents during their Kindergarten Christmas celebration on the Bayside bluff.

Fairhope East Elementary Students visited Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Squid dissection was just one of the activities the students experienced.

Baldwin County High School has selected Kayland Lamar as its 2022 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Lamar is an alumnus of BCHS with the Class of 2007. She has taught Science at her Alma Mater since 2018. She earned a Masters in Secondary Education with an Emphasis in Biology and recently completed eMints training. She has served in many roles at BCHS including Freshman Class Sponsor, Leadership Team, and Co-Founder and current sponsor of Beta Chi Sigma Service Organization and Step Team.

Renaissance School Senior, Mary-Camila Klotz was recently inducted into Phi Theta Kappa (Junior College Honor Society), and has chosen to attend Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. She has received a Presidential Scholarship and a Ponce De Leon Scholarship. She will major in Musical Theatre and minor in Education. She will have the ability to audition for theatre scholarships in Fall of 2023. Congratulations!

Many students have finished their self-portraits and have art on display!! Kinder-2nd learned about printmaking and texture & focused on drawing their whole bodies to include all facial features, arms with legs, and legs with feet. 3rd grade is completing self portraits with the theme, “Begin with the end in mind” and including their future careers. 4th-6th grades have learned how to identify an artist’s style and made portraits in the style of Tim Burton. They also learned about values and shading to add depth to their drawings.

Bay Minette Elementary held a blanket drive in support of North Baldwin White Christmas, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing holiday assistance to children of low-income families who reside in North Baldwin County.
Members of the school’s Lighthouse Team helped with the blanket drive and were on hand for the presentation to White Christmas representatives. NBWC serves children from newborn through 12-years of age. The non-profit will have a booth set up at Christmas Fest to take additional requests for assistance.

Congratulations to St. Michael Academic support teacher, Katie Beckmann, for being awarded a Star Light Grant from Operation Round Up/Baldwin EMC! THe grant will allow her to purchase The Big Life Journal – Teen Edition, which helps teens to discover the power of their brain and mindset, understand they are in charge of their own lives and happiness, turn their negative self-talk into positive and empowering, practice setting goals, and learn to overcome challenges and setbacks!

On Thursday, November 17th, 2022, the St. Michael Model UN Team traveled to Conway, Arkansas to participate in the 57th Annual Arkansas Model UN (AMUN) Conference. The 34 St. Michael students were part of the over 400 students from 26 high schools from Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas competing in AMUN 2022. The SMCHS team competed with prowess and poise, winning 19 awards, including the second highest award!

Under the direction off Logan Lane, an alumni of Foley High School Theatre Department, Foley High School Theatre students performed a total of four performances of ELF THE MUSICAL JR. in one day! Three of those shows were performed for elementary students from our Foley feeder pattern! We had the pleasure of performing for nearly 1,000 elementary school students. We are so thankful that all of these students got to experience the magic of live theatre!
Mr. Lane’s theatre classes worked incredibly hard to mount this production after our theatre department had just finished a successful production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS!
The Foley High School Theatre Department is making good on its promise of providing quality theatrical experiences for our community. We hope this is the beginning of many more community partnerships! We can’t wait to see what is in store for our final production in April: FREAKY FRIDAY THE MUSICAL!
There are many reasons to be proud to be a Foley Lion; our theatre program is one of them!
GO LIONS!!! (Provided by Foley High School Theatre Department)

Congratulations to 1st place winner 5th grader Caroline Cutler for the beautiful bookmark she submitted to the Daphne Public Library 2022 Children’s Bookmark Contest! We are so proud of our students who placed in this contest with their amazing artwork! Go Bayshore!

Renaissance School achieves dual accreditation through Accreditation International and National Council for Private School Accreditation. This was a 5-year process, and they passed with flying colors. Congratulations!

St. James students enjoyed riding in the Fairhope’s annual Magical Christmas Parade.

Congratulations to BCS seniors Ashlyn Whiteside, Mikael Bryant, John Malone, and Streed Crooms on their outstanding achievements as student-athletes. Each celebrated with friends, families, teammates, and coaches at Signing Day. Signing Day represents a binding agreement between athletes and the colleges they choose.

BCS cheerleaders had a blast walking in the Fairhope Christmas Parade! We loved seeing our BCS & ESPC community celebrating this festive time of year!

This year for Renaissance School’s annual Christmas Production, Ms.Darby took everyone on a theatrical walk through to celebrate Christmas Around the World! This was an original piece that Ms. Darby and the students brought to life. Pictured below is Australia!

Congratulations to Trip Duke on winning the overall boys title at the SJGT Tournament of Champions. He won the strong field of 30 previous winners by a commanding 8 shots!

Bayside Academy sophomore Catherine Doyle and senior Ty Postle were selected by the Mobile Optimist Club as the 1A–5A Runners 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. Catherine and Ty were recognized at the Mobile Optimist Club’s luncheon on Thursday, November 17.

Catherine’s personal best 5K time of the season is 18:57, which set a new school record. Ty’s personal best time of 16:28 remains the second-best time in school history.

We are so very proud of these runners! Pictured: Bayside Academy’s Ty Postle and Catherine Doyle are joined by Varsity Cross Country Coach Joe Swagart.

Ms. C’s Visual Arts classes at Bay Minette Middle School share their love and respect in the season of giving. Students made Veterans Day handmade poppy flower notecards and handwritten letters of love and gratitude for our William F. Greene Veteran’s.

This quarter, Bayside Academy students were given the opportunity to compete in the annual creative writing contest hosted by Alabama Independent Schools Association (AISA). The prompt invited students to imagine opening their own restaurant and asked that they describe it vividly, including details about its menu, location, and vibe. School-level winners include “Kindness Cafe” in the Grades 3–5 division written by 5th grader Andrew Ray, “A La Mars” in the Grades 9–10 division written by 9th grader Kay Knoth, and “Pronto!” in the Grades 11–12 division written by 11th grader Isabelle Rutland.

Congratulations to these talented writers! They will now move to the state level of competition. Pictured: Bayside Academy students Andrew Ray, Kay Knoth, and Isabelle Rutland

Bayside Academy is proud to congratulate our 2022 winners of the South Alabama Land Trust (SALT) Photo Contest. The contest is sponsored by SALT to showcase the natural beauty of coastal Alabama. To view the winning photography, please visit https://southalabamalandtrust.org/salt-photo-contest/.

Junior Fauna
First Place: Sophia Haines ‘25

Junior Flora
First Place: Elizabeth Ernest ‘24
Second Place: Sophia Haines ‘25
Third Place: Garrek Snell ‘26

Junior Habitat
First Place: Thomas Hearin ‘24

Junior People in Nature
First Place: Elizabeth Ernest ‘24
Second Place: Elin Backman ‘25

We are very proud of our talented students and the amazing work they produce!
Pictured: First place photographs taken by Bayside Academy students: “Evanescent Green Sea Turtle Embryo” by Sophia Haines; Junior Flora winner by Elizabeth Ernest; “Sky is on Fire” by Thomas Hearin; “Man in the Boat” by Elizabeth Ernest.

Renaissance School has some exciting and educational activities during their annual International Day.

Congratulations to Kinley Hermecz and Reygan Watson! They were selected this summer by UCA/Varsity as All-American Cheerleaders and had the opportunity to march in the Walt Disney Works Magic Kingdom’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We are so proud of their accomplishments! Way to go Reygan and Kinley! Go Lions!

First Grade Literary Cooking Club listened to Christmas Cookies and Cookiesaurus Christmas and decorated Christmas cookies!

Students (and faculty) joined the Fairhope High School counseling department in operation “Christmas Cards for Our Troops!” The cards were sent to service members deployed during this holiday season. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this project!

Foley Middle School Peer Helpers visited Foley Elementary first grade. Everyone got to find their reindeer name.

Congratulations to Spanish Fort High School Cheerleader Captain, Mikayla Gaffney, for making All-American. As part of this honor, Mikayla performed in Walt Disney World!

Congratulations to Anna and Adalyn for representing Spanish Fort Middle School Cheerleaders in Walt Disney World! These two ladies were chosen as All American Cheerleaders at UCA Cheer Camp this summer. They were both invited to participate in the Varsity All American Disney World Tour and performed in a parade at the Magic Kingdom! Wow! Awesome job girls!

Summerdale School students led an assembly to kick start student-led conference day. As a bonus, we celebrated our students reaching their fundraising goal, and then DOUBLING it, so Mrs. Ducote kissed a goat, as promised!!!

It was a great day to celebrate Elberta Elementary being selected as the US. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School. Students, staff, administrators, BCBE Board members, elected leaders, and others were on hand to celebrate the hard work of the school. Congratulations!

We had an amazing time with our Daphne High School Football buddies reading to us today.

3rd and 4th grade hospitality club members at Fairhope West Elementary are hard at work planning a virtual tour of our campus. It will be posted on our school website once it’s completed. Stay tuned!

3rd and 4th grade Video Club members learned how to use the green screen to create special effects. Then, they used their new skills to place themselves into a scene with the Grinch!

8th graders at Christ the King Catholic School led rotations for the younger students to learn about St. Nicholas on his feast day. Students watched a little performance about St. Nicholas, illustrated a book, participated in an activity, and created a festive miter during these rotations.

Abbie Haygood of Fairhope, AL, has been selected by Troy University as a member of “The 87”. The 87, formerly Who’s Who, recognizes juniors, seniors and graduate students who have excelled in campus leadership and in their academic area. Selections are made based on academic standing, community service, leadership ability and potential for continued success.

Junior high students at Christ the King Catholic School participated in a Mini Course Day. Students went to three different courses throughout the day. These courses offered students something new beyond the typical school day. Junior high students had the opportunity to learn new skills, show off their creativity, and find new interests. Archery, casting, pour painting, and cooking were just some of the courses offered on Mini Course Day. This is a new tradition at CTKCS and has quickly become a favorite day for students!

S.O.C.K.S (Servants Of Christ the King Students) is a service club composed of all CTK fifth graders. The club provides an opportunity for students to work on their Catholic Formation through service and volunteerism for our community. Students worked on the final stage of the “Chemo Blankets” service project in December. They made 30 blankets for patients undergoing chemotherapy at the Southern Cancer Center. These blankets will help keep patients comfortable while undergoing their treatments at the center.

Congratulations to Emma Hsiao, for being selected as the Carson Scholars nominee for Spanish Fort High School! Carson Scholars are students who exemplify academic excellence and humanitarian qualities. Winners receive a $1000 scholarship to be invested towards their college education, along with a recognition package and an awards banquet. We wish Emma the best of luck as she pursues this great opportunity!

BCS Upper School students enjoyed the last Colloquy of the semester with some fun competitions making gingerbread houses. Students were split into two teams by grade level to compete with each other. Fellowship and laughter abounded!