Student Spotlight – September 2024

Fairhope High School had a fantastic first day of school! For the class of 2025, it was the “last” first day. Today was filled with seeing old friends, making new friends, meeting teachers, learning some new rules and procedures. But in the end, it was just a super great day to be a pirate!

Some Fairhope East Elementary teachers and administrators attended the Kagan Summer Academy in Orlando, FL! They are gaining new insights and strategies to enhance student engagement and learning. We can’t wait to see the innovative ideas they bring back!

“Get Your Teach On” visited Daphne Elementary School teachers providing them with high energy and engaging content to kick off the 24-25 school year! Thank you to our Assistant Superintendent Ms. Renee Carter and Curriculum and Instructional Leader Ms. Janice Simon for joining the GYTO fun!

Daphne East Elementary School staff participated in Get Your Teach On, an educational professional development session, with all elementary teachers in Daphne. Engagement is key! Daphne East is looking forward to a great year!

Fairhope High School senior Will Garner participated in America in One Room: The Youth Vote. Attendees were assigned a deliberation group and met with other groups of opposing views to discuss hot topics surrounding the upcoming presidential election, such as healthcare, the environment, the economy, and democracy/elections. After their discussions, all 500 students gathered to watch a panel of experts on each topic, which included a few senators/ house representatives and major organization presidents (NAACP, Alliance to Save Energy, etc). Will said, “It was such a great opportunity to learn about differing views and the ‘why’ in others’ beliefs because, a lot of times, we tend to get so caught in our own beliefs that we villainize the opposing side. Because there were new voters from all 50 states, I was able to meet so many interesting people and become educated on a wide variety of topics.”
America In One Room was just named one of the largest and most important political experiments in United States history, with multiple major news outlets publishing what the youth’s most pressing issues are for the election from the results of of this event. We are so grateful Will got to be a part of this!!

Father Connor had a fantastic time with the CTKCS middle school students, sharing stories, cracking jokes, and connecting with them on the first day of school. CTK is very excited to have him play an integral role in guiding the students on their faith journey this school year!

The 72 members of Bayside Academy’s Class of 2025 donned their blue uniform shirts and crowns to celebrate their first official day as seniors on the first day of school on August 14 th . They had a True Blue Senior Breakfast and participated in an Admiral Walk before the traditional first day ice cream social.

Fairhope East Elementary School enjoyed a wonderful first day of school!

The students choose an enrichment based on their talents, abilities or interests. A new enrichment on campus is ‘Pirate Press’. The Pirate Press has a mission to discover and share in a weekly newsletter “West Wins” , those positive behaviors, activities and events happening on campus and in classrooms. In addition, the students will help with the yearbook and submissions to local print publications. Now this is definitely a West Win!
Pictured are Sawyer Smith, Aubrey Carlson, Ida Mae Myrick, Isaac Davis, and Ruby Rowe.

This year Daphne High School senior Emma Wessman has been elected Key Club Lieutenant Governor for all Baldwin County high schools. As a Lt. Governor, Emma leads and represents the Baldwin County division of Key Clubs, and serves as a liaison between school officers and the district board. We are so proud of our former club president and cannot wait to work with her to serve our community this year.

The Saints Welcome at CTK was a huge success! Our campus was filled with excitement as students, along with their families, brought in school supplies, met their teachers, and explored all the wonderful clubs and activities available this school year. We’re thrilled to kick off another great year together!

Congratulations to St. Michael senior Madi Taylor, who was elected by her peers to serve as President of the Student Ambassadors for the 2024-25 school year. Student Ambassadors are selected from a rigorous selection process and serve as hosts for various events at school and as representatives in the community. This year we gave our seniors these distinctive red blazers to wear when serving in this important capacity!

Bayside Academy celebrated the first day of school on Wednesday, August 14. We were excited to welcome all of our students back to campus for another great year!

The W. J. Carroll Team celebrated the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year with the Baldwin family at Institute. They are Baldwin Proud and looking forward to a fantastic school year!

The Daphne Middle School Trojans were well represented at the BCBE Institute celebration! With the start of a new school year, it’s great to be a DMS Trojan!

2nd Class Scout Brooks Williford of Troop 177 of Spanish Fort was awarded SALSA (Space Academy for Leading Students in AL).
He completed his Space Camp week at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville,AL. He learned skills in science, technology, engineering, math, critical thinking, leadership and teamwork as well as earning items for merit badges in Space Exploration and Astronomy.

Father Connor had a fantastic time with the CTKCS middle school students, sharing stories, cracking jokes, and connecting with them on the first day of school. CTK is very excited to have him play an integral role in guiding the students on their faith journey this school year!

Renaissance School staff train with Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. Safety is crucial for success! #RenaissanceSchool #ReawakeningEducation

As a ‘welcome back’ to Stonebridge Elementary School reminder, Ms. Nagle’s class discussed the power of “yet,” and read the story “Bubble Gum Brain.” After reviewing the concept of Growth Mindset, students tackled a hands-on tower-building competition, which required teamwork in planning and synergy in executing. It was a fantastic first day in fifth grade!

Faculty and staff at Christ the King Catholic School are committed to ensuring a safe environment for all our students. Before the start of school, they participated in a CPR refresher course, sharpening their skills and staying prepared for any emergency!

Congratulations to Belforest Elementary’s Henry Turner who won 1st place in the 2024 Pan Kids IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Orlando Male / Junior 2 / Grey / Ultra Heavy.
Henry attends Belforest Elementary as a 6th grader.

It’s official! Renaissance School of the Eastern Shore Elementary is now open. Below is a picture of the first-day fun in science at Renaissance School of the Eastern Shore Elementary! #RenaissanceSchool #ReawakeningEducation

Many classes at Fairhope West Elementary School enjoyed a fantastic first day of school. Mrs. Herrick’s 6th grade class is shown taking a picture with the sign to welcome back all students back to school.

The J. Larry Newton staff eagerly anticipated the arrival of students! They worked tirelessly to prepare a welcoming and engaging environment and are excited to embark on a new academic year filled with learning and growth. They can’t wait to meet all the students and begin this exciting journey together.

Thank you to Bryan Mott from MarMac Real Estate. He stopped at Daphne Elementary School and surprised one of the first grade teachers, Mrs. Ramsey, with a special gift for her hard work and dedication to her profession!
This generous act is just the start; next year, the program will honor second grade teachers, continuing annually to include the next grade level each subsequent year.
This initiative will become an annual “Back to School” giving program, created as a way of thanking educators for their invaluable commitment to our youth and community.

Renaissance School receives donations from the Daphne Moose Lodge to provide their new elementary school with playground equipment! #RenaissanceSchool #ReawakeningEducation

We love our new outdoor classroom space at Renaissance School of the Eastern Elementary! #RenaissanceSchool #ReawakeningEducation

Toothpaste words! Mrs. Glenn’s class at J. Larry Newton had fun with toothpaste, but also learned a valuable lesson. They were challenged to squirt the entire tube of toothpaste out! After their tube was empty, they had to use a toothpick to put the toothpaste back in the tube- IMPOSSIBLE. Just like words. When you say them, it’s not possible to take them back. We discussed hurtful words and decided to call these- toothpaste words. The sweet class decided to try to never use toothpaste words to hurt friends on the inside.

Pine Grove Elementary students can now book it to a Book Nook set up on campus, aimed at encouraging them to read for enjoyment. The new section includes a Book Vending Machine, cozy couch for reading, and shelves of books available for sharing. A ribbon cutting was held earlier today for the new Book Vending Machine which is stocked with multiple copies of popular books. Student Brycen Newsome had the honor of cutting the ribbon and making the first deposit for a book. PGES Librarian Monica Aplin shared that students earn special tokens which can be redeemed in the Book Vending Machine. Once a student deposits the coin, they can select a book of their choice to help grown their own personal home library.
All faculty members will be given tokens which will be awarded to students for reaching academic or behavior goals.
PGES Reading Coach Jaclyn Boatright also helped coordinate the Book Nook project and stock the bookshelves. “The Book Nook was created by displaying books in twos, so that students have access to books on the shelves at any time, but also associate reading with comfort and partner reading,” she explained. Students can stop by the Book Nook to grab a book to read and a book to share. Afterward, these books will be returned to be enjoyed by others. The couch in the Book Nook was donated by Baldwin Pest Control.
School officials said new titles will be added to continually replenish book supplies on the shelves and in the vending machine. “This new area encourages and supports availability of literature, partner reading, reading for enjoyment, and a culture of literacy here at Pine Grove School,” Mrs. Aplin said.

The new on-campus stadium at St. Michael Catholic High School is complete! The stadium will be blessed and dedicated by Archbishop Thomas Rodi on August 30th, before the first home football game!

Recently, elementary students in the Daphne feeder pattern had the opportunity to attend an amazing music camp hosted by a talented group of music teachers from Baldwin County. The free camp was fabulous and the students participated in many fun, hands-on activities. The music teachers leading the week-long camp included Daphne feeder teachers Jason Jackson, Samantha Bender, and Joylyn Ruffin plus Fairhope teacher Katie Rich and Spanish Fort teacher Veronica Hoffman. Thanks for a great week of music fun!

Rockwell Elementary School is so proud to announce that Rockwell is the 2024 Nappie Winner for Best Public School – Baldwin County!
Thank you to everyone for voting and continuous support. Rockwell is looking forward to another great school year!

The Robertsdale High School AP Computer Science class participated in the first annual “Rubber Ducky Draft” where students selected ducks as if they were part of the NFL Draft, presented their team name, gave their ducks fun names and explained why they chose that duck to represent them.
In Computer Science, rubber duck debugging is a method used by programmers to debug their code. The concept is simple: a programmer explains their code, line by line, to an inanimate object—often represented by a rubber duck. The act of explaining the code aloud forces the programmer to slow down and think through each part of their code, often leading to the discovery of the issue without needing another person to provide input.
All in all, it was a great way to kick off programming for the year and a fun way to get to know everyone and their unique personalities.

Congratulations to the Spanish Fort Elementary School assistant principal, Jaqueline Richardson, for winning the Nappie for the Best Principal in Baldwin County! This honor is so well deserved, and we are so excited to celebrate her!

Daphne High School had a great time greeting the Class of 2028. Orientation was quite the success with nearly all the 398 incoming freshmen in attendance. They were greeted by so many of the DHS upperclassmen who were here representing their clubs/organizations/athletic programs. The Peer Helpers took the lead sharing lots of information about DHS and touring the school. It was a great time reuniting with friends, meeting new friends, and eating pizza. Special thank you to all the staff and upperclassmen who volunteered their time.

Spanish Fort High School’s Toro Camp 2024 was a blast! Huge shoutout to the amazing teachers and volunteers for making it all happen. The band, cheer, and dance teams absolutely rocked it, and they had the best time welcoming the newest freshman Toros!

Spanish Fort High School welcomed back teachers with their very own Olympic Ceremony! Events included ice skating, archery, bowling, disc golf, sledding, and even equine dressing!
Thank you to Coach Kercher, who came out of retirement to be the Olympic MC!

Baldwin County Pen Pals! Mrs. McFarland’s Kindergarteners from Magnolia School have a new class goose named Honky Tonk, and Mrs. Barnes’s 7th graders at Spanish Fort Middle School have a goose named Gosling. These classes are excited to exchange letters, pictures, and essays reporting what their class goose is up to! We can’t wait to read about all their escapades!

Congratulations on a fantastic performance at the first assembly of the year at Spanish Fort Middle School. Eighth and seventh graders gathered in the gym to meet teachers and staff assigned to their grade level as well as receiving an overview of expectations from Principal Wheeler, SRO from The Spanish Fort Police Department Officer Correa, and the assistant principals. Students enjoyed a performance by the award-winning SFMS cheerleaders at both assemblies.

Bay Minette City Council recognized some outstanding fishermen who represented Baldwin County High School and the City of Bay Minette at the national level. The BCHS Fishing Team had three teams advance to the Bassmasters National Championship tournaments held at Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee.
The team of Kipton Hall and Wyatt Parker competed at the Bassmaster Junior National Championship and finished in fourth place overall.
Out of 15,000 teams across the United States, 273 teams were invited to the Bassmaster High School National Championship – including two from BCHS.
The team of Jameson Norris and Hunter Travis finished in 22nd place at nationals. The duo had previously finished in fifth place at Alabama BASS Nation High School State Championship to qualify for nationals. Luke England and Cole Rountree also had a great tournament and season. To qualify for Nationals, Luke and Cole finished in second place for the Angler of the Year for Alabama BASS Nation High School Tiger division. The team is led by Coach Will Galloway.

Bayside Academy has a long-standing tradition of celebrating the first day of school with an ice cream social. Many thanks to Kim and Steve Seward, parents of senior Aiden Seward, for providing more than 1,000 cups of ice cream for our students!

Foley Middle School is so proud of the hard work the cheerleaders and Coach Miggi Howard put in at summer camp. The squad came home with first place in cheer and spirit over all and third place in camp routine. Their four All Americans were KeKe, Harleigh, Riley, and Haley. Bristol and Harleigh were selected as Pin it Forward winners. Congratulations to the entire squad and their coach!

Four rising seniors at Bayside Academy—Sophia Haines, Lanee Imperato, Virginia McCrory, and Hudson Wilmott—were selected to attend Alabama Governor’s School (AGS). AGS is a 13-day residential program housed at Samford University that provides academic, creative, and leadership experiences for gifted rising high school juniors and seniors in Alabama. It is a highly selective program that chooses the best students from around the state to take challenging seminars and participate in team-building activities.
Pictured: Bayside Academy seniors Virginia McCrory, Sophia Haines, Lanee Imperato, and Hudson Wilmott at Alabama Governor’s School

For the 1st day of school: At Bayshore Christian School, we kicked off another year of faith, learning, and community! Here’s to a year of growth and excellence as we nurture the leaders of tomorrow.

The Bay Minette 12U All-Stars had a great run and ended the season as the Southwest Regional Championship Runners-Up. The Regional competition took place in Starkville, Mississippi. The Bay Minette All-Stars baseball team was 6-0 headed into the regional championship game after defeating teams representing Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. It was an all-Alabama final as Bay Minette faced off against Semmes in the title game.
The Bay Minette12U All-Star team enjoyed a record of 19-7 including district, state and regional play. All-Star team members included Kolby Booth, Brody McGuff, Conner Miller, Lane McGuff, Ethan Welborn, Lake Bounds, Easton Reid, John Ayden Smith, Parker Lassitter, Caden Dorough and Coaches Robby Reid, Lauren Bounds and Michael Dorough.

Renaissance School of the Eastern Shore Middle School/High School celebrated their first day with their annual Blessing of the Seniors. #RenaissanceSchool #ReawakeningEducation

The Stapleton School posse has returned and the 2024 Stapleton School Kindergarten Round-Up is in the books! The staff had a rip roarin’ time welcoming many of the incoming kindergarten cowpokes to what is sure to be a rootin’ tootin’ mighty fine new school year!

The Baldwin County Virtual School team kicked off the school year with a full day of Professional Development Olympian style and had their first PLC of the school year!

The Magnolia Morale Chorale kicked off the school year with a great giveaway! Congratulations to Mrs. Christopher for winning the Texas Roadhouse gift card and basket of supplies!

Congratulations to these Elberta Middle School warriors who are known for showing up!
These students had perfect attendance last year! Attendance Clerk Melody Gilley presented them with their Athletic Passes for free entry into all Elberta athletic event, proving that showing up pays off!

For the Seniors, Class of 2025: Congratulations to Bayshore Christian School’s Class of 2025! As they embark on their final year, we celebrate their achievements and the bright futures ahead.

With hearts full of gratitude, we at Bayshore Christian School rejoiced in the ribbon cutting of our Logic & Rhetoric campus last month, witnessing God’s provision and faithfulness firsthand. Praise God for this wonderful milestone in our mission to nurture minds and hearts for His glory!

The Baldwin County High School Tigerettes are superior dancers and have earned a bid for nationals. The dance team earned a superior rating during the Universal Dance Camp held at the University of Southern Mississippi. The team earned All Superior – blue ribbons – for individual evaluations, Drill Down Team winner and numerous Gold drill down ribbons.
Drill Down Princess, Madeline Hartley was named the Drill Down Princess and Shelby Stewart was second runner-up in the final drill downs. The Tigerettes had seven named as All-American Dancers: Cale Jones, Abbi Paul, Emma-Claire Simpson, Addison Scarborough, Madeline Hartley, Eleesia Emmons, and Hayden Drew. The team also earned second place for Varsity Home Routine competition. The Tigerettes also won a Spirit Stick each day and received two pin it forwards (kindness recognition) – Cale Jones & Emma-Claire Simpson.
The Junior Varsity team also received a Superior rating, as well as all Superior & Excellence – blue & red ribbons – for individual evaluations. The team had two selected as All-American Dancers: Kaydence Scott and Paxtan Bazzel. The team earned the Most Improved award, one Pin it forward (kindness recognition) – A’alayia McClain, and a Spirit Stick every day.
Coach Elizabeth Byrd said “both teams were exceptional representatives of our program!! They worked so hard. They are both artists and true athletes. It is going to be a fantastic football season.”

These 10 Elberta Middle School students made 4s, the highest score possible, on all sections of the ACAP last year! Membership in the “All 4s Club” earns them an athletic pass for free entry into all Elberta home games and free entry into all school dances. They will also have their individual pictures displayed on our EMS Wall of Excellence! We are so proud of these young scholars!

1st graders had a fun first day of school at Swift Consolidated Elementary School! They got to meet new friends (and old), they learned new classroom procedures, and they got to practice working as a team in a fun math counters sorting activity where they had to sort the counters by like colors and then place them in order from least to greatest! It’s going to be an awesome year for learning adventures!

Florence B Mathis Elementary School welcomed their teachers back to school with a view! The teachers spent their first day back learning important updates about the school, as well as participating in various Kagan teambuilding activities. The staff’s buckets are filled! They are recharged and ready to start the 2024-2025 school year!
Thank you to community partners The Lodge at Gulf State Park, The Track Gulf Shores AL, and Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana, PC for providing the staff with this beautiful location and delicious meals!

Silverhill Elementary School’s Guiding Coalition had a wonderful time growing and collaborating in North Carolina at the Solution Tree PLC Conference!

Florence B Mathis Elementary School held their annual Partners in Education Breakfast to show their appreciation for the amazing businesses that partner with the school. They say it takes a village, and are so grateful for all the support they receive from the community!

The first day Foley Elementary School teachers were back in the building was spent completing Kagan training. A day of learning how to improve student engagement, collaboration, cooperative learning, and team building brought excitement and smiles.

Foley High School hosted the 4th annual Lion Pride Conference this morning! Foley High is excited to welcome the new team members!

The Central Baldwin Middle faculty and staff attended the BCBE Institute Celebration and had an absolute blast celebrating the new school year.

Check out the new band trucks that were introduced to the high school band programs this summer. The trucks will assist the band departments in transporting equipment to events, games, concerts, and competitions. All seven high schools received at least one new truck complete with side exterior lights, a power lift gate, side door access, and more.

This summer Foley Middle School’s Nurse Lori Knotts was recognized as the first (and only) National Board-Certified School Nurse in Baldwin County. We are proud of you!

Baldwin County Public School students returned to the classroom today and there were lots of smiles (and some tears) at Bay Minette Elementary School. This year, students there is no mandatory uniform policy for students. With the start of a new school year comes traffic congestion as parents and school buses make their way to campus for morning drop-offs and afternoon pick-ups. Bay Minette Police and Fire Department personnel were on site this morning to assist with traffic and reminds every to please be patient as drivers, walkers and bicyclists make their way to school – especially on these first few days. It may be best to avoid school areas during the morning and afternoon rush.
Pictured: Principal Allyson Maxwell helps students find their way to their classroom on the first day at Bay Minette Elementary.