Student Spotlights – February 2025

Mrs. Kraynak and Mrs. Cisneros have been learning new, innovative strategies this week at the FETC conference in Orlando, FL. They are excited to explore these new methods at the Future of Education Technology conference and are eager to bring fresh ideas back to their students!

Chilly mornings call for hot chocolate! Christ the King Pastor Fr. Savoie treated students at CTKCS to hot chocolate to combat the cold weather we’ve had lately.

Last month, our very first St. Michael Catholic High School graduating class (Class of 2019) hosted the very first St. Michael reunion, organized by former SGA President Michael Pierce. It’s hard to believe it’s already been 5 years since they flew out into the world. These Cardinals are doing amazing things, and we couldn’t be more proud! It’s such a joy to see them come back together, reconnect, and share their journeys.
Once a Cardinal, always a Cardinal!

The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. This award recognizes and rewards high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. SMCHS senior Anna Kiernan has been chosen to represent St. Michael this year. Great job Anna!

Bayside Academy’s Middle School math team finished as champions and the Upper School math team finished runner-up at the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) District Math Competition at St. Paul’s Episcopal School yesterday. Each school in the competition is permitted a middle school and a high school team, with each team allowed five competing members and one alternate, and the top four scores are used to determine the winners. The high school team has a ciphering round where four members answer four questions each.
Middle school mathletes were 8 th graders Don Chen, Addy Fribourg, Owen Swagart, Avery Therrell, Owen Williamson, and Kellan Yamane. Don Chen earned a perfect score of 50 points and was the highest individual scorer of the middle school competition.
High school mathletes were seniors Montgomery Beall, Mai Mai Chatwood, Jared Dull, Micah Howard, Lanee Imperato, and Romann Odic. Jared Dull was the highest scorer.
The entire middle school team and Jared Dull will represent Bayside Academy at the AISA State Math Competition in Montgomery on January 31. The team sponsor is Joe Swagart.
Picture 1: Bayside Academy Middle School Math Team members Don Chen, Owen Williamson, Addy Fribourg, and Kellan Yamane. Owen Swagart and Avery Therrell are not pictured, as they had to return to school immediately following the math competition to compete in the Spelling Bee.
Picture 2: Bayside Academy Upper School Math Team members Mai Mai Chatwood, Lanee
Imperato, Micah Howard, Jared Dull, Romann Odic, and Montgomery Beall.

We are diving into los 5 sentidos at Nature Connect School— oído (hearing), vista (sight), tacto (touch), olfato (smell), and gusto (taste)! Our students love learning Spanish with Marcela from Spanish for all LLC. She brings so much joy and creativity to our enrichment program, making each lesson a fun, hands-on experience! ¡Gracias, Marcela, for sharing your passion and helping us explore the world through language and senses!

Bayshore Christian School is thrilled to celebrate the winners of this year’s Spelling Bee! Laura Cate Carrigan earned 1st Place, with Tucker Lantz taking 2nd Place and Indie Gregg securing 3rd Place.
We are proud of all the students who participated and showcased their talents. May God continue to bless their hard work and dedication!

Bayside Academy senior Annie Midyett and junior Shelby Fargason were selected to the Super 7 Cross Country team. Several cross country coaches from Mobile and Baldwin Counties gathered together to select seven young men and seven young women from the AHSAA in these two counties to be recognized.
Annie was chosen following her season-best time of 19:19 at the AHSAA 6A State Meet. She placed third at the Baldwin County Championships and finished 17 th in the state meet.
Shelby was chosen following her season-best time of 18:58 at the Jesse Owens Classic. She finished first at the Baldwin County Championships and 9 th in the state meet, qualifying for All-State recognition.
We are so proud of Annie and Shelby!
Pictured: Bayside Academy’s Shelby Fargason and Annie Midyett

The Foley High School Model UN students recently competed in the county Model UN competition. We brought home several awards. Our students were professional, worked hard, and represented Foley well! This year’s topics were very challenging which makes these awards even more of an honor!
Foley took home the only award an entire delegation (country) can win for our students who represented the United Kingdom!
Here are the 5 awards we brought home:
Outstanding Delegation- United Kingdom- Preston Taylor, Michael Repzinski, Dylan Lockhart, Kennedy Brown
Premier Diplomat- Social and Humanities Committee- Dylan Lockhart – The United Kingdom
Outstanding Diplomat Social and Humanities Committee- Emma Loyola– Columbia
Premier Speaker- Social and Humanities Committee- Emma Loyola– Columbia
Outstanding Diplomat-Political and Security Committee- Preston Taylor– United Kingdom

Thank you to everyone who made our 17th annual Bayshore Benefit such a success! From our generous sponsors and auction donors to our dedicated volunteers and attendees, your support was truly inspiring.
Together, we celebrated the mission of Bayshore Christian School and the incredible impact we can make as a community. We are so grateful for your partnership and look forward to what God has in store for the future!

Congratulations to the Pine Grove Elementary School students, Kale’, Faith, Weston & Marquel from Mrs. Downing’s class for crossing the Race to Read finish line!

Let’s give a big round of applause to Pine Grove Elementary School student Andriyah Hale for achieving perfect attendance in December! Congratulations on winning a brand-new bike! Keep up the amazing work! Thank you to Wind Creek Casino for sponsoring this monthly incentive!

Congratulations to CTKCS Spelling Bee winner Brendan Schott! He had incredible competition, and our middle school students did an excellent job. Best of luck to Brendan as he advances to the Archdiocese of Mobile Spelling Bee.

The Silverhill elementary School 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year, is Mrs. Geiger! Mrs. Geiger is a kindergarten teacher who displays her passion for education and her students daily! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to our Silverhill family!

The winner of the Silverhill Elementary School Spelling Bee for the 2024-2025 school year is Samuel Kannair from Mrs. Green’s 4th grade class. The 2nd place winner is Gabriel Rosa from Mrs. Clark’s 6th grade class. We are so proud of everyone who participated!

We are proud to announce that Senior Alex Potier has been nominated for the prestigious 2025 Bryant Jordan Scholar Athlete Award. This nomination highlights Alex’s remarkable achievements on and off the field, recognizing his dedication to academics, athletics, and leadership.
The Bryant-Jordan Foundation, established to honor the legacies of legendary Alabama coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Ralph “Shug” Jordan, awards scholarships to student-athletes across Alabama who demonstrate exceptional academic performance, athletic success, and perseverance. The foundation’s Scholar-Athlete Program celebrates individuals who embody excellence in the classroom and in their sports, while its Achievement Award Program honors those who have overcome significant obstacles to achieve success.
Nationally recognized as one of the top 15 players in the country, Alex was selected to represent the USA on the Youth National Team and is considered the top player in his position nationwide. He is also one of only 15 juniors across the United States to earn a coveted spot on the National Team, where he recently served as team captain and was named MVP during an international tournament by the National Olympic Development coaches.
At the state level, Alex’s accomplishments are equally impressive. A two-time Alabama state champion, Alex has earned All-State and All-County honors and will make history this season as Daphne High School’s first three-year soccer captain. “Few players from 7A schools in our region have achieved the same level of local, state, and national recognition as Alex,” said Coach Heath Burt, “His unparalleled commitment and achievements make him an exemplary nominee for the Bryant Jordan Scholar Athlete Award.”
In addition to his athletic achievements, Alex is a standout in the classroom. Maintaining an impressive 4.3 GPA, Alex has scored a 33 on the ACT and is a member of numerous school and community organizations, including the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Spanish Honor Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Key Club International, Student Government Association, ACT 30+ Club, and the Red Cross Club. His ability to balance academic excellence, leadership, and community involvement underscores his commitment to holistic success.
Alex’s nomination for this award places him among the most accomplished student-athletes in Alabama, reflecting the rich tradition of excellence at Daphne High School!

Congratulations to the Daphne East Elementary student who competed in the Mobile/Baldwin County Scholastic Chess League!
2nd Place Mobile/Baldwin County Scholastic Chess League
3rd Place Mobile/Baldwin County Scholastic Chess League

A huge congratulations to Bryant Von Hofe for spelling his way to victory at the Spanish Fort Elementary School Spelling Bee! We’re so proud of all our amazing spellers who gave it their best shot! Keep shining and spelling strong!

Congratulations to our DMS Chess teams! The Trojan teams won 2nd place and tied for 3rd place in the Baldwin County/Mobile County Scholastic Chess League Middle School Division Finals. Blake was 5th place individual Middle School winner!

Allie’s artwork is one of 10 pieces chosen from Baldwin County Schools to be entered into this year’s State Superintendent Art Show. The show will be on display at the Alabama State Capital during February and March of this year. Congratulations, Allie!

Congratulations to the Foley High School students of the month for December!
9th Grader – Bailee Egbert
10th Grader – Brady Nichols
11th Grader – William Quarles
12th Grader – Claudia Fernanda Guadalajara-Camacho

Congratulations to all of the Daphne Middle School Spelling Bee participants and this year’s winners!
First place: Henry H and Runner-up: Joshua T.

Florence B Mathis is so proud of each of the students who represented their homeroom in the Mathis Elementary School Spelling Bee!
Congratulations to our winner, fifth grader, Maitlyn!
Congratulations to our runner-up, fourth grader, Phoenix!

Bayshore Christian School’s first-grade classes stepped back in time for Little House Day, celebrating the pioneer life inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie.
The day began with a hearty pioneer breakfast, just like Almanzo enjoyed in Farmer Boy. Students then explored hands-on crafts, including tin-punching ornaments, making button necklaces, sewing sachets, and decorating mini “log cabins.”
Outdoor activities brought pioneer fun to life with wagon rides around the field and classic relay races, such as egg-in-spoon, stick horse, sack races, and balancing books on their heads.
The celebration ended with a cozy story time featuring popcorn and apple cider, just as Almanzo experienced in the book. Little House Day gave students a taste of history while encouraging creativity, teamwork, and a love for literature.

Each Spring, 5th and 6th grade students may try-out for the Belforest Mathlete Team. The students take a tough assessment to be included on the team. Through the Spring, they receive training and competition practice. In April they will attend our county meet, which is an intense competition, at Baldwin County Preparatory Academy. Congrats to this year’s team!

Congratulations to Ms. Webb’s Homeroom Class of Spanish Fort Middle School!
Your outstanding attendance has earned you the Attendance Belt with an incredible 99.1% average for the month of December! Your dedication to showing up every day sets a fantastic example for the entire school. Keep up the great work!
Thank you to our amazing Pep Squad for bringing the energy and delivering this special honor in style!

Congratulations to our WJC School Spelling Bee Winner, Harper Duncan! Harper is in Mrs. Besteda’s 5th grade class and will represent our school at the Baldwin County Spelling Bee. We also want to congratulate our 1st Runner Up, Jada Pierce from Ms. Sweatt’s 6th grade class and our 2nd Runner Up, Landon Wynn from Mrs. Jones’ 5th grade class! All of our classroom winners did a fantastic job in the School Bee, and we are so proud of you all!

The Robertsdale High STEM Environmental Engineering went to the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and put up 4 wood duck houses, planted 4 transects of black needlerush marsh grass, and deployed 8 oyster biopods. All of which was designed, grown, and built by our students. Our Week’s Bay host once again helped us achieve our goal. They are the best in the business! This is a very special group of students who are creative, supportive, and fun to work with. Stay tuned for our upcoming projects!

Christmas Together is one of Bayside Academy’s longest-standing traditions, originating in 1971 during the school’s inaugural year. While there have been minor changes over time, the heart of the program remains unchanged: gathering as the Bayside family to honor the past, celebrate the present, and look to the future during the special holiday season.
Each year, a special Christmas Together banner is created by students. This year’s festive and joyful “Let Heaven and Nature Sing” banner was created by Bayside middle school art students and incorporates designs and work from all art students in Grades 5–8.
Pictured: Bayside Academy 7th grader Alex Ogburn and 6th grader Charlotte Denniston present the 2024 Christmas Together banner.

Congratulations to our LES Spelling Bee Champion, Ashlyn D., and our Runner-up, JP M. Ashlyn will represent us at the County Spelling Bee, and JP will be her alternate if needed. We are so proud of all our participants.

A big shoutout to the amazing Rosinton Elementary 6th graders for their creativity and teamwork! They did a fantastic job helping with the bulletin board, bringing ‘The Heart Family’ to life.

We are so proud of the stellar Stapleton School students who were chosen by their teachers to represent their homerooms at the January PrinciPal lunch. Dr. Hughes and Mr. Perry sure enjoyed spending time with the terrific young people and discussing their ideas for making our school an even better place to learn and grow!
preK / Clemons – Norah
K / Lamb – Grayson
K / McKeough – Ellie
1st / Cross – Alex
1st / McCrummen – Leonna
2nd / Grace – Brantleigh
3rd / Donald – Wyatt
3rd / Winstead – Derek
4th / Powell – Zaire
5th / Elliott – Presleigh
5th / Walden – Allie
6th / Landreneau – Emma
Congratulations students!

Fifteen spellers from Grades 4–8 competed in the Bayside Academy Spelling Bee on Thursday, January 9.
After 34 rounds, 7th grader Andrew Ray was declared the winner and 7th grader David Green named the runner-up. Third place went to Jeremy Ou in 6th grade, and it should be noted that 4th grader Mary Margaret Wells placed fourth. The 2025 championship word was flamboyant.
Andrew will represent Bayside Academy in the Baldwin County Spelling Bee. The event will be held virtually February 10–12.
Bayside Academy Spelling Bee Participants
4th Grade:
Phillip Ciaccio
Harry Ruffin
Mary Margaret Wells
5th Grade:
Ryan Fribourg
Nicholas Goleash
Harrison Johnson
6th Grade:
Sam Babcock
Jeremy Ou
Charlie Sommer
7th Grade:
Elizabeth Coumanis
David Green
Andrew Ray
8th Grade:
Jay Halbert
Owen Swagart
Avery Therrell
Pictured: Bayside Academy’s 2025 Spelling Bee winner Andrew Ray

A 5th-grade art piece titled “Goodnight Sky” was selected to represent Baldwin County at the State Superintendent’s Art Show in Montgomery! This talented Stonebridge Elementary student is one of only 10 elementary students chosen to represent BCBE. Congratulations on this amazing achievement!

Congratulations to Summerdale School student Adam Jones in Mrs. Gunter’s kindergarten class. His artwork was selected for the State Superintendent’s Art Show. There were only 10 students selected from the entire county!

Thanks to Mrs. Ingraham, her team, and our students the Swift Consolidated Spelling Bee was a huge success. The students were so proud of themselves and they all did such a fabulous job. Our 3rd place winner was 5th grader, Ravyn. The 2nd place winner was 4th grader, Jack. Our big 1st place winner was Maelie from 6th grade.

Congratulations to the Foley Middle School Employee of the Month – Mr. Tim Brown and our Teacher of the Month – Mr. Jason Haase!

Here’s a peek at the Elberta Middle School teachers preparing amazing content for our students returning for the semester!
Amanda Meadows with Solution Tree did a professional development workshop on unit planning through backwards design. Teachers left with a full unit of awesome lessons planned to kickoff this semester!

Bingo Night was a blast at Magnolia Elementary School!
We had an amazing turnout with families and friends coming together for an evening filled with exciting bingo games, delicious snacks, and fantastic prizes!
A huge thank you to all our enthusiastic volunteers who helped with setup, game facilitation, and cleanup. Your support made the event a great success!
We appreciate everyone who came out to support our school and enjoy a fun-filled night with the community. We would also like to say a special, thank you to American Legion Auxiliary Post 99!

Sawyer Wilson represented Spanish Fort High School as our DAR Good Citizen nominee! Congratulations!

Celebrating excellence! Congratulations to the Foley Elementary School spelling bee champion Brantley and runner up Taylor for their hard work, determination, and impressive skills! Great job!

Since both November and December had reduced numbers of school days, Stapleton School decided to combine the two months when determining which class will next host the prestigious Canby Cup. Because of the combination of the two months, winning the cup was made more difficult than normal since more days were factored into the calculation.
This made it all the more impressive to learn that Mrs. Donald’s class had achieved a back-to-back win with over 93% of the students in that 3rd grade class achieving the attendance goal!
The cup is awarded to the class that achieved the highest percentage of students missing two or fewer days per month. This goal is based on the fact that students who miss more than 10% of the school year (about 2 days per month) suffer serious academic consequences.
Congratulations to Mrs. Donald’s class and thank you to all the students and families who make school attendance the priority it needs to be!

Elberta High School FCCLA brought lots of cheer to the Baldwin County Animal Shelter residents.
Club members made dog toys from donated t-shirts and towels. They also received donations of dog treats and beds which members brought to the animal shelter and hand delivered these to many of the dogs up for adoption.
EHS FCCLA would like to thank all those who support this community service project. The club will continue their efforts for the Shelter through out the year.
Pictured are the three students who are spearheading this ongoing project and club president.
From left to right: Mackenzie Santose, Blakely Gorton, Haley Burnett (President), and Addison Cranford.

Congratulations to Callie Saxon on her nomination for the Daphne High School Ecor Rouge DAR Good Citizen Program! She was honored during the annual program on Monday, and we couldn’t be prouder to have her representing Daphne High School. A big thank you to the DAR Program for supporting our amazing students!

Ms. Mims’ 5th graders at J. Larry Newton School had an exciting music lesson as they learned about the four strings on the ukulele (GCEA)! Thanks to the generous donation of 10 ukuleles from our amazing JLN PTO, we now have a complete class set. Your support helps us inspire creativity and make music education unforgettable! Thank you PTO!

Hats Off to a New Year! DES Teachers and staff came together to demonstrate their unique personalities by customizing their own trucker hats. Everyone wore their hat as a fun way to welcome the students back on January 8th.

Congratulations to the Foley Middle School December Perfect Attendance Winner – Benjamin Harding Lewis!

Fairhope High School December/January students of the month are
9th: Abbigail Jennings and Nash Gearhart
10th: Mary Parish Castle and Walker Gardner
11th: Amiyah Gill and Jackson Westbrook
12th: Teagan Lanicek and Brock Washington
And the staff Pat on the Back goes to FACS/Event Planning teacher, Elizabeth Orfanello
Breakfast this morning at Sweetwater Cafe was sponsored by the Fairhope Rotary Club.
Congrats to all these awesome kids and teacher!

Emmalia (Emmy) Kuhn was chosen to represent Fairhope High School at the University of Alabama Capstone Leadership Academy!
The Capstone Leadership Academy is a two-day program for high school sophomores designed to cultivate their leadership potential, honing skills around three essential pillars of leadership—values, vision and voice. Created by the Capstone Council and sponsored by the Office of the President and the Division of Student Life, Capstone Leadership Academy gives 10th graders opportunities to build knowledge, apply newly acquired skills, and foster relationships with peers from across Alabama.
Congratulations Emmy!

Robertsdale Elementary student, Zoe Cipriano’s project was chosen by the State Superintendent to be entered into the Art Show. We are so proud of you Zoe! Congratulations!

Bayshore Christian School’s second-grade classes recently celebrated Narnia Day, bringing C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to life.
Students entered through a “wardrobe” into classrooms transformed into snowy Narnia. Dressed as their favorite characters, they enjoyed themed activities like creating Aslan-inspired art, solving riddles, and tasting Turkish Delight.
Teachers highlighted the story’s Christian themes of sacrifice, forgiveness, and the triumph of good, making the day both fun and meaningful.
Narnia Day remains a beloved tradition, inspiring faith, imagination, and a love for great stories.

Bay Minette Elementary School is thankful for this amazing group at Kidz Eatz! Always lending a hand to make sure our students who need a little extra love are taken care of. We appreciate all of your help. If you would like to help BMES with snacks/Kleenex for our students please, feel free to reach out to Debbie Rigby. We appreciate all the help we can get.

Congratulations to the Spanish Fort Middle School spelling bee winners!
1st place – Eliex Santiago and tied for 2nd – Madeline Haynes and Jube!

Quarter 2 Crown of Character Awards for 5th grade!
The Crown of Character program was designed to emphasize the importance of good character within these five pillars: charity, youth, health, leadership, and service.

A huge congratulations to the Spanish Fort High School Toro Chess teams! Both teams are bringing home trophies for the 2024-2025 year in the Mobile-Baldwin Scholastic Chess League!
Varsity — FIRST place
Junior Varisty — third place
Kevin Judice won the Morphy Award, which is the first place individual award for the entire league!
Kurusharan (KK) Kumaresan was named to the All-Star team, which is comprised of the top 5 players in the league!
We are so proud of these Toros!!
This is only the second year SFHS has had a competing chess team, and we know the future is bright!
Also, thank you to Mrs. Griggers, our chess sponsor, for supporting these students!

During National Picture Book Month in November, the Elsanor Elementary School sixth grade students created our Third Annual Elsanor Mural as part of the Global Traveling Mural Project. The Traveling Mural Project is an art project about connecting with other school communities around the world to create murals of peace, friendship, diversity, and love. Students from schools around the world create their own ten-foot mural to tell others about themselves and their community. Once completed, the original mural is cut up into one-foot pieces and sent to nine other schools around the world. We also receive nine mural pieces from those schools that we then put together to create a Global Traveling Mural.
Here are our students with their final creation (they designed, drew, and painted it) and then the Global mural after we received most of the pieces. Ours was fabulous and centered around the USS Alabama and library and community themes!

Shoutout to the Central Baldwin Middle School December Bear Pride Winners!
We’re thrilled to celebrate the latest winners in our CBMS Bear Pride Program monthly cash prize drawing!
1st Place – $20.00: Wyatt Wilson– Not Pictured
2nd Place – $10.00: Tylin Westerfield
3rd Place – $5.00: Ethan Whedbee
The Bear Pride Program honors the outstanding citizenship of our incredible students here at Central Baldwin Middle School.

Mrs. Conaway-Washington’s fourth grade class at Fairhope East Elementary enjoyed this year’s December with Dad! The dads and grandfathers read Christmas stories, designed snow globes, decorated cookies, made ornaments, played games/trivia, completed Christmas Mad Libs, decorated humans Christmas trees, and shared their families’ Christmas traditions. Thanks for making this magical time extra special for all of us!