January 2024 Student Spotlights

The Auburn High School Swim teams are competing for a State Championship at Auburn University. The AHS swimmers competed in the AHSAA Sectional Championships in Birmingham. The girls won the Sectional Title, and the boys were runner-up. The girls also won the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays at Sectionals. ACS wishes our student-athletes the best! Go Tigers!

Tricia Oliver’s art students at East Samford School created portraits of their teachers with letters of thanks attached. Prior to the reveal of the gallery in the Fine Arts building at ESS, students worked in secret to surprise teachers with expressions of gratitude through the medium of modeling clay topped with a glaze and adorned with decorative paper plates for frames. This art project was a creative way to celebrate teachers and show appreciation for their positive impact on students.

Students at Cary Woods Elementary School invited “Grand Pals” to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal of dressing, green beans, chicken, yams, and a chocolate cookie. A Grand Pal can be anyone a CWES Explorer thinks is grand. This event presented an opportunity for our young students to spend time with their special guests while showcasing pride in their school. A student’s educational journey can be enhanced through secure and nurturing relationships with adults who support development and learning. Children with positive and meaningful relationships with adults also tend to be more self-confident, better at interacting with others, and more effective learners.

Students from East Samford School enjoyed a visit to Auburn’s Town Creek Inclusive Playground with a class from Auburn University’s Kinesiology Program. University students learning to provide adaptive physical education hosted the classes from ESS and created an instructional scavenger hunt. The AU students pictured various equipment from the adaptive park for students to find and try out as their goals for the day. Auburn City Schools celebrates and appreciates collaborating with community key partners such as Dr. Robin Thornburg-Brock and Auburn University’s College of Education.

It was a great day for Opelika High School swimmers. They competed in the state swim meet at Auburn University and came away with a couple of state titles and several top ten finishes!
Sarah Bush, Presley Mullins, Mylee Bordeaux and Grace Nelson are the state champions in the 200 freestyle relay for the 2nd year in a row. Sarah Bush is the state champion in the 50 freestyle and state runner-up in 100 freestyle. Sarah Bush, Presley Mullins, Aniston McGhee and Grace Nelson placed 3rd in the 200 medley relay. Brian McEntire placed 6th in both 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Presley Mullins came in 6th for 200 freestyle. Aniston McGhee placed 7th for 100 breaststroke. Grace Nelson placed 10th in 50 freestyle. We are incredibly proud of these athletes! Go Dawgs!

The Hudson family, Coach Bruce Pearl, and Aubie the Tiger, along with many others, including the AU Cheerleaders and the AU Marching Band, welcomed elementary students from Auburn City Schools, Opelika City Schools, and Lee County Schools to induct them into the Legends Club. Auburn University Athletics rolled out the blue carpet at Neville Arena this morning for students nominated by their teachers and guidance counselors for their outstanding effort, respect, and service to others. To maintain membership among legends like Bo Jackson and Suni Lee, students must continue to portray the positive character traits that granted them their Legends Club status. The Hudson Family Foundation Legends Club focuses on building self-esteem, pride, and hope in school-age children battling to overcome challenges. These challenges could include the death of a family member, terminal illnesses, military deployments, economic hardships, and more. All three of the area’s Superintendents, representing ACS, OCS, and Lee County, spoke and praised the Hudson Family Foundation’s efforts to celebrate students!

Richland Elementary School has named Mykia Duncan their Teacher of the Year. Ms. Duncan began her career in public education as a Richland Champion in 2015. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from UAB and her master’s degree in Special Education from Auburn University. “Ms. Duncan’s presence is like a breath of fresh air! She always seems to find the positives in all situations and people. She genuinely cares for her students and peers, and you can count on her encouraging smile during the most difficult of circumstances and challenges. We are extremely proud that she will represent RES as our Teacher of the Year.” – Jeff Johnson, RES Principal.

The Auburn High School Debate team placed 2nd overall at the Prattville High Lion Classic.
Other accolades include:
• Elizabeth Thurow and Joshua Kolwaite were Co-Champions in Varsity Public Forum, with Elizabeth also placing 2nd in Varsity Public Forum Speaker points.
• Lily Tao and Emily Jiang were Semi-Finalists in the Varsity Public Forum.
• Harliegh Walker was a Co-Champion for Varsity Lincoln Douglas.
• Leah Lethander was a Semi-Finalist in Varsity Lincoln Douglas.
• Angie Zevallos, Annelise Totura, and Evan McCutchen were Quarter-Finalists in the Novice Public Forum.
• Erica Liu and Ethan Foley were Semi-Finalists in Novice Lincoln Douglas.
ACS congratulates the students and Coach Donna Yeager on a successful tournament!

Congratulations to Laura Childs who was awarded the 2023-24 Jeter Primary School Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations to Meagan Pritchard for being named 2023-24 Carver Primary School Teacher of the Year.

Mrs. Goodman’s PreK-4 Class kicked off K week by celebrating Christ the King and ended it by preparing for the start of Advent next week. Our students love learning about the colors and traditions of our liturgical year!

The annual canned food drive has come to an end. We raised a total of 1,263 cans of food! Great job SMCS family! Now for the teacher/clergy who received the most feathers…..
3rd place: Mrs. Springmann
2nd place: Mrs. Goodman
1st place: FR. PLESSALA
Thank you SMCS students and families for your participation in our service project this month!

This opportunity was made possible through Southern Union State Community College’s Skills for Success rapid training program. The following students, Madonno Keyes, Cooper Nimmo, Crawford Rohling, Kathleen Willmon, and Kate Witten, along with Agriscience teacher Mr. Harris Stevens and ACS Career Tech Director Dr. Silvia Scaife, were all a part of the inaugural group to earn their Skid Steer certifications. Mr. Stevens also qualified to be a Skid Steer trainer, creating the opportunity for more students at AHS to pursue this certification. Part of the training is offered online, with self-paced interactive learning. Upon completing the online portion of the course, students then complete 16 hours of hands-on training with qualified instructors at any of the 24 community and technical colleges around the state. Participants who complete training also earn an ACCS Credential, which signals to businesses that the individual has mastered the skills taught in the program and is immediately ready for employment. The ACCS Credential can also be used as a foundation for additional classes and training at Alabama community colleges. ACS is proud of our 15 Career Technical Education offerings that equip students with skills for their future!

Yarbrough Elementary School has named Laura Rubin their Teacher of the Year. With 12 years of experience in public education, Ms. Rubin earned a Bachelor of Art from Hope International University in Fullerton, CA., a teaching credential from California State University of Fullerton, and a master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of West Alabama. She currently teaches fifth grade at YES. “Laura Rubin works tirelessly to ensure each of her students gets the individual attention they need to master math standards and are well prepared to make the step to sixth grade. This year, she put a 360 classroom into action in her classroom. With dry-erase whiteboards attached to the walls around her classroom, she can watch each student complete a math problem and explain errors in real time. Ms. Rubin works hard to support a positive school culture at YES by helping organize the monthly Positivity Project Pep Rally and encouraging character education across our campus. Ms. Rubin is a system leader in math instruction and never misses an opportunity to support or collaborate with any math educator.” – Dr. Pete Forster, YES Principal.

St. Michael Catholic School was selected to decorate Archbishop Rodi’s Christmas tree this year! The 3rd and 4th grade students will travel to Mobile to decorate the tree with ornaments made by our students. How precious are all of these handmade angels!

It was a day full of hands-on activities against the backdrop of a miniature Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Drawing inspiration from Caldecott Honor-winning artist Melissa Sweet’s book “Balloons over Broadway,” DRES Art Teacher Andrea Newman curated the streets of New York City with Styrofoam floats created by students. Each grade level was responsible for contributing to the art installation at DRES. Kindergartners painted spectators, first graders decorated James Rizzi-style buildings, and second graders made the floats. Meanwhile, in the media center, the ACS Coordinators of Curriculum and Instruction, Drew Morgan and Betty Weeden, taught students to code using VEX robots. DRES Counselor Jennifer Jones also became a chemist for the day to show students how certain elements react with one another. Incorporating art into these STEM activities sparked critical and creative thinking among DRES students today!