Student Spotlight – October 2024

Auburn City Schools received a Community Service Grant from Alabama State Senator Jay Hovey (District 27). State Senator Jay Hovey visited ACS to provide funds to enhance schools! This generous contribution will support vital improvements, benefiting students, teachers, and the Auburn community. We are deeply grateful to Senator Hovey for his continued dedication to education and our students’ success. His commitment to providing resources that enhance learning environments will have a lasting positive impact on our schools. Thank you, Senator Hovey, for investing in the future of Auburn City Schools!

A group of Music Educators from Auburn City Schools attended a music workshop hosted in partnership with The East Alabama Regional Inservice Center (EARIC). Dr. Shane Colquhoun, an Assistant Professor of Music Technology and Contemporary Musical Styles at Alabama State University, led the professional development opportunity with infectious zeal and enthusiasm, sharing his passion for music education. For the past decade, ACS teachers have supported the East Alabama General Music Workshops, which provide quality training for music teachers across Alabama and West Georgia.

AHS Mass Media students within the Television Production program at Auburn High School have won several awards at the state and national level. In 2024 alone, AHS Mass Media has been nominated for 74 awards and won 48 for excellence in broadcasting, photography, podcasting, reporting, and videography. Did you know the livestreams of school events including athletics are managed by AHS Mass Media students as the official broadcast partner? Under the leadership of their instructor, Jared Dillard, students cover events with reporters and photographers in the field and a crew in the studio on campus to produce a seamless product for the public. Currently there are 97 students taking Television Production at AHS, sharpening their skills for a potential future in content creation!

Auburn City Schools is pleased to announce that AJHS has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for the 2024–2027 program term. Schools apply and are selected for this distinction based on their commitment to continuous innovation in education and using Apple products to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning. Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of leadership and educational excellence, with a clear vision for how technology-rich environments support learning goals. In Apple Distinguished Schools, forward-thinking leaders and their communities work to inspire, imagine, and impact teaching and learning, and they have documented results of academic accomplishments. Schools all over the world are using iPad and Mac to transform learning. As teachers incorporate technology into their lessons, they empower students to lead, learn, and thrive, to discover new opportunities, and to make their world a better place.

Mrs. Olney’s 3rd graders learned all about the 5 senses while exploring marine fossils, shark teeth, corals, shells, and more! They used their imagination for taste and logged how the item felt, smelled, looked, and sounded.

Our PreK4 classes are having so much fun getting to know each other, learning their letters, and practicing chapel time!

1st Chapel of the school year was a success for students and staff. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

Today, 2nd-5th graders learned about healthy and balanced meals in PE! Using MyPlate, they researched each category of food and then sorted the foods into the correct category. Then, they shopped and created their own balanced meal!

Each month, Lee-Scott Academy Director of Technology, Mr. Kyle Christian, gives out a Junior Technician Award. The award is bestowed to a faculty member, nominated by their peers, who are actively innovating new technologies in their classroom that assist with classroom engagement and learning, solving difficult technical problems that affect many users or teaching other faculty and students how to better use technology. This month’s Junior Technician Award, and the first of the 2024-25 school year is given to third grade teacher, Mrs. Callie Hanahan! Mrs. Hanahan was nominated by several of her peers for leading a training on making the most of the SMART Board in their classrooms. Many stated she was an excellent trainer and provided great resources for other teachers! Congratulations Mrs. Hanahan!

Mrs. Giddens’ art classes are learning all about taking care of art supplies, watercolors, and designs! We are so lucky to have Mrs. Giddens as our new art teacher!

Mrs. Pennisi’s library classes have been focusing on book care with library books and being good listeners during story time! Students made posters to share good book care tips!

With Lower School art teacher Mrs. Beard, 1st Grade students have been learning about Vincent van Gogh and his art. Using the new SMART Board in her room, students are able to trace over the lines in “The Starry Night” to get a better understanding of how he painted with short, choppy lines. Students will take this experience and be creating their own “starry night” in his style in art!

5th Grade students put their creativity to work in STEM with Mrs. Poole. Using the engineering skills they’ve acquired, students had to use what materials they were given to make a brand new toy or tool. Teamwork, imagination and critical thinking were crucial and you might see some of these inventions in stores soon!

East Samford School students and staff turned “Fun Friday” into a thrilling day of team-building activities with their annual ESS Olympics. From putt-putt golf and tug of war to karaoke and dancing, competitive spirit was infectious across the campus. As we look forward to the fall, this event was a great way to enhance teamwork skills among students and provide a mental health break. Once points are tallied up from each activity, the team with the highest score will proudly claim the title of “ESS Olympians” for the rest of the school year!
a better place.

What a night in Bulldog Stadium for Band-o-Rama! OHS was thrilled to host our local high school bands in addition to the Auburn University Marching Band for a night of incredible music. Opelika High School’s Spirit of the South made us all proud as they performed this year’s halftime show. Thank you to all the bands who participated. Go Dawgs!

The Alabama School Counselor Association (ALSCA) has designated Auburn High School as having a counseling program of distinction. Auburn High’s application for the 2024 Alabama School Counseling Program of Distinction provided exemplary evidence of school counseling that aligned with the Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Model for Alabama Public Schools and the American School Counseling Association National Model. Undoubtedly, hard work and perseverance brought Auburn High this honor, in addition to the excellence in the counselors’ intentional relationships and day-to-day work with ACS students. ACS is proud of Isalie Corneil, Marie Harris, Heather Langford, Sheryl Smith, James Tindell, and Nicole Warren for this amazing accomplishment. This group will be formally recognized at an upcoming Auburn City Schools Board of Education meeting and at the 2024 ALSCA Awards Luncheon in November!

Everybody loves watermelon day and the 1st spirit day of the year! Students gathered together to enjoy a day of school spirit to kick off the school year. But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22

K4 classes went on a gingerbread hunt this morning after he escaped their classroom ovens!
Their wild chase took them to the Media Center, the main office, the principal’s office and the playground before finally catching him in their classrooms. What a fun way to explore and learn about parts of our school campus!

Trinity Athletics are in full force with fall sports! Students across the campus participate in various fall athletic teams and events like cross country track and volleyball.