36 • Thursday, September 24, 2015
schools
OTM Students Recognized as National Merit Scholar Semifinalists
VHHS National Merit Semifinalists Sarah Carnahan, Sarah Anne Pfitzer, Natalie Conboy, Erica Wei, Will Mathews, Hannah Bae, Patrick Mills, Andrea Burris and Henry Barrett.
Photos special to the Journal
Homewood National Merit Semifinalists Wyatt Harrison, Laughlin Ashe, Will Beaumont, Molly Richardson, Duncan McDuff, Emi Ferderber and Tucker Wilson.
Mountain Brook High School National Merit Semifinalists (front, from left) Frances Hancock, Louisa Collins, Angela Fu, Tessie Baren and Sophie Brint. Second row: Ruben Sun, McKinley Hamilton, Sarah Winston Nathan, Sara Chandler Mitchell, Helen Catherine Darby, Brianna Lipp and Elizabeth Nabors. Third row: Jack Tucker, Benjamin Honan, Dylan Bowen, Luke Hartman, Eric Voigt and Coke Matthews. Back: Duncan Manley, David Creel, Jeffrey Jones, Patrick Trammell, Charlie Cope and Cole Summersell.
Earlier this month, the National Merit Scholarship Program announced the semifinalists for the 2016 competition. The program began with about 1.5 million entrants. In this round, that number is whittled down to 16,000. In the spring, 7,400 students will be selected as National Merit Scholars and will receive $32 million in scholarships. At Hoover High School, Juhlee Agrawal, Nathaniel Farnlacher, Connor Jones, Uzma Nur, Daniel Phillips and Hyun Joon Shin were announced as semifinalists. At Spain Park High School, Christopher Breaux, Katherine Hunter, Austin Peinhardt, Stephen Ritchey, Zoe Shore, Peyton Spencer and Blair Williams were recognized. At Homewood High School, Laughlin Ashe, Will Beaumont, Emi Ferderber, Wyatt Harrison, Duncan McDuff, Molly Richardson and Tucker Wilson were chosen. Indian Springs High School boasts seven students that made it to the next round – McKenna Barney, Ashlynn Berry, Claire Chen, Daun Lee, Michael O’Malley, Rob Pulliam and Cheska Romero. At Vestavia Hills High School, semifinalists were Hannah Bae, Henry Barrett, Andrea Burris, Sarah Carnahan, Natalie Conboy, Will
Indian Springs’ Semifinalists Rob Pulliam, Claire Chen, McKenna Barney, Cheska Romero, Michael O’Malley, Daun Lee and Ashlynn Berry.
Spain Park National Merit Semifinalists Zoe Shore, Chris Breaux, Stanley Badio, Blair Williams, Stephen Ritchey, Austin Peinhardt, Peyton Spencer and Katherine Hunter.
Mathews, Patrick Mills, Sarah Anne Pfitzer and Erica Wei. John Carroll Catholic School is represented by Michael Hagelskamp and Samuel Norton. From Oak Mountain High School, Jacob Elkins advanced to the next round. Westminister Christian Academy is represented by Maya Nallamala. Mountain Brook High School’s advancing students are Theresa Baren, Dylan Bowen, Sophia Brint, Louisa Collins, Charles Cope, David Creel, Helen Darby, Angela Fu, McKinley Hamilton, Frances Hancock, John
Hartman, Benjamin Honan, Leo Jones, Brianna Lipp, Duncan Manley, Coke Matthews, Sara Chandler Mitchell, Elizabeth Nabors, Sarah Nathan, Cole Summersell, Ruben Sun, Patrick Trammell, John Tucker and Eric Voigt. Briarwood Christian School will be represented by Connor Pelham. The Altamont School’s advancing students are Adare Brown, Elliot Chen, Robert Denniston, Hugh Perkins, Sarah Rosenthal, William Tang and Kaya Turan. The Alabama School of Fine Arts’ three Over the Mountain advancing
students are Adam He of Hoover, Ake Kankirawatana of Vestavia and Maya Samuels-Fair of Hoover and Vestavia. To qualify as a National Merit Scholar, students must take a preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test during their junior year of high school. If they score in the top 1 percent of students taking the test, they are named semifinalists. Now, the students will complete detailed applications including their academic, extracurricular and community achievements in the next step in the competition to become National Merit Scholars. ❖
OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
Homewood Hosts Child Nutrition Program Homewood City Schools hosted the Over the Mountain Child Nutrition Program Summer Workshop. The workshop allowed CNP workers from Homewood and Mountain Brook to join together and learn new cooking techniques and new recipes for fresh produce. Guest celebrities were invited to help during the workshop, including HCS Superintendent Dr. Bill Cleveland and Homewood Middle School Assistant Principle Matt Kiser, who participated as sous chefs to Chef Donnell Johnson, the key speaker.
BMS Students Donate Books to Gear-Up Alabama Berry Middle School recently had the opportunity to participate in the GEAR-Up Alabama Initiative, a grant program through UAB that is designed to assist students in low-income areas as they prepare to enter postsecondary education. BMS students, aided by Dianna Minor, curriculum and instruction specialist, and Ginger Hewitt, media specialist, worked over the summer to re-organize the school’s media center, making it more “genre-oriented.” In doing so, the school found itself with many unnecessary extra copies of books. Minor worked to connect with Dr. Veronique Zimmerman-Brown, project director for GEAR-Up Alabama. As a result, the students were able to donate the books to G.P. Austin Middle School in Linden. “(GEAR-Up Alabama) has done many great things to improve literacy in the Black Belt region,” Minor said. “We’re both working toward a common goal: improving literacy in Alabama. It only takes one book to inspire a child, one book to motivate a child. One book can open up a whole new world for a child.”
VHEC Welcomes New PARK Program Over the summer, Vestavia Hills Elementary Central transformed its computer lab into an active learning space called VHEC’s Central PARK, which stands for Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids. Tables and chairs were removed and replaced with couches, relaxing seating and new tables designed for collaboration. In addition, new technology was added to the PARK. Instructional technology specialist Kim Jaggard, participated in multiple professional development sessions over the past year to transform the old lab into a Makerspace. Makerspaces are creative, DIY spaces where students gather to create, invent and learn. These spaces often include 3D printers, software, electronics and craft and hardware supplies. “Watching the faces of our students light up when they first entered the PARK made turning the lab into an innovation learning space worth all the time and effort,” Jaggard said. “The students are so excited about new chrome books, the Robotics station, a 3D Printer and the new furniture. The