24 • Thursday, February 21, 2013
schools
School Notes Cont. The reigning Alabama Teacher of Johnson Is Secondary the Year is Suzanne Culbreth, a math Teacher of the Year teacher at Spain Park High School.
Jeff Johnson is the 2013 Hoover City Schools Secondary Teacher of the Year. Johnson teaches physics and science to juniors and seniors at Hoover High School, where he has taught Jeff Johnson since 1995. Johnson has been an educator for 28 years. He taught in Georgia and Jefferson County schools before joining the Hoover school system. He is a National Board Certified teacher who holds degrees from both Georgia Southern University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. As the secondary district nominee for Hoover City Schools, Johnson becomes a Teacher of the Year candidate for the state Board of Education District IV. Finalists are chosen from around the state for Alabama Teacher of the Year, a process which culminates May 8 with an awards ceremony in Montgomery.
Dr. Stephanie Steinmetz
Homewood high wins state history bowl The Homewood High School Scholars Bowl team won the state championships in the History Bowl competition on Jan. 19. The team was undefeated in six rounds of play. The team’s captain is Sammy Jane-askon. Team members are Jonathan Brown, Jordan Blow, Eden Harris and Aaron Ragsdale. In the individual competition, Sammy finished in the Top 3 in the tournament. The championship win qualifies the team to compete at the national level in Washington, D.C. in April. From left: Jonathan Brown, Sammy Jane-akson, Jordan Blow, Eden Harris and Aaron Ragsdale. Photo special to The Journal
Culbreth is Hoover’s seventh Alabama Teacher of the Year winner since 1997.
VHHS Constitution Team Wins Third State Title For the ninth year in a row, the Vestavia Hills High School We the People Constitution Team has won its state competition. The students participate in a mock congressional hearing competition that requires them to prepare to testify as expert witnesses on constitutional principles, history and modern application. Students are divided into six specialized units, each of which must prepare and present a four-minute opening statement and then defend the statement before a panel of judges. The state competition was presented by the Alabama Center for Law and Civic Education and hosted by Birmingham-Southern College. The Vestavia team will represent Alabama at the national We the People competition in Washington, D.C., in late April. The VHHS team has finished in the top 10 at national competition in six of the last seven years and in the top three twice. Students have begun fundraising to cover the cost of the trip, which totals more than $32,000 for the entire team. Donations can be sent c/o Amy Maddox at Vestavia Hills High School, 2235 Lime Rock Road, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Team members are Christian Sitarz, Carrie Clower, Reagan Cline, Daniel Selman, Rachel Caskey, Anna Dennis, Aashka Patel, Patrick Sipe, Amy Li, Sisi Zheng, Daniel Moran, Enrico Camata, Luis Jimenez, Hopson Nance, Peter Adamo, Farhan Khan, Hannah Skjellum, Molly Rhodes, Joseph Stahl, Botong Ma, Shannon Bewley, Brian Stahl, Marisa Pierluisi and Kaustubh Udipi. The team is coached by Amy Maddox and Jane Schaefer.
Showcase in Opelika on Feb. 9. Thorne said that the choir finished strong and won the Overall Grand Champion award. The choir also won the Spirit of Southern Showcase, Best Overall Effect and Best Visual Effect awards. The group received runner-up awards with a first place runner-up finish in Division A and in the Large Mixed category. The award-winning choir didn’t rest on its laurels for very long after bringing home the awards from the Opelika musical festival. Thorne directed the Homewood High School Show Choir in an event at the school on Feb. 16. The choir’s trophies are on display at the school.
Sixth-graders Pen Novels
Sixth-grade students at Liberty Park Middle School in Vestavia Hills had an opportunity to participate in the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. The program, the world’s largest youth writing event, is offered every November. Interested students set We gladly file all insurance a word count goal that would help them draft a novel in 30 days. This enrichment activity helped students learn how to create characters, design plots, define conflicts between protagonists and antagonists and write ia t d r e i c P D f e o n d t r i s a t o r B y e t a Diplom dialogue. Director Scott Thorne and the Led by sixth-grade teacher Homewood High School Show Choir put Linda Rummell, students received up huge numbers and brought home assignments, shared ideas and asked the hardware at the 2013 Southern questions through the use of Edmodo. Edmodo is a secure social learning network that allows teachers to collaborate and connect with students who have joined his or her classroom To: 823-1590, ssteinmetz4428@charter.net group. From: Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 By participating, students also FAX: 205-824-1246 had access to pep talks, posted on Date: Feb. 2010 Edmodo, from well-known young This is your AD PROOF from the OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL foradult the authors. Some of these authors Feb. 25, 2010 issue. Please fax approval or changes to 824-1246. included Scott Westerfield, author of “The Uglies”; Marissa Meyer, author of “Cinder”; Kate Dicamillo, author of “Tale of Despereaux” and “Because of Winn Dixie”; Lois Lowry, author of “Number the Stars” and “The Giver” and many Reading • Math • Writing • Chemistry • Study Skills others. Please initial and fax back within 24 hours.
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Homewood Choir Rocks Showcase in Opelika
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Pugh Is Geography Champ at Our Lady of Sorrows Fifth-grader Amelia Pugh won the National Geographic Bee competition at
Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School. She was one of 12 students participating in this year’s event. The school competition included fourth- through eighth-grade students who won their class-level contests. The students had to answer written and oral questions about geographic topics. Sixth-grader Matthew Walker came in second, and Annie Tighe placed third.
Greystone Third-graders Get Hands-on in Science Third-graders at Greystone Elementary School in Hoover got some help from the University of Alabama at Birmingham during their studies on the human body. UAB’s Dr. Eddy Lose and Betsy Caulk Lose came and talked to the classes about bones, muscles and joints.
Highlands Class Chosen for Gardens Pilot Program Highlands School has been selected to be a test school for a new pilot program for middle school classes through the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The program is called Plants--Inside and Out and will allow Highlands students to test activities and provide feedback to the educational staff at the Gardens. To get started, the sixth-grade life sciences class took a trip to the Gardens. Students were able to examine leaf pigments using a technique called chromatography. They made and viewed microscope slides
of features on the surfaces of leaves and used digital monitors to measure and compare the uptake of carbon dioxide by leaves in both light and dark conditions. The students learned new concepts and gained a better understanding of some of the concepts they were introduced to in class. The students were able to provide suggestions about the program that will be sent to BBG educators working on the program.
PTO Councils Attend Legislative Round Table School PTO Councils from Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook held the eighth annual Legislative Round Table Nov. 15 at the Vestavia Municipal Center. Sen. Jabo Waggoner and Representatives Paul DeMarco, Jack Williams and Jim Carns fielded questions about driving while texting, proration, the education trust fund and the flexible school calendar. Vestavia Hills Mayor Butch Zaragoza and Vestavia Hills Schools Superintendent Jamie Blair attended this year’s event, along with Mountain Brook Schools Superintendent Dicky Barlow, PTO officers and interested parents, including Mountain Brook Legislative Representative Tzena Gauldin, Mountain Brook PTO Council President Kay Emack, Vestavia PTO Council President Tracy Lemak and Vestavia Legislative Representative Kelli Eshleman. The event will be held again during the next school year in Mountain Brook. Fifth-grader Amelia Pugh, left, won the National Geographic Bee competition at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School. Sixthgrader Matthew Walker, right, placed second, and Annie Tighe won third place. Photo special to The Journal