Thursday, November 29, 2012 • 43
schools
OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
mountain brook high homecoming queen crowned Lamar Cooper was crowned Mountain Brook High School homecoming queen during a ceremony at the school Nov. 2. Lamar was escorted by her father, Jim Cooper. She was crowned by Mary Harmon Tyson, last year’s homecoming queen. Homecoming attendants were Celeste Brady and Rebecca Lankford from the senior class, Lottice Taylor and Mae Rose Tyson from the junior class and Cate Harmon and Virginia White from the sophomore class. From left: Dr. Vic Wilson, Mary Harmon Tyson, Marc Tyson, Lamar Cooper and Jim Cooper. Photo special to The Journal
The children then donate a sum from their profits to help fund a service project to help others. The children received some matching funds so materials could be purchased to make blankets for “Cribs for Kids.” The children worked together to make five blankets which were donated to the program.
Brookwood Students Celebrate Good Choices
Bluff Park Elementary students tour DeSoto Caverns. From left: Christion Lewis, Gaston Grant, Gabe Heath, Wilson Gray and Martin Lee. Photo special to The Journal
Bluff Park Students Take Walking Tour at DeSoto
East Students Give Back to Community
Bluff Park Elementary School third grade classes traveled from Hoover to Childersburg’s DeSoto Caverns Oct.5. Students went on a walking tour inside the caverns and learned about the history of the site. While on the tour, the students saw a light show and learned about cave formations, including stalactites and stalagmites. They also learned about hydrology, geology and archeology. Outside the caverns, students walked through the Butterfly House, tried to find their way through the Lost Trail Maze and panned for gemstones such as onyx, rubies and pyrite.
As a part of a year-long emphasis on community at Vestavia Hills Elementary East, children in Nancy Pearson’s second grade class participated in a service project. During each nine-week grading period, the children have a classroom job and receive a salary, which they use to pay rent, utilities, insurance and internet fees. The balance is kept to use at Market Day, when each child makes a good or performs a service. Every child buys and sells on Market Day, and at the end of the day each child usually has a nice profit.
Vestavia Hills Elementary East students make blankets to donate. From left: Teacher Nancy Pearson, Sirmichael Broom, John Hinton Hogue and Mac Grove. Photo special to The Journal
Brookwood Forest Elementary celebrated National Red Ribbon Week Oct. 22- 26 with the theme “Elect to be a Champion.” The campaign, also known as AntiDrug and Alcohol Awareness, kicked off at Brookwood Forest Elementary Oct. 19 with a speech from Mountain Brook High School football Coach Chris Yeager. Yeager talked to fourth, fifth and sixth grade students about making good choices. Brookwood Forest Elementary School students participated in the campaign by dressing for a different theme each day. On “Shade Out Drugs” Day, they wore sunglasses, and on “Be a Champion” Day they wore their favorite team jerseys. Families all over Brookwood Forest placed red bows on their mailboxes in support of the campaign. BWF Red Ribbon Week committee chairmen were Gayle Jones and Amanda Sharp.
Pizitz Math Teams Bring Home Awards The Pizitz Middle School Pirate Math Teams earned awards and trophies at a math competition at Cedar Ridge Middle School Oct. 27. The eighth grade math team took first place in the competition, winning with 111 points more than the second place team. The team took home seven of the top 10 trophies in its category. Several eighth graders also won individual trophies for their scores in the contest. Sherry Wu won second place with a score of 100, and Keene Zhang won third place with a score of 100. Allen Feng took fourth place, fifth place went to Wendy Jiang and Ahmed Farruk won seventh place. Eighth place went to Odelia Young, and Yifan Zhao won ninth place. In the seventh grade math
Marsha Folsom recently spoke to students at Highlands School. From left: Bo Garrett, Trey Boyen and Folsom. Photo special to the Journal
Former First Lady Visits Highlands Students A former Alabama first lady visited Highlands School middle school students before the Nov. 6 elections. Marsha Folsom was at the school Oct. 30 to speak to students about the electoral college. She explained how the electoral college system is different from the popular vote in the U.S. presidential election. Folsom involved students in her presentation, asking them to serve as representatives of the electoral college as she discussed how many members of the electoral college there are per state and how many electoral votes are necessary for a candidate to win an election. She also spoke about the challenges of this particular election due to the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy. After the presentation, students asked questions about Folsom’s role in the Democratic Party, her experience as the state’s first lady and about what she sees as the most important roles students will face when they reach voting age.
power trip Fifth graders at Greystone Elementary visited the Alabama Power Gaston Steam Plant to see firsthand how coal helps make electricity. They also found out that the plant is going to use natural gas instead of coal in the near future. From left: Tamar Haback, Nicolas Obregon, Justin Hughes and James Haywood. Photo special to the Journal
competition, the Pizitz team won third place. Seventh grader William Zhang took home a first place trophy in the individual contest. The Pizitz sixth grade math team won second place with Walter Zhang winning a first place individual trophy
and Shivani Reddy taking home a fourth place individual award. The eighth grade team is coached by Vicki Cato. The seventh grade team’s coach is Beth Kaiser. Donna Lett is the coach of the sixth grade math team.
Members of the math teams at Pizitz Middle School in celebrate their wins at a recent math competition. Photo special to the Journal