By Ingrid Schnader Five Over the Mountain schools are among 50 schools in the state recognized for showing the most improvement in third-grade reading performance. The Alabama State Department of Education announced on Aug. 21 the 50 schools that showed the most improvement in third-grade reading performance in the state. Three of these schools are part of the Hoover City … [Read more...]
Pas de Deux: How Ballet Brought this Duo to Birmingham
By Ingrid Schnader Although Frederick Rocas and Nadine Barton have been dancing together at Alabama Ballet for the past five years, they come from completely different backgrounds. That’s because when you want to be a professional dancer, you might have to apply to studios across the world before you find a job that fits your needs. “You have to look for the job,” Rocas … [Read more...]
Game Changer: Helmets Go High-Tech for MBHS Football Players
By Ingrid Schnader Amidst the controversy surrounding football and brain damage, Mountain Brook High School football coach Chris Yeager has gone forward and found something to help his players on the field. It all started when he realized that the inside of helmets that players had been using were losing their pliability. “It’s almost like a cardboard box,” he said. “It … [Read more...]
Manhattan Melodies: Homewood Band Gears up for 40th Anniversary Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Performance
By Ingrid Schnader At 412 members, the largest band in Alabama calls an Over the Mountain community home. It’s the most-seen high school band in the South, and it has performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade more than any other high school band in the country — the Homewood Patriot Band. Band director Ron Pence is gearing up for the band’s ninth performance at the … [Read more...]
‘Rays of Sunshine’: Head Over Teal for Shay’s Rays
By Ingrid Schnader When Jacqueline DeMarco’s cousin Shay McNamee died from ovarian cancer, DeMarco said, she made sense of it by vowing not to let the loss to her family be in vain. That’s why DeMarco and other people who were close to McNamee run in races such as the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation’s Head Over Teal run. Their group, Shay’s Rays, is one of the biggest teams … [Read more...]