Vestavia Class Wins Water Works Contest
Sue Huang’s fourth grade class at Vestavia Hills Central Elementary School won first place in the Birmingham Water Works Board’s “What Water Means to Me” poster contest. Classes that participated in the poster contest are also part of the inaugural class of the BWWB’s H2O University, a school-based initiative piloted in 13 elementary and middle schools during the 2009-2010 school year.
Diplomas were awarded to Huang’s class members and to more than 300 other students May 7 at Vestavia Hills Central. The poster contest was held in observance of National Drinking Water Week May 2-8.
Huang’s class received goodie bags and a surprise visit from BWWB media partners during their graduation exercise. Their entry will also be displayed on the BWWB Web site.
OTM Students Win Marmurek Scholarships
Karis A. Dison from Hoover High School and C. Smylie Kaufman from Vestavia Hills High School are recipients of the annual Adam Marcus Marmurek Scholarship. Adam Marcus Marmurek was a 13-year-old student from Vestavia Hills who died in 1995 due to complications following a bone marrow transplant. Recipients received $1,000 scholarships based on an application and essay indicating that they have attributes similar to Marmurek, including an above average grade point; exerting a positive influence on their peers through leadership, character and service; and being a responsible and conscientious student relating well to all people.
MBHS Groups Invited to Carnegie Hall
Mountain Brook High School’s Concert and Chamber Choir have been invited to perform at Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York City, one of the premier music festivals in the world.
Only select choirs, bands, and orchestras are invited to perform in this world-renowned venue during the Festival at Carnegie Hall.
Under the direction of Dwight Brown, the ensemble was awarded a gold rating for a superior performance during the Boston 2010 Heritage Festival, earning them an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in 2011 or 2012.
Heritage Festival congratulates Dwight Brown and the groups from Mountain Brook High School for this outstanding accomplishment.
Civitan Club, Students Garden Together
Members of the Homewood Civitan Club visited Elizabeth Stewart’s classroom at Homewood Middle School to talk to students about the club’s activities.
The students and club partnered to plant potted plants to grow inside the school. They potted different herbs for Stewart’s class to use during cooking projects as well.
Young Readers
Help Grow Garden
Young library patrons are planting, watering and weeding this summer in the new Emmet O’Neal Library Community Garden sponsored by Oak Street Garden Shop.
The youthful gardeners have planted a wide variety of summer vegetables, which will be tended by children participating in the library’s summer reading program and harvested in the fall.
A portion of the harvest will be sampled by the gardeners; the remainder will be donated to Magic City Harvest, a non-profit food recovery program that distributes excess food to organizations serving those in need. The garden is across from the library at the corner of Oak Street and Keely Court.
Oak Street Garden Shop provides all the tools, materials and expertise necessary for the garden. Children and families can drop by to garden before and after select library events.
Visit www.eolib.org or the Children’s Department blog, www.eolib.org/children-blog.php, for a full list of Community Garden Reading and Feeding opportunities.
OMHS Starlettes Shine at UDA Camp
The Oak Mountain High School Starlettes won several awards at the Universal Dance Association All American Dance Team Camp at Auburn University.
The OMHS team earned a first-place trophy and superior rating for its “home routine” and also placed first in the Drill Downs category and the A-Team routine category. The Starlettes received an overall superior score for the week, securing a bid to compete at the National Dance Team Championship in Orlando in February 2011.
Starlettes competing in the All American individual dance category and named UDA All American Dancers were captain Summer Wales, co-captain Sylvie Lauzon, Maddy Perry, Sydney Dale and Natalie Few. Other Starlettes include co-captain Kaitlyn Zeek, Mary Allison Thrasher, Emma Brooks, Katie Jenkins, Anna Claire Vawter, Jordan Laxson, Caitlin Owens, Claire Turner, Sarah Jones, Brooke Lowery, Aubrey Duncan, Maya Johnson, Myrah Taylor, Morgan York and Sara Grace Bezkor. The team is directed by Pam Pugh.
OLV Team Finishes 35th in the Nation
The Our Lady of the Valley Science Olympiad Team earned an overall 35th ranking in the nation at the National Science Olympiad Competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign May 20-22. OLV’s achievement places it in the top one percent of U.S. teams and as the top Catholic school in the nation in the competition.
Twelve OLV events finished in the top 30. Two of those events, Science Crime Busters and Pentathalon, finished in the top 10 in the nation. Among OLV students who placed in different events were: Meghan Till and Josh Gancayco, seventh in Science Crime Busters; Miss Till, Tony Portante, Roh Harchelroad and John Michael Romano, ninth in Pentathalon; Harchelroad and Jack Christensen, 13th in Anatomy; Julia Terry and A.J. Keelin, 16th in Wright Stuff; Jake Herndon and Matt Byers, 18th in Helicopter (trial event); Christian Thornton and A.J. Matta, 22nd in Battery Buggy; Keelin and Matta, 22nd in Compute This; Marty McGuire, John Ruppert and Romano, 23rd in Experimental Design; Ruppert and Keelin, 28th in Ecology; Romano and Miss Terry, 27th in Elevated Bridge; Matta and McGuire, 29th in Write It Do It; and McGuire and Maggie Hagelskamp, 28th in Model This (trial event).
The team was coached by Ann Stevens, OLV eighth grade science teacher. Contributing to the success of the OLV team were alumni ninth graders Meghan Till and Courtney Issis, principal Sandra Roden, faculty members Kathleen Keelin, Tom Chauffe, Brendan McGuire, Carol Gancayco, Cindy Naro, Barbara Brickner, Rina McKenna, Michelle Terry, Lorraine Cerfolio, Carolyn Romano, Debra Till, Jake Herndon, Joey Ciza, Judy Brown, Anamarie Bratcher, Gary Roden, and Monsignor Paul Rohling.
Spain Park Celebrates 2010 MAC Scholars
Dozens of Spain Park MAC (Minority Achievement Council) Scholars were recognized recently as part of the school’s annual Senior Day reception. Keynote speaker was Ahmad Ward, director of education at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Sponsored by Kerry Williams and three other Spain Park faculty members, MAC began several years ago as a school-wide outreach to black male students.
The service organization meets on a regular basis and encourages community involvement, good grades and service to others.
