Student Spotlights November 2022

Nine Air Force Junior ROTC cadets, led by Pensacola High School Senior Cadet Katelynn Reddin, waded in and helped clean up a local park and waterway to keep our community safe and clear of environmental hazards.

Redeemer’s kids may not have been born when 9/11 happened, but they do know how incredibly important service members, first responders, and even everyday heroes are to our country. In honor of Patriot Day, local patriots were honored with song and breakfast as we all took the day to remember those that sacrificed so much for our country.

Global Learning Academy was honored to host the kickoff Parent University event for the 2022-23 school year on August 20. More than two hundred attendees participated in plenary sessions and breakout sessions on topics ranging from positive behavior supports and helping your student at home to money management or starting a business. Parent University events will continue throughout the year at various schools. Watch Escambia County Public Schools press releases for more information.

The Fall is always a special time at Pensacola Catholic High School when some of our favorite student sporting events are active – Friday Night Lights, a.k.a. Football, and Volleyball! Both of our teams this year have had a great start to their seasons, and we hope that by the time this article is published, we are well on our way to District competitions. All Crusaders “get into the spirit” during various special activities that are geared to help cheer our teams on to victory. The Student Council works with school Administrators to identify themes for each home game and the student section is usually “decked out” in true Crusader spirit. The Cheerleaders and the CHS Band always help to raise the level of spirit in the stands, and pep rallies are another activity that is enjoyed by all Crusaders, during which each class – Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors – fights (yells is more like it) hard to earn the coveted “Spirit Stick” that is handed out at the end of the event. One thing for sure, no matter what the event, you can always find a lot of spirit when there is a Crusader around – GO CRUSADERS!

Instructional Coach, Kristin Maum, was awarded $4,932.00 to purchase iPads and Apple Pencils for the Tate High School math department. She is thrilled that her grant was chosen because now “math teachers can easily model how to solve math problems while also moving around their room to check on individual students. They’ll be able to ensure that each and every student in their classroom understands what they are doing and they’ll be able to quickly adjust their instruction based on students’ needs.”
Reading teacher, Carla Urquhart, was awarded $2,000.00 to purchase flexible seating options for her students. When asked why she chose to write this grant, she said, “This will have a positive impact on the students who have ADHD, Autism, and other individualized needs often seen in the Intensive Reading Classroom. Most students need to fidget or move in order to focus on tasks such as listening, reading, or writing. The opportunity for flexible seating helps the student to determine which seat works best for them and allows them to get the most out of their time in the classroom.”
Theatre teacher, Lauren Williams, was awarded $1,961.00 to purchase digital media equipment for both her English Language Arts classes and her drama classes. She is so excited to use the grant cross-curricularly: “iPads, tripods, and green screen equipment will allow my students to film play trailers to promote our mainstage shows. It will also help theatre students learn about film acting and short films. Students in my English classes can record things such as persuasive commercials to learn about rhetoric.”
Fine Arts teacher, Elerene Walters, was awarded $2,000.00 to purchase high quality cameras and printers for her art classes. This will allow students to practice real-world skills: “Students will learn how to scan and print artwork and how to print digital art and photography. These are skills that will help them get jobs at online companies like Shutterfly and Minted. This project will even help students who want to pursue a career in art because they will be able to create a portfolio for College Board, art scholarships, Gallery Nights, and as a professional artist.”
The ECPS Foundation funded 32 grants this year, spread throughout the school system for a total of $78,458! J.M. Tate High School was awarded a total of 4 grants – more than any other school in the district.

Chapel has gotten a facelift this year, and we are hearing great feedback about the new format. This summer, a chapel committee was formed to re-envision how our weekly gathering could serve as a catalyst for the integration of faith and learning. The goal has been to expand the students’ moral, intellectual, and vocational imagination for what it means to follow Jesus. Because of this, we are introducing local pastors, industry leaders, and community rock-stars each week in chapel. These faithful men and women have lived out, in their various contexts, Jesus’ words to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength…and love your neighbor as yourself.” Many weeks this year, the floor will be opened for questions for students to further engage with the speakers. Our prayer is that this active learning forum will result in a deeper knowledge of how God is redeeming culture and using people to do it. We hope the students begin to dream about how God has uniquely gifted them to influence their world for Christ. September has been Faith & Community month. We were joined on September 7th by Colonel Chet Arnold and Captain Jamie Vandiver. Both men serve with Officer Christian Fellowship. On September 21st, we were joined by Cheryl Hinnen, the Assistant Director of Bright Bridge Ministries.

Global Learning Academy, a Pre-K – 5th public school, has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate while preparing them for the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. With the right support, kids can take ownership of their digital lives, engage with real issues, and change their communities for the better. The recognition acknowledges our school’s commitment to creating a culture of digital citizenship.
“We applaud the faculty and staff of Global Learning Academy for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students’ education,” said Kelly Mendoza, vice president of education programs at Common Sense Education. “Global deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large.”
Global Learning Academy has been using Common Sense Education’s innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with researchers from Project Zero, led by Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and are grounded in the real issues students and teachers face. Global Learning Academy was recognized at the May 17, 2022, ECPS School Board Meeting for achieving this designation.

Global Learning Academy, a Pre-K through 5th grade public school, and Pensacola Little Theater are proud Partners in Education! PLT brought their traveling kindness skits and improv program to Global Learning Academy’s 3rd,’4th, and 5th graders. Students enjoyed a humorous, but impactful, skit about kindness and then had a chance to brainstorm ideas for random acts of kindness.

Our Business Leadership class is participating in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy sponsored by Doug Bizerra from the Bayou Boulevard restaurant. The Leader Academy is a national high school leadership program that provides students the platform they need to impact their school and community. Our goal is Impact Through Action. Students had their Kickoff Experience on September 13th. They were treated to a Chick-Fil-A lunch, worked through Leader Lab activities, and began their first project, 1 Million Book Giveaway. A big thank you to Doug Bizerra for partnering with our school.

7th and 8th grade students at the Montessori School of Pensacola just completed a unit of study on the Middle Ages. As part of their study, they learned about medicine during the Middle Ages. Groups presented on different methods and beliefs.

Eleven Pensacola High School students attended the PensaCan 2022 build day, and they did a fantastic job. There were approximately 400 cans of food involved in the display, along with some other items to donate. Students chose to highlight the role of robotics in agriculture and food production, as most of the food on a typical dinner table was put there in some form or fashion by a robot!

Global Learning Academy’s new Principal, Lalla Pierce, and new Assistant Principal, Michel Henry-Slater, are excited Motivational Mondays are a huge success! On Mondays, students may dress down, out of uniform, IF they are wearing t-shirts with positive words or phrases. It’s been a great way to kick off each week!

Montessori School of Pensacola Middle School students attended a naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse. Students wrote essays about what it means to be American. Two students got to present their essays at the ceremony. Those students also presented gifts to the wisest (oldest) and youngest people getting their citizenship. The class got to tour the courtroom, learn about how the trial process works, and spend time with Judge Collier.

Pro Deo Et Patria – For God and For Country is the motto of Pensacola Catholic High School and there is a special fondness in the hearts of all Crusaders for members of the Catholic High Family who have served their country through military service. For the past couple of years, Catholic High has been soliciting Alumni and Parent groups to document who has served/is serving in the military and in what capacity. For the second year now, members of The Wounded Warriors Club and History Club have started a new tradition for the month of November – to personally thank members of the Catholic High Family who have served their country in the military. Members of these student clubs handwrite ‘Thank you’ notes that are personalized to each veteran thanking them and their families for their years of service in the branch in which they have served/are serving. We hope all those reading this article who have served will also know the thanks of the Catholic High Family – Pro Deo Et Patria!

Every year, students at the Montessori School of Pensacola (MSP) take part in the United Nations International Day of Peace on September 21st. The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. MSP students gathered together to sing a song titled “Light a Candle for Peace”. Some classrooms made pinwheels for peace and displayed them along the road next to school. Other classrooms made peace flags. Students discuss what it means to be peaceful and other ideas about spreading peace. The UN website for the day states, “Racism, xenophobia and related discrimination and intolerance exist in all societies, everywhere. Racism harms not just the lives of those who endure it, but also society as a whole. We all lose in a society characterized by discrimination, division, distrust, intolerance, and hate. The fight against racism is everyone’s fight. We all have a part to play in building a world beyond racism.”

Catholic High School moved the Annual Make a Difference Day to the Fall and on October 8 a record-breaking 486 students and parent volunteers from Pensacola Catholic High School were released into the community to “Make a Difference.” This event, the 28th time that Catholic High has participated, began at 7:15 a.m. at the Nickelsen Family Courtyard on the CHS campus where students checked in with their project leaders and met up with friends in their assigned projects. Rita Lay, CHS Director of Advancement and coordinator of the event, officially welcomed students and volunteers and then conducted a safety briefing to remind students and volunteers alike to be conscious of their surroundings and tasks as they go about the work of their projects. Bishop William Wack and Principal, Sister Kierstin Martin, then lead a prayer service in thanksgiving for all the wonderful volunteers, the work of the organizations that were to be serviced during the projects, and for the beautiful weather God had sent! Students were then dismissed to their projects.
Project work included clean-up and landscaping efforts in three separate cemeteries; painting, cleaning, and refurbishing at four local schools and parishes. Teams also served non-profit organizations including the Alpha Center, ARC Gateway, Martha’s Vineyard, Rosewood Manor, Waterfront Mission, Habitat for Humanity, Covenant Care, the Humane Society, Manna Food Bank and other locations to ‘Make a Difference.’ The Green Club participated as a collective team to help refurbish an oyster bed near Garcon Point. Another team visited the Ronald McDonald House to cook and serve breakfast for the families currently staying there. Students also helped organizers of the Special Olympics 5K Run that was held at the University of West Florida that day and the Gulf Coast Kid’s House famous Dragon Boat Races that took place at Bayview Park. Students and parent volunteers worked on their projects until Noon before returning to the Tolan Family Student Life Center for a lunch that was also prepared by a team of parent volunteers.
Make a Difference Day, affectionately called “MADD” around campus, began at Catholic High in 1996 when former Development Director, Jane Moseley, first initiated CHS joining what was, at the time, a national initiative spearheaded by Gannett Media Company. Catholic High loves to hold this event every year as the tradition supports the school’s Core Values – Selfless Love, Commitment to Excellence, Personal Integrity, and Commitment to Service.

Our eighth-grade students participated in the annual Eighth Grade Retreat at Camp Baldwin in Elberta, Alabama on September 14th-15th, 2022. This retreat offers the students a time to interact with their huddle group leaders as they embark on their final year in middle school at EHCS. Activities include a low ropes challenge course, zip-lining over the lake, glow golf, laser tag, boating, and praise and worship time. We are looking forward to a great time.