Student Spotlights – March 2024

Eleven Schools in the Escambia County, Florida Campuses Earn Purple Star School Status. The Purple Star School of Distinction Designation recognizes schools that offer unique support to military families, a news release from ECPS said. The schools chosen also help military-connected students navigate challenges and provide resources to those students when they transition to a new school.
The 11 schools that received the recognition include:
Bellview Elementary School
Beulah Elementary School
Booker T Washington High School
Brown-Barge Middle School
Ernest Ward Middle School
Hellen Caro Elementary School
J.H. Workman Middle School
J.M. Tate High School
Lipscomb Elementary School
Pine Forest High School
Pleasant Grove Elementary School

Escambia County Public Schools has announced its ECPS Teacher of the Year, Cassi McGee!
Ms. McGee has been an employee of the District since 2005, when she began as a 5th grade teacher at Scenic Heights Elementary. She stayed in that position until she transferred to Pine Meadow, where she still teaches today.
Ms. McGee’s students have consistently achieved learning gains and met and surpassed state-mandated benchmarks. In 2022-2023, an impressive 90% of her students made learning gains in math, with an average rise from a level 2 to 3. She has also been a valuable asset at Pine Meadow as the Math Committee Chair and is active in the Writing and Language Arts committees. Thirteen years ago at Pine Meadow, she started the safety patrol program for fifth-grade students, which is still thriving. She also serves as a coach for Pine Meadow’s award-winning Math and Battle of the Books teams each year. “We are so proud to announce Cassi McGee has been selected as our Teacher of the Year,” stated ECPS Superintendent Keith Leonard. “Her contributions to Escambia County Public Schools epitomize the dedication, flexibility and innovation so necessary to prepare our students for a successful and meaningful future. She is truly an invaluable asset to her students, her school and this community as a whole.” Ms. McGee will now move on to represent Escambia County Public Schools in the state Teacher of the Year competition.

Carnival Season kicked off at Brentwood Elementary, as various community partners lined up for Brentwood’s annual Mardi Gras Parade. Our students enjoyed the colorful throws, costumes, and floats…not to mention the ECSO horses!

Students at St. Paul Catholic School engaged in battle for a good cause last month with a Penny War. Classes were pitted against each other in good fun as students brought in coins and cash to raise money for charity. When all coins were counted, SPCS students had raised $4,058 in just four days to donate to the Little Sisters of the Poor in Mobile, Ala.

Aletheia Christian Academy has earned the College Board’s AP Computer Science Diversity Award for expanding young women’s access to AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). This award acknowledges 1,127 schools for their work toward equal gender representation during the 2022-23 school year. ACA is one of only 834 schools to be recognized for achieving this important result in AP CSP.

Mason Shiueh, a fifth-grade student at Kingsfield Elementary School, emerged as the champion. Ty Hagan, a fifth-grade student from Byrneville Elementary, was the second-place finalist and Aria Hungerford, a fifth-grade student from Sherwood Elementary, was the third-place finalist.

St. Paul Catholic Middle School students recently participated in the Regional Science Fair and won many awards! Congratulations to all and good luck to Tre Wilderman and Aidan LeFave, will go on to compete at the State Science Fair.

Every year, Pensacola Catholic High School joins the rest of Catholic Schools in the United States in celebrating ‘Catholic Schools Week’. The week-long event begins on the last Sunday of January and is dedicated to celebrating and giving thanks for all aspects of a Catholic Education. Campus Minister, Rebecca Carter, along with Principal Sister Kierstin Martin, and the rest of the Religion Department Faculty collaborate to create an agenda of activities that support the national theme of ‘United in Faith and Community.’ Each day focuses on a different aspect of the theme with special prayers, lessons, and fun activities. The week’s activities at CHS began on Monday with a Eucharistic Procession at 7:45 a.m. and the theme for the day was Catholic Schools in our Nation. Other activities included a Poster Decorating Contest that focused on Faith and the Eucharist, as well as information/quotes about Catholic Schools in America posted throughout the halls. Tuesday’s activities centered around celebrating ‘Our Students’ with a special jean dress down day, music played in the halls between classes, information about Blessed Carlos Acutis – Patron Saint of Youth, a special cake served at lunch, and best of all – no homework! Wednesday’s theme was celebrating Catholic Schools in our Diocese. Bishop William Wack was joined by eight other priests from the Diocese to celebrate Mass in thanksgiving for our wonderful schools in the western end of the Diocese including Elementary Schools St. John’s School, Little Flower School, St. Paul’s School, Sacred Heart Cathedral School, and the Mother Clelia Morning Star High School. CHS students as well as student representatives and faculty from each of these schools participated in the Mass. On Thursday the focus was ‘Our Teachers’. They had a jeans day and were treated to lunch hosted by the PTA parents. Students also enjoyed a trivia contest done online guessing the graduation years of all of our teachers, staff, and administrators. It was interesting to learn how resourceful the students were in finding the answers! The week-long celebrations ended with a special day for ‘Our Parents.’ The traditional ‘Sway Day’ was held during which parents attended school in place of their students. This event is a favorite of our parents and students as the parents have a good time coming “back to high school” and the students enjoy the “day off”. It was such a fabulous week learning and celebrating our heritage of being a Catholic School! Pictured – Swap Day: Sister Kierstin gives a parent his student’s schedule and parents talking between classes – I hope they weren’t tardy!

These students in Lower Elementary at Montessori School of Pensacola (MSP) are showing an essential part of Montessori education: multi-age groupings. Dr. Maria Montessori developed the methodology of education that bears her name over 100 years ago. Through her observation of children, she found that classrooms with multi-age groupings are highly successful. At MSP, the classrooms have different age levels together that integrate three-year mixed age groupings. Ideally, one third of the group changes each year, as the oldest children move up to the next level and a new group enters. By staying in the same classroom for three years, the bonds between the children and teacher are strengthened. Additionally, the younger children can observe and learn from the older children in the class. Older children in the level two and level three of the class become role models and leaders, ready to help younger classmates, increasing their independence and confidence. In this photo, you see one of the level three students checking the work of a younger classmate.

Zoe Wade competed in the National Beta Club State Convention with her art sculpture. She entered the Division 2 (11th and 12th graders) category and won 2nd place. This win qualifies her to take her sculpture to Nationals in Savannah, GA this summer to compete against the other winners from other states.

Middle school students at St. Paul Catholic School made PB&J sack lunches for the homeless men and women served at Alfred-Washburn Center. Students and their families donated everything needed for the sandwiches, along with chips, drinks and cookies. Students made the sandwiches and assembled the lunches. Elementary students put together bags filled with items for children served at the Gulf Coast Kid’s House.

As part of Catholic Schools Week, St. Paul Catholic School held a Talent Show to celebrate the many gifts of our students! Performers sang, danced, performed martial arts, played the piano and guitar, jumped rope and tumbled their way across the stage! Bravo to our brave Spartans for sharing their talents with their classmates!

Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy students at Aletheia Christian Academy planned and executed a fundraiser in December called “Cows for Christmas.” It was a huge success! By having a “change war” among classrooms, they raised just over $2,000 and were able to purchase five cows and many other tangible blessings to communities in need through Samaritan’s Purse. We are so thankful to all the students and families who participated in this mission project and to these students for showing leadership in action!

One of the most fun weeks of the year at Redeemer Lutheran School is National Lutheran Schools week. Each day has a special dress up theme ranging from silly socks or hats to book characters or historical figures. The kids’ favorite day this year? Book Character Day! From the Cat in the Hat to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, all genres were represented and celebrated. Another successful National Lutheran Schools Week in the books!

Creative Learning Academy recently held a Groundbreaking Ceremony for their new Middle School Building, which took place on Friday, February 16, 2024. This event marked a significant step forward as the first phase of a Master Plan to transform the school’s campus.
Caldwell Associates Architects have designed the new facility to seamlessly integrate classroom instruction, collaborative learning, and outdoor activity. Recognizing the challenges of a confined site and the necessity to maintain operations during construction, the Middle School Building will be situated at the rear of the property, and eventually become the defining building of an enclosed campus green.
The Middle School Building showcases a two-story outdoor learning space that acts as the main entrance, emphasizing the commitment to outdoor access and collaborative learning. Large glass garage doors connect this space to specialized learning labs on each floor – the Design Lab on the first floor, supporting hands-on learning, and the Commons on the second floor, functioning as a social gathering space, library, and discovery center.
Ten additional classrooms have been strategically designed to support core learning subjects, each featuring breakout areas for smaller group learning. The innovative hybrid structural framework with modular components fosters flexibility and modularity, mirroring the school’s innovative curriculum that emphasizes collaborative learning across disciplines.
Nathan Green, representing Green-Simmons Company Inc., whose children both graduated from CLA, expressed enthusiasm about contributing to the evolution of Creative Learning Academy’s campus. “We are honored to be part of this journey, delivering a Middle School Building that not only meets the highest standards of construction but also aligns with the academy’s visionary approach to education,” said Green.
The Groundbreaking Ceremony brought together the Creative Learning Academy community – current students, dedicated faculty and staff, parents, grandparents, Board of Trustees, as well as prominent community members and friends. The event was a celebration of CLA’s rich history and a glimpse into an exciting future, as the Middle School Building sets the stage for the continued success of Creative Learning Academy.

An exciting moment that a student looks forward to at Montessori School of Pensacola (MSP) is when they get to be “leader of the day”. Not only do they get to bring in snack from home to share with the class, but they also get to call names to dismiss fellow students as they line up to go outside for playtime. And perhaps most exciting of all is that they get to bring an item from home to “share”. They get to walk around to show the other students as they sit on the line. Other students get a chance to ask questions about the item. Recently, a student in one of the MSP Primary classrooms at the MSP 12th Avenue campus brought something that got a very enthusiastic response. Primary students were excited to meet and greet a bearded dragon!

The Pensacola Catholic High School Quiz Team, affectionately named ‘QuizSaders’, finished their Fall tournament season with an overall record of 6-4 earning an overall number three ranking in Escambia County. Two Crusaders earned rankings in the top 10 individual competitor rankings for Escambia County during the Fall– Clark Hubbert and Max Hubbman, earned the 2nd and 10th place rankings respectively. The entire team is looking forward to the Escambia County Spring Scrimmages as well as the Gulf Coast Invitational Tournament where they hope to perform well enough to qualify for the National Academic Quiz Tournament. Let’s go QuizSaders!

7th and 8th graders at Montessori School of Pensacola conducted an exciting experiment with PH. The experiment was done during a time when “special visitors” were invited to visit the classroom (parents/grandparents/guardians/special people from the child’s life). The Middle School campus at the MSP Montessori Drive location science lab is a fun place of scientific exploration.

School District personnel, local first responders, elected officials, and community partners gathered this morning at Lipscomb Elementary School to read to students. Deputy Superintendent Shenna Payne, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons, Pensacola Police Chief Eric Randall, Commissioner Steven Barry and several others dazzled and entertained students with lively readings of children’s classics. As always, we appreciate the investment our community members make in our schools every day.

To close out the week-long celebration of Catholic Schools week in late January of every year, Pensacola Catholic High School traditionally holds a ‘Swap Day’ in which parents attend classes for their students and the students get a ‘day off’. This year, four students from CHS spent their ‘Swap Day’ helping out at St. Paul’s Elementary School instead of sleeping in and relaxing. Pictured: Jack Barter reads to a class and Natalie Biggs, Scott Sanderson, and Jackson Kohr pose with St. Paul’s Principal, Mrs. Blair Hodge, before leading a lesson in class. It was silly hat day at St. Paul’s.