Every month we compile a list of students and schools doing great things across our community. We have so many talented students in our area. Greater Pensacola Parents joins with these families and schools to celebrate their achievements!

NAS STEM Day Event

Before the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show, over 3,000 Escambia and Santa Rosa County students participated in a STEM Day. NAS Pensacola hosted exhibits and static displays from numerous Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-focused organizations.

Escambia County Public Schools’ Holiday Food Drive Helps Others

Escambia County Public School hosted a food drive through December 6 to help support Manna Food Pantry. The need for nutritious food is getting higher and donations are slowing. This food drive will support their community long after the holidays. Kerri Smayda, associate executive director for Manna, said that while their partnership with the school district has been in place for many years, this year’s holiday food drive is especially significant since food insecurity is rising in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties with no indication that things will slow. This year, the school district is hoping to beat last year’s record of 16,885 pounds of food and about $1,200 in financial donations, equating to about 20,172 healthy meals.

Aletheia Christian Spanish 1 Students have a Taste Test

Aletheia Christian Spanish 1 students wrapped up their food and restaurant unit with Latino food taste testing. They got to sample traditional cuisine such as plantains, beef empanadas, pastel tres leche, (three milk cake) and a traditional beverage called Malta, cooked by Sra. Lanning. The most popular was the empanadas followed by pastel de tres leches. Most students were surprised by the beverage and a few found a new drink to like.

Aletheia Christian Participates in "Hour of Code"

Every year, Aletheia Christian participates in “Hour of Code,” a worldwide movement that aims to introduce millions of students to computer science through one-hour coding activities. Through Hour of Code, educators aim to demystify coding and show that anyone can learn the basics, inspiring future interest in computer science. Students in grades 2nd-6th joined students from all over the world in a one-hour coding challenge sponsored by Code.org. Fifth and sixth graders designed and coded Christmas cards for their teachers.

Aletheia Christian’s Field Trip to the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center

Aletheia Christian’s first and second grade students took a field trip to the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center last month. They participated in the “Birds of a Feather” program and “Snakes and Scales and Turtle Tails” program. They had so much fun learning about the characteristics of both birds and reptiles, examining feathers, and bird watching on the Bird Bus. Finally, they had the opportunity to meet three of the RHEC animal ambassadors up close and personal: Ozzie the Diamondback terrapin, Blackbeard the bearded dragon, and Slither the Florida Kingsnake. What a fun day to be a scientist.

ECPS Superintendent's Student Council

Superintendent Leonard introduced the members of the 2024-2025 Superintendent’s Student Council, comprised of student-leaders from each ECPS high school.
This year’s members are:
Westin Rhymer – BTWHS
Da’Rieon Gilbert – BTWHS
Grace Guerrier – PHS
Alex Kinney – PHS
Natalie George – Tate HS
Aiden Bramblett – Tate HS
Randelaysia Grier – WFHS
Chrissie Fuller – WFHS
Payten Sims – EHS
Xandria Smith – EHS
Maddie Driskill – NHS
Braden Glick – NHS
Delaria Pogue – PFHS
This group meets with the Superintendent several times throughout the school year to help keep district leadership in tune with the students’ perspectives, priorities, and issues

Montessori School of Pensacola Literature Program

We take pride in our Middle School Literature program at Montessori School of Pensacola. Our 7th and 8th-grade students read 3 to 5 novels each year, carefully selected to promote critical thinking and an appreciation of diverse perspectives.
One of the novels currently being studied is The Outsiders. This timeless story delves into themes such as peer pressure, social divisions, family dynamics, and the challenges of adolescence—issues that resonate deeply with middle school students.
Pictured are some of our middle school students engaged in their weekly literature discussion, reflecting on the novel’s thought-provoking themes.

Creative Learning Academy’s Darsana Lamichhane Places First at FBLA Competition

Creative Learning Academy’s Fifth Grade student Darsana Lamichhane recently claimed first place in the local Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Middle School competition. Competing in the “Exploring Business Issues” category, Darsana impressed the judges with her presentation on Artificial Intelligence and its impact on the future of work. Her standout performance focused on the changing landscape of jobs in healthcare, transportation, and retail, highlighting both the benefits and potential drawbacks of AI integration in these sectors.
FBLA Middle School is a division of the largest business career and technical student organization in the world, introducing students in grades 5-9 to the world of business through real-world activities. The organization’s competitions recognize and reward excellence in a broad range of business and career-related areas, preparing students for successful careers by providing opportunities to apply classroom concepts in work environments. These competitions not only sharpen students communication, leadership, and teamwork skills but also prepare them for high school and the workplace ahead of their peers.
Darsana’s achievement is particularly noteworthy as she placed first among 21 local students participating in the competition. Her exceptional performance, along with 15 other students who excelled, has earned them the opportunity to compete in the State-wide competition. This accomplishment highlights FBLA’s role in setting the trajectory for young entrepreneurs, offering them a platform to explore diverse career paths, connect with industry leaders, and develop essential skills sought by employers across various fields.

Lessons & Carols at St. Paul Catholic School

St.Paul Catholic School’s First through Eighth Grade came together to give a performance of Lessons and Carols on the last school day before Christmas break. Families attending enjoyed student band, orchestra and piano performances, along with songs and lessons focusing on the true reason for the season. Kindergarten made a special appearance reciting a poem written by Sister Anne McGoldrick. Students played and sang beautifully and all who came left feeling the joy of the Christmas season.

Escambia County Schools Honors Veterans

We are proud to be a military community. On Veterans Day, the students at our schools stood up and stood tall to honor our local veterans.

CHS National Honor Society Welcomes New Members

The Aquinas Chapter of the National Honor Society recently made history at Catholic High with the addition of a record 60 new inductees. National Honor Society membership at CHS is open to high school Junior and Senior students who are eligible based on four criteria: character, scholarship, leadership, and service. Students who meet the scholarship requirement based on their GPA are evaluated for the equally important criteria of character, leadership and service. The Catholic High NHS moderators are faculty members Chris Gulig and Jennifer McCarthy. Congratulations to the new members of the CHS National Honor Society.
New Inductees to the CHS National Honor Society:
Ella Adams, Lily Covill, Harrison Keesler, Ellie Nissim, Michael Baroco, Aidan Dolan, Jillian Lacour, Katie Overholtz, Abby Barzacchini, Antonio El-Sayah, Jax Lagergren, Riley Parker, Ben Bates, Ava Galinis, Maddie LeCroy, Jack Phillips, Anna Baumann, Addison Garrett, Tori Lee, Emma Rettig, Gabby Beal, Kirsten Gaubert, Lennon Lusanne, Lily Rodriguez, Allison Bennett, Bella Geri, Brooke Macaluso, Maya Sandfort, Caleb Bobe, Mac Gilmer, Blaise Maddrey, Aaron Seegert, Ben Sabat Brinson, Sara Gray, Lily Manzoli, Mack Sherill, Gianna Brown, Colton Guillot, Lilah Messerly, Kelsey Smith, Nick Buelow, Eva Hammergren, Gabrielle Millender, Jackson Snyder, Ella Cage, McKenna Hindman, Chase Miller, Avery Taylor, Olivia Carlson, Maddie Hughes, Gabby Moseley, Madison Walker, Maya Chavan, Olivia Jens, Meredith Moulton, Riley Walsh, Louisa Coleman, Kate Johnson, Ava Nelson and Kaila Wilson.

SPCS House Tournament

St. Paul Catholic School Middle school students celebrated the end of first semester exams with a House Tournament in December! The house of St. Michael won the top spot!

Escambia High School's Choral Group Shines

The Escambians, Escambia High School’s choral group, stopped by the School Board workshop and delighted those in attendance with some beautiful holiday music. Another example of the immense talent shining in our schools every day.

Lego Robotics at St. Paul Catholic School

RoboSpartans, the St. Paul Catholic School LEGO Robotics Team, competed in the NWFL FIRST LEGO League Regional Tournament. The future looks great for this team! Thirty-six teams qualified for this regional tournament based on their overall achievements in an earlier tournament. Teams competed for awards in Core Values, Innovation Project, and Robot Design by preparing presentations to demonstrate their team’s understanding of the engineering design process in identifying a problem and solution related to this year’s theme, creating a robot and programming code to complete missions in the robot game and answering questions from judges.