Erin Plate Named National Merit Commended Student

Erin Plate, a senior at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, has been named a Commended Student in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the school principal, Sue Vaughn, to this scholastically talented senior.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2007 competition for Merit Scholarship® awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.4 million students who entered the 2007 competition by taking the 2005 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

“Recognition of academically talented students and the key role played by schools in their development is essential to the pursuit of educational excellence in our nation,” commented a spokesman for NMSC. “The young people being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding academic potential by their strong performance in this highly competitive program. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and that they will continue to pursue scholastic excellence.”

In addition to her outstanding academics, Erin is very active in extra curricular activities. Erin is a member of the Varsity Cross Country and Track teams, President of the Key Club, Vice President of the Student Government Association, and is very active in the St. Bede Catholic Church Life Teen Group. Erin is the daughter of Lt. Col. Jeff and Kelly Plate.

Bottemiller & Visco Named as AP Scholars

Muriah Bottemiller and Matthew Visco from Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) Exams.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. About 18 percent of the more than 1.3 million high school students in 16,000 secondary schools worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar.
Students took AP Exams in May 2006 after completing challenging college-level courses at their high schools. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on student’s performance on AP Exams.

Most of the nation’s colleges and universities award credit, advanced placement, or both based on successful performance on the AP Exams. More than 1,400 institutions award a full year’s credit, sophomore standing, to students presenting a sufficient number of qualifying grades. In 2006, thirty-five AP Exams were offered in a wide variety of subject areas, each consisting of multiple choice and free response (essay or problem solving) questions.

Muriah Bottemiller is the daughter of Major and Mrs. Gregg Bottemiller. Muriah attends Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina. Matthew Visco is the son of Colonel and Mrs. Stephen Visco. Matthew attends Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania.

High School "Families in Action" Program, Wednesday, October 25th @ 6:30 pm

To celebrate Drug Awareness Week, the high school Parent-Teacher Council presented our second annual “Families in Action” night on Wednesday, October 25th beginning at 6:30 p.m. This event is for both our students and parents.

There will be 4 speakers for the adults and 5 speakers for the students.
Adult speakers: Dr. Kline Johnson speaking on Teenage Depression; Mr. Alan Deighton speaking about Safe Driving Practices for Teenagers; Lt. McCullough speaking on “Drugs 101” to educate parents about the latest trends in teenage drug use; and Crystal Taylor to speak about Dating Safety.

Student Speakers: Dr. Karl Kirkland speaking about Self Esteem, Anxiety, and Depression; Teresa Johnson speaking on Eating Disorders; Deputy Kofee Anderson providing a demonstration with simulation goggles on DUI; Ms. Wood speaking as a recovering drug addict; and Mrs. McInnish from Frazer United Methodist Church speaking on Purity.

The parents met in our library with their sessions in the Belke Building. The students met in our gymnasium with their sessions in the old wing of the high school.

The Families in Action night was an overwhelming success again this year with more than 86% of the high school student body and nearly 200 parents attending the event!

Anna Vercelli Signs with AUM Lady Senators Soccer Program

AUM Lady Senators Soccer Head Coach Wulf Koch and the Auburn University Montgomery Lady Senators signed Montgomery Catholic’s Anna Vercelli to their soccer program at a ceremony held Thursday at the Physical Education Complex on the AUM campus.

Anna Vercelli is the daughter of Chip and Lisa Vercelli, both AUM alumni. Anna is currently in her senior year at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School and, including the upcoming 2007 spring season, she will be a six year starter for the Lady Knights Girls’ Soccer Team. She has had a tremendously successful prep career in which she has been a star four-year sweeper for Montgomery Catholic Coach Brian Belsterling. In 2006, Anna was selected to the All-Metro team and won her team’s Coach’s Award.

Throughout her high school career, Vercelli has proven herself to be an extremely versatile athlete. In her school’s four trips to the state play-offs, she has played Right Back on the 2003 State Semi-Finalist, Right Half on the 2004 State Finalists, and Center Half on the 2005 State Semi-Finalists teams. In 2006, the Knights finished with a 9-3-3 record and lost in the State Quarterfinals to eventual State Champions, Altamont School.

The AUM Lady Senators will wrap up the 2006 regular season at number-one ranked Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, October 21, before hosting Southern States Athletic Conference tournament first round match at the AUM Soccer Field on Tuesday, October 24 at 3 p.m. against a yet to be determined opponent. Currently, the AUM Women have a record of 10-6 overall, 8-2 in the SSAC.

Montgomery Catholic Crowns 2006 Homecoming Court

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School crowned their Homecoming Queen and King during the half-time festivities on Friday, October 6th. Homecoming week was filled with spirited theme days and evening activities which kept the enthusiasm strong through the weekend. The 2006 Homecoming Court is Freshmen Attendant Jessica Barranco, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Barranco, escorted by Nolan Plate, son of Lt. Col. and Mrs. Jeff Plate. Sophomore Attendant is Rebecca Hails, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Hails, escorted by A.J. Mayhan, son of Mr. Albert Mayhan and Ms. Judy Moseley. Junior Attendant is Whitney Barranco, daughter of Mr. Pat Barranco and Ms. Kim Barranco, escorted by Stephen Bodet, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bodet. Senior Attendant is Rachel Forsyth, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. James Forsyth, escorted by Andrew Parker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Parker. Senior Attendant is Allison Belsterling, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Belsterling, escorted by Nick Jett, son of Capt. and Mrs. Terry Jett. The 2006 Homecoming Queen is Kristin Sutton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Sutton, escorted by the 2006 Homecoming King Bob Weber, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Weber. The 2005 Homecoming Queen & King, Mary Kimbrough and Brad Cary, crowned the 2006 court during the football game. The Homecoming Dance was held the following night at the St. Bede Family Life Center.
To view more photos, click here: http://www.knights.pvt.k12.al.us/athletics/fb/homecoming.htm