Third Grade Makes the Season Bright for MHA

Third grade students at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School helped to make this Christmas season  a little brighter for clients at Mental Health America (MHA) in Montgomery.  Students in Mrs. Keating and Mrs. Quillin's classes collected various personal care items for the adult clients and filled 155 goodie bags for MHA volunteers to deliver just in time for Christmas.  This is the second year third grade students at Montgomery Catholic have conducted this service project.  Brittany Wiggins gladly accepted their generosity on behalf of the clients of Mental Health America.
Pictured:  Montgomery Catholic third grade students and Brittany Wiggins of MHA are surrounded by the goodie bags they collected for Mental Health America.

Corey Cotter Named All-Metro Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year by The Montgomery Advertiser

Montgomery Catholic senior Corey Cotter has been named the All-Metro Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year by The Montgomery Advertiser.  In only his second season as a Cross Country runner, Corey holds the city's best time in high school competition at 16:48 from the sectional competition.  Nick Smith, a junior, was also named to the All-Metro Male Cross Country team.  Earning nods as Honorable Mention All-Metro were sophomores Skip Martin, Jarrett Mason, and freshman Matt Pouncey.  Montgomery Catholic's Male Cross Country team was the first runner-up in the 3A division of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Cross Country State Championship.

Montgomery Catholic's Female Cross Country team members senior Lizzie Terino, sophomore Katherine Terino, and freshman Mackenzie Colvin, pictured below, were named as Honorable Mention members of the All-Metro Female Cross Country Team.  All three of these female athletes represented Montgomery Catholic at the AHSAA Cross Country State Meet.

To read a full article written by Wesley Lyle of The Montgomery Advertiser on Corey Cotter and the Male Cross Country All-Metro honors, click here.

To read a full article about the Female Cross Country All-Metro honors, click here.

Montgomery Catholic Team Third Highest Fundraiser at Jingle Bell Run

For the third year in a row, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's team at the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis raised over $2,000 and was the third highest fundraising team at this year's event.  The race begins and ends on the beautiful campus of Huntingdon College and weaves through historic Cloverdale neighborhoods. With 60 team members, Montgomery Catholic raised $2,767 to battle this crippling disease which affects over 46 million Americans today.

Several Montgomery Catholic team members placed in the top three chipped times for their age groups.  Nick Smith won first place, Jarrett Mason placed second, and Mackenzie Colvin third in their respective age categories.  Alex Taylor, the son of high school principal Fran Taylor, also won a first place trophy in his age group.  Montgomery Catholic's team captain was Tracie Colvin.

Montgomery Catholic's 2010 Jingle Bell Run team members were Beverly Barnette, Ashley Barranco, Julie Barranco, Ellie Burden, Sarah Rose Burden, Anne Ceasar, Chris Cochrane, Charlie Colvin, Hayes Colvin, Mackenzie Colvin, Tracie Colvin, Tricia Crowley, Ann Marie Dean, Laura Dean, Mary Elizabeth Dean, Kyle Eller, Ruth Glenboski, Liz Gregorius, Patrick Gregorius, Laurie Gulley, Anne Hails, Richard Harbin, Elizabeth Karst, Mary Kelley, Anna Kimbrough, Heather Kirklin, Ken Klinger, Ben Koepele, Cameron Koepele, Steve Koepele, Hannah Masingill, Katie Masingill, Jarrett Mason, Jenny Mason, Kate McOmber, Kenslie McOmber, Nathan McOmber, Hunter Miller, Matt Pouncey, Maria Smith, Nick Smith, Josh Stark, Jerry Taff, Jessica Taff, LuAnne Taff, Shelby Taff, Sarah Talbot, Alex Taylor, Fran Taylor, John Terino, Katherine Terino, Lizzie Terino, Paige Thaxton, Karen Weber, Sara Wilson, Julie Wood, Kirstin Wood, Barr Younker, and Cappy Younker.

Click on the link to view pictures of Montgomery Catholic at the 2010 Jingle Bell Run.

Pictured:  Members of Montgomery Catholic's 2010 Jingle Bell Run team pause to meet the Chick-Fil-A cow on the Huntingdon College campus.

Lee and Petters Earn Top Scores on AMC 8 at Montgomery Catholic

Seventh grader Brian Lee and eighth grader Leo Petters outscored over 80 honor students at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School on the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 8 to attain the highest scores at the school.  The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) is dedicated to the goal of strengthening the mathematical capabilities of our nation's youth and promote excitement, enthusiasm, and positive attitudes towards mathematics. 

The AMC 8 is a 25 item timed examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem solving skills.  It provides an opportunity to apply the concepts taught at the junior high level to problems which not only range from easy to difficult but also cover a wide range of applications.  The AMC year begins with the AMC 8 in the fall and the upper level tests, the AMC 10 and AMC 12, are given in the spring.  High school students at Montgomery Catholic will participate in those tests in February 2011.

Montgomery Catholic's Godwin Elected Alabama's Chief Justice at Youth Judicial

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School junior Dominic Godwin was elected as Alabama's 2011 Youth Supreme Court Chief Justice at the 2010 YMCA Youth in Government's Youth Judicial Conference held at the Embassy Suites in downtown Montgomery. Of the job, Godwin said, "A chief justice should not only the be the head of the competition, but should also be there for the delegates.  I hope to spark each and every delegates' enthusiasm by example and leadership."

Election speeches were given on Saturday night of the conference with elections on Sunday night.  Godwin has been involved with Montgomery Catholic's Government Club and the YMCA Youth in Government Programs for the past three years.  This election was his first run for office.  Godwin's first official duty as Alabama's 2011 Youth Chief Justice was to adjourn the 2010 Judicial Conference during the closing ceremony.  In the spring, Godwin will preside over the Supreme Court at the 2011 Youth Legislature Conference.  He will return to preside over the 2011 Youth Judicial Conference next fall.

In addition to Godwin's election at the Youth Judicial Conference, Montgomery Catholic's Hannah Masingill served as the District 3 Chairperson where she aided Alabama Youth Governor Brennan McMahan in running the Pre-Judicial meetings.  Sophomore Jordan Heymann was also elected and served as the Sheriff for the conference.  Montgomery Catholic fielded two Prosecution and two Defense teams at Youth Judicial that were coached by attorneys Mrs. Melinda Perritano, Mrs. Susan Turley, and Montgomery Catholic alumni and attorneys Miss Laurel Crawford '02 and Mr. Richard Dean '78.

Serving on Montgomery Catholic's Prosecution team one were Jacob Burke, Chad DuBois, John Preston Houston, Sydney Jarman, Megan Karst, Hannah Masingill, and Jack Starr. Defense team one participants were Ashley Barranco, Tara Bourke, Mackenzie Colvin, Ann Marie Dean, Andrea Hayes, Daniel LoBello, and Sarabeth Parker.  Montgomery Catholic's Prosecution team two were Barbara Bradley, Walt Cobb, Jason Katz, Lexie Segrest, Joseph Sutton, Constance Taylor, and Lizzie Terino.  Defense team two participants were Dominic Godwin, Zachary Hulcher, David Norris, Paul Overton, Stefan Perritano, Blayne Spigner, and Ben Taylor.

Montgomery Catholic's Government Club is led by President Chad DuBois and sponsored by Mrs. Amy Johnson.

Montgomery Catholic's Elementary Science Olympiad Goes On A Dauphin Island Adventure

Fifth grade students from Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's Science Olympiad Team visited beautiful Dauphin Island on a recent field trip. The trip, which was both fun and educational, took the teachers and students on many wonderful scientific adventures. They waded into the marsh, many of them waste deep, with nets and buckets. The students also boarded a vessel used for instructional and research purposes, which took them out into Mobile Bay. The life forms they caught and pulled from the waters were plentiful, ranging from jelly fish to stingrays …and even a little shark, all of which they got to touch. It was very exciting for the children to actually participate in such activities and learn hands-on about the environment. Of course, everyone enjoyed the star-gazing walks on the beach at night where they enjoyed the evening views and closed each night with a student-led prayer service.   Montgomery Catholic's Elementary Science Olympiad team is sponsored by Mr. Nick Bourke, Mrs. Allison Boyd, and Mrs. Shelley Herbek.

Montgomery Catholic Band Members Selected for Auburn University Honor Band

Two Montgomery Catholic Marching Band members, Justis Davis and Will Brunson, were selected to play in the Auburn University Honor Band in October.  This honor band is comprised of high school musicians from all over the state who were recommended by their band directors as outstanding musicians.  Justis and Will had the honor of playing on Pat Dye Field at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium with the Auburn University Marching Band.

Alabama's Catholic High Schools Award Winners at 2010 AHSAA Cross Country Championships

The Cross Country teams from McGill-Toolen Catholic High School (Mobile), Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, and Pope John Paul II High School (Huntsville) assemble to display their trophies after the awards ceremony at the State Cross Country Championships held in Moulton, Alabama in November. The McGill-Toolen Girls finished second in the 6A classification, the Montgomery Catholic Boys were second in the 3A classification, and the Pope John Paul II High School Girls were runner-ups in the 4A division.

Britt Commits to Alabama A&M University

Montgomery Catholic's senior star softball pitcher Anisa Britt recently signed her letter of intent to play softball for Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, AL.  In addition to the athletic honors, she will also receive an academic scholarship to the university.  Anisa is the first Montgomery Catholic softball player to sign with an NCAA Division-I program.

Britt has been an avid softball player since the age of five with the Montgomery American league, where she made the All-star team each year.  Three of the years with Montgomery American, Anisa's team played to the state championship in their age division.  Anisa has also played with a travel ball team for the past five years and traveled to many states for different tournaments.

While at Montgomery Catholic, Anisa has been the starting pitcher for the past four years, earning the team leadership award, two-time Most Valuable Player award, and a three-time All-metro Softball Player with The Montgomery Advertiser. 

In her four years with the Lady Knights, Anisa has had 232 at bats, 77 hits, .332 batting average, 56 RBIs, .941 SLG percentage, and a .435 on-base percentage.  She has achieved all of this while pitching in 88 games, 457 innings, with an ERA of 3.54.  With 519 strikeouts, Anisa is chasing the Montgomery Catholic school strike-out record.

Not only is Anisa a tremendous athlete, she is an excellent student maintaining a 3.6 grade point average.  Anisa is a member of the Loretto Chapter of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, and the Science Club.  Anisa has also received offers from Alabama State University, Grambling State University, and Stillman College.

Anisa Britt is the daughter of Marty and Ava Britt.  To view pictures from Anisa's softball letter of intent signing ceremony, click here.

Congratulations Freshmen Class Officers

The freshmen class of Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School recently elected their Student Government Association officers for the 2010-2011 school year.  Congratulations to President Matthew Mills, Vice President Ann Marie Dean, Secretary Kirstin Wood, and Treasurer Sarabeth Parker.