Writing, Winning and Giving! Montgomery Catholic Students Wins Essay Contest.

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School sixth grader Nicholas Brown won the city wide essay contest, "The Power of Pets" held by the Montgomery Humane Society. Nicholas entered the contest with an essay he wrote as an English assignment. He wrote about what his dog has taught him and how special his pet is to him. The Humane Society's Mary Hughes visited the MCPS St. Bede Campus on February 21 to present Nicholas with a medal and a check for $100. With a giving spirit, Nicholas graciously accepted the medal and refused the check. He asked that the Humane Society use the money to help feed the animals at the shelter. WOW! What a wonderful gift Nicholas gave, and what a wonderful example he is for all of us!

Nicholas is the son of Nick and Barbara Brown. He is a sixth grade student at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's St. Bede Campus, taught by Mrs. Lori Riggles.

Kim Jackson named Controller at Montgomery Catholic

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School names Kim Jackson as Controller. 

"Mr. Jackson is a godsend – having had two children that graduated from Montgomery Catholic, he knows the culture of our school. We are blessed by his past experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers, but even more blessed he has come out of retirement to join the MCPS team," said Anne Ceasar, school president.

A native of central Ohio, Jackson is a CPA and earned an accounting degree from Ohio University.  He moved to Montgomery in 1987 to open the local office of PricewaterhouseCoopers. After thirty-four years, Jackson, an Audit Partner, retired from the firm in 2010. He is a board member and treasurer of The Boys and Girls Club of the River Region. Jackson and his wife, Janette, have two children, Lisa (MCPS class of ’00) and Ryan (MCPS class of ’03). Kim and Janette are active members of Church of the Holy Spirit Parish in Montgomery.

"I have always felt a great connection with Montgomery Catholic. Our children graduated from MCPS, and received a great faith based education.  In retirement, I was looking for a way to get involved with the community through church or the school, this position is a great way to help out. There has been such positive growth and development at Montgomery Catholic, I am glad to be a part of it," said Jackson.

Jackson began his role as Controller at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School on January 28.

Montgomery Catholic Indoor Track does well at State

4x800 relay team of Katherine Terino, Kylie Frank, Jenni Morgan and Katelyn Stark
receiving their 2nd place Silver Medals. (Photo by Sharon Stark.)

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School went to the Crossplex in Birmingham, with a  very young team, and were among the smallest of the top finishing teams at the State Meet on Saturday, February 2.  Kylie Frank set school records in all 4 of her events, the 400, 800, 1600 & 4x800. The 800 was a testament to great racing skills as she competed exceptionally well in taking silver.  Her 1600 was a well crafted work of art as she stuck to her strategy and again earned second place.  However, in the 4x800 is where she and her teammates really shined.  MCPS wanted to break the school record and get on the podium. A remarkable effort led the team to the podium and Kylie made sure they broke the record.  Katherine Terino ran her best 800 of the season to give us the lead.  Jenni Morgan overcame butterflies to keep us in the front of the pack even though she ran into another team at the hand off.  Katelyn Stark ran a spectacular leg as she also PR'd en route to putting MCPS in second for good.  The final time of 10:35.43 broke both the indoor and outdoor school records to establish a new absolute school record.  Terino also contributed to the team scoring by finishing 7th in the 3200.  The team recorded 6 individual Personal Records (Anna Stokes, Marissa Craig, Megan Revor, and Kylie Frank x 3) in open events, numerous relay leg PRs, and 4 new school records on the day.  MCPS finished sixth in the team standings beaten by UMS, Beauregard, and Guntersville (4A), Bayside (3A) and Altamont (1A-2A), but bested local rivals MA and LAMP, as well as, cross country Sectional rival Cottage Hill.

For the Montgomery Catholic boys, it was a true test of character.  After Skip Martin's injury, the Knights had to scramble to compete in the final two relays and did very well in both.  Jarrett Chesnutt had an excellent meet.  He scored the most points by finishing 7th in the 3200, a new school record; 4th in the 1600 an absolute Personal Record; and by running the fastest leg on both the 4x400 and 4x800.  Martin ran a great 800 with an absolute PR to take third and still gutted out a 4:43 1600 to take 7th and score for the team.  Zach Hulcher had an amazing effort in the shot put with an absolute PR of 39-4 to get a third place medal.  The 4x800 relay team of Nate Smith, Winston Wright, Timothy McOmber, and Jarrett Mason finished fifth and the 4x400 of Jarrett Mason, Jarrett Chesnutt, Nathan Revor, and Dylan Martin was sixth to complete the team scoring.  There were 5 PRs (Revor, Mason x 2, Skip Martin, and Hulcher), one school record, and 2 SB relays (4x200 and 4x400).  In the team results, the Racing Knights finished 5th behind UMS and St. Clair County (4A) and Westminister and LaFayette (1A/2A).

We are looking forward to spring and Outdoor Track!

Go Knights!

The Indoor Racing Knights are:

Girls: Camryn Brown, Kaelen Brunson, Courtney Cool, Marissa Craig, Kylie Frank, Daphne Hardy, Katie Lawrence, Jenni Morgan, Lauren Oates, Taylor Pitters, Megan Revor, Katelyn Stark, Annabel Starrett, 

Olivia Stephenson, Anna Stokes, Katherine Terino, Jennifer Westendorf

Boys: Miguel Barragan, Henry Beesley, Jarrett Chesnutt, Justin Cotter, Dylan Craig, Luke Craig, Patrick Gregorius, Zach Hulcher, Dylan Martin, Skip Martin, Jarrett Mason, Timothy McOmber, Garrett McGinn, Nathan Revor, James Sherman, Nate Smith, Elivin Stephenson, Winston Wright

Montgomery Catholic 4th graders visit the Civil Rights Memorial Center

4th graders from Montgomery Catholic were on the move again!  On Tuesday, February 8 the class visited the Civil Rights Memorial Center.  A circular black granite table records the names of the martyrs and chronicles the history of the movement.  Visitors are invited to touch the engraved names; MCPS students encircled the memorial to touch and read the names of those martyrs. The students were so attentive as they listened and learned about the Civil Rights Movement and nonviolent resistance.

Zachary Van Alst Claims State Title

David Norris and Zachary Van Alst at the State Championships in Huntsville. (Photo by Teresa Norris)

Last season, Zachary Van Alst became the first wrestler at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School to claim a state title in the sport; on Saturday, he became the first wrestler at the school to win back-to-back state titles as he claimed the 106-pound weight class championship.

Van Alst, an eighth-grader, entered the tournament with only one loss on the year and breezed through his first two matches to reach the championship match.  Van Alst made quick work of Weaver's Nick Souder, pinning his opponent just 28 seconds into the match in the quarterfinals.  Later in the day, he defeated Dylan Trice of Fultondale, 12-2 to advance to the championship round.

In the championship round, Van Alst improved to 49-1 as he claimed his second consecutive title by defeating Matt King of Walter Wellborn - the opponent he defeated in the section title match just one week ago.

Van Alst was joined in Huntsville by senior David Norris for the second consecutive year.

Norris won his first match of the tournament, defeating Mario Heard of Butler with a pin just 2:37 into the match.  That set Norris up in the championship semifinals with Josh Hardin of St. Clair County who had lost just one match during the season.  Norris pushed Hardin to the brink before falling 7-5 to fall into the consolation bracket.

From there, Norris defeated Charlie Nelson 10-6 to reach the consolation finals match against his first round opponent.  Norris defeated Heard once again, this time pinning his opponent 4:01 into the match.

Norris finished the year with a record 31-10 and third in his weight class at the State Championship.

With just two wrestlers competing in the tournament, the Knights were able to finish 10th overall with a total 36 points.

106-pound weight class State Champ, Zachary Van Alst. (Photo by Jenny Van Alst)

Montgomery Catholic's MathCounts Team Advances to State Competition

For the fourth year in a row, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s MathCounts team advances to the state competition.

MathCounts is a national enrichment, club and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement in every U.S. state and territory. The MathCounts Competition Program provides the extra incentive and the perfect atmosphere for students to push themselves to achieve more in mathematics. Consisting of fun and creative problems that promote critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, the MathCounts competitions have written and oral rounds, as well as individual and team components. Though challenging and non-routine, the competition problems focus on the 6th through 8th grade standards of the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics.

Montgomery Catholic’s MathCounts team finished second at the Montgomery Chapter competition and will advance to the state competition in Birmingham on March 9. At the chapter level competition, one team of four students and six individuals represented Montgomery Catholic. The team consisted of Henry Petters, David Bender, Nic Homsher and Jordan Steele. Individuals who also competed were Jacob Flowers and Katie Lawrence.

Montgomery Catholic MathCounts team members fared well at the chapter competition. Henry Petters won 3rd place, and David Bender placed 7th. The top ten scorers competed in a countdown speed round. Montgomery Catholic’s MathCounts team is sponsored by Mrs. Julie Flowers.

Pictured: Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s MathCounts team and individual competitors David Bender, Jordan Steele, Nic Homsher, Henry Petters, Katie Lawrence, Jacob Flowers and Mrs. Flowers.

Montgomery Catholic Runner, Katherine Terino Commits to the University of Montevallo

Montgomery Catholic's Katherine Terino signs to run for the University of Montevallo, February 11, 2013.

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory held a signing ceremony on Monday, February 11 for senior cross country and track team member Katherine Terino. Katherine committed to run for the University of Montevallo. She is a two-time top five finisher at the AHSAA cross country championships and a multiple-time state medalist in track. Katherine received both an athletic and an academic scholarship. When asked about how she feels about receiving the scholarship Katherine said, "I really wanted to keep running in college. I am excited about the opportunity to keep going at the University of Montevallo."  

Katherine is the daughter of John and Sue Terino. John has helped coach the track team since 2007, and Sue is celebrating eleven years as a teacher at Montgomery Catholic.  Both have enjoyed being able to watch their daughter grow through the years at school. Her mother shared that Katherine "has worked so hard as a student and as an athlete for the past four years at Montgomery Catholic. She represents herself, our family and the school so well.  She deserves it all."   Coach Ed Wright has been Katherine's coach since the eight grade.  Impressed through the years by Katherine's dedication, desire, leadership and her ability to overcome injuries, Coach Wright is looking for big things from her in the future.


Katherine has been a student and Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Athlete since Kindergarten, she moved overseas after fourth grade but returned home to MCPS for seventh grade.  

We look forward to seeing her in running news for years to come!

Running Knight, Katherine Terino with from left to right: her father John Terino, MCPS Athletic Director  Travis Jarome, her mother Sue Terino and Coach Ed Wright.

Montgomery Catholic Band Members selected for Alabama District Honor Band

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is proud to announce the Band members who have been selected as part of the Alabama All State and All District Honor Band. Auditions were held in Opelika on January 26. Band director Alex Johnson commends every student who made the trip to Opelika and tried out. He feels that with the effort to audition, his band members "distinguished themselves as dedicated musicians and top members of the MCPS Band." Those band members accepted to the State and District Honor Bands are listed below.

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School All-State Honor Band Members are middle school student Adam Bristol and high school students Beth Vaughan and William Russell. All-State Honor Band Alternates are High school students Katie McDaniel, Mary Reagan Starrett and Logan Stevens.

MCPS students chosen as Middle School All District Honor Band members are: Audrey Kim, 6th Chair; Adam Bristol, 1st Chair; David Bender, 4th Chair; Henry Petters, 5th Chair. 

MCPS students chosen as High School All District Honor Band members are: Mary Reagan Starrett, 14th Chair; Logan Stevens,15th Chair; Beth Vaughan,1st Chair; William Russell, 2nd Chair All-District; Katie McDaniel, 7th Chair; Will Brunson, 5th Chair; Eric Crenshaw, 7th Chair. 

The District Honor Band members will perform together at Auburn High School on February 22 and 23.  The All-State Honor Band members will perform in Huntsville on April 17 through 20. 

Congratulations to all of our students on a job well done!

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Announces Two National Merit Finalists!

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is proud to announce Giselle Simms and Zachary Hulcher as National Merit Scholarship® Finalists. Giselle and Zachary are two of over 16,000 scholastically talented high school seniors to have an opportunity to continue in the competition for over 8,300 Merit Scholarship® awards, worth over $32 million. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, students must fulfill several requirements and about one-half of the Finalists are selected as Merit Scholarship winners, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

As finalists, Giselle and Zachary have both maintained outstanding academic records throughout their high school years, have been endorsed and recommended by their school principal, and have earned SAT scores that confirm their qualifying test performance. Giselle and Zachary also had to submit a detailed scholarship application, including a self-descriptive essay and information regarding their participation and leadership in both school and community activities.

Zachary is the son of Vickie and Richard Hulcher of Montgomery.  Giselle is the daughter of Mariann and Douglas Simms of Wetumpka. Both Giselle and Zachary hope to attend MIT in the fall.

Henry Petters Wins Montgomery County Spelling Bee

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s Henry Petters was named the Montgomery County Spelling Bee Winner after correctly spelling the adjective “tyrannical”.  Henry competed against nineteen other Montgomery County students in grades four through nine on Monday, February 4, 2013 at Frazer in Montgomery. He brings home a check for three-hundred dollars for being the Montgomery County Spelling Bee champion. He moves on to the state level spelling contest in Birmingham on March 9, 2013. Henry is currently a seventh grade student at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s Middle School Campus and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Petters.

Congratulations Henry!  We are so proud of you!

Montgomery Catholic Lady Knights Finish Season Undefeated!

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School middle school girls basketball team capped off a perfect run through the regular season and against the Capital City Conference (CCC) by claiming the championship on Saturday, February 2, 2013.

The Lady Knights defeated Montgomery Academy in the semifinals and Saint James in the championship game. MCPS Eighth grader, Iyana Tate was named Most Valuable Player and MCPS seventh grader, Carrie Belsterling was named All-Tournament.

Montgomery Catholic finished the season with a record of 16-0, including a perfect 10-0 against CCC competition. 

Congratulations Lady Knights!!

# 10 Marie Rose Johnson, #14 Carrie Belsterling, #15 Lauren Beverly, #21 Katherine Fischer, #22 Emily Tolar, #23 Alex Jolley, #24 Jessie Clark, #32 Iyana Tate, #40 Sara Beth Littrell, #42 India Richardson, Head Coach Hollis Johnson.

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School celebrates Catholic Schools Week January 28 - February 1

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School celebrated Catholic Schools Week, January 28 - February 1. The 2013 theme was Catholic Schools Raise the Standard.  K4-12 students participated in special events throughout the week celebrating Community, Nation, Vocations, and Faculty. The week kicked off with a special guest speaker at each campus, Savannah Maddison. The 11 year old founder of Savannah's Soldiers, a letter writing campaign for soldiers deployed overseas, Savannah traveled for the first time with her best friend Wilson. Wilson's Father was deployed and in an effort to help the her friend heal, Savannah and Wilson decided to adopt all 700 soldiers that deployed with Wilson's Father.  The campaign has grown and Savannah visited each class at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's two elementary campuses on Monday, January 28 to collect the letters Montgomery Catholic students wrote for her campaign. She also visited the Middle School Campus on Tuesday January 29.

Grandparents were invited to our elementary campuses for Grandparents Day (the St. Bede campus celebrated on Monday, January 28 and the Holy Spirit campus celebrated on Thursday, January 31). The Holy Spirit campus held a book fair all week. The St. Bede campus art show "Is it art, or is it dinner?" was on display in the main hallway all week. Middle School campus students invited family members to lunch on Thursday, January 31. The High School campus had daily reflections on "What Catholic School Means to Me", by leaders in the the Catholic community. The MCPS PTC treated students, faculty and staff to several special events throughout the week.

Ella Castanza celebrates Catholic Schools Week with 6 grandparents on Grandparents Day. Ella's grandmothers Diane Castanza and Cindy Taylor, great grandmothers Barbara Deep and Bebe Taylor, great grandfather Mike Deep and great-great grandmother Dorothy Thomas all came to visit her class. Pictured with Ella are Mike  and Barbara Deep and 99 year old Dorothy Thomas. Ella is in Mrs. Rutland's first grade. 

Miss Emily Younker's first grade class gives their letters for soldiers in Afghanistan in support of Savannah's Soldiers letter writing campaign as part of celebrating Community during Catholic Schools Week.  Pictured far left is Miss Emily Younker. Back Center Savannah Madison, her friend Wilson and band members from Savannah's Soldiers.