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Official Newslet ter of the Alabaster City School System

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Dear Friends,

It is such an exciting time to be a Warrior! As we near the end of our second year, we continue to celebrate great accomplishments. If you’ve traveled down Thompson Road lately, you may have noticed the initial steps toward land being cleared for the construction of our new high school facility and athletic complex. We anticipate a groundbreaking cer-emony soon and look forward to sharing this event with the community. We will also begin renovations to other campuses and are already seeing the benefits of ongoing technology upgrades throughout the district.

One of the most exciting initiatives taking place in our district is the development of a com-prehensive strategic plan. Recently, residents were given the opportunity to share goals for the district’s future at a meeting led by representatives from Burke Enterprises, the firm whose task is to assist the district in the development of the strategic plan. This week, teachers selected to be a part of the planning committee are meeting with the firm to further outline these plans. We look forward to the culmination of these efforts this fall as we officially set forth our goals and mission for the future.

Our students’ accomplishments continue to be a great source of pride in the district. Graduation rates are making steady increases and our students are consistently performing above the state average on ACT scores. New goals have been set across many grade levels, encouraging our stu-dents to raise the bar in their own academic development as we review and analyze ACT Aspire interim assessment data. All schools have received additional funding to provide tutoring and enrichment for students.

Congratulations to Coach Shawn Weltzin and the Thompson High School Wrestling Team for winning the fifth consecutive state title and the first for Class 7A! We recently had an opportunity to recognize them at a pep rally and celebration where they accepted another Blue Map for the trophy case. We proudly cheer for our other athletic teams who are winners on and off the field, and we look forward to championships and celebrations for them as well. The Thompson Warrior Football team is excited to welcome Coach Mark Freeman and his staff to Alabaster! Coach Free-man has a proven record with six state championships to his credit. Based on what I’ve already seen under his leadership at Thompson, our football players are working hard to set the stage for a great season this fall.

The 2015-2016 school calendar was recently approved and is now available on the district web-site. This calendar was developed by an outstanding team of educators from each school. Their underlying goal was to provide the maximum number of instructional days to benefit all students and teachers. I’m so pleased with the results and know you will be as well.

I would like to thank the citizens of Alabaster for the support provided to our school district. We look forward to continued partnerships and community involvement. Working collaboratively, we can indeed build “Champions of Our Future!”

Sincerely,

Dr. Wayne VickersSuperintendent of Education

CENTRAL OFFICE

Superintendent Letter

Dr. Wayne Vickers

Warrior news is published by

Alabaster City Schools

1953 Municipal Way

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Alabaster AL 35007

(205) 663-8400

www.alabasterschools.org

Warrior News is published

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Luke Camara

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Contributors

Brooke Dennis THS

Chris Tangle THS

Neely Woodley TMS

Dr. Daniel Steele TSGC

Brent Byars TIS

Linda Hogue MVES

Charissa Cole CVES

Dorann Tanner ACS

Cena Davis ACS

Dr. Latanza Harrison ACS

Keith Price ACS

Dr. Jeff Atkins ACS

Dr. Wayne Vickers Superintendent

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Greetings!

There are several ways to measure progress as we head toward the end of our second year as Alabaster City Schools. Just ride along Thompson Road and you will see a very visual measure. Site work has begun and it is amazing to see the future site of our High School taking shape on approximately 175 acres. There is an additional 130 acres of land we are leaving wooded to set aside for future growth. Over the next two years, it will be exciting to see the school take shape.

As the design phase continues, Dr. Vickers, Board Members and Central Office staff are looking at the most innovative ways of learning as the plans for the High School develop. The areas of Academics, Athletics, and the Arts are all being addressed with the goal of providing the very best opportunities for all of our students. Look for more information on the new school in the coming months.

This school year, we started our first Pre-K program with one class at Meadow View and one at Creek View. Parents and teachers have said this year has been remarkable watching these young minds blossom. We are looking to expand this program in the coming years to reach even more children and give them a head start on learning. Thank you to all in our Central Office for helping make this happen.

Alabaster City Schools continue to soar academically. After almost doubling the High School’s scholarship total last school year, we are excited to have a National Merit Finalist this year in Warren Snell. Our students also continue to excel in other areas. Recently, Amber Harless was named the Alabama Scholastic Press Association Broadcast Journalist of the Year. This is a testa-ment to the hard work of these students and their teachers.

I wanted to use this space to also thank my fellow Board Members and Dr. Wayne Vickers for all of the long hours they put into setting a vision for this system. What we have been able to accom-plish over the last year and a half is rather remarkable. Financially we are sound. Our goals for our facilities and our Academic Programs are ambitious. With the help of our Administrators, Teachers and Support Staff, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.

Finally, congratulations to the Thompson High School Wrestling team. They took home the very first Class 7A State Wrestling Championship. It marks the fifth state title in a row for Coach Shawn Weltzin and the Warriors. The entire City is proud of you.

Go Warriors!

Adam MoseleyPresident

CENTRAL OFFICE

School Board Letter

Adam MoseleyPresident

Derek HendersonVice President

Dr. John Myrick

Linda Church

Ty Quarles

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Human Resources Staff Recruitment will become full swing starting in February 2015. ACS will be presented around the state at many scheduled University Education Career Fairs scheduled. Participation includes the University of Montevallo, University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama State University, University of West Ala-bama, Samford University and Birmingham Southern College. Potential applicants will be invited to participate in a local ACS interview day scheduled later in the spring. Certification renewal meetings were scheduled for all six schools starting in December 2014. During these meetings, representatives from the Human Resource Department met with all faculty members to discuss certification renewal requirements in general but specifically for current teachers with certificates expiring on June 30, 2015. For this year, em-ployees will have until March 16 to complete all requirements. Employees must submit verification of completion of PLUs, appropriate experience verification, professional development hours (STI-PD Training History or Shelby County’s My PDC Profile) or an official transcript for college work completed. The district continues to contract with Appleton Learn-ing to provide substitute services for all six schools. Teachers and substitutes sign up either online or by telephone for such services. Potential substitute teachers should visit our website at www.alabasterschools.org to sign up. ACS proudly partners with the University of West Ala-bama to offer scholarships for applicants through an online graduate education degree program. The fall enrollment period resulted in six applicants with the spring enrollment resulting in three additional applicants. New Applicants are allowed to sign up at the beginning of each semester. For additional information, contact uwaonline@uwa.edu. An informational meeting was scheduled during November in an effort to partner with Samford University to offer a similar option for employees. The district will continue to work with Samford on this potential partnership. Any interested applicants should contact Human Resources. The Human Resource Department is transitioning to a paperless department. Once implemented, job searches, applica-tions, hiring, and onboarding will all be conducted electronically. Additionally, the district has purchased the eFMLA system. This paperless system allows the HR Department to manage and process requests for leave under FMLA through an online process. Please visit our website for additional information in the future. The Alabaster City Schools Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to all employees and eligible dependents. EAP offers a confidential assessment, counseling and referral services to all employees and their dependents needing help with any of the following areas: marital and family issues, alcohol and other drug dependency assessments, stress-related issues, financial/legal referrals and emotional problems. Employees may contact American Behavioral, our EAP provider at 1.800.925.5327 to take advantage of these no cost services.

Curriculum and Instruction NewsBuilding Bridges – Teachers Meet in Vertical Teams to Plan Curriculum and Instruction Teachers at Thompson High School, Thompson Middle School, and Thompson Sixth Grade Center have been meeting throughout the school year in vertical teams to align content and teaching strategies in grades 6 through 12. These meet-ings were originally encouraged by Thompson High School’s participation in the state’s A+ College Ready program, which increases the number of AP math, science, and English courses at the high school. The A+ College Ready program requires that high school AP teachers meet with teachers who teach early high school and middle school so that a strong pipeline can be built for each content area. In Alabaster City Schools, teachers in math, science, English, and social studies have met three times so far to discuss curriculum at each grade level and to share effective teaching strategies. The meetings are lead by teachers and instructional coaches and have focused on determining the “ins and outs” for each grade level. Each grade level team outlines what they want students to know when they enter their grade level and what they

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feel they are preparing students for when the leave the grade level. Then, the teams discuss with the grades above and below their level to see if the “ins” and the “outs” match or are compatible. These discussions have provided insight for teachers on what skills are being taught on each grade level. In addition to discussing “ins and outs,” each discipline has focused on specific curriculum and instruction issues. English teachers have discussed vocabulary instruction and what students need to know for AP English Language and Literature. Math teachers have deconstructed the math standards to see how certain skills recur across different grade levels and subjects. Science teachers have divided into life and physical sciences and shared best practices for teaching data analysis and inter-pretation. Social studies teachers have divided into US and world history and shared best practices. “We’ve seen lots of ‘aha’ moments with the teachers throughout these discussions,” says Dr. Amy Fineburg, Secondary Curriculum Specialist with Alabaster City Schools. “We are excited about what’s being discussed and learned, and we hope to take these discussions to 4th and 5th grade next year,” she adds.

Federal Programs Every elementary school in Alabaster City Schools system receives Title I funding totaling $730,763.16. Thompson Interme-diate School and Meadow View Elementary School are schoolwide programs, meaning that funds may be used on all students. Creek View Elementary School is a Targeted Assistance School this year. CVES can only be used for students who have been identified as being at-risk. This “at-risk” list can change periodically throughout the year based on a number of factors. These Title funds are being used for additional personnel, technology, professional development, materials and resources. One program in particular is our Parent Teacher Leadership Academy. This is a partnership with the University of Alabama. The purpose of the program is “parents need the teachers and the teachers need the parents”. This program focuses on help-ing parents become more engaged at school, and for teachers to create opportunities for involvement from parents. ACS also receives Title III funds ($97,346.00) for English as a Second Language programs. There are over 600 ESL stu-dents who collectively speak four-dozen different languages. There are 16 ESL teachers with six bilingual aides. There are also two LEAPS (Learning English and Parenting Skills) classes, one at each elementary school. These federal programs are often hard work to implement, but the achievement for every student is a priority for Alabas-ter City Schools.

Student Services Updates Alabaster City Schools is very excited to report our graduation rate is 97 percent! This is an increase from 90 percent during our last year as a Shelby County Board of Education school. Our excellent counselors, graduation coaches, Alabaster City Empowering Success Program (ACES), Early Warning Program and supports/services for at-risk students are a few factors that contributed to this remarkable increase! We have also started report card conferences for students. Students in the 9th grade meet with a community mentor after each report card to discuss grades, future plans, etc. The intent is to help our students feel connected to the community and the school by having a positive adult role model. Students in the 8th grade meet with 9th grade teachers. The intent is for our 8th graders to have a familiar face and a positive relationship with a THS teacher when they start high school. Community Education just finished up a successful Christmas Break camp. We are getting ready for Spring Break Camp and Summer Camp. We are purchasing iPads for each site and working on increasing our enrichment and community offerings. We are also excited to have Big Brothers and Big Sisters in our schools. Our first students were matched with “Bigs” in December. Our High School Peer Mentors are also being trained to be “Bigs” for at-risk elementary students. Concerning peer helpers, we are in the process of establishing peer helpers in each of our schools. The YMCA Learn to Swim Program is awesome! Our students, staff, and parents all have positive reviews. All of our 2nd graders will learn water safety by the end of the school year. On January 16, Alabaster City School promoted “Anti-Bulling Day.” For the day, each school promoted unity and helping to end bullying. Thompson Middle School took a fieldtrip to AmStar Cine-ma to view the movie “Bully”. Yes, drinks and popcorn were provid-ed. After the movie, TMS hosted school wide anti-bullying activities.

CENTRAL OFFICE

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We have increased student drug testing for our on-campus drivers and students involved in extracurricular activities. In addition, we have partnered with the Alabaster Police Department to purchase a K-9 officer to increase school safety by provid-ing drug detecting. Miko, our canine officer, has already completed two searches of both THS and TMS campuses, and we have many more planned. Hopefully, the drug testing and increased police presence will serve as a deterrent for students and help them make healthy choices. Our most loved employee, Warrior, is doing great! He has completed all of his initial training classes and is ready to start with Hand in Paw certification. He is our most popular Learning Earnings reward. ACES and the Alternative School are both running well and are full. ACES has a waiting list and we are trying to get as cre-ative as we can to accommodate as many students as possible. We have some students “splitting” their day one-students-works in the morning and attends ACES from 12-3 and the other student attends ACES from 8-12 and works in the afternoon. We also have “Leadership Friday” each week. During this time, guest speakers work with students on living skills such as job interview-ing, applying for college, balancing checkbooks, using credit wisely and making healthy choices. We plan to offer the At-Risk Sum-mer School again at the ACES Program to help our students get on track for next school year. We are also completing a book study on Michael Oher’s book I Beat the Odds and our students got to travel to Montgomery in February to hear him speak.

Students with Special Needs Get Moving! Alabaster City Schools students with special needs are getting out and getting active. Every week the students grab their swimsuit and head to the Alabaster YMCA for swimming. It is a great social outing for the students. It allows them get use to the locker rooms, remember to bring the proper attire, and to interact with the community. Regardless of the physical ability every student can get in the pool. We are very thankful for the Y as host. We are also looking at other ways to get our students active, social, and growing. We are looking at starting gymnastics in the near future. It will focus on balance, coordination, and social interaction. Our hope is to start a Special Olympics team in golf, bowling, track and field, swimming and softball. Each year our students attend Fall Fling and Spring Fling. Each fling day is packed with games, food, and activities for our students with special needs and those in self-contained classes. With all of these activities our goal is to create a challenging environment while nurturing physical activity.

CHAMPS PRE-K INFORMATIONAdvertising Enrollment PeriodApplication packets are now available for parents to pick up from the local schools. If parents cannot make it to the schools prior to the end of the day, they can access an electronic form from the school and district website.

Applications AcceptedApplications will only be accepted Monday, April 6th - Wednesday, May 6 from 9-1 p.m. at the local schools. Please make sure that all required documents are included in the completed application packet. (See list of required documents)

Random DrawingA lottery process will be used to select students who will participate in the CHAMPS Pre-K Program at both Meadow View Elementary School and Creek View Elementary School for the 2015-2016 academic school year. This will be done Wednes-day, May 20 at 9 a.m. The location is TBD.

If you have questions, please contact the school that your child is zoned to attend for further information.

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Creek View Elementary has enjoyed an exciting and successful few months of school. Here are a few of the things that have been happening at CVES: CVES is happy to congratulate Carter Richardson on being invited to participate in a holiday art show sponsored by Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus. Congressman Bachus encouraged students across the state with visual impairments to submit artwork for selection as the congressman’s annual family Christmas card. Carter and his family were honored at a reception on December 5 at the Hoover Library for his artwork submission entitled, “My Family’s Trees.” At this reception, he received a certificate of participation and an official White House ornament from Congressman Bachus. We are excited to announce that after-school tutoring will be offered from now until – April 9th on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3rd grade students. The program is called BRAVES-Being Ready Academically with Various Education-al Strategies. Tutoring sessions will include review of reading and math grade level standards and test taking strategies. Title I Backpack trainings will be offered this spring for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade parents. The backpacks include a variety of math and literacy resources and activities for parents to use at home with their child. We will offer ACT Aspire awareness and math trainings to our third grade parents. Congratulations to our Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Cather-ine Mohon. Coach Mohon is one of our physical education teachers. We are proud to have her as our Teacher of the Year! We would also like to congratulate Mr. Jason Wyatt, our Support Staff of the Year. Mr. Wyatt is a paraprofession-al who works with many of our students. CVES has been recognized as a Learning Earnings Ban-ner School. Alabaster City Schools are piloting this program for our state to increase attendance, and reward behavior and academics. Criteria for Banner School: Attendance, Behavior, Academics are reviewed to determine if improvements have been made in these areas since the same time period last year after implementing Learning Earnings school wide. After the last data review, CVES was identified as a “Learning Earnings Banner School” based on student/teacher usage of Learning Earnings and an improvement in data in one or more categories.

CREEK VIEW ELEMENTARY

Meadow View News We have had a very busy year at Meadow View Elemen-tary School. In August, our doors opened for the 2014-2015 school year. The halls were filled with the sounds of excited chatter, laughter, and even a few tears. The tears have sub-sided (mostly) and we are hard at work teaching, learning, and enjoying our time with one another. The administration, faculty, and staff believe we must encourage our students to become life-long learners, filled with the joy and curiosity of learning. The PTO has supported MVES with several events. Throughout the school year, we have had “Snack Attack Day” and “Kona Ice Day.” Students are asked to bring a small donation to receive a special treat, and students who cannot participate monetarily are provided with an alternative treat so they do not feel left out. Our PTO also sponsored a Fall Festival event. There were vendors, food, games, and a pumpkin auction. Teachers organized games such as “Toilet Toss”, “Spooky Bowling”, “Cake Walk”, and “Witch’s Hat Ring Toss.” Students received prizes and candy every time they played a game. Our parent volunteers decorated pumpkins, which were sold during the event. Finally, during the Christmas season, our PTO organized a “Santa Shop” event for our students. Students were able to go shopping for low-priced family gifts – and of course a few things for themselves. With these funds PTO has provided donations into classroom teacher accounts and helped with the purchase of COWS (Computers on Wheels) as well as other financial support. We are thankful for our PTO and all volunteer parents have been supportive throughout this school year. Mrs. Christina Tomlin, our media specialist, is new to our faculty. She provides research and comprehension sta-tions for our student to complete independent work in the li-brary media center. This fall Mrs. Tomlin applied for a grant from the nonprofit group, First Books, which is open to Title I schools. MVES via Mrs. Tomlin distributed almost 1,900 books to our students to take home and add to their personal library on October 31. Mrs. Tomlin also built a Christmas Book Tree. Students were asked to provide estimates for the total number of books in the tree. It took 1394 books to cre-ate the tree. Winners from each grade level were recognized on the school’s closed-circuit newscast and a bag of goodies. Our Physical Education department has also been busy this year! They promote good health practices such as exer-cise and nutrition throughout the year. This year, as we have in the past, students trained for the Mercedes Marathon, an event that took place in Birmingham, Alabama. Participat-ing students were required to log 25 miles of running (or walking) in quarter-mile increments with an adult supervisor (PE coaches). The final was completed in February during the Marathon event for kids (1 mile of walking or running). In addition, other students participated in the Elks’ National Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest. This free throw shooting

MEADOW VIEW ELEMENTARY

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“In 10 years, we will have 1.4 million jobs in computer science, but only 400,000 people to fill those jobs.”

MEADOW VIEW ELEMENTARY

THOMPSON INTERMEDIATE

competition provides a character-building, competitive experience focusing on respect and good sportsmanship. To qualify for this competition, they first had to participate in a competition at the local school. Four students from MVES participated in the Elk event: Courtney Johnson, Drake Mc Bride, Chloe Mittelstadt, Emma Kate Simmons, and Joshua Smith. Drake and Chloe placed third in their age group, while Joshua won his age group. Joshua competed in the district competition at Riverchase Middle School in Pelham, Alabama in February. Currently our PE coaches, Health and Wellness Committee, and Marketing/Communications Committee are working diligently on organizing our first ever Warrior Run! You will hear more about this in upcoming issues. And once again our school won the Thompson High School Homecoming Parade competition. The MVES float was titled “Meadow View Takes Pride in Our Past, Present, and Future!” The float featured nine special guests including six “warriors” from past championship teams, two former coaches, and Thompson’s own “warrior,” Jim Dunaway. The men who participated had a wonderful reunion. Kip Mask, coordinator and computer lab aide for MVES, told us that her father, Mr. Ellie Glascox, was in heaven. “I’m pretty sure his feet still haven’t touched the ground,” she continued. We all appreciate the hard work of Ms. Mask and Jenifer and Joey Harper for working on this float. It is quite impressive to win the best theme award two years in a row! On October 2, 2014 Alabama Attorney General, Luther Strange announced the 2014 Alabama Safe Schools Awards of Excellence winners. This year’s focus was on “technological advances dealing with modern safety challenges.” Meadow View Elementary School was named one of eight of the safest schools in Alabama. This is the second time MVES has had the honor of receiving this award (previously 2007). In the spring of 2014, the MVES PTO funded the purchase and installation of the Raptor security system, a web-based system which tracks and monitors all visitors at our school. Each visitor to the school must present identification before being allowed entrance and is required to have a personalized name tag displaying the visitor’s photo and authorized areas of their visit. The administration and staff of MVES have also been trained concern-ing intruders. Most have completed ALICE – active shooter training to understand more about how to handle such an event. There are so many events that take place at our school such as Book Character Days (First Grade), Polar Express / Paja-ma Day (All Grades), Choir Events (Veteran’s Day and Christmas), and 100th Day (Kindergarten). We are always working on making sure that learning is fun! And as we always each morning as we begin our day, “It’s a great day to be a Warrior!”

TIS Students complete Hour of Code From Feb. 18-20, TIS gave every student at the school a chance to hone their computer programming skills through ex-ercises on the Code.org website. School principal Brent Byars decided to hold the schoolwide initiative this year after the TIS gifted education department saw success with the program last year. “There is a big push to do coding in the classroom nationwide,” said TIS gifted education teacher Rita Sparks. “In 10 years, we will have 1.4 million jobs in computer science, but only 400,000 people to fill those jobs.” After watching an introductory video featuring several celebrities, the students used the website to construct progressively more complex lines of code. The program presented a shape and tasked the students with guiding Elsa pixel-by-pixel through the shape.

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“In 10 years, we will have 1.4 million jobs in computer science, but only 400,000 people to fill those jobs.”

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The site gave the kids a graphical database of code lines, but the students had to choose which order to layer the lines, and the numerical values to assign to each line. Fifth-grade teacher Frankie Grice said the students were quick to grasp the coding concepts. “They brag when they get farther (in the program) than I got,” Grice said with a laugh.

Shelby County Water Festival On January 9, TIS fourth grade students had the oppor-tunity to participate in the annual Shelby County Water Festival. During this time, volunteers came into the class-room to talk about the concepts of protecting and conserv-ing our precious water resources. This unique educational experience had lots of hands-on activities which helped to educate our next generation of citizens to be informed environmental stewards of our precious water resources, protecting and cherishing them for future generations. The students enjoyed making water cycle bracelets, learning about “Fantastic Filtration,” and devouring the “Edible Aquifers.” As always, it was a big hit with both the students and the teachers!

TIS CNP Ladies are EXTRAORDINARY! We wanted to take the opportunity to recognize our EXTRAORDINARY CNP Staff. They work hard every day and feed around 1,500 students daily between TIS, TSGC, Head Start, and the Alternative School for breakfast

and lunch. They have not received a score below a 98 all year long, and we are very proud of them!! In addition, TIS would like to congratulate Loretta Bunn (Pictured in center with red shirt), Thompson Intermediate CNP Manager, for being the 2015 Child Nutrition Program Person of the Year. She has been in child nutrition for 26 years with 23 of them at Thompson Intermediate. She has been a member of Alabama School Nutrition Associa-tion for over 26 years. We really appreciate everything she does for our students and schools. She is taking care of our champions of the future every day.

TSGC News1. Our Scholar’s Bowl team competed at the Oak Park Invitational in Decatur, and took 2nd place out of six teams. They had a re-cord of 4-1! Team members are: Abby Cooley, Maddie Machovec, Carson Walker, Luke Gentile, Jakob Hill, Alexis Johnson, Jackson Russell, Andrew Alfano, Davis Anderton, Becca Mosely. The sponsor is Ms. Willis.

2. We were honored to have Noah Galloway speak to our students at our Veteran’s Day Program. Noah is an Iraqi War Veteran and double amputee who delivered a great message of hope and perseverance.

3. Our new Math Team is coached by Mr. Farris. Team members are Holly Ferguson, Jakob Hill (not pictured), Sophie Trosper, Jordan Ozment, Xander Pineda, and Mykah Nolen

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TMS NEWS Even though temperatures and hours of daylight have changed, the focus of administration, faculty, staff, and students of Thompson Middle School has remained constant. The Warrior spirit is evident each and every day as stories pour in about the accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students. Each year, the Thompson Middle School Faculty has the honor of elect-ing one of its own to represent the school as teacher of the year and one staff member as support staff person of the year. This year, Melanie Tingle was se-lected as teacher of the year and Connie Martinez as the support staff of the year. Mrs. Tingle is an eighth grade English teacher who also works diligently with the National Junior Honor Society and assists on special projects and committees such as the homecoming committee. Mrs. Martinez is a para-professional for the English Language Learners program. Even though she specifically works with English Language Learners, Mrs. Martinez is always willing to assist any student or teacher in any capacity. TMS student athletes have not taken a break just because of the colder weather. Our basketball, indoor track, and bowling teams have been busy bringing home wins for the Warriors. This year was the inaugural year for the TMS bowling team. Sponsored by TMS Faculty members, Michael Craycraft and Chris Hollingsworth, the bowling team had a great first year. Students were able to bring home several team wins and individual wins for both girls and boys team members.

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4. Dreamcatchers Students of the Month: Kobi Thomas, Dylan Wells, Jordan Clough, Jackson Russell, and Victoria Smith.

5. Braves Students of the Month: Daniella Davalos, Reagan Whiteside, Blaise Aldaeado, Luke Breazeale

6. Wigwams Students of the Month: Andrew Trader, Landon Crook, Alyssa Keaton, Emily Standofer

7. Teacher of the Month: Michele Tangle

8. Staff of the month: Carl Benedict

9. TSGC came in a winner for the second year in a row in the Annual Doug Trotter Food Drive. Students raised 5,269 items for TSGC. The total amount was over 12,000 items raised by all of the Alabaster City Schools. Way to go ACS students and way to go TSGC!

10. Peer Helpers at TSGC dressed like the Walking Dead and visited classrooms giving information to students on the dangers of doing drugs.

Not Pictured: Our teachers are beginning to administer the second round of our ACT ASPIRE benchmark testing, and we are very optimistic about how we can use this data to be more strategic and more effective with classroom instruction as we are preparing our students for the big test later this spring. Rick Shelton, a local writer, also spent four days with our teachers in February to work on the incorporation of writing in the classroom.

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Our Warriors haven’t just been successful in athletic events; we have also had students bring home several prestigious academic honors. Seventh grade student, Abby Malkove won the TMS spelling bee and went on to win the Shelby County Spelling Bee. She will represent our county at the statewide spelling bee. Our Scholars Bowl teams have also been busy bringing home honors. They have competed in several tournaments and by winning their pool at the Russellville Invitation-al Tournament, the team qualified to enter the national championship to be held in Dallas in May. Even though our students have been busy with extracurricular activities, the school was able to devote an entire day to stand up against bullying. Anti-bullying day was arranged by Assistant Administrator Desaree Jackson. All students were offered the chance to view a screening of the movie “Bully” at the Alabaster AmStar Theater. After the movie, peer helpers from THS came to each middle school lunch class and discussed bullying with the students. In the afternoon, the event culminated with an an-ti-bullying party in the TMS gym. Students were able to celebrate their commitments to keep TMS a bully-free zone at the party. The fall and winter months at TMS have been exciting and the spring and summer promise just as many events. In March, the TMS Choir program will present the musical, “Hairspray”. Band students will be busy preparing for their MPA performanc-es and many students have represented TMS at honor bands at Auburn University and University of Montevallo. Both of our fine arts programs will cap off their years by performing at Universal Studios in April. The spring will not only allow our young musicians the opportunity to shine, our athletes will be busy as well. Outdoor track is busy preparing for an exciting season and our soccer teams are excited to bring home many wins for the Warriors. Our softball and baseball teams are busy practicing to

take the field as well. Academically, our teachers and administra-tion are busy challenging students in the areas of mathematics, writing, and reading. Teachers are working to include these concepts in all classes including social studies and science. Ad-ministrators and teachers are working to develop goals for all students to help them achieve their maximum potential. No matter what our students are involved in, it is always Great to Be a Warrior!

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AUTISM AWARENESS NIGHT RAISES MONEY FOR MITCHELL’S PLACE Coach Patrick Davis is once again bringing awareness to the Autism community. In THS’s sixth annual Autism Awareness Night, Davis and the basketball team led the charge to raise money for Mitchell’s Place, a therapy center for individuals with Autism.

The fundraiser began on Tuesday, January 13. Davis asked students and faculty to bring in donations and sign the Autism Awareness poster that was put on display in the gym on Tuesday, January 20 at the Oak Mountain basketball game. The fundraiser brought in $3,226.97. All money raised went toward a scholarship fund for families who cannot afford the high therapy costs they face. Autism Awareness is a cause that is close to Davis’s heart. His son, Cade, is autistic and Davis understands the challenges that these families face. His hope is to not only raise funds, but also awareness for the disorder. Davis often participates in awareness events, including last month’s “Shooting 2 Change” campaign. “Shooting 2 Change” was tipped off by Spanish Fort coach Dru Powell to raise Autism Aware-ness around the state. Coaches from all over Alabama wore t-shirts with the slogan during spon-sored games, like the Thompson/Oak Mountain game on January 9. Davis and his family presented the donation check to Mitchell’s place director Sandy Naramore

at the basketball game last month. Davis is proud of the participation from students at THS and other schools in the ACS community. The Sixth Grade Center hosted a sweat pants day, and other schools participated as well.

MARCHING SOUTHERN SOUNDS SHARES MUSIC AROUND ALABAMABy Amber Harless | THS TV

Thompson High School’s Marching Southern Sounds traveled to Montgomery, Alabama on January 19 to participate in Governors Inauguration Parade. “We were chosen out of all the high schools in Alabama and I think that’s a really big honor. It was definitely a once in a life time experience,” said Junior Sarah Jones, who is a part of the trumpet section in the band. And that’s not the only place band members have been sharing their music this past month. The THS Chamber Winds performed for the Alabama Music Educators Association on January 23rd and the THS Wind Ensemble is performing at the National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis in March.

THE HALLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC The Theatre department is welcoming Elle Woods to the stage in their upcoming musical, Legally Blonde. The story is based on the novel and the 2001 film. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend. Through adventures and mishaps, she learns about the law and attempts to help a friend accused of murder.

THOMPSON HIGH SCHOOL

WARRIOR NEWS 15

THOMPSON HIGH SCHOOL

Auditions were held in January and rehearsals are underway. The play will open on April 30 and run through May 2. Shows begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 if purchased in advance and $10 at the door. For more information, contact Jane Ganey at jane.ganey@alabastercityschools.org.

AP AND WRITING CLASSES BRING OUT THEIR CREATIVE SIDEBROWN TAKES STUDENTS BACK IN TIME Students in Renee Brown’s classes had the chance to bring out the drama this semester through a variety of projects. AP Lit-erature students created body biographies, videos and costume designs during their study of the Shakespeare classic, Macbeth. Brown’s Creative Writing classes will have the opportunity to spread a little of their own drama as well. Students in these classes are working on one-act plays to enter in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Young Southern Writer Contest.

LAMAR BRINGS BOOKS TO THE BIG SCREEN Crystal Lamar is bringing the magic of movies to students in her literature classes. In a project that has become a tradition in Lamar’s classes, students read a non-fiction book and create a book trailer using computers and movie-mak-ing software. Students get to choose any non-fiction work they want. Lamar said, “I want them to pick something that they are inter-ested in, and give them the time to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.” Past choices have included In Cold Blood, A Walk in the Woods, and Becoming Odyssa. The project offers students the opportunity to look at these non-fiction works in the same way that they would tradition-al fiction fare. Lamar rolled the project out in early January, and hopes to have the students start designing the trailers after Spring Break.

THOMPSON TV & FILM ACADEMY LAUNCHES SITCOM Lights, camera, action! Students in the Television Production class at Thompson’s TV & Film Academy are producing their very own situation comedy, starring students from THS. “The Newsroom” is a mockumentary about a failing broadcast program and the group of students who are trying to keep the program from getting shut down. Auditions were held last semester and the crew has completed several episodes, which

air to the school and community on www.thslive.com. The programs are also available on THS TV’s Youtube page. The cast consists of three boys and four girls: Katy Barnes as Chrissy Allen, Hannah Black as Ashton Holiday, Connor Marchman as Dylan Reed, Sarah Norton as Tori Hamilton, Michael Oglesby as Nicholas Rubert, Tyler Tip-pins as Mr. Swanson, and Anna Whitlock as Skye West. The production team includes seniors Rebecca Brown, Cameron Hall, and Justin Jones and juniors Skyelar Haynie, Kyle Hutcheson, Zac Roberts and Philip Vaccarella. The show has even featured a few cameo appearances from THS Principal Chris Tangle, Assistant Principal Jeff Nichols and other THS Administrators. To view “The News-room”, visit www.thslive.com/Archive.

APRILApril 3-4 - Outdoor Track & Field Meet of Champions (Mobile)April 6 - THS Mens/Women Tennis vs. Briarwood Christian – 3:30April 6 - JV Baseball vs. ChelseaApril 7 - JV Women’s Soccer vs. Hewitt TrussvilleApril 7 - Varsity Softball vs. HelenaApril 7 - JV & Varsity Baseball vs. Tuscaloosa CountyApril 7 - TMS Band Parent Meeting for Orlando Trip 6:30 p.m. April 8 - THS Mens/Women Tennis vs. Chelsea High School – 3:30April 9 - JV Baseball vs. OxfordApril 9 - “Lessons for Lutz” Mike Lutzenkirchen will promote healthy choices at THS. April 10 - Varsity Women’s Soccer vs. McGill ToolenApril 10-11 - Outdoor Track & Field Mountain Brook InvitationalApril 11 - THS PromApril 13 - ACS School Board Meeting 5:30 p.m. Alabaster City HallApril 14 - JV & Varsity Softball vs. Tuscaloosa CountyApril 14 - JV & Varsity Men’s Soccer vs. HooverApril 16 - JV & Varsity Men’s Soccer vs. Tuscaloosa CountyApril 16 - Varsity Baseball vs. Oak MountainApril 16 - Varsity Women’s Soccer vs. Tuscaloosa CountyApril 18 - Varsity Baseball vs. Enterprise (Senior Day)April 20 - Varsity Women’s Soccer vs. GrissomApril 20 - JV & Varsity Men’s Soccer vs. PelhamApril 22-23, - TMS Band and Choir STARR Performance in OrlandoApril 23 - THS Progress ReportsApril 24 - Inclement Weather Day (Schools & Offices Closed)April 30 - MVES Kindergarten Cap & Gown PhotosApril 30 – May 2, THS Presents Legally Blonde, The Musical, 7 p.m. (Tickets $7 in advance, $10 at the door)April 24-25 - Outdoor Track & Field Sectionals (Mountain Brook)April 30-May 2 - Outdoor Track & Field State Finals (Gulf Shores)April (Date TBA) - THS Student Film Festival (see THS website for updates)April (Date TBA) - THS Cinderfella Pageant (see THS website for updates)

MAYMay 4-12,- THS AP ExamsMay 5 - CVES Schoolwide Art Show 5:30 p.m. May 7 - THS Choir ConcertMay 7 - TMS 6th & 7th Grade Band Concerts and AwardsMay 8 - TMS 8th Grade Band Concerts and AwardsMay 8 - THS Band Spring ConcertMay 14 - THS Senior Honors Day, 6:30 p.m. in Auditorium May 19 - THS Graduation. Noah Galloway, keynote speakerMay 21 - Second Semester Ends, Students Dismissed at 1 p.m.May (Date TBA) - THS Talent Show (see THS website for updates)

UPCOMING ACS EVENTS

1953 Municipal WaySuite 200

Alabaster, AL 35007(205) 663-8400

Visit www.alabasterschools.org for more information on these dates.