Monthly Archives: May 2021

Macon East Academy held its annual upper school Honors Day assembly Friday, May 14 in the school gymnasium.  Honors Day is a time to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of the students in grades 7 – 12.  The Class of 2021 were presented scholarship certificates, a variety of awards, and their honor chords to be worn at their graduation ceremony.  The Senior class accumulated over $3.1 million dollars in scholarships this year. Macon East faculty and administration presented the following subject awards and special awards to the upper school students.

Macon East Academy Honors Day Academic Senior Specialty and Subject Awards 2021

Specialty Awards: 

•  Valedictorian: Will Desmarais
• Salutatorian: Jonathan Mathis 
• Zeta Spence Memorial Award:  Will Desmarais 
• Jack Cox Service Award: Tanner Moore
• Hilda Story Teacher of the Year: Erica Hammonds 
• Mandy Williams Christian Leadership Award: Jonathan Mathis, Hannah Parker
• National Honor Society Leadership Award: Colby Cox 
• Mu Alpha Theta Leadership Award: Aidan Steyer 
• Lance and Shield Leadership Award: Will Desmarais, Grace McIntosh
• Macon East Theater’s Award for Excellence:  Jonathan Mathis 
• AISA Headmaster’s Association Award: Will Desmarais 
• Barbara Lindsey School Award: Mary Hunter Wright
• AISA Student Academic Team: Will Desmarais 
• AISA Student-Athlete Award: Aidan Steyer, Hannah Parker, Tanner Moore
• Jimmy Hitchcock Nominees: 
  • Senior High: Tanner Moore  and Georgia Blaze
  • Junior High: Chase Lashlee  and Katie Kitchens 

• DAR Good Citizen Award Will Desmarais 
• National Leadership I Dare You Award:  Jeremiah Carnegie
• Spirit of the Community Award: Tyler Hodges, Landon Mobley 
• Senior School Community Service Award: Mary Lawson Norton, Mary Hunter Wright, Will Desmarais
• Heart of the Knight Global Service Award: Kirkland Pugh, Hannah Parker, and Aidan Steyer  
• Alabama Boys State Nominee: Luke Noffsinger
• Alabama Girls State Nominee: Rachel Major 
• Alabama Lions High School Leadership Forum: McKinnon Hammonds and Ali Churchwell 
• Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Award:  Anna Glynn Lott and Jack Jones
• ALFA Youth Leadership Forum: Anna Watson, Matthew Kitchens, Wade Desmarais, Anna Glynn Lott, and Jack Jones
• Distinguished Knight Award: Sarah Davis  

Spelling Bee: 

• Fourth Grade 1st Place: Myla Robledo
• Fifth Grade 1st Place: Eli Churchwell
• Sixth Grade 1st Place: Kaci Armstead
• Seventh Grade 1st Place: Elise Logan 
• Eighth Grade 1st Place:  Julia Mathis 

Science Fair: 

• 1st Place – Physical Science:  Matthew Simpson
• 1st Place – Physical Science: Aubrey Smith
• 1st Place – Physical Science: Adam Fitch
• 1st Place – Biological Science: Gracie Strickland
• 1st Place – Biological Science: Makayla Purifoy
• 1st Place – Biological Science: Eli Churchwell 

Senior Subject Awards:

Senior High Art:

• Art IV: Grace McIntosh 

Senior High Science: 

• Environmental Science: Anna Perri Chumley
• Physics: Will Desmarais
• Anatomy: Kathryn Barker 

Senior High Math: 

• Algebra III: Mary Hunter Wright
• Calculus:  Will Desmarais 

Senior History: 

• Government /Economics: Will Desmarais

Senior High English: 

• AP: Will Desmarais
• Honors English: Jeremiah Carnegie

7th -11th Grade Subject Awards: 

Senior High Science: 

• Life Science: Peyton Baggott
• Physical Science: Julia Mathis
• Biology: Kaiden Byrom
• Chemistry: Anna Glynn Lott
• Anatomy: Luke Noffsinger, Trey Matthews 

Senior High Math: 

• Pre-Algebra: Jackson Todd
• Algebra I: Hunter Wren
• Geometry: Kaiden Byrom, Ethan Jones
• Algebra II: Anna Glynn Lott, Matthew Kitchens
• Pre- Calculus: Luke Noffsinger

Senior History: 

• Junior High History: Kaiden Byrom
• U.S. History I: Jack Jones
• U.S. History II: Luke Noffsinger 

Senior High English: 

• Junior High English: Kaiden Byrom
• Senior High Honors English: Jack Jones
• AP English 11: Luke Noffsinger

Art:

• Junior High Art: Cole Streetman 
• Art I: Ethan Jones 
• Art II: Alison Magda 
• Art III: Luke Noffsinger 

Spanish: 

• Spanish I: Anna Glynn Lott 
• Spanish II: Abby Vinson

Computer: 

• Junior High Computer: Mary Taylor May
• Computer I: Colin Blount, Kacy Rutland 
• Computer II: Ryan Russell, Kylee Smith 

Speech

• Speech: Hannah Kate Hodges 

Following Honors Day, the students enjoyed a Coach Lott cookout and a Powderpuff game between the Senior and Junior girls!   There was a lot of excitement on the football field with all-star running backs, quick defensive plays, and the boys/coaches on the sidelines yelling for their classmates.

An elite group of ninth and tenth graders from throughout Alabama attended the Alfa Youth Leadership Conference at the 4-H Center in Columbiana on April 29-30.  Macon East Academy representatives included:  Anna Watson, Wade Desmarais, Ryan Russell, Matthew Kitchens, Anna Glynn Lott, and Jack Jones.

Students applied for the conference which focused on training future leaders. It is sponsored by the Alabama Farmers Federation, Alabama Farmers Agriculture Foundation, county Farmers Federations and Alabama Farm Credit (AFC).  Attendees came from 30 counties and worked to identify personal strengths, develop negotiation skills and discover a passion for service.  The agenda included team-building activities at the 4-H Center’s challenge course and teen safety workshops.  AFC was a new supporter of the program this year and sponsored motivational speaker and leadership trainer Rhett Laubach who challenged students to be a positive influence on their peers.

Macon East Academy senior, Will Desmarais was selected as a 2021 recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award.  The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship.  This award recognizes and rewards individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. These students are selected by their teachers and peers because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree.  Will was also chosen as an AISA Studen Government Association Leadership Scholarship recipient.  Will is an outstanding academic student, student manager for the football and baseball teams, and serves as an officer and member in several school organizations.  Will plans to attend Auburn University in the fall and major in Business Administration.

Seniors, Tanner Moore and Georgia Blaze represented Macon East Academy at the 62nd annual Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award ceremony. Since 1959, the objective of the Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award program has been to recognize Christian leadership in athletics and to encourage and inspire others to emulate the man whose memory is perpetuated by this award. Each year coaches nominate senior athletes who have displayed the most outstanding qualities of Christian leadership in athletics and possess the following qualities: strong character, dependability, 100% effort, team leadership, church leadership, school leadership, and scholastic leadership. Freshman students who exhibit these same qualities are also invited to attend the annual banquet and be recognized. This year, Katie Kitchens and Chase Lashlee represented Macon East Academy as 8th-grade certificate recipients. We are very proud of Tanner, Georgia, Chase and Katie who are all honored to be part of a prestigious group of Hitchcock nominees.

The Macon East Academy chapter of the National Honor Society recently held its annual induction ceremony. The NHS is a worldwide organization that consists of students from around the country. The selection of members is based on five criteria: citizenship, service, leadership, scholarship, and character. Each member is expected to maintain a high academic standard while being active in their community through volunteer service projects. The goal of each chapter is to recognize academic achievement and to develop the characteristics of leadership and service.

Congratulations to this year’s inductees into the National Honor Society: Sawyer Nelson, Anna Glynn Lott, Madison May, Ryan Russell, Tyler Brown, Jack Jones, Wade Desmarais, Kathryn Barker, Matthew Kitchens, and Joshwa Browder. Stone Yarnell and Rachel Major (not pictured).

The Macon East Junior / Senior Prom was held on April 17th at the RSA Plaza Terrace in downtown Montgomery. An evening full of fun and dancing was enjoyed by everyone. The theme was Dripping in Luxury. Members of the Class of 2021 and their escorts were recognized at the senior lead-outs. Mrs. Karen Harris, prom sponsor, along with Mary Hunter Wright and the prom committee, planned an entertaining night for all the juniors, seniors, and their guests with entertainment from Top Tier Entertainment. As the evening ended, Mary Hunter Wright and Cole Carmack were crowned Prom Queen and King.