Mira Awards Honor Creative High School Students
May 29, 2022
Escambia County Public Schools Foundation recently recognized local high school seniors for their creative and artistic talents through the annual Mira Awards.
Mira, meaning “brightest star,” was conceived by a group of teachers at Tate High School in 1987. Since then, the Mira Awards have been expanded to all Escambia County high schools. Students receive a custom medallion to wear with their cap and gown at graduation.
Beth Partington, who has chaired the Mira Awards ceremony for the past eight years, believes, “It is so important to honor students who excel in the arts. Their creativity, dedication, and talents are often overlooked, yet their contributions add a great deal to everyone’s lives and the high school experience. The Foundation enjoys celebrating these exceptional high school seniors each year.”
This year, the following 74 local high school seniors received Mira Awards:
Escambia High School
Jasmine Collings, Kadence Vanlandingham (Band), Ty Jones (Chorus), Sara Jones (Drama), Charlotte Paolini (Orchestra), Selma Millan (Visual Arts)
Northview High
Adrianne Shanks (Band), Addison White (Creative Writing), Kinzey Powell (Culinary Arts), Hunter Borelli (Graphic Arts), Dallon Rackard (Graphic Design), Jesse Hughes (Journalism), Mia Starns (Photography), Benjamin Rowinsky (Video Design), Madison Watson (Visual Arts), Paige Ross (Visual Design), Anna Adams, Shelby Cotita (Yearbook)
Pensacola High School
Christian McClung (Chorus), Miyauna Copeland (Culinary Arts), Scott Grove, Vitus Larrieu, Steven Rhodes (Drama), Aniya Knight (Graphic Arts), Ezra Baker, Gracie Collins, Abigail Prettyman (Instrumental Music), Isabel Green (Orchestra), Wren Harwell (Photography), Colin Gold (Yearbook)
Pine Forest High School
Kiaeante Hill (Band), Emmie Sasser (Chorus), Thomas Welch (Culinary Arts), Karriema Jones (Design Services Academy), Daniel Jennings (Digital Media), Hailee Hatcher (Photography), Nina Burt (Visual Arts), Dontreal Hines (Yearbook)
Tate High School
Holly Phillips, Carter Pitts, Melissa Schauer (Band), Rose Geinert, Emily Payne (Chorus), Hunter Brumfield, Elias Ray (Drama), Gabrielle Gryskiewicz, Jordan Rinker (Orchestra), Vanessa Lopez, Megan Morris (Visual Arts), Dylainie Charlery (Yearbook)
Washington High School
Kaleb Aymond, Adrianna Blackmon, Michaela Hartley (Band), Alexia Ben, Minh Nguyen, Caitlin Sanderson (Chorus), Samuel Brown, Jovaney Sutherland (Orchestra), Kaitlyn Roe (Theatre), Michaela Luescher (Theatre and Visual Arts), Cassady Hawkins, Yu’miya Walker (Visual Arts)
West Florida High School
Kyla Barrett, Grace Coleman (Band), Arjerne Arrington (Drama-Performance Excellence), William Rabon, Mia Zareck (Multimedia-Graphic Design), Chloe Rabin (Orchestra-Exceptional Leadership), Thien-Loc Uc (Orchestra-Performance Leadership), Mason Mott (Photographic Journalism), Teana Henderson (Theatre-Exceptional Leadership), Fariha Fairooz, Braxton Wickersham (Visual Arts), Micayla Jesse (Yearbook-Graphic Design)
Byrneville Elementary School Names Students Of The Month
May 26, 2022
Byrneville Elementary School recently named their May Students of the Month.
They are:
- Kindergarten — London Mixon and Kylo Davis
- 1st Grade — Hexten Dykes and Blake Mathis
- 2nd Grade — Patrick Quinnelly and Kahlan Davis
- 3rd Grade — Ivyonna Adkins and Trendell Johnson
- 4th Grade — Jayden Carter and Bentley Sanders
- 5th Grade — Landon Barrow and Ian Therrell
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
IP Donated Butterfly Kits To 631 Classrooms In Escambia And Santa Rosa
May 25, 2022
International Paper, in partnership with Celebrate Planet Earth, provided 631 kindergarten through fourth grade classrooms in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties with free butterfly and sunflower kits, enabling local children to experience the wonder of nature.
Schools received their kits March through May, and students had the opportunity to witness caterpillars undergo metamorphosis over the course of two to three weeks. Once the butterflies emerged, students fed them sugar-water for about a week before experiencing the delight of releasing them into the world. Students also learned how to sprout and grow sunflowers from seed to bloom.
The butterfly and sunflower kits were distributed to 27 schools:
- Bagdad Elementary School
- Bellview Elementary School
- Berryhill Elementary School
- Beulah Elementary School
- Blue Angels Elementary School
- Bratt Elementary School
- Capstone Academy – Milton
- Central School
- Creative Learning Academy
- East Milton Elementary School
- Ensley Elementary School
- Episcopal Day School
- Gulf Breeze Elementary School
- Jim Allen Elementary School
- Kingsfield Elementary School
- Lincoln Park Elementary School
- Lipscomb Elementary School
- Longleaf Elementary School
- McArthur Elementary School
- Molino Park Elementary School
- N. B. Cook Elementary School
- Oriole Beach Elementary School
- Pine Meadow Elementary School
- Pleasant Grove Elementary School
- S.S. Dixon Primary
- W. H. Rhodes Elementary School
- West Navarre Primary
“We are committed to improving the communities along the greater Gulf Coast, and we aim to be responsible stewards of our planet,” said Scott Taylor, Pensacola Mill manager. “We are proud to offer this learning experience to the young students in our surrounding communities and hope it instills in them a respect for our planet.”
Pictured: Students enjoy butterflies at Kingsfield Elementary School (above) and Molino Park Elementary (below). Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lunar Astronaut Candidates Train at NAS Pensacola
May 24, 2022
Seven NASA astronaut candidates are undergoing flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola as part of a two-year training pipeline to prepare them for participation in the Artemis lunar exploration program.
The NASA Astronaut Candidate Basic Aviation Curriculum (ASCAN BAC) is administered by Training Air Wing Six (TW-6), which is responsible for the training and production of the Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) who serve as navigators, sensor operators, Weapons System Officers, and Electronic Warfare Officers inside naval aviation.
“ASCAN training is only conducted every three to four years and is very condensed compared to Student Naval Flight Officer training,” said TW-6 Ground Training Officer Mr. John Boman, who oversees the ASCAN training at NAS Pensacola. “ASCANs are in class up to 12 hours per day, or they are scheduled for two flight events per day.”
The ASCAN BAC is designed for candidates without prior military aviation training. It aims to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to safely aviate, navigate, and communicate in preparation for follow-on training and responsibilities as NASA flight crew.
“Given the mental aptitude of these individuals, our instructors are able to introduce and practice procedures and skill sets at a quicker pace, which allows us to meet NASA specified training timelines. They have been a pleasure to work with, and knowing that TW-6 helps to put them into space is very rewarding,” said Mr. Boman.
The class includes United States candidates Christina Birch, Andre Douglas, Deniz Burnham, Christopher Williams, and Anil Menon, who were chosen from a field of more than 12,000 applicants, as well as international candidates Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla of the United Arab Emirates.
Upon arrival at NAS Pensacola, the ASCANs underwent a one-week Aviation Physiology and Aircrew Water Survival training conducted by the Naval Survival Training Institute. They then began the 10-week ASCAN BAC, which is divided into two stages, familiarization and instrument navigation.
The familiarization stage is comprised of ground school, four simulator events, and five flight events in the T-6A Texan II turboprop trainer aircraft. The instrument navigation stage is comprised of ground school, six simulator events, and six flight events also flown in the T-6A.
Several of the ASCANs are now completing flight events in the instrument navigation stage.
According to police helicopter pilot Mohammad Al Mulla, Navy Aircrew Water Survival Training was a new challenge despite his 15 years of flight experience.
“It was a really good challenge. I felt like after accomplishing Water Survival I’m more comfortable flying, even offshore. I felt really good after passing. I’m really glad to be here and learning from the Navy,” Al Mulla said.
Dr. Anil Menon, who has served as a flight surgeon for NASA, Space X, and the U.S. Air Force, says he is grateful for the quality of training provided by the Navy.
“I did general aviation and I’ve paid for myself to learn how to fly and learn from instructors, but I’ve never encountered instructors as good as the Navy instructors that I’ve worked with. I’ve just learned that there’s a next level to aviation, so it really opened up a lot of doors for me and I’m grateful for those teachers,” Menon said.
In addition to safe operation of a jet aircraft, ASCANs have four major categories of training including operating and maintaining the International Space Station’s systems, preparing for spacewalks, developing complex robotics skills, and Russian language skills.
Deniz Burnham, who serves as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserves and holds degrees in chemical and mechanical engineering, says as the team nears the end of their training at NAS Pensacola, they look forward to the next challenge.
“We’ll be moving on to the T-38 back in Houston. The T-6 training gave us a good baseline for crew resource management, checklist discipline, procedural recall…this is kind of the foundation to being a value-added team member, and we all look forward to moving on from Pensacola back to Houston,” Burnham said.
The Artemis program aims to put the next man, first woman, and first person of color on the moon in 2024 and to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon by the end of the decade. These accomplishments will in turn prepare humanity for the next step of solar exploration: sending humans to Mars.
story by Ensign Lyndsay Ballew
Pictured: NASA astronaut candidates Christina Birch, Andre Douglas, Deniz Burnham, Christopher Williams, Anil Menon, Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla stand beside a T6-A Texan II at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The astronaut candidates began Basic Aviation Curriculum at Training Air Wing Six in late March as part of a two-year training pipeline in preparation for serving the Artemis space exploration program. Photo by Ensign Lyndsay Ballew for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle School Names Students Of The Month
May 23, 2022
Ransom Middle School recently named their Students of the Month for April. They are Dorian Burt and Jazlyn Beddell. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
ECSO Deputies Stand Watch Over Fallen Officers At Washington Memorial
May 22, 2022
Last weekend, Lieutenant Frazier, Deputy Gaydon, Deputy Carpenter, and Deputy Voght represented the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office by standing watch for fallen officers at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC.
The event marked the beginning of National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to honoring America’s law enforcement community.
For more photos, click or tap here.
Northview High Names Students Of The Month
May 22, 2022
Northview High School recently named their Students of the Month for April. They are senior Hannah Hassebrock and junior Clay Allen. They are pictured with Principal Michael Sherill. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate High School Names Students Of The Month
May 21, 2022
Tate High School recently named their March Students of the Month. They are Julie Young and Jackson Shelnut. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
This Little Light Of Mine: Tri-City Children’s Choir Holds First Concert (With Gallery)
May 20, 2022
The sun filtered warmly through the stained glass windows at Century First United Methodist Church Thursday evening.
Smiles beamed from the faces of the crowd packed into the wooden pews as music filled the church.
“This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine.”
It was the first concert by the new Tri-City Children’s Choir, a regional initiative of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus for young singers in grades 2-6 who reside in the Century, Flomaton, Jay and surrounding areas. They have practiced under the direction of Holley Driver, a Century-based music teacher, since March.
“They have done outstanding,” Driver said. “They have always exceeded my expectations, and so I am just terrifically thrilled.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
The choir was a tuition-based program that cost $5-15 weekly. Families could choose the weekly amount that worked best for their household finances, and scholarships were also available.
An ensemble from the Pensacola Children’s Chorus opened the concert with a performance that included Prayer for Ukraine: Bozhe Velykyi. The Tri-City Children’s Choir performed How Can I Keep From Singing, To Music and This Little Light of Mine.
Driver said the choir will open enrollment again in the fall, giving an opportunity for area youth to shine.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Jim Allen Elementary Names Students Of The Month
May 20, 2022
Jim Allen Elementary School recently named Students of the Month. They are Paisley Black and Jaxon Southern. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
