HHS ranked #3 in Alabama by U. S. News & World Report

Homewood City Schools is proud to announce that Homewood High School was named one of the “Best High Schools” by the U.S. News & World Report.  Of the Alabama public schools that made the list, Homewood was third in the state. 

 Schools were awarded gold, silver, or bronze medals based on state proficiency standards, how well they prepare students for college, and other factors. Homewood High School was awarded the gold medal.  The gold medal high schools are the top 500 high schools in the country.

 Among the 2012 U.S. News “Best High Schools” in Alabama, 3 were awarded gold medals, 17 received silver medals, and 73 were considered bronze medal schools. 

 Overall, more than 21,000 public high schools were assessed to produce the final list.  Homewood High School was ranked 435 nationally.

To view the ranked schools in Alabama, visit their website.

HCS given wellness award

Homewood City Schools was named a silver winner in the 2011-2012 School Employee Wellness Awards Program sponsored by the Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE).

Homewood was one of nine school districts to be recognized for their excellence in implementing school employee wellness programs that promote employee health, lead to improved workforce productivity, and reduced costs of employee absenteeism and healthcare.

School employee health is one area that DHPE has focused its work on with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In 2009, DHPE implemented an awards program to recognize schools/districts that have implemented school employee wellness programs.

Brother and sister bond on the golf course

By CRAIG KLEIMEYER

Homewood Middle School seventh grader Ben Harris and sister, Homewood High School senior Aubrey Harris, will golf together for Homewood schools this season. Photo courtesy of Paula Harris.

For Homewood Middle School seventh grader Ben Harris, sometimes it is more fun to golf with his older sister Aubrey than with his friends. This is the first and only season Ben and HHS senior Aubrey are both representing Homewood schools in golf. Ben made the middle school boys golf team of 10 players, and Aubrey helped make school history last season by going to sub-state with the golf team.

Aubrey learns from her brother, even though he is five years younger. “I helped him when he started to play, but now he helps me,” she said. “He is dedicated to going to the lessons, and he will teach me what he has learned after each one.”
Last year at sub-state, Aubrey was two strokes away from making it to state as an individual golfer, and she is determined to make it this season. Ben will start off his season as the number five golfer on the team. Aubrey and Ben signed a contract together that says they will try to practice every day and work hard during the season to accomplish their goals.

Edgewood student in Samford’s Swan Lake

Photo courtesy of Jim Renieri.

Gabby Ranieri was a page in the Alabama Ballet performance of Swan Lake, held Feb. 23-24 at Samford University. Gabby is in second  grade at Edgewood Elementary.

Bettering schools, bettering the community: Homewood City Schools Foundation

By RICK WATSON

Reed Johnson and Josh Galloway use an iPad provided by the Homewood City Schools Foundation. Photo courtesy of Mac Logue.

First graders at Shades Cahaba Elementary have a new way to tell where they are having reading problems: by recording and playing back themselves reading on iPads.

“The iPads offer an opportunity to reach children who have various learning styles – kinesthetic, visual and auditory all at once,” said Betsy Crimi, a HHS graduate and current Homewood first grade teacher and resident. “It’s added a whole new aspect to teaching children.”

Elizabeth Stewart’s special education class at Homewood Middle School also uses the iPads. They had used iPods on a trial basis, but the smaller screens were a challenge for the students.

Integrating iPads into lesson plans is part of the new campaign “Build a foundation, be the difference” for the Homewood City Schools Foundation.

“We are so grateful to the Homewood Foundation for making such a difference in the lives of students with special needs in Homewood,” said Stewart.

A Shining Star – Cora Steele

By ASHLEY BERKERY

Tucker Brant and Wilson McCraw assisted Cora across the finish line of the Hall-Kent Fun Run.

Much larger than any physical problems are Cora Steele’s tender, caring heart and her determination. Despite a genetic disorder known as Trisomy Three, the deletion of the 21st chromosome, Cora received an Honorable Mention award for completing her first race, the Hall-Kent Fall Festival Fun Run, with the help of her entire fifth grade class cheering her on.

Cora is still on a medical journey for an exact diagnosis. She battled liver cancer as a toddler, had a liver resection, bladder surgery in early elementary school and last year in fourth grade had back surgery to insert titanium rods, which means she is unable to bend her back at all.

“We were all lined up on the side of the road with tears flowing down our cheeks as she finished,” Suzanne Humphries, Cora’s teacher, said.

Wilson McCraw, a fifth grade peer of Cora’s since pre-school, finished the Fun Run then circled back to help Cora to the finish line.

“Cora even finished before some of the other people,” McCraw said, “and that is pretty cool.”