Students, staff recognized at the May 12 board meeting
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Each month during the school year, the Pattonville Board of Education honors students, staff and volunteers who have gained recognition outside of the district or who’ve made a special contribution to Pattonville. Learn more about students and staff who were recognized this month.
Drummond Elementary School
Choir
Members of the Drummond choir include, from left, front row, teacher Kori Phillips and students Kenzie Moeller, Brantley Selman and Gemma Masat; and, back row, Amina Gayden, Kameron Casimere and M'Lyiah Cousan.
A group of fifth grade students were selected by teacher nomination to the St. Louis Suburban 5th/6th Grade Honor Choir. They were invited to perform at a concert at Orchard Farm High School on April 18.
These students are Kameron Casimere, M'Lyiah Cousan, Amina Gayden, Gemma Masat, Lola Mayfield, Kenzie Moeller and Brantley Selman. These students are taught by vocal music teachers Jacob Johnson and Kori Phillips.
Rose Acres Elementary School
Choir
Members of the Rose Acres choir include, from left, front row, Daphne Edmonds and Aubrey Starks; second row, Camron Tripp and Nora Wansing and, back row, Ethan Scott and Emily Pitlyk.
A group of fifth grade students were selected by teacher nomination to the St. Louis Suburban 5th/6th Grade Honor Choir. They were invited to perform at a concert at Orchard Farm High School on April 18.
The following students were selected: Daphne Edmonds, Nolan Gray, Emily Pitlyk, Ethan Scott, Brennan Smith, Aubrey Starks, Camron Tripp and Nora Wansing. These students are taught by vocal music teacher Emily Doherty.
Willow Brook Elementary School
Choir
Members of the Willow Brook choir include, from left, students Buuveimaa Bulgan and Brielle Hamilton and teacher Joanna Todd.
A group of fifth grade students were selected by teacher nomination to the St. Louis Suburban 5th/6th Grade Honor Choir. They were invited to perform at a concert at Orchard Farm High School on April 18.
Students selected from Willow Brook include: Ava Ambrose, Elodie Briggs, Buuveimaa Bulgan, Eve Colletti, Rori Dalton and Brielle Hamilton. These students are taught by vocal music teacher Joanna Todd.
Academy of Innovation at Remington
Choir
Remington choir members include, from left, front row, Micaiah Wiedemann and Will Thompson and, back row, Magnolia Wells and Lovely Sanders.
A group of fifth grade students were selected by teacher nomination to the St. Louis Suburban 5th/6th Grade Honor Choir. They were invited to perform at a concert at Orchard Farm High School on April 18.
These students are: Juliette Goering, Genesis McDonnell, Lovely Sanders, Ezra Shanks, Will Thompson, Magnolia Wells and Micaiah Wiedemann. These students are taught by vocal music teacher Demi Avery.
Holman Middle School
Choir
Members of the Holman choir include, from left, front row, Mesa Baczynski, teacher Heather Blackwell and Zoey Masat; and, back row, Tyla Jāi Anton and Chelsea Lapsley.
A group of sixth grade students were selected by teacher nomination to the St. Louis Suburban 5th/6th Grade Honor Choir. They were invited to perform at a concert at Orchard Farm High School on April 18.
The following sixth grade students from Holman were selected: Tyla Jāi Anton, Mesa Baczynski, Sofia Flores, Jacquelynn Gabriel-Smith, Chelsea Lapsley and Zoey Masat. These students are taught by vocal music teacher Heather Blackwell.
Pattonville Heights Middle School
Choir
Members of the Heights choir include from left, front row, student Juliette LaCour, teacher Kurtis Heinrich and students Emilia Miller; and, back row, Melanie McElravy and Natalie Pierchorowicz.
A group of sixth grade students were selected by teacher nomination to the St. Louis Suburban 5th/6th Grade Honor Choir. They were invited to perform at a concert at Orchard Farm High School on April 18.
The following sixth graders were selected: Brianna Carson, Bennett Ilko, Juliette LaCour, Daniela Martinez, Melanie McElravy, Reginald McNichols III, Emilia Miller and Natalie Pierchorowicz. These students are taught by vocal music teacher Kurtis Heinrich.
Pattonville High School
Speech and Debate
Members of the debate team include, from left, front row, teacher Justin Levy, students Charlotte Euler, Nasya Kirksey and Danyelle Trammell; second; and, back row, Grace Bagsby, Ying Li and Shota Kikuchi.
Speech and debate students competed and placed at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) state and district competitions and earned individual honors.
The following students placed at the state competition after qualifying at the district level. Shota Kikuchi was a sixth place finalist in U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking after being named a district champion. Kikuchi is the president of the speech and debate team. Lydia Fantahun placed 10th in humorous interpretation after placing third at districts. Christina Chirwa placed 11th in international extemporaneous speaking after placing third at districts. Chirwa is the vice president of speech for the team. Alexander Isaac placed 14th in prose reading after placing fourth at districts. Isaac is the vice president of debate. Grace Bagsby placed 15th in informative speaking after placing third at districts.
At districts, the team placed third overall out of 17 schools. The following students also qualified to compete at state following their performance at districts.
Sophia Fernandez placed second in informative speaking. Danyelle Trammell placed third in prose reading and was part of the team that placed fifth in duet acting along with Whitney Murray, who also placed seventh in informative speaking. Bagsby placed third in storytelling. Kikuchi placed fifth in original oratory. Kikuchi and Ying Li were part of the team that placed sixth in duet acting. Li is also the public relations chair. Chirwa placed fifth in poetry reading and was part of the team that placed eighth in duet acting with Nasya Kirksey. Charlotte Euler placed sixth in prose reading and seventh in dramatic interpretation. Fantahun placed sixth in storytelling.
Chirwa and Kikuchi were also NSDA Academic All-American.
The speech and debate team is sponsored by Justin Levy.
The speech and debate team also earned recognition from the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) for the 2024-2025 school year. Students earn honor society points and degrees based on competition, leadership and service activities which contribute to a school’s strength points. Because Pattonville’s chapter achieved 116 or more strength points last year, they earned membership in the association’s 100 Club. The club award demonstrates outstanding commitment to teaching students essential life skills — including communication, research, listening, writing and organization.
DECA
Members of the DECA team include, from left, front row, Kijah Chamberlin, Judith Owusu and Morgan Leb; second row, Aphomya Fantahun, Shauntavia Conway, Yoselin Martinez-Alvarado, Imani Wood; and, back row, Carina Tshitenge, Krisha Avaiya and teacher Dr. Raghib Muhammad.
Two students attended the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta this April, after qualifying at the state competition by placing in the top six in their events. Krisha Avaiya competed in accounting applications and scored in the top 25% on her test after placing third at state and first at districts. Marcus Hughes competed in hotel and lodging management after placing sixth at state and second at the district competition.
Febin Mesfin also qualified for the ICDC in human resources management after placing third at state and first at the district competition. At state, Kady Ohlsen placed in the top 10 in principles of marketing event after placing third at districts.
The following students also placed at the district competition and qualified to compete at state. Solyana Damte and Helen Kbrom were part of the team that placed first in buying and merchandising. Amanda Eberts placed first in the entrepreneurship series. Malachi Jackson placed first in financial consulting. Shauntavia Conway placed first in hospitality and tourism. Tanish Dorasani placed first in innovation plan. Morgan Leb placed first in integrated marketing campaigns. Carina Tshitenge placed first in marketing communications. The following students placed second in their events: Alexandria Hill in accounting applications; Kim Kha in business finance; Fardin Sheik in food marketing; Yoselin Martinez-Alvarado in marketing communications; and Kijah Chamberlin and Sophia Luraschi in travel and tourism team. Judith Owusu placed third in accounting applications.
The following students also competed and placed fourth at districts and advanced to the state competition: Aphomya Fantahun in principles of entrepreneurship; Daniel Mbugua in quick serve restaurant management; Imani Wood in the entrepreneurship team decision making event; and Emnet Zelealum in the entrepreneurship team decision making event. DECA is sponsored by Dr. Raghib Muhammad.
Pattonville Learning Center
Community relations awards
The school-community relations department received awards from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) and the Missouri School Public Relations Association (MOSPRA). The following honors were awarded from NSPRA: Three Awards of Excellence in the writing category; Awards of Merit for the Pattonville at Work E-Newsletter in the newsletter category and the Pattonville website redesign in the website category; and an Award of Honorable Mention for the Pattonville Highlights newsletter in the newsletter category.
From MOSPRA, two Awards of Excellence were received in the photo category. The Pattonville website redesign received an Award of Merit and the Pattonville at Work e-Newsletter and Pattonville Highlights newsletter received Awards of Merit in the newsletter category. Additionally, two Awards of Merit were received in the photo category and two in the writing category. Finally, Golden Achievement Awards of Commendation were given to the District Appreciation Night video series and the Future of Remington video and four MOSPRA Awards of Commendation.
Members of Pattonville's school-community relations department are Kelly Gordon, APR, chief communications officer; Gracie Faron, community relations specialist; Brian Heyman, multimedia communications specialist; and Allison Collins, administrative assistant to the superintendent and community relations and secretary to the board.
Students, staff recognized at the May 12 board meeting