Student Standouts and Faculty Feature for February 2, 2024

Student Standouts: Stokes ’26, Walker ’28, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Girls Squash, Girls Swimming & Diving, Art Students, and Math Team

Faculty Feature: Roth

Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.


 

Sophomore Declared Athlete of the Week

Jason Stokes ’26 is an Athlete of the Week according to STL Today! He was declared the MVP of the Fort Zumwalt North Basketball Tournament. He is a leader in points and rebounds, averaging over 10 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game. Way to go, Jason!

Eighth Grader to be Considered for U.S. Soccer Youth National Team

Audrey Walker ’28 was selected by the U.S. Soccer Federation to attend a U.S. Soccer Girls Talent ID session on Wednesday, February 7, in Earth City, Missouri. U.S. Soccer Talent ID Centers (IDCs) are player identification opportunities for top talents to train and play games under the direction of the U.S. Soccer Talent Identification Managers. IDCs are designed to identify and evaluate top talents for Youth National Teams. Go, Audrey!

Boys Basketball Wins the Fort Zumwalt North Tournament

The MICDS Boys Basketball team scores a big win in the Fort Zumwalt North Tournament! The Rams defeated Rockbridge 66-60 in an exciting rematch of last year’s final. Jayden Banks ’24, Jason Stokes ’26, and Brandon Clemens ’26 are All-Tournament Team with Stokes bringing home MVP! Go Rams!

Girls Basketball Victories

Girls Basketball went on the road this week and defeated host Lindbergh 50-41 in the Lindbergh Tournament! They also outlasted Jackson 43-41 at the tournament in a back-and-forth finish! Congratulations to Genesis Starks ’24 for being named to the All-Tournament Team!

At the game against Visitation on Monday, MICDS won 45-37 and Genesis had a game-high of 25 points.

 

Girls Squash Wins Home Tournament Championship

Girls Varsity Squash takes the Ashes Tournament Championship, going 5-0. Thank you to all the schools that came to St. Louis for Squash. It was a great national showing of squash and sportsmanship. Congratulations to Coaches Robyn Willams and Nolan Clarke for putting this together!

An Exciting Dual Meet and Senior Night for Girls Swim & Dive

The MICDS Girls Swimming and Diving Rams hosted their last home dual meet this week, beat their opponents, and celebrated the seniors at Senior Night! This was not just another swim and dive meet; it was the last high school meet for four of our Rams: Everdine Ferguson ’24, Isabel Phillips ’24, Mikaela Mikulec ’24, and Thisbe Diamond ’24. Our amazing athletes were recognized by their teammates with a well-deserved round of applause and kind words from Coach Chris McCrary (swim) and Coach Andy Balczo (dive) for their four years of commitment to the team and for being such great captains the whole season. 

The competition was as exciting as ever as the team gave their best on every race and on every dive, showing their depth and strength as they have done for the past 13 meets held in just over 10 weeks, which included a dual meet during the freezing week of January weather.

An amazing show of team spirit happened during the 200 Individual Medley race. All Rams on deck were behind Isabel who was aiming to qualify for the State meet. Some supporters chose to walk from the pool’s start end to the bulkhead, back and forth, to cheer and follow her swim length by length for the duration of the race, 50 fly, 50 back, 50 breaststroke, and 50 free. Others chose to stand at the turn-end and shout “Go! Go! Go!” from the top of their lungs at every turn, making sure they were heard and seen. It felt like the whole team swam the individual medley together! Parents in the stands were equally excited, cheering and standing up as if that energy could somehow transport itself to the swimmer. All efforts were well-rewarded; Isabel achieved the coveted time drop, resulting in a personal best and a place to represent the Rams at State. 

At the end of the meet, the Ram swimmers and divers came together to cheer for their opponent, the team from Cape Central High School, with a “Well done, Cape Central!” 

Next for the Rams are two important meets: Conference at JBS on February 6 and State on Feb 16-17 at the St. Peter’s Rec Plex. Go Rams!

Four Student Masterpieces Make High School Art Exhibition

Congratulations to the following four students whose art has been accepted for the 2024 Annual High School Art Exhibition juried by Beth Browne, an alumnus of the SIUE MFA Program and the current director of the Edwardsville Art Center. The exhibit received over 200 entries from 29 regional high schools. The art that has been accepted is eligible for monetary awards generously funded through Friends of Art and the Art & Design Department.

  • Stump and Ax by Addison Koontz ’24

  • Flower Teapot by Emily Leyland ’25

  • Set of Flower Bowls by Emily Leyland ’25

  • Teapot by Sam Matisziw ’25

  • Safety Pins by Kriya Doshi ’25

The opening reception will take place from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 8, in the Art and Design West Gallery. Awards will be announced at 5:30 p.m. Teachers, students, and their families are encouraged to attend if possible. Guests may park in Lot B, the pay lot nearest the Art and Design Buildings. The exhibition will run through Thursday, February 16.

Congratulations, art students!

Math Team Competes at Online Mathleague State Qualifier

On Sunday, January 28, nine students (Henry Clay ’24, Andrew Haas ’25, Amisha Poojari ’25, Jason Song ’25, Yusuf Zayed ’26, Shil Penilla ’26, Cade Miller ’26, Yash Shelar ’26, and Daniel Haas ’27) competed with students around the country in the Online Mathleague State Qualifier. Of these, five students qualified for the Missouri Mathleague State Competition at the University of Missouri in April. Those students are Henry, Andrew, Yusuf, Yash, and Daniel. Henry was recognized as second place out of all seniors in the competition, and amongst the four Missouri schools at the qualifier, MICDS placed second. There will be another opportunity for students to qualify on February 17. Great job, Mathletes!

Faculty Feature: Roth Wins Lesson Plan Proposal Contest

The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics, a nonprofit, nonpartisan program of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, sent out a call for lesson plan proposals for its short historical documentary on the landmark Supreme Court Case New York Times v. Sullivan. Upper School History Teacher Dr. Tanya Roth’s lesson plan was one of three winning lesson plan proposals. Her lesson plan will be posted in March and available as an educational resource on AnnenbergClassroom.org. With a winning proposal, Roth receives a stipend to develop the lesson plan. In an article on the competition and its winners, Roth shares that she found the documentary «very captivating – it not only provided great information on how media coverage helped influence the Civil Rights Movement, but also…offers a rich foundation for considering relevant questions for students, including their own role in participating in the nation, their understanding of the Civil Rights Movement, and even how to work on their own media literacy.” Way to go, Dr. Roth!