Congratulations to the Sword & Shield staff for receiving, for the first time ever,  a rating of “All Alabama” at this past weekend’s Alabama Scholastic Press Association’s state competition. The Sword & Shield was one of three high school newspapers state-wide to receive this rating, which is the highest award possible.

The following students also received individual awards:

On-site newspaper Editorial writing

1^st place:  Olivia Burton

2^nd place:  Barbara Sandlin

On-site newspaper Layout

2^nd place:  Mary Nobles Hancock

Page One Design  December 14^th Edition

1^st place: Co-Editors-in-Chief Will Hightower and Mary Nobles Hancock

Review

1^st place:  Anna Patterson—“Taking the guesswork out of Greek Yogurt”

Honorable Mention:   “The Great Language Debate”—Rachel Fleisig, Mary Nobles Hancock, Atticus O’Brien

Editorial

2^nd place:  Anna Patterson—“A perishing culture? The decline of print journalism”

Sports Story

2^nd place:  Will Hightower—“Vlachos proves Saban wrong”

3^rd place:  Fletcher Cox—“MBHS Football team defeats Hoover”

Ads—Design

1^st place:  William Norris

Arts/Graphic

2^nd place:  William Norris

News Photo

3^rd place:  Will Hightower

We are proud of our journalism students!

Girls Basketball: Mountain Brook 51, Thompson 42

Birmingham News, February 16, 2012 9:10 p.m.

Jeff George
“Survive and advance” was the theme Mountain Brook coach Mark Cornelius preached to his team all week.

The Spartans (25-9) did both, beating Thompson in a Class 6A sub-regional game.

Mountain Brook forced 20 turnovers and used a 13-6 run in the third quarter to secure the win.
“I was really worried about the game,” Cornelius said. “But we did enough to win. I was proud of the way that the ladies fought and took advantage of the opportunities.”
Mountain Brook will face Shades Valley at noon Feb. 22 in the Northeast Regional at Jacksonville State.
Annabelle Friedman led the Spartans with 17 points, 10 coming in the fourth quarter. The junior guard was 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Collier Oglivie added 11 points.
“Thompson had a great game plan” Cornelius added. “Our run in the third quarter and free throw shooting helped us advanced. That’s all is about tonight.”
The Spartans made 19-of-25 of free-throw attempts.
Cornelius, who took the Spartans to several regionals and a Final Four appearance during his tenure as the school's boys coach, is making his first trip to Jacksonville in his first season as the girls coach.
Thompson (16-12) was led by KaDeisha Stowes, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Taylor Underwood added nine points before leaving the game with an injured knee in the third quarter.

Mountain Brook High School Leadership Mountain Brook Cohort Selected

Congratulations to students from Mountain Brook High School chosen to be the 2013 cohort of Leadership Mountain Brook.  The group will participate in leadership activities throughout the 2012-2013 school year.

Front Row:  Maggie Mandt, Anne Holman Smith, Tyler Jaffe, Catherine Elizabeth Luke, Sarah Sims Parker, Anna Smith, Mary Shelton Hornsby.

Second Row: Charlotte Weaver, Reid Parrott, Alana Bartoletti, Katherine Francis, Mary Nix Roberson, Brooks Glover, Drew Dickson, Mitchell Bain.

Third Row:  Stewart Harrington, Mary Grace Tracy, Catherine Massingill, Reynolds Thompson, Reilly Blair and Principal Vic Wilson

Spartans prove age is just a number: Lady Spartans Basketball
By WILL HIGHTOWER, Village Living

Collier Ogilvie dribbles past a Spain Park defender as Kaki Simpson looks on. Photo courtesy of Image Arts.

On paper, the Lady Spartans are young. Kaki Simpson is the only senior, and sophomores form the majority. But many of the sophomores have played on the varsity team for two to three years, so really the team has just as much experience as anyone else, even if they are younger according to the calendar. The team’s record is 18-6.
Sophomores Mary Katherine Pinson and Collier Ogilvie and junior Ellie Mouyal usually trade places as leading scorers, with at least one hitting 15 or 20 points every game. Mary Katherine scored 39 points against Vestavia in January to break the record for the most points scored in a game.
Head coach Mark Cornelius also said that Simpson, who was named the captain of the team, is a leader: “Kaki does a great job of keeping our team a group and is someone that the team can rally around. She understands her role and gets out there and plays hard. She has a good time but she doesn’t lose the focus of what we’re trying to do.”
When asked about being the only senior on the team, Kaki said, “It’s basically been the same people on the team for the past three years so age does not create a barrier. I am very comfortable with everyone and we have all grown to be extremely close.”
Cornelius is a familiar face to Mountain Brook basketball fans. Cornelius’ ten years as the boys coach were some of Mountain Brook’s most successful, even including a run to the Final Four in 2001. After leaving in 2008 to coach at Hoover, Cornelius is back as the girls coach.
“I don’t think I would change anything,” he said. “I wouldn’t go back to coaching boys. It’s been a really big blessing for me to be back here, and I’ve enjoyed this year as much as any year I’ve coached.”

His coaching is paying dividends, as the girls finished December at 14-5 and are currently playing tough area teams like Vestavia, Homewood and Spain Park. The schedule was intentionally made tougher early on to help the Spartans prepare for these teams.
“We’ve been in some close games, been behind, and had to figure out a way to get ahead,” Cornelius said. “Because of that I think we’re improving a lot as a team. Hopefully we’ll understand how to handle close games now. These teams in our area have the best coaches we will face, so they will be prepared for us.”

As the playoffs roll around, the girls and the coaches are confident.

“We should win our area,” Cornelius said. “And I would be disappointed if we didn’t make it to Jacksonville this year. We should be there.”
“We are definitely keeping our eyes set on Jacksonville, but we have to get past the area tournament first,” Simpson said.
Keep up with the team as they head toward the playoffs and prove that age is just a number.

Mountain Brook's Chris Yeager to coach Alabama football all-stars al.com Mountain Brook football coach Chris Yeager will lead the Alabama All-Stars against Mississippi in December. (The Birmingham News/Bernard Troncale) MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Mountain Brook High School's Chris Yeager has been named the head coach of Alabama ... and more »

Spartans too much for Jaguars

Published 10:37pm Monday, February 13, 2012

 

By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor
HOOVER — Spain Park High School boys’ basketball coach Neal Barker learned a time-tested fact proven true in multiple areas at the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A level.
After his Jaguars defeated Mountain Brook twice in AHSAA Class 6A, Area 12 play in the regular season, the Spartans turned the table in a 49-42 win over Spain Park in the postseason area tournament championship game Feb. 13.

Pictured from left: Andy Meadows, MBHS teacher, Walker Sewell, Jack Lacey, and Dr. Tommy Bice, State Supt. of Education

Mountain Brook High School Students Place in State Art Show

Two students from Mountain Brook High School won awards in the Photography and Digital Art category at the State Superintendent's Art Show in Montgomery last week.  Walker Sewell won 1st place in the 9th and 10th grade division, and Jack Lacey won 2nd place in the 11th and 12th grade division. 

All winners were recognized at the Alabama State Board of Education meeting last Friday, February 10, and attended a luncheon in their honor afterward.  Mountain Brook High photography teacher, Mr. Andy Meadows, attended the Board meeting and luncheon with the students. 

Boys Basketball: Mountain Brook 43, Vestavia Hills 40

Jeff Sentell, Birmingham News, February 10, 2012 8:47 p.m.

Mountain Brook advanced to the Class 6A, Area 12 finals with a 43-40 win against Vestavia Hills despite several layers of difficulty.

Vestavia Hills, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, surged to a 31-24 lead with 2:46 left in the third quarter across a game dominated by 3-point shots.

That's the point where Mountain Brook coach Bucky McMillan said his squad took "absolute control" of the game. The Spartans scored 13 of the next 16 points in the game to stake a 37-34 lead with 5:25 to play.

The Rebels had a chance with the ball and 4.5 seconds left to play, but could not extend their season. Mountain Brook (22-9) has now won six straight games since a 44-42 result on the road at Vestavia Hills last month.

Vestavia Hills (14-16) stayed in the contest thanks to a hot night shooting from beyond the perimter. The Rebels made seven of their first 10 attempts from 3-point territory.

The Spartans were led by Mario Stramaglia's 15 points. B.J. Houston led the Rebels with a game-high 25 points. He made five of his eight 3-point tries.

The teams combined to put up 40 3-point shots in the contest, including 20 of those attempts in the first half.

Mountain Brook will face the winner of Friday's Homewood-Spain Park semifinal in the Area 12 championship game at Spain Park on Monday.

Boys Basketball: Mountain Brook 79, Walker 52

Birmingham News, February 02, 2012 9:41 p.m.

Mario Stramaglia scored 25 of his 32 points in the first half, staking Mountain Brook to 42-34 halftime lead, and the Spartans (20-9) went on to rout visiting Walker. Stramaglia made four of the Spartans' 10 3-pointers.
Matti Sigurdarson and Will Deer added 10 points each for the Spartans and Sigurdarson also had six assists. Quadrekas Key scored 18 points and Shane Donaldson 16 to lead the Vikings.
This is Mountain Brook's third consecutive 20-win season under fourth-year head coach Bucky McMillan.

Girls Basketball: Mountain Brook 55, Northridge 39

Birmingham News, January 31, 2012 9:34 p.m.

Mountain Brook turned up the defense and rallied to defeat Class 6A No. 6 Northridge. The Spartans (21-6) forced 23 turnovers, including 20 steals and erased a five-point deficit after the first quarter by outscoring Northridge 20-10 in the second.

Mountain Brook expanded the lead with a 19-6 advantage in the third quarter while holding Northridge to just 25 points through the first three quarters.

Ellie Mouyal and Mary Katherine Pinson each scored 13 points for the Spartans (21-6), and Kaki Simpson added 12 and also led the Spartans with six steals. Sarah Stuart led Northridge (22-5) with nine points.

Mark Cornelius enjoys return to Mountain Brook

Rubin E. Grant, Birmingham News, January 25, 2012 8:58 a.m.

Kaki Simpson was somewhat apprehensive about the final season of her basketball career at Mountain Brook High School.

The reason for her anxiety was a coaching change last summer. Kevin Tubbs, who had coached Simpson during her first three seasons, left Mountain Brook to become the athletics director for Homewood schools. He was replaced by Mark Cornelius, who had coached the Mountain Brook boys basketball team from 1998 to 2008 before leaving to coach the boys team at Gardendale for three seasons.

“I thought it would be a big change,” said Simpson, a 5-foot-9 forward who is the Spartans’ lone senior. “I was scared about that. I also wondered whether he would treat the girls like boys. I was scared about that, too. But he has been really nice to us. The way we play is pretty similar, so that hasn’t changed much.

“They are definitely different coaches with different tactics and a different approach. I thought it would be a lot of different, but I have loved the way the season is going and playing for Coach Cornelius.”

What’s not to love? The Spartans headed into their game Tuesday night at Vestavia Hills with an 18-6 overall record and 3-1 record in Class 6A, Area 12. The team’s only area loss was 64-56 to Spain Park on Friday. Mountain Brook will play at Homewood this Friday.

When Cornelius was the Spartans’ boys coach, he averaged 20 wins per season, led them to five regional appearances and a Final Four berth in 2001. His 2005 team won 28 games, which set a school record. He left as the Spartans’ winningest boys head coach.

Cornelius is enjoying his return to Mountain Brook as the girls coach.

“It’s been fantastic, a good change of pace for me,” Cornelius said. “It’s a different world, not so much with the X’s and O’s, but you have to have a different demeanor and you have to explain things differently.

“The girls play so hard. It’s not because of me.

“After talking to Kevin, I thought we would be pretty good, but until you know what everybody else has you’re not exactly sure how good.”

The Spartans are led by sophomores Collier Ogilvie and Mary Katherine Pinson and junior Ellie Mouyal. The trio is scoring in double figures.

“Mary Katherine is very talented,” Cornelius said. “She’s our leading scorer. Collier is our best post player. She wants to play college ball, so we’re trying to expand her game. In college she probably will have to play small forward and she’s always played power forward or center. We’re letting her face the basket more, so it’s been a little bit of a transition year for her and that’s why her numbers are a little down.

“Ellie is our best athlete. She runs and jumps and does a lot of things for us.

“We have got some other girls who are good role players. We’ve got a lot of depth. We play 10 or 11 girls.”

Cornelius mentioned Simpson and sophomore Dani Diehl, who round out the starting five, and valuable sub Annabelle Friedman, a junior.

“Kaki has a knack for being in the right place at the right time and she can finish when she gets the ball inside,” Cornelius said. “Dani is one of those players who is a coach’s dream. You can tell her something one time and she goes out and does it. We’re trying to get her to score more. She’s so unselfish she doesn’t look to score. She’s more interested in getting other people involved.

“Annabelle is our sixth man and a defensive stopper. She doesn’t mind being physical. She’s always going full speed.”

As the only senior, Simpson is the team leader, but it has taken some getting used to.

“Last year when I was a junior, I didn’t have as much of a leadership role even though we had only one senior then,” Simpson said. “It seems weird this year because we have all been on the same team the last three years. They are not used to me bossing them around, so we don’t yell at each other. I figured the best way to lead is through example. I try to listen to the coach and do what he says and try to get them to do the same.”

High School students talk racism, other issues

Students from Mountain Brook High School and Wenonah High School gather during the Heritage Panel training at the YWCA in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Students from Wenonah's culinary arts program, part of the Hospitality and Tourism Academy, prepared and served breakfast for the group, as well. (The Birmingham News / Michelle Campbell)

Girls Basketball: Mountain Brook 61, Lee-Huntsville 40

Dennis Victory, Birmingham News, January 16, 2012 6 p.m.

Mountain Brook's full-court pressure forced 11 first quarter turnovers on the way to an 18-4 period lead in MLK Classic basketball at Samford University.

Lee scored the first basket of the game, but the Spartans reeled off the next 13 points, capped by a pair of free throws from Abby Garrett. By the time Annabelle Friedman sank a jumper with 4.3 seconds left in the half, Mountain Brook (17-5) led 38-14 and was never threatened in the second half.

Mary Katherine Pinson led the Spartans with 15 points, including converting 3 of 6 from 3-point range, and contributed four steals. Collier Ogilvie added 12 points and 16 rebounds. Garret grabbed seven rebounds.

Tiera Williams scored 13 points to lead Lee.

Village2Village Run returns

By ANNE WOOD

Village Living

The annual Village2Village run weaves through the villages of Mountain Brook every January, but each year introduces a new route.

“You never know which hills you are going to have to go up and which ones you are going to get to come down,” said Britt Redden, who has participated in the run twice. “It is always very challenging and always best that I don’t ‘ride’ the course before the race.”

This year’s race is set for Jan. 21.

Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce President Steven Hydinger said that the pretty yet challenging course brings people from inside and outside of Mountain Brook to spend time in the neighborhoods.

“It is a lot of fun to see friends and neighbors challenging each other to do the 10K race,” he said. “The 1-mile Run is great [for kids] as well.”

“I love that you are running with so many people that you know and that you pass so many people on the way,” Redden said. “You see many families out in their front yards cheering you on.”

The race has averaged about 700 runners over the past five years, but their goal is to break 1,000 runners. Race director Beth Nigri said they started promoting the run earlier this year and using social media in addition to posters and road signs to attract more participants.

The run’s After Party will be held in the parking lot of the Western shopping center. The event will support the Chamber’s “Buy Local” initiative.

Proceeds from the run will be split between the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce and the Spartans Helping Spartans Pleasant Grove relief effort.

Runners who pre-register for the race will receive a t-shirt and a bag with items donated by merchants. In addition, there will be prizes given to the winners in each division.

The 10K will start at 8 a.m. and the 1-mile Fun Run at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 21 in Mountain Brook Village.

To register for the Village2Village 10K or 1-mile Run, visit http://villagelivingonline.wordpress.com/www.active.com or stop by The Fitness Center, 3900 Montclair Road, #210, or Dr. Kevin Alexander, D.M.D.’s office, in Crestline.

MBHS Debaters place in Nashville tournament

The Mountain Brook High School Debate Team competed against the 55 best policy debate teams in the elite Southern Bell Invitational tournament at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville.

Philippa Straus and Evan McCarty hold their trophy from the MBA tournament.

Evan McCarty and Philippa Straus became the first MBHS Debaters to clear into the sweet sixteen of the tournament. This was a MBHS first!

Evan also tied Lee Qunn’s record set last year for number of tournament bids.

Team coach Jeff Roberts said he wishes good luck to Evan and Philippa as they prepare for the Emory tournament and as Evan has the opportunity to set the all-time MBHS bid record.

TORNADO RECOVERY: Spartans help other Spartans

We would like to pass along a sincere, heartfelt thank you to the students of Mountain Brook Schools, the Mountain Brook Board of Education, the City of Mountain Brook and the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.  Immediately following the April 27 tornado, they stepped forward and began a program named Spartans Helping Spartans.
This program has been a godsend to the students of Pleasant Grove. If there is a need, the program is there to fill it. Recently, to each of our schools, they delivered a large truck filled with winter coats to our students in need.
Never have they asked for, or sought, one bit of publicity, exposure or recognition. Their actions have been motivated solely by a genuine compassion for their fellow Spartans. So, on behalf of one group of Spartans to another, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Wayne A. Byram

Principal

Pleasant Grove High School

Jarvis Watkins

Principal

Pleasant Grove Middle School

Jay Jacks

Principal

Pleasant Grove Elementary School

Supporting Sean Fredella:
By RICK WATSON, Village Living

Sean Fredella gathers with friends from Mountain Brook Elementary after returning to Birmingham from receiving cancer treatments in Houston. Back row: George Terry, Fuller Priestly, Sean, Robert Reed and Paul Tyson. Front row: Price Pewitt, Chip Porter and Patton Browning. Photo by Madoline Markham.

Blue bows lined mailboxes around Mountain Brook in December to welcome home Sean Fredella—a warrior with an army behind him.

The 11 year old has battled cancer since age two and this past year has been fighting a rare tumor. For the past several months he has taken pain in stride while receiving treatments in Houston.
“I can’t believe how strong he’s been through it all,” said his mom, Nell. “Still, the unknowns, the fear, and seeing the pain in Sean’s eyes and knowing how sick he is from all the treatments is indescribable.”

Before Sean returned home from Houston for Christmas, Laura Niemann and daughters Hannah and Courtney made and sold blue bows and encouraged the community to hang them to show their support for Sean. All proceeds from the bows went to Sean’s medical expenses.

“My kids wanted to do this to show Sean encouragement when he got home,” Niemann said.

Others from the community pitched in throughout the month to make bows. Smith’s Variety, The Scribbler and The Blue Willow all sold the bows. Some sold for as much as $40 and $50 when people were told that the money was going to the Fredella family.

Hannah and Courtney Niemann came up with the idea to sell blue bows to support their friend Sean Fredella. Photo courtesy of Laura Niemann.

The church family at St. Francis Xavier as well as the students, parents and faculty at Mountain Brook schools have all been incredible, according to Nell.

Emotions grew in her voice as she described all the things they have done for their family.

People constantly bring breakfast and dinner. At one point, an acquaintance from church organized a group to run errands for the Fredella family.

“For months, I never went to Walmart or the grocery story,” she said. People would find out what the Fredellas needed, and they handled it.

“I am humbled when I think of all the kindness shown to our family,” she said. “There are so many amazing angels in our lives.”

Mountain Brook Elementary fifth graders welcomed back Sean in December. Photo by Madoline Markham.

Sean was first diagnosed with leukemia before he reached his third birthday. The cancer was treatable and he responded well to the two and half years of treatment. He then had a central nervous system relapse and endured two more years of treatment.

On the last day of treatment, scans revealed that the cancer was back. This time it was throughout his body and in his bone marrow, which required him to have a transplant. Sean’s older brother, Ryan, was the bone marrow donor.

After the transplant battle, he did well and his life returned to normal for about three years. He played guitar, basketball, and lacrosse and kept up with schoolwork.

Then in the fall of 2011, Sean started getting nosebleeds and swollen glands. Tests revealed that cancer was back and this time it was Esthesioneuroblastoma, a rare form of tumor that’s not normally seen in children.

“Children’s Hospital in Birmingham has always been amazing, and we received outstanding medical care here and miss being at Children’s,” Nell said. “But now, with an extremely rare adult tumor, we felt that it made sense to go to the world’s largest cancer center, MD Anderson. We hope and pray that they have had a lot of experience with this type of cancer.”

The road has also been long and difficult for her husband, Todd, and her other two sons, Patrick, 17, and Ryan, 15, but they are holding strong with the support of their family and community.

“Todd is an amazing husband. He’s a rock,” said Nell. “He holds down the fort when Sean and I are in Houston. He helps keep things as normal as possible for the other two boys. My mom, Joanna Boland, has been wonderful too.”

The fight is not over yet for Sean. After these rounds of chemotherapy, he will require surgery to remove the tumor and further radiation and possibly more chemo before this battle is won.

Sean’s heroes are Spiderman and Superman, but they could learn something about strength from this young warrior.
To keep up with Sean, visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/seanfredella.

Mountain Brook 62, Austin 49 Austin News: The Huntsville Times, December 28, 2011 6:57 p.m.HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The Mountain Brook Spartans beat the Austin Black Bears 62-49 in the second game of the.

Mountain Brook ranks No. 13 in national quality of life rankings

Birmingham Business Journal

Date: Friday, December 9, 2011, 1:45pm CST - Last Modified: Friday, December 9, 2011, 2:15pm CST

Mountain Brook ranks high for quality of life, according to a new report.

Earlier this week, we told you that Mountain Brook ranked No. 4 in the South for quality of life in a new study by our sister publication, On Numbers.

To cap off its week-long look at quality of life, On Numbers unveiled its national quality of life rankings on Friday.

Mountain Brook also fared well on that list, checking in at No. 13 out of the 3,764 places in the study, which highlighted cities with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems.

Vestavia Hills (No. 180) and Madison (No. 205) were the other highest ranked Alabama cities.

The city of Birmingham (No. 3,387) had the fourth lowest ranking in Alabama. The Magic City topped only Bessemer (No. 3,508), Selma (No. 3,616) and Prichard (No. 3,674).

Mountain Brook Elementary picked for national program

Publication Date: September 7, 2011  Page: 01-S  Section: COMMUNITY NEWS  Zone: SOUTH  Edition: Volume 124 Issue 178

William Thornton wthornton@bhamnews.com

Mountain Brook Elementary is one of nine schools in six states - and the only one in Alabama - to be selected this year for a school improvement program.
The Learning Forward Learning School Alliance picked Mountain Brook Elementary earlier this year to be part of a professional learning program which aims at improving teacher performance by collaborating with other schools around the country.
Two years ago, Cherokee Bend Elementary took part in the program.  The alliance is sponsored by Learning Forward, formerly known as the National Staff Development Council, and then-Superintendent Charles Mason was serving as its president at that time.
Among the goals of the Learning School Alliance is to see that educators share ideas that will eventually find their way into classrooms. It also tries to foster high goals for student achievement, while giving teachers a chance to see how they can be met. Schools were also chosen in Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, North Dakota and Texas.
Belinda Treadwell, principal at the Mountain Brook Elementary, said the program is ''one of the most powerful things I've ever been involved in.''
''We're very privileged to take part,'' she said. ''When teachers are more effective, you have higher levels of student achievement.''
The program allows a team of teachers at the school to collaborate with teachers at other schools around the country, through conferences and webinars, sharing ideas about improving student performance. Teams look at school data, identify areas for improvement and programs to make progress. The group also shares mentors with schools and programs that have had success at other schools.
The program also allows teachers from other schools to find out what programs are working at Mountain Brook Elementary for implementation elsewhere.