Excellence in Education
By Staff
Feb. 14, 2002
Martin Poynter, grandson of Lillie Hasson Hughes and Ruth Poynter, both of Meridian, received honors recently as a member of the University of Alabama's Trail Advocacy Team. The team placed second in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer Trial competition held in Santa Fe, N.M.
Mary Hill Shular has received National Board certification in Early Childhood Adolescence through Young Adult/Career and Technical Education.
Shular teaches Career Discovery at West Lauderdale Middle School.
National Board certification is a voluntary process established by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes nearly a year to complete.
Through the assessment process, teachers document their subject-matter knowledge; provide evidence that they know how to teach their subjects to students effectively; and demonstrate their ability to manage and measure student learning.
Shular has a master's degree in technology and education from Mississippi State University and has been nominated for Teacher of the Year at her school in recent years.
DECATUR Amanda Thompson of Louisville has received an academic art scholarship to continue her education at East Central Community College.
Thompson is a freshman art major.
The scholarship covers the cost of tuition and is presented to two art majors with the highest grade point averages following their first semester of course work.
LIVINGSTON, Ala. Jennifer Dianne Blake of Butler has been awarded a Trustee Scholarship to attend the University of West Alabama.
The award is based on academic achievement and proven leadership potential. Blake, a senior at Patrician Academy, plans to enter UWA this fall.
OXFORD M. Clark Dunn of Meridian, a senior at the University of Mississippi, has been selected to join the 2002 entering class at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's School of Dentistry in Jackson.
A graduate of Meridian High School, Dunn is a physics major at Ole Miss.
A member of Lambda Sigma and Gamma Beta Phi honor societies, Dunn serves as treasurer of Alpha Epsilon Delta premedical honor society. He also volunteers in the Leap Frog Outreach program.
Dunn is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Dunn of Meridian.
HATTIESBURG The following students appeared on the University of Southern Mississippi dean's list for the 2001 fall semester.
Dean's list scholars are those with at least a 3.25 grade-point average but less than a 4.0 grade-point average.
Bailey: Katina Nicole Jenkins and Sarah Elizabeth Tartt.
Collinsville: Eric Landis Butler, Misty Louise Murray, Bradley Todd Williams, Heather Renee Williams and Summer Michelle Williams.
Lauderdale: Carsten Lee Cagle.
Meridian: Thomas Blaine Barker, Jennifer Celeste Bell, Kimberly Diane Blackwell, Rhonda Kay Bracey, Vanessa L. Brown, Patricia Mercedes Calderon, Kristina Marie Clarke, Anderson McCall Cook, Monica Renee Davis, Katherine Marie DuBose, Jared Allen Florreich, Stacey Lynette Hall, Dana Lee Luquire, Nathan Edward Myatt, Megan Christine Pankiewicz, Rebecca Elizabeth Pankiewicz, Kymberly Dawn Peairs, Dana Margaret Reed, Jodi Miranda Reed, Clyde Dean Rose, Ashley Michelle Singletary, Natalie Frances Taylor, Tori Michelle Thompson, Beth Lenae Tucker and Trina Elberry Wilson.
Toomsuba: Kimberly Amanda Burden.
Six Lauderdale County residents were among 856 students named to the 2001 fall semester honor roll at Alcorn State University.
Honor students are classified into two categories: Dean's list scholars and presidential scholars.
To be on the dean's list, a student must register for at least 12 semester hours of academic credit and maintain a "B" average. To be a presidential scholar, a student must register for at least 12 semester hours of credit and maintain a straight "A" average.
The students who merited honors from Lauderdale County were: Maria Alford, Latreal Hayden, Tammie Nealy, Constance Stringfellow, Bianca Trussell and Robert Walker.
ASHLAND, Wis. Sarah E. Johnson, a senior at Northland College, has been named to the dean's list for outstanding academic performance during the 2001 fall term.
To qualify for the dean's list, full-time students must have a grade point average of at least a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale with no grade less than a "C."
Johnson, the daughter of Robin and Joe Johnson of Meridian, is a 1998 graduate of West Lauderdale High School. At Northland, she is working toward a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. Johnson's other activities at Northland include serving as a residential hall director.
