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JA cheerleaders and dance teams demonstrated their hard work, skill, and school spirit last Wednesday at the MAIS Spirit Competition held at the Mississippi Coliseum. JA spirit teams brought home two championship titles, two runner-up positions, and two All-Star recognitions.
Four Jackson Academy seniors earned recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation last week. Members of the Class of 2022 Abby Arnett, Gibson Cheney, Regan Felder, and Sandon Guild placed among the top scorers in the nation on the 2020 Preliminary SAT, also referred to as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
According to the online news source Mental Floss, teenagers who volunteer have better grades and a higher self-image. An altruistic lifestyle benefits the giver in other ways, too.
As Fridays unfold, students begin closing out their busy school week. JA parent Amy Bates volunteers her time each Friday at lunch to help refresh the spirits of Upper School girls with the Word of God.
Jackson Academy conducted a special ceremony Thursday that focused on the school’s Honor Code. Upper School students and faculty members joined Head of School Palmer Kennedy, Head of Upper School Brandi Richardson, Honor Council Advisor Sandra McKay, and Honor Council Chair Connor Gee in the Performing Arts Center as these leaders presented the ideals of the Jackson Academy Honor Code.
In first grade, Sandon Guild remembers being fascinated by how software programs worked. This year, the Jackson Academy senior has created two apps that have been granted copyrights and are in the App Store with a third app submitted for approval.
When JA eleventh grader Olivia Claire Williford began looking for summer internships, she never imagined she would end up in Quantico, Virginia at the FBI National Academy Associates’ Youth Leadership Program.
Rising junior Jeffrey Gao of Madison has been named a Jernberg Scholar for the 2021-2022 school year. Jackson Academy awards this scholarship to current and incoming students who enhance their school community through academic excellence and character. The scholarship honors JA President Emeritus Peter Jernberg, who significantly influenced independent education during his career in education that included 26 years at JA.
JA conducted graduation ceremonies in the Brickyard for the second year in a row, a location that was precipitated by the pandemic, but quickly was asked to become a tradition. At 7 p.m., the ceremony opened with Faculty Member Chris Tucker carrying the school banner onto the field. Administrators, faculty members, and seniors followed, processing from the west end of the field to the east before taking their seats.
For Senior Chapel each spring, the graduating students don their caps and gowns for the first time and, holding their Alpha and Omega friends by the hand, parade into a school chapel service for the last time. There’s nothing like this mentorship program. JA kindergartners have the opportunity to engage people older than them, which provides priceless self-confidence and many fun memories. Meanwhile, the seniors remember their experiences from elementary school and see the proof that they’ve grown into young men and women who are ready for the next chapter of their lives.