News

Jackson Academy Announces Athletic Roles for Coming Year

/ News Releases

Members of the Jackson Academy coaching staff look forward to a 2021-22 athletic season filled with great competition and great opportunities. As incoming Head of School Palmer Kennedy begins his transition to the leadership of JA in June, interim athletic leadership positions for the year have been filled. A plan for hiring additional posts and structuring the coaching staff is underway.

Lance Pogue will serve as interim athletic director, overseeing the administration of JA’s athletic programs. He will continue as varsity head football coach, a position he held during the 2020-21 school year. Before that, he served JA for three years as defensive coordinator. Brandt Walker will continue to serve with Pogue as associate athletic director.

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Georgetown-Bound Priya Ray Earns Amazing Teen

/ News Releases

Priyadarshini “Priya” Ray is no stranger to accolades. The Jackson Academy Class of 2021 valedictorian won a place in the JA Hall of Fame, as a National Merit Finalist and STAR Student, and now adds recognition as a Jackson Free Press Amazing Teen to her growing resume of accomplishments. Having reaped the rewards of academic excellence throughout her years at JA, Priya continually reflect the spotlight directed at her toward classmates and teachers she leaned on and supported.

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Parker Bracken Named 2020-21 Gatorade Mississippi Volleyball Player of the Year

/ News Releases

In its 36th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced Parker Bracken of Jackson Academy as its 2020-21 Gatorade Mississippi Volleyball Player of the Year. Parker is the third JA student to receive a Gatorade Player of the Year award in recent years. Parker has been named Gatorade Player of the Year two years in a row. JA will recognize Parker at a ceremony Wednesday, May 12 at break.

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JA DU Claims Duck Bowl Trophy; Student Receives National Scholarship

/ Upper School

Jackson Academy’s Ducks Unlimited Chapter took top awards at the annual Ducks Unlimited Banquet Friday evening at McLain Lodge. The Duck Bowl is a fundraising competition held throughout the year between Jackson Academy and Jackson Prep. JA’s chapter raised more than $23,000 for Ducks Unlimited through its annual banquet and spring raffle. Ducks Unlimited uses funds raised for wetlands preservation, conservation, and education throughout North America.

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Raiders Win State Titles in Tennis, Track and Field

/ News Releases

Last week saw Raiders in action on the field and court Wednesday and Friday through Saturday vying for state championship titles. The JA tennis teams competed in singles and doubles play throughout the day on Wednesday. Congratulations to the girls’ tennis team for claiming their sixth title in a row, and twelfth title overall, and to the boys’ tennis team for earning runner-up! On Friday and Saturday, JA track and field athletes claimed multiple state titles in individual and team events.

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Fifth and Sixth Grade Cafes Open for National Poetry Month

/ Middle School

April is National Poetry Month, a time to read, listen to, and practice writing in this distinct literary style. In fifth and sixth grade English classes, Grace Simmons and Mallory Gnemi taught poetry’s characteristic elements, forms, and genres throughout the month, and shared their enthusiasm, too. To mark the end of April, fifth and sixth grade English classes celebrated by creating a Poetry Cafe! The fifth graders took turns stepping onto the PAC stage by class and reading a selection of poems and definitions aloud before enjoying some sweets. Sixth-grade students sipped coffee and nibbled cookies while taking turns reading from the biographies and writings of poets they enjoyed learning about – some even shared original poetry!

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Efforts of ARC Teachers and Students Lead to Lasting Benefits

/ Perspectives in Education

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow so eloquently wrote in his poem “A Psalm of Life,” human beings can lead lives of greatness that will “leave footprints on the sands of time.” Longfellow was calling his readers to live life to the fullest and set an everlasting and inspiring example for others. Longfellow’s call is evident in the actions of Jackson Academy teachers, particularly those in the Academic Resource Center (ARC) who help students live more fully by understanding how they learn best, managing learning differences, developing confidence, and sharpening time management skills.

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Golf Team Wins State Championship

/ Athletics

Congratulations to the JA Varsity Golf team on winning the MAIS 5A state championship yesterday! This was the first title earned by JA’s golfers since 2015. Seventh grader John Markow took home the Individual State Title at the competition held at the Canebreak Country Club in Hattiesburg. “After having to cancel last season, getting back into a rhythm was tough earlier in the year,” Coach Rob Triplett said. “But each week we got better. … Everything we did this year was to be our best to win this tournament.”

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Different Approaches Lead to Success in Ropes Course

/ Middle School

“Be encouraging, trustworthy, safe, and have tons of fun,” was the advice of eight-grader Ellen Morgan. Her entire class had just experienced JA’s new Ropes Facility Course at Ashleigh Park. The course is within the school’s Raider Park complex.

Following an orientation Friday morning, eighth-grade students were divided into groups. Forty-five participated in initiative games while three groups of 15 students each began the team-building course. Students rotated through both initiative games and team-building before their lunch break.

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Alumni Award Recipient Encourages Seniors

/ Alumni

His inspiring address in conjunction with Senior Class Awards Day gave upcoming graduates five lessons that were applicable immediately—and are enduring. Calvin Thigpen, M.D., ‘94, who is vice-chair for education for the University of Mississippi Medical Center Department of Medicine, associate professor of medicine, and program director for the internal medicine residency program, is the second recipient of the Jackson Academy’s Distinguished Alumni of the Year award. JA’s first recipient was Phillip Bowman ‘86. It is now the tradition that the Distinguished Alumni of the Year recipient presents to the senior class at their annual awards night dinner. Thigpen spoke on April 26 at The South in Jackson.

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