The Samuel Dale Chapter of the DAR held their 18th annual Awards Tea on May 9 at Bonita Lakes Pavilion.

Sixteen schools in the Meridian/Lauderdale County area were invited to participate. The following students were selected as the fifth grade outstanding DAR Youth Citizenship winners for their schools: Lydia Stewart, Poplar Springs Elementary; Alana Frias, St. Patrick Elementary: Aubri Cooper, Southeast Lauderdale; Bayleigh Cook, West Hills; Maddy Grace Wilson, Lamar Elementary; Sam Wilson, Russell Christian Academy and Braylon Dixon, West Lauderdale.

Each student was presented a certificate, a lapel pin, and an American flag. The requirements for the award are based upon the five qualities of honor, service, courage, leadership, and patriotism.

The DAR Good Citizen Award is presented to a high school senior who has been recognized as the outstanding senior student in his /her school. These young people have been chosen because they exemplify dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism: Will White, representing Clarkdale High School, and Lana Leigh Irby, representing Lamar High School. Each student was given a certificate, a lapel pin, an American Flag, and a monetary scholarship.

The Community Involvement Award is given to someone who either through volunteering or through their work has enriched the lives of those in our community. The three women selected as this year’s winners are Elizabeth Wilson, Kim Denison, and Kim Bowers. These three women had a vision back in 2015 of a children’s museum right here in our community. Through their hard work, energy, and perseverance, the Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian became a reality when it opened in March. They were presented with a certificate and an American Flag.

Samuel Dale Chapter member Ethel McHenry was recognized for her 30-year membership while Lynn Selman and Glenda Thomas were recognized for their 40-year memberships.

Cheater honored by The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

Blake Cheater of Meridian was recently honored by The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science as a Class of 2021 graduate.

Cheater, the child of Julian Cheater, will be attending the Air Force Academy in the fall.

MSMS is the state’s nationally recognized residential high school for academically advanced eleventh and twelfth graders. Graduating classes have averaged $21 million in scholarship offers for the last five years; graduates attend universities all over Mississippi and the nation. 

Mounted Patrol Unit visits West Lauderdale Middle School 

The Meridian Police Department’s Mounted Patrol Unit visited West Lauderdale Middle School this week. The officers were invited to the campus by school counselor Amy Fairchild. 

The visit was part of MPD’s ongoing community outreach efforts, according to MPD Chief Chris Read. It served as an opportunity to provide young people a positive experience with police and to provide students early exposure to a possible career path. 

Roberts honored as STEM Teacher of the Year

The local chapter of the Air Force Association, the G.V. Sonny Montgomery Chapter 376, has selected Daniel Roberts as STEM Teacher of the Year. Roberts teaches 7th and 8th-grade students at Northwest Middle School in Meridian.

Managing a complex schedule required by COVID protocols, he combined hands-on classroom instruction with virtual learning using Zoom to teach Cyber Foundations to 7th graders and Computer Science and Engineering to 8th graders.

He taught basic programming skills to 7th graders using their Chromebooks for computer discovery. He created virtual chess clubs using online resources and managed tournaments for all three district Middle Schools. Mr. Roberts emphasized the ‘linear thinking’ required to anticipate which chess pieces were defended/undefended, thinking 2-3 moves ahead.

For 8th graders, he used Tinkercad for 3D design and printing and combined that instruction with Arduino Uno to understand basic electrical wiring and programming for electrical components such as count-down clocks or play clocks for sports.

Roberts considers the teacher to be ‘the lead learner’ in the class, open to student’s suggestions on problem-solving as they take ownership of finding a solution. He promotes goal-oriented education, insisting that problem-solving gives students the confidence to understand that they can accomplish anything.