On Wednesday, April 3 members of the Montford Middle School Junior National Beta Club presented a check in the amount of $2,000.00 to the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (TMH) Foundation. The donation will benefit the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center. Janet Borneman, Director of Planned Giving for the TMH Foundation, accepted the check from the club’s president, Nia Close. Additional Beta Club members, Caroline Englert, Mackenzie Goddard, Emilee Thompson, and Daniel Westcott, attended the event as well. Club sponsors are Montford teachers, Christy Bowman and Wendy Taylor
National Junior Beta Club promotes the goals of academic achievement, character, service, and leadership. For the entire 2012-2013 school year, members have been involved in activities like boston butt sales and bake sales to generate funds for the donation to the TMH Foundation. The TMH Cancer center will use the donation for direct patient needs.
Principal Lewis Blessing expresses, “At Montford Middle School, we not only stress the importance of high academic achievement among our students, we also strive daily to teach and instill in our students the immeasurable value of good citizenship and civic responsibility. The club’s donation to the TMH Foundation demonstrates the students’ commitment and dedication to worthwhile service opportunities within our community.”
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Montford Celebrates Art with visiting Artists…
A collection of local artists assembled at Montford Middle School to display their talents in an up-close and personal setting for the public. The artists shared their works with the students and talked with them about their process and meaning behind what they do. It was a wonderful day all around.
Thank you to our participating artists:
Debbie Brienen…………………………………………….Acrylics
Randy Brienen……………………………………………..Acrylics
Karen Heijkoop…..…………………………….….Mixed Media
Mike Hogan…………………………………………..……Drawings
Paul Houzell……………………………………..…………………Oils
Bill McKeown……………………….…………………Watercolors
Kenneth Reshard……………………………….Silk Screen/Oils
Eluster Richardson………………….………Watercolor & Oils
Al Williams…………………………………………………….…….Oils
Tah Williams………………………………………….………Acrylics
Harris Wiltsher……….……………………………..Mixed media
MONTFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS RECOGNIZED AS STATEWIDE WINNERS
Three Montford Middle School students were selected as winners in the 2013 National Radon Poster Contest sponsored by Kansas State University in partnership with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Averie McDaniel placed first in the state of Florida and was a national top ten winner. Courtney Rising and Eric Brown placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the state of Florida. The students were chosen from a field of over 2,000 entries from thirty-one states. Participants ranged in age from 9-14 years old.
Many special guests and parents of the students attended a ceremony on Wednesday, January 9 to recognize the students. Staff with the Florida Department of Health presented the awards to the students.
City Commissioner Scott Maddox presented Averie McDaniel with an official proclamation provided by the City of Tallahassee that acknowledged she was a national top ten winner. Commissioner Maddox expressed, “ I am proud to recognize another ‘national best’ for our community. Montford Middle School has led the nation and brought credit to Tallahassee. Well done, administrators, teachers and students!”
“In keeping with the fact that Montford Middle School is the first green public school to be built in Leon County, we applaud these students’ efforts to heighten awareness of the risks associated with exposure to radon and we are proud of their tremendous accomplishments,” states Montford Middle Principal, Lewis Blessing.
Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that is found at low concentrations in outdoor air, but can reach harmful levels when trapped in buildings. Scientists have long been concerned about the health risk of radon, but never before has there been such overwhelming proof that exposure to elevated levels of radon can cause lung cancer in humans.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon is responsible for more than 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. One in five Leon County residences has a radon problem.
Montford Prepares for a New School Year
The Tallahassee Kiwanis Club and its affiliates, Leon High Key Club and the CKI Club from FSU, recruited club members to paint the interior of Montford Middle School. On August 4, 30 volunteers participated in a painting project and collectively contributed over 150 volunteer hours. CKI sponsor, Nancy Shank, commented, “This is an annual project that we partner with Montford Middle and our Kiwanis Family to get the school ready for the fall semester. The CKI students were so happy to help and could not believe all that we accomplished in a just a few short hours.” The Tallahassee Kiwanis Club has been a community partner at Montford, since the school opened in 2008.
Montford Middle School principal, Lewis Blessing, stated, “Our facility looks amazing with a nice, fresh coat of paint. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of these wonderful volunteers, Montford Middle School will be in tip-top shape to welcome our students for the 2012-2013 school year.”
In addition, Trinity Community Church, another Montford partner for excellence, donated backpacks filled with school supplies. Over the past three years, the congregation of Trinity Community Church has held a school supply drive to help students in need at Montford Middle School. Montford curriculum coordinator, Lee Fagan, related, “This generous outpouring of support from our local community is such a special gift to our students. The Montford students will have the necessary tools and resources to be successful for the upcoming school year.”
VIDEO: Mascot Statue Dedication at Montford
Parents, students, and community members assembled at Montford Middle School on Thursday, April 26 to witness the dedication ceremony of the school’s mascot statue. However, this is no ordinary statue. The entire project took several years to complete and began with a massive portion of an oak tree that was estimated to weigh around 7 1/2 tons. The enormous tree was originally situated on Tharpe Street, just west of Levy Park. The tree died a few years back and was donated for this special undertaking. Extracting the tree and loading it onto a flatbed semi- trailer with a crane, required that two lanes of Tharpe Street be temporarily closed during a lengthy process that took nearly four hours. After another hour, the tree was safely delivered to Montford Middle School and once again unloaded using a crane.
The masterpiece was hand carved by Tallahassee’s native chainsaw artist, John Birch. Mr. Birch meticulously crafted the piece of art using a chainsaw. The finished project revealed four Mustang horses. Funding for the project was provided, by Robin and Teresa Winton, owners of Winton Test and Balance. Mr. and Mrs. Winton are Montford parents, and their business is a Montford partner for excellence.
Principal, Douglas Cook, expressed, “We certainly appreciate the Winton’s generous donation of this wonderful gift to our school. This beautiful mustang statue, which graces the entrance to Montford Middle School, will serve as a lasting legacy for all those who attend the school that Monford is truly the home of the mighty mustangs. “
The school will hold a contest, so that the students can name the statue in the coming weeks.
Art at Montford Day
The Montford Middle School Art Department held its Art at Montford Day on Monday, February 27. This annual event, started by Montford’s inaugural art teacher, Al Williams, is in its fourth year. Mr. Donald Sheppard, Montford’s art teacher has committed to carrying on the tradition of Art at Montford Day. Mr. Sheppard related, “It is important for students to interact with artists in their communities. Art Day provided an opportunity for students to connect prior knowledge to the art and ideas of practicing artists.” Students at Montford had the opportunity to enjoy the art displays. In addition, the students were afforded a chance to speak with the artists individually. Sixth grader Katie Zollner attended the art show and reports, “I was impressed how artist Karen Heijkoop blended shapes and colors into a beautiful piece of art.”
The following artists presented at Montford: Wilford Blaise (watercolors), Carol Davey (watercolors), Aaron Harvey (acrylics), Karen Heijkoop (oils), Walter Hoebich (drawings), Mike Hogan (drawings), William McKeown (watercolors), Linda Pelc (watercolors), Marilyn Proctor-Givens (clay), Kenneth Reshard (silk screen/oils), Eluster Richardson (oils), and Al Williams (oils). Carol Davey, one of the visiting artists, expressed, “Art is a life skill that is invaluable and certainly one we want to pass on to our children.”
Douglas Cook, Montford’s principal, states, “The collective talents represented at the art show were a sight to behold, and our students thoroughly enjoyed their time with the artists. The art show promoted Montford’s dedication to providing a learning environment that supports a strong fine arts education.”