Each month during the school year, the Pattonville Board of Education honors students, staff and volunteers who have gained recognition outside of the district or who’ve made a special contribution to Pattonville. Learn more about students and staff who were recognized this month.

Drummond Elementary School

Staff honors

Michael Williams, a custodian at Drummond Elementary School, was recognized for his act of service to a fourth grade student during a recent incident during lunch. Williams noticed a student choking in the cafeteria and quickly responded with the appropriate steps to assist the student. He provided a swift response that ensured this student’s safety and well-being.

Michael Williams was recognized for performing the Heimlich maneuver on a student who was choking.

Holman Middle School

Published author

Holman Middle School eighth grader Harry VanDernoot wrote a published book titled “Greek Myths: A Compilation of the Life and Times of Eros Phanes.” It is a collection of short stories following the life of Eros Phanes, the primal deity of love and emotion from Greek mythology. VanDernoot’s book was published in July and is now available for purchase on Amazon.

Harry VanDernoot had a book of short stories published.

Pattonville High School

100 Neediest Cases awards

Students from Pattonville High School submitted artwork to the 100 Neediest Cases art contest sponsored by the United Way and St. Louis Post Dispatch. Sophomore Rosemary Lopez Chanocua’s scratchboard piece “In the World Beyond” was selected as a top 20 artwork and was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Dec. 6 and on the 100 Neediest Cases program website. Additionally, senior Megan Grote had a black and white charcoal on paper piece titled “Mother and Sicky Baby” selected for the program. Both students are in Drawing 2 and will have their artwork on display at the Missouri History Museum between Dec. 11 and Jan. 8. These students were taught by Beth Kathriner.

Megan Grote, right, had artwork selected for the 100 Neediest Cases art contest. She is taught by Beth Kathriner.

Young Artists and Their Teachers Exhibit

Pattonville High School art students had work selected by their teachers for the Young Artists and Their Teachers Exhibit at Lindenwood University. Two students’ artwork earned honors by the Lindenwood faculty judges. Corina Baker, from Ceramics 3, placed second in the ceramics category and Maggie Haselbauer, from AP Art and Design, received second place in the mixed media category. Additional students from AP Art and Design who had artwork selected were Emmy Benson, Kristen Bowers and Rylee Cochran. Students selected from Painting 1 were Mia Baczynski, Natalie Hernandez and Mackenzie Newell. Students enrolled in both Ceramics 2 and AP Art and Design who had artwork selected were Macy Bunton and Lizzy Zacheis. Students from Ceramics 2 and 3 were taught by Scott Fader. Students from AP Art and Design and the Drawing 2 students were taught by Beth Kathriner. Students from Painting 1 were taught by Laura Thomson.

Students hat artwork selected for the Young Artists and Their Teacher Exhibit. Show are, from left, first row, teacher Beth Kathriner, Lizzy Zacheis and Corina Baker and, back row, Mackenzie Newell, Emmy Benson and Macy Bunton.

Band honors

The Pattonville High School Marching Band and Guard earned recognition at multiple competitions this semester. At the Farmington Marching Invitational on Sept. 16, the marching band earned first place in its division and awards for best music, best visual performance and best color guard. At the Music at the Meramec Marching Festival on Sept. 30, the marching band and guard earned second place out of 17 schools. At the Rebel Invitational on Oct. 21, in the preliminary round, Pattonville earned first place in its division, awards for best guard, music, drumline and visual and were ranked as the second seed overall going into the final round. In the final round, they earned first place overall as well as awards for best guard and best visual. This marked the eighth grand championship title earned by the current senior class during their high school career.

Pattonville High School band students were also individually selected to honor bands. TyRen Thompson was selected to the All-State Jazz Band as bass trombone alternate and earned honorable mention for trombone. Additional students were selected to St. Louis All-Suburban honor bands. Students selected to the honor concert band were Zoe Click for bassoon, Janani Kamalakkannan and Marques Rutlin for clarinet and Emily Derhake for trombone alternate. Students selected to the honor jazz band were Dylan Jamison for drum set, Kyle Manker for alto saxophone, Floyd Davis III for tenor saxophone, Thompson for trombone, Peter McCullough and Hunter Riley for trumpet, Kyle Brenner for baritone saxophone alternate and Sydney Hoynacki for bass alternate. The Pattonville High School band is directed by Laura Livesay, Denny McFarland and Anna White.

Members of the band include, from left, Sydney Hoynacki, TyRen Thompson and Kyle Manker.

Choir honors

Pattonville High School choir students auditioned for the Missouri All-State Choir and St. Louis Suburban All-District choirs. Only 16 students are selected to the All-State Choir and this year a quarter of them were from Pattonville. They will perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) Conference in January. Students were selected to the All-State Choir after being selected to the St. Louis Suburban All-District Mixed Honor Choir. They are Savannah Branson, Diego Halbeck, Maggie Haselbauer and Omolara Ogunmola. Halbeck and Ogunmola also qualified for the State Sight-Reading Bee after receiving a perfect score in music reading literacy during their audition. Students who qualified to audition for the Missouri All-State Choir after being selected to the St. Louis Suburban All-District Mixed Honor Choir were Jon-Michael Brown II and Paul Palermo. Additional students selected to the St. Louis Suburban All-District Mixed Honor Choir were Addie Candela, Zoe Click, Isabella Crawford, Christi Dyer, Kaylee Dyer, Lydia Greenwalt Hamil, Mark Kendrick, Jeremiah Lopez Monteverde, Hannah Richardson and Isaiah White. Students selected to the St. Louis Suburban All-District Treble Honor Choir were Andrea Aguilar, Kristen Bowers, Jacqueline Bradshaw, Emily Erickson-Karanja, Danya Green, Gail Griffin, Sophia Hailstone, Sophia Hershberger, Riley McKeever, Jules Pyle, Haleigh Rigdon and Tristyn Russell. The Pattonville High School choir is directed by Melynda Lamb and Aaron Zart.

Members of the choir include, from left, front row, Zoe Click and Sophia Hershberger; middle row, Emily Erickson-Karanja and Addie Candela; and, back row, Lydia Greenwalt Hamil, Diego Halbeck and Jeremiah Lopez Monteverde.

Cross country state qualifiers

Students on the boys cross country team competed at the state championship competition and were named to all-conference teams. Luke Stevenson was named all-metro second team and earned an all-state medal for placing 13th and was named all-conference first team. He was also named as one of five high school cross country runners to watch by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Students named all-conference second team were Ian Moore and Simon Muthemba. The boys cross country team was coached by Matt McClellan with the assistance of Caleb Stroop.

Members of the cross country team include Ian Moore, left, and Simon Muthemba.

Golf honors

Students from the girls golf team were named to all-conference teams. Golfers named all-conference first team were Tehya Cox Potter and Zelletta Wyatt. Students named all-conference honorable mention were Eva Benson, Alex Wyatt and Annabelle Wyatt. The girls golf team was coached by David Gross with the assistance of Scott Hutson.

Members of the golf team include, from left, Eva Benson, Zelletta Wyatt and Tehya Cox Potter.

Football honors

Students on the football team were named to all-conference teams. Players named all-conference first team were DeAndre Rush Jr. as a punt returner and Terrell Porter Jr. as a defensive end. Students named all-conference second team were Mekhi Allen as a linebacker, Michael Allen Jr. as a tight end, Evan Bryant for offensive line, Jordan Kedl Thomas as a defensive back, Bryan Orta as a kicker and Rush Jr. as a wide receiver. Additional students named all-conference honorable mention were Allen Jr. as a defensive end, Anthony Clark as a defensive back, Kameron Eleby as a quarterback, Clinton Griffin III as a linebacker, Damion Harris as a defensive back, Lawrence Jackson as a running back, Brady Kluba as linebacker, Orta as a linebacker and punter, Porter Jr. for offensive line, Rush Jr. as a kick returner and Avery Saffold as a defensive end. Additionally, Kedl Thomas and Rush Jr. were named academic all-conference and Kluba earned the all-conference sportsmanship award. The football team was coached by Steve Smith with the assistance of Kent Booth, Christian Brinser, Antonio Bryant, Travis Harris, Corey Lewis and Bernard Quinn.

Soccer honors

Students on the boys soccer team earned all-conference honors. AJ Swartwout was named the all-conference defensive player of the year and all-conference first team. Students named all-conference second team were Jack Flores as a midfield player, Tyler Manker as a defensive player and Alex Toler as a keeper. The boys soccer team was coached by Marcus Christian with the assistance of Tom Iffrig.

Members of the soccer team include, from left, Tyler Manker, Andrew Swartwout and Jack Flores.

Softball honors

Students on the softball team were named to all-district and all-conference teams. Alli Pearia was named all-district and all-conference first team. Students named all-district and all-conference second team were Ashley Santel and Jalisa Thomas. Liv Ball was named all-district second team. Students named all-conference honorable mention were Ball, Bailey Leedle and Genna Pavia. Additionally, Ball, Charlotte Lohman and Thomas were named academic all-conference. Jaida Phillips-Jones earned the all-conference sportsmanship award.The softball team was coached by Danelle Emerick with the assistance of Victor Fink.

Jaida Phillips-Jones earned softball honors this season.

Swimming and diving honors

Swimming and diving students qualified for the state championship and competed in multiple events. Adam Reddy was named a conference champion in one meter diving. Additional swimmers qualified for state. Ian Artelt qualified in the 100 yard breaststroke. Jack Pfister qualified in the 100 yard freestyle relay. In the 200 yard freestyle relay, qualifiers were Ethan Arana, Artelt, Pfister and Reddy. In the 200 yard medley relay Artelt, Kaden Camenzind, Pfister and Reddy were state qualifiers. In the 400 yard freestyle relay, state qualifiers were Arana, Camenzind, Pfister and Reddy. Students who qualified as alternates for the state championship were Zack Brower, Cooper Salvia, Brennan Shipman and Drew Simpson. The boys swimming and diving team was coached by Anna Braswell with the assistance of Tom Crockett.

Members of the state qualified swim and dive team include, from left, front row, Kaden Camenzind and Ethan Arana and, back row, Jack Pfister and Ian Artelt.

Tennis honors

Girls tennis players were named to all-conference teams. Students named all-conference first team were Norina Shao for singles and doubles and Savannah Ewing for doubles. Ewing was also named all-conference second team for singles. The girls tennis team is coached by Jeff Grass with the assistance of Emily McDaniel.

Volleyball honors

Volleyball students were recognized with local and national honors. Kylie Surratt was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) all-American third team and all-region. Players who received the AVCA Best and Brightest award were Shea Duncan and Surratt. Reagan Nelson broke the Pattonville High School volleyball record for aces and was recognized for having 1,000 digs. She was also listed in Volleyball Magazine’s player of the year watch-list for the state of Missouri. This list presents top high school performers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Additionally, Nelson and Surratt were featured in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, “Pattonville’s dynamic duo looks to prolong final run together: Girls volleyball spotlight.” Nelson and Surratt were also named all-state first team, all-district first team and all-conference co-players of the year. Nelson was also named all-metro first team and Surratt was named all-metro third team. Students named all-district second team were Jenna Cochran, Faith Cunningham and Kiley Wallace. Players named all-conference first team were Cochran, Cunningham, Nelson and Surratt. Students named all-conference second team were Jordyn Courson and Wallace. Students named academic all-conference were Jenna Cochran, Courson, Duncan, Larissa Harned, Nelson, Surrat, Kiley Wallace and Alaja Worsham. Harned also received the all-conference sportsmanship award. The volleyball team is coached by Jenell Franken with the assistance of Allison McNamara.