ALABASTER –Students at Thompson Middle School were recognized for several achievements at an awards ceremony in the TMS gymnasium on the morning of Friday, May 19. During the ceremony, seventh and eighth graders were honored for participating in the Duke University Talent Identification Program, placing in an Elks World History essay contest and perfect attendance.

“I’m just so proud of our students and their accomplishments,” Principal Neely Woodley said.

For the Duke TIP Talent Search, seventh grade students are selected to take their choice of the ACT or SAT. According to the Duke Tip website, the program helps participating students “identify their strengths, develop their abilities and interests and celebrate their achievements.

The following students participated in the Duke TIP Seventh Grade Talent Search: Joseph Arledge, Jonathan Baggette, Joshua Bozeman, Ashlyn Bryant, Eleanor De Block, Allyson Decker, Laura Fell, Ryan Furlong, Dakota Green, Emily Griffin, Zoe Grodsky, Colton Hall, David Sully Heller, Jojuan Horsley, Addison Lusco, Abigail McGee, Devin McNeill, Ethan Miniard, Kendall Moseley, Jackson Pickering, Aubrey Pigan, Tyler Reid, Cohen Russell, Jeffrey Tubbs, Luke Underwood, Colton Watts, Hannah White, Lexi Willey, Jenna Williams and Madison Woodruff.

Joshua Bozeman, Eleanor De Block, Laura Fell, Ryan Furlong, Dakota Green, Zoe Grodsky, Abigail McGee, Jackson Pickering and Aubrey Pigan scored high enough to qualify for state recognition. Joshua Bozeman and Aubrey Pigan also qualify for grand recognition.

Eighth graders in each of world history teacher Janet Griffith’s classes wrote for the Elks essay contest. One winner in each class period was selected.

The following students won the Elks essay contest for their class: Tyler Kirby, Conner Snowden, Owen Yoder, Tanina McCray and Leslie Lopez. Yoder also won honorable mention.

To account for sickness and family emergencies, Assistant Principal Kelly Smitherman said the school decided to reward students who have perfect attendance per quarter.

“Trying to get perfect attendance is hard, so we broke it down every nine weeks,” Smitherman said. “Our overall attendance has been better than we’ve ever had.”

After each quarter, any students who had achieved perfect attendance were able to enter their names in a drawing, which was held at the awards ceremony. During the drawing, many students won gift cards from local businesses. Two students were also selected to win iPads.

Eighth grader Madison Melton, who won one of the iPads, said she was surprised when her name was called.

“I just wanted to do my work, and I came (to school) halfway for friends,” Melton said. “I was joking with my friends about it (at the awards ceremony), and then they called my name.”

The following students were recognized for their perfect attendance all year: Melanie Burnett, Dylan Curry, Marcella Dahm, Ryan Datka, David DeLoach, Caleb Dennis, Cameron Foust, Jacob Haller, Anay Jeronimo-Gonzalez, Ashley Jones, Jaylen Latham, Dezeraye Loper, Elmer Lopez-Acosta, Ola Lufti, Kelvin Mbote, Jayla McCord, Jason Medrano-Robles, Emaline Morris, Jordan Ozment, Joseph Page, Joseph Paulin, Mya Reliford, Rogelio Romero, Kristen Standlee, Madison Tucker, Hannah Vosteen, Andrew Wilson and Jayde Witherspoon.

Alabaster City Schools Superintendent Wayne Vickers commended faculty and students for their accomplishments and dedication during the school year.

“I’m proud of our middle school for recognizing our students for their accomplishments and stressing the importance of attendance,” Vickers said.