Sittin' with the Supe

In this special episode, Dr. Nichols sits down with a few of the talented Madison City Schools students recognized by the State Superintendent’s Art Exhibition. These young artists share their inspiration, creative process, and what it means to be honored for their work. Featured students include:

• Immanuel Cruz (2nd Grade, Heritage Elementary)
• Mason McClelland (3rd Grade, Mill Creek Elementary)
• Ler’Mani Daniels (6th Grade, Journey Middle)
• Brooke Hughes (6th Grade, Liberty Middle)
• Emily Ingraham (11th Grade, James Clemens High School, Blue Ribbon Winner)

Tune in to hear their stories and celebrate the creativity thriving in Madison City!

In this episode, Dr. Nichols is joined by Col. (Ret) David Mulack and current Liberty Middle School 8th grader & military child, Kate Martin. David is a recent Army retiree and father of one graduate of Madison City Schools and one son currently at JCHS. Kate is the daughter of two recently retired Army Colonels, Aaron Martin and Liz Martin, and her sibling is a 10th grader at JCHS. During the podcast, they discuss different experiences of being a military family in the Madison City community, the district's partnership with Redstone Arsenal, and the impact of our Student to Student (S2S) program, focused on assisting families and students to enable a successful transition to the area.

In this episode, Dr. Nichols is joined by Head Cross Country Coaches, Bill McIllwain (Bob Jones High School) and Drew Bell (James Clemens High School) along with Head Swim Coaches, Ryan Rhoades (BJHS) and Kelly Davis (JCHS) as they talk about their successful programs. The coaches share their experiences, insights, and how their sports make a big difference for their students - teaching resilience, teamwork, and discipline. Whether you’re a fan, a parent, or just love hearing about our teams, this is an episode you don’t want to miss!

For the first episode of Sittin' with the Supe Season 3, join Dr, Nichols as he discusses one of the most important aspects of our school system, school safety and mental health. Safety Coordinator, Jamie Golliver, gives a behind the scenes look at the efforts made by Madison City Schools to ensure our students and staff have a safe, comfortable, and productive environment to learn in daily. Mental Health Coordinator, Stephanie Allen, discusses the initiatives that Madison City Schools has undertaken to address and provide support for the mental health needs of our students and staff.

We have the best students here in Madison City. This episode of Sittin' With Supe supports that claim, as Dr. Nichols sits down with Bob Jones students, Drew Crocker, Simon Adkins, and Sophia Johnson , to discuss an exciting community event they have organized for May 4th, MadFest. Listen to find out more about the exciting opportunities you can participate in from hot air balloon rides, to food trucks, to service project opportunities, It's sure to be a fantastic day of togetherness in Madison.

In this episode of Sittin' with the Supe, Dr. Nichols discusses the opportunities that our outdoor classroom programs in Madison City Schools provide, not only by engaging our students in real life science learning, but also by building community that extends outside the school walls. Beth Woodard, Gifted Specialist and Outdoor Classroom Manager for Madison Elementary, as well as community partner April Waltz, from the Alabama Wildlife Federation, share insights into the amazing collaboration that has allowed many of our schools to fund, plan, build, utilize and maintain these fantastic learning spaces.

Join Dr. Nichols for a look into the newly expanded K-5 STEM program in Madison City Schools. Guests Julie Vandiver (Columbia), Kawanna Gardner (West Madison PreK), Megan Gowan (Horizon), and Crissy Stegherr (Madison) explain the ins and outs of STEM education in our elementary schools, including what it means to be STEM literate, the importance of exploring STEM careers in elementary school, and how our STEM program crosses multiple curriculums and intergrates important Digital Literacy and Computer Science standards.

Bob Jones engineering students, Justin Nguyen and Gresham Baker, Bob Jones engineering teacher, Jessye Gaines, and KTECH employees, Robin Dauma and Karl Liggin, join Dr. Nichols in this episode of Sittin' with the Supe. KTECH is a great community partner with Madison City Schools and a licensed private school through the Alabama Community College system where students can learn and gain industry credentials to prepare them for their futures. Visit www.goktech.org to learn more! 

It's International Computer Science Education Week, and our Madison City teachers and students are engaging in all types of fun and meaningful computer science learning, from coding partnerships to guest speakers from the community. To highlight this week, Dr. Nichols sits down with Ms. Kim Straub of James Clemens High School and Mr. Bill McIlwain of Bob Jones High School, to get the scoop on topics like IT fundamentals, networking, and cybersecurity that make up our high school cyber technology courses.