Words Meet Art: AP English Language and Composition One-Pager Project

by: Lillian Archer, junior

For the 11th grade course, AP Language and Composition, students were given a unique and creative assignment that allowed them to visually and textually express their stance on a given argumentative prompt. This task combined both writing skills and artistic expression to represent a deeper understanding of the prompts and enhance the persuasiveness of their arguments.

The one-pager required students to formulate a clear thesis statement that presents their position on the given topic. This thesis was then supported by two solid reasons that provide a justification for their side. In addition, students were tasked with incorporating evidence to strengthen their argument. The evidence, which could have been current events, history, personal experience, literature, pop culture, science, and philosophy, allowed students to back up their reasons and make the argument more credible. This allowed students to practice integrating outside information into their own perspectives, which is a critical skill for the future AP Language and Composition Exam in May. The assignment is also visually appealing. Students had to use colors, a symbolic border, and five carefully chosen words to enhance the purpose of their argument.

This one pager encouraged students to think beyond a traditional essay assignment, offering them an opportunity to express complex ideas in an engaging manner. By being given this one-pager assignment, students learned how to show critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of arguments in a creative and visually appealing way. #wearesaintjamesschool

Exploring HBCU Life: A Parent’s Perspective on her Undergrad Experience

STJ parent, Megan Holston-Alexander, addressed high school AP African American Studies students.

In Mrs. Kiki Hughes’s AP African American Studies class, history isn’t just something to be read in textbooks-it comes to life through personal stories and experiences. Recently, students had the opportunity to hear from a parent in our school community who shared her journey attending Clark Atlanta University, one of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Megan Holston-Alexander, a Saint James parent, visit offered students an inside look at the rich traditions, academic rigor, and vibrant campus life that define HBCUs. From her leadership in student government to her involvement in Greek life, she spoke about how these experiences shaped her both personally and professionally. She highlighted the deep sense of community she found at Clark Atlanta, where students were encouraged to strive for excellence while being supported by peers, faculty, and alumni.

Students were eager to engage, asking thoughtful questions about her college experience, the impact of attending an HBCU, and how it influenced her career path. After graduating from Clark Atlanta, Mrs. Holston-Alexander went on to earn an MBA from Stanford University and now works in venture capitalism, helping fund and support innovative tech businesses. Her story served as an example of how educational choices can shape future opportunities.

AP African American studies is one of the many academic electives offered at Saint James School.

Beyond the history of HBCUs, this discussion gave students a real-world perspective on college pathways, professional growth, and the power of community. We are grateful for the opportunity to bring learning beyond the pages of a textbook and for the unique parent engagement offered at Saint James.

Saint James was one of two schools in the state of Alabama to pilot AP African American studies, one of the newest College Board courses offered. Mrs. Hughes, history department head, attended a training at Howard University and has been teaching the class for two years. AP African American Studies is one of the 20 AP courses offered at Saint James.

Megan Holston-Alexander is a Montgomery native and partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a California based venture capital firm. She is the proud mom of Saint James kindergartener, Holston. #wearesaintjameschool

Circle Your Wagons on the Oregon Trail

Quilt squares depicted scenes from the “Oregon Trail” journey

by: Olivia Patrick, class of 2026

After learning about the Oregon Trail and the Gold Rush, Mrs. Hughes introduced the game The Oregon Trail to the junior history classes! Each class period had around 5 “wagons” with 3-4 “wagon riders” that were given a certain amount of money to decide on what supplies they would need. They would consider which wagon they wanted, the amount of food they would need to survive the 6-month journey, and which weapons and tools would be useful, all while staying under budget. Students would then roll dice to see which scenario, defined in Mrs.Hughes’s slideshow, applied to their wagon. The wagons could encounter hostile enemies, rabid animals, treacherous storms, and deadly

diseases that would impact their journey. One of my favorite aspects about playing the game was that everything was left up to chance. At the end of the game, some wagons survived with hardly any issues in their journey, while others had completely lost all wagon members. A few days later, students were asked to color in a quilt square that described their journey on the Oregon Trail. They created symbols with definitions that represented the events they encountered. Mrs. Hughes then judged the quilt squares and put the best ones in the hallway to create one big quilt! Overall, this was such a fun way to interact with history and help us to understand the hardship that pioneers went through to form our great country. #wearesaintjamesschool

Going Overboard in APUSH

Mrs. Hughes’ AP United States History class captured the pirate booty during pirate week.

by: MaryEllis Killough, junior

As a way to celebrate finishing summer reading and to take a break from the constant note taking, Mrs. Hughes gave the junior history class a pirate day! Each class period of students came together as a single “crew” to complete an assortment of tasks under the watch of their trusted “captain”. Soon after choosing who would command our “ship”, which we named La Skibita, we divided into groups to work. Some students immediately teamed up to complete the complex math problem together, while others grabbed atlases and tried to map out various coordinates. One of my favorite activities was defining some of the notorious pirate vocabulary words like “scallywag”, “marooned”, and “seadog.” The most challenging tasks were definitely listing questions about a typical pirate’s life. We wrote out what we thought might be the typical ship’s rules and punishments. We also had to list what might’ve been a man’s reasoning for becoming a pirate. After completing all of these tasks, we reported back to our captain. The captain handed in our answers to Mrs. Hughes, who will compare them to the other classes, or “ships,” answers. Whichever team scores the highest is sure to get some booty tomorrow! Overall, it was an enjoyable day, filled with community and fun! #wearesaintjamesschool

Eighth Grade Visits Our Nation's Capital

by: Charlotte Stanton, class of 2028

8th graders stopped by the White House during their recent trip to Washington D.C.

The 8th grade students had been so excited for our class trip to Washington DC. We prepared for DC weeks before we departed, but most of us have been thinking about this since we were little. Some of the topics we were preparing for were hard, such as the Holocaust museum. However, we knew we would have a great and educational trip!
On day one, we had to be up early at 4:15 in the morning! We departed on two separate buses at 4:45 a.m. It was supposed to be around a two and half hour drive, but due to a serious accident that shut down the interstate, the drive took way longer than expected. We ended up missing our flight, but it was okay because we booked another flight that was scheduled to depart around 9 p.m. That left us with quite a while until we had to be at the airport. 
We made a pit stop at Buc-ee’s, and all joined onto one bus to make our way to Atlanta. In Atlanta we did many interesting activities. We got to walk around Olympic park, explore the World of Coca-Cola museum, and eat at a small cafe. After some time, we had to leave to head to the airport. We had to wait for many hours after countless delays. Finally, we boarded the plane at 10:10 p.m. It was a bumpy ride, but we landed in Washington DC safely at 11:50 p.m. We got to ride on a double-decker bus, but everyone was very tired and ready to get to the hotel. 

Students at the Lincoln Memorial

Since we missed the entire day before, we had to make some schedule rearrangements. We got to see the Arlington National Cemetery first. The eternal flame was a beautiful symbol. We spent some time in the Spy Museum. That was one of my personal favorites. They had real artifacts from spies! The African American History Museum was very educational and immersive; they did a good job of conveying a lot of emotions. We quickly went through the American History Museum just to see the original star-spangled banner. Then, we got to look around the Natural History Museum. I love how big that museum was, and I wish we could have stayed there for hours! I probably spent the most time in the gem and mineral exhibit looking for the Hope Diamond. For dinner we ate at Carmine’s. Later at night, we got a tour of many different monuments around the city. The Abraham Lincoln Memorial was so ornate and gave a beautiful view of the Washington Monument. 

Students participating in a Revolutionary Era reenactment at Mt. Vernon.

The next day, Ford’s Theater was first on our itinerary. A man gave us a lecture about the assassination. I really enjoyed the museum part of the tour. Then, we took the annual class picture with all of the students and chaperones. After that we got a tour of the capitol building! The architecture was gorgeous inside and out. The painting and statues were so detailed, and I loved hearing about their deeper meanings. We all took a quick picture with the White House then went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We all took our time to look around and learn about this tragedy. It was a well constructed museum that showed the raw truth. We then went to see the National Archives. The documents in there were very old! For dinner that night we got to go on a dinner river cruise! We all got dressed nice and got to dance on the dancefloor. The view on the cruise of the water and city was breathtaking!

Charlotte (second from right) with classmates at the International Spy Museum

However, all good things must come to an end. On the last day we had the opportunity to see Mount Vernon. The land was so peaceful and well taken care of. Andrew Sellers laid a wreath near President George Washington’s tomb. Due to traffic we couldn’t go inside the house, but in history class we got to do a virtual tour of the house, so we didn’t miss out completely! We flew back home and arrived at STJ around 7:30 p.m. Overall it was a very educational trip that we were lucky to have had the opportunity to experience! 

The Legacy of a Teacher: Honoring our STJ family

Dr. Wayne Flynt, historian and author, with historian and STJ Head of School Dr. Larry McLemore

This afternoon, Saint James School welcomed several members of the Saint James family to campus to honor one of our own. Mrs. Sharon Andress, who served as a member of the STJ history faculty for 17 years, passed away last month. Current and former faculty members, along with school administration, held an intimate ceremony in the library to honor Mrs. Andress and the impact she had on our school. Mrs. Nancy Anderson, local instructor of Southern literature and expert on author Harper Lee, and Dr. Wayne Flynt, renowned author and historian, presented two publications to be housed in the library’s permanent collection. Both Mrs. Anderson and Dr. Flynt were close friends and colleagues of Mrs. Andress who taught To Kill a Mockingbird to Saint James students for many years. Saint James high school English students still study the classic novel each year.

Today was especially meaningful to our Head of School, Dr. Larry McLemore, who was a student of Mrs. Andress and has fond memories of her courses. She taught AP United States History, Southern Cultures, and served as the junior class sponsor for many years. She was a member of the STJ faculty from 1990-2007.

Dr. Flynt, signing a copy of his book for Dr. McLemore.

Mrs. Nancy Anderson is a distinguished fellow at Auburn University at Montgomery, where she has taught Southern and American literature for over 40 years. She is a leading expert on Alabama author Harper Lee. She is a recipient of the AUM Faculty Service Award and Chancellor’s Warhawk Spirit Award.

Dr. Wayne Flynt, Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Auburn University, has won numerous teaching awards and been a Distinguished University Professor for many years. Dr. Flynt is a Pulitzer Prize nominee and author of over a dozen books. Saint James Head of School, Dr. Larry McLemore, calls him “the most important historian of the state of Alabama.” What an honor to have both Mrs. Anderson and Dr. Flynt join us on campus today to honor Mrs. Sharon Andress.

#wearesaintjamesschool

Members of the Saint James School family in the high school library, where two signed books will be housed in the school’s permanent collection, to honor past STJ faculty members Mrs. Sharon Andress.

AP to 3rd Grade

An illustration from “Fear-Con,” by AP student Sophie Caradori

Mrs. Ward’s Ap English Language and Composition students presented a fun project to STJ 3rd graders. The advance placement upperclassmen had an assignment to compose a story for a specific age group. This type of writing for an audience is an exercise helpful in preparing for the upcoming AP test this May. Students wrote for our third graders, who are between the ages of 8-9, using vocabulary and rhetoric appropriate for that

Third grade students with AP students Justin Kang and Sophie Caradori

auience. Two juniors, Sophie Caradori and Justin Kang, presented their stories to the elementary students. Our third graders loved the stories and had lots of questions about the writing process and what they enjoyed about the assignment. Presentations like this are an example of how our campus bridges division levels to create a cohesive school community. At Saint James, it is not uncommon to see upperclassmen and elementary students participating in learning together during the school day. #wearesaintjamesschool

Mrs. Broughton’s 3rd grade class listening to presentations from AP English Language and Composition students

Visual Poetry

Dr. Winn’s 9th grade honors English students wrapped-up their poetry unit by creating their own poems, with a twist. This poetry is unique as it has an visual artistic element with an illustration that evokes the tone and mood of the poem. #wearesaintjamesschool

The Iliad: Saint James School's Yearbook

By: Erin Grigsby, senior and Iliad co-editor

Iliad Yearbook staff with issues from the 1980s.

Seeing the yearbook for the first time is very exciting at Saint James. The students look forward to it every year! However, a lot of hard work goes into the final book we all know and love.

Journalism Yearbook, one of the art electives at Saint James, requires a multitude of skills and familiarity in different areas. The class requires patience, organization, and creativity. Members of the yearbook staff use their writing skills to write the story and captions of their spreads and photography skills if they wish to capture moments around the school.

Iliad Yearbook staff working on digital spreads.

This year's Iliad is Volume Number 52, with “The STJ Life is Full of Color” as the central theme. It includes beautiful color splash templates.

I, along with my Co-Editor Dodge Prim, oversee all of the progress and work being done as the yearbook comes together. We organize pictures, create the year’s ladder, adjust layouts and templates, and proofread spreads when they are complete. We seek to include our student body on a variety of pages so everyone can be featured in the book of our school’s best memories.

Our class could not be possible without Mrs. Kimberly Ramsey, our yearbook sponsor. She works tirelessly to create a special book for our school year. Overall, this year’s staff working on the yearbook has done a tremendous job showing their creativity. The book is so close to being finished, and we cannot wait for everyone to enjoy the memories of the school year! We will debut the Iliad next fall on our annual Iliad Day, where students see the book for the first time and have it signed by teachers and friends.

Tea Time

by: MaryEllis Killough, 8th grade

Last week in our advanced English class we had a tea party to celebrate finishing the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. We watched the 2020 film adaptation of the book and discussed similarities and differences in the book versus the movie. We were treated with Chamomile tea, scones, and shortbread cookies during the movie to really go back in time to 1938 on the countryside of England. Our whole class enjoyed our little tea party and was very thankful to our wonderful English teacher, Ms. Ramsey, for making this happen!

#WeAreSaintJamesSchool

pinkies up!