By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Alabaster Board of Education kicked off its meeting on Feb. 11 by recognizing several students and teachers for their work inside and outside the classroom.

During the meeting’s “Good Things Within our Schools” section, the board took about 35 minutes to honor the students and teachers in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Alabaster Senior Center.

“I don’t know of a better way to spend half an hour than we have done here,” Alabaster Interim Superintendent Dr. Phillip Hammonds said after the presentations.

The School Board honored three Alabaster school faculty members for awards the teachers received during the recent University of Montevallo faculty, staff and alumni recognition dinner.

During the UM dinner, THS teacher Crystal Lamar earned the Outstanding Alumnus Award in the master’s degree program, Meadow View Elementary Principal Rachea Simms received the Lifetime Commitment to Teaching Award and Creek View Elementary teacher Susie Turner received the Outstanding Alumnus Award in the elementary education program.

The board also honored Thompson High School students Katie Richardson, Karla Contreras, Erika Kulp and Darion Hurst for their involvement with the THS Future Teachers program. The four students will be recognized at an Alabama Department of Education meeting in Montgomery on Feb. 14.

Also honored was the Thompson Middle School basketball team, which recently won the Metro Conference Tournament. Players honored were Tyger Quarles, Will Johnson, Drew Thomas, CJ Walker, AJ Oliver, Austin Calhoun, Don Buchannon, Shawn Wilson, AJ Zow, Tavarus Hall and Jaylin Wilson.

The School Board also honored a pair of winning academic teams from TMS, as the school’s eighth-grade scholars bowl team won the county tournament and the seventh-grade team finished runner-up in their division in the county tournament.

Eighth-grade team members are Luke Nichols, Chance Walker, Molly Brown, Kyle Searchfield, Jamie Loren Howell and Tabitha Lawler. Seventh-grade scholars bowl team members are Lane Mullens, Clayton Nichols, Alex Franck, Landon Howell, Sarah Avery Vise and Connelly Brown.