Student Standouts: Casillas ’26, Nuzum ’26, Bey ’27, Menneke ’27, Cabbabe ’29, Eggers ’30, Ellis ’30, Field Hockey Stars, Football, Ice Hockey, Best Buddies, Girls on the Run
Faculty Features: Crumb, Kramer, and N. Miller
Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.
Two Rams Selected as Pete Wilson '51 Fellows for Normandy Academy
Congratulations to Ava Casillas ’26 and Taylor Nuzum ’26 who applied and were selected to be the two 2025 Pete Wilson ’51 Fellows for the National World War II Museum’s Normandy Academy, a 12-day immersive summer learning experience in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Normandy, France that challenges students to learn from the choices made before and during the historic D-Day landings. Through the generosity of Mr. Edward T. Baur ’64, two MICDS students are chosen every year to participate in the Academy with full scholarships (including flights, tuition, meals, etc.).
“I’ve always been deeply inspired by history, especially the history of D-Day and World War II,” explains Nuzum. “My curiosity and passion inspired me to apply to Normandy Academy. While applying for the academy, I learned that I have a personal connection to the war, and it allowed me to see how the school history curriculum can desensitize us to war by focusing on general impact rather than individuals. I’m overjoyed that I’ve been granted the honor of walking in the footsteps of D-Day soldiers and seeing the consequences of war firsthand. I hope the trip will teach me about the complexities of war and the personal stories of veterans. I strive to learn new perspectives about the war, which I will share with others back home. I’m looking forward to representing our community at the academy, and I will use our school community’s values to teach and connect with others on the trip.”
Casillas also appreciates the opportunity to walk in the steps of those who experienced this part of history and the locations where history was made. “I’ve always been interested in learning more about World War II and being able to visit the places where such important events occurred,” she says. “Beyond that, I hope I can learn how to not only be a better listener but also a better storyteller. History is something we make of it from the stories of those who lived through it. I hope I can learn how to communicate the meaning of events like World War II to others through participating in Normandy Academy. We all hear and learn about history, but I don’t think we are often able to reflect first-hand on events such as World War II, especially because of the literal distance we have with the past. Therefore, being able to travel to places where such impactful things occurred, being able to not only hear history but to meet the people who lived through it and put a face to those stories, to history, and being able to reflect on this learning in such an authentic way are things we should all be more focused on. I’m very glad that Normandy Academy will enable me to have these kinds of experiences.”
We can’t wait to hear about what you learn, Ava and Taylor!
Sophomore Runs to 6th Place at Nike Cross Midwest Regionals Competition
On November 17, Heru Bey ’27 competed in the Rising Stars (Freshmen and Sophomores) Division of the Nike Cross Midwest Regionals at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The NXR Midwest meet features the top Cross Country athletes from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri. Bey, moving up from 18th position at the opening mile, finished in 17:29.74, earning 6th place out of over 230 runners in his division! Way to run, Heru!
Sophomore Makes Six Star Football Ranking
Three Middle Schoolers Perform in Metro 8 Honor Concert Band
Congratulations to the three talented Middle School students selected to participate in this year’s Metro 8 Honor Concert Band. Their dedication and hard work paid off to be part of this musical experience. Parker Cabbabe ’29 was selected to play alto saxophone, Wyatt Eggers ’30 was selected for baritone, and Reid Ellis ’30 played trumpet in the concert performance on November 24. Bravo, musicians!
Rams Shine as part of Gateway Field Hockey Club at National Field Hockey Festival
Gateway Field Hockey Club, which has many of our Rams as players, participated in the National Field Hockey Festival in Naples, Florida over Thanksgiving weekend. Congratulations to our MICDS Middle School athletes who were selected to participate in this national tournament. Our athletes had several notable finishes.
The U14 Red Team took home the gold with a 4-0-1 record and 25 goals scored only allowing three against for the tournament. Congratulations to MICDS players Avery Johnson ’29, Johana Sanchez ’30, Caroline Westre ’29, Zoya Cheema ’30, Sykler Dastgah-Bradford ’29, and Emma Fouke ’30 on helping their team achieve this win.
The U12 Red Stars players Annie Mileusnic ’32, Jojo Mackin ’32, and Analea Linneman ’32 helped their team secure a first-place finish with a 4-0-1 record with a remarkable 30 goals scored and only one against for the entire tournament.
Blair Cabbabe ’31 and Avery Brunt ’32 competed with the Red Stripes, helping their team secure a first-place finish with 20 goals scored and only two against with a 5-0-0 record.
Some of our Upper Schoolers participated in the high school-level competitions within their Gateway Field Hockey teams. Victoria Noble ’28, Mallory Jerlecki ’27, Lydia Brown ’28, Ellemieke Ferguson ’27, and Katherine Schott ’27 came in second in their team’s pool (B pool).
Some of our student-athletes competed on the U19 teams. Caroline Birkel ’25 and Georgia Lochhead ’26 were part of the red team while Mia Brauer ’26 and Katie Sheehan ’26 were part of the white team.
The future of MICDS field hockey is bright!
AIM Field Hockey Stars
Samantha O’Neil ’28 and Mia Pacifico ’28 are part of the AIM Field Hockey U16 team. They recently participated in pool D, a highly-competitive pool where they went 4-0-1 to take first place!
Football's Quarterfinal Victory and Season Conclusion
On November 22, the MICDS Football team defeated Fort Zumalt West, 49-3, to win the Class 5 quarterfinals. Check out this video of highlights from the game by KSDK, along with a summary of the game by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Post-Dispatch article puts Adrian Craig ’27 in the spotlight for returning an interception for 61 yards for a score. It also highlights Brian Gould ’25 for rushing for four scores and Cameron Cooper ’25 who added two running TDs. The Rams advanced to the semifinals, where their season concluded.
Varsity Ice Hockey Hosts All-School Holiday Skate
The MICDS Varsity Hockey team hosted the Middle and Lower School in a full-school holiday skate. Together, Senior Kindergarteners through seniors skated as a full school community. Go Rams!
A Festive Friendsgiving through MICDS Best Buddies
The MICDS Best Buddies chapter held a Friendsgiving event on November 23, and it was a huge success! According to the organization, “Best Buddies is an international organization that strives to normalize friendships between people with disabilities and people without them. Our MICDS students have committed to a one-to-one friendship with a person with a disability. They text/call at least once a week and get together at least twice per month, once on their own as a buddy pair and a second time as a group with other MICDS buddy pairs.” At this year’s Friendsgiving, several students met their buddies for the first time.
MICDS Girls on the Run Completes 5k Race with Head of School
On Saturday, November 16, our MICDS Girls on the Run team participated in the culminating GOTR 5k race. The team was thrilled to have Head of School Jay Rainey and his wife Ruth join in on the 5k fun. Jasmine ’31 and Justin Bell ’28 got to give Mr. Rainey his medal when he crossed the finish line. Congratulations to all of our GOTR participants for running after and achieving this major accomplishment!
Dr. Crumb to Join Team of French Teachers on Fulbright Trip to Côte d'Ivoire
Congratulations to Dr. Steven Crumb, Upper School French Teacher, who was recently accepted to join a team of French teachers headed to Côte d’Ivoire next summer as part of a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad. This grant has been awarded by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).
“We’re a team of K-12 and college-level French instructors from all over the U.S. who will be spending a month together in francophone West Africa, where we’ll learn about local cultures (language, society, economy, traditions, etc.) and develop curriculum modules for use in French classrooms back in the US,” explains Dr. Crumb. The teacher team will learn, study, and write French curricular units that focus on local storytellers, women entrepreneurs, beekeepers, and more. “It’s an incredible opportunity, and I’m excited to have been selected.” Félicitations!
Faculty Feature: Elegan Kramer Builds VR Experience with Zoe Creator Program
Elegan Kramer, Director of Instructional Technology and Digital Literacy, recently participated in the Zoe Creator Program where a cohort of diverse educators and educational leaders around the world gathered virtually to learn how to build a VR (virtual reality) experience with the Zoe Immersive app. Elegan created a ‘choose your own adventure’ VR experience related to ocean sustainability, where the VR participants learn how their actions, such as overfishing or sunblock chemicals, impact the ocean’s ecosystem. This created VR experience was featured online at the Zoe Creator Program Final Showcase, along with others from the cohort.
“I am excited to apply what I learned about VR technology from the Zoe Creator Program and from the summer’s ISTE Conference to my Winter Term VR course this January 2025 and to an Emerging Technology course at ESA in July 2025,” Elegan shares. “While VR allows users to experience immersive experiences that would otherwise be dangerous or impossible, this shows users how they can be innovative storytellers and creators in a VR space.”
Check out her demo here. Way to go, Ms. Kramer!
Dr. Miller Presents at National Council of Teachers of English
Dr. Nick Miller, one of our eighth-grade English teachers, recently represented MICDS at the annual National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) convention. He presented findings from his Winter Term course on K-pop and storytelling, focusing on how story worlds developed across media platforms can enhance students’ literacy skills and deepen their understanding of key literary concepts such as allusion and symbolism. His work contributes to a broader, nationwide conversation about media literacy and multimodal writing. Congratulations, Dr. Miller!
