Student Standouts: Enyard ’24, Schukar ’24, Mikulec ’24, Williams ’24, Dawson ’26, Pook ’26, Upper School Lion Dancers, Yearbook Club, Baseball, and Boys Tennis
Faculty Feature: Barker and Pupillo
Staff Spotlights: Lee, Sutherlin & Admission Team
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 Seniors Make STL National Football Foundation's Big Red Top 25
Mikaela Mikulec '24 Announced as Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete
Put your hands together to celebrate our 2024 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete Mikaela Mikulec ’24! Mikaela has been a three-season athlete for all four years of high school, participating in tennis, swimming, and lacrosse. She’s earned a number of athletic and academic accolades, including being a member of the Cum Laude Society, having a 4.0 GPA, receiving the 2023 MICDS McKelvey Award for leadership in athletics, and more. She’s the Co-head of the Athletics Council, a mentor to Middle School students and freshmen, and she will be attending UCLA for college as an Applied Math major. Check out her incredible bio on STL Today here!
Senior Beats His Own School Record in the 400M Dash
Congratulations to Tristan Williams ’24 who sprinted to beat the previous school record that he set in the 400-meter dash at the Hillsboro Invite for Track & Field on May 3. He ran it in 48.26 seconds. Way to run, Tristan!
Artwork by Two Rams Make it into SLAM Young Artists Exhibition
Two MICDS students, Catherine Dawson ’26 and Emerson Pook ’26, have artwork on display at the Saint Louis Art Museum’s 2024 Young Artists Exhibition, Connection through Curiosity! Tonight, Friday, May 10, is the Opening Reception to celebrate the young artists. The exhibit opened on May 3 and will run through November 8. It is located in the Student Gallery at SLAM.
MICDS Lion Dance Performs at Local Conference
The MICDS Lion Dance students were invited to perform at the third annual Be Heard conference on May 3. “These students are so talented that they should be recognized and highlighted beyond MICDS in the broader community,” expressed Jintong Tang P’29, Ph.D., Director of Emerson Leadership Institute.
The MICDS lion dancers who performed were Henry Oliver ’25, Mac Froedge ’25, Cade Miller ’26, Michal Kenigsberg ’27, and Milton Duckworth ’27. Also, two students helped keep the rhythm for the lion dancers; Isaac George ’27 played the drum while Lucas Cheng ’27 played the cymbal. Way to go, Rams/lions!
2023 Yearbook Featured in "Portfolio"
For the second year in a row, our MICDS Upper School yearbook has been included in Portfolio, a showcase for best yearbook practices. “Our 2023 book was featured in Portfolio five times for its cover and spread designs and content,” shares Katie Voss, Upper School Librarian and Yearbook Club Faculty Sponsor. Below are some photos from the spreads that were featured along with photos of the 2023 Yearbook Club! Way to go, Rams!
Baseball Lands 9th Blowout Victory
The MICDS baseball team delivered their ninth blowout victory of the season on Wednesday, 6-0, against Whitfield. A recap by MaxPreps highlights pitcher Isaac Taylor ’25 gave up only five hits and Henry Clay ’24 scored two runs and stole one base. LJ Triplett ’26 went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases. Way to go, Rams!
Boys Tennis Earns District Title
By defeating Ladue 5-4 in a thriller on May 9, the MICDS Boys Tennis team earned the District Title and will head to the Sectional Round next week. Check out the recap of the district contest in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch here. Freshman Max Padratzik ’27 defeated a Ladue senior after the score was tied 4-4, pulling off a 6-1 and 7-5 victory. In the recap, Head Coach Patrick Huewe called this “The match of his life” when referring to Max’s exciting performance. The Rams were also strong in doubles action, with Arjun Puri ’25 and Padratzik winning at No. 2 doubles and Louis Niemeyer ’24 and Amey Parwal ’27 winning at No. 3 doubles. The Rams will advance to the Class 2 quarterfinals on Monday. Go Rams!
Faculty Feature: Christopher Barker Featured in Bold Journey Magazine
Magician and Upper School Spanish Teacher Christopher Barker, was recently interviewed by Bold Journey Magazine. Read the full interview to learn more about Mr. Barker. He shares a bit about his journey getting into magic, overcoming imposter syndrome, the three qualities he thinks are most important, and his life as a full-time MICDS Spanish Teacher and part-time soccer coach, and how the rest of the time is focusing on his magic business. Have you ever seen magic in both English and Spanish? Mr. Barker can do that! Learn more about Mr. Barker in the interview linked above!
Faculty Feature: Laura Pupillo Serves as Green Mentor in Green Schools Quest
MICDS, with Lower School Science Teacher Laura Pupillo leading the effort, was a finalist in the Green School’s Quest contest. According to the GSQ website, Green School’s Quest is “an annual project-based challenge to PreK-12 schools to devise and implement no/low-cost sustainability projects at their school over a six month period of time with the help of a community volunteer who serves as a Green Mentor. Schools document their impact, such as energy savings or increased biodiversity, during the project and submit their project’s process and impact for judging by an impartial panel at the conclusion.” Thanks for all you do in honor of sustainability, Ms. Pupillo!
Staff Spotlight: Dr. Grace Lee Serves on Be Heard — Women in Leadership Conference Panel
Dr. Grace Lee, Dean of Faculty, served as a panelist in the Be Heard — Women in Leadership conference on May 3. The conference was hosted by the Emerson Leadership Institute at Saint Louis University and draws “hundreds of distinguished academics, businesses, and next-generation leaders from St. Louis and beyond for a series of presentations, discussions, debates, keynotes and networking sessions under the goal of advancing gender equity, empowering women, and creating a culture of holistic well-being for all.” Dr. Lee spoke on the Asian Women in Leadership Panel.
MICDS Named "Most Engaging Admission Team" & "Best New High School Partner"
Loyola Academy, which held its 8th-grade celebratory ceremony last Thursday, has two students who will be joining the 9th-grade class at MICDS in the fall. Loyola orchestrated a signing ceremony-style event to honor these two students, complete with MICDS shirts and hats, and they also gave MICDS two awards: “Most Engaging Admission Team” and “Best New High School Partner.” These awards are largely the result of the work of our Upper School Associate Director of Admission Teron Sutherlin, who connected with this school and the students as they considered MICDS for high school. Way to go, Teron and Admission team!
