T.E.P. Woods Academic Medal of Excellence medalists, from left, Carter Noland (6th), Thatcher Lehn (7th), Christopher Kim (7th) and Calder Gant (8th)
Students in the Middle School gathered to celebrate another year in McDonald Hall with Middle School Awards Day in the afternoon followed by the Eighth Grade Celebration that evening in the Chapel.
Middle School Awards Day is a time to recognize the special achievements of the boys who will become the next generation of leaders at McCallie, especially the eighth-graders who will soon begin their time in the Upper School as freshmen next fall.
The T.E.P. Woods Academic Medal of Excellence, given to the student or students with the year’s highest GPA in each grade, is the top academic honor for Middle School students. This year’s Middle School winners were:
Sixth Grade: Carter Noland
Seventh Grade: Christopher Kim and Thatcher Lehn
Eighth Grade: Calder Gant Brooks Tremain '26
The awards list was highlighted by Brooks Tremain receiving the John "Bud" Strang Award, given to the 8th grade student who shares Bud's sense of humor, generosity of spirit and dedicated faith in God. The award's namesake, Bud Strang, taught Bible and coached tennis at McCallie for more than 50 years. The award was presented by Head of School Lee Burns '87, who was taught and coached by Mr. Strang during his time as a student.
Neyland Peterson won the American Legion Citizenship Award and Ian Jacobs was awarded the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship/Patriotism Award. Subject awards were also presented to the top students in specific classes as well as the arts, and students were also honored for excellence in citizenship, generosity and school spirit.
Looking ahead, Sawyer Hazelwood, Alejandro Mendoza, Viran Patel and Wilder Wingfield were named Middle School representatives to the Student Senate for the next school year, and eighth-grader Cooper Gentle will serve as the freshman day-student Senate representative for the 2022-23 school year.
At the Eighth Grade Celebration, the boys were honored as a class for their hard work and enthusiasm in the Middle School before being symbolically welcomed to the next phase of their McCallie journey as freshmen in the Middle School next fall.
Video of the Eighth-Grade Celebration is available at this link.
2022 Middle School Awards
American Legion Citizenship Award — Neyland Peterson
This award is presented to the 8th grade student who possesses the high qualities of courage, honor, leadership, patriotism, scholarship and service which are necessary to the preservation and protection of the fundamental institutions of our government and the advancement of society.
DAR Good Citizenship/Patriotism Award — Ian Jacobs
This award is presented to an 8th grade student who exemplifies honor, service, courage, leadership, and patriotism.
John Strang Award — Brooks Tremain
The John "Bud" Strang Award honors an 8th grade student who shares generosity of spirit, integrity, and dedicated faith in God that former Bible teacher John Strang exemplified during his 54 years as a teacher, coach and friend at McCallie.
Distinguished Student Award — Isaiah Summey, Frank Lindeman, Patrick Carroll, Matthew Gabbert, Jake Jones
This award honors a student who has distinguished himself in his classes for his exemplary work ethic. It is not necessarily a reflection of high grades, but of those qualities that enhance learning for the student, his teacher, and his classmates. This award is chosen by the faculty.
Student Senate Representatives:
2021-22 – Ryan Ellis, Calder Gant, Cooper Gentle, Brooks Tremain
2022-23 – Sawyer Hazlewood, Alejandro Mendoza, Viran Patel, Wilder Wingfield
2022-23 Freshman Day Student Representative – Cooper Gentle
A member of the Senate should be above reproach. He displays the characteristics of honesty and truthfulness in his lifestyle. His integrity should be a model for all to emulate. He speaks the truth with his heart and will not slander another with his mouth. His work ethic and deportment will be an example for all to follow.
Physical Science Award — Ben Anz
This award is presented to the 8th grade student who demonstrates academic excellence and extraordinary interest in the 8th Grade Science course.
Intro to Physics Award — Joshua Kim
This award is given to the student who consistently endeavors to strive for the highest level of achievement, shows a genuine interest in the area of physics and has demonstrated an excellent understanding of the material.
Mathematic Achievement Award — Luke Jones and Josh Manning
The Mathematical Achievement Award is presented to those students who have demonstrated consistent mastery of mathematical topics as well as a general love of the subject.
English Award — J.D. Gant
This award is presented to the 8th grade student whose work in the overall study of English has been outstanding. Not only has he excelled in the areas of grammar, vocabulary, and literature, but he has also evidenced a genuine talent and passion for the written word.
History Award — Lincoln Olson
This award is presented to an outstanding American History student who ranks in the top 5% of the 8th grade American History course and is a leader in patriotism and good citizenship.
Art Il Award — Drew Zmaj
This award is given in recognition of outstanding achievement in Art Il.
Music Awards
Director's Award Band —Ian Johnston and Joshua Kim
Director's Award Guitarist —Brody Connell and Colin Deitrick
Director’s Award Handbells — Andrew Kreek
Director’s Award Strings —Nikhil Giddaluri
Director’s Award Choral —Benjamin Jeong and Lincoln Olson
Drama Award for Best Actor — Sye Simmons
The Drama Award is given to recognize students showing potential and commitment in Theater Arts.
Public Speaking — Christopher Kim
This award is presented to the student who has demonstrated leadership, commitment, skill, and character and has represented McCallie well in tournaments.
Chinese Award — Willie Howard
The Chinese award recognizes that student who has demonstrated great determination in learning the language, both written and spoken, and has shown a tremendous improvement through the last two years of study.
Latin Award — Joshua Kim
The winner of the Latin Award has had one of the highest averages in the class for two years. It is an impressive feat given the incredibly detailed nature of the language. But the grade alone does not speak to his understanding of linguistics and his keen insights about the culture. He has a self-deprecating wit that is warm and friendly. He is always willing to help other students to learn by teaching, not just be giving answers. His questions and comments forward conversation and understanding. He is a positive contributor, deep thinker, curious historian and superlative classicist.
National Latin Exam Recognition
Gold Summa Cum Laude – Dru Grant, Jake Jones, Luke Jones, Kolby Kaylor, Joshua Kim, Ford Knight, and Nik Shantha
Silver Maxima Cum Laude —Ben Anz, Cooper Gentle, and Jonathan Wu
Magna Cum Laude —Davis Bartow and Jackson Hightshue
Cum Laude —Gus Ealy and Jimmy Lockhart
These students are recognized for scoring above a specified threshold for the Latin Exam.
Spanish lB Award — Tristan Howard
The recipient of this award demonstrates strikingly impressive skills in Spanish. Along with his strong work habits, his oral, aural, and written abilities are remarkable. He shows definite promise for gaining complete fluency in Spanish.
Middle Men — Jon Cross, Ryan Ellis, Matthew Gabbert, J.D. Gant, Calder Gant, Isaac George, Graham Gervin, Akhil Giddaluri, Elliott Haisten, Sawyer Hazlewood, Thomas Jackson, Luke Jones, Thatcher Lehn, Viran Patel, Henry Webb, Wilder Wingfield, Anthony Xian
The Middle Men is a group of young men committed to serving the school and local community by participating in various acts of service. We thank them for their important and positive contribution to the Middle School and our community.
Faculty Recognition List — Calder Gant, J.D. Gant, Cooper Gentle, Akhil Giddaluri, Nikhil Giddaluri, Ian Jacobs, Jake Jones, Luke Jones, Brooks Tremain
The Faculty Recognition List honors students who have distinguished themselves in their classes for their exemplary work ethic. Thank you for demonstrating ALL of the following qualities each semester of middle school: active involvement, significant investment of time and energy toward academic goals, enthusiasm about course material, eagerness to explore topics fully, initiative in expressing ideas and in seeking out the teacher’s assistance, reliability and resourcefulness in completing assignments, and punctuality.
Honor Roll List — Ben Anz, Myles Belva, Luke Bowen, Spencer Bradley, Jackson Brown, Ryan Ellis, Jack Franklin, Cooper Gentle, Nathan Haun, Jackson Hightshue, Tristan Howard, Willie Howard, Benjamin Jeong, Joshua Kim, Collin Levredge, Josh Manning, Savan Patel, Zain Rifai, Ryan Sanders, Andrew Smith, Brooks Tremain, J.B. Watson, Henry Webb, Anthony Xian, Drew Zmaj
In recognition of the consistent performance in achieving academic excellence during each semester of his middle school career. Very few men are able to set the priorities and maintain the diligence necessary to achieve a 3.5 GPA each semester in middle school.
Head of School List — Jackson Barger, Matthew Gabbert, Calder Gant, J.D. Gant, Akhil Giddaluri, Nikhil Giddaluri, Ian Jacobs, Jake Jones, Luke Jones
In recognition of the consistent performance in achieving academic excellence during each semester of his middle school career. Very few men are able to set the priorities and maintain the diligence necessary to achieve all A’s each semester in middle school.
T.E.P. Woods Academic Medal of Excellence Awards:
6th Grade — Carter Noland
7th Grade — Christopher Kim and Thatcher Lehn
8th Grade — Calder Gant
This award is presented to the student in each Middle School grade who achieves the highest cumulative grade point average for the year.