A publication to share school related accomplishments of

students, faculty, staff, & alumni of Prince Avenue Christian School.

Prince Names Top Reward Recipients

for the Class of 2024

Pictured Left to Right: Mimi Culpepper, Madeline Tebeau, and Cadence Collette

Prince Avenue Christian School has named the top award recipients of the Class of 2024.

The 2024 Valedictorian is Mimi Culpepper. Mimi is the daughter of Katherine and John Culpepper and has attended Prince for 12 years. The 2024 Salutatorian is Madeline Tebeau. Madeline is the daughter of Mary Elizabeth and John Teabeau and has attended Prince for 13 years. Cadence Collette received the 2024 Prince Epistle Award given to the graduating senior who, in the opinion of the faculty, best represents what Prince values more than anything else – a Christ-like spirit that manifests itself in a desire to grow in the Lord and serve others for the glory of God. Cadence is the daughter of Lisa and John Collette and has attended Prince for 13 years. 

Seniors Serve in International Missions

The Prince Avenue Christian School senior class spent a week in March focusing on international missions. 

A group of 73 students and nine chaperones traveled to San José, Costa Rica and ministered in conjunction with Joshua Expeditions. While part of the group built three houses, the remaining group spent time with the children and ministered to families in the area. 

Schroeder Selected

as Rotary Student of the Semester

Prince senior Natalie Schroeder has been selected as the Rotary Student of the Semester for Spring 2024. Natalie was chosen by Prince teachers for her demonstration of the Rotary Club motto of “Service Above Self”.

Natalie is the daughter of Beth and Peter Schroeder and has attended Prince for six years. She is in the National Honor Society, Beta Club, Interact Club, Tri-M, and Thespian Society. Natalie is active in the Academic Team, Fine Arts productions, Improv Team, Classical Literature Club, Announcement Team, and Swim Team. Natalie attends Prince Avenue Baptist Church and has volunteered at Camp 78 and the Athens Area Human Society Animal Shelter.

Class of 2024

The Prince Class of 2024 had 77 graduates with an impressive 96% of students on track for the Hope/Zell Miller Scholarship accumulating 1692 semester hours in dual enrollment college credit and 146 Advanced Placement classes. Additionally, the Class of 2024 applied to approximately 213 colleges and boasts an 86% acceptance rate to the University of Georgia. The class has accomplished many regional and state fine arts and athletic accolades throughout their tenure at the school which includes 11 college athletic signees and one military academy appointment.



Congratulations to the Class of 2024 and their parents on all of their impressive accomplishments.

Prince Parent Designs One-of-a-Kind Learning Experience for Middle School Life Skills Class

When Prince Avenue Christian School launched a middle school life skills elective this year, Prince parent and entrepreneur Jake Raby of Raby Engine Development saw an opportunity to contribute his time and expertise to create a unique learning experience for Prince middle school students.

Raby designed, built, and implemented the novel concept of the Technical Learning Center. Each learning center is mobile and can transform any academic classroom into shop class in a matter of minutes. The station includes an engine, worktable, drawers, safety equipment, and tools that enable a small group of students at each station, with step-by-step instruction, to disassemble and reassemble an engine.

Lord Receives Appointment to West Point

Prince Avenue Christian School graduate Jackson Lord recently received an appointment letter to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Congressman Mike Collins of Georgia District 10 visited campus for a special ceremony to recognize this significant accomplishment.

Jackson is the son of Tina and Jay Lord and has attended Prince for 14 years. He is a member of the National Honor Society, National Beta Club, Interact Club, and Academic Team. Jackson volunteered as a chess club mentor, was in the percussion section of the Prince band, and has been a multiple sport athlete participating in football, basketball, and baseball. Outside of school, Jackson has served as a Georgia State Legislature Assembly Page and in the American Legion Georgia Boys State and has received the Youth Citizenship Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution. Jackson attends Athens First United Methodist Church where he works as a facility tech and serves as an acolyte.

Students Place in Math Olympics

Prince lower and middle school students competed in the Association of Christian Schools International Math Olympics. Prince hosted 126 participants from four schools. Congratulations to the following students who placed in the event:

Dunn Selected as Finalist

for Governor's Honors Program

Prince Avenue Christian School is proud to announce that junior Jenifer Dunn has been chosen as a finalist for the 2024 Georgia Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) in the area of music with a concentration in flute performance.

Jenifer is the daughter of Jackie and James Dunn and has attended Prince for nine years. Jenifer is in the National Honor Society, Beta Club, Interact Club, Thespian Society, and Tri-M Society. She is active in the Prince Concert, Pep, and Jazz Bands and serves as an intern to the Prince band director where she helps teach beginner band students both during school hours and in private lessons. Jenifer is also in Barnabas, Academic Team, and Announcements Team and has previously participated in Chess Club, Performing Arts, and Varsity Soccer.

Concert Band Receives High Ratings

at Performance Evaluation

The Prince 6th-12th grade Concert Band received an excellent stage rating and superior sight-reading rating at the Georgia Music Educators Association Large Group Performance Evaluation. The event was held at Clarke Central High School. Congratulations to these Fine Arts students for their hard work and commitment toward this achievement.

Little Prince Players

and High School Spring Productions

The Little Prince Players lower school drama club gave a fabulous performance of "The Big Bad Musical". Students portrayed classic fairytale characters in a courtroom comedy in which the Big Bad Wolf was put on trial for his misdeeds. Prince audiences were entertained by our talented youngest actors in this creative and fun musical.

The high school spring production included audience favorites and the bluegrass music and dancing of Bright Star - a story that weaves themes of love, loss, and redemption historically placed in the 1920s and 1940s in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina.

Girls Golf Makes School History

with First State Championship Win

The Prince Avenue Christian School Varsity Girls Golf Team won the GHSA Single A | Division 1 State Championship making school history as the first Prince girls golf team to win first in state. 

After winning back-to-back Area 4 championships, the team – comprised of sophomore Millie Benton, junior Claire Bradford, and seniors McKenzie Paul and Madeline Tebeau, competed in the state championship tournament on May 20th and 1st held at Metter Country Club in Metter, Georgia. The girls won by 4 strokes over Mt. Pisgah shooting 323 over two days.

In addition, junior Claire Bradford was the Single A | Division 1 Individual Low Medalist shooting a 76 and 73 respectively.

Wolverine Baseball

Back-to-Back State Champions

After winning back-to-back region championships and with an overall season record of 34-3, the Wolverines are back-to-back GHSA Single A | Division 1 Baseball State Champions.

The Wolverines defeated Tallulah Falls (6-5, 9-4) in the GHSA State Baseball Championship tournament that was held at J.I. Clements Stadium at Georgia Southern University on May 17th.

Prince Athletic Director Richard Ricketts says he is extremely happy for the players, parents, and coaches. “The amount of hours, hard work, and training that these kids and coaches put in is to be commended. They are not only talented, they also don’t get outworked by anyone.”

Garrett Wins Shot Put State Title

With a winning heave of 49 feet, 8 inches, Prince junior Christian Garrett is the 2024 Single A | Division 1 State Shot Put Champion. 

Christian’s state championship is a true come-back story. He had shoulder surgery in January and was cleared to compete only two days prior to the region meet. Christian qualified at region, and advanced through sectionals to win his title at the state meet held in Rome, Georgia on May 9th.

Christian gives God the glory and his coaches his appreciation for this accomplishment. “The comeback was a thing God allowed me to do. I never thought the result would be a win. I’ll forever be thankful to Coach Kilgore and Coach Tim for believing in me to do this. I’m thankful for Prince Track.”

Head Coach Jonathan Kilgore is proud of Christian’s comeback from surgery. “Christian is an amazing athlete, and he’s an even more amazing person!”

Prince Track and Field Teams

Have Successful Season

Congratulations to the Wolverine Boys and Girls Track and Field teams who both had successful seasons. The Boys are the 2024 5A | Division 1 Region Champions while the girls placed second in region.

Individual accomplishments include first-place finishes by:

BOYS:

Tison McGuirt, freshman – 3200 m

Trey Bennett, senior – 100m hurdles

Luke Childress, freshman – high jump

Jake Atha, junior – discus

Christian Garrett, junior– shot put



GIRLS:

Audrey Vandagriff, senior – 100 m

Aidan Washington, senior – 100 m hurdles

Taylor Lord, freshman – pole vault

Emily Lalaian, junior – discus

Wolverine Girls and Boys Tennis:

Back-to-Back Region Champions

The Prince Avenue Christian School Varsity Girls and Boys Tennis teams are back-to-back GHSA Region 5-A | Division 1 Region Champions! 

The girls team finished with a season record of 15-1 and beat Social Circle 3-0 in the championship match. With three freshman starters, the boys team finished the season with a record of 12-3 and beat Jasper County 3-0 in the championship match. 

Head Coach Elizabeth Sadler said that she is very proud of both teams for having their best regular seasons in team history. “We knew early on that this was a special group. I have been impressed with their work ethic and leadership; they set the goal of being back-to-back region champs and put in the work to achieve their goal.”

Prince Honors 2023-2024 Educators of the Year

In the spirit of recognizing the commitment and dedication of the faculty at PACS, each year the school recognizes individual teachers as the Colossians 3:23 Educators of the Year, nominated by their peers as remarkable and doing “everything as unto the Lord”. Kindergarten teacher Mallory Addison, middle school science teacher Robin Sosbee, and high school science teacher Carrie Owens are the 2023-2024 Prince Educators of the Year. Each received a crystal vase and a cash donation which are given each year by a generous and anonymous donor.

Joaquin Honored with Servant's Heart Award

Prince Avenue Christian School recognizes the important role that our competent and qualified staff plays in our school community. Through the support of a generous donor, Prince honors one member of the staff each year with the Servant’s Heart Award. Using an acronym for the word HEART, the recipient of this award is acknowledged for his or her humility, encouragement, authenticity, responsibility, and trustworthiness. This year’s Servant’s Heart Award was given to Natalia Joaquin who works in the Prince Information Technology (IT) office as a Senior IT Support Specialist.

Natalia has worked at Prince for five years. Her duties include overseeing the IT inventory of laptops, Interactive Flat Panels, and printers with set-up, maintenance, and one-on-one assistance.

2024 Yearbook Dedicated to Eley and Hale

The 2023-2024 Prince yearbook staff recently presented the 42nd edition of the Koinonia to the Prince student body. This year’s yearbook was dedicated to two Prince Avenue faculty and staff members – Campus Director of Technology Kendall Eley and 2nd grade teacher Cindy Hale.

2024 Yearbook Dedicated to Eley and Hale

Two long-time Prince Avenue Christian School staff members are retiring after many years of service to Prince.

Athletic Administrative Assistant Johnette Appleby is retiring after 24 years at Prince. During her tenure at the school, Mrs. Appleby has served in various administrative roles, but she has spent the last 18 years in the athletic department. Prince Athletic Director Richard Ricketts describes Mrs. Appleby as humble and selfless. “Johnette is always willing to go above and beyond to do whatever she can to help make our school run smoothly. She has remained a steady, reliable force for our athletic department, and I am going to miss her.”



Administrative Assistant to the Head of School Ginger Robinson is retiring after eight and a half years of service at Prince. Altogether, Mrs. Robinson has worked full-time for 34 years with 20 of those years in education. Head of School Seth Hathaway describes Mrs. Robinson as a talented professional. “In my 35 years of adult work experience, Mrs. Robinson is the most productive and efficient teammate I have ever worked with.”