News

Launch of Robotics Club for 2024-2025 School Year

Competitions Planned with Teams from More Than 400 Schools Across the State

Pinecrest Academy, a private PreK3-12 Catholic School in Cumming, will debut a Robotics Club for the 2024-2025 school year. The club is already off to a promising start, as students participated in “spring training," eager for their first robotics competition season that begins in fall 2024.

During spring training, 19 students were introduced to key concepts related to computer programming, mechanical design, and teamwork. The club also assembled a team of coaches and parent volunteers, under the moderation of Mr. Carter Mayville, PreK3-8th Dean of Academics. Mrs. Mary Claire Klooster, a former computer science teacher at Pinecrest Academy, serves as coach.

"We've been floating around the idea of a competitive robotics team for a while now, but thanks to the help and support of some dedicated families and students, we're ready to provide our students with this new outlet for their innovative spirit and collaborative ingenuity,” explains Carter Mayville, PreK3-8th Grade Dean of Academics.

During the fall competition season, Pinecrest will field two teams. A 4th-6th grade team will participate in their first Lego League Challenge competition, and a 7th-9th grade team will participate in their first Tech Challenge competition.
Pinecrest students will interact with robotics teams from over 400 public and private schools across Georgia. They will also interact with industry professionals and experts on the field of oceanography, as they use STEM and collaboration skills to explore "life beneath the surface of the ocean,” which is the theme for this coming season's robot games and innovation projects.

“Robotics is not just about robots, gears and circuits, but rather about igniting curiosity, fostering new ideas, and growing through teamwork,” commented Dr. Blanca Snyder, PreK3-8th Grade Principal. “As we prepare to launch our inaugural competitive season, we are excited to see how faith inspires design thinking, further enriching and nurturing our Pinecrest students’ in all aspects of their integral formation!”

Pinecrest Senior Honored with Prestigious Award

An award given at Pinecrest Academy's High School Awards Ceremony was the Viktor Frankl Award for the Most Outstanding World Youth Alliance Member. The winner for North America was Ashley Kutter.

The World Youth Alliance was founded by young people to be a global voice for human dignity. Speaking out against violence and human rights abuses worldwide, WYA members recognize the inviolable dignity of each person, from conception through natural death, and work to develop free and just societies.

The Viktor Frankl Award for the Most Outstanding World Youth Alliance Member is presented to exemplary WYA members who have made significant and vital contributions in upholding WYA's mission to promote the dignity of the human person in their communities. This prestigious award is presented to only one student per continent.
Ashley took WYA's college-level summer training course as a rising sophomore in high school and found the contents so impactful that she was inspired to bring the course to Pinecrest as a means of preparing other seniors for authentic Catholic leadership through a deeper understanding of human dignity.

This award was presented to Ashley by Mrs. Beth Howard, a member of Pinecrest’s Board of Trustees. Mrs. Howard worked at Pinecrest for 10 years before founding the Fiat Program for young women, which studies social justice from an authentically Catholic perspective at the United Nations in New York.

Stephane Rivard '15

Stephane Rivard '15 graduated from medical school and found out on March 15, 2024 that he matched for his residency in Athens, GA, at the UGA-AU Internal Medicine program at St. Mary’s hospital.

Stephane’s wife, Abby (Labiche) Rivard is also a 2015 graduate of Pinecrest Academy. The couple was married in July 2022.

Pinecrest Academy to Debut Robotics Team

Pinecrest Academy is excited to announce plans to debut a Pinecrest Academy Robotics Team! School leaders will host an informational session on March 22 for parents of current 4th-12th grade students, where advisers, Mary Claire Klooster and Juan Bustamante, will be introduced. The team will present the school’s vision for the program before opening registration for a Spring Robotics Club and Fall Robotics Team.

Additionally, Mr. Mayville will be partnering with the Pinecrest Robotics Team by hosting a Spring Break Coding Camp, where campers will be using Ozaria, a game-based learning platform, to teach Python! This camp is open to all current 3rd-9th graders who want to learn one of the world's most practical and popular programming languages used by many companies and organizations. Space is limited to 20 campers.

Pinecrest Earns Two Honors in Best of Forsyth

Pinecrest Academy has won "Best Private School" in the Best of Forsyth contest hosted by local newspaper, the Forsyth County News. This was Pinecrest’s tenth consecutive win, and the school was honored as a “10 in a Row” organization at the Best of Forsyth Banquet on Tuesday evening, January 30, 2024.

Additionally, Pinecrest Academy Head of School, Jake Rodgers, was named "Best Administrator" for 2024. This is a tremendous honor, as Forsyth County has 42 public schools and 18 private schools. The public schools are much larger than Pinecrest Academy, with the potential for greater voter pools, and Mr. Rodgers was among 20 nominees for "Best Administrator."

Pinecrest Academy Students Earn Top PSAT Scores

Pinecrest Academy ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders earned top scores out of all United States and international test takers of the October 2023 PSAT. This test was the first digitally administered test by the College Board and is a qualifier for the National Merit Scholarship Program and other scholarships.

The highest possible score on the PSAT is 1520, with 760 being the highest possible score for both Reading/Writing and Mathematics.

Pinecrest Academy eleventh graders scored 1121 overall, while the average score for all test takers was 998. Pinecrest tenth graders scored 1055, while the average score for all test takers was 923. Pinecrest ninth graders scored 919, while the average score for all test takers was 873.

The Reading/Writing portion of the PSAT produced the following scores:

Pinecrest 11th Graders - 577
All Test Takers in 11th Grade - 504

Pinecrest 10th Graders - 537
All Test Takers in 10th Grade - 465

Pinecrest 9th Graders - 919
All Test Takers in 9th Grade - 873

The Mathematics portion of the PSAT produced the following scores:

Pinecrest 11th Graders - 544
All Test Takers in 11th Grade - 494

Pinecrest 10th Graders - 518
All Test Takers in 10th Grade - 458

Pinecrest 9th Graders - 446
All Test Takers in 9th Grade - 433

“I'm not surprised that our students have scored above average, as we've got some pretty amazing students here at Pinecrest,” commented Amy Bowman, Pinecrest Academy High School Principal. “I'm proud of them for all of their hard work!”

The College Board also announced in October 2023 that Pinecrest Academy had been named to the Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) School Honor Roll, earning Platinum distinction. Additionally, the Class of 2023 earned a 100% acceptance rate into the University of Georgia, with previous graduating classes earning acceptance rates consistently above UGA’s annual average acceptance rate.

Pinecrest Academy Earns AP® School Honor Roll Awards

Pinecrest Academy has been named to the Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) School Honor Roll, earning Platinum distinction. The AP® School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while broadening access. Schools can earn this recognition annually based on criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness. The AP® School Honor Roll offers four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

Pinecrest had 87% of seniors who took at least one AP exam during high school, 78% of seniors scoring a three or higher on at least one AP exam, and 74% of seniors who took five or more AP exams! This data is based on 22 AP courses that were offered during the 2022-2023 school year. Twenty-one sections were taught by 12 high school teachers at Pinecrest.

“AP represents an opportunity for students to stand out to colleges, earn college credit and placement, and potentially boost their grade point averages,” said Trevor Packer, head of the AP program. “The schools have shown that they can expand access to these college-level courses and still drive high performance – they represent the best of our AP program.”

Pinecrest Academy was also awarded the AP Access Award. Schools on the AP® School Honor Roll may also earn this award, which honors schools that demonstrate a clear and effective commitment to equitable access to advanced coursework.

Class of 2023 Achieves 100% Acceptance into UGA

Pinecrest Academy's Class of 2023 has achieved 100% acceptance into The University of Georgia! Out of the 32-member class, 17 seniors applied to UGA, and all 17 have been accepted.

Pinecrest seniors have enjoyed a higher than average acceptance into UGA for years:

The Class of 2022 achieved an 86% acceptance rate into UGA, when the average acceptance into the university was roughly 42%.
The Class of 2021 earned an 86% acceptance rate when UGA’s overall rate was about 40%.
The Class of 2020 achieved a 63.2% acceptance rate, as compared to the overall UGA rate of 46%.

Third Grade Class Takes First Place in Math Challenge

Ms. Brotheridge's third grade class took part in a 10-week math challenge called Springboard by Splashlearn. The 15-member class earned the number one spot in the State of Georgia out of over 9,000 participants. In fact, these students held the number one spot in Georgia the entire 10 weeks of the contest. The team also came in at number 10 nationwide, with over 143,000 classes participating.

SplashLearn creates learning experiences that motivate young learners to achieve mastery of math skills. It provides interactive math practice for K-5 students, benefiting over 40 million learners globally. SpringBoard is the annual nationwide contest designed to help students master their current grade-level skills. During the 10-week contest, students earn points by answering problems and mastering math skills.

“My third graders clearly used the virtues of perseverance and self-discipline in order to stick with something for this long, while producing excellent results,” commented Tiffany Brotheridge, Pinecrest Academy third grade teacher. “We did not win the top prize, a $1,000 Amazon gift card, but that didn't stop my students from doing their best each day to stay number one in Georgia. I am extremely proud of them!”

As a reward for their number one ranking at the close of the 10-week contest, every student in Ms. Brotheridge’s class won a quarterly subscription to SplashLearn, which includes 8,000+ math games, worksheets and books, live classes with expert teachers, and exclusive SplashSummer access.

Student Scores Gold on National Latin Exam

Jean Marie Herbert scored summa cum laude for the second time on the National Latin Exam (NLE). This ”Gold” achievement is awarded to the top scorers. The standardized test is given annually in all 50 states and around the world, and awards are given based on the national average.

Jean Marie, a sophomore, is in Latin 2 this year, and takes the class online through GAVS. She plans to continue with Latin 3 next year at Pinecrest, under the instruction of Dr. Joseph Baxley.

According to the NLE website, the philosophy of the National Latin Exam is predicated on providing every Latin student the opportunity to experience a sense of personal accomplishment and success in his or her study of the Latin language and culture. The exam is not meant to be a competition, but rather, an opportunity for students to receive reinforcement and recognition for their accomplishments in the classroom.

Jean Marie hopes to spark more interest in Latin and is working to renew the National Latin Honor Society at Pinecrest. We are so proud of Jean Marie and her great accomplishment!