Satsuma High School provides relevant content and skills in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, physical activities, fine arts, wellness, technology, library media and daily life lessons. We provide extracurricular activities that enhance the learning of students and provide differentiated instruction daily. Satsuma High School places a strong emphasis on preparing students to become productive citizens through academics, community service, and career preparedness. The implementation of College and Career Ready Standards and more rigorous expectations have allowed students to become leaders.
Satsuma High School
Mr. Josh Verkouille has been an educator for over 15 years and has served as the principal at Satsuma High School since 2015. As an alumni, he is excited to return to his roots and become a member of the Satsuma City School System. Mr. Verkouille’s goal is to ensure students are given every opportunity to reach his or her full potential and become college and career ready. Mr. Verkouille states, “I am committed to making sure that our school offers a comprehensive school experience for every student that combines rigorous academics, a dedication to athletics, fine arts, and extracurricular opportunities to enable students to develop a sense of belonging within themselves, this school, and the community.”
Academic Programs
ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSE OFFERINGS
The AP course offerings at SHS include World History, US History, Government & Politics-US, English Language Composition, English Literature Composition, Chemistry, Biology, Calculus AB, and Computer Science. These AP courses provide students with an opportunity to obtain college credit while meeting their diploma requirements. During the 2015-2016 school year, 248 students were enrolled in AP courses. The implementation of an A+ College Ready grant has helped to provide these opportunities. Students receive $100 for each test they successfully pass. Teachers also receive training each summer in their respective courses to assure that students have the latest course information.
The Advanced Placement Course offerings at Satsuma High School include:
- World History
- US History
- Government and Politics - US
- English Language and Composition
- English Literature and Composition
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Calculus AB
- Computer Science
Project Lead the Way & STEM Meet
Satsuma’s 8th grade students benefit from a variety of hands-on, project-based PTLW courses. Students engage in hands-on collaborative problem solving focused on real-world challenges. PLTW courses are outlined below.
Design and Modeling
Design and Modeling is a new course for 8th grade students which allows them to learn what engineers do and how to use the engineering design process to solve problems. Students also learn how to draw engineering diagrams using 3D CAD software and print their designs using a 3D printer.
Automation and Robotics
In the Automation and Robotics class, students trace the history, development, and influence of automation and robotics as they learn about mechanical systems, energy transfer, machine automation, and computer control systems. Students use the VEX Robotics® platform to design, build, and program real-world objects such as traffic lights, toll booths, and robotic arms.
Medical Detectives
Students play the role of real-life medical detectives as they analyze genetic testing results to diagnose disease and study DNA evidence found at a “crime scene.” They solve medical mysteries through hands-on projects and labs, investigate how to measure and interpret vital signs, and learn how the systems of the human body work together to maintain health.
Introduction to Computer Science
The Introduction to Computer Science is a hands-on, project-based class that allows students to learn how to use MIT App Inventor to design and build different apps. For their end of the class project, students will design and create an app. Many of these apps will then be used by elementary students.
Career Technical Education
To meet the challenges of a competitive world, students in grades 7 through 12 are given opportunities to prepare for the workforce by exposure to life skills while assessing interests, aptitudes, and learning career paths. Career Technical Education activities and programs provided through the Satsuma City Schools promote entry level skills necessary to enter the workforce and prepare students for additional technical training. Our career prep departments include Welding, Government and Public Administration, Health Science, Business Management and Administration, and Hospitality and Tourism.
SHS Ranks 3rd in State with ACT WorkKeys
Our CTE department also administers the ACT WorkKeys assessment annually. WorkKeys is a skills assessment that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a quality workforce. The assessment measures foundational and soft skills. SHS students ranked 3rd overall in the state of Alabama with its senior ACT WorkKeys scores and certifications in 2016.
WELDING COURSE
Satsuma High School offers students an opportunity to explore Welding through a Dual Enrollment Program. Students also have the opportunity to receive additional certification through OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Students completing this course in high school are well on their way toward a lucrative career. This course is provided on campus with a state of the art welding trailer provided by AIDT. Support from local businesses (Mitternight & Axis Welding and Machine Works, Inc.) for welding materials help to make this program successful.
JROTC
The Gator Battalion JROTC is a leadership program at Satsuma High School. JROTC students learn how to become leaders, team players, and learn values that will help them later in life. JROTC cadets are taught the meaning of dedication and responsibility, and that they should lead by example. The students enjoy many activities including rappelling, canoing, drill competitions, color guard missions, rifle team competitions, physical training and competitions, orienteering, scholars bowl competitions, community service and a number of field trips.
Satsuma's Own Top Gun Starlet
Who said girls can’t shoot? This past year, the best “Top Gun” JROTC marksman in Mobile County, was Satsuma High School student Reagan S. She finished first in the Mobile County Championship Rifle Match with a score of 261 out of 300 points, and she finished first overall against marksmen from the other Mobile County Schools. “Reagan is a natural marksman; she takes her time and thinks through every shot. In the county championship match she had the high standing individual score of 83 and the high kneeling score of 89,” said Major Bernard Holt, the Senior Army Instructor and Rifle Team Coach for the Gator Battalion.
In addition to Reagan’s outstanding shooting, Peyton C., finished third overall with a score of 232. Other Gator Battalion marksmen included Ben P. in 6th place, Clint C. in 7th place, and Kenneth L. in 8th place with the high individual prone score of 94. Myla S. finished in 9th place and Chance D. finished in 10 place overall. In the First Year Marksman category, Jay W. finished in 1st place, Chasity T. finished in 2nd place, Brantley G. in 4th place, and Braxton P. finished in 8th place.
Health Science
Satsuma High School offers a variety of Health Science courses including Foundations of Health, Medical Terminology, and the Nurse Assistant Program. These courses are for any students curious about the Healthcare field in any capacity.
Foundations of Health Science
The Foundations of Health Science class introduces students to a wide range of health careers. The class is designed to focus on basic medical terminology, body structure and function, legal and ethical implications, health and wellness, communication, and hard and soft skills for the workplace. This class is recommended for students who want to prepare for further study in health-related fields or just want to find out if Healthcare would be a fit for them.
Medical Terminology
Medical Terminology teaches students the language of medicine. The instructor uses an integrated approach for teaching medical terminology by incorporating medical terms with anatomy and physiology and the disease processes. Students will learn medical terms for all human systems, body organization and terms, function and diseases of body systems, related tests and abbreviations. This course is recommended for students who think they may go into any health related field in the future.
Nurse Assistant Program
The Nurse Assistant Program course focuses specifically on preparing students to take the Certified Nursing Assistant State Exam (CNA). This is a rigorous yet rewarding program as the students will receive certification that could allow them to immediately enter the medical workforce upon graduation. Students direct patient care in a lab setting practicing skills which include taking vital signs, bathing, bed making, dressing, changing, and feeding residents. Students complete 50 hours of clinical work in a local nursing home during this course. In addition, students will learn CPR for Healthcare Providers (BLS), confidentiality, legal and ethical principles, infection control, patient safety and rights, communication, documentation, and much more.
Satsuma High School Certified Nursing Assistant students from the 2015-2016 program graduated with Honors from Reid State Technical College. These students graduated from college before graduating from high school. In order to qualify for Honors Cords, the students had to maintain at least a 3.5 GPA. Two of the CNA students achieved a 4.0 GPA. The students completed 50 hours of clinical work, as well as 2 semesters of coursework. Five of the six students are planning to attend Nursing School, and one of student plans to begin her career as a CNA at Springhill Medical Center.
Business Education Classes
Satsuma High School offers students an opportunity to explore Welding through a Dual Enrollment Program. Students also have the opportunity to receive additional certification through OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Students completing this course in high school are well on their way toward a lucrative career. This course is provided on campus with a state of the art welding trailer provided by AIDT. Support from local businesses (Mitternight & Axis Welding and Machine Works, Inc.) for welding materials help to make this program successful.
Microsoft Office Specialist Certifiation
Students have a chance to earn their certification to be an Microsoft Office Specialist through Business Education classes offered at Satsuma High School. Students may test in all areas of Microsoft Office including Word, Power-point, and Excel. Since the commencement of Satsuma’s program, 17 students have earned their MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) certification.
Career Preparedness
This course focuses on four major areas of instruction: academic planning, career development, financial literacy, and technology skill applications. Students learn teamwork and how to prepare themselves for the business world. This course uses the Smart Works Ethic curriculum to assure that students have the soft skills that are necessary to be college and career ready.
Graduate for Mas Challenge
Mrs. White's Career Preparedness students participated in a campaign sponsored by the Taco Bell Education Foundation. This program, "Graduate For Mas," helps students learn about college and career readiness through activities, games, and "brain" challenges.
Hour of Code Event
The Satsuma City Schools hosted the Hour of Code Event in December of 2015. The event was held at both Satsuma High School and Robert E. Lee Elementary School. The Hour of Code was a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries, according to HourofCode.com. According to the Alabama State Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education staff, more than 600 Hour of Code events were planned across the State of Alabama in observation of Computer Science Education Week. The goal of this event was to expose even more students to computer science career opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 71 percent of all new jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) during the next decade will be in computer science. According to Jana Hoggle, Technology Coordinator, “Coding is quickly becoming the new foreign language course for 21st century students. With the prevalence of technology in our society, it is important that students understand the ‘how’ of the technology that they use every day.”
Satsuma High School Career Prep teacher, Nicole White, worked diligently to coordinate this event for the district. “We are surrounded by technology. However, only a fraction of us are learning computer science. While careers in science, technology, engineering, and math are taking off, over 90% of schools do not teach computer science. And, as of now, only 12% of computer science degrees are awarded to women. We want to change that. That’s why our entire district joined in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, on Wednesday, December 9, 2015. The Hour of Code is a statement that Satsuma City Schools is ready to teach these foundational 21st century skills,” said Mrs. White. Furthermore, high school student mentors who were already familiar with the coding programs served as mentors for the rest of the student body participating in this event, even at the elementary school. Students completed the activities on their smartphones, tablets, Chromebooks, computers, and paper. Coverage of the Hour of Code Event can be found here: http://wkrg.com/2015/12/10/coding-now-a-big-part-of-your-childs-education/
Event Planning
This course is designed to prepare students for entry level employment in event planning and or meeting management. The content includes the principles and practices of sound public relations, planning and organizing events, meetings, conferences, and conventions. Integrated throughout this course are career preparation standards, which include communication, interpersonal skills, and problem solving.
Entrepreneurship
Satsuma High School students, under the direction of Mrs. Nicole White, successfully launched a school store. The Entrepreneurship class provides students with the opportunity to learn how to successfully operate a business through real life experience. The school store carries a variety of merchandise including clothing, jewelry, school supplies, and stadium chairs.
Fine Arts
We offer Fine Arts education to students grades 7 through 12. Middle School Art, Art I, and Art II are available for students to take as an elective course. The goal is for every student to discover their potential as a creative individual and to develop creativity. Mrs. Finley, Art Teacher, hopes that while in her class, students realize that they do not have to be the best artist to create beautiful works of art, but instead, with a little effort, can accomplish more than they imagined.
"Student Showcase"
Clubs & Organizations
Gator Nation News
Our school’s source for broadcast news is GNN - Gator Nation News! In its 2016 inaugural year, GNN won “Best Videography” and “Most Improved Broadcasting Team” at Seymour Broadcasting Camp, and one participant was awarded with a Seymour summer internship to cover the news for local fall sports programs. At present, GNN’s emerging broadcasting program offers students experience in news anchoring and production, starting in 7th grade with a 9-week “Intro to Broadcast Journalism” class. Future plans include sports broadcasting, and live school news coverage.
Gator Gazette
Gator Gazette is the official student news source for Satsuma High School. The students not only investigate and write stories, but also take their own pictures.
GATOR TECH Robotics Team
The Gator Tech Robotics team is fairly new to Satsuma High School, but since their inception in 2012, they have achieved outstanding scores at the BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) Jubilee Competition. The Gator Tech team designs and builds a high-tech robot to accomplish defined tasks in a game-type format. They compete against more than 40 schools across the Southeast.
Peer Leaders
This year Satsuma High School began a peer counseling program called Peer Leaders. The idea behind the group is that students are many times more likely to come to a peer with a problem or a concern than they are to come to an adult, so the goal of this program is to equip students with the necessary skills to communicate with their peers and to serve as a beacon of hope of empathy within the school. Satsuma is modeling the program off of other successful programs throughout Baldwin County sponsored by the Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation, but they are the first group of its kind in any Mobile County public school. The group is composed of 10-12 grade students selected by their teachers for their ability to show empathy, compassion, and leadership abilities in and out of the classroom. The students also have the opportunity to participate in a year-round class to hone their peer-relational skills. In the class they cover communication skills and how to handle difficult situations they might be contacted about, everything from peer pressure and bullying to suicide prevention.
This video was created to by Peer Leaders to raise awareness for bullying and its prevention.
Project Outreach
Project Outreach is a new service club at Satsuma High School that connects student with disabilities with their typical peers for the benefit of both groups. Student participants will work diligently to help spread awareness, acceptance, and understanding of those with disabilities throughout the community. The volunteer organization will participate in several exciting events within our community, including Buddy Walk 2016 and the Special Olympics.
Homecoming
Clubs and Organizations
Satsuma High School offers a wide variety of clubs and organizations. We encourage our students to be involved in extracurricular activities, and strive to offer as many activities as possible in order to help our students succeed, both intellectually and socially.
Athletic Programs
The mission of the Athletic Department is to enrich the character of our student athletes through discipline, teamwork, competition, sportsmanship, and personal and social development. We further believe that athletics promotes character traits desirable to industry such as work ethic, communication, and the spirit of fairness and equity. Below is a list of all of the different sports that Satsuma High School offers for students.
Spirit of Satsuma Band
The Spirit of Satsuma Band is a group of dedicated and exceptionally talented students at Satsuma High School. Our band continuously receives Superior Ratings at competitions and is an outstanding representation of the pride of Satsuma City Schools. During the 2015-2016 school year, the Spirit of Satsuma Band achieved the following awards:
- Azalea City Marching Festival -Straight Superior Ratings, Highest overall score of any band.
- Little Big Horn Marching Contest in Opp Alabama -Straight Superior Ratings, Best in Class Band (3 years in a row), Best in Class Drum Major, Best in Class Percussion, Best in Class Color Guard.
- Deep South Marching Contest in Theodore -Straight Superior Ratings, Best in Class Drum Major, Best in Class Color Guard, Best in Class Band.
- State MPA high school -Straight Superior Ratings (5 years in a row), Perfect score on stage and in sight reading.
- State MPA middle school -Straight Excellent Ratings, All As and Bs.
- Circuit Championship -Winter Guard placed 3rd out of 9 guards, Indoor Percussion placed 2nd.
- University of Mobile Jazz Festival - Jazz Band scored straight superior ratings at (4 years in a row).
