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VESTAVIA HILLS HIGH SCHOOL NEWS
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The Vestavia Singers Don’t Get A Day Off
All Photo Credits: Ruth Graham Our Vestavia Singers have had a great season. They hosted a successful Contempo at home, placed third in their division at the Hoover Showchoir Smackdown, scored second at the Albertville Diamond Classic, and landed third again at King of the Mountain—a special shoutout to Mary Pitts for winning best female performer! But honestly, show choir deserves respect and applause from the entire student body, not just this article. It might be one of

Ruth Graham
Feb 112 min read


FRANK Fait NOLA
Photo Credits: Claire Placzek New Orleans doesn’t know what’s coming for them, as French 5 from VHHS makes their entrance in The Big Easy. In order to learn more about French and Creole culture, French 5 went on a trip to New Orleans, where they would take part in learning about the culture, food, and history of New Orleans--a time filled with laughter, joy, and tours for native French speakers, as well as multiple visits to the original Cafe Dupont (where the beignets ri

Carrie Smith
Feb 112 min read


Indoor Track State Meet
Vestavia Hills Track and Field at the CrossPlex in Bessemer The Vestavia Hills Track and Field team delivered an outstanding performance at the CrossPlex Indoor Track State Meet that took place in Bessemer on January 31, 2026. The girls team claimed State Runner-up, earning 63 points with 9 girls in 17 events; additionally, the boys team, consisting of 12 guys in 16 events, won 4th place with a whopping 70 points! Vestavia Hills’ outstanding track athletes competed in a v
Abigail Wang
Feb 112 min read


VHHS Sadie Hawkins Dance: Success
Photo Credits: Linear Collider The Vestavia Hills Sadie Hawkins Dance took place on January 24 at the Civic Center, and it proved to be a huge success despite several obstacles leading up to the event. With unpredictable weather and concerns that the dance might be canceled, many students were unsure what the night would hold. However, thanks to careful planning and strong attendance, the evening turned out to be one of the most memorable school events of the year. This yea

Brianna Tortorici
Feb 112 min read


New Season of RISE
During the spring semester, VHHS is excited for our new season of RISE. Each year, RISE brings students, faculty, and families together to support cancer research at UAB O’Neal Center. During this special season of RISE, it’s important to mark our calendars for some important fundraising dates. First in January, the kickoff assembly featured Olympic-style performances and a torch lighting ceremony. After the kickoff assembly on January 24th, students danced and celebrated a

Tina Lou
Feb 112 min read


Highlights from the 2025 Fall Semester: Arts and Academics
Photo Credits: Instagram, VHHS Rebel Marching Band at Mud Creek Marching Festival The new year, for many, is a time of self-evaluation and profound hope. The first of January inspires goals and promises of personal refinement (go check out our article on New Year’s Resolutions) and invites an excitement to leave the past year behind. Even so, our most popular anthem for the New Year, originally a Scottish poem, reminds us to step into the future with remembrance and apprecia

William Pitts
Jan 122 min read


New Courses at Vestavia
By Audrey Kim and Aiden Billano It’s that time of year again: the time we get to decide how we’re all going to spend the next year. With course selection fast approaching, as you look at potential classes in Vestavia’s Next Steps Live Binder , you may notice a few new additions since last year. After listening to student interest, these new courses were proposed by teachers and approved by the Board of Education to be available starting this year. Unfortunately, these course

Audrey Kim
Jan 112 min read


Magic City Invitational
Photo Credits: dadot.com In early December, our Track and Field team began the official indoor season with the Magic City Invitational. Located at the Crossplex, our athletes spent their afternoons competing and supporting as they broke into the competitive season. In the 60m ambulatory, Vaughan Rainer ran a 10.03, winning the event. In the 60m, Cance (Derek) Mills ran a personal record of 7.02, placing 7th in the overall meet and putting himself 2nd in the school’s record

Emily Jin
Jan 113 min read


Speech and Debate at the Big Gump Classic
Photo Credits: Astha Mehta On December 5th and 6th, the Vestavia Hills Speech and Debate team competed in Montgomery at Montgomery Academy. The Big GUMP Classic -- one of the most anticipated competitions in the region -- has always been a Vestavia Hills favorite. The adored clay trophies feature a variety of extravagant animals, and the competition is a great way for competitors to grow and learn. The team competed in a variety of events, including Public Forum, Congression

Astha Mehta
Jan 112 min read


An Annual Tradition: The VHHS Math Tournament
Photo Credits: Mrs. Hyde, several Math Team students involved with tournament preparation Each year, the VHHS math team hosts a tournament, garnering nationwide attention and over a thousand students, from 6th graders fresh off their first semester of middle school, to seniors in high school just about ready to leave. This year, on the weekend of December 6th, it was no different. With over half a hundred schools ranging from ASFA to West Point HS, a full alphabetical journe
Alan Sheng
Jan 114 min read


Celebrate the Season: A VHHS Tradition
Celebrate the Season Anyone associated with Vestavia Hills High School knows about one particular day in December reserved for a concert known as Celebrate the Season. This day is full of holiday-themed performances from the school’s arts programs---band, choir, dance, theater, and visual arts---bringing everyone together for an incredible display of holiday cheer. This year’s performance was just as spirited and fun-filled as the rest, adding to the many concerts that have

Ally Bryant
Jan 112 min read


Poetry Out Loud
Written by Bianca Lombo and Analiz Castellanos VHHS Poetry Out Loud What Poetry Out Loud Is, and How It Works Poetry Out Loud is a national competition designed to help high school students connect with poetry through its performance. Started in 2005 by the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation, which aimed to support schools in having a poetry program. By performing poetry aloud, the performer has a deeper connection to their emotions and the connotation the
Bianca Lombo
Dec 8, 20257 min read


AHSAA Swim and Dive State Championship: An Unexpected Challenge
Picture of the AHSAA Swim and Dive State Championship in Huntsville, Alabama This past weekend, heading into Thanksgiving break, the VHHS swim and dive team traveled to Huntsville, kicking off the week with their final meet of the 2025 season. The Lady Rebels entered with high expectations for a state title, while the young men’s team also had a strong chance to bring home a map. For the girls, state individual qualifiers included Rilie Reid (Sr.), Angela Zhang (Sr.), Emily

Emily Jin
Dec 8, 20253 min read


Random Rebel
Picture of Emory Bear on the left and Baker Stewart on the right. Have you ever gone through the hallways and seen the familiar faces of people you might have known from middle school, yet you never talk to them? You wonder what’s going on in their lives. how much you have missed, and how much has stayed the same for them. Well, lucky for you, we were able to catch up with two Rebel students right before Thanksgiving break and ask them a few questions about their lives an

Carrie Smith
Dec 8, 20252 min read


Smoky Mountain Forge: VHHS Robotics’ First Signature!
Written by Grace Ding, Hannah Chen, and Sophia Chen Photo Credits: Grace Ding The VHHS Robotics team competed at their first signature event: a robotics competition that has direct qualifications to the VEX Robotics World Championship. With a season so far of local tournaments and getting used to this year’s game, all four of our teams worked hard to prepare for the Smoky Mountain Forge. The tournament began on Friday, November 14th. Since it was a longer drive there, most

Grace Ding
Dec 8, 20252 min read


A Season of Grit and Growth: Recapping the Vestavia Hills Rebels’ Football Campaign
Photo Credits: Savannah Schmidt (Vestavia Voice) The Vestavia Hills Rebels entered the season with high expectations, a veteran core, and a coaching staff intent on building on the momentum of recent years. What followed was a thrilling and resilient campaign—one defined by explosive offense, breakout stars, and a team identity forged in some of the toughest matchups in the state. The Rebels opened the year with impressive confidence, showcasing an offense that could strike

Brianna Tortorici
Dec 8, 20252 min read


Fall Charity 2025 Recap
Vestavia Hills High School isn’t a perfect place, but there’s one thing we all can certainly take pride in: our school’s commitment to service . On August 28, it was announced that The Lovelady Center would be our 2025 Fall Charity. Since then, we—the Rebel Family—have been dedicated to raising money for that worthy cause. There’s been fun, competition, dancing, and football—but what has been lighthearted fun for us will have an immense impact on our community. While you wer

Ruth Graham
Dec 8, 20253 min read


Vestavia's Cross Country Season!
The cross country program enjoyed an exceptional season on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. Each varsity squad concluded the year by bringing home a state-level award: the boys captured the State Championship title, while the girls earned the State Runner-Up title. These achievements reflect months of disciplined training and collective dedication. The season opened with strong performances at the Thompson 2-Mile meet, where both the boys’ and girls’ teams secured fourth pla

Angela Zhang
Dec 8, 20252 min read


Beyond Endurance, Part 1
Credits: Katherine Terino The full history of Vestavia Hills High School’s boys cross country team is long and complex, so for the sake of brevity, our story will start in the fall of 2017. Senior James Sweeny and junior Bryce Hutchinson were poised to lead the team. There was also a phenom freshman aging onto the team, his name was Ethan Strand. The team had a strong season opener at Chickasaw Trails with James Sweeney taking second place in a time of 15:40 narrowly losing

Daniel Johnson
Nov 10, 20256 min read


Elective Highlight: The VHHS Jazz Band
Credits: Jennifer Dalton, Pictured (left to right): Annika Dalton, Anna-Sophia Le, Davidson Smith, Colin Strevy, Autumn Berry, Andy Sheng, Herbert Bryant, Ella Palmer, AJ Rembert Today, the Vestavia Hills High School Jazz Band is playing at the city’s Salute to Veterans Day Celebration. Gigs like these are common for the Jazz Band, which often gets invited to play at community events. Immediately following, the Jazz Band will prepare for their Fall Concert, which is next Mon

William Pitts
Nov 10, 20253 min read
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