VESTAVIA HILLS HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools Photo Credits: Tero Vesalainen / Getty Images To some degree, anyone who attends VHHS is privileged. And that is not a bad thing, necessarily, but it should be acknowledged that there are facilities, opportunities, and lifestyles we are accustomed to as Vestavia students that other students in our

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

Photo Credit: Sophia Chen FBLA, or the Future Business Leaders of America club, teaches students about business and leadership through many events and activities. From competing in local, state, and national tournaments to participating in leadership conferences, this group of students is expanding on skills necessary for the workforce by studying these key tools for events and learning from experienced speakers.  Their leadership team includes their President Emily Jin (se

Photo Credits: Shutterstock **The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools** 2025 was an eventful year both in Vestavia and around the world. At VHHS, notable events include the school shutting down due to busted pipes and the new FOCUS Act banning cell phones at school. In global news, a new pope was chosen, and Katy Perry supposedly went to

Photo Credit: Google Winter break is just around the corner, but before we get our long-awaited period of fun and relaxation, we have to get through the dreaded first-semester exams. Exams start in under a month, and unless you want to end up pulling an all-nighter the night before to cram, you should probably begin studying now. There are several useful study resources online: Quizlet for flashcards and quizzes, Knowt for practice tests (including free response questions),

Photo Credit: Google In this drop’s Faculty Highlight, we will be putting the spotlight on Mrs. Grillo, otherwise known as Mrs. G! She loves Harry Potter, and she teaches (PLTW) - Principles of Engineering and Civil Engineering & Architecture at our high school.  Mrs. Grillo enjoys teaching Engineering to students because it “ is a truly hands-on, project-based curriculum.” She says that it creates “an environment that fosters creativity, encourages critical thinking, and i

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

Photo Credit: Ally Bryant  The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools . When it comes to book lovers, reading is always the go-to activity. Each reader has their favorites, and so does the community of readers as a whole. Every year, certain books rise above the others in terms of favoritism, and they ultimately become the most popular b

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

Photo Credit: National Geographic Kids It’s that time of year again! As the holiday season is upon us, many Rebels have holiday traditions they do with their friends and family to celebrate the festive season.  Many students take advantage of the long winter break to go on fun trips. Some even do annual trips, like Nathan Xavier (sophomore), who “plan[s] a trip with [his] family friends from Georgia.” These annual traditions give students something to look forward to after

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

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

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

Written by Jeffrey Zhao and Aditya Sheelavant Credits: leotoday8 on FaceBook Curious about our fellow Vestavians, we researched the rules that guide their existence—personal mottos, mindsets that maintained their sanity, and, for some, Flying Spaghetti Monster mantras. Take Ms. O’Kelley, who reinvigorated our understanding of gratuity by spitting straight facts: “ Kindness matters .” Porter Hottle channelled his inner Mr. Horton, professing that we should “ Treat people wit

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

**The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools ** Image courtesy of Mean Girls Wiki I remember having an army of tabs open, searching up everything I could on Vestavia Hills High School the week before I transferred here. I found an impressive amount of information, from VHHS’s old mascot, to notable alums, and even my way to Pillar. It was a

Photo Credits: Vestavia Hills Magazine Mr. Sinnott is a teacher who has made a meaningful impression on a large portion of our student body. He’s been mentioned a few times here on the Pillar website—most recently as he received the most votes in a “favorite teacher” poll—but I’m here to dive into a special part of the Mr. Sinnott persona: his eclectic hobbies and interests. Something struck me on the very first day I spent in his class: Mr. Sinnott seems to be able to talk

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

Credits: Kathy Forte on Pinterest The Vestavia Hills High Schoolers got their spooky on early at the first annual Trunk or Treat that was hosted at Vestavia Hills High School, led by the VHHS Student Government Association (SGA). Many groups entered the Trunk or Treat, with their themes being diverse and creative, from a circus theme to an under-the-sea theme and even a hippie-themed car.  Trunk or Treat was created to support the Lovelady Center, which is the charity that

Photo Credits: Getty Images What is literacy, and why is it important? According to Britannica, literacy goes beyond recognizing letters and words. It includes being able to read, write, and interpret different types of literature. A person who is literate should be able to understand, evaluate, and use written material to engage with society and achieve their goals (National Center for Education Statistics). When students suffer with reading and comprehending what they read