FOUR JEFF DAVIS HIGH
STUDENTS SELECTED TO
PERFORM AT ASF
Four Jeff Davis High students have completed
playwright training with the Alabama
Shakespeare Festival submitted a script that
could be chosen to be performed at ASF in
May!
MONTGOMERY CATHOLIC PRINCIPAL
NAMED 68 TH YMCA MAN OF THE YEAR
On the evening of December 9, 2019, the YMCA of Greater
Montgomery held their 68th annual Man of the Year Award ceremony.
This year’s recipient was Justin Castanza, Principal of the Montgomery
Catholic Preparatory School Middle and High School Campuses. Mr.
Castanza is a native of Montgomery—2001 graduate of Montgomery
Catholic and 2005 graduate of Mississippi State University.
Being no stranger to service, Castanza worked as a camp counselor at
Camp Chandler for 14 consecutive summers before becoming Camp
Director in 2009. After transitioning to Montgomery Catholic in 2014,
he started as a math teacher and Dean of Students at the High School
Campus before assuming the role of Principal of the Middle and High
School Campuses in 2015. Castanza has continued to serve the YMCA
over the years by serving on several executive boards and helping at
Camp Chandler. Active in the Catholic community, he also serves
as the Youth Catechetical Leader at Holy Spirit Catholic Church and
leads pilgrimages to Italy, Guatemala, and the annual March for Life in
Washington, D.C. He is married to Meg Castanza, and together they
have three children: Vincent, Natalie, and Sal.
The students joined JD theatre arts instructor
Euri Townsy-Carr in taking part in the 10x10
Southern Writers’ Festival Residency with ASF.
The group completed 10 sessions of playwright
training under the direction of Betsy Huggins,
ASF’s Director of Education and Community
Engagement.
The students will now submit an original
10-minute play in hopes of having it published
and performed! JD was chosen as one of five
MPS schools to take part in this partnership.
The students shared their scripts and did a
cold-reading with award-winning actress and
ASF director, Greta Lambert.
The participative students are: Nykel Wood,
Breyli Barkum, AdaMary Garcia and Ja-Miyah.
“Mr. Castanza exceeded all expectations in every category we based
the award off of,” Senior Anna Sadie, a committee co-chair, said. “We
are not only lucky to have him in our school community, but also our
Montgomery community. The time and effort he puts into everything
he does is unmatched and we are blessed to have him as a community
leader.”
ACA FOOD DRIVE
The student body at Alabama Christian
Academy came together and collected canned
food items for the Montgomery Area Food
Bank. The staff did an amazing job
coordinating this effort and the students
stepped up and donated and helped deliver the
food just in time for the holidays.
L4
| Spring 2020
www.potentialmagazine.com