Student Life

Every year at the beginning of February, Altamont's Spanish Club sells tags that students can purchase for friends, teachers, advisors, etc. On Valentine's Day, students receive the tags, and each tag has a Spanish lollipop, or Chupa Chup, attached to it.

Altamont has several formal assemblies each year, including events that recognize outstanding student achievements in academics and athletics. On such occasions, all students, faculty and staff show their respect for each other by dressing up, with boys in dress pants, shirt, coat and tie, and girls in dresses, skirt or nice pants.

Every student at Altamont is assigned to either the Gold or White team. Team captains and co-captains are voted on by students in the fall. Throughout the year, Gold and White teams collect points through many events, including P.E. games, math week, Gold and White Games and scholars bowl. A prize is awarded every spring to the team with the most points.

Altamont celebrates Halloween with a schoolwide costume contest sponsored by the SGA, with prizes going to winners in several categories. Students of all ages, teachers and staff all take part!

Homecoming is celebrated during basketball season. It features a spirit week of fun dress up days, leading up to a Friday afternoon of games and booths sponsored by our many clubs, a Scholar's Bowl competition, and class games.

Every student participates in Altamont's annual Poetry Competition, the school's oldest academic tradition. In English class, students select a poem and write an introduction that describes the work and why the student feels connected to it. Students then read both the introduction and the poem to the class. Winners of the class-level portion of the competition advance to perform the poem at a school-wide assembly and in front of independent judges who select first, second and third place for both Middle School and Upper School.

Altamont's French Club leads the school's annual Mardi Gras celebration, which includes a parade through the halls, costume contest, cupcake competition and charity bake sale. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Altamont's annual May Day celebration is an afternoon of games, club activities, water slide and other inflatables barbecue lunch and fun for all! It is truly one of the highlights of the Altamont school year.

Roundtable is an annual meal and talent show hosted by the senior class. Seniors decorate the gym the week leading to Roundtable, keeping the theme a secret from the rest of the school until the night of the event.

Athletic participation is one of The Altamont School's oldest traditions because the traits and skills necessary for athletic success—commitment, teamwork, resilience, communication, perseverance—can contribute to success in life and the health of the whole person. Competitive athletics begin in Fifth Grade, with an emphasis on the team experience, skill development, fair play and healthy competition. Starting in Seventh Grade, students can compete on our junior varsity and varsity teams. All athletic offerings are based on participation and interest.

Explore Altamont Athletics

Sponsor: Jess Heine

Sign Up Here

Sponsors: swilliams@altamontschool.org   groth@altamontschool.org

Sponsor: Edunn@altamontschool.org

Sponsor: away-roberts@altamontschool.org

Sign Up Here

Sponsor: jschalk@altamontschool.org

Sponsor: dmaddox@altamontschool.org

Sign Up Here

The thespian club is for any 7th-12th grade student who is interested in supporting or participating in Altamont Theatre. We have committees for theatre inclusion, arts in medicine, publicity, arts advocacy, theatre critics, student producing, directing, playwrighting, acting, singing, dancing, design/technology and more!

Sponsor: Reid Watson, rwatson@altamontschool.org

The Asian Culture Club’s mission is to provide students from middle to upper school with exposure to Asian cultures and traditions, including Chinese New Year and Holi Festival. The club will highlight annual Asian cultural events for the school’s global education mission in an entertaining and enjoyable way.

Sponsor: Dr. Ma, xma@altamontschool.org

Altamont's chapter of the National Honor Society promotes and encourages enthusiasm for superior scholarship, exemplary qualities of character, trustworthy leadership, and a willingness to serve. Members are chosen by a faculty council based on outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, and service.
Faculty Advisor: Chris Thomas, cthomas@altamontschool.org
 

Sponsors: aquinn@altamontschool.org dwattleton-anderson@altamontschool.org

Sign Up Here

At Altamont, we believe that all students have the ability to lead. In every grade there are opportunities for students to learn and demonstrate their leadership skills in academics, athletics, student government and clubs.Altamont also offers students a way to find their unique expression of leadership through experiential education within our LEAD program and the C. Kyser Miree Ethical Leadership Center. Through these programs students are empowered to discover the strength and beauty of service, genuine action and meaningful growth.

Visit the C. Kyser Miree Ethical Leadership Center

Sponsor: dcarson@altamontschool.org

Altamont's debate teams compete at the local, state and national level. This club is open to middle and upper school students.

Sponsor: Jim Sydnor, jsydnor@altamontschool.org

This club is open to all students and has as its mission to decrease our  school's carbon footprint and fight against the climate crisis.

Sponsor:
Maggie Hill, mhill@altamontschool.org

The Elizabeth Brooke Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society began in 1977. Eighth and 9th grade students with an average of 90 or higher who have attended Altamont for a full academic year are eligible. Service to school and community, character, and leadership are also important qualities in Honor Society members.

Faculty Advisor: Chris Thomas, cthomas@altamontschool.org

Sponsor: cthomas@altamontschool.org

The French Club broadens appreciation of French culture through entertaining (and often tasty) events. Annual activities include dramatic competitions at the French Convention, Mardi Gras, and the Eric Vincent concert!

Sponsors: prosborough@altamontschool.org  aharris@altamontschool.org

This club is open to all students in middle school and upper school who are interested in supporting love and acceptance. Through meetings and fun events the GSA seeks to involve all people in the life of the Altamont community.

Sponsor: adawson@altamontschool.org   jmckinley@altamontschool.org

Sign Up Here

Community engagement with Regency Retirement Center.

Sponsor: mhill@altamontschool.org

Students in Heritage Panel play an important role in fostering and encouraging collaboration, understanding and friendship amongst their peers. This group is looking to take social justice and discrimination awareness beyond social media hashtags and into the halls and classrooms of Altamont. These student-leaders help to promote tolerance, kindness and service to others by opening a dialogue about what is happening in our lives and making our school and community a more inclusive and welcoming place. Sponsor: Eva Arellano

HOSA is a nationwide student organization that promotes career opportunities in the healthcare field and aims to enhance the delivery of quality health care. It provides students with leadership experience, opportunities to explore medical careers, and chances to compete in health-related events.

Sponsor: koneal@altamontschool.org

The Junior United Nations Assembly (JUNA) of Alabama is a student-run model United Nations Assembly for Alabama students in 6th-8th Grade. The JUNA conference is Jan. 27-28 and we plan to have an Altamont team represent a country that needs our help. Bring a friend so that you can create some cool memories together while learning about the world!

Sponsors:  Anna Way Roberts and Haley Gajewski

A language club just for Middle School students.

Sponsor: krobinson@altamontschool.org

The goal of Knights Lift is to foster a safe place at Altamont where students can learn how to achieve their physical and mental well-being goals. 

Sponsor: aquinn@altamontschool.org

Sponsor: pbank@altamontschool.org

The Latin Club seeks to broaden Altamont's understanding and appreciation of ancient Rome and Greek civilizations and cultures. Latin Club students attend an awesome annual convention (in togas) and host fun events during the year.

Sponsor: Jamie Rediker

Sponsor: SHuffman@altamontschool.org

Mu Alpha Theta is a national high school mathematics society. The requirements for membership at Altamont include a high honors grade in two consecutive or concurrent courses of high school mathematics and successful completion of Algebra I and Geometry.

Sponsors: Josh Barnard, jbarnard@altamontschool.org and Maha Awad, mawad@altamontschool.org

NAHS gives upper school visual art and photography students an opportunity to participate in a national organization that inspires and recognizes students who have demonstrated passion and dedication to their art and community service. Students have leadership growth opportunities, help with college and career preparation, and chances to give back to the community both within our school and our local community. This program highlights the hard work and dedication of Altamont’s creative, artistic students.

Altamont's award-winning Robotics Team members develop programming and engineering skills as they compete in regional and national tournaments. Sponsor: Joseph McKinley

Sponsor: mhill@altamontschool.org

This club seeks to broaden Altamont's understanding and appreciation of Hispanic culture. Activities throughout the year include Chupa-Chup Day, Spanish Holiday activities, and Spanish Club dinners.

Sponsor: Eva Arellano, earellano@altamontschool.org

Student opinion and participation are valuable and integral parts of any good academic institution. The Student Government Association includes the elected Officers of the School, grade representatives from the upper school, and faculty advisors.

Sponsors: Pattie Bank, pbank@altamontschool.org
Kimber Williams, kwilliams@altamontschool.org

Altamont's award-winning online student newspaper, The Acta Diurna, features opinion pieces, surveys, school news, reflections on current events, cartoons and much more! Sponsor: Dan Carsen

The Altamont Beacon student academic journal spotlights the  independent thinking and innovative ideas nurtured at Altamont. The journal welcomes work on social and political topics from students in grades 8-12.

The Dragon is Altamont's oldest tradition of cataloguing students' creative expressions.

Explore Student Publications

SWENext Clubs support students of all ages that are interested in STEM, connect them to the SWE 
community, and encourage their curiosity in the fields of STEM.  A SWENext Club is a place for students to explore engineering and build relationships with their community. Meetings will primarily include speakers from the industry and tours of places where engineers work.

Sponsor: lkalchik@altamontschool.org

Sponsor: jbarnard@altamontschool.org

Sponsor: jhoke@altamontschool.org