Following last week’s Academic Banquet, it is official!

Jonathan Thomas leads the Fairfield High School 2023 graduating senior as Valedictorian with a GPA of 5.38, and Elizabeth Rath earned the title of Salutatorian of his class with a GPA of 5.32.

Rounding off the top five graduates (pictured at top) are 3rd ranked – Chasidy Starr (5.30 GPA), 4th ranked – McKinna Brackens (5.26 GPA), and tied for 5th – Samuel Marsters and Payton Botelho (5.15 GPA).

Top students were also named for each grade level:

Junior class students include Avery Thaler (5.62), Lily Beaver (5.28), Madysen Farris (5.17), Caris Mayer (5.15), and Eashan Kalyanji (5.14).

Leading the Sophomore class are Lydia Morgan (5.62), Luke Cruce (5.32), Newton Hartley (5.30), Preston Scott (5.30), Skylar Bonner (5.24), and Addison Posey (5.24).

Top students in the Freshmen class are Mason Edwards (5.38), Blake Phillips (5.27), Connor Colvert (5.25), Gage Wendt (5.24), and Bailey Holland (5.20).

Also recognized during the May 1 event were those competing in UIL events, with individuals and teams that placed in District, Regional, and State levels. And, thirty new Beta Club members were announced.

Eight graduating seniors were announced to have scored above the state level of excellence on the ACT (24) and SAT (1100) tests. They include: Braiden Barrett, Wilson Basden, Payton Botelho, McKinna Brackens, Samuel Marsters, Elizabeth Rath, Chasidy Starr, and Jonathan Thomas.

Graduating with Honors on May 26 will be the following:

MyKayla Anderson (4.06)
Britney Delgado (4.08)
Gilbrea McNeil (4.10)
Violeta Espinoza (4.21)
Rex Bean (4.22)
Alexi Walthall (4.30)
Emily Leatherman (4.32)
Dakota Maynes (4.35)
Caleb George (4.37)
Cale Myers (4.45)
Kaden Lambright (4.46)
Arly Salazar (4.46)
Spain Covert (4.51)
Kalame Bonner (4.52)
Kolby Adams (4.70)
Thania Davila (4.77)
Braden Barrett (5.02)
Riley Ralstin (5.06)
Payton Botelho (5.15)
Samuel Marsters (5.15)
McKinna Brackens (5.26)
Chasidy Starr (5.30)
Elizabeth Rath (5.32)
Jonathan Thomas (5.38)

Also recognized during the banquet were the following journalism students:

Lonestar Journalism Awards:

Sponsored by ILPC and Texas Press Association. All stories were published in The Fairfield Recorder or Freestone County Times.
Johnnie Sims: 3rd place in State for her feature article over Fields of Faith.

2023 UNT Scripps Howard Emerging Journalist

Adrianna Merdez: One week workshop at UNT followed by a newspaper internship assignment.

Once again, Fairfield High School earned the titel of District UIL Academic Champions. It is an honor that they have accomplished 31 times in the last 34 years.

This year, several UIL competitors from Fairfield are advancing to State competition. They include:

Editorial Writing: Carolyn Dunlap – 1st Place District, 3rd Place Regionals, Advancing to State

Computer Applications: Preston Scott – 1st Place District, 2nd Place Regionals, State Qualifier,

Eashan Kalyanji – 2nd Place District, 1st Place Regionals, State Qualifier

Computer Science

First Place Team in District – First Place Team in Regionals – Team Advancing to State

Science: Lydia Morgan – 1st Place District Physics and overall, 1st Place Regionals Chemistry, 3rd Overall Advancing to State

Number Sense: Samuel Marsters – 1st Place District, 2nd Place Regionals, Advancing to State

Congratulations to all these students for their academic achievements at Fairfield High School.