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Runnels Weekly E-Newsletter
from Head of School Marcia Mackay
Dear Runnels Family,
In this week's Friday Focus: Physical Sciences Classes at Engineering & Technology Expo; Father and Daughter Dance, Volcano Challenge; Young Actors Sparkle on Stage; Splash Math; Monthly College Newsletter; Chicory and Roux Book Signing; The Language of Love; Friendly Reminders;
Weekly Photo Album; and Athletic Corner.
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Engineering and Technology Expo
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| With the trophies they won for their rubber-band powered car at ULL's Engineering and Technology Expo are Earth Science students (from left) Ethan St. Amant, Ben Stafford and Phillip Lukinovich. |
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Members of our Physical Science classes joined hundreds of junior and senior high students from across South Louisiana in Lafayette on Wednesday to participate in ULL's Engineering and Technology Expo.
They toured the College of Engineering, interacted with ULL students and faculty and met representatives of companies that hire engineers. Students also
took part in design competitions.
The Runnels team of Ethan St. Amant, Ben Stafford and Phillip Lukinovich collected third-place trophies in the Mystery
Design Challenge by designing and building a rubber-band powered car in one hour. In addition, Karli
Hebert and Cana Brumfield placed second in the Egg Drop Challenge, and Preston Kyle, Connor Porthouse,
Caleb Reid, and Chace Williams made an excellent showing in the Balsa Bridge Challenge, constructing a
bridge that held 25 kg (55 pounds) of sand.
The Expo, explained Earth Science teacher Donna McCann, "was designed to help students discover the importance of engineering and technology in today's society and consider the many career possibilities available in those fields."
(See photos in weekly album.)
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Father and Daughter Dance March 19
"Sweet Moments," the RPO's second annual Father and Daughter Dance for grades K-6 is coming up on Sunday, March 19 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. in the Catalano Gym.
You won't want to miss this chance to dance with your favorite girl or girls. We'll have a professional DJ, Party Pics, a Photo Booth and drinks and light snacks.
Register now by clicking on the link below or visiting the RPO Sign Up page at runnels.org.
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Volcano Challenge
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| Chris Normand moves his model volcano into position so he can demonstrate a volcanic eruption using dry ice and water. Yes, it went boom! |
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Students in Jessica Ashraf's eighth-grade Earth Science classes have been exploring the subject of volcanoes.
"They learned how volcanoes form, where they form, why they form there, the various types of volcanoes, and what role volcanoes play in the formation of the Earth," said Mrs. Ashraf. Her students recently completed a mini-research project that included a slideshow with facts and pictures of specific volcanoes around the world and a model or poster of the type of volcano they studied.
In addition to building their models, students were given the challenge of simulating eruptions particular to those types of volcanoes. On Wednesday, Mrs. Ashraf's students moved outside to test the eruption capabilities of their models.
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Young Actors Sparkle in March Performances
The theater season in the Drama Room was going strong this week as elementary students presented four outstanding plays.
Lower elementary students in 1Y, 1X, 2B and 2C staged the thoughtful musical,
The Cheese Stands Alone
, which offers a lesson on the value of inclusion. Julie Horridge directed the performances. (Photo: Isabella Haselden, Kalleigh Brown, Cohen Pizzalato, Emma Hazel
Wingate and Lily Downing in
The Cheese Stands Alone
.)
Fourth-grade drama students transported us to the realm of make-believe with their modern day spoof on a fairy tale. In
C
inderella Bigfoot
(by Mike Thayer, author of
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon)
, Cinderella's feet are so huge
that she's considered a safety hazard and is not invited to the royal ball. Stepping in to save the day is her "Dairy" Godmother, who magically works out the kinks and produces a happily ever after ending. The class also staged a short version of
Hansel and Gretel with a health food vibe. (Photo: Morgan McCloud, Alexa LaPlace, Sophia Cjajkowski, Isabelle Kennedy, Gibson Guay and Amelia Guess in
Cinderella Bigfoot.)
For the fifth-grade drama students' production, the action moved to Ancient Greece for
The Hysterical History of the
Trojan War.
Though the play is based on Homer's classic adventure, its style and language are cool and hip, making the antics of battling gods, goddesses and heroes accessible and funny to young actors and audiences. (Photo: Samantha Shilling as Cassandra and Cooper Coates as Apollo share a scene in The Hysterical History of the Trojan War.)
 The sixth-grade drama students bravely tackled Shakespeare with their production of
A Midsummer Night's Dream. The story, which features fairies in a magical forest, feuding royal couples, love potions gone astray, and an amateur actor who manages to get himself turned into a love sick donkey, was adapted beautifully for elementary grade students. (Photo:
Sadie Alello, Molly Sandifer, Phoebe Koontz and Brie Williams in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
.)
Upper elementary drama
teacher Kaitlyn Stockwell directed all of the 4th-6th-grade shows.
Congratulations to Ms. Stockwell and Mrs. Horridge and all of our young actors.
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| Madeline Golden, grade 5, works out a math problem for a Splash Math assignment. |
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Elementary students have been sharpening their math skills by participating in a pilot program for Splash Math, an interactive online application for practicing and reinforcing math concepts.
The award-winning educational program kicks up the fun factor for kids by incorporating animation, music and games with a nautical flair into its presentations of math problems.
"Splash Math," explained Elementary Lead Teacher Renee' Miller, "is a fun way for students to practice math both at school and at home. Students can log on individually using laptops, desktops or iPads (with an app).
Mrs. Miller said she likes the program. "It allows me to individualize and personalize assignments for each student with the click of a button." Teachers and parents also have access to a Dashboard so they can pinpoint problems, follow student progress and get weekly reports.
Students are finding Splash Math fun, engaging and challenging.
As they answer math questions correctly, they build up points and rewards and more games are unlocked. Our 4th and 5th graders are involved in a 12-week online competition to see if they can meet their goal of accumulating 2,000 points per week. "They are doing well and I'm proud of them," said Mrs. Miller.
Students in grades 2, 4 and 5 are currently participating in the pilot program, with 1st and 3rd grades scheduled to come on board soon.
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Monthly College Corner Newsletter
 Dana Schlotterer, our Jr./Sr. High Assistant Principal for Students Services, recently launched a "College Corner" newsletter full of timely information for high school students anticipating the jump to college and their parents. This spring the publication is being emailed to 9th-11th-grade students and parents since the information it carries is geared toward them. Starting in the fall, it will go to all high school students and families. Check it out for the latest on colleges, programs and scholarships, important testing dates, and other pertinent information on the college application and decision fronts.
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Chicory and Roux Book Signing at Runnels
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| Chicory and Roux author Todd-Michael St. Pierre and illustrator Lee Brandt Randall. |
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Next Wednesday, March 15, local children's author Todd-Michael St. Pierre and illustrator Lee Brandt Randall (Yes! It's our Ms. Randall!) will be in the Drama Room to sign copies of their latest book, Chicory and Roux: The Creole Mouse and the Cajun Mouse.
Book talks and book signings will be held in the Drama Room on March 15 from 11:00 - 11:50 a.m. for grades 4-6 and 12:40 - 1:20 for grades K-3.
If you would like your child to receive a copy autographed and personalized by the author and illustrator, fill out the yellow form that went home early this week and return it with your check made out to Todd Phillips for $16.00 (tax included).
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| French I, II and III students sing "Frere Jacques" to preschool students at Broadmoor United Methodist Church this week. |
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Our French language students returned to the campus of Broadmoor United Methodist Church this week to share some French words and songs with their preschool students. "We wanted to say 'Thank You' to Broadmoor for hosting us after the flood, so we decided to teach their preschoolers a few words of French," said French teacher Sonny Vallaire.
The older students sang "Frere Jacques" and "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" to the youngsters in French, read them a story they had written about living in Louisiana, counted to 10 with them in French, and spent some time playing on the playground. The experience, said Mrs. Vallaire, inspired our French language students to think about the process of language acquisition. "Their first-hand observations gave them a chance to do some deeper thinking about this. I believe this will better inform their own language learning. Overall, I think it was a great experience for our students to use some of what they learned in class in a meaningful way."
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Kudos and Thank Yous
Alumnus Quint Forgey (Runnels Class of 2013) is headed to the Windy City this summer to work as a reporting intern at
The Wall Street Journal. Quint said he'll be covering national spot news from the Midwest in addition to stories about aerospace, agriculture, poverty, transportation and urban development.
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Noelle Morris
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Alumna Noelle Morris (Runnels Class of 2014), now at the University of Mobile, where she is a point and shooting guard for the Lady Rams basketball team, was recently recognized at the SSAC (Southern States Athletic Conference) as a Champions of Character student-athlete. Noelle, who is on the Dean's List, also was named to the 1st All-Conference Academic Team.
Runnels High School has been designated a 2016-2017 National Beta School of Merit. The honor was awarded for making club membership available to all eligible grade levels on the school campus. The Runnels Chapter of the Senior Beta Club will receive a window decal for this accomplishment as well as recognition at the 2017 National Beta Convention.
Pitching in on Baseball and Softball Field Upgrades ... We sincerely thank
Charles Bueche, Doug Gulley, Greg Taliferro, and Paul Schacht for taking the time to fix the softball scoreboard, the baseball and softball pitching machines and tackling some general maintenance on the fences.
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Friendly Reminders
Pictures in the Plaza (
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) has been postponed to Friday, March 31 due to the chance of rain. We'll see you then!
Mar. 10-12:
Junior Classical League State Convention - Holiday Inn South
Mar. 14: Elementary Chorus Concert - 8:45 a.m., Gladys Hague Runnels Theater
Mar. 15 - 16: Eighth Grade to Youth Legislature - 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Old State Capitol
Mar. 16: Junior Class Ring Ceremony, Gladys Hague Runnels Theater, 11:20 a.m.
Mar. 17:
Raider Star Drawings - Drama Room - Grades 4-6, 12:35 p.m. - 1:35 p.m.; Grades 1-3, 1:40 p.m.
Mar. 12: Daylight Savings Time Begins - 2:00 am
Mar. 19: RPO Father and Daughter Dance, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., Catalano Gym
Mar. 20-23: Standardized Testing for Elementary Grades
Mar. 21: Standardized Testing for 7th and 8th Grades
Mar. 22: Standardized Testing for 9th and 10th Grades
Mar. 23: Preschool Open House for Prospective Parents, 9:00 a.m., Front Porch
Mar. 24: Kindergarten Musical, 9:00 a.m.
Mar. 24: Jr. High Play for Grades 4-6 at 10:15 a.m.and Grades 1-3 at 2:10 p.m.
Mar. 24: Eisenhower Army War College Lecture for Grades 11 & 12, 1:20 p.m., Theatre
Mar. 24: Raider Rally, Elementary Playground, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. The Booster Club will be selling dinners.
Mar. 28-30: Teacher Appreciation
Mar. 30-31: Mu Alpha Theta Convention
Please consider supporting our school when purchasing items through Amazon. You must login at
www.amazonsmile.com and choose Runnels School as the charity of your choice. From there you may shop as you normally would even if you are a Prime member.
ANNUAL SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR - CLICK HERE
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Above: "Team Runnels" at the "Komen Race for the Cure" on March 4. Our crew ran in tribute to elementary student Grant Denicola's mother, Bridgette, who recently lost her battle with cancer.
This week's photo album includes: 8th Grade Volcanoes, 7th Grade Life Science Digestion and Animal Projects, 5th Grade Math, Kindergarten Scooters, Kindergarten and 6th Grade Buddy Lunch, Physical Science Field Trip, French Field Trip.
Many thanks to Dana Kahn for French field trip photos and Donna McCann for Physical Science field trip photos.
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POWERLIFTING
At the Louisiana High School Powerlifting Association's (LHSPLA) East Regional Championship Meet at Ascension High School Feb. 25, three members of the Runnels Varsity Powerlifting Team earned places on the podium and 10 qualified for state.
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East Regional Championship Meet medalists (from left) Sam Day, Max Sager and Christian Martin.
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Junior Max Sager earned first place in the 114-lb. weight class, junior Sam Day took second place in the 220-lb. weight class, and senior Christian Martin finished third in the 275-lb. weight class. In addition, all three qualified for the LHSAA/LHSPLA State Powerlifting Championships to be held at the University of Louisiana Monroe on March 17-18. Also qualifying for state were sophomores Aaron Taliaferro and Justin Taliaferro; juniors Catherine Henning, Natalie Justus, Justin Reeves and Ashley Stansbury; and senior Anthony Emiliani.
Directing the team are head coach Mitch Reeves and assistant coaches Tom Babcock, Lonnie Leger, Greg Taliaferro, and Mike Day.
BASKETBALL
On Feb. 24, the Raider Basketball team won its second round playoff game against Thomas Jefferson 62-51. Runnels jumped out to a big lead early in the game thanks to four 3-pointers by Cade Tate along with a couple from Paul Lukinovich. Conner Raines led the game with 20 points and collected 16 rebounds. Tate finished with 14 points while Ryan Carrier scored 13 points.
The basketball season came to an end last Friday night when the Raiders lost to the #1 seed Dunham Tigers in the quarterfinals, 74-46. Conner Raines led the Raiders with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Seniors Paul Lukinovich and Douglas Gulley added 8 and 5 points, respectively. Cade Tate finished the game with 14 points. The Raiders finished 17-18 on the season.
BASEBALL
In the baseball team's season opener against defending 3A State Championship team, West Feliciana, the Raiders were defeated 14-0. Collin Bueche led the team going one for two at bat in the game.
On March 6, the bowling team claimed a victory against Capitol, 23-4. Seth Miller bowled the high series with a 371 and high score of 138. High scores were held by Marisa Russo with a 150 and Alex Matthews with a 138.
In their last regular match of the season on
Wednesday, the team lost to Madison Prep, 26-1. Andrew Mitchell earned the team point. Alex Matthews scored a series high with a 415 and high score of a 160. High scores also went to Marisa Russo with a 129 and Seth Miller with a 117.
Congratulations to the Lady Raider Varsity Soccer Team players named All-District in Division 4, District 4. Coach Angie Mitchell was named Coach of the year and Ally Garrity was named Overall MVP.
All-District 1st Team: Lainee Alfonso, Hannah Barback, Ally Garrity, Kaylen Howe, Molly Johnson and goalkeeper Avery Hamachek.
All-District 2nd Team: Anna Claire Courville, Jessica DeSimone, Bailey Hyatt and Anna Manning.
SOFTBALL
The undefeated Lady Raiders Softball team is currently 7-0 for the season. This past weekend at the Tara Tournament, the team defeated Baker, McKinley, and Madison Prep. On Wednesday, the ladies also claimed a victory against Woodlawn.
"Our success so far this season has come from the hard work we put in at practice," said Coach Brent Lax. This evening at 5:00 pm, the team will play Ascension Episcopal at home. They'll face off again on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Ascension Episcopal. Come out and support the Lady Raiders!
TENNIS
On March 8, the Runnels Varsity Tennis Team defeated Lutcher, 8-2. Claiming victories in their Singles matches were Natalie Justus, Michael Martinez, Jeehan Mikdadi, Kyle Sieberth and Connor Thompson.
Last weekend, the Track and Field team competed in its opening meet at the Brusly Invitational. The girls team (with only five members) scored an impressive 59 points, finishing 5th out of 9 teams. On the boys side, the Raiders scored 63 points, finishing 4th out of 10 teams.
London Deshotel placed first in the High Jump and set a new personal record (PR) of 4'-08". Sam Matthews was first in the 1600m and 800m and set two new outdoor PRs of 4:51 and 2:06. Also placing first were Kaylen Howe in the 800m and Adam Howe in the 3200m.
FRIDAY, MARCH 10
Varsity Softball vs. Ascension Episcopal at Home - 5:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, MARCH 11
Varsity Baseball vs. CHEF at Home - 11:00 a.m.
Varsity Softball at Ascension Episcopal - 1:00 p.m.
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17255 South Harrell's Ferry Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
225-751-2192 |
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PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
