PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions, and national origins.
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We're extremely grateful to everyone who has already made a gift to our school, with special thanks to the newest Diamond Donors, Timothy and Sherry Mockler and Frank Coates, Jr. Their names will be added to the donor plaque in the foyer of the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre when the campaign concludes.
LIST OF 2018 DONORS
Your gift, in any amount, helps keep tuition competitive and educational opportunities vigorous at Runnels. Please show your support for our school by making your gift today.
In this week's Focus: Pictures in the Plaza Postponed; St. Jude Math-A-Thon Gets Going; Sketchnotes, A New Way To Review; Think Pink Day is Oct. 24; Dodgeball Champs; Learning about Communities; Pumpkins Under a Starry Sky; Kudos and Notable Events; We Sincerely Thank; Athletic Corner; Weekly Photo Album; and Friendly Reminders.
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"Pictures in the Plaza" Postponed
Due to a forecast of rain earlier in the week, tonight's "Pictures in the Plaza" has been moved to Nov. 2, when the show will go on as part of our Fall Fling festivities. The movie,
Hotel Transylvania 2
, Trick or Treating, and the Theatre Department's Haunted House will be added to the fun of this year's PAR (Parent Association of Runnels) sponsored Fall Fling, making it more fun than ever!
PAR president Blake Stevenson said concessions will be available at Fall Fling and that club service projects are welcome. A collection box will be available at the event for cash donations to the Cajun United Navy, which is helping with relief effort for victims of Hurricane Michael.
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Doing the Math To Help Others
The 2018 St. Jude's Math-A-Thon kicked off at Runnels this week with two assemblies in the Drama Room. By participating in the annual fundraiser, students in grades 1-6 have the opportunity to practice their math skills while helping to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Families are never charged for treatment at St. Jude's, and parents are provided with housing, transportation, and meals while their children are in the hospital.
To participate, students (with a parent's help) must visit
mathathon.org
to set up a personal fundraising page. All prizes will be mailed directly to students' homes. Since 1991, Runnels has donated more than $165,000 to the children's charity.
(
Photo: At an assembly this week, Math-A-Thon sponsor Christine Pousson and her helper, "superhero" Paislee Ray, 2B, remind students they can be superheroes by doing the good deed of participating in Math-A-Thon to help sick kids get better.
)
MORE INFORMATION ...
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Sketchnotes, A New Way to Review
"Sketchnoting is becoming an increasingly popular way for students to make notes during lectures," reports English Department Head Norma Marsh. She recently used the technique to help students review key ideas, events, and symbols from their reading of John Gardner's
Grendel
for AP English Literature and
Huckleberry Finn
for American Studies. Developed by graphic artist Mike Rohde, sketchnoting yokes together drawings, lines, diagrams, and text in a graphic novel/doodling kind of way to help synthesize and summarize information.
"Brain-based research shows that sketching and writing out by hand are proven to help students make connections and retain information," Mrs. Marsh noted. When students started the sketchnote review project in her class, she emphasized that it was not about being artistic. "I had students practice doodling stick figures and simple images," she said. "But Runnels students are uniquely artistic, so what they came up with was actually pretty amazing art."
Mrs. Marsh said she found sketchnoting to be effective and fun. "The project showed my students' ability to pull out key ideas and plot points and relate them thematically through visual and written representations.
They had to plan the layout and design together and discuss the key elements and ideas they wanted to present, so it was an effective group activity."
(
Photo: Students use sketchnoting to review main points in 'Huckleberry Finn' in American Studies class.
)
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"Think Pink" Spirit Day Is October 24
Wednesday, Oct. 24 is "Breast Cancer Awareness Spirit Day" at Runnels School, with four special on-campus activities to support this important cause. Here are ways to get involved:
Wear Pink Contest
– (All-School Event) Elementary and junior and senior high students are encouraged to wear pink to school. Classes with the highest level of participation in grades 7-12 will be awarded Spirit Points.
Pink Penny Drive
- (
Jr./Sr. High Event
) A coin collection fundraiser will be held at lunchtime to benefit Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge. Classes contributing the most will win Spirit Points.
Pink Pastry Sale
– (
Jr./Sr. High Event
) A bake sale will be held at lunchtime hosted by the Class of 2023 (8th grade). Proceeds will benefit Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge.
Pink the Game
– (
All School Event
) Join us in the Catalano Gym for junior varsity (5:00 p.m.) and varsity (6:00 p.m.) volleyball as the Lady Raiders take on False River. Students in grades 7-12 wearing pink to the game will receive additional Spirit Points for their classes.
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Dodgeball Warriors
Emerging as champions of our hugely popular junior and senior high Dodgeball Tournament was the team that dubbed itself the Asian Persuasion. Congratulations to players Eric Huygues, Alan Lam, Alex Lam, Ryan Lam, Ryan Ly, and Greyson Torres. Their victory was recognized with the presentation of medals and a celebratory breakfast of Chicken Minis and orange juice.
The lunchtime tournament, sponsored by the Student Ambassadors Club, attracted 72 players on 12 registered teams. It ran for four weeks. Before the final match on Monday, the seniors played the faculty in an exhibition game. "The seniors won handily," said Student Ambassadors Club sponsor Sarah Haase.
(
Photo: Displaying their medals are Dodgeball Tournament winners, from left, Alan Lam, Alex Lam, Greyson Torres, Eric Huygues, Ryan Lam and Ryan Ly. )
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Learning about Communities
Students went to work with pencils, crayons, and markers in Alice Aucoin's 3rd-grade social studies classes this week to demonstrate what they have been learning about communities by making colorful posters. "We’ve been talking about the three types of communities: rural, suburban, and urban," said Mrs. Aucoin. The students worked in groups of two or three to create posters of one type of community. The posters included some sort of transportation common to the community and population density. The students also gave their communities names.
(
Photo: Making their poster of a suburban community are 3rd graders Isabella Haselden and Ryan Funk. )
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Pumpkins under a Starry Sky
With the arrival of fall, an art lesson on drawing pumpkins is just the ticket to catch the interest and imagination of 1st and 2nd graders. Add inspiration from Vincent van Gogh's famous painting
Starry Night
to the mix and you've got something unique. In Jennifer Leeper's art classes, students have been creating oil pastel and watercolor resist pumpkin pictures with swirly, starry skies inspired by van Gogh. Using colored pencils and oil pastels, each child drew a pumpkin sitting on a patch of green with a swirly sky above. A watercolor wash will be added to the pictures on Monday to give them the effect of van Gogh's wavy, textured, curving night sky in his famous painting. (
Photo: Elementary art teacher Jennifer Leeper guides her young artists as they draw their multimedia pumpkin pictures.)
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Robotics at Makers Faire
The Jr./Sr. High Robotics Club participated in the Mini Makers Faire at the Goodwood Library Oct. 6. Club members shared information with the public about Runnels, the Robotics Club, and the robots they are working on. Participants were Evan Beoubay, Conner Porthouse, Preston Kyle, Reagan Kyle, Michal Gawronski, Ali Guerin, Ali Ismail, Gavin Oram, Gareth Oram and coaches Richard Oram and Jennifer Leeper. (
Photo: From left are
Gavin Oram, Richard Oram,
Michal Gawronski, Preston Kyle, and Evan Beoubay.
)
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Beginning Band Debut
Congratulations to our Elementary Beginning Band students and their director Shanna Drescher for presenting their very first concert in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on Wednesday of this week.
Their repertoire included
Mary Had a Little Lamb
, Hot Cross Buns,
Happy Birthday
, and several other short songs, plus the holiday classic,
Good King Wenceslas
.
(Photo: In concert are Beginning Band flutists, from left, James Gawronski and Emerson Corder.)
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Writing Contest Winners
Kudos to the winners of the Fall Writing Contest sponsored by the Jr./Sr. High Library's Writing Center. The winning writers are - Middle School: Emma Collett for poetry and flash fiction; High School: Jacob Folse for poetry and Connor Porthouse for flash fiction; Peer Mentor Writing Contest: Chris Ortego for poetry and flash fiction. Their prizes were Halloween-themed goody baskets.
(
Photo: From left are Connor Porthouse, Emma Collett, Jacob Folse and Chris Ortego.)
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A is for Amphiuma
There's a new critter living in a tank in Room 149 of Novak Hall. "It's about 50 cm long, with a shark-like head and tiny legs. I've never seen one of these before," said Biology AP teacher Ramona Eberly. The mysterious creature, named Travis Scott, by students, is an amphibian known as an amphiuma. High school biology and environmental science teacher Dave Marschall found it in the wild and brought it to school. "He also set up another tank in the classroom with a variety of animals," Mrs. Eberly added. "We are observing animal behavior and development, feeding and caring for them, and discussing evolutionary relationships."
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Their First Rodeo
Members of the Nature Club met at the Howell Community Park last weekend to participate in the Geaux Fish Rodeo. The event was to promote BRECC Conservation's new catfish-stocked fishing pond, which is open to the public. Since it was a family friendly event, some club members brought their relatives. "Older students caught multiple catfish and helped their younger family members do the same," said sponsor Sydney McGraw. "The Chaisson family won a raffle for fishing bait, Kaylee Caillouet and Alexis Duos nearly caught the largest catfish in their age group, and the Willis/Duos family almost won the sportsmanship award."
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National Beta Founders Day
October 26 is National Beta Founder's Day. To celebrate the occasion, our Sr. Beta Club is posting the above picture on Facebook, possibly on Instagram, and Twitter, using #IAmBetaKind. The picture represents two service projects in which the club has been involved -- decorating the Jr./Sr. High Library for a recent Teacher Appreciation luncheon and the Monster Feed Game, a Halloween activity the club will sponsor at Fall Fling & Pictures in the Plaza on Nov. 2. In the photo, Beta members, from left, Sidney Mistretta, Abby Robbins, and Ramsey Rogers hold a Monster Feed Game bag. The girls will be the hosts for the game at Fall Fling.
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Glow Dance Volunteers
...
A big thank you goes to 9th-grade sponsors,
Laurin Fairley
and
Sarah Haase
, parent volunteers
Roger Butner
,
Lisa and David Latona
,
Sheri Roper
, and
Wendy Worsham,
junior
Sam Haase, and
senior
Micah Roper
for assisting the Class of 2022 with the fall dance, "Let's Glow Crazy," held in the Catalano Gym last weekend.
Brightening Smiles
... Many thanks to staff members from
Dr. Steven Ripple's office at Smile Stars Pediatric Dentistry
for visiting the preschool recently to give a presentation on oral hygiene. The students received take-home bags with items to help keep their teeth gleaming. "The presentation was educational and engaging for the students," said Preschool Co-Director Janice Leger.
Music Racks
... We extend our sincere thanks to
Tony Medlin
of Baton Rouge Community College for donating music stand racks to our school's music department
Acoustic Guitar
... A huge thank you goes to
Kristina and Jon Porthouse
for donating a gently used guitar to our music department.
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(
Above
)
Fire safety was on the docket in Tish Tooraen's, Brent Lax's, and Tiffany Mouton's lower elementary P.E. classes this afternoon when firefighters from the East Side Fire Department visited our campus with their fully equipped fire truck and the "Smoke Truck." Students learned about fire prevention and fire safety and had a chance to climb aboard the fire engine. In addition, they experienced a simulated kitchen fire and made a quick "escape" through a window of the "Smoke Truck," with the assistance of a firefighter. Many thanks to these local heroes for this informative visit.
In this week's album: Life Science Experiment with Mentos and Coke, Circuits in Physics, Elementary Dance Class, Pep Rally Games, Making Community Posters in 3rd Grade Social Studies, Fingerprinting in Forensics, Kindergarten Teddy Bear Sleepover, Multimedia Starry Night Pumpkin Pictures, Kindergarten Pumpkin Painting, Preschool and Pumpkins, Beginning Band Concert, Sketchnotes, Dodgeball Tournament, Fire Safety, and Candids.
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BOOSTER CLUB SPIRIT STORE SALE
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The Booster Spirit Store's fall sale ends Friday, Oct. 26. Runnels apparel makes great birthday and holiday gifts. Plan ahead, this is the only sale before the holidays.
Be sure to save the site to your favorites bar.
Happy shopping and Go, Raiders!!
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JR HIGH SOCCER
The Runnels Junior High Athletic Department welcomes two new coaches to jointly lead both the boys and girls soccer teams. Nick Khosravi has been named head coach and Jackie Gonda will be the assistant head coach. They come to us “with a lot of experience and we are lucky to have them," said
Khosravi and Gonda are both life-long soccer players -- starting as young as the age of four. Khosravi was raised on Baton Rouge soccer. He has played for BRSC Black team, Glasko Middle School, Baton Rouge Magnet High School and for LSU. Khosravi is a seasoned referee with experience dating back to middle school and has most recently coached the club soccer this past summer.
Gonda is a native of Atlanta and is currently in her sophomore year at LSU studying petroleum engineering. She has spent the last five years on the soccer field as a referee and is in her third year of coaching youth sports u8 through u13 select teams.
The coaching duo said they are grateful “for the opportunity to coach at Runnels, and we looking forward to the new season. Go, Raiders!”
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JR HIGH SOFTBALL
Last night the junior high softball team defeated U-High, 7-3. Pitcher Chloe Bueche struck out nine batters and had only one walk, while Meredith Taliaferro led the team with a double and a triple hit and two RBIs. Katherine Campbell, Chloe Bueche, Alyssa Oubre and Reilly Wilks each hit singles. Kate Kelfstrom, Reilly Wilks, Sophie Rabeaux and Katherine Campbell each had one RBI.
The Lady Raiders are currently 2-3 for the season.
(Photo: Catcher Meredith Taliaferro snags a high one
.)
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VOLLEYBALL
The Lady Raider volleyball team finished the first round of district play, 0-3. The second round began Thursday evening with a win over the Southern Lab Kittens. The Ladies won the match 3-1. Leading the Raiders was Rachel Wehbe with eight kills and 11 aces. Karli Hebert had 12 assists, while Maddy Sutton had four digs.
The Lady Raiders celebrate Senior Night as they face off against Brighton on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at home. Come cheer on the seven seniors in their final district match in the Runnels Catalano Gym.
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WHAT'S UP NEXT...
On Friday
Varsity Volleybal
l at BRHS Tournament – TBA
Varsity Boys Basketball
Scrimmage vs. Holden at Home – 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday
Varsity Volleyball
at BRHS Tournament – TBA
Jr. High & Varsity Cross Country Team
at STM/Pre-State Meet in Natchitoches
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RAIDER PARENTS
ARE THE BEST FANS!
Email game and fan photos to
n.latiolais@runnels.org
. Please include the date and location of the event and the students pictured
.
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Oct. 24 /
Think Pink! "Breast Cancer Awareness Day" at Runnels
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Oct. 26-28 /
The Crucible /
Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, Oct. 26 and 27, 7:00 p.m. and Oct. 28, 2:00 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students. At the door, tickets are $12 for all. Online ticket sales end 12 hours before each performance.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
Oct. 31 /
Elementary Halloween Parade
/ Catalano Gym, 8:45 a.m. (PAR Halloween Snack, 10:00 a.m.)
Oct. 31 /
Annual Giving Campaign, A Gift of Kindness
/ Last day to become a member of the Corporation for one year with a donation of $250 or more.
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Nov. 2 /
PAR Fall Fling & Pictures in the Plaza /
Outdoor Plaza, 6:00 p.m. (Save the Date!)
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Stay Connected to Runnels on Social Media
If you haven't already liked or followed us, please do so. Search for #runnelsschool or #raiderpride and see what's going on.
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Facebook:
Instagram:
Twitter:
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Runnels pages not maintained by Runnels School:
Facebook:
Instagram:
Twitter:
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There are also Facebook pages dedicated to your child's class, for example, "Class of 2021." These pages are usually private, so contact your class sponsor for access.
If you know of any other social media sites or pages that promote our school or school events, please let us know. We would love to follow them and share them with our school community.
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