PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions, and national origins.
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Our 2018 Annual Giving Campaign, A Gift of Kindness, begins next week and runs through Oct. 31. Please watch for your invitation to support this appeal in the mail.
In this week's
Focus
: Guest Musician in String Classes; Newly Published Poets; Superhero Pep Rally; 50 State Postcard Exchange; Rhyming Across the Kindergarten Curriculum; Bake Sale Benefits Rescue Dogs; Volunteers Needed in Elementary Library; Johnny Appleseed Day; We Sincerely Thank and Kudos; Friendly Reminders; Weekly Photo Album; and Athletic Corner.
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Renowned Musician Presents Master Class for String Students
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Violinist Dr. Lin He, Associate Concertmaster of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and associate professor of violin at LSU, worked with our elementary string students in Dan and Jennifer Cassin's classes this morning. He coached them on fingering techniques and the use of vibrato to express emotion in their music and explained that he practices for three to five hours daily because as a musician he wants to "strive for improvement every day."
Dr. He performed a few short works by Schubert and Beethoven for the class, with Mrs. Cassin joining him on the viola and Mr. Cassin playing cello. Afterwards, the string students performed
Echoes of Bartok,
a piece they have been practicing,
for Dr. He and received his congratulations and encouragement in their study of music. On Oct. 14, Dr. He performs an all
Schubert recital
with pianist Gregory Sioles at the LSU School of Music Recital Hall.
(Photo: With elementary string students are, back row starting third from left, cello instructor Dan Cassin, Dr. Lin He, string instructor Jennifer Cassin, and Founding Headmaster Dr. L.K. Runnels)
Click here
for a short video from Dr. He's visit today.
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Runnels Poems To Appear in Literary Anthology
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Ten of our high school students recently had their poems accepted for publication in Creative Communication’s fall literary anthology,
A Celebration of Today’s Writers
.
The new authors and their poems are sophomores Mia Alfonso,
A Clean Slate
; Evan Beoubay,
Destined for Success
; Caroline Collins,
Red
; Barrett Couvillon,
I Am
; Kyle Preston,
Stressed
; Christopher Normand,
This Is Just To Say
; Christopher Ortego,
Ink and Blood
; Emma Schlotterer,
Surrounding Me
; Grant Treadaway,
Isolation
; and Ellerie Tregre,
The Peace of My Backyard
.
In a letter informing the school that the poems had been chosen for publication, Creative Communications editor Thomas K. Worthen wrote: “
The teachers and students of your school should feel honored…. Publishing the high merit poems from our contest creates a record of what is important to today’s students.”
The poems were submitted by high school English teacher Michele Stanfield when the students were in her class as freshmen last spring. (
Photo: Newly published poets, front row, from left, Christopher Normand, Preston Kyle, Ellerie Tregre, and Mia Alfonso; back row, Christopher Ortego, Evan Beoubay, Grant Treadaway, Barrett Couvillon, and Emma Schlotterer. Not pictured: Caroline Collins.
)
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Raider Spirit Soars at Superhero Pep Rally
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Superheroes were out in force at our first pep rally of the year n the Catalano Gym this afternoon. The band got things off the ground with the "Fight Song" followed by the introduction of our varsity cross-country, swim, and volleyball teams by cheerleading co-coach and co-sponsor Sherry Wilks. The cheerleaders performed a dance, the seniors played musical chairs (Rachel Wehbe was the winner!), and other grades participated in relay races.
Our new dance team, the Raiderettes, enjoyed a successful debut performance, and the seniors were declared the victors in the grade 7-12 Spirit Contest
(loudest cheer
). The juniors won the Costume Spirit Contest (
photo in Weekly Album
), with the seniors placing second, and the 7th graders coming in third.
A supersized thank you goes to cheer co-sponsors Mrs. Wilks and Rachel Hart and the cheerleaders for organizing and hosting the event. On the cheer squad this year are senior Hannah Page, junior Kissa Nicholas-Whitt, 8th graders Ella Brigman, Sarah Burleigh, Lucy Reeves and Dylan Sternburg, and 7th graders Emma Felton, Alaysia Mandujano, Ava McCann, and Reide Walker. (
Photo: The "Pep Band" directed by Jill Swetnam gets the action started at the pep rally.)
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50 State Postcard Exchange Delivers Knowledge and Fun
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The students in Christine Pousson’s 4th-grade social studies classes have been learning about the other 49 states in our nation through a postcard exchange. The project started with a group of elementary teachers connecting on a teacher’s blog, explained Mrs. Pousson. “We agreed to exchange postcards from our home states.”
Every month, students in 10 states stamp and send off their postcards, which contain a friendly greeting as well as interesting facts and figures about their state. The Louisiana postcards mention our Cajun culture, unique foods like gumbo and boiled crawfish, our frequently steamy weather, and the birth of jazz.
So far, our students have received postcards from eight states --- North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Missouri. When postcards arrive, they are read to the students and placed on a map of the United States in the classroom. “The kids are super excited when they 'receive a new state',” said Mrs. Pousson. “I think it’s a great way for them to learn interesting information about new places!”
(
Photo: With Louisiana postcards they're sending off to distant states are, from left, 4th graders Alex Hayden, Dana Badawi, and Alaina White.)
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Rhyming Across the Kindergarten Curriculum
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Popular nursery rhymes formed the centerpiece of several lessons and activities in kindergarten this week. In language arts, students explored rhyming patterns in books, poems, and creative journals. In fitness class, they participated in Nursery Rhyme Olympics. Art class had students comparing Van Gogh’s famous picture
The
Starry Night
to the rhyming song
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,
and in music,
Hey Diddle Diddle
and
Doggie, Doggie, Where’s Your Bone
were on the repertoire.
In Katherine Phillippe's science class, the fate of
Humpty Dumpty
had everyone’s attention as students investigated ways to protect him from a fall. “We focused on Humpty for two days,” said Mrs. Phillippe. “The first day the students thought we could use band aids to put Humpty back together, so we played stick the band aid on Humpty. Our second day was trying to protect him from hurting himself if he fell.” The kindergartners all selected a piece of “armor” (items such as foam, diapers, fabric scraps, yarn) and worked in groups to figure out how they could cushion Humpty to keep him from cracking in a fall. “Four out of nine eggs suffered injuries,” Mrs. Phillippe reported, “not including the ones that were injured before we even started.”
(
Photo: Kindergarten science teacher Katherine Phillippe and her students check to see if Humpty Dumpty [a raw egg] cracked in "a great fall.")
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Bake Sale Benefits Rescue Pups
... The Senior Beta Club held a bake sale this week to raise funds for Bark and Roll Rescue Companions, a Baton Rouge foster home based dog shelter championed by Runnels mom
Dana Kahn
(Jack, grade 11, and Lauren, Class of '15).
On hand to help thank bake sale customers for their purchases with plenty of cuddles and kisses were several pups from Bark and Roll Rescue. The Beta Club was able to donate $110 to help keep bowls full and tails wagging at the organization. (
Juniors Mickey Kaiser , left, and Jackie Hinkle with a friend from Bark and Roll Rescue.
)
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Volunteer in the Elementary Library
... If you are available to read in your child's elementary class during his or her library time, please consider volunteering as a "bookend."
In addition to reading selected books in the elementary library, "bookends" help shelve and repair books, and assist the librarians with book fairs and other special fundraising events such as the Used Book Sale and the Scholastic Book Fairs in the fall and spring.
To learn more, contact our elementary librarians, Amanda Albin and Leah Pizzalato, at elem.libr@runnels.org.
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Johnny Appleseed Day
… Students in
Michelle Barnett’s 4th grade reading classes have been learning about folklore recently, so when National Johnny Appleseed Day rolled around this month, they celebrated the life and works of this American folk legend. At lunch on Sept. 26, they sampled apple pie, apple flavored Oreos, apple cider, apple crisp, apple turnovers, apple fritters, baked apples, apple chips, and apple shaped cookies, and more! The fun continued in the afternoon with apple-themed games.
Many thanks to the 4th-grade parents who provided food items and helped serve the lunch!
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Teacher Appreciation Luncheons ...
We sincerely thank the
PAR (Parent Association of Runnels)
for treating our faculty and staff to wonderful Teacher Appreciation luncheons (one for elementary teachers and another for the junior and senior high) on Sept. 25. Both spreads featured scrumptious dishes served up in our teachers' lounges on tables beautifully decorated for fall.
Special thanks go to PAR President Blake Stevenson (Cameron, grade 5, and Paul, grade 7), and Teacher Appreciation coordinators
Brooke Yura
(Christopher, grade 10, and Rachel, Class of '17), who captained the junior and senior high event, and
Shasta Felton (
Tyler, grade 4, and Emma, grade 7
),
who organized the luncheon for grades K-6.
(Photo: PAR volunteers lending a hand at the first Teacher Appreciation luncheon of the school year are, from left, Pam Tate, Brooke Yura, and Kasia Baranska.)
Play Sets for Preschool ...
A huge thank you goes to
Kristi and Taylor Robert
for donating a beautiful kitchen play set and a play horse stable to our preschool.
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National Art Show
... Kudos to high school art teacher Sydney McGraw for having her oil painting,
Portrait in Opaque Rose
, selected for a national juried exhibition. It was on display in the Art Guild of Louisiana's 49th Annual National River Road Show at the Louisiana State Archives Sept. 4-27. Sydney was one of 70 artists from 10 states invited to exhibit her work in the show.
Sydney, who also sponsors our Nature Club, recently was featured in the
Advocate
for her volunteer work with BREC's Conservation Green Force. The group helped clear a pond of nuisance water hyacinths at BREC's Blackwater Conservation Area in late August. (
Photo: Sydney McGraw displays her painting, Portrait in Opaque Rose, at the 49th Annual National River Road Show.
)
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Newly Minted Nurse Practitioner
... It was a big year for Runnels alumnus
Jack Paul Faulkner ('08) and his wife, Carli. He earned his master's degree in nursing from Maryville University of St. Louis, and the couple welcomed their first child. Jack recently joined Ochsner as a family nurse practitioner, specializing in cardiothoracic surgery. Carli, who also attended Runnels for several years, holds a master's degree in sports management and currently works at LSU as the manager of Student Learning at the Cox Academic Center for Student-Athletes.
(
Photo: Carli Wheeler Faulkner, Cade Faulkner, and Jack Paul Faulkner.
)
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Oct. 1-4 /
Preschool Community Helpers Week
Oct. 3 /
Preschool Picture Retakes
Oct. 4 /
Elementary Dramas
, Drama Room,
The Adventures of Little Red Robin Hood
, 8:30 a.m., 9:20 a.m., and 10:10 a.m. (grades 4-6);
Off Their Rockers
, 12:15 p.m. (3A); and 2:25 p.m. (3B);
Pajama Party
, 12:45 p.m. (2B); and 1:40 p.m., (1A)
Oct. 5 /
Pre-Kindergarten Story Book Character Parade
, Runnels Preschool, 10:30 a.m.
Oct. 8 /
Columbus Day
/ School Holiday
Oct. 10 /
PSAT for Grades 10 and 11
, Theatre, 8:30 a.m.
Oct. 10-12 /
Preschool Scholastic Book Fair
Oct. 13 /
Fall High School Dance, Let's Glow Crazy
, Catalano Gym, 7-10 p.m.
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Oct. 16 /
St. Jude's Math-A-Thon Kick-Off
, Drama Room, 10:10 a.m.
Oct. 18 /
4th-Grade Band Performance
, Theatre, 9:30 a.m.
Oct. 26-28 /
Arthur Miller's The Crucible
, Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, Oct. 26 and 27, 7:00 p.m. and Oct. 28, 2:00 p.m. Online tickets ($10) available starting Oct. 5 at
Country Roads/Bon Temps Tix
. (At the door, tickets will be $8 for students and $12 for adults.)
Oct. 31 /
Elementary Halloween Celebration and Parade
, Catalano Gym, 8:45 a.m.
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(
Above
) Looking truly "INCREDIBLE" are members of the junior class suited up for the Costume Spirit Contest and the Superhero Pep Rally.
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In this week's album: Johnny Appleseed Day, Bark and Roll Bake Sale, Kindergarten Humpty Dumpty, Dodgeball, Superhero Day, Teacher Appreciation, and Candids.
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STUDENT SPIRIT SHIRTS ON SALE NOW!
Hey Raider Fans! The 2018-19
STUDENT
Raider Fan Spirit Shirt is now available.
Students
wearing this shirt
will get into all regular season home games
for free
this school year (excludes tournament and post-season games).
Orders will be taken through Thursday, October 4 at midnight.
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Runners line up for
the Battle Field Cross Country race at Port Hudson State Park o
n Sept.12.
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CROSS COUNTRY
Last Saturday, the Runnels Cross Country team conquered the trails at the Battle Field Cross Country Festival at Port Hudson State Park. Junior Annie Fink earned 3rd place while Dawson Latona and Sydney Worsham finished in the top 20 to claim T-Shirt awards. Setting new personal bests were Olivia Brunner, Annie Garrison, Carli Shay, Shep Butner, Jacob Folse, Joseph Hebert, Mason Pentes, and Harrison Whitemore.
The Battlefield Festival included a two-mile trail run that was open to the public. A portion of the registration fee will come back to the Running Raiders as a donation (Each runner designated a school to support with the fee).
According to Cross Country Coach Julie Fink, “We had the largest, fastest and most spirited team.”
Approximately 20 runners from our school participated.
Coach Fink extends her appreciation to all the friends and family members who ran for the Raiders. They include Jeff Shay, Mollie Kiehfuss, Tom Kiehfuss, Margot Kiehfuss, Linn Fink, Shasta Felton, Dustin Felton, Aislynn Coates, Dana Kahn, Melanie Hyatt, Adam Howe, Grant Fink, Allynn Kennedy, Chad Roark, Michelle Harper, Rachel Garrison, Lisa Latona, and Chad Harper.
The team races next on Saturday at the St. Joseph’s Invitational at Highland Rd. Park.
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Sydney Worsham, Ryan Roper, Blaiklee Guillot, Brandon Hall and Ryan Lee.
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A few of the participating parent runners, from left, Lisa Latona, Michelle Tate, Melanie Hyatt and Allynn Kennedy.
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TENNIS ANNOUNCEMENT
Head Tennis Coach Keenan Ruff will hold an informational meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 2 for students interested in joining the varsity tennis team. The meeting will be held during lunch hour in the gym. All high school students interested should plan to attend.
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WHAT'S UP NEXT...
Saturday
Jr. High & Varsity Cross Country SJA Mee
t at Highland Road Park – Begins at 8:30 a.m.
Varsity Swim Meet
at Crawfish Aquatics – 8:30 a.m.
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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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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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