Awards, Grades 7-11, May 12, 2020
PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions, and national origins.
Mid-Week Awards Focus
In this special edition of the Friday Focus , we recognize the accomplishments of our junior and senior high school students, with particular emphasis on grades 7-11. In next week's "Graduation" issue, we'll honor the achievements of our seniors. In the final edition of the Friday Focus , scheduled for publication the week of May 25, we'll cover end-of-the-year elementary and preschool news and awards.

In Focus this week: Class of 2020 Valedictorian and Salutatorian Announced; Raider Citizenship, Spirit, and Scholarship Medals Awarded in Grades 7-11; 2021 National Merit Students Named; Junior and Senior High Course Medals Announced for Grades 7-11; Runnels Writers Win Awards in Holocaust Essay Contest; Junior Wins Volunteer Service Award; They'll Always Be "Lifers" to Us; Kudos; Thank Yous; Athletic Corner; Friendly Reminders.
Class of 2020 Valedictorian, Salutatorian Selected

We're delighted to announce that Natalia Tooraen has been named Valedictorian of the Runnels Class of 2020 and Catherine Bonaventure has been chosen as Salutatorian. Congratulations to these exceptional students!

To be considered for these honors, seniors must have completed at least the last two years of their high school work at Runnels with a grade-point average of at least 3.8. Selection is additionally based on cumulative grade-point average and strength of schedule. The top ranking senior is named Valedictorian, and the second ranking student is awarded the Salutatorian medal. Also in the race were seniors Jenna Carballo, Eric Ho, Ryan Ly, and Aubri Watts.

Natalia, who started at Runnels as a three-year-old, is an AP Scholar with Distinction, an Honor Roll student, and a member of the National Honor Society, Student Ambassadors Club, Dance Team, Thespian Club and Mu Alpha Theta (Honor Math Society). She has represented Runnels at the District and State Literary Rally and has been active in our French, harp, soccer, and theater programs.

Natalia will attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to study psychology with an eye toward a career in neuropsychology. She has been awarded the Live Oak Scholarship, a full housing and meal plan award, and the TOPS Honors Scholarship.

She is the daughter of Tish Karl and John Tooraen.
Catherine has been a Raider since joining the two-year-olds' class in preschool. She is the senior class vice president, an AP Scholar with Distinction, an Honor Roll student, and the National Honor Society historian. A member of the Advanced String Orchestra, Student Ambassadors Club, Mu Alpha Theta, and the 2020 Homecoming Court, she also plays tennis for Runnels and was named to the LHSAA All-Academic Composite Team.

A tutor in the Jr./Sr. High Writing Center, Catherine has also participated in District and State Literary Rally and the AHEC (Area Health Education Center) Summer Program. She will attend the University of Alabama where she has been awarded the Presidential Scholarship and the Tutwiler Scholarship to study biology on a pre-med track.

Catherine is the daughter of Todd and Shelley Bonaventure.

( Upper photo: 2020 Valedictorian Natalia Tooraen; lower photo: Salutatorian Catherine Bonaventure.)
Citizenship, Spirit, Scholarship Medals Awarded

Congratulations to the winners of the Citizenship, Spirit, and Scholarship medals in grades 7-11! Medalists were announced by Jr./Sr. High Assistant Principal Dana Schlotterer in a video included in the May 1 Raider Wrap Up. CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO...

The Raider Citizenship Medal is awarded to one student in junior high and another in high school for exhibiting the qualities of kindness, compassion, friendliness, and understanding as well as self-respect and respect for others. The junior high winner is eighth grader Emma Felton.

The Raider Spirit Medal goes to one student in each junior and senior high grade for embodying exceptional school loyalty by fully participating in school activities and showing true commitment in these pursuits. The 2020 Raider Spirit Award winners are Gibby Guay, grade 7; Cooper Coates, grade 8; Eli Latiolais, grade 9; Abby Robbins, grade 10; and Mollybeth Wilkinson, grade 11.

The Raider Scholarship Medal recognizes outstanding commitment to academic achievement and excellence. It is presented to one student in each junior and senior high grade. This year's winners are Lina Derzi, grade 7; Addison Watson, grade 8; Shelby Anders, grade 9; Ryan Roper, grade 10 ; and Madisan Milam, grade 11.

( Photo: 2020 Raider Citizenship medalist Emma Felton and varsity cheerleader revs up Raider Spirit at the 2020 Homecoming Court presentation in January. )
Juniors Qualify for 2021 National Merit Scholarship Competition

Congratulations to juniors Joseph Ismail, Marshall Pentes, and Connor Porthouse ( photo ) for qualifying to participate in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Competition!

If they are named Semifinalists in the fall, they will be eligible to compete for approximately 7,600 Merit Scholarship awards and the honor of being named National Merit Finalists and Scholars.

Course Medals Awarded in Grades 7-11

Each year, teachers are invited to select one outstanding student in each subject as the course medalist. The awards are given to students with the highest grade-point average in a course. This is the highest official honor a student can receive for a class. Congratulations to all!

(Photo: Among those receiving multiple course medals are, at left, 7th grader Chloe Hall -- 7th Grade English, Computer Applications, and Life Science -- and freshman Mason Pentes -- Algebra II, Biology Honors, Human Geography AP, High School P.E. II, and Latin II.)

Writers Earn Honors in 2020 Holocaust Essay Contest

Four Runnels students are among the winners of the 2020 Holocaust Essay Contest sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge.

Sweeping the competition in the middle school division were Annie Garrison in first place, Jenna Sheikha in second place, and Jack Ezell in third. All wrote their essays as assignments in Sherry Wilks’ seventh-grade English class. In the high school division, sophomore Jacob Schmidt won third-place honors. His English teacher is Colleen LeBlanc.

The first-place winners were awarded $50 gift certificates to Barnes & Noble and $50 in cash; second-place winners received $35 gift certificates and $25 in cash; and third-place winners received $35 gift certificates and $20 in cash. Each winner also received a certificate of achievement and a copy of the book Krystallnacht (Night of Broken Glass: A Holocaust Memoir) by local Holocaust survivor Manny Klepper. All proceeds from the sale of the book go to Temple Shalom in Lafayette, LA, which Mr. Klepper and his family attend.

(Photo: Earning middle school awards in the 2020 Holocaust Essay Contest are, from left, Annie Garrison, Jenna Sheikha, and Jack Ezell.)
Junior Wins State Fair Volunteer Service Award

Madisan Milam, a junior at Runnels High School, is the recipient of The Greater Baton Rouge State Fair Outstanding 2020 High School Junior Volunteer Award. The honor, which recognizes students for exemplary volunteer service at school and throughout the community, includes a $500 scholarship.

Each year, one students from every high school in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, and Livingston Parishes is selected to receive the award. Madisan, who has served as president of her class since her freshman year, was nominated by school administrators.

Active in the National Honor Society, Senior Beta Club, Student Ambassador Club, Spanish Club, Art Club, Thespian Club, and Mu Alpha Theta, Madisan also represented Runnels at last summer's HOBY Leadership Summit in Baton Rouge.

Her interests in theater and the visual arts led to volunteer opportunities as a counselor at Third Wheel Theatre Drama Camp for two summers and a teaching aide at Five Elements Art Camp for one. As class president, she led efforts to organize several high school events over the past three years, including the talent show, homecoming, the junior class ring ceremony, and prom. In addition, Madisan designed a t-shirt for an Angelman Syndrome fundraiser.

As for the $500 scholarship, Madisan said she will add it to her college savings account. Though she hasn't decided on a university yet, she plans to pursue bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing to prepare for a career as an obstetric nurse practitioner.

A “lifelong” Runnels student, Madisan is the daughter of Wendy Milam and Dustan Milam.

( Photo: Madisan Milam.)

They'll Always Be "Lifers" to Us

Though they won't get to graduate from Runnels, we still think of the 54 high school students in grades 9-11 who have been with us since 1st grade or before as "Lifers." These students constitute 46 percent of the junior class, 50 percent of the sophomore class, and 44 percent of the freshman class. We had intended to gather the "Lifers" from each grade for group pictures on Fort Wild Thing, but the unprecedented circumstances surrounding this semester prevented us from following through. We would, however, like to recognize these students and thank their parents for entrusting them to our care for so many years.

Junior "Lifers": Evan Beoubay, Parker Collett, Emily Daquano, Sophie Edwards, Joseph Ismail, Preston Kyle, Madisan Milam, Kate Oehrle, Marshall Pentes, Garrett Rhinehart, Emma Schlotterer, Ben Stafford, and Wesley Stevenson.

Sophomore "Lifers": Omar Badawi, Omid Boushehri, Collin Coates, Nick D'Gerolamo, Natalie Fairley, Josh Freeman, Michal Gawronski, Blaiklee Guillot, Jake Haase, Robby Harrison, Lindsey Huynh, Reagan Kyle, Hailey Lester, Zayne Mandujano, Blaine Nicholson, Kyle Nicholson, Ramsey Rogers, Ryan Roper, Emily Schacht, Drake Tooraen, and Sydney Worsham.

Freshman "Lifers": Shelby Anders, Mira Badawi, Emma Collett, Quin Dukaric, Alex Frederic, Sarah Golda, Ali Guerin, Ethan Ho, Alan Lam, Alex Lam, Eli Latiolais, Samantha Marino, Mason Pentes, Lucy Reeves, Molly Sandifer, Baron Stevenson, Charlie Tucker, Eddie Tunis, Cassidy Wartelle, and Brie Williams.

( Photo: Fort Wild Thing)
Kudos To ...
National Charity League Honors Runnels Seniors

Seniors Annie Fink, Erin Oehrle, and Janie Schlotterer were among the 25 young women honored for their work as community volunteers by the River Road Chapter of the National Charity League at its annual Senior Soiree held March 7 at the Renaissance Hotel in Baton Rouge.

The National Charity League seniors were recognized for more than 2,900 hours of volunteer work at area charities and nonprofit organizations over the past six years and for fulfilling the organization's requirements for participation in cultural activities and leadership development.

Annie is the daughter of Julie and Linn Fink, Erin is the daughter of Lynn and Matthew Oehrle, and Janie is the daughter of Dana and Dean Schlotterer.

( Photo: Recognized for volunteer service at the National Charity League’s 2020 Senior Soiree on March 7 are, from left, Janie Schlotterer, Annie Fink, and Erin Oehrle. This photograph was taken prior to the social distancing mandate.)
8th Grade Presidential Scholars Recognized

A full 40 percent of the 8th grade class qualified for the prestigious President's Education Award this year. The honor recognizes outstanding scholastic achievement and effort by students in exit grades (6th, 8th, and 12th at Runnels).

Kudos to our 8th grade President's Education Award winners: Kareem Badawi, Malek Badawi, Chloe Bueche, Cooper Coates, Arthur Donaldson, George Forgey, Ben Hader, Caden Hannie, Caleb Johnston, Gavin Oram, Hope Oubre, Calvin Pittman, Caroline Pousson, Conor Reynolds, Stuart Roark, Mikalyn Shay, Tyler Thibodeaux, Addison Watson, Harrison White, and Reilly Wilks.
YEA Graduate ... Congrats to senior Bailey Hyatt for "virtually" graduating from the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA) on April 21
National Latin Exam Honors ... The National Latin Exam, sponsored by the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League, is offered to students taking Latin language classes in junior and senior high. The exams cover grammar, comprehension, mythology, derivatives, literature, Roman life, history, geography, oral Latin, and Latin in use in the modern world. Students earning the highest scores are recognized with certificates of achievement. Congratulations to the Runnels students achieving top scores on the test and their Latin teacher at Runnels, Ann Ostrom.

Gold Summa Cum Laude: Joseph Ismail and Christopher Ortego, Latin III; Silver Maxima Cum Laude: Mikalyn Shay, Latin I, Dawson Latona, Latin II, and Preston Kyle, Latin III; Magna Cum Laude: Sarah Golda, Latin I, Cooper Smither, Sydney Mistretta, and Mason Pentes, Latin II, and Charlie Garrison and Ryan Roper, Latin III; Cum Laude: Rossie Harrison, Latin I, and Sydney Worsham, Latin III.
We Sincerely Thank...
"Senior Blitz"... A huge thank you goes to the teachers, administrators, coaches, and class sponsors who participated in our "Senior Blitz" April 29. They traveled to the home of each senior to hand deliver graduation gear and goodies. These special deliveries included caps and gowns, stoles, honor cords, personalized congratulatory yard signs, and gift bags with senior t-shirts and a few extras.

(Photo: Making a "Senior Blitz" delivery to Janie Schlotterer and attempting to take a socially distanced selfie with her is Jr./Sr. High English and Social Studies Head Norma Marsh.)

Powerlifting Awards ... Many thanks to Pamela and Tom Babcock for delivering awards and plaques to members of the Powerlifting team this weekend.

Fashionably Masked ... We sincerely thank Dana Kahn for making masks for our administrators to use at the filming of our modified graduation exercises this week.
Yes, We're Having a Prom! ... The junior class sponsors have been working with Oak Lodge on finding a date for our junior and senior high prom. At this point, the new prom date is Saturday, July 18! We'll continue to keep you in the loop via email.
Athletic Corner
DOORKNOCK DELIVERIES TO POWERLIFTERS

Powerlifting team awards and plaques were hand delivered to lifters by Coach Tom Babcock and his wife, Jr./Sr. High Assistant Principal Pamela Babcock, last weekend. Congratulations to powerlifting seniors Jenna Carballo, Hudson Hillman, Minna Ismail, Cole Latiolais, Erin Oehrle, and Julia Sager, and the recipients of this year's team awards:

Titan Award - Eli Latiolais, grade 9 (This goes to the lifter with the highest Wilks score, which is based on the Wilks formula, used to determine the best lifter at meets.)
Lady Titan Award - Julia Sager, grade 12
Most Improved Lifter - Eli Latiolais (This goes to lifters with the most improvement in their Wilks scores.)
Most Improved Lady Lifter - Reilly Wilks, grade 8
[Eli Latiolais, winner of the Powerlifting Team's Titan Award.]
[Julia Sager, winner of the Lady Titan Award.]
[Reilly Wilks, winner of the Most Improved Lady Lifter Award.]
LHSAA ALL-ACADEMIC AWARD WINNERS
Congrats to the following senior athletes who qualified for the LHSAA All-Academic Composite (4.0 GPA) and All-Academic Class (3.9-3.5 GPA) Teams.

All-Academic Composite: Cross Country and Track - Annie Fink, Eric Ho, and Ryan Ly; Soccer - Eric Ho; Tennis - Catherine Bonaventure; Volleyball - Jenna Carballo.

All-Academic Class: Baseball - Sam Haase; Basketball - Jack Kahn and Phillip Lukinovich; Bowling - Rachel Hargrove and Karli Hebert; Cross Country - Bailey Hyatt; Track - Bailey Hyatt, Julia Sager, and John Spillane; Powerlifting - Erin Oehrle and Julia Sager; Soccer - Bailey Hyatt and Ian Shaneyfelt; Softball - Carlie Aucoin and Anna Manning; Swimming - Erin Oehrle; Volleyball - Rachel Hargrove and Karli Hebert.
(Enjoying her at-home signing ceremony April 21 is LSU track and cross country recruit Annie Fink. From left are her dad and coach Linn Fink, her sister Madelinn, her mom Julie Fink, who is the Runnels head Cross Country and Track Coach, and her brother Grant.)
SIGNING DAY A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR FOR RUNNELS ATHLETES
Although college recruits Annie Fink and Ricky Harrison got their signing days in mid-April, the big events turned out to be a little different than expected. Instead of a big signing ceremony in the school gym with teammates, coaches, family, and friends on hand, this year's signing ceremonies were on the quiet side due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It just feels different,” said Ricky, who was invited to pitch for the Birmingham-Southern Panthers as a freshman in the fall. He signed his letter of intent at home in his yard surrounded by his parents and brothers. “You don’t get to meet with college reps in person, and your coaches aren’t there to see it happen. I won’t be able to say thanks to them in person.”

Annie, who will run track and cross country for LSU next season, did the honors in her backyard with her parents, siblings and the family dog by her side. Though the signing was fun and upbeat, she said she feels sad about having to miss out on many events she had been looking forward to.

“Overall, I am truly saddened by not being able to compete in my last high school track season, have a signing day with all of my friends, and attend the Advocate's Star of Stars gala, which I was super-excited about.” Annie, who had an exceptional senior season in cross country last fall, was named the 2019-20 Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year, All-Metro MVP, and Advocate Star of Stars in girls cross country and track.

Ricky, who has played for the Raiders since eighth grade, added that it was tough not to be able to finish out the baseball season. “All of us were hoping to win the state championship, and this was going to be the last try that Runnels will ever have at doing so. All of us on the team were working harder than ever to give us the best shot at winning it all, but now we will never have the chance to show how far we’ve come as a team.”
(Ricky Harrison, second from right, signs his letter of intent to pitch for Birmingham-Southern College as a freshman in the fall. On deck to show their support are, from left, his brothers Robby and Rossie, his mom Cynthia Harrison, and his dad Dr. Richard Harrison.)
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