PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions, and national origins.
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Today it was our privilege to say "thank you" to the veterans in our school family and to all of America's veterans and let them know how much we appreciate their service to our country. We welcomed more than 45 veterans and service men and women on active duty to our musical programs in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre in observance of Veterans Day this morning. It was an honor to greet them and share the pleasure of their company as students presented their musical tributes to veterans on our stage.
In this week's Focus: Saluting Our Veterans in Song; Playing at Carnegie Hall; Calculations Add Up to Donations in St. Jude Math-A-Thon; Kung Flu Fighters; Kudos and Notable Events; We Sincerely Thank; Weekly Photo Album; Athletic Corner; Friendly Reminders.
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Attending a Veterans Day reception in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre before processing into the auditorium for the Elementary School's assembly are, from left, Founding Headmaster Dr. L.K. Runnels; Mrs. Gladys Runnels; Assistant Head of School Conchetta Foshee; Army veteran Joe Cavet, who served as a corporal in the Korean conflict; World War II Army veteran Orlen M. Sealand, 94, who came ashore at Utah Beach on D-Day and fought at the Battle of the Bulge; Air Force veteran and reservist Major Mike Calhoun, an optometrist who serves with the S-403rd ASTS at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi in support of Hurricane Hunters and an Air Medical Evacuation Squad; U.S. Army Specialist Michael P. Rhorer now stationed in New Iberia; and Head of School Marcia Mackay.
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To honor and thank the men and women who have served or are currently serving our nation as members of the Armed Forces, we hosted two receptions and musical programs in our theatre this morning in observance of Veterans Day.
Presenting the colors and leading the Pledge of Allegiance were Boy Scouts Zeb Tate, grade 6, Michael Hillman, grade 8, Eli Latiolais, grade 8, and Hudson Hillman and Cole Latiolais, grade 11, of Troop 203.
The elementary school's tribute featured performances by the 6th- and 7th-Grade Bands directed by Jill Swetnam, the Elementary String Orchestra conducted by Jennifer Cassin, and the Runnels Harp Choir directed by Gabby Werries. An especially touching moment came when members of Johnice Thoms' elementary general music class sang "Thank You, Soldiers" on stage. As a surprise, all of the elementary students in the audience joined in for the chorus.
Performing at the Jr./Sr. High assembly were the Advanced String Orchestra directed by Jennifer Cassin, the 7th- through 12th-Grade Band conducted by Jill Swetnam, the Jr./Sr. High Harp Choir directed by Gabby Werries, and the Jr./Sr. High Vocal Club conducted by sponsor Johnice Thoms.
"Taps" was played by Olivia Brunner and Luke Hillman, 6B, in the elementary Veterans Day observance and by Caleb Johnston, grade 7, in the Jr./Sr. High program. We sincerely thank the many faculty members who helped organize and direct the events, with a special thank you to Laura Roark for hosting the receptions. (
Photo: Michael Hillman presents the American flag at the elementary Veterans Day assembly.)
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High School Clarinetist To Play at Carnegie Hall
Runnels sophomore Evan Beoubay will pack up his clarinet and take it to New York City in February to participate in the 2019 High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. He is the sixth Runnels student and first band member to be selected for this honor.
The program, which is open to students in grades 9-12, brings together accomplished young musicians from across the nation and around the globe for a performance under a renowned conductor in the world-class venue.
Evan, who has studied clarinet for the last five years under Runnels 6th-12th-Grade Band Director Jill Swetnam, said the application process for the Carnegie Hall program required a written history of his musical experience along with the submission of an audition recording. He played a required etude and "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin.
On his musical resume, Evan included that he had been named to the East Baton Rouge Parish Honor Band, the District IV Honor Band, and the Southeastern Louisiana University Invitational Band.
As a member of the Honors Band at the 2019 High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, Evan will spend five days in New York City. Though much of his time will be spent rehearsing for the Feb. 10 performance, he said he plans to take a 9/11 Memorial tour, attend a Broadway play, and participate in activities with other Honors Band performers.
Evan, who also finds time to participate in Mu Alpha Theta, the Jr./Sr. High Robotics Club, and the varsity tennis team, is the son of Brett and Leigh Beoubay.
(Photo: Evan Beoubay
)
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Getting Their Game On
The 5th graders in Cheyenne Davis' social studies classes have been learning about the ancient Olmec civilization. Recently, they learned that the Olmecs had invented a game that was so popular it was played by almost all of the major Mesoamerican civilizations up to and including the Aztecs. To offer her students a little common ground with the Olmecs, Mrs. Davis invited them to invent their own unique games and play them in class.
Their game could be a board game, a new sport, something with a question-and-answer format, or just about anything else, but it had to be creative and fresh. The rules were simple: Pick an original name, create at least three rules, give the game an objective, and make it playable.
To figure out how to construct a game and come up with rules, the students read instructions from kitchen table games like Uno, Boggle, and Battleship, said Mrs. Davis. For more ideas, they also visited a make-your-own-game website. Before making the games, the students, who worked in teams, shared their information with Mrs. Davis on Google Classroom. This week, it was Game On! Students brought their games to class and played them together. (
Students in 5B try out a new board game invented by Zoe Kane, Rebecca Ortlieb, Elise Parrish, and Riley Whittemore
.)
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Math-A-Thon Donations Add Up
The elementary school raised a grand total of $5,624.00 in donations last month for the annual St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's Math-A-Thon. To collect contributions, students in grades 1-6 were invited to sign up sponsors to pay for the completion of math problems in a "fun book" provided by St. Jude's.
The top fundraisers this year were Jordan Bergeron, 3A, who brought in $1,310; Laura Golda, 5A, who gathered $1,000 for the charity; and Peyton Troxler, 3A, who rounded up $650 in donations. Many thanks to them, Math-A-Thon sponsor Christine Pousson, and everyone who helped make this appeal a success. (
Photo: Jordan Bergeron, Laura Golda, and Peyton Troxler.
)
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Kung Flu Fighters!
Runnels alumna Haley Evans ('13), now a senior nursing student at Southeastern Louisiana University, came back to campus this week with a team of her fellow nursing students to share information about preventing the spread of the flu with 4th-grade science students in Madalyn Arboneaux's classes.
The 4th graders rotated through three very hands-on interactive stations the nursing team brought along as teaching tools. A very popular station featured a "germ light." When the 4th graders applied a lotion to their hands and held them under the (ultra-violet) "germ light," germs showed up as white spots. It took 20 seconds of hand washing or two choruses of "Happy Birthday" to make the germs disappear.
Haley and the other nursing students in her cohort are due to graduate in December. Many thanks to them and their instructor, Denise Hart, for sharing their knowledge with our young students. (
Photo: A group of 4th-grade science students who became "Kung Flu Fighters" after a visit from Runnels alumna Haley Evans, second from left, back row, and the student nursing team from Southeastern.)
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Newly Elected
... Congrats to Runnels alumnus Donald Little ('89) for being elected to the Caddo Parish School Board on Nov. 6. (
Photo: Evelyn, Donald, Will, and Katie Little.
)
Pumpkin Contest Winners
... Kudos to the winners of the PAR's Fall Fling Pumpkin Contest. They are Isabella Dispenza-Haselden, 3B, Best Carved Pumpkin; Laura Golda, 5A, Best Painted Pumpkin; and Sammy Ismail, 5C, Best Storybook Character.
Care Packages for Troops
... As the holidays draw near, our Sr. Beta Club members are reaching out to troops deployed overseas. They're teaming up with U.S. Army Recruiting Station Sgt. Paul Hill and members of his staff to send them care packages full of specifically requested items such as disposable razors, music on thumb drives, and protein bars. Each box also contains a personal thank you note and a holiday card. Army Recruitment Station personnel picked up the packages at Runnels today and will make sure they get to our troops.
Art Hop
...
Teachers Sydney McGraw and Amy Guillory will participate in the Mid City Cultural District’s 2018 White Light Night Art Festival on Friday, Nov. 16, from 6-10 p.m. Ms. Guillory will have her hand crafted jewelry on display at The Pink Elephant and Ms. McGraw will exhibit her paintings at The Red Stick Spice Company.
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... The
Hargrove Foundation of Hargrove Engineers and Constructors
for awarding a $1,400 grant to the Runnels Jr./Sr. High Robotics Club.
...
Kendra Scott Jewelry
at Perkins Rowe
for the donation of a necklace and earrings to be raffled off online as part of the Fall Scholastic Book Fair. Proceeds will benefit the Elementary Library.
... Music teacher
Johnice Thoms
for helping our elementary students learn the words to the song "Thank You, Soldiers," which they performed this morning at the elementary school's Musical Tribute to Veterans. She shared a music video of the song featuring subtitles of the lyrics with our elementary teachers who then taught it to the students. (
Photo: Johnice Thoms
)
... Our
Fall Fling PAR volunteers
, with shout-outs to Theatre Program Chair
Neena McLain
and her
drama and technical theatre students
for the Haunted Theatre, Art Department Head
Lee Randall
and art teacher
Sydney McGraw
and the
Art Club
for Face Painting,
Michele Stanfield
and the
Sr. Beta Club
for the Monster Toss, and Elementary Librarians
Amanda Albin
and
Leah Pizzalato
for the Book Walk.
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In this week's album: Elementary Book Fair, DNA Retrieval in Biology, Fall Fling, Forensics Lab, Skittle Math, Receiving Yearbooks, and Candids.
(At left: At the preschool this week,
Keiran Rosenbrook, in front, and Oliver Thomas put their building skills to work.)
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RUNNELS APPAREL AVAILABLE YEAR ROUND AT THE BOOSTER CLUB SPIRIT STORE
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VOLLEYBALL
Congratulations to the Runnels volleyball team for winning district honors, which were announced this week. Junior Karli Hebert and seniors Rachel Wehbe and Madison Sutton were named to the 2nd team All-District for Volleyball. Hannah Cassano, Rachel Hargrove and Jenna Carballo received Honorable Mention.
Kudos to senior Madison Sutton for being named to the All-Academic Composite team. This award goes to senior athletes with a composite GPA of 4.0.
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SOCCER
The high school boys soccer team kicks off the season with their first game on Thursday, Nov. 15 at Central High School.
SWIMMING
Next week, the Runnels swim team will compete in the State meet on Nov. 14 and 15.
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VARSITY BASKETBALL
The Raiders bounced back from their opening season loss by winning three games in a row. Last Friday, they defeated JS Clark in overtime 63-57. It was a hard fought game, but some late free throws by Cade Tate finished off JS Clark. Cade led Runnels with 23 points and 5 assists. Ben Holliday and Collin Coates each added 11 points.
Runnels traveled to Maurepas on Monday where the Raiders defeated the Wolves 90-49. The game was never in question, and five players scored in double figures. Cade Tate scored 23 points, Wesley Stevenson added 17, Phillip Lukinovich scored 16, Collin Coates had 11, and Ben Holliday put in 10.
The Raiders defeated the Midland Rebels last night 66-45. Runnels never trailed and rode a 14 point first quarter lead the rest of the game. Cade Tate led the Raiders with 17 points and 6 assists. Collin Coates added 11 points and 6 rebounds. All but one player scored for the Raiders. Runnels will take on JS Clark tonight at home. JV starts at 6 p.m. and varsity is at 7 p.m.
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CROSS COUNTRY
The junior high Running Raiders concluded their season at the Warrior Run last Saturday with season best times and new PRs.
The varsity team is in final preparations for the state championship on Monday, Nov. 12 at NSU, Natchitoches. Both the girls and boys teams are in position to capture top honors. Head Coach Julie Fink asks for "lots of Raider spirit and positive energy sent our way, as we finish up the 2018 XC season."
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JUNIOR HIGH BASKETBALL
On Tuesday, the junior high basketball teams faced off against Doyle and ended up with two wins and a loss. The 6th-grade team lost to Doyle, 38-16, while the 7th graders won 33-30. Cooper Coates had 18 points and Rossie Harrison hit 3-4 free throws in the last 15 seconds of the game to seal the deal. The 8th grade Raiders crushed Doyle, 42-24. Shelby Anders and Alex Lam scored 10 points each.
Wednesday evening, the Raiders teams suffered losses to North Corbin Middle School. The 6th-grade team was defeated 32-16. Preston Treadaway led the team, scoring 6 points. The 7th graders lost 42-26, with Cooper Coates leading the boys by scoring 14 points. The 8th grade also lost 36-24, with Alex Lam scoring 8 points.
Photo: Sixth-grader Preston Treadaway taking a shot.
Photo provided by Matt Hebert, father of seventh-grader, Noah.
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WHAT'S UP NEXT...
TONIGHT
Boys Basketball
vs JS Clark at Home – JV at 6:00 p.m. & Varsity at 7:00 p.m. Spirit Event!
On Monday
Cross Country State Championship
in Natchitoches – all day
Jr. High Boys Basketball
at Juban Parc – 7th grade at 5 p.m. & 8th grade at 6 p.m.
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SHOW YOUR RAIDER SPIRIT—SEND US YOUR FAN PICTS!
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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Today through Nov. 16 /
Elementary
Library's Fall Scholastic Book Fair
CLICK HERE FOR EVENT CALENDAR
Nov. 11 /
Advanced String Orchestra Performances at Broadmoor United Methodist Church
/ 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Services
Nov. 14 /
Around the World in Eight Plays
/ Jr. High Drama Performance, Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, 7:00 p.m., Free and Open to the Public. Donations are welcome.
Nov. 15 /
Jr./Sr. High Western Pep Rally
/ Catalano Gym, 2:10 p.m.
Nov. 19 - 23 /
Thanksgiving Holidays
Nov. 26 /
School Resumes
Nov. 29 /
Open-Eyes Presentation
/ by former Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff and his son, Kelly LeDuff, Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, Grades 7-12 Attending
Dec. 14 - Dec. 7 /
Toys for Tots Drive at Runnels
/ Collection barrels will be in the foyer of the Elementary School. All donations will go to children in the Greater Baton Rouge area. New toys that are not gift wrapped are welcome.
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