PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions, and national origins.
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I’d like to say “Bravo” and “Thank You” to everyone who participated in the dance, string, and band concerts at school this week and last. I loved each and every performance! Judging by the applause and the number of parents and guests who stayed on after the concerts to compliment the students and their teachers, the audiences loved them, too. Our students deserve high praise for the dedication and hard work that went into their performances. It was a pleasure for me to see how far they have come and how much they have accomplished so far this year.
Next week, the 4th- and 5th-Grade Band performs on Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m. and the Harp Concert is on Dec. 12 at 9:20 a.m. In the Drama Room, our elementary students have several great shows lined up for Friday, Dec. 14.
(See Friendly Reminders for the schedule.
) I hope you'll be able to join us. I can’t think of a better way to usher in the holidays.
Friday Focus
: The Joy of Giving; Tacky Holiday Sweater 5th-Grade Math Activity; Making a Joyful Noise; STEM Lesson on Aerodynamics in 5th Grade; Making Plaster Casts in Sculpture; Family Literacy Month;
Soldiers in the Trenches
; Preschoolers Create Cityscape Mosaics; Kudos and Notable Events; We Sincerely Thank; Weekly Photo Album; Athletic Corner; Friendly Reminders
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The Joy of Giving
Throughout our school community, students and teachers are finding thoughtful and inspiring ways to help others this holiday season.
The Sr. Beta Club helped make the holidays merry and bright for many disadvantaged children by once again sponsoring a Salvation Army Angel Tree drive. This year, our school community filled and donated more than 60 gift bags for the charity. Yesterday, Sr. Beta Club officers readied the contributions for collection by the Salvation Army.
Later in the day, they also delivered "Cookies for Heroes" to local first responders in our area along with thank you notes.
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Senior Beta officers, from left, Sarah Stanfield, Kyra Reeves, Amelia Jennings, and Kalyee Freiberger start collecting Salvation Army Angel Tree gift bags donated by families in our school community on Thursday morning.
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How Much Does It Cost To Rent a Crayon?
Math practice added up to seasonal fun last week in Renee' Miller's 5th-grade classes when students designed party-worthy tacky holiday sweaters on a $100.00 budget.
Everything necessary for designing, coloring, and cutting out the paper sweaters -- even crayons and glue --had to be "purchased" or "rented" from the teacher's "holiday store."
Working in teams, the children had fun building their sweater designs without breaking the budget. It was a great way to put a holiday spin on a math lesson designed to review adding and subtracting numbers with decimals.
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Ethan Vagi, 5B, displays his design for a tacky holiday sweater in math class. The project, which provided practice in adding and subtracting numbers with decimal points, asked students to "purchase" or "rent" all items needed to make the sweaters while keeping to a $100.00 budget.
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Making a Joyful Noise
We enjoyed a glorious week of music in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, compliments of our band and string students and their directors. On Dec. 4, the Beginning Elementary, Advanced Elementary, and Advanced String Orchestras, under the direction of Jennifer and Dan Cassin, performed a concert of classical, traditional, and seasonal music.
The 6th- and 7th- Grade Band conducted by Jill Swetnam presented a concert of solo and ensemble pieces with a holiday flair the morning of Dec. 6. That night, the 7th-12th-Grade Band performed its end-of-the-semester concert. They played rousing victory anthems, holiday favorites, and smooth jazz. Jill Swetnam directed the concert.
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Above: Students in the 7th-12th-Grade Band and director Jill Swetnam warm up before the Thursday night concert in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre.
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Katherine Campbell and Meredith Taliaferro, 6th- and 7th Grade Band Concert, Dec. 6.
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Violinist Zoe Kane, Runnels String Orchestra Concert, Dec. 4.
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Violinists, from left, Micah Roper, Anna Claire Pousson, Adam Chittom, Catherine Bonaventure, and Annie Fink.
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Flying Lessons
To learn about aerodynamics, the students in John Baird's 5th-grade science classes have been making model airplanes. This week, they tested them to see how far they could travel and whether they could fly straight and level. The students took turns flying their planes and measuring the distances they traveled. (The longest was 43 feet.) Next, they flew them through a "tunnel" of hula hoops to see if they could fly straight and level.
"This STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) project requires students to analyze the performance of their gliders and make adjustments using principles they have learned in class," said Mr. Baird. "It was fun and the students loved it."
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Elementary teacher John Baird monitors the action as Alaina Milam, 5C, sends her model airplane through the hula hoop "tunnel" to see if it stays level in flight. (See more photos in the Weekly Album.)
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Making Plaster Casts
... High school sculpture students recently had a chance to mix and pour plaster. They made casts of their hands in wax and then a full copy in plaster. "It is an excellent way to experience the process of mixing and pouring plaster and observing the material as it goes through a chemical transformation from liquid to solid," said art teacher Sydney McGraw. For their next project, they will sculpt new pieces in clay and make duplicates in plaster. (
Photo: From left are Kayleigh Nicholson, grade 12, Brandon Hall, grade 11, and Mrs. McGraw.
)
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Family Literacy Month
... On Nov. 30, Kylie Harbin's 8th-grade English students participated in National Family Literacy Month by adjourning to the Jr./Sr. High Library during class time to read.
Some students focused on moving ahead in their Independent Novel Studies, explained Mrs. Harbin, and others picked a new book (fiction or nonfiction) from an array of age-appropriate titles put on display by librarian Wendy Herumin. (
Photo: Eighth grader Estelle Abel)
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Christmas in the Trenches
... After reading John McCutcheon's picture book
Christmas in the Trenches
during their library time and discussing how people in the military can be stationed overseas during the holidays, the 4th and 5th graders wrote cards and letters to the nephew of one of our staff members serving in Great Britain.
(
Photo: Wesley Doughty and Lauren Ly compose a holiday greeting card for a soldier stationed overseas.)
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Cityscapes from Shapes
...
The pre-kindergartners in Laura Russell's art classes have been learning about the shapes they see when they look at Christmas decorations, especially in buildings outlined with lights. To practice identifying shapes, they are creating cityscape paper collages in bright holiday colors, which is right in line with
their artist of the week, Fernando Leger, a forerunner of cubism and pop art.
(Photo: Ms. Russell and her pre-K students work on collages.)
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... Sophia Horridge
, grade 8, performed at the Gonzales Christmas Tree lighting on Dec. 4 with Center Stage.
... Alumna
Lindsey Young Stimson
(‘99) recently went to work with the USO in Japan, where her husband is serving in the navy. She's doing event planning and marketing in the city of Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture. (
Photo: Lindsey Young Stimson
)
... Art teacher and book illustrator Lee Randall and her writing partner, Todd Michael St. Pierre, are doing a
Chicory and Roux
puppet show and book signing at Citiplace Barnes & Noble on Saturday, Dec. 8 starting at 11:00 a.m.
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... A huge thank you goes to the many members of our
extended school community who joined us for "Runnels on the Rowe" and all of the volunteers who helped with the event
.
The proceeds from purchases made at Barnes & Noble and La Madeleine amounted to approximately $1400. The funds will benefit our elementary and junior and senior high libraries.
... We were able to install
an automatic loop in the driveway gate at the preschool recently thanks to the generosity of an
Anonymous Donor.
Now, if you pull up close to the gate when you leave campus, it will open automatically between 7:00 and 8:33 a.m. for morning carpool and 2:40 and 4:00 p.m. for afternoon carpool. "This is a huge blessing," said Preschool Co-Directors Janice Leger and Karen Runnels, "and makes our hearts overflow with gratitude"
... Many thanks to
Amanda and Evan Kivell
(Kyle, pre-kindergarten, and Zach, 2A) for donating Tonka trucks and other toys to the preschool.
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In this week's photo album: 1st Grade Social Studies, 5th Grade Airplanes, Junior High Owl Pellets, Letters to Soldiers, 5th Grade Math Sweaters, Kindergarten "Gingerbread Houses," and Candids.
(Photo: In kindergarten this morning, Henry Hollenbeck and Zen Somers use frosting, candy, marshmallows, pretzels, Teddy Grahams and more to decorate their picture-perfect "Gingerbread Houses." )
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Collin Coates, Michael Hillman, Ben Hader, Caleb Johnston, Malek Badawi and Grayson Bonfils.
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Rossie Harrison and Shelby Anders.
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Junior High Basketball Players Give Back
Over the Thanksgiving Break, several members of the junior high basketball team generously donated their time to restriping the parking lot at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church. After the Great Flood of 2016, Broadmoor Presbyterian Church opened up the doors to their gym while the Runnels gym was under repair. Since then, the basketball teams continue to use the space for practice. It has become a second home to the players.
Church Secretary Peggy Hammond extended her appreciation for the hard work the students put in while completing the job. “It all looks so nice and clean,” Ms. Hammond said. “Our church members will appreciate being able to see the lines again.”
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VARSITY BASKETBALL
On Friday, the Runnels varsity basketball team lost a tough one to the Episcopal School of Acadiana, 76-71, in overtime. Cade Tate led the team with 26 points and Collin Coates added 23 points. On Tuesday, the Raiders traveled to Plaquemine and defeated St. John 64-50. Cade Tate led the scoring again with 22 points. Collin Coates had a double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. On Thursday, Runnels lost to 4A Woodlawn 59-50. Cade Tate had 12 points and Collin Coates had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Griffin Kennedy and Ben Holliday each had 8 points in the loss. The Raiders are now 10-6 on the season.
Tonight, the Raiders take on Episcopal at Episcopal.
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JUNIOR HIGH BASKETBALL
Saturday night, the Runnels 7th grade basketball team took home 1st place in the Brett and Brett Tournament in Gonzales defeating Prairieville in the championship game. The Raiders crushed St. Theresa, 41-17, Prairieville, 32-22, and Dutchtown Middle, 27-16. This was a huge win for the team members as they face tough competition from some very big schools. The 8th grade team beat St. Theresa 41-17 but suffered losses to Prairieville, 42-32, and Episcopal, 35-23.
On Monday, the 8th grade team lost to Holden, 46-34, while the 7th grade scored a victory, 34-20. Wednesday brought success to both teams as they defeated Frost Middle, with the 7th grade winning, 38-10 and the 8th, 48-18, Z
achary Blaze, 3-1, with the goal scored by Chris Cox.
(Photo: Seventh grade champions celebrate with Coach Sam Coates..)
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JUNIOR HIGH GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Runnels junior high girls teams, White and Blue, played their first games on Thursday at home. The White team played a thriller against Episcopal and won 12-10. Late in the 4th quarter Episcopal tied up the game 10-10 with only 8 seconds left to play. Gracie Coates got the inbound and drove the length of the floor to hit a game-winning shot as the clock expired to give Runnels a 12-10 victory. Lena Huynh and Gracie Coates led the team, each scoring 6 points.
The Runnels Blue team played a tough one against Dunham suffering a loss of 15-14. The Blue team was down by 6 heading into the 4th quarter and fought back to take the lead 14-13 with 1 minute remaining. With 25 seconds left on the clock, Dunham was able to find an open shot to give themselves the 15-14 lead and seal the victory. Annie Garrison led the team, scoring 12 points.
The Raiders White and Blue teams will play next on Tuesday at Copper Mill and Wednesday at St. Luke’s with games at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.
(
Pictured above: Lena Huynh shooting a Free Throw against Episcopal. #10 Gracie Coates and Mikalyn Shay also pictured.
Picture right below: Annie Garrison driving in for a layup. Dru Hairford, Lily Hayden and Ashlynn Harper also pictured.)
SOCCER
The boys varsity soccer team played well this week, tying both games. Coach Chris Stewart said, “We are a young team gaining experience.” Tonight the team will take on Parkview Baptist at 6:00 p.m.
JUNIOR HIGH SOCCER
The junior high soccer teams each suffered losses this week. The girls team lost 4-1 to UHigh, with Lilah Wartelle scoring the only goal. The boys team was defeated by Zachary Blaze, 3-1, with the one goal scored by Chris Cox.
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GET RUNNELS APPAREL AT THE BOOSTER CLUB SPIRIT STORE
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THIS WEEKEND...
TONIGHT
Varsity Girls Soccer
vs. Country Day at Burbank #19 – 6:00 p.m.
Varsity Boys Soccer
at Parkview – 6:00 p.m.
Varsity Boys Basketball
at Episcopal Tournament – TBA
Saturday
Varsity Boys Basketball
at Episcopal Tournament – TBA
Jr. High Boys Basketball
at Hosanna Christian – 7th at 2:00 p.m.
Next Week On Monday
Jr. High Boys Basketball
vs. St. Jean at Home – 7th at 6:00 p.m. & 8th at 7:00 p.m.
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RAIDER FANS ARE THE BEST —SEND US YOUR FAN PICTS!
Email game and fan photos to
n.latiolais@runnels.org
. Please include the event and the name of the students pictured
.
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Dec. 10 /
4th and 5th Grade Band Concert
/ Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 12 /
Harp Concert
/ Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, 9:20 a.m.
Dec. 14 /
Elementary Drama Performances
/ Drama Room,
Snow Show
, grades 4-6 (1st hour drama class, 8:30 a.m., 2nd hour drama class, 9:20 a.m., and 3rd hour drama class, 10:10 a.m.);
Elfenia
, 3A (12:10 p.m.) and 3B (2:25 p.m.);
On with the Snow
, 1A (1:45 p.m.) and 2B (12:50 p.m.)
Dec. 14 /
Jr./Sr. High Tacky Holiday Sweater Contest
Through Dec. 17
/
Toys for Tots Drive at Runnels
/ Collection barrels are in the foyer of the Elementary School. All donations will go to children in the Greater Baton Rouge area. New, unwrapped toys are welcome.
Dec. 19 /
Dance Watch Day
/ Parents of dance students are invited to a dance demonstration during their children’s class period in the Ally Short Dance Studio in the performing arts classroom building. (3rd graders also attending.)
Dec. 20 /
General Music Class Parents Day
/ Room 64, performing arts classroom building, 10:15 a.m. (3rd graders also attending.)
Dec. 20 /
Elementary Holiday Snack
/ 11:30 a.m., provided by PAR
Dec. 21 through Jan.- 4 /
Winter Break
Jan. 7 - /
School Resumes
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