PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions, and national origins.
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In this week's
Focus
: Senior Earns Perfect Score on ACT; Makers Project Meets STEM Challenge; Here Come the Runnels Raiderettes, Our New Dance Team; International Dot Day; Learning Takes Flight in Physical Science; We Sincerely Thank; Friendly Reminders; Weekly Photo Album; and Athletic Corner.
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Senior Earns Perfect 36 on ACT
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Senior Anna Kadi has achieved a perfect score of 36 on the ACT college entrance exam! Only one-tenth of one percent of students who take the test achieve this highest possible score. That’s about one in every one-thousand students.
“Anna is an extremely accomplished yet humble young lady,” said Assistant Head of School and Junior and Senior High Principal Conchetta Foshee. “It takes a tremendous amount of consistent effort to achieve at this level.”
In addition to earning the maximum score on the ACT, Anna recently was named a 2019 National Merit Semifinalist and a 2018 AP (Advanced Placement) Scholar. She has been a student at Runnels since kindergarten. Runnels Head of School Marcia Mackay said it was an honor to be able to “claim her as a Runnels ‘Lifer.’”
When asked what it took to make a perfect 36, Anna said, “I really didn’t think I was going to get it.” This was her third attempt. “I really wanted it,” she said, “I made a 35 before. It was super-hard to cross that last margin.”
To prepare for her college entrance exams, Anna said she worked extensively with a local tutor who helped her tremendously. She also studied ACT review books and took practice tests. Her advice to anyone who wants to do well on the ACT is to study pointedly for this particular exam. “On the test, they’re looking for really specific things,” she explained. Her best areas were science, math, and reading. Anna said she plans to study physics in college and pursue a career in a medical physics field.
Although a dedicated scholar, Anna finds time to get involved in campus clubs and sports. She is an active member of the Senior Beta Club, the National Honor Society, and The Varsity Tennis Team. This year, she’s also captain of The Girls Soccer Team at Runnels.
The daughter of Lisa and Joe Kadi, Anna said that her parents have been very supportive and are “super-proud” of her. (
Photo: Anna Kadi
)
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Makers Project Meets STEM Challenge in 3rd-Grade Science
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This week third-grade science students in Candice Ortlieb’s class solved real-world problems using collaborative group work and the engineering design process.The students were given a makers project to create helpful classroom gadgets out of their favorite building material...Legos! A makers project is
a new school of educational thought that focuses on delivering constructive, project-based learning curriculum and instructional units to students
Students began this lesson by watching “The Lego Story,” a documentary about the formation of the Lego Company and the trials and tribulations of the founder, Ole Kirk Christiansen. He didn’t wake up one morning with the idea of a Lego brick, it took years of designing and redesigning for Christiansen to finally invent the perfect toy.
The project took students through the steps of Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create and Improve as they tinkered with their creations. This gave students opportunities to apply, integrate, and expand their STEM knowledge. Some of the items constructed were pencil containers, tissue holders, headphone hangers, a coat hanger, a tape dispenser, shelves, cup holders and a record holder. As with many real engineering tasks, the design process had students designing and redesigning as they worked through problems to find a solution that worked. Candice said, "These third-graders designed amazing and creative "classroom hacks"." The students are so proud of their work and excited to put their items to use each day.
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Photo:
From left, Head of School and Elementary Principal Marcia Mackay receives a unique pencil holder for her desk from Kalleigh Brown and Ryan Funk.
)
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Here Come the Runnels Raiderettes, Our New Dance Team
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Runnels officially has a dance team. They've dubbed themselves the Raiderettes and you're invited to attend their debut performance at the Jr./Sr. High Pep Rally in the Catalano Gym Sept. 28 at 2:10 p.m.
Congratulations to the 19 members of the Runnels Raiderettes. They are seniors Madaleine Alessi and Hannah Page; juniors Kissa Nicholas-Whitt and Jaidyn Procell; sophomores Ansley Brown, Sophie Edwards, and Caroline Collins; freshmen Hailey Lester and Sydney Mistretta; eighth graders Quin Dukaric, Hannah Landry, Sophia Horridge, Ella Brigman and Piper Davis; and seventh graders Kate Kelfstrom, Poppy Pellissier, Julia Brashier, and Summer Guerin. Some members also will be in the Raiderettes competition squad. Sponsoring and coaching the team is Runnels dance instructor and alumna, Rachel Hart (Class of '09).
(
Photo: back row from left: Sophia Horridge, Jaidyn Procell, Sophie Edwards, Madaleine Alessi, Julia Brashier, Sydney Mistretta, Hannah Page; middle row from left: Hannah Landry, Piper Davis, Quin Dukaric, Caroline Collins, Hailey Lester, Ansley Brown; front row from left: Kate Kelfstrom, Ella Brigman, Summer Guerin, Kissa Nicholas-Whitt, Poppy Pellisier and Sarah Soileau)
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Learning Takes Flight in Physical Science
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To fortify their studies of motion and forces, students in Marcy Faust's physical science classes recently moved outdoors for a flying lesson. They launched gliders they had constructed early in the semester as part of a long-term STEM activity.
"The students were experimenting with the amount of elastic potential energy used to launch the gliders," explained Mrs. Faust, "and measuring the speed, velocity, and momentum of the gliders." It was an exciting way for the students to log some hands-on "in-flight" experience.
(
Photo: From left are Alex Lam, Meredith Taliaferro, and Jacob Schmidt.)
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Connecting the Dots to Kindle Creativity
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A simple dot can launch an avalanche of creativity, which is something our elementary students learned in the library this week when they read
The Dot
by Peter H. Reynolds and did several makers activities to connect with it.
The Dot
tells the story of a teacher who inspires a young art student to overcome self-doubts and find a way to express her creativity and share it with others. The picture book became a global sensation, inspiring the establishment of International Dot Day (Sept. 15), which champions the themes of the book -- courage, creativity, and collaboration.
Just like the little girl in the book, our elementary students stepped up and made their marks this week during their library time by taking part in a series of maker activities to inspire creativity and celebrate collaboration. After reading
The Dot
, they worked on maker projects that were all about dots. They built imaginative structures out of jellied, sugar-coated candy dots and toothpicks together. In another activity, they turned a picture they drew inside a large dot into a 3-D sphere using a website called Quiver. Each grade section also worked collaboratively to color with markers on coffee filters they spritzed with water to create colorful artwork. The discs were collected, mounted on poster boards that were signed by all students in the grade, and displayed in the window of the library.
(
Photo: Sixth graders Ashlynn Harper, Jordynn Osborne, Gibson Guay and Carli Shay work on International Dot Day makers projects during library time.)
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... Congratulations to 5th grader Matthew Campbell for winning the LAMAR Billboard contest at the Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital Mother/Son Dance on Sept. 16. For the competition, participants were asked to draw a small-scale mock-up of a billboard of their life's aspiration, with the winning entry installed in large-scale on a real LAMAR billboard located somewhere in the city of Baton Rouge.
Matthew's billboard expressed his desire to become an actor on Broadway in New York City. He is enrolled in Playmakers of Baton Rouge's fall class, where he was recently cast in the part of Daddy Warbucks for the class production of Annie. Matthew credits his Runnels art teacher, Burgundy Brumfield with showing him "cool tricks" to use when drawing. (
Photo: Matthew Campbell with his prize-winning billboard.
)
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...Thank you to alumnus Cami Russell-Clark ('13) for encouraging a field trip for preschool students to visit the Goodwood Library where she is a Library Technician in the children's room.
Cami's mother, Laura Russell, is an art teacher at the Runnels Preschool in the 4-year-old class.
(Photo: Cami Russell-Clark reading to some of the preschool students at the library.)
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.
.. Many thanks to
Sarah Wyatt,
an investigator with
the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office for visiting with students in Nicole Reid's Forensics class yesterday. She explained to the class what her job entails and some of the procedures she follows while tracking down evidence pertaining to all suspicious, violent, unexplained and unexpected deaths in our parish.
(Photo: Sarah Wyatt with members of Nicole Reid's Forensics class.)
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..
..We thank Arthur Donaldson for leading a donation fund for Runnels. In lieu of gifts for his birthday, he asked for monetary donations and collected $200 for the school. A portion of the money was used to purchase fire blankets for the Life Science, Biology and Chemistry classrooms. He asked that they be donated on behalf of the class of 2024.
(Photo: Arthur Donaldson presenting Biology teacher Ramona Eberly with one of the recently donated fire blankets.)
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Sept. 25 /
Teacher Appreciation Luncheon,
Elementary and Jr./Sr. High Teachers Lounges, 11:00 - 1:30 (This is the first of a series of Teacher Appreciation Luncheons sponsored by the PAR (Parent Association of Runnels). Please
click here
if you would like to sign up to bring an item or to volunteer in the teachers lounge.
Sept. 26 /
Sr. Beta Bake Sale
to Benefit Bark and Roll Rescue (for Jr.Sr. High Students), Pavilion, 11:50 - 12:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 /
Last Day to Sign Up for ACT Prep Workshops at Runnels
: English and Reading on Oct. 2; Mastering ACT Science on Oct. 4; ACT Math Skills on Oct. 9; and a full-length practice test on Oct. 13. The cost is $15 per session. Spots will be billed to Smart Tuition and are non-refundable. Space is limited!
Click here for complete information …
Sept. 28 /
Popsicle Friday
, Elementary Playground, Lunch Recess
Sept. 28 /
Jr./Sr. High Pep Rally
, Catalano Gym, 2:10 p.m.
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-K Story Book Character Parade
, Runnels Preschool, 10:30 a.m.
Oct. 8 /
Columbus Day Holiday
/ No School
Oct. 10 /
PSAT for Grades 10 and 11
, Theatre, 8:30 a.m.
Oct. 13 /
Fall High School Dance
, Catalano Gym, 7:00 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 available starting Oct. 1
Oct. 31 /
Elementary Halloween Celebration and Parade
, Catalano Gym, 8:45 a.m.
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(
Above: Preschool Nurse Vallerie Myer shines a light on germs during a preschool science class lesson on hand washing and germs.
)
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In this week's album: 3rd Grade Science Legos, Sculpture Class, Osmosis Lab in Biology, International Dot Day, Physical Science Parachutes, 4th and 5th Grade Math, Cell Membrane Lab in Biology, Johnny Appleseed in Kindergarten, Preschool and Candids.
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New fans and old are invited to participate in the support organization for athletics at Runnels called the Booster Club. The Runnels Booster Club assists the Athletic Department and all school sports by providing support in many areas such as facilities upkeep, volunteer help, and athletic equipment. There are many ways for volunteers to get involved, from cooking for a crowd to manning the gate.
Semi-Annual Membership Drive through Friday, 9/28
Including Reserved Seating and Season Passes for High School Home sports
Our Spirit Store offers a wide selection of spirit gear for fans of all ages.
Shop now and fill up your cart for the upcoming sale Oct. 12-26.
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Cross Country team rallies together at the AllState/Loyola Sugar Bowl Classic on Sept.15.
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CROSS COUNTRY
Last Saturday, the Raider’s Cross Country teams were tearing up the trails at the
AllState/Loyola Sugar Bowl Classic.
Both the Girls High School and Junior High teams placed 3rd while the Junior High Boys team took 4th.
Junior Annie Fink finished 2nd in the Girls Varsity Race and sophomore Dawson Latona finished 4th in the Boys Varsity Race. Also finishing in the top 10 were Sydney Worsham and Grant Gueho. Each of the runners in the top 10 received a t-shirt. From the junior high girls' team, Molly Sandifer took the lead with an 11th place finish.
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SWIM TEAM
Sunday, the Varsity Swim team made a big splash in their first meet of the season at Crawfish Aquatics! Girls team captain junior Erin Oehrle placed 1st overall in the girls 50-yard freestyle with a personal best time of 26.99 and 4th in the 100-yard backstroke. Sophomore Kate Oehrle placed 1st overall in the girls 100-yard breaststroke with a 1:22.98 and 6th in the 50-yard freestyle. Seniors Spencer and Steven Spivak and junior Hudson Hillman scored points in their individual events and the boys relays scored points in their races.
(Photo: From left, sisters Kate and Erin Oehrle)
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VOLLEYBALL
Last night, the Lady Raiders had a home match against Port Allen. The Lady Raiders took home the victory in 3 games (25-18, 25-16, 25-17). Leading the team was Karli Hebert with 13 assists, Rachel Wehbe with 12 kills and 7 aces, Madison Sutton had 5 digs and Alexis Rogers had 3 kills and 3 aces. The current season record is 5-7.
On Wednesday, the Ladies traveled to W. Feliciana to play W. Feliciana. The team lost in 3 games (9-25, 23-25, 7-25).
Last weekend, the Lady Raiders competed in the Tara Classic. The team went 2-2. For the first time in about 5 years, the Ladies made it out of pool play which placed them within the top 10 teams at the tournament.
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WHAT'S UP NEXT...
Friday —
Varsity Volleyball
– Rumble in the Jungle at Woodlawn
Saturday
Varsity Volleyball
– Rumble in the Jungle at Woodlawn
Jr. High & Varsity Cross Country
Meet at the Battle Field Cross Country Festival at Port Hudson State Park – begins at 8:30 a.m.
Monday—JV & Varsity Volleyball
vs. F.C.A. at Home – 5:00 p.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:
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Runnels pages not maintained by Runnels School:
Facebook:
Instagram:
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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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