September 7, 2018
PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions, and national origins.
FRIDAY FOCUS
 In this week's Focus : Library Fall Used Book Sale Starts Sunday; Recruiting for MATHCOUNTS at Runnels; Jr./Sr. High Writing Center Going Strong; Cast Announced for The Crucible ; Kudos and Notable Events; We Sincerely Thank; Friendly Reminders; Weekly Photo Album; and Athletic Corner.

Library Fall Used Book Sale Opens This Sunday
The hugely popular annual Fall Used Book Sale sponsored by our libraries starts this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and continues through next week. Prepare to be amazed at the enormous selection of second-hand titles available at bargain basement prices. You'll find a galaxy of gently used books ranging from classic children's picture books to blockbuster best sellers. There are mysteries galore and a large selection of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. Prices start at 25 cents per book. Proceeds from the sale will support our library programs.

You'll find children's books in the Elementary Library and young adult and adult titles in the Jr./Sr. High Library. Dates and times for the sale are Sunday, Sept. 9 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 10 through Friday, Sept. 14 from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Bring your kids, friends, neighbors, and relatives and stock up on great reading material at super low prices.

( Photo: Elementary librarians, from left, Leah Pizzalato and Amanda Albin hard at work organizing children's books for the Fall Used Book Sale. )
Recruiting Middle School Mathletes for MATHCOUNTS Team
We're on the lookout for 6th-8th grade students interested in competing for Runnels as "mathletes." The national MATHCOUNTS program, which offers coaching and competitions in math to middle school students, is now available at Runnels. "We're getting together a group of 6th-8th grade students to enter a math competition in February," said Elementary Lead Teacher and MATHCOUNTS co-sponsor Renee' Miller. Also assisting with the program are Runnels parents Mike and Alecia Tate and elementary math teacher Michelle Harper.

To get ready for competition, MATHCOUNTS participants must be willing to meet and eat lunch together on Tuesdays and Thursdays (11:50 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.) for practice and coaching sessions. Weekly assignments also will be part of the training routine. An in-school meet in January will determine who will represent Runnels at the regional MATHCOUNTS competition in February. Only 10 students (a four-person team and six individual competitors) will be selected to carry the colors for Runnels.

The first MATHCOUNTS meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 11:50 a.m. in Room 33. All students interested in the program are invited to attend. For more information, contact Mrs. Miller at r.miller@runnels.org or Mrs. Harper at mich.harp@runnels.org.
Runnels Writing Center Going Strong
Our student-staffed Writing Center, established last fall to help junior and senior high students improve their writing skills, is up and running for the new school year.

The peer mentors staffing the center are seniors Jillian Edmondson, Caroline Henning, Anna Kadi, and Anna Somerville; junior Aubri Watts; and sophomores Anne Leake, Christopher Ortego, Mollybeth Wilkinson, and Christopher Yura. Students are recommended for peer mentoring positions by their English teachers. Candidates undergo an extensive application and interview process supervised by members of the Writing Center Advisory Committee, which includes English teachers Kylie Harbin, Michele Stanfield, and Colleen Leblanc, and Jr./Sr. High Librarian Wendy Herumin, who oversees the Writing Center.

"Our peer mentors spent a full day of training in August using a curriculum similar to that used by LSU to prepare their writing tutors," said Ms. Herumin. "Our tutors do not write papers for students or otherwise complete work for them; they do act as a sounding board to help student customers think through their projects. This valuable feedback process is the same one that professional writers often use as they prepare manuscripts for publication."

Tutoring is offered during lunch hour on Thursdays in the Writing Center located in the Jr./Sr. High Library. Students may book appointments through their English teachers. If an alternative time is required, students may contact Ms. Herumin at gwen.heru@runnels.org

( Photo: Writing Center tutors, front row, from left, Jillian Edmondson, Anne Leake, Aubri Watts, and Mollybeth Wilkinson; back row, Christopher Yura, Anna Somerville, Christopher Ortego, and Jr./Sr. High Librarian and Writing Center organizer and Advisory Committee member, Wendy Herumin.)
Cast Announced for The Crucible, Our Fall High School Drama
The infamous Salem Witch Trials form the historical backdrop for Arthur Miller's award-winning play The Crucible, which will be presented by the Runnels High School Drama Department Oct. 26-28 in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre.

Written in the early 1950s and long considered a modern American masterpiece, the drama tells the story of the 17th-century witch trials as a metaphor for the McCarthy era "Red Scare," when many people, including playwright Arthur Miller, were falsely accused of being communists.

Leading the Runnels cast are Emma Tooraen as Abigail Williams, Landon Simpson as John Proctor, Camille Doucet as Elizabeth Proctor, Alex Morgan as Rev. Parris, Aubri Watts as Betty Parris, Marshall Pentes as Rev. John Hale, and Madaleine Alessi as Rebecca Nurse. Directing the play is Theatre Program Chair Neena McLain.

Showtimes are Friday, Oct. 26 and Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2:00 pm. Online tickets will be available after Oct. 1. ( Photo: Featured in "The Crucible" are, from left, seniors Emma Tooraen, Landon Simpson, and Camille Doucet. )

Kudos and Notable Events
Student Travel Opportunity - Summer Getaway to the Alps ... The Roamin' Raiders are gearing up to hit the road again next summer for a grand tour of Germany and Switzerland! The nine-day trip with stops in Munich, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Lucerne is open to students in grades 9-12, faculty, and alumni.

Trip organizer Jr./Sr. High Assistant Principal Dana Schlotterer will host an informational meeting for anyone interested in the tour on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 153 of Novak Hall. She'll share specifics on the itinerary, costs, and how to sign-up. Spots are limited at this meeting, so please RSVP to confirm your attendance . Enrollment opens at the end of the meeting! ( Photo: Roamin' Raiders tour the Greek Islands, 2018. )

Ms. Harbin Wins $500 and Scholastic Book Club Bonus ... When junior and senior high English teacher and Runnels alum (Class of '96) Kylie Harbin found out that best-selling author James Patterson had teamed up with Scholastic Books for a contest to help teachers purchase books for their class libraries, of course, she was in. This week, she received word that she had actually won! She is one of only 4,000 teachers in a field of 127,000 to be awarded the grant.

"I'm so excited," said Ms. Harbin. Her prize is a $500 grant from author James Patterson plus 500 bonus points from Scholastic Book Clubs to purchase books for her classroom library. "I'll be putting out a questionnaire for my students (grades 8 and 12) to see what books they would like," she added. Congratulations to Ms. Harbin and her students!
New Name for School Store ... Kudos to 8th grader Mira Badawi for submitting the winning entry in the Raider Wrap-Up "Name Our School Store" contest. The new name of our junior and senior high school store is Raider Cove. As a prize, she won a $20 credit for purchases at the imaginatively named Raider Cove.

In other news, the race for the 2018-2019 Raider Spirit Cup is heating up. As reported in the Raider Wrap-Up this morning, the 7th grade is in 3rd place, the seniors are clinging to 2nd, and the juniors have slipped into 1st!

The next Spirit Event is Tuesday's volleyball game starting at 5:00 p.m. in the Catalano Gym. ( Photo: Mira Badawi )
We Sincerely Thank...
Alecia and Mike Tate (Zeb, grade 6, and Daniel, grade 4) for sponsoring MATHCOUNTS at Runnels.
Friendly Reminders
Sept. 9 - 14 / Library Used Book Sale, Runnels Libraries - Sunday, 9/9 from 11 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and Monday, 9/10 - Friday, 9/14 from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Children's books will be available in the Elementary Library and Adult and Young Adult Books will be in the Jr./Sr. High Library. All proceeds will go to the Runnels Library Program.

S ept. 11 / Roamin' Raiders Informational Meeting on 2019 Summer Trip to Germany and the Alps , Novak Hall, Room 153, 6:30 p.m. ( for students and parents )

Sept. 12 / K-12th Grade Yearbook Photo Retakes, Theatre, 8:30 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. Be sure to email snippicsmail@gmail.com if you would like your child to have a retake.

Sept. 14 / Kindergarten Back-to-School Open House , Kindergarten Classrooms, 8:30 a.m. ( This Open House is for currently enrolled kindergartners and their parents. )

Sept. 16 / Kindergarten Sneak-A-Peek Open House for Prospective Kindergarten Families , Kindergarten Classrooms, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
( Above ) Elementary math teacher Julie Stevenson adds extra fun to a first-grade arithmetic lesson this week with a homemade "Math Addition Machine." For the activity, a student drops (for example) 6 pink animal shaped erasers into one of the "machine's" blue and silver "tubes"; then another student puts (for example) 3 purple animal shaped erasers into the other one. The tubes are hollow funnels that deposit the erasers into a common basket under the "machine." The students can actually count the items decanted into the basket to "see" that 6 + 3 = 9; although most of them had the answer before the count was in. The lesson also calls for students to write the addition problems on individual dry erase boards and hold them up when they have the answer. It's a an engaging, entertaining, and highly unique way of practicing addition.

In this week's album:
1st Grade Math, 5th Grade Reading, 4th Grade Art, Elementary Computers, Kindergarten Art and Language Arts, 2nd Grade Library, Physical Science, Preschool Parent Day, and Candids.
Athletic Corner
Volleyball Heats Up

Thursday, the Lady Raiders Volleyball teams traveled to Family Christian for a JV and varsity match up. The JV Ladies claimed a victory in 2 sets while varsity took 4 sets for the win. Varsity was led by Karli Hebert with 20 assists, Rachel Wehbe with 14 kills and 5 aces. Jenna Carballo and Madison Sutton each had 6 digs.

The Ladies prepare for a busy week ahead with games on Monday at Zachary, Tuesday at home against Christ Episcopal, and Thursday at Madison Prep. Friday and Saturday they will compete in the Tara Classic as they face off against Mentorship Academy, Walker and Tara.

Go, Raiders!
2 MILE RUN REGISTRATION DEADLINE APPROACHING

The Battlefield 2 Mile Trail Run is open to the public with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Runnels Cross Country team. Registration is $25 and includes a Battlefield t-shirt and post-race snacks. SportsBR will give back $10 to the school of the runner’s choice. Late registration is $35 after Sept. 16. This race is held during the Battlefield Cross Country Festival.

WHAT'S UP NEXT...
Friday — Junior High Swim Team
Kick-Off Meet – Crawfish Aquatics at 4:30 p.m.

Sunday — Cross Country
EHS Round Table at Highland Road Park – Races begin at 8:20 a.m.

Tuesday — JV & Varsity Volleyball vs. Christ Episcopal
at Home – 5:00 p.m.
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 .  
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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Parent Association of Runnels  (PAR) formerly known as Runnels Parent Organization (RPO)

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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.