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
: Library Fall Used Book Sale Sept.15-20;
FIRST
LEGO League Jr. Powers Up at Runnels;
After-School ACT Prep Workshops Available on Campus; What Are You Reading; Kindergarten Sneak-A-Peek Open House for Prospective Families Oct. 20; Runnels Poems Selected for Literary Anthology;
Media Arts Students Design Promotional Materials for High School Play;
Kudos and Notable Events; Thank Yous; Friendly Reminders; Weekly Photo Album; and Athletic Corner.
Correction
: In the "Young Entrepreneur" article in last week's issue, we incorrectly referred to Bailey Hyatt's dad as David Hyatt. His name is Danny Hyatt. We apologize for the error, which was unintentional.
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Library Fall Used Book Sale Opens Sunday
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If you’re looking for a good book or two or ten, chances are you’ll find them at our Fall Used Book Sale, which opens this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and continues through next week.
Shop for children’s titles in the Elementary Library (25 cents per book) and young adult and adult titles in the Jr./Sr. High Library (10 books for $1.00).
We have thousands of gently used books for all ages -- both fiction and non-fiction -- at bargain basement prices. Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to stop by and stock up!
All proceeds will support the Runnels Library Program.
Fall Used Book Sale Hours:
Sunday, Sept. 15, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 16 through Friday, Sept. 20
from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
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FIRST LEGO League Jr. Powers Up at Runnels
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The positive response to starting a kindergarten through third grade robotics club at Runnels was nothing short of "overwhelming," reports elementary teacher Nicole Roton, who is co-sponsoring the group along with her husband Ryan: "All 18 spots on the teams were filled within three hours of sending out the sign-up form!"
Beginning Oct. 7, the club, formally known as FIRST LEGO League Jr., will meet weekly to help introduce youngsters to robotics, programming and basic STEM concepts (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). "At the first few meetings, we will be doing lessons that acquaint the kids with our WeDo robotics kits," said Mrs. Roton. "They will start by building a snail and creating a simple program to make a light on its 'shell' blink and change colors."
Members also will learn how to write programs to "control the bots and explore their capabilities," Mrs. Roton added. "From there, we will begin this year's FIRST LEGO League Jr. challenge -- Boomtown Build. The kids will research a problem, devise a solution, and build a model to demonstrate their solution."
Several Runnels parents have volunteered to work with our teams. They include Jared McCann, Allen Etheridge, Kristen and Sean Healy, Jessica Carkuff, Michael Wiltcher, Amanda Albin, and Eunice McCarney. Computer and programming expert and Roton family friend Jeremy Pleasant is also on board.
Mrs. Roton said she has started a waiting list for students who still want to join and hopes to be able to add three to four additional teams next year. If you are interested in volunteering or donating a robot kit or would like more information, please contact [email protected].
(
Photo: With Nicole Roton are
FIRST LEGO League Jr.
members, from left, Emmett Murphy, Robbie Roton, Dean Smith, Abram McCann, and Brodie Linford.)
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After-School ACT Prep Workshops Available on Campus
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Runnels will hold a series of after-school workshops next month to help high school students prepare for the Oct. 26 national ACT Exam. (A similar program will be offered in the spring prior to the April 4 ACT.)
The session includes four workshops in the areas of English, Reading, Math, and Science, plus a diagnostic test prior to the workshops and a practice test afterwards. A full year's access to Method Test Prep is also part of the package. Method Test Prep is an online course designed to improve ACT test scores and build math, reading, and writing skills. It has tutorials, quizzes, tests, videos, and practice questions as well as instant diagnostic feedback.
The cost of the fall session is $150. All fees are processed through Smart Tuition and are non-refundable. The registration deadline is Sept. 27. Other important dates include a pre-workshop diagnostic test on Oct. 5; workshops on Oct 8 (English), Oct. 10 (Reading), Oct. 15 (Math), and Oct. 17 (Science); and a post-workshop practice test on Oct. 19. Times and locations will be provided at a later date. More information: [email protected]
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So, What Are You Reading?
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We caught up up with this week's featured reader, fifth grader Brody Osborne, at the end of a class on Thursday. He had a few minutes to spare and was deep into his current free reader, a graphic novel titled
Amulet, Supernova
by Kazu Kibuishi. It's the eighth installment in the
Amulet
series, which Brody definitely recommends -- with one qualification.
"It's for third grade and higher," he said. Even though the series has some scary bits, Brody likes the books and has already plowed through the other seven volumes. As yet, there's no number nine, but don't worry, Brody won't run out of reading material. "I have another book in my locker," he said. His next free reader is the adrenaline pumping
Shark Wars
by EJ Altbacker.
All eight titles in the
Amulet
series are available in the Elementary Library, and when the ninth book -- and rumored final installment -- is published, it will be added to the collection. In the meantime, Elementary Librarian Leah Pizzalato suggests that young readers in search of similar fare give the
Bone
series by Jeff Smith and
Dream Jumper
by Greg Grunberg a try. They, too, are graphic novels.
(
Photo: Fifth grader Brody Osborne spends some time at the end of a class with his free reader, "Amulet, Supernova.")
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Runnels Poems Selected for Literary Anthology
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Congratulations to the 32 sophomores whose original poems were selected for publication in Creative Communication’s
A Celebration of Poets, Summer 2019
. For many, this is the second time their work has appeared in a Creative Communication anthology.
The authors are Emma Allerheiligen, Omar Badawi, Omid Boushehri, Drew Burbank, Charlie Garrison, Nick D’Gerolamo, Josh Freeman, Michal Gawronski, Marcus Glaze, Blaiklee Guillot, Jake Haase, Robby Harrison, Katie Hinkle, Lunn Hitchcock, Lindsey Huynh, Reagan Kyle, Lance LeBlanc, Hailey Lester, Sydney Mistretta, Kyle Nicholson, Gareth Oram, Abby Robbins, Ramsey Rogers, Ryan Roper, Brieanna Saltzman, Emily Schacht, Jacob Schmidt, Reese Seymour, Cooper Smither, Jacob Tate, Drake Tooraen, and Sydney Worsham.
The poems were submitted by high school teacher Michele Stanfield when the students were in her freshman English class last spring.
(
Photo: Among the poets whose work will appear in the summer 2019 edition of Creative Communications' A Celebration of Poets' are, front row, from left, Sydney Worsham, Ryan Roper, Hailey Lester, Abby Robbins, Emily Schacht, and Lindsey Huynh; back row, Michal Gawronski, Omid Boushehri, Jake Haase, Charlie Garrison, Robby Harrison, and Jacob Tate.)
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Media Arts Students Design Promotional Materials for High School Play
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Students in Nicole Latiolais' Media Arts II and III classes recently took on the role of graphic designers in an advertising agency. Each was tasked with creating promotional materials for our theatre’s upcoming production of Agatha Christie’s
And Then There Were None
.
Provided with a brief summary of the show and a list of design parameters, each student designed a t-shirt, poster and program cover. Theatre teacher and play director Sonya Blanchard and the assistant director, Madisan Milam, grade 11, were assigned the role of clients and selected one of the t-shirt designs to be printed for the cast. From the six unique designs, sophomore Drew Burbank’s was chosen. The other contributing designers include Kade Damon, Natalie Fairley, Marshall Pentes, Connor Porthouse and Ian Shaneyfelt.
The students used Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create their designs. The poster designs will be used as promotional materials for the show and displayed throughout the main campus and in the foyer of the Theatre.
And Then There Were None
will run Oct. 25 and 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre. Advance tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students. At the door, tickets are $12. Tickets will be available for online purchase soon.
(
Photo: Drew Burbank displays his winning design for "And Then There Were None.")
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Golf Scholarship
... Congratulations to Runnels alum
Taylor Kennedy Ross
('15), now a senior at Mississippi State, for being selected as a scholarship recipient by the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM). She also received a complimentary AGM membership. (
Photo: Taylor Kennedy Ross
)
On Stage in New Orleans
... Runnels alumnus
Landon Simpson
('19), now a freshman at Loyola University in New Orleans, has been cast in its theatre department's first mainstage production of the school year, Kaufman and Hart's
You Can't Take It With You
. Watch for Landon in the role of Ed Carmichael, an amateur printer and xylophone player, in this quintessential American comedy. It runs Oct. 4-12 at Loyola's Marquette Theatre
.
Click here for more information and tickets
.
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Carli Shay (left) and Sarah Ortleib buddy up in Kitty Gantt's seventh grade Life Science class for a mini-lab on reflexes.
Wearing protective goggles, students gently tossed Styrofoam peanuts at each other's faces to see if they would blink, or in more scientific terms, respond to stimuli in the environment.
The class has been learning about the characteristics of living organisms.
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Disco Dance Party T-Shirt Designs
...
Kudos to junior Connor Porthouse and senior Jaidyn Procell for submitting the winning artwork for the High School Disco Dance T-Shirt Contest. Both designs will appear on the event t-shirt. Many thanks to the Class of 2023 and its sponsors, Amy Taliaferro and Gina Golda, for hosting the dance and organizing the contest.
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Night Hike
... Members of the Nature Club participated in BREC’s Summer’s End Night Hike and Campfire at Manchac Park last Friday night. “We learned about diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal animals in the wild and how they live in their environment,” said club sponsor Sydney McGee. The hikers wrapped up the event by eating s'mores and telling tales around a campfire.
Participants included students Joseph Hebert, Addison Latona, Lexie Laplace, Jake Carey, Annabelle Pepitone, Summer Guerin, Alyssa Oubre, Hope Oubre, Alaysia Mandujano, Zayne Mandujano, Kaylee Caillouet, Cooper Smither, Fatima Ahmad, Jacob Tate, Lunn Hitchcock, and Tyler Thibodeaux and parents Angie Guerin, Lucy and Coby Hebert, Misty Mandujano, Tanya Oubre, Lisa Pepitone, and Michelle Thibodeaux.
(
Photo: Enjoying the campfire during the Nature Club's trip to Manchac Park are, from left, Joseph Hebert, Tyler Thibodeaux, Alyssa Oubre, and Kaylee Caillouet.)
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Working the room and taking notes at the "mixer" for the pretend World Population Health Conference in AP (Advanced Placement) World Geography this week are, from left, freshmen Mason Pentes, Eli Latiolais (in background), Alex Frederic, John Latona, and Lucy Reeves (in background). The activity introduced students to new vocabulary and concepts for an upcoming topic of study about world population patterns. The "mixer" also involved pretzels, ginger ale, and a YouTube playlist from the 1930s.
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World Population Health Conference "Mixer" in AP Human Geography Class
To introduce the topic of Populations and Migration Patterns in AP Human Geography, teacher Samantha Chaisson invited her students to a "mixer" at the make-believe "World Population Health Conference."
For the activity, students were assigned the roles of conference attendees representing different countries and time periods. For homework the night before, they prepared for the party by reading summaries of their character's lives, situations, and points of view on population issues affecting their country and/or time in history. At the mixer, students had to stay in character while mingling with other attendees to find out what population issues they and their countries were facing.
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Used Book Sale Volunteers
... A huge thank you goes to the volunteers who helped sort through books to help set up the Fall Used Book Sale in our libraries. Special shout outs go to the Senior Beta Club and sponsor Michele Stanfield for assisting in the Jr./Sr. High Library and the parents, friends, and staff members who volunteered in the Elementary Library. (
Photo: Elementary Library Used Book Sale volunteers include, from left, Elementary Librarian Amanda Albin, Amanda Francois, Candice Craig, Laura Tomlinson, Kristin Morgan, elementary teacher Catherine Barger, and Steve Crowson.
PAR Teachers Luncheon
... We sincerely thank the Parent Association of Runnels (PAR) and president Blake Stevenson for organizing and hosting the lovely Welcome Back Luncheon for faculty and staff in the Elementary and Jr./Sr. High School Teachers' Lounges on Thursday. We were treated to a beautifully catered lunch of finger sandwiches, pizza, salads and fixings, and an assortment of scrumptious pastries from La Madeleine. It was much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed!
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In this week's album: First Grade Science Sensory Lab, AP Biology Beets, AP World Geography Population, Kindergarten Art, Life Science Blink Lab, Poets, Dodgeball and Candids.
(Photo: Working on the letter "E" in a Handwriting Without Tears activity at preschool are, from left, Brynn Hymel, TJ Kiggans, and Luke Patton.)
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Visit the Booster Club’s Spirit Store for Runnels Apparel Year Round!
Click below to enter store.
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CROSS COUNTRY
In the first meet of the season, the Cross Country team hit the ground running in the West Feliciana Relays last Saturday in St. Francisville. Senior Annie Fink was the first individual female to cross the finish line, taking first place in that category.
The high school girls team of Ashleigh Cooper, Piper Davis, Annie Fink, Blaiklee Guillot and Bailey Hyatt placed sixth out of 18 teams. The high school boys had two teams. The team of Eric Ho, Mason Pentes, Ethan Ho, Dawson Latona and Shep Butner finished 16 out of 30 teams. Also representing Runnels was the second team composed of Tyler Thibodeaux, Ryan Ly, Jonathan Harper and Jacob Folse.
The junior high girls had three teams racing. The team of Carli Shay, Paige Ashley, Annie Garrison and Lilah Wartelle finished sixth out of 17 teams. Also competing were the team of Emma Felton, Mikalyn Shay, Ashlynn Harper and Olivia Brunner and the team of Alex Griffin, Emma Smith, Kiera Slaton and Madelyn Sandifer. The boys team of Alex Hayden, Mason Pizzalato, Evan Ho and Stuart Roark and the team of Andrew Hart, Will Reonas, Joseph Hebert, Tyler Felton, Adin Brunner also competed. Head Cross Country Coach Julie Fink said she is proud of “all of our new Running Raiders who crossed the finish line for the first time!”
Tomorrow morning, the team will take on Episcopal at Highland Road Park.
(Photo: High school girls team members Piper Davis, Blaiklee Guillot, Bailey Hyatt, Annie Fink and Ashleigh Cooper.)
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SWIMMING
The Swimming Raiders are kicking off their season this weekend. Today at 4:30 p.m., the junior high team will swim in its opener, and the high school swim team will have its first meet Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. Both competitions will be held at Crawfish Aquatics.
Make a splash, Raiders!
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VOLLEYBALL
This week the Lady Raider volleyball team took on False River and Central Private and will be playing Woodlawn, Glen Oaks and Northeast in the Tara High School Classic today and Saturday.
Lady Raiders played False River and lost 0-3 (22-25, 9-25, 20-25). Emma Schlotterer had 4 kills, Karli Hebert had 6 assists and 3 aces and Jenna Carballo had 10 digs. The Ladies will take on False River again next week at home on Monday. Freshmen will play at 4 p.m., JV at 5 p.m. and Varsity at 6 p.m.
The Lady Raiders took a hit last night against Central Private, but will take them on again at home on Thursday with JV at 5 p.m. and Varsity at 6 p.m. Leading the team last night were Karli Hebert with 16 assists and Jenna Carballo with 2 aces and 12 digs. Grace Smith and Rachel Hargrove both had 7 kills.
Come out Monday and see the Ladies take on False River in a rematch.
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NEXT WEEK
On Saturday
Cross Country
vs. Episcopal at Highland Road Park – 8:20 a.m. girls, 9:00 a.m. boys
SPIRIT EVENT
Swim Meet
at Crawfish Aquatics– 4:30 p.m.
Volleyball
Tara Classic – Time TBA
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RAIDER PARENTS ARE THE BEST FANS!
SEND US YOUR PHOTOS FOR THE FOCUS
Email photos to
[email protected].
Please include the date and location of the event and the students pictured
.
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Sept. 15 - 20 /
Fall Used Book Sale /
Elementary Library and Jr./Sr. High Library, Sunday, 9/15 from 11 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and Monday, 9/16 - Friday, 9/20 from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. All proceeds will go to our library program.
Sept. 18 /
Preschool Yearbook Picture Day /
Activity Building, 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 18 /
Booster Club Meeting /
7:00 - 8:00 p.m., Catalano Gym. Members and interested parents are invited.
Sept. 20 /
Kindergarten Back-to-School Open House /
Friday, Sept. 20, 8:30 a.m., Theatre /Kindergarten Classrooms. (
This event is for Kindergarten students and their parents.
)
Sept. 27 /
Popsicle Friday
/ Grades 4-6, on playground at recess
Sept. 28 /
Sadie's High School Dance (Disco Party) /
Catalano Gym, 7:00 p.m.
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