50 Years of Excellence in Education
Runnels Preschool
6455 Jefferson Highway
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
225-927-5803
Grades K through 12
17255 S. Harrell’s Ferry Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
225-751-5712
www.runnels.org
Reporter
April 2015
Gearing Up for a Strong Zip Fit Finish
As we approach
lenge of completing
the finish line in our
40,000 miles, Junior
50th anniversary Zip
and Senior High PrinFit Challenge, event
cipal and Guidance
co-organizer and
Counselor Conchetta
Cross Country and
Foshee and ElemenTrack coach Julie
tary Principal and
Fink reports that as of
Guidance Counselor
March 25, “Runnels
Marcia Mackay have
has zipped 28,046.20
volunteered to spend a
miles.”
school day zip tied toThe grey team is
gether, and Headmasstill ahead (9,898.3
ter Dr. Greg Brandao
miles), but the blue
has vowed to run the
Zip Fit Fun - Cheering each other
team is closing in
2016 Louisiana Halfon at the kindergarten buddy circuit
(9,269 miles) and
Marathon in honor of
workout on March 30 are (from left)
Madisan Milam, Emily Daquano,
white is coming on
Runnels School.
strong (8878.9 miles). Harper Guay and Fatima Ahmad.
On March 30, kin“The goal of completing 40,000
dergarten fitness teacher Mary Winnett
miles is in sight,” said Mrs. Fink. “Ev- orchestrated a kindergarten/6th-grade
ery mile logged makes a difference.
buddy activity that coupled fitness and
The time is now for all of us to come
fun. She planned, organized and set up
together and finish strong.”
a 30-minute, 35-station circuit workIf we meet our administrators’ chal- out on the elementary playground for
Like Us on Our New Facebook Page
We are pleased to announce the creation of an
official Runnels School
Facebook page. The new
page, which had a soft launch on
March 26, will be updated with content from our website and will provide
one more way of staying connected
with people, news, information and
initiatives at Runnels.
Please visit our new page soon and be
sure to LIKE us!
The Runnels School Alumni
Facebook page, started in 2013, will
continue in its mission to foster a
relationship between the school and
its growing ranks of alumni. The page
will offer news about graduates, faculty, events and initiatives of interest
to our alumni community.
kindergartners to do along with their
6th-grade buddies.
“It was a wonderful way to get in
some fitness and spend quality time
with our buddies,” said Mrs. Winnett.
Also on hand for the event was
Mrs. Fink, who teaches 6th-grade science. “The circuit workout epitomizes
what we’re
trying to do
with the Zip
Fit Challenge,” she
explained.
“We want to
get students
moving and
we want to
James Power helps his
encourage
kindergarten buddy, Tyler
Felton, read instructions for them to build
a station on the circuit.
friendships.”
To officially mark the conclusion
of the Zip Fit Challenge, we’ll hold a
school-wide Closing Ceremony Pep
Rally on Monday, April 13, at 8:40
a.m. on the softball field. Parents are
cordially invited to join us for this
special event.
“Wear comfy shoes,” Mrs. Fink advised. “We’ll assemble into our teams
(grey, blue or white) and walk the last
half-mile of the challenge together on
the Trail of Dreams.” For the event,
participants are invited to wear t-shirts
in their team colors or Runnels logo
t-shirts. We’ll add everybody’s final
half-mile to our zip fit challenge totals,
Mrs. Fink said.
At the pep rally, the winning team
will be announced and prizes awarded,
cheerleaders will cheer, the 6th-12thGrade Band will play, a light breakfast will be provided by the RPO,
and we’ll finish up with a flourish by
running through the varsity Raiders’
big blue inflatable arch, which will be
stationed on the softball field.
April 2015
The oldest independent school in Baton Rouge, Runnels has always been the school for all races, www.runnels.org
religions and national
origins.
1
Great Showing at District Rally
Runnels enjoyed outstanding success at this year’s District Rally held
March 21 at Southeastern Louisiana
University. Nine of our competitors
finished first in their subjects, ten
placed second and three came in third.
Runnels captured both 1st- and 2ndplace honors in four subjects: Biology
I, Computer Science, English I and
English IV. In addition, 17 Runnels
students qualified for State Rally,
which will be held on April 25 at LSU.
First-place winners and their
subjects were: Grant Connor, Advanced Math-Functions and Statistics;
Evie Axelrod, Art, Category 2; Sean
Parker, Biology I; Sam Matthews,
Chemistry; Robert Law, Computer
Science; Alex Acosta, English I; Tazkia Shah, English IV; Louise Cramp,
Spelling; and Austin Stansbury, World
Geography.
Earning 2nd place were Daniel
Mayeux, Algebra I; Irene Lewis,
American History; Jeehan Mikdadi,
Biology I; Drake Fromenthal, Computer Science; Rosie Pham, English
I; Connor Matthews, English IV; Eva
Kruger, French III; Kayla Evans, Geometry; Taylor Schoen, Health; and
John Wiese, World History.
In 3rd place were Andrew Mitchell, Calculus; William Lurker, English
III; and Joseph Curtis, Introduction to
Business Computers.
Congratulations to all.
Senior Beta Club Adds New Members
The Senior Beta Club inducted
31 new members at a candlelight
ceremony held in the Gladys Hague
Runnels Theatre in January.
Congratulations to freshmen
Harrison Bonaventure, Ila BordelonWalker, Lyle Bordelon-Walker, Sara
Brandenburg, Elizabeth Daigle, Ally
Garrity, JP Guillot, Catherine Henning, Kaylen Howe, Bruce Huynh,
Natalie Justus, Brandon Kelfstrom,
Jourdan Milton, Rosie Pham, Humza
Pirzadah, Parker Rhinehart, Kaitlyn Roy, Abigail Scarton, Ashley
Stansbury, Austin Stansbury, Michael
Stevenson, Caitlyn Thompson,
Sophie Treadaway, Jessie Tregre and
Stephen Worsham; sophomore Beatriz Carmona; juniors Grant Connor,
Heather Edwards, Evan Garrity and
Robbye March; and senior Andrew
Hyde.
At the ceremony, inductees recited
the Beta pledge and were presented
with their club credentials by Beta
officers Alex Stansbury, president;
Kim Lam, vice president; John
Wiese, treasurer; and Irene Lewis,
secretary. Senior Beta sponsors are
Michele Stanfield and John Baird.
Newly installed Senior
Beta members display
their club
credentials
after the 2015
induction ceremony held
in the Gladys
Hague Runnels Theatre
in January.
Attention Coaches and Club Sponsors: We would like to include a picture of your group
in the 2014-15 Runnels yearbook. Please email [email protected] or call the yearbook office
(225-751-2192) to make arrangements for your group photo to be included.
If you have news, please send it to [email protected].
2 www.runnels.org April 2015
Going Gold
Wyatt Horridge, a 2nd grader at
Runnels, was named all-around state
champion in his age category at the 2015
Louisiana Men’s State Gymnastics Meet
held March 14 at CG’s Gymnastics in
Baton Rouge. He also qualified as a
member of the Louisiana Men’s State
Gymnastics team.
Wyatt Horridge with his medals at the 2015
Louisiana Men’s State Gymnastics Meet.
Wyatt, competing at level 5, won 1st
place honors in floor exercises (10.8),
pommel horse (11.9), rings (11.6), vault
(9.5), parallel bars (9.4) and high bar
(10.9). This is his second consecutive
year as state champion. Wyatt is the son
of Julie and Bryan Horridge.
Third grader Emmy
Scott also won gold in
a gymnastics competition in March. She
was named all-around
champion in her age
division at the 2015
Lower Level Louisiana Gymnastics State
Emmy Scott
Championships held at
the Alerio Center in New Orleans March
20-22.
Emmy, a level 3 competitor, took 1st in
vault (9.775), beam (9.55) and bars (9.675)
and 3rd in floor exercises (9.425). She is
the daughter of Tara and Chad Scott.
Committing to Cursive ... To commemorate the day (March 23) of officially switching from
printing to cursive handwriting in 3rd grade, students
lined up to sign a “Declaration of Intentions,” agreeing
to use their best cursive on all schoolwork from that day
on. Above, Reed Miller adds his John Hancock to the
document during Mrs. Hall’s English class.
Soaring to Eagle Scout Rank
service project,
For his project,
Lukas designed
Max directed a
and supervised the
group of Scouts in
building of a Little
the construction and
Free Library for the
installation of a set
Garden District.
of wooden garden
In completing the
boxes at Runproject, he directed
nels High School.
six Scouts, including
“They’re for science
his younger brother, Eagle Scout Max Morgan with his parents, classes to use for
Norma Marsh and Craig Morgan.
Alex, in its conresearch purposes,”
struction. Lukas also collected books
Max explained. “I wanted to leave my
to be housed in the library.
mark at Runnels and create something
Lukas is the son of Dr. and Mrs.
the science department would be able
Jay Acosta.
to use.”
Max Morgan, also a senior, reMax is the son of Norma Marsh
ceived his Eagle Scout designation at
and Craig Morgan.
a Court of Honor conducted at Trinity
In addition, we recently learned
Episcopal Church on March 9.
that Runnels sophomore Christian
A member of Troop 203 of the
Martin, a member of Troop 888, comIstrouma Area Council, Max has been
pleted the requirements for becoming
in Scouting for seven years and has
an Eagle Scout in the 2013-14 school
served as senior patrol leader, assistant year. His Court of Honor was held on
patrol leader, quartermaster and histoMarch 9, 2014.
1. His troop leader is Ron Miller.
rian.
Christian’s Eagle Scout project
was part of an outreach activity for the
100 Instruments for Schools in Belize ... Run- Healing Place Church. “The Healing
nels is teaming up with the Louisiana National Guard to help
Place Dream Center,” said Christian’s
bring the sound of music to schools in Belize.
mom,
“We’re collecting musical instruments – especially woodwind,
Theresa
brass and percussion instruments – for school-aged children in
Martin,
public schools in Belize,” said Louisiana National Guardsman
“had
and Runnels dad Capt. Joseph Carey, who is facilitating the donations at Runnels.
received a
“We’re trying to get ‘100 Instruments in 50 Days,’” he said. That way, they can
donation
accompany the next rotation of Louisiana National Guardsmen headed to Belize
through
in May. Belize is Louisiana’s partner country in the National Guard Bureau’s State
Wal-Mart
Partnership Program. The Louisiana National Guard is working with the Belize Deof bicyfence Force in this community service project.
cles that
Because of the high rate of poverty in Belize, access to musical instruments in
needed
classrooms is predictably low. “In Belize, they have some music programs in the
Eagle Scout Christian Martin,
to be put his sister, Courtney (Class of
public schools, but instruments are very expensive and most people just can’t afford
together 2011) and their mom, Theresa
them,” said Capt. Carey.
“My son plays the saxophone at Runnels,” he added. “I’ve been so impressed
but didn’t Martin.
with how much he’s learned.” Capt. Carey wants to help deliver that kind of expericome with all the parts. Christian led
ence to school children in Belize. “Music brings people and nations together,” he
a group of Scouts in assembling the biadded. “It’s an opportunity to communicate.”
cycles.” He also sold the unused parts
Here are the instruments that are especially needed: piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe,
for scrap metal and donated the money
bassoon, trumpet, French horn, tuba, trombone, flugelhorn, cornet, saxophones,
to the “Dream Center.” Christian, who
drums, cymbals, xylophones, drum sticks, carrying harnesses, music stands, etc.
has been involved in Scouting for nine
If you would like to donate used but playable instruments to the Louisiana
years, is the son of Theresa and Dan
National Guard’s “100 Instruments in 50 Days” project, please drop them off on or
Martin. He advanced to the rank of
before April 30, 2015 at Runnels School on the S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd. campus in
Eagle Scout when he was 14 years old.
Room 34, Koenig Hall, which is the office of Headmaster Dr. Greg Brandao. For
Congratulations to these students,
more information: 139th RSG, Major Michael Stevens (phone: 504-491-3558; email:
their
troop leaders and families.
[email protected]).
High School students Lukas Acosta, Max Morgan and Christian Martin
have earned the highest achievement
award available in American Boy
Scouting, the rank of Eagle Scout.
Only six percent of all Boy Scouts
earn this honor.
Lukas, a Runnels senior, was presented with his Eagle Scout award at a
Court of Honor held March 15 at Most
Blessed Sacrament in Baton Rouge. A
member of troop
888, Lukas has
been in Scouting
since 1st grade.
To become Eagle Scouts, candidates must earn
21 merit badges
and demonstrate
Eagle Scout
leadership and
Lukas Acosta
organizational
skills by successfully completing a
community, school or church/synagogue related service project. For his
www.runnels.org
April 2015
3
Recognized for Service
We Sincerely Thank ...
Kara Peneguy was among 10
young women honored at the National
Charity League Senior Soiree held
March 7 at the Baton Rouge Marriott.
The seniors of the River Road Chapter
of the National Charity League (NCL)
together have volunteered more than
236 hours of service in their final
year of high school and given more
than 1,414 hours of volunteer time
to charitable agencies in the Baton
Rouge area over a six-year period.
The mission of NCL is
to foster mother-daughter
relationships
in a philanthropic organization that is
committed to
community
service and
leadership
development,
Kara Peneguy
while providing opportunities for social and
cultural experiences.
During their years with NCL, the
graduating seniors served as volunteers for such organizations as the
American Diabetes Association, Alzheimer’s Services, Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation, Greater Baton
Rouge Food Bank, ALS Association,
MADD, Cancer Services of Greater
Baton Rouge, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Volunteers of America.
and Campbell’s Labels
… Musicians in the
for Education programs in
Louisiana Celtic Society’s
the Elementary Library,
pipe and drum group, Na
and Elementary Secretary
Cait Dubh (The Black
Pamela Culp for clipping
Cat), for visiting the
and sorting many of the
Preschool and Elementary
donated labels and box
Drama Room on St. Pattops.
rick’s Day to perform for
… Tammy Bhat,
preschoolers and kinderPreschooler Reagan Rush and
gartners. Brendan Rush, a her dad, Brendan Rush, with his mother of Lauren, for
member of the group and bodhran at the Preschool on St. organizing and scheduling
Patrick’s Day.
Bookend volunteers who
the father of Reagan and
read to students in grades K - 6.
Riley, brought a bodhran, or Irish drum,
... Cetin Ates, father of Deniz and
for the students to examine and play.
Bora, for donating photography equip… Michelle Hirstius, a children’s
ment to our school.
author and illustrator from New Orleans,
... Molly Hightower, grandmother
for reading her books about “Juju” the
of Sadie and Lance Kraft, for making
voodoo doll to our K-2nd grade students
and donating playground toys for our
in the Drama Room on March 25.
elementary students.
… Dr. Derrie Perez, grandmother
... Dr. Craig M. Harvey, Associate
of Stuart Roark, for making a monetary
Professor and Industrial Engineering
donation to the Elementary Library.
Program Director, Department of Me… Laura and Chad Roark, parents of
chanical and Industrial Engineering at
Stuart Roark, for purchasing new swings
LSU and Terrica Jamison, Assistant Refor the elementary playground.
cruiting
… Gina
Manager,
Golda,
Office of
mother of
the Dean,
Sarah and
College
Laura, for
of Encoordinatgineering the
ing at
Elementary
LSU, for
Library’s
speakSpring
Members of the Future Scientists and Engineers Club with guest speakers
ing with
Scholastic from LSU, Dr. Craig Harvey (far left) and Terrica Jamison (far right).
members
Book Fair.
… Lisa Daigle, mother of Anna, Eliza- of the Future Scientists and Engineers
Club about the engineering program at
beth and Caroline, for coordinating the
LSU during lunch activity period on
Community Coffee – Cash for Schools,
March 10.
General Mills Box Tops for Education,
“Old-Fashioned Soap Opera” ... Get ready to laugh, cheer and
Advantages of Juicing ... In Junior High
Health class, Coach Sam Coates explains the
health benefits of juicing and demonstrates the
correct way to use a juicer.
4 www.runnels.org April 2015
maybe even boo a villain or two when the Junior High presents its spring
play, An Old-Fashioned Soap Opera, on April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Elementary
Drama Room. Directed by Cristin Ponjuan, the show will feature Anna Manning and Jenna Carballo as emcees; Dino Pellissier as Dirty Dan Dinglethorpe;
Hanna Cassano as Prell Pureheart; Tyler Robbins as Sudsly Doorite; Ben Holliday as Herbal Pureheart; Alyssa Stevison as Dove Pureheart; Amelia Jennings as Purell Pureheart; Jackie Hinkle as Pantene Pureheart; Kyra Reeves as
Borax Karlof; Ian Shaneyfelt as Spic; Kayla Evans as Span; Emma Tooraen as
Bubbles; Natalia Tooraen as Ivory; and Taylor Koontz as Olive Tegrin. Tickets,
which are $8.00 each, will be available in the high school office starting April
13. For more information, call 225-751-2192.
Runnels Artists in B.R. Gallery Show
Super Speller
Nine Run“Fire and Ice”),
nels High
Erin Gleason
School stu(“Watchful”),
dents will have
Griffin Gowdy
their artwork
(“Listen to the
on display
Wind for Me”),
in the 2015
Sadie Kraft
“Real-Life Ex(“Bookworm”
perience Juried
and “Man in
High School
Pieces”), Anna
Exhibition,”
Morgan (“Stillat the Baton
Life with Brick
Runnels artists (from bottom left) Amelia Adams, Evie
Axelrod,
Erin
Gleason,
Julia
Sanders;
(back
row),
Rouge Gallery
Wall” and
through April Griffin Gowdy, Ross Stephens, Anna Morgan and Sadie “Tranquil”),
30, 2015. Ap- Kraft.
Julia Sanders
proximately 220 works of original art
(“Sinking Fast”)
were submitted by high school stuand Ross Stephens
dents in East Baton Rouge Parish for
(“Fireworks”).
inclusion in the prestigious competiCongratulation, but only 50 were chosen. Twelve tions to these
were from Runnels.
students and their
The artists and their artwork in the
teachers. For more
show are Amelia Adams (“Reditainformation: http://
tion”), Evie Axelrod (“Skull”), Grace
www.batonrouge- Grace Carruth-Taylor
Carruth-Taylor (“Tree Roots” and
gallery.org/the-real-life-experience/.
Sixth grader Marshall Pentes won 3rd
place in the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center’s State
Regional Spelling
Bee held at Southeastern Louisiana
University in Hammond on March 7.
He competed
against 102 contestants from public
and private schools
in Tangipahoa, East
Marshall Pentes
Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena, Iberville and Avoyelles parishes.
A member of our Spelling Club,
Marshall qualified to represent Runnels at
the regional competition through a series
of spelling bees and written tests held at
meetings.
Also in the Spelling Club are Caroline Collins, Brayden Hebert, Ian Duke,
Thomas Worsham and Carson Badinger.
Club sponsors are Colleen LeBlanc and
Lisa Haller.
Marshall is the son of Calleen and
Howard Pentes.
Math Meeting ... Louisiana Mu Alpha Theta (MAO) held its annual state convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge March 26-28. Runnels sponsors
Karen Matthews and Norma Marsh accompanied 18 students to the meeting this year
where they competed against more than 800 students from 28 schools around the state.
Regan Dean placed 2nd in Trigonometry; Andrew Mitchell took 4th in Mu A
Integrations; Wesley Harris was 9th in Functions; and Anna Morgan placed 10th in
Puzzlements. In individual tests, Connor Matthews placed 7th in the Mu B division
and Andrew Mitchell finished 13th in the Mu A division. Both were competing against
more than 200 students.
In the two-man logic contest known as Gemini, Connor Matthews and Nabil Essajee
took 3rd in the Mu B division, while Anna Morgan and Kim Lam took 7th in the Mu
A division. In the Descartes games, Alex Matthews tied for 4th, while Lauren Kahn
placed 9th. During the Hustle contest, the Runnels team, consisting of Ryan Baird,
Regan Dean, Clay Harned and Lee Parker, took 9th place overall.
Special thanks go to Ms. Marsh for attending MAO convention as the second
sponsor. Also attending this year’s convention were Max Morgan, Taz Shah, Drake
Fromenthal, Sam Matthews, Olivia Arcemont and Heather Edwards.
School Songs ... Congratulations to the members of our Upper Elementary
Chorus and director Johnice Thoms for presenting their “School Days” concert in
the Gladys Hague Runnels
Theatre on March 4. The
performance included a
selection of off-beat school
songs like “I’ve Lost My
Homework” and “My Shala-la-la-Locker’s Stuck”
as well as more traditional
numbers like our school’s
alma mater and fight song.
Helping
Ms. Christy’s
Garden Grow
... Preschool Codirectors Janice
Leger and Karen
Runnels report that
concessions sold at
At the March “Raider
the March Pictures
Star” assemblies, Mrs.
in the Plaza raised
Ponjuan, Mr. Baird
a total of $1,352.00
and Mrs. Harris don
for Ms. Christy’s
uniforms to support
Discovery Garden
“Scout’s Night” at
named in memory
Pictures in the Plaza.
of beloved Preschool teacher Christy Lawrence.
“It was such a precious evening,” said
Ms. Leger. “The dream is becoming a reality
through the efforts and generous hearts of
those who loved Christy.”
We sincerely thank the RPO, Pictures
in the Plaza coordinator Colleen Spillane,
Neena Kelfstrom and the Thespian Club and
everyone in our school community who supported the event. We also thank those who
made memorial donations for the garden in
Ms. Christy’s memory.
www.runnels.org
April 2015
5
What’s Happening ...
Flappers and Rappers
... The kindergarten class took us for
Cellists (from left) Will Harrell, Luc Kharey and Sean Parker won 1st place in Student’s Choice
and 2nd place in Judge’s Choice at the 2015 Talent Show.
Teens with Talent ... Kudos to the student contestants appearing
in our 2015 Junior and Senior High Talent Show held Feb. 27 in the Gladys
Hague Runnels Theatre. Sponsored by the 10th grade class, sophomore John
Wiese and senior Caleb Manning did duty as on-stage emcees. The judges
included teachers Neena Kelfstrom, Cristin Ponjuan, Shanna Drescher, Jill
Swetnam, Johnice Thoms, Mary Camille Maddox and 10th grade sponsor
Tish Tooraen.
The winners were: 1st place ($50 prize) – John Wiese and Jordan Morris, sax and bass original; 2nd place ($30 prize) – Sean Parker, Luc Kharey
and Will Harrell, “Solid Ground”; and 3rd place – Kara Peneguy ($20 prize),
“Two Hearts.” Student’s Choice winners were: 1st place ($25 prize) - Sean
Parker, Luc Kharey and Will Harrell, “Solid Ground”; 2nd place ($10 prize)
– Clay Harned, Nick Saunders, Spencer Taylor, Wesley Harris and Kelsey
Mayes, Camera Supplies in “House of Gold”; and 3rd place ($5 prize) –
Noah Guillory, “Invisible.”
Also competing were Irene Lewis, Max Morgan, Anna Arceneaux, Jasmine Felton, Ryan Baird, Jarrett LeBonne, Allie Nicholson, Rachel Yura,
Alex Matthews and Nicole Gardana.
We sincerely thank the 10th grade class and Mrs. Toorean for organizing
the production and congratulate the winners and contestants.
All-Academic Composite Scholars ... Student-athletes
maintaining the highest grade point averages among all athletes in their respective sports during their academic
careers while participating in varsity
high school athletics are named to
All-Academic Composite Teams.
Congratulations to the following
Runnels seniors earning this honor
for spring sports: Connor Matthews
and Ryan Baird, All-Academic Composite Bowling Team; Nabil Essajee,
All-Academic Outdoor Track and
Field Team and All-Academic Powerlifting; Dillon Dodge, All Academic
Seniors Dillon Dodge (left) and Nabil Essajee
Powerlifting Team; and Thomas My(right) have been named to the All-Academic
ers, All-Academic Composite BaseComposite Powerlifting Team. With them is
head powerlifting coach Lonnie Leger.
ball Team 2A.
6 www.runnels.org April 2015
a stroll down memory lane in their
spring musical, Yesterday’s Songs.
Students crooned “Harvest Moon,”
danced the “Charleston,’ celebrated
the ‘50s with poodle skirts and “Rock
Around the Clock” and delivered a rap
song with style and bling. Congratulations to the performers, their teachers, accompanist Gladys Runnels and
director Laura Roark. To download
photos: log on to www.runnels.org,
go to Faculty/Microsite List/Yearbook
and click on Kindergarten Musical.
Golf Season in Full Swing
...The Lady Raider Varsity Golf team
turned in a top performance in a fourteam match at Webb Park on March
25, with senior Taylor Kennedy earning 1st-place honors individually.
In a March 16 match at Pelican
Point, the Varsity Raiders finished
1st against Ascension Catholic and
Central. Senior Grant Welch won 1st
overall, shooting a 32. Dylan Miller,
Ryan Lam and
Michael Lockhart all shot
a 43, ending
up in a threeway tie for 3rd
place.
Taylor Kennedy
wearing green
for a St. Patrick’s
Day match.
What’s Happening ...
Help Raise New Bleachers in Our Gym with
a Night Out at Raising Cane’s on Coursey
Track & Field News ... At
the St. Thomas Aquinas Judy Baehr
Relay on March 14, our Track and Field
team turned in impressive performances. Dean Campbell won the Outstanding Track Athlete award by placing 1st
in the 1600m and 3rd in the 3200m.
Trent Tucker placed 3rd in discus;
Andrew Hyde was 5th in javelin; Adam
Howe finished 6th in the 800m; and the
boys’ 4x400 team (Adam Howe, Grant
Fink, Trent Tucker and Mason Warren) took 3rd place. On the girls’ team,
Annie Fink finished 2nd in the 3200m
and 6th in the 1600m. The boys’ team
placed 6th overall and the girls’ team
finished 11th.
Runnels also had some top finishers at the Red Stick Classic held
March 19 at Broadmoor High School.
In the boys’ competition, Sam Matthews placed 1st in the 3200m;
Andrew Hyde placed 5th in javelin
and Dean Campbell finished 6th in the
1600m. On the girls’ team, Annie Fink
placed 2nd in the 3200m, London Deshotels took 3rd in javelin, and Micah
Roper’ was 5th
in the 1600m.
In the Bat
Gourrier Relays
held on March
26 at Broadmoor, Annie
Fink earned
2nd place in the
London Deshotels gets
3200m, 4th in
fitted for a letterman’s
the long jump
jacket in the gym.
and 5th in the
800m; Kaylen Howe was 4th in the
1600m and 5th in the 3200m; and Elle
Pickrell placed 5th in javelin. On the
boys’ team, Adam Howe placed 6th in
the 3200m.
The Runnels Booster Club is raising funds to install permanent, retractable “Raider blue” bleachers in our gym this summer. To help “Build the
Bleachers,” we’re holding a special fundraiser at Raising Cane’s (Coursey
and Market St.) on Tuesday, April 21, from 5-8 p.m. Mention Runnels when
you place your order and 15 percent of sales will go to the Runnels Booster
Club. It’s a great way to support our school’s athletic program and enjoy a
night out with friends and family.
On Tuesday, 4/21 from 5-8 p.m.
Runnels School
14929 Market St. Baton Rouge,
LA 70817
www.runnels.org
April 2015
7
Runnels Community Scrapbook
March Madness Teacher Appreciation a Slam
Dunk Success ... The RPO hit multiple 3-pointers with
All Hail! ... Kudos to our glorious A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum cast, crew and band. We sincerely
thank everyone who contributed to the success of this junior
and senior high drama department production. To download photos: log in to www.runnels.org, go to “Faculty/Microsite List/ Runnels Yearbook/A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum.
this year’s March Madness Teacher Appreciation celebration. Faculty and staff were truly overwhelmed by the generosity, thoughtfulness, kindness and creativity that inspired
each and every event. We loved the “All-Star Line-up” of
breakfasts, lunches, raffles and drawings scheduled each
Wednesday in March and sincerely thank the RPO, National Honor Society and Beta Club for providing them.
We extend our grateful thanks to RPO Teacher Appreciation chairs Kristy Mayes and Gail Sherman, Shasta
and Dustin Felton of Rice & Roux, Marlyn “Boo” Moore of
Don’s Seafood, Bryan Horridge of Cajun Prince for themed
t-shirts, Jay Grace of Louisiana Fire Extinguishers for the
helium tank, Sameena Essajee, Stacie Burke, Amy Sanders, Tami LaBonne, RPO treasurer Karen Rhinehart, RPO
president Nicole Latiolais, Gina Golda, Sally Duet and RPO
grade coordinators Tiffany Slaton, Shasta Felton, Blake
Stevenson, Allyson Guay, Caroline Hader, Tammy Bhat, Suzanne LeBlanc, Ona Robbins, Brooke Yura, Wendy Milam,
Colleen Spillane, Michelle Smith, Lisa Daigle, Monique
Howe, Jackie Lurker, Dana Kahn and Teresa Peneguy.
Alumni News ... Bret Sanner (Class of 2001) will re-
ceive his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Washington University in St. Louis this May. He is the son of
kindergarten art teacher Lisa Sanner
and Dr. Bill Sanner.
... Chris Alexander (Class of 2012) has
been recognized as the Outstanding
Junior in the College of Science and
Technology by the Southeastern Louisiana
University Chapter of the Honor Society of
Phi Kappa Phi. He will be presented with
Chris Alexander an award certificate and a cash honorarium at the Phi Kappa Phi Spring Banquet on April 30 at
Southeastern. Chris is the son of David and Karen Alexander.
Serving Others ... Members of the Runnels Varsity Tennis
team volunteered as ball boys and girls at the Cajun Classic
Wheelchair Tennis Tournament held at the Paula G. Manship
YMCA in March. “We had another amazing experience (3rd
straight year) volunteering at the Cajun Classic Wheelchair
Tournament on March 26,” said Runnels tennis coach Kathrin Sieberth. “I am abundantly proud of my team and the
way they served these phenomenal athletes! Whatever was
needed, there was a willing Raider to help.”
8 www.runnels.org April 2015
Major Decisions ... College and Career Choices stu-
dents visited with career counselors, LSU student ambassadors and employer relations professionals at the LSU Olinde
Career Center on March 26. They learned the ins and outs of
choosing a major, picked up information about employers
who recruit at LSU and looked over the Career Center’s “Dress
to Geaux” program, which helps students find out what
outfits are appropriate for different types of job interviews.
Students also met with a student ambassador from the
Admissions Office who shared information about the admissions process and various programs available at LSU.
Kudos To...
... Seniors Sadie Kraft and Alex
Stansbury for being selected as recipients
of 2015 National Beta Scholarships.
... Sadie Kraft and Olivia Arboneaux
for making First Team All-Metro and
Second Team-All Metro, respectively, in
girls’ soccer.
... The 1st-grade Daisies (troop 10348)
for donating 41 boxes of Girl Scout
cookies to the Baton Rouge Association
of Retarded Citizens through the Gift of
Caring program.
... Kara Peneguy for being selected to
compete in the House of Blues Forward
Foundation’s Bringin’ Down the House
talent competition for teens in New
Orleans on April 21. She won 1st place
in last year’s show. If you would like to
attend this live concert, contact Kara at
[email protected] for free
tickets.
... Fifth graders Lindsey Huynh (1st
place), Emily Schacht (2nd place) and
Elizabeth Penniman (3rd place) for
memorizing
the most digits
of Pi in Mrs.
Haller’s Advanced Math Pi
Day contest on
March 15. Junior and Senior
High Mu Alpha
Theta members
also celebrated
Hannah Bienvenue celePi Day with
brates Pi Day by making a recitations of
colored paper Pi chain at a Pi, taking unit
Mu Alpha Theta lunchtime circle timed
party on March 15.
tests, making a
Pi chain where the colors represented the
numbers, eating Pi shaped food, reciting
Pi poetry and enjoying Pi puns.
... The Runnels Junior Classical
League (JCL) for placing 3rd in the
Overall Club Sweepstakes (club winning
largest number of awards in all categories)
at the Louisiana Junior Classical League
convention held March 6-8 at the Holiday
Inn-South. Runnels also took 1st in T-shirt,
Banner and Boys’ Relay, 2nd in Creative
Drama, 3rd in Classical Drama, 4th in
Publicity and 5th in Chariot.
Sam Matthews placed 8th and Connor
Matthews, 9th in Individual Sweepstakes,
competing against 400 students.Connor
also finished 3rd in the Individual Academic Sweepstakes, and Sam won 1st place in
the Individual Olympica Sweepstakes.
Awards
also went
to: 1st
place - Luc
Kharey, Alex
Matthews,
Connor Matthews, Sam
Matthews,
Max Morgan and Ben
Sehring;
2nd place
Runnels JCL’ers compete in
- Henry
Forgey, Alex the Toga Parade at the state
convention.
Morgan,
Anna Morgan and Caitlyn Moore; 3rd
place - Griffin Gowdy, Nathan Fairley,
Andrew Mitchell and Marisa Russo. Also
attending the convention were Heather
Edwards, Nabil Essajee, Jesse Stephens
and Ross Stephens. Runnels Latin teacher
Ann Ostrom served as convention chair,
and sponsors Maggie Wrenn and Michele
Richardson assisted her and served as
Academic chairs.
... John Wiese for winning 1st place
in the National History Day Regional
Competition held at the West Baton
Rouge Museum on March 7. His entry
was a video documentary entitled “Paul
Mauser: A Master Gunsmith.” The video
was submitted as an independent entry
with Matt Gallant. They now advance to
the state competition, which will be held
at the National World War II Museum in
New Orleans in April.
... Our elementary drama students for
stellar performances in a dazzling array of
plays staged
in the Drama Room
in March.
Students in
1A, 1B and
1C performed The
Mice from
Outer Space
(at left); 3A
students
starred in Three of a Kind; and the 4th-6th
grade drama students produced The Greek
Mythology Olympiaganza.
Director Cristin Ponjuan said the students worked very hard and learned a great
deal in preparing for the shows. “It’s been
so much fun to watch them explore and
grow in drama class this quarter.”
It’s a Date!
For complete calendar information, go to the
Runnels Master Calendar at www.runnels.org.
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Band Solo and Ensemble Festival
Sr. Beta Field Trip to Preschool
Preschool Easter Egg Hunt (9:10 a.m., 3s;
9:50 a.m., 2s; 10:30 a.m., Pre-Ks)
Spring Fling Parties (12:10 p.m., grades
4-6; 1:20 p.m., grades 1-3; 2:00 p.m., K)
Spring Break
School Resumes
Zip Fit Pep Rally
11th-Grade Field Trip to WWII Museum
Kindergarten Field Trip to Landry Poche
Strawberry Farm
7th-Grade Field Trip to Magnolia Mound
Biology II Field Trip to Baton Rouge Zoo
U.S. Army War College Eisenhower Lecture
Series for grades 11-12
4th-Grade Reading Carnival
Alcohol and Tobacco Control Presentation
for grades 7-12
3rd-Grade “Trip Around the World”
Junior and Senior High Harp Concert
Junior and Senior High Prom
Youth Legislature Convention, grades 7-8
Senior Fun Day at Mango’s
Elementary Harp Concert
Kindergarten Fairy Tale Luncheon
Jr. High Play - An Old-Fashioned Soap Opera
State Literary Rally at LSU
Runnels Spring Art Show
Science Explorium
Spring OLOL Blood Drive (8 a.m.-2 p.m.)
Raider Star Drawings (8:30 a.m., grades 1-3
and 10:10 a.m., grades 4-6)
6th-12th Grade Band Concert
Runnels Spring Blood Drive
MAY
1 Performing Arts - Junior and Senior High
2 An Evening with the Performing Arts
4 AP Exams: Chemistry, Environmental
Science and Psychology
4 4th and 5th Grade Band Concert
5 AP Exams: Calculus AB and Calculus BC AP
5 Junior and Senior High Academic Awards Ceremony
5 String Orchestra Concert (all grades)
6 AP Exam: 12th Grade English Literature and
Composition and Physics I
6 Elementary Chorus Concert
7 AP Exam: Spanish Language
7-8 Junior Beta State Convention
8 AP Exam: U.S. History AP
Spring Blood Drive April 30
Please give the gift of life by donating
blood when the Our Lady of the Lake Bloodmobile makes a stop on our Harrell’s Ferry Rd.
campus on Thursday, April 30, from 8 a.m.
-2 p.m. Each donor will receive a t-shirt and
refreshments. For more information,
visit the Nurses’ Microsite at www.
runnels.org or call 225-756-5837.
www.runnels.org
April 2015
9
Some Memories of March
Annie, Jr. Production Summer Camp at Runnels
... The Runnels Theatre Department will hold a summer production
camp, Annie, Jr. Camp will be held June 15-26 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on the S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd. campus. Two camp performances and one public
performance will be presented in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on June 25 and 26. Aspiring actors and actresses entering 2nd – 9th grades
in the 2015-2016 school year are invited to participate. We’ll have many roles for boys and girls and tons of fun singing, dancing and acting! The
camp will be led by three experienced theatre professional and teaching artists: Neena Kelfstrom, Cristin Ponjuan and Jorge Ponjuan. Camp
tuition includes a t-shirt, DVD of the production and two complimentary tickets to the Friday public performance. The early-bird rate (until May 1)
is $350.00 for the first child and $340.00 for each additional sibling. After May 1, the camp rate is $375.00 for the first child and $365.00 for each
additional sibling. Need more information? Email: [email protected]
10 www.runnels.org April 2015