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Graduation/Awards Issue 2015 (See “Golden Anniversary Graduation,” p. 2.) While graduation is always an important event in the life of a student, this year’s high school commencement took on a special significance in the life of our school. The ceremony, which cel- ebrated the individual accomplishments of the 60 graduates, also served as the closing event honoring Run- nels’ 50th anniversary. For this golden jubilee graduation, we were honored to welcome Founding Headmaster Dr. L.K. Runnels as our keynote speaker. Presiding over the graduation was Head- master Dr. Greg Bran- dao with the assistance of Junior and Senior High Principal and Guidance Counselor Conchetta Foshee and Assistant Principals Monica Bryan, Dana Schlotterer and Pamela Babcock. In keeping with tradition, graduates who have been at Runnels since 1st grade or before were given bouquets June 2015 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 50 Years of Excellence in Education Reporter The oldest independent school in Baton Rouge, Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions and national origins. Founding Headmaster Dr. L.K. receives a standing ovation as he stands at the podium to offer the com- mencement address. Golden Anniversary Graduation Golden Anniversary Graduation Headmaster Dr. Greg Brandao presents a diploma to Class of 2015 Valedictorian Connor Matthews. of roses to present to their parents or guardians on stage. This year, we had 22 “lifers,” including Sadie Kraft whose mother, Stephanie Hightower (‘87), was the very first Runnels High School valedictorian. “Lifers” in the Class of 2015 also included Lukas Acosta, Ryan Baird, Hana Derzi, Nabil Essajee, Morgan Evans, Joseph Fairley, Rio Gauthier, Lauren Kahn, Taylor Ken- nedy, Sean LeBleu, Andrew Mackay, Caleb Manning, Con- nor Matthews, Allie Nicholson, Ridge Ory, Kara Peneguy, Katie Pousson, David Segalla, Brad Sherman, Alex Stansbury and Grant Welch. In his keynote address, Dr. Runnels explained to the graduates that their successes were part of the “fabric” of our school: “A school’s real reason for being is its students, and its resume’ A grand total of 82 students from Runnels qualified to receive the presti- gious Presidential Award for Academic Excellence this year. The honor is pre- sented to students in “exit grades” (at Runnels, that includes 6th, 8th, and 12th grades) who maintain a 3.5 grade point average and score at the 85th percentile on standardized tests. At Runnels, 53 percent of the 6th grade, 47 percent of the 8th grade, and 40 percent of the 12th grade earned the award. Congratulations to our Presidential Scholars. 6th Grade: Fatima Ahmad, Sophie Arceneaux, Evan Beoubay, Ansley Brown, Margaret Campbell, Parker Col- lett, Caroline Collins, Caroline Daigle, really is the list of students who have been nur- tured there. It is the contribution of these students that collec- tively defines the school.” He congratu- lated the gradu- ates on earning the highest ACT score (26.0) in the school’s history and noted that 100 percent of the class scored higher than the state average on the ACT. “These graduates,” Dr. Runnels added, “are also very nice people and good friends of mine. We’re so proud to have them join the ranks of Runnels alumni.” The 2015 Valedictorian, Connor Matthews, a National Merit Finalist, addressed the class, and Salutatorian Olivia Arboneaux stepped forward to be recognized. 82 at Runnels Named Presidential Scholars Sophie Edwards, Savan- nah Fekete, Zane Gillie, Audrey Guess, Nikolas Horton, Joseph Ismail, Thea Knowles, Pres- ton Kyle, Anne Leake, Rachel Middlebrook, Madisan Milam, Zachary Morrison, Kate Oehrle, Marshall Pentes, Con- nor Porthouse, James Power, Garrett Rhine- hart, Maddie Root, Grace Scott, Wesley Stevenson, Ellerie Tregre, Chace Williams, Nina Woodward and Cameron Wright. 8th Grade: Grace Asevedo, Gabe Bettencourtt, Hannah Bienvenu, Hannah Cas- sano, Lee Curry, Kayla Evans, Kalyee Freiberg- er, Caroline Henning, Eric Huygues, Amelia Jennings, Anna Kadi, Numair Khan, Ryan Lam, Sophie LeBlanc, Daniel Mayeaux, Mason Mayes, Kameron McK- night, Seth Miller, Alex Morgan, Anna Claire Pousson, Micah Roper’, Alyssa Stevison, Madison Sutton, Emma Tooraen, Sophia Torres, Max Vallaire (See “Presidential Scholars,” p. 3.) Sixth-grade Presidential Scholars Caro- line Daigle (left) and Maddie Root.

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Page 1: Reporter GGolden Anniversary Graduationolden Anniversary ... Awards NL.pdf · Golden Anniversary Graduation, continued from p. 1 Newly minted Runnels alumni Alex Haun and Griffi

1 Graduation/Awards Issue 2015www.runnels.org

(See “Golden Anniversary Graduation,” p. 2.)

While graduation is always an important event in the life of a student, this year’s high school commencement took on a special signifi cance in the life of our school. The ceremony, which cel-ebrated the individual accomplishments of the 60 graduates, also served as the closing event honoring Run-nels’ 50th anniversary. For this golden jubilee graduation, we were honored to welcome Founding Headmaster Dr. L.K. Runnels as our keynote speaker. Presiding over the graduation was Head-master Dr. Greg Bran-dao with the assistance of Junior and Senior High Principal and Guidance Counselor Conchetta Foshee and Assistant Principals Monica Bryan, Dana Schlotterer and Pamela Babcock. In keeping with tradition, graduates who have been at Runnels since 1st grade or before were given bouquets

June 2015

Runnels Preschool6455 Jefferson HighwayBaton Rouge, LA 70809

225-927-5803

Grades K through 1217255 S. Harrell’s Ferry RoadBaton Rouge, LA 70816225-751-5712

www.runnels.org

50 Years of Excellence in Education

Reporter

The oldest independent school in Baton Rouge, Runnels has always been the school for all races, religions and national origins.

Founding Headmaster Dr. L.K. receives a standing ovation as he stands at the podium to offer the com-mencement address.

Golden Anniversary GraduationGolden Anniversary Graduation

Headmaster Dr. Greg Brandao presents a diploma to Class of 2015 Valedictorian Connor Matthews.

of roses to present to their parents or guardians on stage. This year, we had 22 “lifers,” including Sadie Kraft whose mother, Stephanie Hightower (‘87), was the very fi rst Runnels High School

valedictorian. “Lifers” in the Class of 2015 also included Lukas Acosta, Ryan Baird, Hana Derzi, Nabil Essajee, Morgan Evans, Joseph Fairley, Rio Gauthier, Lauren Kahn, Taylor Ken-nedy, Sean LeBleu, Andrew Mackay, Caleb Manning, Con-nor Matthews, Allie Nicholson, Ridge Ory, Kara Peneguy, Katie Pousson, David

Segalla, Brad Sherman, Alex Stansbury and Grant Welch. In his keynote address, Dr. Runnels explained to the graduates that their successes were part of the “fabric” of our school: “A school’s real reason for being is its students, and its resume’

A grand total of 82 students from Runnels qualifi ed to receive the presti-gious Presidential Award for Academic Excellence this year. The honor is pre-sented to students in “exit grades” (at Runnels, that includes 6th, 8th, and 12th grades) who maintain a 3.5 grade point average and score at the 85th percentile on standardized tests. At Runnels, 53 percent of the 6th grade, 47 percent of the 8th grade, and 40 percent of the 12th grade earned the award. Congratulations to our Presidential Scholars. 6th Grade: Fatima Ahmad, Sophie Arceneaux, Evan Beoubay, Ansley Brown, Margaret Campbell, Parker Col-lett, Caroline Collins, Caroline Daigle,

really is the list of students who have been nur-tured there. It is the contribution of these students that collec-tively defi nes the school.” He congratu-lated the gradu-ates on earning the highest ACT score (26.0) in the school’s history and noted that 100 percent of the class scored higher than the state average on the ACT. “These graduates,” Dr. Runnels added, “are also very nice people and good friends of mine. We’re so proud to have them join the ranks of Runnels alumni.” The 2015 Valedictorian, Connor Matthews, a National Merit Finalist, addressed the class, and Salutatorian Olivia Arboneaux stepped forward to be recognized.

82 at Runnels Named Presidential ScholarsSophie Edwards, Savan-nah Fekete, Zane Gillie, Audrey Guess, Nikolas Horton, Joseph Ismail, Thea Knowles, Pres-ton Kyle, Anne Leake, Rachel Middlebrook, Madisan Milam, Zachary Morrison, Kate Oehrle, Marshall Pentes, Con-nor Porthouse, James Power, Garrett Rhine-hart, Maddie Root, Grace Scott, Wesley Stevenson, Ellerie Tregre, Chace Williams, Nina Woodward and Cameron Wright. 8th Grade: Grace Asevedo, Gabe

Bettencourtt, Hannah Bienvenu, Hannah Cas-sano, Lee Curry, Kayla Evans, Kalyee Freiberg-er, Caroline Henning, Eric Huygues, Amelia Jennings, Anna Kadi, Numair Khan, Ryan Lam, Sophie LeBlanc, Daniel Mayeaux, Mason Mayes, Kameron McK-night, Seth Miller, Alex Morgan, Anna Claire Pousson, Micah Roper’,

Alyssa Stevison, Madison Sutton, Emma Tooraen, Sophia Torres, Max Vallaire (See “Presidential Scholars,” p. 3.)

Sixth-grade Presidential Scholars Caro-line Daigle (left) and Maddie Root.

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2 Graduation/Awards Issue 2015 www.runnels.org

Sixth Graders Jump to Junior High Members of the 6th grade class received their elementary school diplomas at a graduation ceremony held in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on May 20. Guiding students through the graduation exercises was Elementary Principal and Guidance Counselor Marcia Mack-ay, Assistant Elementary Principal Beth Golden and Headmaster Dr. Greg Brandao. After welcoming students and their guests to the ceremony, Mrs. Mackay recognized four 6th graders whose parents graduated from Runnels. These second-generation Runnels students and parents are: Kate Oerle (Lynn Haase

Oerle, ‘91); Rachel Middle-brook (Michelle Majoue’ Middle-brook, ‘98); Avin Stegall (Jennifer Wege, ‘98); and Cameron Wright, (Aprille Calcote Wright, ‘95, and Byron Wright, ‘95). Represented by class presi-dent Preston Kyle and vice

president Caroline Daigle, the 6th grad-ers presented the money they earned in the “Popsicle Fridays” program to the Booster Club to help fund the installa-tion of permanent, retractable bleachers in our gym. Booster Club secretary Julie Stevenson accepted the donation, saying that it “Puts us over the top!” for the bleacher project.

Sixth grade “Raider Stars of the Year,” (from left) Grace Scott, Zane Gillie and Sophie Edwards.

Before diplomas were presented, many 6th graders were recognized for outstanding achieve-ments in academics, service and the visual and performing arts. Junior Beta Service awards were presented to Zane Gillie, Jenna La-Bonne and Nina Wood-ward. Madisan Milam and Sophie Edwards re-

ceived Excellence in Drama awards, and Spelling Club member Marshall Pentes was honored for winning 3rd place in the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Cen-ter’s State Regional Spelling Bee held at Southeastern in March. Sixth graders honored as “Raider Stars of the Year” were Grace Scott, 6a, Zane Gillie, 6b and Sophie Edwards, 6c. The main event of the ceremony was the presentation of diplomas by Mrs. Mackay, Mrs. Golden and Dr. Brandao. As students stepped forward to receive their diplomas and certifi cate envelopes, Dr. Brandao noted that 13 members of the class have been at Runnels since preschool days, and 15 came on board in kindergarten or 1st grade. The graduation concluded with the singing of the “Alma Mater” and the fi rst public viewing of the “Sixth-Grade Video.” A keepsake copy was presented to each graduate. After processing out of the theatre, graduates and their guests moved to the gym for celebratory cake and punch. We sincerely thank musicians Johnice Thoms, Gladys Runnels, Jill Swetnam, Jennifer Cassin and Dan Cassin for pro-viding music at the event. We also thank awards coordinator Wendy Worsham and reception hosts Debbie Davenport (coordinator), Jennifer

and Dan Cassin, Marsha Curry, Diane Davis, Julie Fink, Lisa Haller, Neena Kelfstrom, Brent Lax, Colleen LeBlanc, Cristin Ponjuan, Lee Randall, Jill Swet-nam, Johnice Thoms and Rhonda Tucker.

Sixth-grader Connor Porthouse pro-cesses into the theater.

Second-generation Runnels student Rachel Middlebrook presents her mom, Michelle Majoue’ Middlebrook, ‘98, with fl owers at the Sixth-Grade Graduation.

Golden Anniversary Graduation,continued from p. 1

Newly minted Runnels alumni Alex Haun and Griffi n Gowdy.

Also honored were the nine graduates earning perfect 4.0 grade-point averages in every high school class taken: Olivia Arboneaux, Anna Arceneaux, Nabil Es-sajee, Morgan Evans, Shannon French, Nicole Gardana, Connor Matthews, Thomas Myers and Kara Peneguy. The highlight of the program arrived when Dr. Brandao turned and addressed the graduates: “On the recommendation

of the faculty of the high school, and by the authority vested in me as Headmaster of Runnels School, I am very pleased to present to each of you the diploma which you have earned.”

As each graduate received a diploma, Mrs. Schlotterer offered information about his or her college plans, scholarships and ambtions for the future. The Senior Class Memories video was screened, and graduates, offi cials and guests sang the “Alma Mater,” led by Cho-rus Direc-tor Johnice Thoms. Music was provided by Gladys Runnels, Dan Cas-sin, Jenni-fer Cassin, and Jill Swetnam. We sincerely thank graduation committee members Pamela Babcock, Monica Bryan, Jennifer Carpenter, Ken-neth Copsey, Debbie Davenport, Lety Ellsworth, Conchetta Foshee, Marcia Gregg, Leah Jordan, Karen Rhinehart and Dana Schlotterer. We also thank the Runnels chapter of the National Honor Society, whose mem-bers served as ushers at the ceremony and assisted at the reception.

Mrs. Foshee and 2015 Salu-tatorian Olivia Arboneaux.

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3 Graduation/Awards Issue 2015www.runnels.org

“r” award winners

Congratulations to 2015 “R” Award winners Taylor Kennedy (left) and Grant Welch. They received the awards, which are presented to the most outstanding scholar-athletes in the senior class, at the high school graduation on May 15.

Spring Strings ... Beginning String Orchestra violinist (at left) John Latona and viola players Michael Cheng, Lauren Bhat, Hannah Landry and Phoebe Koontz on stage for the String Orchestra Concert held on May 5 in the Gladys Hague Run-nels Theatre. Jennifer and Dan Cassin direct the String Orchestra.

What’s the Buzz?... The Drama Room was a hive of activity on May 13 when 1st grade students, portraying insects of all stripes, starred in the musical “Bugz” directed by Cristin Ponjuan. Above are (from left) “Lady Bugs” Madelyn Sandifer, Lexie Matens and Zoe Kane; “Horse Fly” Sadie Edwards, “Stink Bug” Sara Dornier and “Fruit Fly” Alaina Milam.

On Stage

Kindergarten Year Concludes with a Flourish ... Our youngest elementary students wrapped up the school year with a Kindergarten Recognition

Ceremony held on the stage of the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on May 18. The students played hand bells, sang and received their school work portfolios. The audience of family, friends and teachers also were treated to a photo collage of the kindergartners’ activities throughout the year. We sincerely thank everyone who helped make this event memorable and meaningful for our students and their families.

Ethan Ly receives his portfolio at the Kindergarten Recogni-tion ceremony on May 18.

As you know, Run-nels is using Smart Tu-ition to process and col-lect tuition payments for the 2015-2016 school year. Starting this summer, Smart Tuition also will begin handling Run-nels School Services. These include, but are not limited to, lunches, milk orders, before and after school care, shuttle bus service and yearbooks. Eventually, all types of school pur-chases (e.g., fi eld trips, grade t-shirts, etc.) will be processed through Smart Tuition. If you have not yet been asked to set up a Smart Tuition account, you will be requested to do so when you

receive your online forms in June. Infor-mation about how to create your account will be provided with the

online form. With Smart Tuition, you will be able to access your account online, select a payment method that works for you, receive payment and follow-up reminders and speak to a customer service representative 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have any questions about Smart Tuition, please contact Bill Golden ([email protected]) or Renee’ Crow ([email protected]) in our business offi ce.

Smart Tuition Roll Out Continues

Secret Pen Pals Revealed ... Eighth grade pen pal No. 27, Kayla Evans (at left), fi nally meets her 5th grade pen pal, No. 14, Ramsey Rogers, at a lunchtime “reveal” on May 11. Though pen pals since January, the 5th and 8th graders have been “signing” their letters with secret num-bers supplied by teachers instead of their names. “It was more fun for the students when they didn’t know who their pen pal was,” said 8th grade English teacher Kylie Harbin. At the May picnic, the secret pen pal identities were disclosed. Many thanks to Mrs. Harbin and 5th grade teacher Alice Aucoin for organizing the project.

and Thomas Worsham. 12th Grade: Olivia Arboneaux, Anna Arceneaux, Ryan Baird, Rebecca Bender, Alyssa Campbell, Meg Cassidy, Dillon Dodgen, Nabil Essajee, Shannon French, Nicole Gardana, Alex Haun, Aidan Heck, Jordan Johnston, Lauren Kahn, Sadie Kraft, Sarah Lukinovich, Caleb Manning, Connor Matthews, Thomas Myers, Kara Peneguy, Katie Pousson, Taz Shah, Alex Stansbury and Grant Welch.

Presidential Scholars, continued from page one

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4 Graduation/Awards Issue 2015 www.runnels.org

The Class of 2015 advances to college with more than $3.5 mil-lion in scholarship offers to their credit -- not including TOPS. In addition, 100% of the class scored higher than the state aver-age on the ACT. With an average ACT score of 26.0, this class also has the distinction of earning the highest ACT score in Runnels history. More than half of the class (55%) graduated with honors and nearly half (53.3%) earned the prestigius Runnels Gold Seal Diploma. A whopping 88% of the class quali-fi ed for TOPS, with 38% earning the TOPS Honors Award, which requires a score of 27.0 on the ACT and a core grade point average of 3.0. The graduates were offered admis-sion to 61 different colleges and uni-versities from as far away as New York and California. Here’s where they’ll be hanging their back-packs next year. Vale-dicto-rian Connor Matthews, summa cum laude, will attend Okla-homa State University on a Na-tional Merit Scholarship, and Salutatorian Olivia Arboneaux, summa cum laude, will enroll at Emory University in Atlanta. Also going out of state are: Lukas Acosta, Drexel University in Philadel-phia on the A.J. Drexel Scholarship, a returning scholar award and the West-phal Portfolio Scholarship; Rebecca Bender, magna cum laude, Indiana University in Bloomington; Dillon Dodgen, magna cum laude, University of Alabama on a Presidential Scholar-ship and an engineering scholarship; and Aidan Heck, magna cum laude, Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York

with a Vassar Academic Grant. Everett Hibner will study perform-ing arts at the American and Musical Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City with an AMDA Junior Schol-arship and an AMDA Artistic Scholar-ship, Emily Mack will attend Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York, where she has been awarded an Acting Performance Scholarship. Taz Shah, summa cum laude, will enroll at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore on an Opportunity Award Scholarship. Taylor Kennedy plans to study com-munications at Mississippi State with a Freshman Academic Excellence Schol-arship and a scholarship from the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Alumni of Missis-sippi State University. Mohammad Pirzadah will attend York College in Nebraska, where he has been recruited to play on the basketball team. He also is eligible for a TOPS Op-portunity Award. Two of our graduates will enroll at the Walter Cronkite School of Journal-ism and Communications at Arizona State University: Caleb Manning,

magna cum laude, on a National Merit Scholar Award and an Ari-zona State University Grant; and Brad Sherman, magna cum laude, who hopes to play ice hockey at the college level, on a New American University Scholarship. Staying closer to home is Hunter Amedee, who will attend Centenary College in Shreveport with a Trustee Scholarship. Hunter was recruited as a freshman pitcher for Centenary’s baseball team. Enrolling at Southeastern in

Hammond are Anna Arceneaux, summa cum laude, with a Southeastern Begin-ning Freshman Scholarship and a TOPS Honors Scholarship, and Katie Pous-son, magna cum laude, with a South-eastern Honors Scholarship and a TOPS Scholarship. Shannon French, summa cum laude, will take her soccer skills to Pinev-ille, where she will enroll at Louisiana College as one of the school’s Top 30 Scholars and play on the soccer team. Shannon also received a TOPS Scholar-ship. Lauren Kahn, magna cum laude, is going to Nicholls State University on a Dean’s Scholarship, a room and board scholarship and a TOPS Honors Schol-arship. Kara Peneguy, summa cum laude, will head to Loyola University in New Orleans as an Ignatian Scholar. Kara also was awarded a TOPS Honors Scholarship. Seven graduates will attend Loui-siana Tech in Ruston this year. Alyssa Campbell, cum laude, will enroll with an Outstanding Scholar Award, the

college t-shirt line up, class of 2015

(See Next Stop, p. 5.)

Future Louisiana Tech “Bulldogs,” (from left) Joey Fairley, Ben Kreider, Alyssa Campbell, Dylan Miller, Andrew Mackay and Sean LeBleu. Ammar Essajee (not pictured) will also enroll as a freshman in Ruston.

Mrs. Foshee with graduate Taz Shah, who will attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Where Are They Headed Now?

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5 Graduation/Awards Issue 2015www.runnels.org

Counselor’s Choice Award and a TOPS Scholar-ship, Ammar Essajee will at-tend with a TOPS Scholarship, Joey Fairley will be there on a Louisiana Tech Outstanding Student Award and a TOPS Performance Scholarship, and Ben Kreider will attend with a TOPS Scholarship. Sean LeBleu, cum laude, will enroll in Louisiana Tech University’s Honors Program with an Outstanding Student Scholarship and a TOPS Scholarship. Dylan Miller will attend Louisiana Tech on a TOPS Scholarship, and An-drew Mackay, cum laude, will enroll with a Louisiana Tech Outstanding Student Schol-arship, a Loui-siana Forestry Foundation Scholarship and a TOPS Perfor-mance Scholar-ship. Alex Stans-bury, magna cum laude, will be at the University of Louisiana in Monroe with a ULM Academic Scholarship, a National Beta Scholarship and a TOPS Scholarship. Several graduates will attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) next year. Ryan Baird, summa cum laude, will enroll with an Academic Scholarship, a freshman housing scholarship and a TOPS Honors Scholarship, and Carli Blair will be on campus with an Academic Scholarship and a TOPS Scholarship. Garrett Deshotels and Rio Gauthi-er, cum laude, will attend UL at Lafay-ette on TOPS scholarships, Sadie Kraft, summa cum laude, will enroll with a

Centennial Schol-arship, a Greater Baton Rouge State Fair Com-munity Service Award, a National Beta Scholarship and a TOPS Hon-ors Scholarship, and Nadeera Mohamed will attend with an In-coming Freshman Scholarship and a TOPS Scholar-

ship. Grant Welch, magna cum laude, will also be at UL Lafayette with a golf scholarship and a TOPS Award. Melissa Hill will stay in Baton Rouge and attend Our Lady of the Lake College on a TOPS Scholarship, Ridge Ory will enroll at BRCC, and Josh Sparks will attend Southern Univer-sity, where he will play baseball for the Jaguars. Swapping their Runnels blue and white for the purple and gold of LSU are Meg Cassidy, cum laude, who will be at the University Honors College with a Tiger Excellence Award and a TOPS Honors Scholarship, Hanna Derzi, magna cum laude, who will attend LSU with a TOPS scholarship, and Nabil Essajee, summa cum laude, with an Academic Scholars Award, a Future Leaders Research Award and a TOPS Honors Scholarship. Also on campus will be Morgan Evans, summa cum laude, with a TOPS Honors Scholarship, Nicole Gar-dana, summa cum laude, with an LSU

Academic Scholars Award and a TOPS Honors Scholarship, Griffi n Gowdy on a TOPS Performance Award, and Alex Haun, cum laude, with a Tiger Excel-lence Award, a Tiger Athletic Founda-tion Scholarship and a TOPS Scholar-ship. Brent Hoeprich, cum laude, will at-tend LSU with Army ROTC and TOPS scholarships, Austin Howard will be on campus with a TOPS Scholarship, Andrew Hyde will enroll with at TOPS Performance Scholarship, and Jordan Johnston, cum laude, and Sarah Luki-novich, cum laude, will be there with TOPS Performance scholarships. Also attending LSU are Devyn Mac-Donald, magna cum laude, and Caitlyn Moore with TOPS scholarships, Dylan McGee with a TOPS Performance Scholarship, Max Morgan on a TOPS Scholarship and a scholarship from the Cranston Foundation, and Thomas My-ers, summa cum laude, with an LSU Ti-ger Excellence Resident Scholar Award and a TOPS Honors Scholarship. Allie Nicholson will attend our fl ag-ship university with a TOPS Scholarship, David Segalla, cum laude, will be there with a TOPS Honors Scholarship, and Benjamin Sehring will enroll with a Ti-ger Excellence Scholarship and a TOPS Honors Scholarship. Erin Gleason plans to travel abroad after graduation and enroll in college on a TOPS Scholarship next year. Anna Matherne, who hopes to become a veterinary technician, said she plans to look for a job after high school, and Karl Williams will enlist in the United States Navy.

National Beta Scholarship winner Alex Stansbury will enroll as a freshman at ULM.

Graduates (from left) and their college destinations are, from left, Rio Gauthier, UL Lafayette; Rebecca Bender, Indiana University; Sarah Lukinovich, LSU; Melissa Hill, OLOL; and Morgan Evans, LSU.

Scholarships ... Awards ... Colleges ...

Stellar Spellers ... Congratulations to the winners of the 4th grade’s an-nual “States and Capitals Spelling Bee,” which took place in the Drama Room on

May 18. The winners are (from left) Binh Kirsch, 1st place; Ethan Ho, 2nd place; and Thanh Kirsch, 3rd place. “We started with all of the states and capitals,” said social studies teacher Lisa Harris, “and went on to various mountain ranges, oceans, continents and land formations. These 4th graders are sharp!” The winning word was “butte.” Congratulations to the competitors and winners.

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6 Graduation/Awards Issue 2015 www.runnels.org

State Literary Rally Results ... Congratulations to the following students for outstanding achievement at the State Literary Rally held April 25 at LSU. Earning 1st place honors were Kayla Evans in Geometry; Heath Moser in Latin II; and Taylor Schoen in Health. Rob-ert Law finished 3rd in Computer Science I, Sean Parker came in 5th in Biology I, and Sam Matthews was 5th in Chemistry.

Curbing Stress ... Furry, four-legged friends from local shelters helped provide stress relief to students dealing with fi nal exams at Runnels. Between testing sessions on May 19 and 20, junior and senior high students had the chance to hang out with several dogs provided by Companion Animal Alliance (CAA) and Animal House Rescue. Judging by the number of students play-ing with Hercules, Jet, Catfi sh and Parker and fl ocking around the puppy pens holding Macho, Kent, Clark and Lois, the outing was a huge success. High school student Parker Rhinehart called this year’s fi nals “the coolest ever.” According to current research, interac-tion with pets decreases stress and increases a sense of well being. Several schools, including the LSU Law School, Emory University, Rice University and Yale have partnered with organizations like CAA to bring pets to their campuses to help students during stressful times. Art department chair Lee Brandt Randall organized the session at Runnels with the assistance of CAA volunteer and off site coordinator Jackie Fellows and Animal House Rescue volunteer and puppy foster mom Dana Kahn. Animal advocate Jodi Golden was also on hand the lend assistance where it was needed. Fellows said the gathering was benefi cial for the dogs as well as the students because it provides an opportunity for the dogs to become more socialized.

Evening of Performing Arts ... ... (Above) Members of the Ballet I class perform a dance they choreo-graphed with instructor Mary Camille Maddox for “An Eve-ning with the Performing Arts” which was held in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on May 2. The concert also featured performances by Ballet II students and the Junior and Senior High Chorus directed by Johnice Thoms.

Stormy Weather Helpers ... When our Girls on the Run team learned that Elementary Secretary Pam Culp (left) could not live in her home because of extensive damages caused by the ferocious storm that closed schools on April 28, they wanted to help. They decided to give money raised with a lemonade stand and other projects to Miss Pam. Above, team members and leaders present Miss Pam with a check for $500 to help her with unanticipated expenses brought on by the storm. We hear she’ll be back in her house this summer.

Talented Team ... Congratula-tions to Junior High students Tyler Robbins and Anna Manning for winning 2nd place in the special talent competition at the Junior Beta Convention held at the Cajundome in Lafayette on May 8. They qualifi ed for nationals, which will take place in Tennessee this summer.

Parker Rhinehart with Jet, a shelter dog from CAA.

Heath Moser was a 1st-place fi nisher in Latin II at the State Literary Rally.

What’s Happening ...

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7 Graduation/Awards Issue 2015www.runnels.org

Students in grades 2-6 earn-ing top grades were recognized by having their names placed on the Honor Roll. We salute the following students who earned “As” and “Bs” in all subjects, including conduct, with no more than one “B” each quarter. Students in grades 2-5 received their Honor Roll certifi cates at an end-of-the-year award ceremony held May 22, and 6th graders received theirs at the Sixth-Grade Graduation Ceremony. Both events took place in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre.

2nd Grade Lina Derzi, Sofi a Dodd, Dylan Evans, Annie Garrison, Gibson Guay, Amelia Guess, Wy-att Horridge, Leyna Huynh, Isabelle Kennedy, Addison Latona, Christian Schmidt, Carli Shay, Jenna Sheikha, Bailey St. Romain, Zeb Tate and Parker Wright.

3rd Grade Kareem Badawi, Malek Badawi, Kath-erine Campbell, Cooper Coates, Arthur Donaldson, Emma Dornier, Talisa Ells-worth, Emma Felton, George Forgey, Madeline Golden, Summer Guerin, Ben Hader, Rossie Harrison, Lily Hayden, Ali Ismail, Caleb Johnston, Kate Kelfstrom, Ava McCann, Nico-

Elementary Honor Roll Students Recognized for Achievement

A group of 3rd grade Honor Roll students display their certifi cates during an award assembly in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre on May 22.

las Middlebrook, Alyssa Oubre, Hope Oubre, Poppy Pellissier, Yaseen Pirza-dah, Caroline Pousson, Conor Reynolds, Stuart Roark, Samantha Schilling, Emmy Scott, Megan Shaneyfelt, Mikalyn Shay, Paul Stevenson, Addison Watson, Reilly Wilks, Olivia Williams.

4th GradeMaggie Arceneaux, Alex Asevedo, Mira Badawi, Lauren Bhat, Emma Collett, Christopher Cox, Michaela DeSimone, Alexander Frederic, Sarah Golda, Ali Guerin, Ethan Ho, Sophia Horridge, Dralyn Johnston, Binh Kirsch, Thanh Kirsch, Phoebe Koontz, Alan Lam,

Hannah Landry, Eli Latiolais, Paige Odom, Mason Pentes, Lucy Reeves, Madeleine Reonas, Molly Sandifer, Zeena Shammout, Evan Shaneyfelt, Simone Sharp, Baron Steven-son, Meredith Taliaferro, Grey-son Torres, Charlie Tucker, Eddie Tunis, Cassidy Wartelle, Brianna Williams and Taylor Woods.

5th GradeOmar Badawi, Ashley Belcher, Wren Brumfi eld, Nicholas D’Gerolamo, Samuel Ells-worth, Natalie Fairley, Emma Fishbein, Charlie Garrison, Michal Gawronski, Reed Gil-lie, Blaiklee Guillot, Robby Harrison, Lindsey Huynh, Ava Kadi, Reagan Kyle, Dawson

Latona, Ronan Martin, Avery Matens, Marwin Mikdadi, Elizabeth Penniman, Dawson Ponjuan, Emily Reid, Abigail Robbins, Ryan Roper’, Emily Schacht, Cooper Smither, Drake Tooraen, Far-zeen Wahid and Sydney Worsham.

6th Grade Parker Collett, Caroline Collins, Caro-line Daigle, Zane Gillie, Joseph Ismail, Thea Knowles, Preston Kyle, Madisan Milam, Marshall Pentes, Connor Port-house, James Power, Garrett Rhinehart, Grace Scott, Wesley Stevenson, Chace Williams and Nina Woodward.

Celebrating College Commitments with Signing Ceremony The High School Athletic Depart-ment wrapped up the school year with a signing ceremony on May 18 in the gym

to recognize the four seniors who have committed to college teams. These students are seniors Grant Welch, Josh Sparks, Hunter Amedee and Shannon French. Grant Welch, who fi nished second in this year’s Allstate Sugar Bowl

LHSAA State Golf Championship, will play golf at UL Lafay-ette, an NCAA Division I school. Raider pitcher Hunter Amedee signed to play baseball at Centenary College in Shreveport, an NCAA Division III SCAC school. Josh Sparks, also a pitcher on the Run-nels Raiders, is a designated walk-on at Southern University, an NCAA Division I SWAC college. Lady Raider goalie Shannon French

Centenary College baseball commitment Hunter Amedee with his parents, Teri and Ronald Amedee.

signed to play soccer as a freshman in the fall at Louisiana College, an NCAA Division III school in Alexandria. Families, friends, teammates, coaches and school administra-tors were on hand to congratulate the signees and celebrate their accomplishments with hugs, handshakes and cakes decorated in the

athletes’ college colors. We sincerely thank Athletic Director Tookie Johnson and Athletic Department secretary Leah Jordan for organizing this event.

Shannon French, who will play soccer at Loui-siana College, cuts a cake decorated with her new school colors.

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Elementary Musicians Take a Bow Students in grades 4-6 re-ceived awards for their contribu-tions to the Band, Strings and Harp programs from Band Directors Shanna Drescher, (Beginning and Intermediate Band) and Jill Swetnam (Sixth-Grade Band), String Orchestra Direc-tors Jennifer and Dan Cassin, and harp instructor Dr. Gabriela Werries at end-of-the-year ceremonies in May. Congratulations to: Beginning Band: Extra Mile, Maggie Arceneaux and Mason Pentes; Outstanding Member, Charlie Garrison. Intermediate Band: Most Im-proved, Wren Brumfi eld and Marwan Mikdadi; Extra Mile, Collin Coates and Emily Reid; Outstanding Member, Reagan Kyle. Sixth-Grade Band: Most Improved, Zane Gillie and Xander Pyle; Extra Mile, Sophie Arceneaux and Evan Beou-

bay; Outstanding Member, Caleb Reid. Beginning String Orchestra: Most Improved, Lauren Bhat and Madeleine Reonas; Extra Mile, Han-nah Landry; Out-standing Player, Taylor Pippin. Intermediate String Orchestra: Most Improved, Emily Schacht; Extra Mile, Ashley

Belcher and Sydney Worsham. Advanced String Orchestra: Out-standing Player, Sophie Edwards; Extra Mile, James Power. Beginning Harp Choir: Most Improved, Sarah Golda; Outstanding Player, Margaret Campbell; Extra Mile, Jenna LaBonne. Intermediate Harp Choir: Most Improved, Katie Carpenter; Outstand-ing Player, Emily Reid. Advanced Harp Choir: Extra Mile, Caroline Collins, Emma Schlotterer and Lilly Tullos.

Fourth and fi fth-grade String Orchestra and Harp Choir award winners at the May 22 end-of-the-year award ceremony in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre.

us army reserve national scholar athletes

Seniors Sadie Kraft and Brent Hoeprich were named winners of the U.S. Army Reserve Na-tional Scholar Athlete Award at Runnels. The honor goes to one male and one female senior who excels in the classroom and on the athletic fi eld. Congratulations to these students.

Old-Fashioned Ways ... During a class fi eld trip to Zachary Historic Village on May 6, 1st graders (from left) Sarah Dornier and Lexie Matens discover how challenging it was to keep the grass mowed in the 1900s. Students had fun and got in a little exercise while learning about life in Louisiana at the turn of the 20th century.

Zoo Babies ... Enjoying the sights and sounds of the Greater Baton Rouge Zoo on May 1 are Preschool students (from left) Deniz Ates, Michael Calcote, Ryan Healy, Ella Carpenter, Mollie Moran, JonRobert Brown and Phoenix Pham. The two-year-olds enjoyed riding the tram and seeing all the animals.

Off Campus

Booster Club Bleacher Thank Yous The Runnels Booster Club extends its deepest gratitude to all contributors to the “Build the Bleach-ers” project. Thanks to your support, the project is completely funded! The bleachers are scheduled to be installed during the last week of July and will be in use for the 2015-2016 school year. Special thanks to:

MVP Benefactors:The Coates FamilyJim Stone Co.The Lukinovich FamilyThe Runnels P.E. DepartmentThe Shaneyfelt FamilyThe Worsham Family

All-Pro Benefactors:Cribbs, Inc.The Golda Family

The Pirzadah FamilyThe Senior Class of 2015

Slam Dunk Contributors:The Forgey FamilyThe Hudson FamilyThe Saunders FamilyThe Stevenson FamilyThe Stewart Family

Hoop Hero Contributors:The Mayeux FamilyThe Parker FamilyThe Tucker FamilyJeremy Hader and The Tadda Law Firm

Super Fans:The Schacht FamilyThe 6th Grade Class

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High School Students Awarded Course Medals Students in grades 9-12 earning top grades in specifi c subjects were award-ed course medals at the Junior and Se-nior High School Awards Assembly and the High School Commencement ceremony in May. Congratula-tions to the medalists. Art – AP Art, Grace LeBlanc; Art I, John Howe; Art I Honors, Ila Bordelon-Walker; Art II, Em-ily Britt; Art II Honors, Eve Axel-rod; Art III, Anna Matherne; Art III Honors, Amelia Adams; Fine Arts Survey, Kaitlyn Roy; Graph-ic Design, Grace Carruth-Taylor; Painting I, Devyn MacDonald; Painting II, Madison Whitworth; Sculpture, Sadie Kraft. Ballet – Nicole Gardana. Clerical Practice – Alyssa Campbell. College and Career Choices – Sarah Coner. Computer – Computer Science, Robert Law; Computer Science II, Ryan Baird; Webmastering, Heath Moser. Drama – High School Drama, John Wiese; Technical Theatre, Brock Dardar. Foreign Languages – French II, Shannon French; French III, Eva Kruger; French IV Honors, Kaylen Howe; Greek II, Isabelle McCall; Greek III Honors, Emily Britt; Latin I, John Wiese; Latin II, Heath Moser; Latin II Honors, Sam Matthews; Latin III, Luc Kharey; Latin IV, Connor Matthews; Spanish II, Alex Acosta; Spanish III

Honors, Irene Lewis. Language Arts – Advanced Studies in Literature, Anna Morgan; Advanced Studies in Writing, Andrew Mackay;

American Literature, Olivia Arcemont; English I, JP Guillot; English I Hon-ors, Sean Parker; English II, Jessica DeSimone; English II Honors, Andrew Mitchell; English III Honors, Nicholas Saunders; English IV, Lauren Kahn; English IV Literature and Composition AP, Connor Matthews; English Lan-guage and Composition AP, Irene Lewis. Library Aide – Jordan Morris. Math – Algebra II, Kaylen Howe; Advanced Math Functions and Statis-tics, Grant Connor; Advanced Math Pre-calculus, Regan Dean; AB Calculus AP, Andrew Mitchell; BC Calculus AP, Connor Matthews; Introduction to High School Math, Afnan Shah; AP Statistics, Connor Matthews. Music – Advanced Band, Connor

Social Studies course medalists are recognized at the Junior and Senior High Academic Awards assembly on May 5 in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre.

Matthews; Advanced Strings, Luc Kharey; Chorus, Connor Matthews; Music Theory, Kara Peneguy. Physical Education – Advanced P.E.,

Karl Williams; Athletic P.E., Brent Hoeprich; Conditioning, Morgan Evans; Physical Educa-tion, Henry Forgey, John Howe and Julia Sanders; Physical Edu-cation I, Jordyn Miller; Physical Education II, Jessica DeSimone. Psychology – Kelsey Mayes; Psychology AP, Olivia Arbo-neaux. Science – Biology, Emily Britt; Biology AP, Regan Dean; Biol-ogy Honors, Austin Stansbury; Biology II, Andrew Mackay; Chemistry, Andrew Mitchell;

Chemistry AP, Julia Power; Chemistry Honors, Irene Lewis; Environmental Science, Clay Harned; Environmental Science AP, Heather Edwards; Physics, Heather Edwards; Physics AP, Ryan Baird. Social Studies – American History, Olivia Arcemont; American History AP, Kim Lam; American Studies, Kelsey Mayes; AP Human Geography, Alex Acosta and Austin Stansbury; Civics, David Segalla; U.S. Government AP, Olivia Arboneaux; World Geography, Kaitlyn Roy; World History, McKen-zie Mayeaux; World History AP, Anna Morgan. Sports Medicine – Sports Medicine I, Nikhila Theegala; Sports Medicine III, Sadie Kraft.

Grading AP Exams in Louisville Social Studies Department Head Norma Marsh spent the fi rst full week of summer vacation at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville hard at work grading hundreds of essay questions. She was there, along with about 1,500 other college and high school history teach-ers, by special invitation of the Col-lege Board, to grade the free-response section of Advanced Placement (AP) Exams in U.S. History taken by high school students in classrooms around the world in May.

“I graded between 800 and 1,000 essays,” said Ms. Marsh, who teaches American History, AP American History and American Studies at Runnels. “It was a great experience,” she said, “the

best professional development I’ve ever had.” She feels that the knowledge she gained at the AP session will “greatly benefi t” her students in the future. The College Board also commis-sioned Ms. Marsh’s to write an ex-ample syllabus for AP World History, a course that is being revised for the 2016-17 school year. “The course is in the development phase and my syllabus will be used for training purposes,” Ms. Marsh explained.

Norma Marsh grading AP essay exams in Louisville with Charles Vincent, a favorite professor from her graduate school days at LSU.

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Chess and Pizza ... Members of the Elemen-tary Chess Club gathered for an al fresco pizza party on the school playground May 5. They thanked high school mentors and volunteers Jordan Morris and Pres-ton Poirier for advancing their knowledge of the game. They also thanked sponsors Lety Ellsworth and Steve Hayden for their support. “It was an awesome year,” said Mrs. Ellsworth. “The students had fun learning.”

Championship Moves ... Sophomore Taylor Schoen and her long-time dance partner Osman Torres, a 2015 graduate of Jesuit High School in New Orleans, won their fi rst national title in competitive ballroom dancing this spring. At the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships held in Baltimore, Maryland in March, Schoen and Torres were named overall winners in the Amateur Adult Silver Rhythm category, tak-ing 1st place in Swing and Cha Cha and 2nd place in Rumba. At nationals, they also danced their way to 2nd place in the Amateur Adult Bronze Latin competition and to 6th place in the Amateur Adult Silver Smooth event, which showcased their skills in Waltz, Tango and Foxtrot. Taylor, who has only been competing for two years, trains in both Baton Rouge and New Orleans. In a typical school week, she practices 11 hours. She said her favorite dance is the Samba because it’s so powerful. “I’m bad at it but I love it,” she ex-plained. “Every dance has its own character. Cha Cha is fun and sassy, Rhumba is passionate, and Waltz is sophisticated.” This summer, Taylor said she plans to ramp up her training schedule with the ultimate goal of moving on to the international stage. “I want to be on the World Team and compete at WDSF (World Dance- Sport Federation) events. “I love performing,” she added. “It’s so much fun.”

“Academic Jeopardy!” ... Congratulations to this year’s 3rd grade “Academic Jeopardy!” game show winners (from left): 3rd runner up Hope Oubre; 1st runner up Talisa Ellsworth; 2nd runner-up Mikalyn Shay; and grand champion Ben Hader. The entire 3rd grade competed in this end-of-the-year review game that tests students’ knowl-edge of course content presented during the school year.

What’s Happening?

Book Buddies ... The Berenstain Bears played a role in Mrs. Stelly’s 2nd-grade reading classes this year. Each weekend, one student from each class was invited to take home a stuffed Berenstain Bear as a weekend reading buddy. Students shared weekend activities with the bear and read to it. On May 7, the 2nd graders celebrated a successful year of reading with a barefoot bear party. Each student brought a book from home to share with classmates in a musical book exchange. The books went into a bag that was passed around a circle of students while the theme song from the Berenstain Bears TV program was played. When the

music stopped, the student who had the bag got to choose a book. After the game, students enjoyed doughnuts and juice while discussing their favorite stories.

Music Appreciation... ((Below) Capt. Joseph Carey (left) thanks Headmaster Dr.

Greg Brandao for Runnels’ participation in the Louisiana

National Guard’s “100 In-struments in 50 Days” spring

campaign to collect musical instruments for school chil-dren in Belize. Capt. Carey presented the school with a

certifi cate of appreciation from the Guard.

Taylor Schoen (right) and Osman Torres compete at the Mid-Atlan-tic Championships in Baltimore.

Sharing a book at the 2nd grade’s end-of-the-year reading party are, from left, Wyatt Horridge, Parker Wright and Zeb Tate.

If you have summer news to share with The Reporter, please email: [email protected].

What’s Happening ...

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4.

Course Medals Awarded in Junior High Academic medals are pre-sented each year to junior high students earning the highest grade point average in each class and subject. The names of the medal winners were announced at the Junior and Senior High Academic Awards assembly held in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theater on May 5. Art – 7th Grade Art Honors, Erin Oehrle; 8th Grade Art Honors, Alexis Rogers; Junior High Art, Ethan St. Amant. Junior High Ballet -- Sarah Burke.

Daniel Mayeaux won course medals in Math and Health and P.E.

Junior and senior high students earning a grade point average of 3.75 or higher for the fi rst three quarters of the school year are named to the Honor Roll. Congratulations to Honor Roll students: 7th Grade – Madeline Britt, Sarah Burke, Jenna Carballo, Annie Fink, Celia Fishbein, John Haase, Daniel Harris, Eric Ho, Bailey Hyatt, Sara Johnston, Phoenix Knowles, Tay-lor Koontz, Ryan Ly, Anna Manning, Arianna McNeal, Savannah McNeal, Erin Oehrle, Ellie Russo, Julia Sager, Andrew Schacht, Ian Shaneyfelt, Reed Stewart, Natalia Tooraen and Paris Vercher. 8th Grade – Grace Asevedo, Hannah Bienvenu, Lee Curry, Kayla Evans, Kalyee Freiberger, Caroline Henning, Eric Huygues, Amelia Jennings, Anna Kadi, Numair Khan, Ryan Lam, Sophie LeBlanc, Daniel Mayeaux, Mason Mayes, Kameron McKnight, Micah Roper’, Alyssa Stevison, Madison Sutton, Aaron Taliaferro, Emma Tooraen, Max Val-laire and Thomas Worsham. 9th Grade – Alex Acosta, Harrison Bo-naventure, Elizabeth Daigle, Ali Garrity, JP Guillot, Catherine Henning, Kaylen Howe, Bruce Huynh, Natalie Justus, Brandon Kelf-strom, Alex Matthews, Sam Matthews, Isa-

Honor Roll Recipients Recognized, Grades 7-12

Computer Applications – Max Vallaire. Foreign Language – Ju-nior High French, Catherine Bonaventure; French I, Emma Tooraen; Junior High Latin, Daniel Harris; Junior High Spanish, Ian Shaneyfelt; Span-ish I, Kayla Evans. Health and P.E. – 7th Grade P.E. and Health, Kissa Nicho-las-Whitt; 8th Grade P.E. and Health, Alyssa Stevison; Junior High Physical Education,

Daniel Mayeaux. Junior High Drama – Taylor Koontz.

Language Arts – English 7, Annie Fink; English 7 Honors, Catherine Bonaventure; English 8, Anna Kadi; English 8 Honors, Kayla Evans. Math – Algebra I, Daniel Mayeaux; Pre-Algebra, Julia Sager; Geometry, Kayla Evans. Science – Life Science, Sam Haase and Ellie Russo. Earth Science - Numair Khan; Physical Science, Kayla Evans. Strings – Advanced Strings, Catherine Bonaventure. Social Studies – Junior High American History, Natalia Tooraen; Louisiana Stud-ies, Kayla Evans.

belle McCall, Garrett Miller, Jourdan Milton, Sean Parker, Rosie Pham, Parker Rhinehart, Kaitlyn Roy, Emma Shupe, Ashley Stansbury, Austin Stansbury and Stephen Worsham. 10th Grade – Jena Bordelon, Emily Britt, Micah Danos, Regan Dean, Henry Forgey, John Howe, Luc Kharey, Robert Law, McK-enzie Mayeaux, Jeehan Mikdadi, Andrew Mitchell, Heath Moser, Julia Sanders, Abigail Scarton, Ross Stephens, John Tooraen and Rachel Yura. 11th Grade – Christian Amedee, Olivia Arcemont, Alex Benson, Sarah Coner, Louise Cramp, Heather Edwards, Drake Fromenthal, Wesley Harris, Julia Justus, Kim Lam, Grace LeBlanc, Irene Lewis, William Lurker, Robbye March, Anna Morgan, Julia Power, Nicholas Saunders, Samantha Sieberth and Mason War-ren 12th Grade - Olivia Arboneaux, Anna Arceneaux, Ryan Baird, Rebecca Bender, Karli Blair, Hana Derzi, Dillon Dodgen, Ammar Es-sajee, Nabil Essajee, Morgan Evans, Shannon French, Nicole Gardana, Aidan Heck, Lauren Kahn, Sadie Kraft, Sean LeBleu, Devyn MacDonald, Connor Matthews, Caitlyn Moore, Thomas Myers, Kara Peneguy, David Segalla, Taz Shah and Alex Stansbury.

Eleventh grade Honor Roll students display their certifi cates at the Junior and Senior High Academic Awards assem-bly held on May 5 in the Gladys Hague Runnels The-atre.

In the Garden ... The kindergarten class took a fi eld trip to the home of Dr. and Mrs. Runnels on May 8,

where they were treated to a guided tour of Dr. Runnels’ vegetable garden. He told the students all about his plants and how he takes care of them. Students also spent some time bird watching with Mrs. Runnels. She shared “exciting true stories” about the birds the couple and their family have observed through their kitchen window over the years. Some of these stories can be found in Mrs. Runnels’ 2009 children’s book, Through the Window, which is available for checkout at the Runnels Elementary Library. We sincerely thank Dr. and Mrs. Runnels for providing this unique learning opportunity to the kindergarten students.

Top: Dr. Runnels shows kin-dergartners the crops in his home vegetable garden. Above: Mrs. Runnels in her backyard “bird community” with a group of kindergarten visitors.

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Furman Scholars ... Juniors (starting 2nd from left) Irene Lewis, Anna Morgan and Kim Lam, pictured above with Junior and Senior High Assistant Principal for Curricula and instruction Monica Bryan, were selected as this year’s Furman Scholar nominees at Runnels. Each year, Furman University asks Runnels to select top juniors who have strong academic potential, leadership ability and commitment to community service as nominees for the award. Students selected to be Furman Scholars by Furman University will receive a guarantee of at least $30,000 in merit based scholarships over four years.

Almost There ... Congratulations to the varsity Raiders for a sensational season of baseball. Ranked the 2nd seed in Class 2A, the team made it all the way to the LHSAA playoffs, beating Many (9-0) in the 1st round, Loreauville (10-5) in the 2nd round and Riverside (11-3) in the quarterfi nals. Their run for the title ended May 15 in Sulphur when the team fell to Oak Grove 5-1. The Raiders fi nished the season with an amazing 21-5 overall record.

Predictably, post-season honors are piling up for players. Johnny Johnson was

named to the 2A All-State Baseball team by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. He made the squad as an infi elder by batting .430 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. Hunter Amedee, Brent Hoeprich, Johnny Johnson, Hampton Hudson, Josh Sparks and Thomas Myers made 1st Team All-Dis-trict, and Nick Canevari, Evan Garrity, Douglas Gully, Ridge Ory and Emory Monett were named 2nd Team All-District. Congratulations to the team and its coaches.

“Raider Stars of Year” ... All through the school year, elementary students in grades 1-6 are awarded “Raider Pride” tickets for acts of courtesy, kindness, good citizenship, service to others, cooperation and for many other positive behaviors we encourage in our school community. For consis-tently exhibiting these admirable traits, one student from each section was chosen by teachers to become a “Raider Star of the Year.” In grades 2-5, these students are Christian Schmidt, 2a, Olivia Brunner, 2b, and Isabelle Kennedy, 2c; Malek Badawi, 3a, Yaseen Pirzadah, 3b, and Caroline Pousson, 3c; Greyson Torres, 4a, Michaela DeSimone, 4b, and Alex Lam, 4c; and Kyle Nicholson, 5a, Charlie Garrison, 5b, and Blaiklee Guil-lot, 5c. (See information on 1st and 6th grade “Raider Stars of the Year” in related stories on pages 2 and 13.)

What’s Happening ...

Nerdy Narwhal Party Wins Election ... The 5th graders recently took part in a series of authentic les-sons designed to teach them how the election process works. Under the direction of social studies teacher Tana Cramp, 5th graders went on the campaign trail in May to elect a 6th grade president and vice president for next year. Students named and formed their own political parties, nominated candidates, developed platforms, campaigned, voted, counted ballots and inaugurated their elected “offi cials.” Congratulations to the winners, president Sydney Worsham and vice president Dawson Ponjuan of the Nerdy Narwhal Party. Our thanks to Mrs. Cramp and to the Advanced String Or-chestra and director Jennifer Cassin for providing live music for the inauguration.

“Raider Stars of the Year,” Grades 2-5.“Raider Stars of the Year,” Grades 2-5.

Stumping for offi ce are 5th-grade candidates Dawson Ponjuan and

Sydney Worsham.

Satsumas ... On May 16, Nature Club member Heather Edwards (far right) and sponsor Sydney Szot plant satsuma trees between the softball fi eld and the “senior” parking area on the S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd. campus. Club member Erin Gleason (not pictured) also helped with the project.

Raider shortstop Johnny Johnson was named to the 2A All-State Baseball team.

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Special Awards Presented in Grades 7-12 Citizenship, Scholarship and Spirit medals are special awards presented each year in junior and senior high. The Raider Citizenship Medal is given to a student who exhibits kindness, compassion, friendliness and understanding, as well as respect for himself or herself and others. One student from junior high and one student from the entire high school is selected for this honor. This year’s winners are 8th grader Daniel Mayeaux and senior Sarah Lukinovich. The Scholarship Medal is presented to one stu-dent in each grade who can always be counted on to turn in the work and is committed to academic achievement and excellence. The medal win-ners are: Catherine Bonaventure, grade 7; Emma Tooraen, grade 8; Stephen Worsham, grade 9; Regan Dean, grade 10; Wesley Harris, grade 11; and Taz Shah, grade 12. The Raider Spirit Medal goes to one student in each junior and senior high school grade who ex-hibits loyalty to the school and demonstrates exceptional participation in and commitment to school activities. The winners are: Jack Kahn, grade 7; Micah Roper’, grade 8; Kaitlyn Roy, grade 9; John Wiese, grade 10; Irene Lewis, grade 11; and Lauren Kahn, grade 12.

First Grade Finale ... On May 19 in the Gladys Hague Runnels Theatre, the 1st graders celebrated the completion of the 2014-2015 school year with a special as-sembly. The “First-Grade Finale” featured awards and recognitions presented by Elementary Principal and Guidance Counselor Marcia Mackay, Assistant Principal

Beth Golden and 1st grade teachers. Under the direction of drama teacher Cristin Ponjuan, stu-dents sang “Let’s Be Friends,” from the play Mice from Outer Space, and “I May Be Small” from the musical, Arf! “Raider Star of the Year” trophies were presented to Alex Griffi n, 1a, Zoe Kane, 1b and Maeve Dolan, 1c. Mrs. Mackay presented a special “Memories of 1st Grade” PowerPoint, and the assembly concluded with the presentation of “1st Grade All-Star” medals and envelopes of certifi cates to each student.

First grade “Raider Stars of the Year” (from left), Alex Griffi n, Zoe Kane and Maeve Dolan.

Elementary Library Used Book Round-up ... The Elementary Library is accepting books for its huge annual Fall Used Book Sale, scheduled for late August or early September in the library. “Books for all ages are welcome -- both fi ction and nonfi ction,” said Elementary Librarian Joni Orgeron. (The only exception is textbooks.) Please drop off your used books in the Elemen-tary Library or the Elementary Offi ce this summer.

... Dr. John Power, father of Julia, grade 11, and James, grade 6, and Dr. Gail Blakley of Ablemarle for visiting with our 6th grade science students in April to share information about cross linking polymer strands and other scientifi c topics. ... Mitch and Kristy Mayes, parents of Kelsey, grade 11, and Mason, grade 8, for providing decorative plants for the 6th and 12th grade graduation receptions. ...Gina Golda, mother of Laura, grade 1, and Sarah, grade 4, and Blake Steven-son, mother of Cameron, grade 1, and William, grade 3, for providing ice cream sundaes for students on “First Grade Water Day.” ... Everyone who donated blood aboard the Our Lady of the Lake Bloodmobile when it made a stop on our S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd. campus on April 30. Runnels was able to donate 18 units of blood to those in need.

We Sincerely Thank ... We Sincerely Thank ...

Kudos ToKudos To ... ... Varsity tennis players Kyle Huygues, Kyle Sieberth and Samantha Sieberth for being named to the 2015 All-Metro Tennis team as honorable mentions. ... Kindergarten teacher Martha-Carol Stewart for having her company, Chaos Orga-nizing, featured in the May issue of InRegister magazine. ... Senior Max Morgan for winning the 2015 Knights of Columbus Award. ... Kindergarten art teacher Lisa Sanner for serving as the volunteer director of the 2015 Jim Crane State Farm Highland Open tennis tournament at BREC’s Highland Park Tennis Center in April. The event raised $22,363 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. ... Advanced Drama seniors, Everett Hibner, Caleb Manning and Allie Nicholson, for producing, staging and starring in The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged presented in the Drama Room on May 1. ... Senior Alex Stansbury for winning the 2015 Kiwanis Courtesy Award. ... Junior Kim Lam for receiving the Tulane Book Award. ... Millionaire winners in 2nd grade’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” review: Zyler Labella, Sam Kennedy, Isabelle Kennedy, Parker Wright, Annie Garrison, Mason Piz-zalato, Christian Schmidt and Gibson Guay.

JULY 28 Schedule and Textbook Pick-up and ID/ Yearbook Pictures for Grades 7-9 29 Schedule and Textbook Pick-up and ID/ Yearbook Pictures for Grades 10-12

AUGUST 4 Make-up Day for Schedule and Textbook Pick- up and ID/Yearbook Pictures 4 Orientation for 8th-12th grade students new to Runnels 4 Computer Classes for 8th-12th grade students new to Runnels 4 Orientation for all 7th graders 10 First Day of School

For complete calendar information, go to the Runnels Master Calendar at www.runnels.org. For complete Back-to-School Information, please refer to the Summer Information e-mail sent to you on May 26. Be sure to refresh the document (Control/Click) to receive the most recent informa-tion. (This information is also available on our website, www.runnels.org. Log in. Go to Classes/Grade Level/Information.

It’s a Date!

Spirit Medal winners, from left, Micah Roper’, Kaitlyn Roy, John Wiese, Irene lewis and Jack Kahn..

Scholarship Medal winners, from left, Regan Dean, Stephen Worsham, Wesley Harris, Emma Tooraen and Catherine Bonaventure.

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Graduation Day, 2015Graduation Day, 2015