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Gifted and Talented Programs
April 2015
McKinley High Students Perform Well at American Mathematics Competition
The main purpose of the AMC 10/12 is to spur interest in mathematics and to develop talent through the excitement of solving challenging
problems in a timed multiple-choice format. The problems range from the very easy to the extremely difficult.
Twenty McKinley High School students
Achievement for high scoring students
participated in the American Mathematics
who are in the 10 grade or below. Max
Competition on February 25, 2015.
is currently a freshman.
The
th
competition was divided into two categories
Philip Yao also earned a Certificate of
by grades 9/10 and 11/12.
Distinction for qualifying for the second
On the Louisiana Level in the 11/12
~via www.maa.org
These three students are part of a total of
five students in Louisiana to qualify for the
second round. The McKinley High School
9/10 Team scored at the 65%ile nationally
and the 11/12 Team scored at the 95%ile.
round of the competition (AIME).
category, Max Pan earned a Certificate of
Distinction for qualifying for the second
round of the competition, The American
Invitational
Mathematics
Examination
(AIME). He also received a Certificate of
On the Louisiana Level in the 9/10
category, Orianne Luo earned a Certificate
of Distinction for qualifying for the second
round of the competition (AIME).
Shenandoah Students Celebrate Ultimate Pi Day!
Ultimate Pi Day! 3-14-15 was celebrated at 9:26:53:58 am/pm all over the country.
Team Infinity students turned the week prior into a celebration of Pi learning!
th th
During the Annual Pi Week, students in Mrs. McGregor’s 4 /5 class learned about
the history of pi, researched the world’s record holders for reciting pi, evaluated
the ratio’s relationships, applied the formulas used in connection with pi to
problem solving activities, ate pie, etc…
The student’s favorite activities were two contests that allowed them to creatively
express Pi and challenge themselves to memorize digits of pi. Winners from each
contest received Pi/Pie prizes and recognition from peers and teachers. The Pi
Recital winners combined were able to memorize 149 decimal digits of pi.
All students participated in the Pi t-shirt contest and were banned from internet
“research”. The contest challenged students to design a clever Pi t-shirt that used
the symbol, word, or image of pi/pie. Three winners were selected by the faculty at
Shenandoah.
Believe it or not, it was a very delicious, yet rational week!
Winners pictured above from L to R- Bottom: M.
Bennett, B. Toney, K. Brassard, A. Ledoux. Top: G.
Chennalt, M. Rabalais, J. Bellan
Polk Elementary News
Ms. Shakia Davis, 2nd Grade Gifted Teacher at Polk
Elementary, has won the Best in Class Teacher Award
from the TJ Ribs family of restaurants. During the 2014-
Buchanan Elementary Student Wins Elementary
Math Olympaid
Jonathan Ding of Buchanan Elementary School in Baton Rouge won first
place in the contest, which was open to all 4th- and 5th-grade students in
Louisiana. There were 446 students from 58 Louisiana public, private,
parochial and charter schools registered for the Olympiad, which has been
described as an "old school" math contest because students must work out
problems using only paper and pencil. The Olympiad draws more students
every year.
15 school year, the TJ Ribs family of restaurants is
celebrating the dedicated men and women who commit
themselves to helping nurture our children by being
teachers. Everyday teachers inspire the minds and
imaginations of young people, help provide safe places
for children to grow and play, and give students skills
and confidence for the future.
http://tjribs.com/best-in-class-teacher-awards-1000prizes-2/
Glasgow Middle School Student Wins Regional
Spelling Bee
One
of
Glasgow's
sixth
grade
students,
Abhirami
Jeyaseelan, won the 2015 regional spelling bee hosted by
the Louisiana Children's Discovery Center in Hammond.
She competed against school champions from Tangipahoa,
East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena, Iberville, and
Avoyelles parish school systems. She will receive an allexpense paid trip and registration to the Scripps National
Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. as well as the Samuel
Louis Sugarman Award of a 2015 United States Mint Proof
Set, a Webster’s Third New International Dictionary,
Unabridged, a one-year subscription to Britannica Online
Premium, and a 1st place trophy.
Tea Time at Cedarcrest
Our gifted students assisted at a special 1st grade
tea. The students helped the younger children read
the book "Owl at Home" by Arnold Lobell and then
served the 1st graders Pea soup, buttered toast and
Tear Drop Tea, just like in the book!
Thanks to Mrs. Alexander, our music teacher and
garden advocate, for mentoring this event.
Cedarcrest has a thriving vegetable garden
and every class (during the year) gets invited to a
taste test of wonderful food - fresh from our
garden. We have enjoyed greens, squash,
tomatoes, cucumber, hibiscus tea, broccoli, basil
pesto, zuchinni served as spaghetti and many other
delightful snacks. We are learning all about farm to
table, slow food and eating cleaner.
Mrs. Jindal Visits Merrydale
Elementary
J. McClendon, from Mrs. Hill's first grade
gifted class, is reading her creatively
written story to Mrs. Jindal, while A. Barnes
is reading a book presented to her by Mrs.
Jindal. A Promethean table, generously
provided by Mrs. Jindal and Entergy,
delighted the kindergarten classes of
Merrydale. Additionally, donations of 3
iPads to each 1st grade class and books for
the children rounded out the busy morning
at Merrydale. After reading Corduroy,
proclaiming it to be her favorite story to
the children, Mrs. Jindal was presented a
plaque of gratitude by Mrs. Tana
Boudreaux-Allen
and
treated
to
refreshments.
Westdale Middle Teacher Wins Grant
Mrs. Lauber wrote and won a grant from Target which places an emphasis on
giving back to the community it serves. She used the grant to take all of her
students to see The Swine Palace's production of "Romeo & Juliet" on LSU's
campus. The venue was beautiful and the actors were all graduate students
who put on a marvelous production of the play.
Mrs. Lauber's class prepared for the production by reading an abridged version
of the play. The actors interacted with students at the play's conclusion and
gave details on acting techniques and the importance of plays in literature.
Students learned about a black box theater with a thrust stage and how the
space was used to create an atmosphere without the necessity of an elaborate
set.
The actors talked to the audience before the show and mingled with students
much like in Shakespeare's day when the audience was a part of the action
going on onstage. A grand time was had by all of the students.
Enterprising Entrepreneurs at Wildwood
As part of our Social Studies unit, “Learning How to Use Money”, Ms.
Johnson’s kindergarten class has been exploring the concepts of goods
and services. To help us understand these concepts deeper, we have
been learning all about inventors and inventions that have impacted
daily life. We even read about how the doughnut hole was created! The
students then put their imaginations to work and created their very own
inventions.
They were challenged to think of ways they could improve their daily
life. From the “Great White Protector” that displays pictures of Orcas
to scare away sharks looking to attack the endangered Great White, to
“Erasable Paint”, the students’ inventions were impressive and creative,
to say the least.
The class is now working hard on persuasive writings that will be used
in our “Shark Tank” competition. Three parents will serve as our panel
of judges, and will give each student an award for their invention,
including “most useful” and “most creative”. It has been an exciting
and hands-on unit, and we are looking forward to our end-of-unit
competition.
Woodlawn High Students Study Culture
In November, Mr. Eiland’s AP Human Geography class began a project called
the Cultural Bingo Binder that asked students to explore many facets of Culture.
Students were asked to experience new languages, religions, folk cultures, and
even food. Some travelled to the Buddhist Temple, others attended cultural
festivals in other towns in Louisiana, while still others interviewed religious
followers. The possibilities were endless. One of the culminating activities was
the Cultural Feast Activity where students were asked to cook a meal from a
different culture and bring it to school. All of Mr. Eiland’s classes met during
lunch and had their pick from 60 different meals from cultures around the
world. Many were made with the assistance of a native from that particular
culture. At its conclusion, the students noted how much they had learned about
the impact of the environment on the choice of ingredients and all expressed
how much they enjoyed the activity.
Woodlawn High students enjoy
Cultural Feast.
EBR Talented Jazz Combo
rehearsing for the 2015
Loyola Jazz Festival. They
performed on March 6th and
received straight 1's, a
"sweepstakes" at the festival.
Parkview Talented Visual Art
Parkview Elementary School’s talented art
students were part of the very first group of
students to participate in #MyWallsProject. #My
WallsProject is a new community art project that
is geared towards getting student artwork out in
the neighborhoods and public spaces of Baton
Rouge and draw positive attention towards the
arts and art education. For this first round of
#MyWalls, Talented Art students created visual
commentaries on the importance of art, using
urban art-inspired imagery and techniques, and
explored their creativity to the fullest!
Westdale Middle School Talented Music Classroom is the first
recipients of the “Keys to Life” initiative which was begun by Veteran
Musician Michael Foster (Michael Foster Project). Foster formed the
initiative “Keys to Life” to nurture budding musicians-in-the-making.
Each month, he and a well-known artist purchase a keyboard for a
school in need. This month, Foster and Big Sam Williams (Big Sam’s
Funky Nation) donated the first keyboard to Westdale Middle
School.
Talented Student’s Artwork
Please submit your news, comments, and/or questions to hsmith@ebrschools.org .
Thank You!
R. Chatman, student of Alan
Morton at McKinley Middle Magnet
School, was the 1st Place winner
in the grades 5-8 Category of the
State Louisiana School Board
Association Art Contest.