Panthers Give to Community in Need

Panthers Give to Community in Need

The Woodlawn High School ICare Club used their meeting time during Club Days discussing how they could help the local community. They decided to sponsor a Food Drive.

With the help of their ICare sponsors, Mrs. Singletary and Mrs. Tietje, members of the club discovered that the Baton Rogue Food Bank was in desperate need of food items. Several devastating hurricanes and COVID-19 had taken their toll on the Food Bank’s supplies.

Students in the club promoted the Food Drive on their own, creating digital art, posters for the campus, and by spreading the word. They also decided to sponsor a competition between first hour classes, promising free dress and donuts as rewards!

After two weeks of collecting goods, our Panthers had donated over 2,000 non-perishable goods to donate to the Baton Rouge community during the holidays.

Mrs. Singletary expressed how pleased she and Mrs. Tietje were with the results of the drive.

“We are so proud of the ICare students for how hard they worked, and of Panther Nation for giving to those in need this holiday season. 2020 has not been the best year, but hopefully our Panthers can bring some joy this holiday season.”

Woodlawn JROTC Cadet Wins Cadet of the Year

Woodlawn JROTC Cadet Wins Cadet of the Year

Congratulations to Cadet Captain Idaneth Garcia-Rodriguez, who earned accolades as the Top Leadership, Education and Training Level III Cadet in East Baton Rouge Parish. Cadet Garcia competed against and was triumphant over five other Cadets from JROTC programs throughout the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. Even more exciting is that this is Cadet Garcia’s second consecutive year winning Cadet of the Year.

Cadet Captain Garcia and Col. (R) Keys.

Cadet Captain Garcia-Rodriguez is a junior at Woodlawn High School and in her third year in the Woodlawn JROTC Program. She has a cumulative 4.41 Grade Point Average, plays violin in the WHS Orchestra, and is a Company Commander in the JROTC program.

After high school, her plans are to attend Louisiana State University and either major in chemical engineering or pursue a law degree, with a minor in music. While her life’s goal is to become a chemist, working on alternative fuels, she has also been intrigued with law and may consider pursuing a law degree.

Col. (R) Keys, Woodlawn High’s JROTC III & IV instructor, has nothing but praise for Cadet Captain Garcia.

“What an awesome accomplishment by Cadet Captain Garcia, especially to win the Cadet of the Year, two years running. Cadet Garcia is the type Cadet that any program would be proud to have. She’s bright, energetic, and willing to put in the hard work to be successful. We are extremely proud of her.”

Godspell Jr. to Hit Woodlawn Stage

Godspell Jr. to Hit Woodlawn Stage

The Woodlawn High School Theatre Program will be presenting Godspell Jr. on Thursday, March 26th. Boasting a score with chart topping songs, Godspell Jr. is a sensation that will touch audiences.

A group of disciples help Jesus Christ tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques, and a hefty dose of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, are employed as the story of Jesus’ life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, Jesus’ messages of kindness, tolerance, and love come vibrantly to life.

A school performance will be presented during 2nd period and an after school performance for friends and family will be offered at 6 pm that evening. Tickets are $2 for the school performance and $5 for the evening performance.

WHS DECA Chapter Attends State Conference

WHS DECA Chapter Attends State Conference

The Woodlawn High School DECA Chapter attended the Louisiana DECA State Conference on March 1 – March 3. The conference was held at the Baton Rouge Marriott. Over 300 students from around the state of Louisiana attended the conference. Our chapter attended the conference along with their Adviser, Mr. Wilburn, and their Co-Adviser, Mrs. Wilburn.

The Woodlawn DECA Chapter had a wonderful showing at this year’s conference, with many members walking away with top-three finishes in their respective competitions. All members who placed in the top-three qualify to attend the International Career Development Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Bryan Bates and Terrell Landry placed first in the Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan Category for their business plan and product presentation for “Panther Dust.” Panther Dust is a seasoning spice mixture engineered for those with high blood pressure and cholesterol. Panther Dust allows individuals to season their food while remaining on a healthy diet.

Sierra Johnson and Liniah Slater placed first in the Start Up Business Plan Category. Their idea, Fleur De Lis Cajun Kitchen, plans to bring real, original, southern Cajun food to the north. Their plan is to place the original location in Maine, and build locations from there.

Taryn Lewis, Jalyn Recasner, and Madison Ruffin also placed second in their category, which was the Integrated Marketing Campaign. The three students came up with a campaign titled Basketball for MDA, which included a raffle at a New Orleans Pelican game to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Mya Alford and Romonique Moore finished second in the Community Awareness Project Category for their participation in the Adopt a Road Campaign. Their presentation included an explanation of what road our DECA Chapter adopted and how their work helped to improve the local community.

Romonique also placed third in the QuickServe Competition, which put her knowledge of restaurant management to the test. In this role playing competition, Romonique played the part of the VP of marketing for Rich Ice Cream Shop. She had to convince the CEO of the company to keep the 50th year anniversary celebration in the small town that the ice cream shop was located rather than move it to a larger nearby city.

In addition to her competitions, Romonique, who is the Chapter President at Woodlawn High, was elected as the Louisiana DECA State Vice President of Hospitality for the 2020-2021 school year.

Our DECA Chapter also received two prestigious recognitions. The first, the Outstanding Chapter award for the state of Louisiana, is awarded to those chapters who meet certain criteria. The criteria include local, state, and international DECA activities. Woodlawn’s DECA chapter completed twenty-two total activities, surpassing the fifteen activities needed to qualify for the recognition. Our chapter also received the Thrive Chapter Award from the National DECA organization, which means that our DECA chapter will be able to participate in the Thrive Academy at the ICDC in Nashville.

Finally, our DECA Adviser, Mr. Wilburn, was recognized with a Louisiana DECA Outstanding Advisor Award. Mr. Wilburn accumulate 460 points from a list of activities and events recognized by DECA, far surpassing the 340 point goal.

The ICDC will be held from April 29th through May 2nd in Nashville.

Senior Mya Alford Receives Continued Recognition

Senior Mya Alford Receives Continued Recognition

Senior Mya Alford continues to accumulate awards, honors, and recognitions. The Lady Panther basketballer, who was also named Homecoming Queen during the fall semester, has recently been on quite the hot streak.

Mya competed against students from Baton Rouge Magnet High School and Scotlandville Magnet High School to win the Junior Achievement Trust Your Crazy Idea Contest. Mya presented her idea, a microwave Klean Kit, in front of a panel of judges at BRCC. Mya’ idea, which includes a cleaning solution, splatter dome, and bonnet covers, was picked as the best idea in Baton Rouge. Mya was awarded with a $5,000 scholarship and the chance to compete at the state level in Lafayette. The winner of the state contest will be awarded with an additional $10,000 scholarship.

More recently, Mya earned the DECA Emerging Leader Honor Award. This National DECA Honor recognizes DECA members studying marketing, finance, hospitality and management while also being an academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leader through their participation in DECA.

Mya, who currently ranks in the top 10% of Woodlawn High School’s Class of 2020, plans to attend LSU in the fall. She plans on majoring in Mass Communication. Mya is active in the school’s DECA chapter, participating in recent Adopt a Road programs while serving as the Vice President of Communications for the chapter.