Jul 28, 2016
by Rebeca Aguilar
The world geography classes Ms. Hawkins and Mrs. Hauptman teach have been learning about Russia and the Russian Revolution. They have been talking about Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov, but society may be more familiar with Anastasia from the cartoon movie. Nicholas and Alexandra were parents to Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei, and they were the last Emperors of Russia. One of the topics the class talked about was how Gustav Faberge created furniture and started a tradition for the Romanov family, Nicholas and Alexandra and their girls. Gustav would design a different jewel egg every year in Easter time and he would present it to them as a gift for the Orthodox Church in which Easter is very important.
The project the students needed to create included researching Gustav Faberge and his connection with the Romanov family. They needed to recreate eggs using either sugar, sugar string eggs, or actually sugar mold eggs which the students had the option to choose how and what materials they wanted to use to decorate. There were around 180- 200 eggs on campus when the students completed the project. This is the first year the students have done the Faberge eggs. The teachers are trying to give them more insight on these eggs and the significance of what has become really important to Russia, costumes, traditions, and the Orthodox Church.
According to Mrs. Hauptman, the activity took longer than most projects because it could not be completed in an hour; it has to be completed in stages and they needed to submit the egg and do a research paper. The most impressive eggs might be shown in the library as decoration.
Jul 28, 2016
by Lillian Khemmanyvong
As a student who is about to start her/his years in college, the reports about TOPS is definitely one that puts pressure on students about how they are going to pay for school. Due to budget cuts, Louisiana has decided to modify the requirements and the eligibility for the TOPS scholarship program. The previous requirements for the standard scholarship included a 2.5 GPA, 20 on the ACT, and 19.0 core units. So far, possible changes that may occur includes raising the minimum ACT score to a 28. For many people the TOPS program was a student’s ticket to college. This brings us to an even bigger conflict: what happens now? For students who cannot pay for college or are having a hard time getting to college, the TOPS program was a way to help get students out of their struggle and into school.
Although TOPS was one of Louisiana’s major scholarship programs, there are other scholarships that students may apply for. For example, there are scholarships for people who are left handed, have green eyes, or who may be shorter than everyone else or taller. Students who plan to attend a primarily Caucasian college, and they are of another race or ethnicity, may apply for a minority scholarship. Even though TOPS was many student’s first choice to get into college, there are many other options they can turn to for help paying for their tuition and classes.
Jul 28, 2016
The talk around school is that instead of students taking 7 classes 54 minutes each, the students will be having an A/B block schedule with 4 classes a day, 90 minutes each. After having an interview with the principal, Mr. Stevens, it has been confirmed that there will be an A/B block schedule for the year 2016-2017. For the students who do not know what a block schedule is, it is when students have 8 classes total, but they only take 4 classes a day. Each day the classes will switch, for example, maybe you will have Science one day and then Social Studies the next. After meeting with Mr. Stevens, he has settled all rumors and answered all students’ questions.
According to Mr. Stevens, to calm all confusion, “Seniors will be here all day, every day.” Next year, seniors will not be able to leave school early, unless they are in internship or dual enrollment. However, it has not yet been decided what the schedule will be like for the students who have all their credits. Dual enrollment is for students who are willing to take college courses along with their high school classes. The school will partner with LSU and Southeastern for dual enrollment courses; they have not yet decided what courses will be offered, but English 1001 and 1002 will be available. For this type of course the grade a student makes in that class will transfer to their college transcript. For example, if a student finishes with a D, they will also have a D on their college transcript for that class. If a student makes lower than a C in the class, they will be put into credit recovery, but the grade will stay on their college transcript. However, if the student is successful in the class, they will receive their college credit.
Although many students believe the block schedule is unnecessary, some teachers believe it is beneficial. The block schedule offers less traffic in the halls and helps students spend more time on their lesson instead of rushing through a 54 minute class. According to Mr. Stevens, “For students it will make them a lot more attractive to colleges….there will be a better educational increase from our students.” Students will have more credits and possibly spend more time in class doing their homework. Educationally, the block schedule will help students learn
Artwork by Petar Pismestrovic more. As much as some students do not like the block schedule, it has already been set that next year the block schedule is what Woodlawn be transitioning to, as well as all EBR Parish High Schools.
Jul 28, 2016
by Jyron Anderson
Sean Snowden recently won Woodlawn High School Student of the Year. To win Student of the Year you must make good grades and help the community. Sean is an exemplary example of what it means to be a good student and helper in the public and at Woodlawn.
The journey to winning Student of the Year was a suspenseful one. “The span of time between the interview and me being told was about 2-3 weeks, and in that time I began to get nervous and doubt whether I had won or not,” said Sean when asked if he knew he would win. “When I was told, I was surprised and very shocked.” When asked what this award meant to him, Sean said that “it was a big deal to my mom and the people around me, but I cannot let myself believe that winning this award is a big deal. I can’t treat it like it’s a big deal, then I’ll go home thinking that was enough. I want to wake up in the morning and move on to bigger and better things.” It is safe to say Sean is not a fan of complacency and is constantly trying to push himself toward success.
When asked if Student of the Year is something he had been striving for, Sean simply said, “Student of the Year isn’t really something I’ve strived for, but when you look on the EBR homepage and you see Student of the Year pictures every year, you kind of want it, so I guess I’ve always kind of wanted it.” When asked what kind of time and effort went into to this competition, Sean said that “putting together the portfolios and packets took a lot of time. The school portfolio took maybe two weeks alone. The district portfolio took three to four weeks to make sure every detail was perfect. That was really difficult,” he said. “But the body of work that I have put forth from January 13, 2013 to now has been the actual hard part. Being at school when you’d rather be in bed, or being at practice when you’d rather be watching TV, sometimes being awake at crazy hours finishing a paper or a project. That was the most difficult part, but it made building the portfolios easier.”
Winning Student of the Year makes Sean feel a bit strange when he walks the halls or when there is a visitor or new student because he is introduced as “The Student of the Year,” but he says, “It comes with the title.” When asked who he most credits for this award, Sean said, “The glory goes to God, my mother, Mrs. Trusclair, my teammates, and fellow classmates. Beyond making sure my portfolio was correct, my mother raised me to be a great young man. Mrs. Trusclair does so much for this school and has done so much for me alone to win Student of the Year. My teammates have always encouraged my to do the right thing even when I did not want to, always said I was going to make it. My classmates provided a perfect mix of motivation and competition.” When asked what he plans to do after high school, Sean jokingly replied that “he wants to sleep.” His actual plans are to attend an out of state four year college to begin his pre-med studies and to continue his education in order to become an orthopedic surgeon.
In closing, Sean was asked what advice he would give to anyone aspiring to be Student of the Year. He said “Do not aim for Student of the Year, if you do what you’re supposed to do, it’ll come to you. Push yourself and everything will come to you, though you also have to have a genuine heart for people, to want to help people. Those are the factors to become Student of the Year.”
Jul 28, 2016
by Alexis Martin
Woodlawn High School students have a lot of spirit and it was represented by the students and the teacher’s involvement in spirit week. On Tuesday we had “Tune Tuesday.” This allowed students to dress up as their favorite cartoon characters. We had many different characters roaming the hallways such as Superman, Minnie Mouse, and Pikachu. More students participated on this day than any other. On Wednesday we had “Wild Wednesday.” This was the day where students could dress up as either an animal or wear an animal print shirt, scarf, skirt, etc. The following day was called “Turnt up Thursday.” Students were able to wear a pair of jeans with their homecoming shirts. Students wore the Homecoming shirt on Thursday this year because Woodlawn High School’s Homecoming football game was on that night instead of Friday night. Our final spirit week theme was “Fifties Friday.” Students were told that they could dress up as if they were in the fifties. For example, female students could wear a poodle skirt because that was what people wore in the fifties. All in all, we had a very successful week, as our spirit was well demonstrated. Go Panthers!
