Panther Powerlifters Excel at Regional Meet

Panther Powerlifters Excel at Regional Meet

The Woodlawn Powerlifting team hosted the LHSAA/LHSPLA East Regional this past weekend at Woodlawn High. The Panthers had multiple lifters break school records and qualify for the Division I State Meet.

On Friday, February 28th, the Lady Panther powerlifters took to the platforms.

Hallie Rozarto placed 2nd in the 114 pound weight class while setting the school records in the squat and total weight for her weight class.

Breanna Russell participated in the 123 pound weight class. She finished third in her class while setting the school records for the bench press, deadlift, and total weight for her class.

Other Lady Panthers who participated and placed were Victoria Alder, who placed 4th in the 148 pound class, Destiny Leger, who placed 4th in the 132 pound class, and India Morgan, who placed 5th in the 123 pound class.

Hallie and Breanna each qualified for the State Meet, which will be held at ULM on Friday, March 20th.

The Panther powerlifters followed the Lady Panthers on Saturday, February 29th.

Jonero Scott led the way for the Panthers, placing 2nd in the 198 pound weight class.

Tim Bennett finished 3rd in the Super Heavyweight class. He set Woodlawn High records in the bench press for his weight class.

Quentin Ross and Mason Watson also competed and placed for the Panthers. Quentin placed 4th in the 275 pound weight class, and Mason placed 4th in the 181 pound weight class.

Jonero qualified for the State Meet and will represent Woodlawn High on Saturday, March 21st at ULM.

Coach Baronich and the Athletic Department at Woodlawn High would like to thank all of the sponsors of the 2020 East Regional: Platform Sponsors – ISC Constructors, LLC, K-Watt Electric, LLC, Peak Performance Physical Therapy, and Total Care Injury and Pain Center. Table Sponsors – Chick-fil-A, Jostens Class Rings, and Papa John’s Pizza. Meet Sponsors – Acadian Ambulance, Addis Athletics and Apparel, Coca-Cola Bottling of Baton Rouge, Fleur De Lis Donuts, Hi Nabor Supermarkets, Kleinpeter Dairy Farms, LLC, Mason’s Grill, Outback Steakhouse, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Shoppers Value Foods, Winn Dixie Stores, and Zaxby’s.

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.

Woodlawn Goes to Washington

Woodlawn Goes to Washington

A group of Woodlawn High students, families, and faculty members were fortunate enough to visit the nation’s capital over the Mardi Gras holiday. Over 40 members of the Panther community traveled by bus to Washington, D.C. to enjoy some of the history that the city had to offer.

The group left Baton Rouge on February 19th and made the overnight drive to Washington, D.C. While on the trip, the group toured the city and surrounding area non-stop. They visited many of our nation’s museums, monuments, and historical buildings. Highlights included visits to the White House, the United States Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, where the group celebrated George Washington’s 288th birthday. The group also visited the Supreme Court, Ford’s Theater, the Federal Reserve, the National Archives, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Lincoln Memorial, and the National Air and Space Museum.

The group left Washington on Monday, February 24th, stopping at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia. They arrived back in Baton Rouge on Tuesday morning and returned back to school on Wednesday.

Students Harrison Breland-Triche and Yolani Dickens enjoyed the trip, stating that they stayed busy the entire trip, learned a lot, and met lots of students that they did not know before the trip. They each thanked Ms. Hauptman and Ms. Smoorenburg for spearheading the trip.

The group had support from many local businesses, and the trip could not have been as successful as it was without the help of the people at these wonderful establishments: All-Star Automotive Group, Coca-Cola of Baton Rouge, Costco, Cracker Barrel, Five Guys, Hi Nabor Supermarket, McDonald’s Valluzzo Companies, and Modern Acupuncture.

To see more pictures and trip specifics, follow @woodlawnapgopo on Twitter!

Woodlawn High Students Excel in the Classroom

Woodlawn High Students Excel in the Classroom

Five hundred fifty-one students at Woodlawn High School completed the first nine-week period of the 2019-2020 school year with a 3.0 GPA or higher.

With an enrollment of over 1300 students, the number of students achieving at least a 3.0 GPA represented 42% of the student population. Freshmen and sophomores each had 148 students on the list, followed by seniors with 135 students on the list. There were 120 juniors with at least a 3.0 GPA.

Twenty percent of the students on the list achieved a 4.0 or higher. Students must be enrolled in an advanced class, such as Gifted, Great Scholars, Dual Enrollment or Advanced Placement, in order to achieve an additional quality point and have a GPA higher than 4.0.

Forty-five students on the list are currently on pace to be placed on the Principal’s List, which means that the student has straight A’s. Eighteen of those students currently have above a 4.0 GPA.

Sophomore Seema Kawji currently boasts the highest GPA of the 2019-2020 school year. Seema has a current GPA of 4.75. She is enrolled in six classes that give her an additional quality point.

The East Baton Rouge Parish School System releases progress reports after each nine-week period at the high school level. Grades on progress reports are not final, as the official transcript grade is cumulative based on the entire semester grading period. Woodlawn High School sends progress reports home at the end of each nine-week grading period as well as at the beginning of each month.

Woodlawn High Seniors Receive National Merit Scholarship Recognition

Woodlawn High Seniors Receive National Merit Scholarship Recognition

Two Woodlawn High School Seniors were recently recognized by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board for receiving national honors.

Joshua Serio and Ray Sierra attended a reception on Thursday, October 17, 2019 before the monthly school board meeting. The seniors were then recognized at the meeting, along with other twenty-seven other EBR students.

Joshua is in the Gifted Program at Woodlawn High and currently carries a 4.3 GPA. He was recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist. There are approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the nation, and these academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered in the spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

Over 1.6 million juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Ray, who is also in the Gifted Program at Woodlawn High, carries a 4.5 GPA. He was recently selected as the 2019-2020 Student of the Year at Woodlawn High. Ray was recognized as a National Hispanic Scholar and was also recognized as a National Merit Commended student. The National Hispanic Recognition Program recognizes approximately 5,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors each year as National Hispanic Scholars from among the more than 400,000 juniors who take the PSAT. As with the National Merit Scholarship Program, NHRP uses the junior year PSAT/NMSQT as the qualifying test. Students must carry a minimum 3.5 GPA to be considered for the recognition.

More than two-thirds (about 34,000) of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT® receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for Special Scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.

In addition to their academic success, both Josh and Ray have excelled outside of the classroom while at Woodlawn High. Josh is a four-year letterman in the sports of football and baseball. Ray has lettered in the sports of football, baseball, powerlifting, soccer, and track during his time at Woodlawn High. He also is a member of Beta Club, National Honor Society, and Youth Legislature.

After graduation in May, Josh plans to attend Louisiana State University and major in Engineering. Ray expects to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology and major in Aerospace Engineering.