Nov 1, 2019
The Louisiana Department of Education sends out a monthly Counselor Connect Newsletter. The publication is for Louisiana’s Professional School Counselors. In this month’s issue, Woodlawn High School Counselor Christianne Ricard was featured in the Counselor Spotlight. The feature from the spotlight is below.
My recent transition from elementary to high school counseling has been a learning experience. Thankfully, I have colleagues who have been a great help to me as I learn my new role-fellow counselors with the common goal of supporting all students and providing them with quality resources that can help them make informed decisions throughout their high school years and beyond.
One of the ways we support our seniors is by helping them complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completing the FAFSA form has a number of benefits that are not limited to four-year college entrance. In addition to grants and loans for university study, the federal dollars students can access through the FAFSA can fund many other postsecondary options: community colleges, online and technical schools, and comprehensive transition and postsecondary (CTP) programs for students with intellectual disabilities. I know that, without completing the FAFSA, my students cannot access federal grants or certain scholarships. That’s why I share several resources from the Federal Student Aid website, including this adaptation of their list of the three types of federal student aid:
- Grants: financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid (Pell, FSEOG, TEACH, and Military Service Grants)
- Work-study: money students earn through a work program
- Loans: borrowed money for college or career school, must be repaid with interest
The Louisiana Believes website has been a resource for me for years, and now it is helping me learn new information and better advise my high school students. For instance, I didn’t have considerable experience with Jump Start pathways, so I relied heavily on the information I could find online. Some of the most useful to me are the Jump Start Graduation Pathways Spreadsheet, STS-Code Matrix, Jump Start Updates document, and the Students With Disabilities Resources web page. I also gained a lot from the May 2019 C.A.T.E. webinar. I’m learning more about Jump Start every day and can’t wait to go to my first Jump Start Convention in January to see what’s new in Jump Start 2.0!
I am proud to be working alongside passionate and knowledgeable counselors who are in the business of doing what is best for students. They share their time, energy, and expertise to help me be a resource to the students of Woodlawn High School. Thanks to our entire school counseling team, I am truly looking forward to seeing great student outcomes in 2020.
Christianne Ricard, Ed.S, NCC, PLPC
School Counselor
Woodlawn High School
Woodlawn High would like to congratulate Ms. Ricard, and administration would like to encourage all of our students to visit their School Counselor regularly. Students may set up an appointment with their School Counselor by visiting the Counseling Department during their lunch shift. Parents may contact the Counseling Department by calling 225-753-2665.
Oct 23, 2019
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.
Oct 22, 2019
Woodlawn High School is proud to continue our partnership with Neighbors FCU with the Panther Mascot Card! Every card swipe earns money for Woodlawn High.
Neighbors continues the tradition of supporting local schools through the Mascot Card, a customized debit card program, which provided more than $53,000 to area schools last year. The Mascot Card serves as a perpetual fundraiser for schools enrolled in the program. Members enjoy all the benefits of a traditional checking account with the added benefit of earning money for their school with each swipe of their Mascot Card. With every debit card purchase you make, Neighbors will make a monetary donation to Woodlawn High School.
It’s easy to begin supporting Woodlawn High by using the Mascot Card. Here are 3 simple ways to get started.
1. You can open an account online by clicking on the following link: https://www.neighborsfcu.org/personal/checking-account/mascot-checking/?utm_campaign=mascot_external&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mascot_schools&utm_term=woodlawn
2. You can visit your nearest local Neighbors branch to open an account. The nearest Neighbors Branches to Woodlawn High are located at 13697 Coursey Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70817 or 17193 Airline Hwy. Prairieville, LA 70769
3. Give Neighbors a call at (225) 819-2178
Students can also have this card by going to any branch of Neighbors with a current Student ID. If they are under 18, they will need a parent or legal guardian on the account. The parent or guardian must have a primary form of ID, like a driver’s license, and a secondary form of ID, such as a social security card or an insurance card.
Neighbors offers a full range of products, services and benefits to meet every banking need. Neighbors is 100% local and dedicated to personal service while still offering the best in contemporary, leading-edge technology.
Federally insured by NCUA.
Oct 21, 2019
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.
Oct 4, 2019
Senior Mya Alford was named the 2019 Homecoming Queen during halftime of the Homecoming game on Thursday, October 3, 2019. Mya currently has a 3.9 GPA and ranks in the top ten percent of the 2020 graduating class. She is a member of DECA and the Yearbook staff. Mya is also a Trailblazer for LOSFA and a Great Scholars student. Mya is a four-year member of the Lady Panther basketball team. She plans to attend LSU and major in Psychology.
Seniors Trinity Lavergne, Troineicia Leake, and Milayna Ulloa made up the remainder of the senior court.
Trinity Lavergne is involved in the Woodlawn Sports Medicine program and the LSU Upward Bound program. She is a member of the DECA and BETA clubs. She is also a member of the Panther Cheer Squad and the Lady Panther Tennis team.
Troineicia Leake is in the Magnet program and also a member of the BETA club. She is a member of the Lady Panther Bowling team and the newspaper staff. She also runs on the Lady Panther Cross Country and Lady Panther Track teams.
The final senior maid, Milayna Ulloa, participates in the LSU Upward Bound program. She is a Woodlawn Magnet Ambassador, a member of the BETA, NHS, and DECA clubs, and participates in the Sports Medicine program. Milayna is the current president of the DECA club.
The Class of 2021 was represented by four Junior Maids. Julyana Espinal, Tori Lee, Breanna Russell, and Liniah Slater. Sophomore maids included Destiny Leger and Mildre Pardo, and the Freshman maid was Skylan Ledoux.
