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.
Oct 4, 2019
Woodlawn High School welcomed hundreds of alumni and former faculty back to campus on Thursday, October 3, 2019 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the naming of the school.
The reception in the gym marked the first time that many alumni stepped foot on the new campus that opened 16 years ago. Many alumni marveled at the size of the new school as they toured the campus with student volunteers.
Longtime basketball coach Kenny Almond, baseball coach Dary Glueck, mechanics teacher Robert Martinez, English teacher Judy McLellan, and home economics teacher Mary Ward were among the former faculty in attendance. Former principals John McCann (1996-2006) and Jimmy Newman (2006-2012) were also in attendance.
After the reception in the gym, members of past graduating classes were recognized on the track in front of the home bleachers. The Class of 1942, from the Seventh Ward School, was the first class represented, by Ms. Jonnie Lee Singleton Furnish. Ms. Furnish was recognized by current principal Scott Stevens with a lapel pin during the ceremony. Forty-eight classes were represented in total. Five time Olympian and Olympic record holder Danielle Scott-Arruda represented the class of 1990. Wendell Evers (Class of 1980), Nancy Geter (Class of 1999), and Keaton Lea (Class of 2009) were current or former faculty members who represented their classes.
The celebration was organized by the newly formed Woodlawn High Foundation. Anyone looking for information on the Woodlawn High Foundation can contact coordinator Patricia Carley via email at [email protected].
May 16, 2019
Students attending Woodlawn High School during the 2019-2020 school year are expected to participate in the summer reading program.
All ninth grade students must select one of the four books below to read over summer break. There will be an assessment within the first three weeks of school. Gifted, Great Scholars, and Magnet students must read the designated book and will receive their assignment the first week of school.
- Go Ask Alice– Anonymous
- A Raisin in the Sun– Lorraine Hansberry
- Educated– Tara Westover
- Educated is required for Gifted and Great Scholars ninth graders. This is your only book.
- Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths– Bernard Evslin
- Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths is required reading for Magnet ninth graders. This is your only book.
All tenth grade students must select one of the four books below to read over summer break. There will be an assessment within the first three weeks of school. Gifted, Great Scholars, and Magnet students will receive their assignment the first week of school.
- Brave New World– Aldous Huxley
- Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity– Drew Brees
- Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
- The Martian– Andrew Weir
All eleventh grade students must select three articles by at least two different authors listed below. This list of authors represents various perspectives on current events. As you read each article, take note of the author’s name, title of the article, the author’s primary claim, and at least two features that support the author’s claim. You will receive an additional assignment the first day of school.
- Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press
- Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post
- Charles Blow (on sabbatical), The New York Times
- David Brooks, The New York Times
- Frank Bruni, The New York Times
- Roger Cohen, The New York Times & International Tribune
- Gail Collins, The New York Times
- John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle
- Maureen Dowd, The New York Times
- Chris Erskine, LA Times
- Thomas Friedman, The New York Times
- Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
- Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times
- LZ Granderson, LA Times
- Matthew Hansen, Omaha World Herald
- Jemele Hill, The Atlantic
- Ezra Klein, Vox
- Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
- Dana Milbank, The Washington Post
- Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal
- Jeneé Osterheldt, The Boston Globe
- Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post
- Terry Paulson, Townhall.com
- Leonard Pitts, Jr., Miami Herald
- Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post
- Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune
- Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire
- Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone
- Cal Thomas, CalThomas.com
- Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker
- George Will, The Washington Post
- Matthew Yglesias, Vox
- Dave Zirin, The Nation
All twelfth grade students (except for AP English Literature and Composition students) will read The Kite Runner by Kaled Hosseni. There will be an assessment within the first two weeks of school. All AP English Literature and Composition students will read How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. The assignment for this reading is copied below; it is due the first week of school.
Dear Incoming AP Students,
Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition. This summer, in preparation for our study of literature, you will read and prepare notations for How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (ISBN 978-0062301673). As you read the questions below, please answer the questions in a journal in your handwriting.
❏ You must include annotations to support your responses.
❏ Annotations will be checked.
Have a great summer and enjoy your readings. I look forward to meeting you in August.
Sincerely yours,
Tonya Collins
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Teacher
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Adapted from Donna Anglin)
Introduction: How’d He Do That? How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature?
Chapter 1 — Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) –What are the five aspects of the QUEST?
Chapter 2 — Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion-How do authors use meals to convey meaning?
Chapter 3: –Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires –What are the essentials of the Vampire story?
Chapter 4 –Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?-What is intertextuality? What are archetypes?
Chapter 5– When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare. . . How does the concept of intertextuality relate to the works of Shakespeare?
Chapter 6 — …Or the Bible –What themes does Foster include in his discussion? To what Biblical stories does he allude?
Chapter 7 — Hanseldee and Greteldum –Which myths and fairy tales does Foster relate to literature?
Chapter 8 — It’s Greek to Me-Note characters or situations from Greek mythology. What claims does Foster make regarding myth?
Chapter 9– It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow For what purposes is weather used in literary and cinematic works?
Interlude — Does He Mean That –What claims do Foster make about writers?
Chapter 10 –Never Stand Next to the Hero What must the reader remember about heroes and characters in heroic tales? Why is it important to remember that characters are on “a need-to-know basis?”
Chapter 11 –…More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence-What are the two kinds of violence found in literature? What are their effects?
Chapter 12 — Is That a Symbol?-How do symbol and allegory differ? What items do authors use as symbols
Chapter 13 — It’s All Political –Note criteria Foster uses to support the title of the chapter. Define the “isms” Foster mentions.
Chapter 14 — Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too –Note criteria Foster uses to identify Christ figures in literature.
Chapter 15 — Flights of Fancy-How do writers use flight to convey meaning in their works?
Chapter 16 — It’s All About Sex… and Chapter 17 — …Except the Sex-What assertions does Foster make regarding sex scenes in literature?
Chapter 18 — If She Comes Up, It’s Baptism –What are the plot implications of drowning (or not drowning)? What meaning might be conveyed through a “baptism scene”?
Chapter 19 — Geography Matters… How does Foster define geography? Why is it so important in literature?
Chapter 20 — …So Does Season-How do writers use the seasons in meaningful, traditional, or unusual ways?
Interlude — One Story-What argument does Foster repeat in this chapter and how does he support it?
Chapter 21 — Marked for Greatness-What meaning do physical imperfections take on in literature?
Chapter 22 — He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know-What must a writer do in order to introduce a blind character in a work? What can blindness symbolize in a work?
Chapter 23 — It’s Never Just Heart Disease…What assertions do Foster make in order to support the title of this chapter?
Chapter 24 — …And Rarely Just Illness-According to Foster, what are the “principles governing the use of disease in literature”? Note their effectiveness as related to plot, theme, and symbolism.
Chapter 25 — Don’t Read with Your Eyes-Focus on Foster’s remarks about specific assumptions that authors make given the time and place in which they write. What does he mean when he advises, “don’t read with your eyes.”?
Chapter 26 — Is He Serious? And Other Ironies-What is meant by the “ironic mode”? What are the characteristics of irony? How and why do authors employ it? What is meant by the multivocal nature of irony in a work?
Chapter 27 — A Test Case-We will complete the test case in class.
POSTLUDE: Who’s in Charge Here? How do we know that we are “right’ or “correct?”
Envoi –What is the function of an envoi? How does Foster use it?
