May 6, 2019
On Thursday, May 2, 2019, Woodlawn High School held the annual Senior Recognition Day in the school auditorium. Over 158 awards and recognitions were given out to nearly 100 students. There were 28 colleges, universities, and branches of the US Armed Forces represented during Recognition Day.
Throughout the spring semester, seniors were asked to bring acceptance letters to school in order to be recognized. College acceptances and military enlistments were recognized, followed by awards and recognitions more specific to Woodlawn High.
Woodlawn High’s JROTC program recognized four seniors. Cadet Lieutenant Amari Bacon received the Superior Junior ROTC Cadet Decoration Award LET LEVEL IV, the JROTC Medal, and the US Marine Corps Leadership Award. Cadet First Lieutenant Taylor Christopher received the VFW Award. The JROTC Award was presented to Cadet Captain Makaylen Deggs. And finally, Cadet Command Sergeant Major Luke Hoang received the US Marine Corps Espirt De Corps Award.
Next, seven seniors were recognized by the Louisiana Department of Transportation for work with their Adopt-A-Road Program. Those students were Jaslyn Espinal, Montrell Frank, Jamar Kenner, Summer Lewis, Kristian Mims, Celeste Raybon, and Nia Williams.
Jacob Barnes was the next senior recognized. Jacob was recognized as Woodlawn High School’s Student of the Year and was also awarded the Athletic Achievement Award.
Following Jacob, Jerry Tang, Spenser Gomez, and Mason Dellucky were recognized as AP Scholars by the College Board.
Seniors who were selected by faculty and staff as Who’s Who of Woodlawn were the next to be recognized. Those students were Nayeli Abreu Beltre, Bailey Allen, Amari Bacon, Zachary Bourgeois, Evangeline Carter, Melissa Castillo, Victor Claros-Mejia, Allan Colindres Sorto, Jaslyne Espinal, Jason Jones, Jamar Kenner, Taylor Kinchen, Vernesha Martin, Vyshonn Meggs, Peter Ngo, Neriza-Victoria Reed, Marissa Segura, and Keilan Thompson.
Senior Superlatives were recognized next. These seniors were selected by their classmates in different categories. Best All Around students were Jacob Barnes and Trinh Nguyen. Jamar Kenner and Kailyn Decoux were recognized as Most Likely to be Your Boss. Most Likely to be Famous were Antoine Davis and Kim Hong, followed by Gyasi Blunt and Jada Jackson, who were voted Most Likely to Make You Laugh. Kristian Mims and Montrell Frank were selected as Woodlawn’s Biggest Fan. Most Involved went to Kristian and Krisna Medina. Bailey Allen and Fatima Perez were recognized as Most Friendly, and Devanghan Gross and Taylor Kinchen were recognized as Most Likely to Go Pro. Students selected Ronnie Robertson and Bryant Jacob as the Best Bromance, and Best-est Besties went to Lydia Estess and Rayan Kaadan.
The final group of seniors recognized were departmental awards from faculty on campus.
Woodlawn High School would like to send a special thanks to Parents and Guardians for their continued support of our students and Woodlawn High School, Ms. Jill Dyason and the EBRP School Board for their support of our students and the educational opportunities at Woodlawn High School, and Mr. Scott Stevens and the faculty of Woodlawn High School for their dedication to the education of students.
May 6, 2019
At the end of April, Lost N Sound, Woodlawn High School’s A Capella group, attended the National A Capella Convention in Memphis, Tennessee. During their trip, the group was able to visit the Memphis Zoo and explore Beale Street while learning about the history of music in Memphis and about celebrities, both past and present, affiliated with the city.
While at the convention, the students attended classes and showcases where they witnessed other groups perform and learned how to better themselves as performers to reach and exceed their level of professionalism. During this time, LNS also received a private class from an expert in the A Capella industry. This year, the group had their masterclass with Chris Brody, who is an A Capella arranger, clinician, sound engineer, producer and member of Inverse Vocals, a Michigan based A Capella group.
LNS used the trip to Memphis as a learning and bonding experience for all members. This is one of the most memorable moments of being in LNS and it has one of the biggest impacts on our views of being a performer.
May 2, 2019
Graduation is fast approaching and seniors and their families need to know these important events, times, and guidelines:
- Final exams will be administered May 6th-9th.
- Monday, May 6th – 3B and 4B Exams
- Tuesday, May 7th – 3A and 4A Exams
- Wednesday, May 8th – 1B and 2B Exams
- Thursday, May 9th – 1A and 2A Exams
- Seniors’ final day is May 9th after their 2nd block exam. Seniors are to leave campus each day at the conclusion of their second exam.
- Seniors are not to come back to campus after the last exam day or during the days after senior exams while underclassmen are still in school, other than designated days. Seniors are not to go to any other school campus.
- All uniform codes and school rules apply during exams.
- Seniors will come back to school on Tuesday, May 14th from 8:00 am until 10:30 am to pay fees and debts or verify that all fees have been paid through the library and the office. Students will be given a colored sheet of paper that shows a zero balance. Student will ONLY go to the library and the front office and should be dressed appropriately.
- Seniors will return to school on Friday, May 17th from 8:00 am until 10:30 am and pick up their cap and gown, final report card and graduation tickets. Students will enter the front of school and will not go
down any of the halls. All items will be given to seniors in the foyer.
- Seniors may bring any used school polos to the main office on May 14th or May 17th. Please only bring clean polos. Those polos will be used next year for students who may not have a polo.
- Graduation practice will be held on Tuesday, May 21st at 9:00 am at Healing Place Church (19202 Highland Road). Practice should last approximately three hours.
- Graduation will be held at Healing Place Church on Tuesday, May 21st at 6:00 pm. Doors will open for the audience at 5:00 pm. All audience members must have a ticket to enter Healing Place Church. Graduates must be at the facility by 4:45 pm.
- Audience members will not be allowed into Healing Place Church with any balloons, flowers, noise makers, confetti poppers, other distracting items, any food or drinks. If you are found with any of these items, you will be asked to return them to your vehicle. If you bring them inside the arena and security finds them or you set them off, they will be taken and you will be asked to leave the arena.
This is a wonderful time for the graduating class of 2019. Please be respectful and adhere to these guidelines.
Feb 25, 2019
Playing in the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 Season, the 26th ranked Panthers traveled to 8th ranked Lakeshore High School in Mandeville. The Titans had won 26 times out of 30 games entering the playoffs. However, Friday would be the underdog Panthers’ night, as they came away with a 60-54 victory.
The Panthers struggled to get going early, starting the game off 0 for 5 from the field and falling behind the Titans early shooting success. Junior Jeremiah Walter started off the scoring by converting a layup off of a turnover. Woodlawn would go on to make 5 of their next 7 shots, with seniors Devaughan Gross scoring 7 points and Daryl Drewery scoring 5 to finish out the first quarter leading 16-12.
The Panthers continued their early success when sophomore post player Brandon Cook caught the ball in the middle of the Titans zone defense and found Drewery for a three-pointer to stretch the Panthers lead. They would get a Noah Howard put-back layup and another shot by Drewery early and then hit a scoring drought with only a couple free throws the rest of the second quarter. A timeout by Coach Elmo Fernandez tried to stop the home teams run at 25-27, but the Titans would add one more score forcing the visiting Woodlawn Panthers team to go into halftime trailing 25-29.
With their backs against the wall, the Panthers upped the intensity and came out strong in the 3rd quarter. Once again, it was Cook finding a hole in the Titans zone and kicking the ball out to sophomore Bryan Sledge for a 3 to give the Panthers the lead 31-29. The Titans would retake the lead off an inbound play the following possession, but a 3 by Drewery would give the Panthers the lead they would keep for the remainder of the game. Defense was the key this quarter, as the Panthers forced the Titans into committing 7 turnovers.
Though it was a team defensive performance, the key defensive performers were Cook and Howard as they held the Titans leading scorer, 6’8’’ Hunter Dean, to only 1 point through 3 quarters and only 1 field goal for the game. The Panthers were led by their two seniors, Gross and Drewery, who each scored 22 points to propel the Panthers to their first playoff win since the 2011-12 team beat Barbe at home. The win gives the Panthers the chance to host another top 10 team, the 9th ranked Franklin Parish Patriots.
Feb 14, 2019
With a semifinal match up on the line, the Panthers were able to get off to a fast start on the road. Woodlawn applied pressure on Neville from the start of the match, with close early scoring opportunities by Ray Sierra and Christopher Enamorado.
The Panthers earned a penalty kick in the 22nd minute when Cody Stevenson received a long ball in the box, made a quick move, and was fouled. Jacob Barnes capitalized from the spot and put the Panthers up 1-0 on the penalty kick.
Elijah Mallory and Jakobie Davis battle a Neville player for the ball in the Panthers quarterfinal victory.
With more chances on goal and great saves by Jakarie Davis, the Panthers found themselves having a throw in deep in Neville territory. Barnes took the throw and with an athletic header by Jakobie Davis, Woodlawn found the back of the net again. With only three minutes to play in the first half, the Panthers led the Tiger 2 scores to none.
“I knew I would have an opportunity to score on a throw in or corner,” Davis stated. “Jacob does great finding me on these set pieces, and I just finished the job.”
Coming out of the second half, the Panthers defense continued to hold strong. Neville scored a late goal, however it was not enough for the Tigers. The Panthers held on to advance to the State Semifinals and will face Lakeshore Saturday at 3:30 in Mandeville.
