Feb 20, 2017
Steven Oubre, Woodlawn High’s ProStart teacher, was named the 2017 Louisiana Educator of Excellence by the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation earlier this month. Oubre was chosen by the board of directors of the LRAEF based on his community outreach programs for his students along with the numerous students who leave his program with additional industry certifications.
Oubre, a native of Patterson, Louisiana, is in his seventh year at Woodlawn High. After graduating from Patterson High School, he attended Nicholls State University. Oubre received his degree in Culinary Arts & Sciences. He began working as a Sous Chef at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans before branching out on his own, starting a private chef company. From there, Oubre moved on to Woodlawn High School.
Students competing at the ProStart Invitational in March of 2016.
Oubre took over the ProStart program during his first year at Woodlawn. The program consisted of three students. Since that time, Oubre has grown the program to over 120 students. Each year, Oubre has brought students from Woodlawn to the LRAEF Louisiana Seafood ProStart Invitational in New Orleans at the Convention Center in which he once worked. The Invitational, which is held in March of each year, awards scholarship money to the top three teams in both the Culinary and Management categories. Students compete for scholarships up to $40,000 each. Twice Oubre’s teams have placed fourth in the Culinary category, just missing out on top three finishes.
Along with the March competition, Oubre brings ProStart students to the State Capital each year to cook for the House and Senate. His students are also looked to by athletic programs on campus, catering pregame meals for the football, boys and girls basketball, and softball teams. Oubre’s students have catered Honors Breakfasts, Senior Breakfasts, JROTC Military Balls, East Baton Rouge Parish School Board events, numerous parent nights, and even catered a wedding for a former teacher.
“Receiving this award was extremely special to me. It is nice to be appreciated and recognized for the hard work that you do. It was a great honor to be recognized, even considered, for this award. There are over seventy ProStart teachers in the state, many of them great teachers, so it meant a lot to be chosen for the award,” said Oubre.
In May, Oubre will travel to Chicago to the National Food and Restaurant Association Show. Oubre will compete against teachers from around the nation to be named the National Educator of Excellence. He will also be given the opportunity to discuss ProStart curriculum, strategies to improve the program, and upcoming changes in the program.
ProStart is the premier culinary arts program for high school students. ProStart gives students the opportunity to learn about the art of cooking and managing restaurants by training with professional chefs and receiving valuable classroom instruction. ProStart students are also given the opportunity to earn college credit and make money while still in high school.
The LRAEF is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1995 and is governed by a board of directors made up of restaurants, industry experts and educators in the hospitality industry. It exists to enhance the industry’s service to the public through education, community engagement and promotion of career opportunities. Visit the LRAEF website at www.lraef.org.
Feb 20, 2017
Woodlawn High’s Youth Legislature went to the Louisiana Youth and Government Youth Legislature Conference for the second year in a row. The conference was attended by over 400 Louisiana students. Woodlawn was represented by Brennan Burleigh, William Casey, Luca Gambelli, and Lauren Stevens.
William Casey waits to be acknowledged at the 2017 State Youth Leg Conference.
Each Woodlawn student had a bill introduced in committee, but each of the four bills did not make it past committee. Of the nearly 200 bills introduced to committee, only forty bills made it to the house floor..
Despite their bills being defeated early on in the process, each student joined in the conversations about other bills during the remainder of the conference. Students debated for well over thirteen hours over the next day and a half, made coalitions with students from other schools across Louisiana to help their bills along, lobbied for causes they believed in, and made friends across the state that they can keep in touch with beyond this conference.
Woodlawn’s Brennan Burleigh was voted as the Louisiana Youth and Government House of Representatives Floor Leader for the 2017-2018 Louisiana Youth and Government State Board and will be attending multiple meetings and gatherings leading up to next year’s Youth Legislature Conference. Brennan will also be applying to attend CONA, The Conference on National Affairs, held each summer for Youth Legislature participants.
Feb 20, 2017
The Panthrobotics team has been working diligently to complete their competition robot for the past month and have one last week to complete the robot build process before going to their first competition March 9th through the 11th in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Panthrobotics work on building their competition robot for the 2017 season.
Panthrobotics will then complete in New Orleans at the Bayou Regional Competition at the end of March. If the robotics team place at either regional competition, they will travel to Houston, Texas to play for the First Robotics World Championship in April.
The competition robot must shoot whiffle balls into two goals of differing heights, deliver a gear to a gear drive train, and climb a 6 foot rope from the floor to score points. The robot must be designed and built from scratch by student team members. The team has been busy fabricating a robot that can outscore teams from not only the country, but also the world. Mr. Eiland and Mr. Frazier and the Panthrobotics team are preparing for an incredibly exciting competition season.
Panthrobotics team members will continue to meet every evening from 4 pm until 7 pm to complete the Robot build process.
Feb 13, 2017
The Louisiana YMCA Youth Legislature conference is three-day conference held each spring that engages high school students from across the state at every level of state government. Students assume roles in all three branches of government and the news media as they debate issues of local and state importance. Through the conference, they gain first-hand knowledge of the democratic process and develop leadership and presiding skills.
Lauren Stevens at the 2016 Youth Legislature Conference.
Youth Legislature is a student-led conference where State board officials are elected by their peers to plan and preside over each conference. During the conference, delegates assume control of the Louisiana State Capitol building, as they become members of the House, Senate, Executive Branch, Supreme Court, and Press. First-year delegates receive intensive preparation as members of the Novitiate program, which provides training in bill writing, parliamentary procedure and debate. Senior members of the legislature prepare for the conference by authoring legislation on a topic of their choice. At the conference, they will have the opportunity to present and defend their idea as it wends its way through the legislative process and potentially to the Governor’s desk. At the conclusion, the conference recognizes outstanding delegates, those whose legislation has been signed into law, and those students elected or selected to lead the next Youth Legislature. With over 50 years of proud tradition in the state of Louisiana, the YMCA Youth Legislature conference is the state’s premier opportunity to engage and educate youth in the political process while preparing them for the leadership opportunities of tomorrow.
The WHS Youth Legislature students that will be attending and presenting bills are President, Lauren Stevens whose bill deals with Driver’s Education in Schools, Brennan Burleigh, whose bill deals with the controversial topic of LGBTQ rights, William Casey whose bill deals with Sex Offender laws and lastly our school’s Italian foreign exchange student, Luca Gambelli who will be taking on education with his bill.
Last year both Burleigh and Stevens’ bills were successful in getting passed by both houses and signed by the Governor presiding over the Louisiana Youth Legislature.
Feb 11, 2017
The Louisiana State Senior Beta Convention was held February 8th through 10th at the Baton Rouge River Center. The theme for the convention was “Beta Above and Beyond.” The State Beta Convention gives students the opportunity to participate in a variety of competitions, giving them an arena to showcase their academic achievements, artistic creativity, critical thinking skills, collaborative team work, all while increasing their leadership skills. The convention also gives students a chance to interact and compete against students from schools from all across the state.
The Woodlawn High Beta Club brought 28 students total, for which they were awarded a G.O.L.D. Key Award (Growth Opportunities in Leadership Development). The G.O.L.D. Key Award was presented to schools that increased member attendance by 10% compared to their 2015-2016 convention attendance.
Members of the Spotlight on Service Team from the 2017 LA Beta Convention.
In total, 25 of the 28 students who attended the convention competed in different competitions. Amari Bacon, Ezaria Coates, Montrell Frank, Danielle Massey, and Byron Taylor made up the team which competed in the Spotlight on Service category and placed second.
The Spotlight on Service competition allowed students to showcase one service project in which their club participated in, developed, or initiated. Woodlawn’s Beta Club chose to focus on The Walk for Arthritis, which was held at Woodlawn in May of 2016. The club helped set up, organize, and operate the walk last year. The Walk for Arthritis will be held at Woodlawn again on May 20, 2017. The Woodlawn Beta Club will also participate in The Walk for Arthritis this year.
Members of the Team Chant from the 2017 LA Beta Convention.
The Woodlawn Beta Club also placed third in the chant competition. The chant competition gave students 30 seconds to present an original chant, which could be based on the convention theme, principals of Beta, or what Beta means to your club and school. Nakavia Chapman, Renee’ Robertson, and Tamiia Williams created the 30 second chant. They then taught the chant and motions to the other 17 club members who participated in the competition. The chant focused on what Beta means to us as a club.
Other members also competed in different competitions at the convention. Madison Brooks (Speech), Christian Lejeune (Math), Ana Orellana (Spanish), and Elizabeth Zhang (Social Studies) each took an academic test. Erin LaBorde, Makenzey Heughan, Jarielle Johnson, and Calah Williams made up the members of the Quiz Bowl Team. Brennan Burleigh (Acrylic Painting) and Christian Riley (Pencil Drawing) each participated in the onsite art competitions.
Two groups of Beta Members also created different items for the convention, and each was also entered into a competition. Dabria Gage, Nichole Goodman, Briana Jacob, Hayden LeBlanc, and Vy Nguyen were members of the team that created the club’s banner. The banner was free flowing and it depicted the convention theme. Brayden Cockerham and Goodman also hand drew the design for the club t-shirt, which was then printed and worn by members at the convention.
Overall, the students had a great experience and made the most out of this opportunity. The Woodlawn Beta Club will continue to participate and compete in the LA State Beta Convention, and plan to bring more students next year as the club continues to grow.
2016-2017 WHS Beta Club Officers.
“As sponsors, we are extremely proud of the students for competing and having a positive attitude throughout the entire convention,” stated Ms. Ortego, one of the sponsors.
The 2016-2017 Club Officers are as follows: Hayden LeBlanc – President, Emelee King- Vice President, Vy Nguyen- Sergeant at Arms, and Elizabeth Zhang- Secretary. The Beta Club is sponsored by Ms. Fentress, Ms. B. Fetter, and Ms. Ortego.
