JUBAN PARC JUNIOR HIGH PRINCIPAL RECEIVES STATE EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD

Juban Parc Junior High Prinicpal Jeff Frizell

Juban Parc Junior High Principal Jeff Frizell has been awarded the distinguished Paul H. Fouquier Educational Leadership Award for exceptional contributions, leadership and service to education in Louisiana by the Louisiana Association of School Executives (LASE).  Frizell became principal of Juban Parc Junior high in 2010 after the school was newly constructed.  He has successfully established his vision for the culture and climate of the school from the very beginning, leading Juban Parc to be named a Top Gains School in just its second year, and since, moving from a “B” rating to an “A” rating in the 2013-2014 year with a school performance score of 106.1 points. LASE presented the award to Frizell at its annual conference this month.

NORTH LIVE OAK ELEMENTARY EDUCATOR WINS SCIENCE TEACHER AWARD

North Live Oak Kindergarten Teacher Karen Parrino receives the LSTA Science Teacher of the Year award from LSTA President Nathan Cotten.

Karen Parrino, a kindergarten teacher at North Live Oak Elementary, has been named the Elementary Science Teacher of the Year by the Louisiana Science Teachers Association (LSTA).  Parrino was recognized for her extensive work with the Louisiana Department of Education, PARCC and other state and national organizations on developing instruction and assessments in the areas of English and Language Arts and science.  Parrino received an award plaque and a $400 cash award to be used in her classroom.

LIVINGSTON PARISH SCHOOLS INTRODUCE ICLASS TO FRESHMAN MATH AND ENGLISH CLASSROOMS

Albany High School Freshman Megan Dakroue is one of many Algebra I students in Livingston Parish who are engaged in blended learning with iCLASS. Parish school officials have paired the curriculum in the students’ Springboard textbook with an interactive digital format that is accessed by Dell laptops in class and is stored on a cloud server that students and teachers can access on their home computers and mobile devices at any time. Also pictured is Albany High classmate Tristan Crim.

Livingston Parish educators are implementing a new technology-enriched curriculum for Algebra I and English I classes this year called iCLASS.

The catchy acronym stands for Collaboration, Literacy and Assessment for Student Success, and it incorporates digital texts, learning software applications and web-accessed sites into traditional teaching strategies.  The selected Springboard text for the classes is available in a digital format, allowing students to interact with the words on the page to create individualized study guides and references.  Teachers can easily access the students’ files to see their work and provide comments, and even assign individualized instruction.

Jody Purvis, supervisor of high school curriculum, said school officials targeted Algebra I classes across the parish with the technology-rich curriculum because scores in freshman-level math units have been traditionally lower than in other areas.  At the same time, they targeted English I classes in hopes of being able to progressively expand iCLASS strategies to English II classes next year, and continue the progression to English IV and other courses over time.

EASTSIDE ELEMENTARY WINS P.E. EQUIPMENT IN FACEBOOK CONTEST

Eastside Elementary School recently won third place in a Facebook contest, allowing the school to receive $5,000 worth of sports equipment.  P.E. Teacher Tallie Seighman regularly follows “Let’s Play” on Facebook, which provides great ideas for physical activity for families and in-school settings.  The “Let’s Play” page offered a “Before and After Contest.”  Her contest entry was selected for consideration in the final voting competition.  The award presentation is being underwritten by Good Sports.  Eastside Elementary will receive new sports balls, jump ropes, playground balls and other physical education equipment.  The equipment is scheduled to arrive after the Thanksgiving Holiday break, she said.

CONGRESSMAN GRAVES VISITS DENHAM SPRINGS HIGH CAMPUS

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves speaks to a “standing-room-only” classroom of students at Denham Springs High School.

Louisiana U.S. Congressman Garret Graves spent time with students at Denham Springs High School before the Thanksgiving holiday break speaking to the Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics classes taught by William Bradford.

He answered questions from students and discussed issues concerning the federal budget, immigration, same-sex marriage, Syrian refugees, ISIS, the Keystone pipeline and the slate of Republican presidential candidates.

Graves also stayed on campus to eat lunch with students in the cafeteria and visit with cafeteria workers as part of the National School Nutrition Association’s Congressional Lunch Challenge.

Graves is the U.S. Representative from Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District, which includes Livingston Parish.  Graves was invited to the campus by Denham Springs School Board Member Buddy Mincey, Jr.

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves took time to eat lunch in the Denham Springs High School cafeteria with students Alex Ortiz and Noah Wesley, seated to his left, and Brayden Halden and Brittany Davila, seated across from him. Also pictured are Livingston Parish Assistant Supervisor of Child Nutrition Sommer Purvis and Supervisor of Child Nutrition Leah Smith, seated to his right.