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Livingston Parish Public School Journal
SUPERINTENDENT RICK WENTZEL ANNOUNCES PLANS TO RETIRE
Superintendent Rick Wentzel
Superintendent Rick Wentzel told Livingston Parish School Board members at the Feb. 21 meeting that he will retire June 15, 2019.
"I have been honored to serve as superintendent of this great district, and to work with some of the state's very best teachers and school administrators. I couldn't ask for a better job than the one you've allowed me to have over the past three years," Wentzel said. "But after much prayer and discussion with my family, I believe now is the right time for me to make this transition so I can spend more time with my family."
School Board President Buddy Mincey, Jr., said the board will perform an extensive search for the best possible candidates to replace Wentzel. The board expects to announce its selection before May 2019.
WALKER HIGH SCHOOL CUTS RIBBONS ON FOUR ON-CAMPUS BUSINESSES
Walker High School Principal Jason St. Pierre, Walker High Pro-Start Student Amber Stroughter, Papa John's Representative Dan Murphy and Livingston Parish Schools Career & Technical Supervisor Staci Polozola cut the ribbon for the on-campus location of the pizzeria. The restaurant is operated by Pro-Start students, and it's open from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Mondays-Fridays, and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays.
Walker High School administrators, teachers, students and local business leaders participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 7 to celebrate four businesses opening locations on the new, expanded campus.
The four businesses include Papa John's, Neighbors Federal Credit Union, Nike' Apparel and Walk-On's Conference Center. All four businesses are jointly operated and managed by students and professional business professionals, and all four businesses are open to on-campus and off-campus customers.
"These partnerships offer our students real-life learning opportunities and valuable experience they can parlay into an immediate career or use to further their knowledge and skill-level for additional training in one of these career pathways," Walker High School Principal Jason St. Pierre said.
LIVINGSTON PARISH LIBRARY TO PROVIDE FREE ACCESS TO STUDENTS
The Livingston Parish Library recently announced it is partnering with Livingston Parish Public Schools to provide all students immediate access to the library's digital resources and services through a new eCard program. The program automatically enrolls more than 26,000 LPPS students into the library system.
The new LPL eCard grants students access to all electronic resources provided by the library, ranging from scholastic databases that offer assistance, to homework, to resources offering downloadable eBooks, audiobooks and magazines. In addition, the LPL eCard will allow students to visit their local library branch to check out physical items such as books, DVDs, video games and more.
ALBANY HIGH WINS GOVERNOR'S SECOND ANNUAL BREAKFAST CHALLENGE
Albany High recognized its nutrition workers during a Saints-sponsored pep rally at the school. Pictured from left to right are, (front row) Livingston Parish Schools Child Nutrition Director Leah Smith; Albany High School Child Nutrition Technicians Janie Morgan, Jessica Lopez, and Amy Ellzey; Cafeteria Manager Scarlett Ray; Production Manager Shannon Davidson; Albany High Child Nutrition Technician Lindsay Pallia; Livingston Parish Schools Child Nutrition Special Programs Administrator Sommer Purvis, Saints Mascot Gumbo, (back row) Saints Tight End Josh Hill (#89), and Albany High School Child Nutrition Technicians Lynette Glascock and Wanda Anthony.
Albany High School won first place in the second year of Gov. John Bel Edwards' "No Kid Hungry: School Breakfast Challenge," a contest aimed at increasing statewide breakfast participation.
The NFL Saints' mascot, Gumbo, interacts with Albany High School students during a school-wide pep rally to celebrate the school wining first place in the "No Kid Hungry: School Breakfast Challenge."
Albany High saw the highest increase of any school in the state, bumping up its breakfast participation by 65 percent. Approximately 83 percent of Albany's students eat a school-provided breakfast, through traditional breakfast services and the "Second Chance Breakfast" program, according to Child Nutrition Special Programs Administrator Sommer Purvis.
Purvis noted that all Livingston Parish students are eligible to receive a free breakfast. She said the parish has seen an increase in breakfast participation over the last couple of years. Last year, French Settlement High and North Corbin Junior High were recognized for recording the highest increases of breakfast participation in the state.
STEAM EXPRESS REACHES OUT TO LOCAL COMMUNITY
Southside Elementary Principal Laura Williams and Southside Junior High Principal Wes Partin serve up jambalaya to children who participated in the STEAM Express Community Outreach event that was held on March 11.
The Livingston Parish STEAM Express recently headlined a community outreach event in the South Denham Springs residential area of Eastover Estates. Educators were joined by volunteers from various parish organizations to provide a variety of learning activities, games and food for local families. More than 350 people attended the event.
"Taking learning into our communities is at the very heart of what we envision with our STEAM Express mobile classroom," Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said. "This event was a powerful opportunity for our teachers and school leaders to interact with our students and their parents in their home environment. We want these families to know that we care about their wellbeing and the education of their children."
SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES PLAN TO BUILD STEM & ROBOTICS CENTER
The Livingston Parish School Board approved plans to convert two buildings on the former Southside Elementary campus into a new STEM & Robotics Center for Denham Springs High School.
The new center will offer classes in partnership with LSU designed to enrich student learning in science, technology, engineering and math. The center will be run by the administration at Denham Springs High School. Some of the courses planned for the center include Computational Thinking, Digital Storytelling, Intro to Engineering, as well as a suite of courses focusing on digital media and engineering.
Under an approved recovery plan by FEMA, the district will demolish all but two buildings on the Southside Elementary campus. Those two buildings, which are valued at $2.1 million, will be restored to house the STEM & Robotics Center. The demolition of most of the campus and refurbishment of the two buildings are expected to complete before the start of the school in August 2019.
DISTRICT RECOGNIZES LOCAL SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE
Livingston Parish Public Schools recognized 24 schools that were named 2018 Schools of Excellence. The schools' principals or designees were present at the January 24 school board meeting to receive placards of recognition for their schools. Pictured, from left to right, are: (front row) Kathy Rodosta, Albany Lower Elementary; Stacey Viator, Levi Milton Elementary; Marty Henry, South Live Oak Elementary; Jo Jean Saucier, Albany Upper Elementary; Cassie Phelps, Maurepas School; Donna Sibley, Doyle Elementary; Lindy Gill, French Settlement Elementary; Kris Roundtree, Holden School; Beth Jones, Live Oak High School; Lee Hawkins, French Settlement High School; Lynette Wheat, Lewis Vincent Elementary; Julie Dugas, Freshwater Elementary; Lauren Kennedy, Juban Parc Elementary; (middle row) John Hill, Albany Middle; Michelle Wheeler, Live Oak Elementary; Michell Stone, North Live Oak Elementary; Kelly LaBauve, Eastside Elementary; Gail DeLee, Denham Springs Elementary; Kim Freeman, Albany High School; John Chewning, Springfield High School; Ken Magee, Denham Springs Freshman High; Kelly Jones, Denham Springs High School; Bryan Wax, Denham Springs Junior High; Dwayne Dykes, Springfield Middle School; (back row) Livingston Parish School Board Members Frank Parrino (seated) Devin Gregoire, Jeff Cox, Bo Graham, Brad Sharp, Buddy Mincey, Jr., Bradley Harris, Jan Benton and Kellee Hennessy-Dickerson; and Superintendent Rick Wentzel.
Livingston Parish Schools recently recognized 24 schools that were named 2018 Schools of Excellence by the Louisiana Department of Education for their academic progress. The state's Schools of Excellence include those schools that earn Top Gains status, which is a designation for academic progress at an "A" level; and Equity Honorees, which recognizes schools in the top 10 percent in Louisiana among targeted subgroups, including special needs students, English learners and economically disadvantaged students.
Nine schools earned Top Gains and Equity Honoree recognition: Denham Springs Elementary; Denham Springs Freshman High; Eastside Elementary; Holden School; Juban Parc Elementary; Live Oak High School; North Live Oak Elementary; South Live Oak Elementary; and Springfield High School.
Three schools earned Equity Honoree recognition: Albany High School; Denham Springs High School; and French Settlement High School.
Twelve schools earned Top Gains recognition: Albany Lower Elementary; Albany Middle School; Albany Upper Elementary; Denham Springs Junior High; Doyle Elementary; French Settlement Elementary; Freshwater Elementary; Levi Milton Elementary; Lewis Vincent Elementary; Live Oak Elementary; Maurepas School; and Springfield Middle School.
COMMUNITY STEM CAFÉ OFFERS FUN OUTING FOR LOCAL FAMILIES
Albany Upper Elementary Fourth-Grader Wyatt Bull shows his 4-year-old sister, Dakota, how to use air pressure to launch a rocket made from a plastic drinking straw during the STEM Café on Saturday at the Livingston Parish Literacy & Technology Center in Walker.
More than 200 students and their parents gathered at the Livingston Parish Literacy & Technology Center on January 26 to engage in learning activities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math through a variety of hands-on games, exercises and demonstrations – many of which were made available by the Livingston Parish STEAM Express.
The Community STEM Café was presented by a variety of educational and professional groups from Southeastern Louisiana University, the Northshore Technical & Community College, the State of Louisiana, Livingston Parish Public Schools and independent STEM educational groups.
Livingston Parish Schools Instructional Technology Facilitator Nikki Lavergne said the local turnout for the event, which was the first to be held in Livingston Parish, exceeded expectations, including the popularity and demand for access to the STEAM Express, which is a mobile learning laboratory that is equipped with learning activities for students and parents. The mobile classroom can be customized to focus on any field of learning and adapted for any age group.
"It's just so exciting to see our students engage in learning activities, to have their parents engage in the activities with them, and for students and parents to leave with plans to seek out more educational materials on their favorite subjects," Lavergne said.
Soaud Henni and her son, Wascom Henni, learn how to create an electrical charge from a banana during Saturday's STEM Café, which was held at the Livingston Parish Literacy & Technology Center in Walker. Wascom Henni is a pre-kindergarten student at Juban Parc Elementary.
SPRINGFIELD HIGH SENIOR ADVANCES TO NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLAR FINALIST
Springfield High School Senior Andrew Larpenter.
Springfield High School Senior Andrew Larpenter has advanced to become a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, making him eligible for one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships to be awarded this spring.
"We were excited to hear the news for Andrew," Springfield High School Principal Spencer Harris said. "He has all the ability and drive to be one of the most successful people to come through our school. We congratulate him on this national honor and wish him the very best for a bright future."
To enter the National Merit competition, Larpenter had to take the PSAT test during his junior year of high school. From the 1.6 million students who met entry requirements for the 2018 competition, approximately 16,000 were selected as semifinalists. From that list, 7,500 finalists were chosen.
STEAM EXPRESS COMMUNITY OUTREACH PLANNED FOR MARCH 11
The Livingston Parish STEAM Express will headline a community outreach event in the South Denham Springs residential area of Eastover Estates on Monday, March 11 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. near the Light of the Word Church at the corner of Aztec Drive and Chickasaw Avenue.
Educators with STEAM Express will be joined by volunteers from the Livingston Parish Library, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, Might Moms, Assess the Need, Stewart Medical Center, Jackets Against Destruction Decisions and teachers from Southside Elementary and Southside Junior High School to offer a variety of learning activities, games and food for local families.
"Taking learning into our communities is at the very heart of what we envision with our STEAM Express mobile classroom," Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said. "This will be our first true community outreach effort, and we are excited about partnering with others in our parish to engage our students and parents where they live."
NEW SCHOOL BOARD TAKES OATH, MINCEY ELECTED PRESIDENT
Denham Springs School Board Member Buddy Mincey, Jr., was elected president of the Livingston Parish School Board on Thursday (Jan. 10) by his fellow board members. David "Bo" Graham of Walker was elected board vice president.
The vote was the first official act of business taken by the newly sworn-in board, which includes four new members: Brad Sharp of Livingston, District 1; Bradley Harris of Denham Springs, District 4; Frank Parrino of Springfield, District 8, and Devin Gregoire of Albany, District 9. Those returning members include Kellee Hennessy-Dickerson of Watson, District 2; Jan Benton of Denham Springs, District 3; Buddy Mincey, Jr., of Denham Springs, District 5; Jeff Cox of Walker, District 6; and David "Bo" Graham of Walker, District 7; all of whom received no opposition for re-election to their seats.
The newly elected Livingston Parish School Board includes, from left to right, Devin Gregoire of Albany, David "Bo" Graham of Walker, Kellee Hennessy-Dickerson of Watson, Frank Parrino of Springfield, Jeff Cox of Walker, Buddy Mincey, Jr., of Denham Springs, Jan Benton of Denham Springs, Bradley Harris of Denham Springs, and Brad Sharp of Livingston.
DEMOLITION UNDERWAY AT FLOOD-DAMAGED SCHOOLS
Demolition crews have received clearance to begin tearing down the old Denham Springs Elementary, Southside Elementary and Southside Junior High Schools that were severely damaged by the 2016 flood.
Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said the demolition of Denham Springs Elementary and Southside Junior High is being managed by Gremillion Industrial Services, while Insulation Technologies, Inc., received the contract to tear down Southside Elementary. As part of these companies' low bids, they have the option to salvage some of the schools' buildings materials – including two-by-fours, screws, nails and metal – and resale these items.
Murphy said the cost for demolishing the three campuses is more than $650,000. FEMA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are paying 90 percent of the demolition costs, with the school system paying the remaining 10 percent, he said.
Demolition of all three campuses is expected to be completed by the end of February.
An equipment operator uses a Bobcat skid-steer loader to pick up debris from the demolition of Denham Springs Elementary.
FOUR LIVINGSTON PARISH STUDENTS AMONG TOP "YES I CAN" WINNERS
Juban Parc Elementary Student Carson Tullier expresses his excitement as he is greeted by Adapted Physical Education Instructor Lisa Dugas during the surprise announcement celebration that Tullier was named a winner of the Louisiana Council for Exceptional Children's "Yes I Can" Award in the category of self-advocacy.
Four Livingston Parish students have been awarded this year's "Yes I Can" Awards by Louisiana's Council for Exceptional Children, making each of them eligible for the organization's national awards program. The "Yes I Can" Awards recognize children and youth with exceptionalities who have demonstrated their determination and achievement in multiple ways. The "Yes I Can" Awards review committee selects one winner each year in each of the following categories: academics, arts, school and community activities, self-advocacy, technology and transition.
The parish's four winners include Alisha Davis, a 5th grader at South Fork Elementary, who won in the art category; Timothy Bell, a 4th grader at Freshwater Elementary, who won in the academic category; Heaven Barker, a 3rd grader at Freshwater Elementary, who won in the technology category; and Carson Tullier, a 3rd grader at Juban Parc Elementary, who won in the self-advocacy category.
TEACHERS LEARN HOW TO TEACH WITH STEAM EXPRESS
More than 20 teachers from 12 schools across the parish recently gathered at the Livingston Parish Public Schools' Central Office for more than two hours on a January afternoon to learn how to customize for their students the many learning activities and games that are available on the STEAM Express.
"This workshop is in high demand. It's the fifth one we've scheduled since rolling out our STEAM Express," Instructional Technology Facilitator Nikki Lavergne said. "And we've already scheduled another one at the end of the month. Teachers are excited about the potential the STEAM Express brings with making learning more exciting and engaging, and more hands-on for our students and parents."
The STEAM Express is a school bus that has been converted into a mobile classroom that is equipped with Wi-Fi, touch-screen monitors and laptops, and hands-on, interactive modules that are designed to help students creatively learn concepts in a variety of subject areas. The flexible design allows educators to easily transition the bus set up from elementary-level activities to high school-level projects.
Lavergne said at least one person from each school must be fully trained in how to set up the equipment, how to program it and use it, and how to manage the learning time among the various activities, before that school can schedule the STEAM Express for a visit.
Albany Middle School teachers Missy Dickerson, Donna Badon and Angela Baronet, learn how to operate virtual reality glasses that are available on the STEAM Express during a workshop at the central office.
EASTSIDE ELEMENTARY NAMED NATIONAL ESEA DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Eastside Elementary Title 1 Tutor Wendy Gibson works with students on a word exercise. Pictured with Gibson, from left to right, are Eli Territo, Grace Underwood and Rosa Cruz.
Eastside Elementary School in Denham Springs has been named a National ESEA Distinguished School in recognition of the success of its education programs and academic progress by its students over the past year.
The Louisiana Department of Education submitted Eastside Elementary as its single statewide selection for the honor in the elementary category. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides additional resources for at-risk students and federal grants to state educational agencies to improve the quality of public elementary and secondary education.
"We are excited that our efforts, and the tremendous progress of our students, have gained the attention of state education leaders and now, the national administrators who oversee many of the federally funded programs in our schools," Eastside Elementary Principal Kelly LaBauve said.
The National ESEA Distinguished School award was given to less than 100 schools across the country that gained recognition for exceptional student achievement in 2018. These honored schools demonstrate a wide array of strengths, including team approaches to teaching and learning, focused professional development opportunities for staff, individualized programs for student success and strong partnerships between the school, parents, and the community.
STUDENTS LEARN CAREER SKILLS FROM CHAMBER BUSINESS LEADERS
Students from Maurepas High School who participated in the Livingston Parish Chamber's Third Annual Student Business Conference included, from left to right: Hailey Harden, Madison Tullier, Brittany Barrientes, Nevaeh Stewart, Logan Scuderi, Dakota Fabre, Elijah Blount, Trent Robillard and Bryce Felphs. Also pictured, standing in the back, is Livingston Parish Public Schools' Career and Technical Education Coordinator Staci Polozola.
Juniors from Doyle, Holden and Maurepas high schools took home lessons from some of the parish's leading business professionals who helped to host the Third Annual Student Business Conference, which is hosted by the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce.
Students divided into three groups and rotated among the professionals who provided lessons on preparing for job interviews, managing ethical issues and working in a team setting to accomplish goals. The half-day conference was held at Carter Plantation in Springfield.
LEWIS VINCENT ELEMENTARY CELEBRATES NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON DESIGNATION WITH SCHOOL PARADE
Lewis Vincent Elementary students and their teachers march throughout the campus waving pompoms and carrying a blue banner that proclaims their school's designation as a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School.
Students, educators and parents marched through the Lewis Vincent Elementary campus to celebrate their school being named a National Blue Ribbon School. Lewis Vincent is one of only six schools in Louisiana to get the award this year, and only the second school ever in Livingston Parish to receive the award. The marchers wore blue and grey t-shirts emblazoned with the National Blue Ribbon logo.
STEAM EXPRESS TAKING LEARNING TO COMMUNITIES
The Livingston Parish STEAM Express is on the road – and in communities – sharing learning activities with children and their parents. The activities introduce fun learning concepts on important subjects in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Already, the STEAM Express has scheduled stops at nearly every campus in the parish, visited the parish's libraries and participated in the Livingston Parish Fair and local parades.
"The idea is to take learning to students and their parents to introduce them to new and exciting concepts," Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said.
Students and parents at Doyle Elementary recently turned out for an evening event at to participate in the STEAM Express learning activities.
STATE REPORT SHOWS PERFORMANCE IMPROVED AT MOST LIVINGSTON PARISH SCHOOLS
Thirty one of Livingston Parish's 42 schools that received performance grades in the Louisiana Department of Education's 2018 report showed academic improvement as compared to last year.
Although the state department used a new formula this year in calculating school scores and assigning letter grades, a comparison of school performance scores under the old formula – for an "apples to apples" comparison – shows significant gains across the parish.
"Despite the confusion of the new scoring system that has changed letter grades for our schools and district, the outcomes on our assessments and growth indicators continue to show we're raising the bar in Livingston Parish," Supervisor of Instruction Tracy McRae said.
McRae noted that under the state's old grading formula, the district would have received a performance score of 108.2 – which would have been a 3.3 point increase from the previous year's calculation.
LIVINGSTON PARISH SECOND-HIGHEST IN STATE FOR STRENGTH OF DIPLOMA
Significant gains were reported at the parish's high schools, according to the state's latest report. The most impressive measurement is that for the 2017-2018 school year, Livingston Parish ranked No. 2 in the state with 73.7 percent of all graduates earning more than a standard diploma.
The parish's high schools recorded a record-high graduation rate of 86.6 percent, an increase of 3.4 percent, with seven of the parish's nine high schools improving their cohort graduation rate (those students graduating in a four-year period). Springfield High led the way with a 19-point increase. French Settlement High improved 16.2 points, Albany High grew 15.2 points and Doyle went up 14.6 points.
The district has put much focus on strengthening the diplomas of parish graduates by giving them opportunities to earn basic or advanced academic and/or career and technical certifications. Those certifications are recognized by post-secondary colleges and industry trade schools.
WALKER HIGH GRAD ELECTED FIRST LOUISIANA WOMAN TO SERVE AS NATIONAL FFA OFFICER
Livingston Parish Councilman Jeff Ard recently recognized Layni LeBlanc for being named a national Future Farmers of America officer during a Livingston Parish School Board meeting. Photo courtesy of The Advocate.
Layni LeBlanc, a graduate of Walker High School, has become the first woman from Louisiana to serve as a national officer of the National Future Farmers of America organization. LeBlanc is currently studying animal science at LSU, and she hopes to attend veterinary school after graduation.
As an FFA officer, she will travel to 40 states and Japan to promote agriculture and the organization during a one-year leave from the school. She will serve as national secretary on a team of five other officers from different states.
LeBlanc is the first Louisianan in 31 years to serve as a national officer and fifth ever. She is the first female from Louisiana to serve at that level.
LIVINGSTON PARISH SCHOOL BOARD TO SEAT FOUR NEW MEMBERS IN 2019
Livingston Parish voters in school board districts 8 and 9 elected two new members to the board on Nov. 6, while districts 1 and 4 gained new members as the current seat holders announced they would not run and only person signed up for each of those two seats during the July 18-20 qualifying period.
The four new board members who will take office January 1, 2019, include Brad Sharp of Livingston, District 1; Brad Harris of Denham Springs, District 4; Frank Parrino of Springfield, District 8, and Devin Gregoire of Albany, District 9.
Returning board members are Kellee Hennessy-Dickerson of Watson, District 2; Jan Benton of Denham Springs, District 3; Buddy Mincey, Jr., of Denham Springs, District 5; Jeff Cox of Walker, District 6; and David "Bo" Graham of Walker, District 7; all of whom received no opposition for re-election to their seats.
TWO PARISH SCHOOLS HONORED FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS
Northside Elementary and Eastside Elementary have earned spots on the state's "Honor Roll" as a result of high performance during the 2017-2018 school year in their early childhood programs, according to a report released by the Louisiana Department of Education.
Both schools were recognized in the "Excellence" category, which is the state's highest possible rating on the school's annual Performance Profile Report. Only 90 schools statewide earned this top rating, according to the state report.
Livingston Parish Public Schools currently offers 56 early childhood classes to Pre-K children at 24 different school sites. Supervisor of Instruction Stacey Milton said 15 parish school sites were within 0.5 points of also reaching the state's "excellent" rating.
LIVINGSTON PARISH ROLLS OUT STEAM EXPRESS
Instructional Technology Facilitator Lynn Kennedy shows Freshwater Elementary Principal Julie Dugas how to operate a technology game that teaches computer coding to students. The instructional game is one of several that will be made available to students on the STEAM Express
Livingston Parish Public School officials recently rolled out their newest effort in creating greater access to learning technologies by introducing the STEAM Express – a mobile classroom designed to take learning opportunities to community neighborhoods.
The STEAM Express, which will be focused on introducing science, technology, engineering, arts and math concepts to students, is the brainchild of the district's Instructional Technology department that was made possible by community sponsors who paid to retrofit a bus into the mobile classroom.
The STEAM Express is decorated to take the appearance of a steam locomotive, including a working steam whistle, and is equipped with Wi-Fi, touch screen monitors and laptops, and hands-on, interactive modules to help students learn a variety of subjects. The flexible design allows educators to easily transition the mobile classroom set up from elementary-level activities to high school-level projects.
"The idea behind this mobile classroom project is to bring STEAM-based education to the schools and into our neighborhoods to help students and to give them an experience with STEAM education that they might not otherwise have an opportunity to be exposed to," Superintendent Rick Wentzel said. "The mobile classroom is adaptable to a variety of projects and all age groups."
LEWIS VINCENT ELEMENTARY NAMED NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL
Lewis Vincent Elementary Principal Lynette Wheat congratulated her students, staff and teachers for their hard work to earn a National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education. The announcement was made on Oct. 1.
Lewis Vincent Elementary has been named a National Blue Ribbon School based on the school's overall academic performance and progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
The school's performance score has improved 13.1 points since the 2014-2015 school year, and is in the top 15 percent statewide for closing the gap between the academic performance of the general student population and economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities and English as a Second Language (ESL) students.
"What's really so amazing about this award is that it recognizes our accomplishments during the time of our recovery from the flood. The challenges we faced in the flood recovery are not factors for this award. Our school achieved success at this highest level of recognition in spite of the challenges set before us. I am so proud of what we've achieved together; we truly are stronger than ever," Lewis Vincent Elementary Principal Lynette Wheat said.
The National Blue Ribbon award has been presented by the U.S. Department of Education since 1982. Lewis Vincent Elementary is only the second school in Livingston Parish to ever receive the coveted National Blue Ribbon designation. French Settlement Elementary earned the designation in 2009.
HALF-CENT SALES TAX TO FUND SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS ON NOV. 6 BALLOT
The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office is asking voters to approve a half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 6, 2018, ballot to fund the hiring, training and staffing of uniformed School Resource Officers (SROs) at every school in the parish. SROs are sworn law enforcement officers who are specially selected and trained to promote safety within schools.
The school district currently employs 10 SROs across the district and pays half their cost through cooperative endeavor agreements with the sheriff's office, City of Denham Springs and Town of Walker.
Click here to see the wording of the Law Enforcement District Proposition.
SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP SEMIFINALIST
Springfield High School Senior Andrew Larpenter has been named a 2018 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist.
Larpenter is the son of Rodney and Kelly Larpenter of Killian, Louisiana. He is president of his senior class and a member of the school's golf team and Beta Club. He participates in local community service projects and is currently overseeing the school's public service announcement competition to promote positive behavior.
Merit Scholar semifinalists are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies. From the 1.6 million students who met entry requirements, approximately 16,000 were selected as semifinalists. Larpenter is currently vying for one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships that will be offered next spring.
COMMUNITY SAYS FAREWELL TO SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY AND SOUTHSIDE JUNIOR HIGH CAMPUSES
(Picture left) Former Southside Elementary Principal Janelle Carrier signs her name on the cinderblock wall of the school as a "farewell sign off" to the school. (Picture right) State Rep. J. Rogers Pope speaks during the farewell ceremony for Southside Junior High. Pope formerly served as principal of the school.
Past and present educators, students and community leaders gathered on the campuses of Southside Elementary and Southside Junior High on September 26 to say farewell to the beloved campuses that have had such a lasting impact on their lives and the lives of thousands of students in the Denham Springs community.
Both schools will soon be demolished because of substantial damage caused by the August 2016 flood. The schools have remained shuddered since the flood, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently approved a funding plan for the district to rebuild both schools.
"We are excited about the future for these schools, and the impact they will continue to have on the children of Livingston Parish," Superintendent Rick Wentzel said. "With that said, we know that this is a bittersweet time for so many, and we wanted to give our people who are so passionately connected to these two schools an opportunity to say farewell and to be a part of this new chapter."
Both the new Southside Junior High and Southside Elementary will be rebuilt on the current 27-acre site of Southside Junior High on Highway 16 in Denham Springs. The combined campus design will house two distinct schools – Southside Elementary for K-5 students and Southside Junior High for 6-8 students – but they will share some facilities and recreational space to reduce duplication where possible and maximize cost savings.
DISTRICT TO REBUILD SOUTHSIDE JUNIOR HIGH AND SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY AT SAME LOCATION
As part of the district's flood rebuilding effort, it will rebuild Southside Elementary and Southside Junior High on the same 27-acre location at 26535 Highway 16 in Denham Springs where the current Southside Junior High now stands.
Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said the combined campus will house two distinct schools – Southside Elementary for K-5 students and Southside Junior High for 6-8 students – but they will share some facilities and recreational space to reduce duplication where possible and maximize cost savings.
"This rebuilding plan offers us an opportunity to be more efficient and create a safer environment. For many years, district officials have wished to relocate Southside Elementary because of traffic and safety concerns; this combined campus design allows us to address those concerns and maximize our resources," Murphy said.
The district recently received an approved funding plan from FEMA to rebuild all three schools that remain closed since the August 2016 flood. The third school, Denham Springs Elementary, will be rebuilt at its original location on Range Avenue near the high school.
FORMER SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY LOCATION TO BECOME DENHAM SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL SATELLITE CAMPUS
The former Southside Elementary campus on Range Avenue in Denham Springs will be rebuilt into a satellite campus for Denham Springs High School where digital media and emergent technology courses will be offered to students in grades 9-12.
The satellite high school campus will use digital media curriculum from the LSU STEM Pathways program. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.
Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said FEMA managers approved having the district demolish all but two buildings on the Southside Elementary campus – the multi-purpose building and cafeteria building, which includes five classrooms and a large meeting space. The district will fully restore those facilities and convert them to educational space for the high school. Those buildings are valued at $2.1 million.
Murphy said the demolition and refurbishment of the surviving structures will be completed before the start of next school year.
"Having access to these existing facilities opens up opportunities for students to earn dual college credit, additional Carnegie credits and industry credentialing," Murphy said.
DOYLE HIGH TEACHER RESPONDS TO EMERGENCY CALL
Doyle High School teacher and volunteer firefighter Matt Stumpf works with Fire District 4 volunteer firefighter Dreagon Bethel (pictured left) to extinguish flames that consumed the 18-wheeler truck that recently struck a Livingston Parish school bus. (Pictured right) Stumpf removes his mask and fire-retardant jacket after stabilizing the situation.
When Doyle High School Teacher Matthew Stumpf received an emergency page from the Fire District 6 call center that a Livingston Parish school bus was involved in a fiery crash near Satsuma, he quickly called for an administrator to take over his classroom and rushed to the scene.
As a volunteer fire fighter and emergency medical response instructor, Stumpf is trained to manage such emergencies. "But when you hear that a school bus is involved, it's scary. I knew I had to respond to do what I could for the kids," he said.
Stumpf joined other fire fighters from Fire Districts 4, 6 and 7 at the scene to extinguish flames that had engulfed the 18-wheeler truck cab that had slammed into the back of the bus. Their quick action stopped the fire from spreading to the truck's fuel tanks or the nearby damaged school bus.
"I certainly will take this experience back to the classroom and share it with my students," he said. Stumpf teaches emergency medical response and sports medicine classes at Doyle High School. He is a former High School Teacher of the Year winner in Livingston Parish.
"My students will want to learn from this real-life example, and I will have the joy of sharing what I do in a meaningful way. It's why I do what I do," Stumpf said.
FRENCH SETTLEMENT HIGH SCHOOL RECEIVES $200,000 GRANT TO EXPAND AP PROGRAM
AP Students at French Settlement High School celebrate a $200,000 grant that was awarded to their school to expand and strengthen its AP program.
French Settlement High School recently received a $200,000 National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) grant from ExxonMobil, which will be utilized over a three-year period to expand the school's Advanced Placement (AP) program. AP classes include college-level curricula as part of the course instruction. Students who earn a 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exam may be eligible for course credit at many colleges and universities.
"This grant has enabled us to expand our AP course offerings and help to equip all of our teachers with the tools they need to challenge our students to perform on a very high level," French Settlement High School Principal Lee Hawkins said. "Our students have embraced our mission statement at FSHS, which is 'Exceed Expectations. All Day. Every Day.' as evidenced by the fact that nearly one-third of our student body is enrolled in at least one AP course."
Hawkins said he plans to add an AP math course to the high school curriculum next year, and another AP computer class and AP science class the following year.
LIVE OAK HIGH SCHOOL BREAKS GROUND ON NEW BASEBALL-SOFTBALL COMPLEX
Pictured from left: Randy Pourciau, Blount General Contractors project manager, LLC, Rusty Warren, Blount General Contractors, LLC, Dale Sizemore, Live Oak baseball assistant coach, Deric Murphy, president of Quality Engineering & Surveying, LLC, Chris Bankston, Gasaway Gasaway Bankston Architects vice president, Monica Perez, Gasaway Gasaway Bankston Architects project director, John Blount, president of Blount General Contractors, LLC, Rick Wentzel, Livingston Parish Public Schools superintendent, Jesse Cassard, Live Oak head baseball coach, Kellee Hennessey-Dickerson, Livingston Parish Public Schools Board Member, Beth Jones, Live Oak principal, Michelle Morris, Live Oak head softball coach, Johnny Morgan, pastor of Live Oak Baptist Church, Brett Beard, Live Oak athletic director, Tyler McGrew, Live Oak baseball assistant coach, Natalie Cobb, Live Oak assistant softball coach, Lane Hutchinson, Live Oak senior baseball player, Brett Leiva, Live Oak senior softball player, and Craig Castello, Live Oak baseball assistant coach.
The district will soon begin construction on a new $6.8 million baseball-softball complex at Live Oak High School. The complex will include artificially-turfed fields, covered grandstands, coaches' offices, team locker rooms, an indoor hitting facility, press boxes and lights.
School officials and community leaders recently participated in a ground breaking ceremony for the project, which is expected to be completed by next school year
NORTHSHORE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE BREAKS GROUND ON NEW WALKER CAMPUS
A host of education, state and Livingston Parish officials participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Walker campus of the Northshore Technical Community College. The $58 million facility will be located on property behind the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center that was donated by the Livingston Parish Public School System. The entrance to the new campus will be on Burgess Avenue. State Rep. J. Rogers Pope told the audience that efforts to bring a college campus to the parish began more than 20 years ago.
LIVINGSTON PARISH SCHOOLS BEGINS YEAR WITH 16 OF 19 SITES RESTORED TO PRE-FLOOD STATUS
Every public school campus in Livingston Parish that was damaged by the flood — except for the three substantially-damaged campuses that have been under the purview of FEMA – has been restored to pre-flood status, and in most cases, improved from its pre-existing condition.
This milestone is no small accomplishment. Contractors and maintenance supervisors estimate that the work completed over this nearly two-year span is equivalent to building at least six new schools, while maintaining reoccurring maintenance jobs and repairs throughout the district.
Of those 16 impacted sites, five received three feet of water, and four received four to six feet of water, with three schools – Denham Springs Elementary, Southside Elementary and Southside Junior High – receiving catastrophic damage.
"A significant factor in this recovery timeline has been our ability to cause minimal disruption to classroom learning," Murphy said, noting that much of the work has been done over the past two summers and during holiday breaks, when the students and teachers were not on the campuses.
FEMA GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO REBUILD 2 OF 3 "SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED" SCHOOLS
After nearly two years of uncertainty over the future of three "substantially damaged" schools in the Denham Springs area, Livingston Parish School officials have received the go-ahead from FEMA to begin the process of demolishing and rebuilding two of the three campus sites.
Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said the district has received permission to replace all but the multi-purpose room at Denham Springs Elementary School, and all but the band room at Southside Junior High School. The band room and multi-purpose building were newer and had less damage from the 2016 flood.
He said the district is still negotiating with FEMA on the rebuilding cost and plans for Southside Elementary.
Murphy said designs are not yet set, but he anticipates elevating all of the structures on fill and using cinder block instead of sheet rock, so the structures will be more resilient in case of another disaster. He said the process to rebuild the schools will take from
2 ½ to 3 years. Students assigned to those schools will remain at the temporary campus sites until the home campuses are fully rebuilt.
Superintendent Rick Wentzel and honored dignitaries signal the start of demolition work at Denham Springs Elementary by raising their hard hats and placing them on their heads at a special ceremony on Aug. 14. "This signals the final phase on our flood recovery effort," Wentzel said. Pictured behind Wentzel, from left to right, are School Board Members Buddy Mincey and Karen Wax-Schmitt, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, Governor John Bel Edwards, State Rep. Rogers Pope, and Father Frank Uter of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGY TO CONNECT STUDENTS TO GREATER OPPORTUNITIES
Livingston Parish School Superintendent Rick Wentzel, top left, recently met with principals in School Board District 8 at the French Settlement High School broadcast classroom to discuss the use of distance learning on their campuses to enhance curriculum opportunities for students. Pictured top center and clockwise to the right are Springfield High School Principal Spencer Harris, Springfield Middle School Principal Dwayne Dykes, Maurepas School Principal Kenny Kraft, Springfield Elementary Principal Catherine Martin, French Settlement Elementary Principal Lindy Gill, and Frost School Principal Stacy Wise.
Schools in the southern-most part of Livingston Parish will be better able to connect to each other and the world, overcoming challenges of their rural settings, thanks to the district's participation in a USDA grant program to incorporate distance learning curriculum opportunities at those campuses.
"The program electronically links teachers in one area to students in another," said Distance Learning Program Director Janet Blakenship, adding that distance learning can be as effective as classroom learning in terms of student performance. It offers opportunities for enhanced curriculum and advanced classes, such as physics, anatomy, chemistry, music theory, or calculus.
The technology also allows teachers to include curriculum-based virtual field trips in their instruction, including visits to museums, planetariums, zoos, and even space. Classes can use the technology to collaborate with other schools and businesses, including team teaching with different schools.
Those schools participating in the distance learning program are Springfield High, Springfield Middle, Springfield Elementary, French Settlement High, French Settlement Elementary, Maurepas and Frost.
HIGH PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS SCORE MASTERY AND ADVANCED ON STATE ASSESSMENTS
Students in Livingston Parish Public Schools continue to exceed their state peers on accountability tests, with nearly half of all students at all grade levels achieving Mastery and Advanced ratings on the latest state assessments, according to the Louisiana Department of Education's report released this week.
The results of the Spring 2018 Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) exams for grades 3-8 and high school End of Course assessments show 45 percent of all students scored Mastery or above on the combined sections.
"Our students continue to perform at high levels across every grade," said Superintendent Rick Wentzel. "We are especially proud of the progress we're making in literacy. In this category, every grade level but one had well over half of all students score in the top categories; and that one grade level was near the halfway score with 48 percent!"
He noted the following district-wide results were reported for Livingston Parish students who tested in English/Language Arts:
The latest state report also showed Livingston Parish Schools to have strong scores in math. The most outstanding results came among 8th graders who took the Algebra 1 exam – 95 percent scored Mastery or Advanced. At the same time, 51 percent – more than half – of the district's eight graders and those high schoolers taking Algebra 1 scored at the Mastery and Advanced levels. The next highest percentage of top performers came from grades 4 and 5, with 44 percent and 43 percent, respectively, achieving Mastery and Advanced in math.
DENHAM SPRINGS HIGH WELCOMES JUNIOR ROTC PROGRAM
Pictured left to right, are (front row) Denham Springs Marshall Joe Shumate, Denham Springs City Court Judge Jerry Denton, USMC Lt. Col. Ronald Bias, School Board Member Karen Wax-Schmitt, DSHS ROTC Cadet Commander Logan Wolkart, School Board Member Jan Benton, School Board Member Buddy Mincey Jr., U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, DSHS Principal Kelly Jones, State Rep. Rogers Pope, Superintendent Rick Wenzel, (back row) Denham Springs Police Chief Shannon Womack, Denham Springs Fire Chief Melvin Wheat, School Board Member Bo Graham, Hebron Baptist Church Pastor Charley Westbrook, USMC CWO3 Shawn Shortridge, DSHS Asst. Principal Wes Howard, DSFH Principal Ken Magee, DSHS Asst. Principal John Easterly, DSHS Asst. Principal Shana White and DSHS Asst. Principal Staci Clement
School officials and U.S. Congressman Garret Graves recently celebrated the opening of a U.S. Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Denham Springs High School. The new program will be housed in a newly renovated and expanded facility on the campus.
It will be managed by Senior Instructor Lt. Col. Ronald Bias, who said he has begun meeting with students already, and anticipates as least 170 students to enroll in the program this school year.
DISTRICT EXPANDING ESL PROGRAM
The Livingston Parish School System is expanding its ESL (English as a Secondary Language) program for the coming school year to help manage the district's increased demand. The number of students going through the program has doubled since 2016, according to Supervisor of Instruction Steve Vampran.
The district is opening a new registration center at the Pathways Campus and Adult Education Center, located at 13330 Burgess Road, across from Walker Freshman High School, to handle incoming students and to take the pressure off local campuses. A new parish-wide coordinator and office secretary are being hired this summer to manage the new center.
Vampran said the district currently employs five certified ESL teachers and 13 paraprofessionals who work with ESL students. He anticipates the district having six certified ESL teachers and 14 paraprofessionals onboard for the new school year.
"We have seen our population increase from 450 students to 860 currently over a two-year span. And with this recognition, we realized something needed to be done," Vampran said. He predicts the district's numbers to rise to 1,000 ESL students by next school year.
ESL programs are designed to help international students learn English or improve their English language and writing skills. The district also offers free English literacy skills classes for parents. Vampran said interested persons can enroll or get more information by sending an email to adult.education@lpsb.org or calling 225-664-9427.
DISTRICT WORKING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ADD THREE OFFICERS TO CAMPUSES
Livingston Parish Public Schools will have 10 School Resource Officers working throughout the district's 46 campuses during the 2018-2019 school year
Livingston Parish Public Schools will add three more law enforcement officers to its campuses in the coming academic year amid concerns about safety following a number of school shootings across the nation.
The school board approved the 2018-2019 budget to include monies to pay for another police officer in Denham Springs and two additional sheriff's deputies throughout the parish. The additional officers bring the total number of school resource officers (SROs) working among the parish's 46 school campuses to 10. The district will pay half the cost of the new officers as it does the current ones. The law enforcement agencies pay the other half. Superintendent Rick Wentzel said the school board's new budget includes approximately $48,000 for each officer.
The additions come as Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard is proposing a half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 6, 2018 election ballot to fully fund SROs on every school campus in the parish.
LIVINGSTON PARISH TEACHERS LEARNING HOW TO TRANSFORM TRADITIONAL CLASSROOMS INTO MORE EFFECTIVE LEARNING SPACES
Pictured left to right, clockwise, are Frost School's 2nd Grade Math Teacher Courtney Blount, 5th Grade English Language Arts Teacher Danna McCoy, Special Education Teacher Lisa Zeringue and Curriculum Coordinator Tricia Averette. They are taking part in a training exercise while sitting in a "low-seating station" during one of the district's Learning Spaces workshops.
The traditional classroom image of desks neatly lined in rows may soon become something of the past in Livingston Parish.
That's because more teachers across the district are incorporating creative learning spaces with flexible seating in their classrooms to more effectively increase student focus, collaboration and learning.
"We began this initiative in earnest at some of our elementary schools, where traditional student desks were replaced with flexible seating options. The results of the new classroom configurations have been overwhelmingly positive – students are more comfortable, more engaged and more focused on their tasks," Assistant Superintendent Joe Murphy said.
Instructional Technology Facilitator Nikki Lavergne said Learning Spaces workshops offered during the 2017-2018 school year maxed out quickly, prompting the district to schedule more in the summer. Those too, were so popular that extra sessions were added, she said.
WALKER HIGH SCHOOL FISHING TEAMS TO COMPETE AT BASS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNEY
Walker High School students Hanson Chaney, left, and Bronson Beck, right, were named the 2018 Louisiana BASS National High School Fishing Champions. They were presented with plaques at the state championship tournament. They are pictured with BASS Louisiana High School directors Eugene Hoover and Jim Breaux. Chaney and Beck will compete in the national tournament in Paris, Tenn., in August.
Two two-man fishing teams from Walker High School will compete in the 2018 BASS National High School Championship next month, including incoming junior Hanson Chaney and incoming senior Bronson Beck who were ranked as the No. 1 BASS High School Fishing Team in Louisiana for 2018.
Also advancing to the national tournament, which will be held in Paris, Tennessee, August 2-4, are Jason McMillan and Hunter Kogel, who recently graduated. They had participated in the national tournament last year, prior to their senior year, becoming the school's first-ever national fishing tournament finalists. They finished 4th overall in the state this year to qualify for a return trip to the national tournament.
"Our team has done extremely well this year, finishing in 2nd place overall in the state, and having four teams finish in the Top 20 in Louisiana, out of a total of 247 teams statewide," said Jeremy Ferachi, the BASS fishing team sponsor for Walker High School. He noted that Peyton Matherne and Lance LeBlanc placed 14th in the state, and Brennan Richard and Mackie Faucheaux finished the season in 16th place. Matherne returns this year as a sophomore, which Richard and Faucheaux return as seniors. LeBlanc graduated in May.
ASSESS THE NEED COLLECTING SCHOOL SUPPLY DONATIONS
Livingston Parish Assessor Jeff Taylor and local volunteers are once again gearing up to collect monetary donations and supplies for the parish-wide Assess the Need Campaign that is expected to provide nearly 3,000 students with the supplies they need to be successful in the classroom during the 2018-2019 school year.
Volunteers will be taking donations for this year's drive from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4, and Sunday, Aug. 5, at the three Super Wal-Mart stores in Livingston Parish – located in Denham Springs, Walker and Watson. Donations can also can be given online at www.AssesstheNeed.com, or through the Assess the Need Facebook page.
This is the 18th consecutive year Taylor has sponsored Assess the Need.
SUMMER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS UNDERWAY ACROSS THE PARISH
With students out of class for the summer and many campuses unoccupied, the district's facility planning and maintenance departments are hard at work on an array of construction projects. The following schools have projects currently underway that are being funded with existing district savings; except for the Walker High School projects, which are being funded with a dedicated millage approved by voters:
Walker High School –
• new main classroom and administrative building that will contain 28 classrooms, a library, a biology lab, a chemistry lab, a special needs room, all administrative and support personnel offices, and restrooms. The new building will also house the school's Green & White Cooke site and Neighbors Federal Credit Union office. (complete by August 2018)
• new gymnasium (complete by December 2018)
Doyle High School –
• addition of 29 parking spaces and lighting of parking lot (complete by August 2018)
• relocation of main power fee and drainage improvement to the campus (complete by August 2018)
Springfield Elementary –
• addition of 115 parking spaces to accommodate large events at the high school gym, located at the rear of the campus; and replace windows and refurbish exterior on two classroom wings, each containing 6 classrooms (complete by August 2018)
French Settlement High School –
• expand the media room to house distance learning classes (complete by August 2018)
Pathways and Adult Education Building –
• create three classrooms, replace ceiling and floor tile, and renovate windows to create new ESL registration center (complete by August 2018)
• add carpentry area to campus to house a new Carpentry 1 class (complete by August 2018)
Denham Springs Freshman High/Juban Parc Elementary/Juban Parc Junior High–
• complete exterior painting of campus buildings (August 2018)
Pine Ridge Alternative School –
• replace roof of the main building (complete by August 2018)
Maurepas High School –
• refurbish original building, repairing all exterior stucco surfaces, replacing windows and soffits, painting exterior and upgrading the front entrance (completed by December 2018)
Holden High School –
• renovate the Career Technical Education Building (complete by August 2019)
Albany High School –
• construct two new buildings: one with three regular classrooms and a special needs room; the second with eight classrooms and a teacher work room. Restrooms to be added to both buildings. (complete by August 2019)
Albany Lower Elementary School –
• construct a classroom building with 16 classrooms, a 60-station computer lab and restrooms. (complete by August 2019)
DISTRICT WRAPPING UP FLOOD RECOVERY EFFORTS ON OPERATING CAMPUSES, CLOSED CAMPUSES REMAIN IN LIMBO
In addition to campus expansions and regular maintenance, the district is still working hard to complete repairs and renovations as a result of damage caused by the August 2016 flood. These projects are being funded with district reserves, with the anticipation of receiving reimbursement monies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cover much of the costs. The following schools are scheduled to have recovery projects completed by August 2018:
Denham Springs High School – complete the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) facility
Denham Springs Freshman High, Denham Springs High, Denham Springs Junior High, Lewis Vincent Elementary and Seventh Ward Elementary – replace floor tiles and baseboards at all campuses
With the completion of these projects, all flood recovery efforts will be completed this year except for those involving the three closed campuses – Denham Springs Elementary, Southside Elementary and Southside Junior High. Negotiations are still ongoing with FEMA and the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOSHEP), and to date, no work plan has been approved for any of the campuses. All three schools will continue to operate at their temporary locations for the 2018-2019 school year.
CONGRESSMAN GRAVES ADVANCES FAVORABLE LEGISLATION FOR LIVINGSTON PARISH SCHOOLS, ACTION STILL NEEDED BY THE U.S. SENATE
Congressman Garret Graves recently spoke to the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce about his efforts to bring much-need flood recovery aid to Livingston Parish. Photo courtesy of Livingston Parish News.
Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves recently announced that he and members of the Louisiana Delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives added an amendment to the federal budget to provide $20 million in federal aid to Livingston Parish Public Schools. The proposed amendment, however, still awaits approval by the U.S. Senate.
At the same time, Graves has proposed that FEMA waive insurance guidelines that could severely hamper the school district's recovery efforts. Currently, FEMA requires a $500,000 deductible per building be paid as a penalty for the school district not having flood insurance. Graves is proposing the penalty be reduced to $500,000 per campus – not per building – to save the district millions of dollars. Graves said a similar waiver was granted to schools in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina.
STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO OPERATE DRONES AT SUMMER CAMPS
Jacob Wilkinson, a senior at Walker High School, helps to instruct Evan Blazier from Denham Springs Junior High on how to assemble a drone, while a group a middle school girls work in the background. The students attended the beginner's drone summer camp at Walker High School.
Students in Livingston Parish recently took part in summer camps at Walker High School to learn how to navigate the skies with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, as well as learn the basic safety guidelines and applications of the new technology.
Instructor Steve Johnson offered two three-day sessions: a beginner's camp for students in grades 4-8, and an advanced camp for older students.
"This class introduced our students to the many facets of drones, robotics and the future of the drone industry," Johnson said.
He said students learned how to operate drones safely and ethically by gaining an understanding of the technology itself, as well as some of the laws and regulations surrounding drones. They also learned about business and commercial applications of the technology.
SUMMER FOOD PROGRAM PROVIDING FREE MEALS
Westside Junior High School Assistant Principal Brian Gunter hands a pre-packaged breakfast to South Walker Elementary student Bailee Chiro before the start of summer classes at his campus.
Livingston Parish Public Schools anticipates serving nearly 15,000 free meals this summer to students enrolled in academic programs across the parish.
Assistant Supervisor of Child Nutrition Programs Sommer Purvis said the district is providing pre-packaged breakfast and lunch meals to all campuses where summer courses are being taught, including Juban Parc Elementary, Northside Elementary, South Live Oak Elementary, Westside Junior High, North Corbin Junior High, Springfield Middle School, Doyle High School, Denham Springs High School and Live Oak High School.
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR HONORED
Melinda Marks, pictured second from right, has been named the Livingston Parish School Volunteer of the Year by the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (A+PEL) for her work at South Walker Elementary. She is pictured with Mary Carlin, A+PEL officer; Jennifer Wiley, Livingston Parish Early Childhood Special Education itinerant teacher who nominated Marks for the award; and Julie Norris, president of the Livingston Parish A+PEL Chapter
The mission of the Livingston Parish Public School System, in partnership with home and community, is to provide all students with exceptional education opportunities that will equip life-long learners with the skills necessary to become responsible citizens in a global society.
Asst. Superintendents
Stephen Parrill
Jody Purvis
District 1 — Brad Sharp
District 2 — Kellee Hennessey Dickerson
District 3 — Jan Benton, Vice President
District 4 – Bradley Harris
District 5 – TBD
District 6 – Jeffery Cox
District 7 – David Graham, President
District 8 – Frank Parrino
District 9 – Devin Gregoire
Journal Archives Select Month January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014
Jan. 20 – Martin Luther King Holiday
Feb. 24-25 – Mardi Gras Holiday
March 6-7 – 2020 STEAM Expo, DSHS STEAM & Robotics Center
April 10-17 – Easter Break Holiday
May 22 – Second Semester Ends


text:
https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2019/12/nice-webinar-how-you-can-influence-update-nice-framework
NICE Webinar: How You Can Influence an Update to the NICE Framework
1:00 - 2:00pm EST
The PowerPoint slides used during this webinar can be downloaded here.
Bill Newhouse
Deputy Director,
National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE),
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST)
Senior Human Capital Strategist,
Booz Allen Hamilton,
On behalf of the Department of Defense, Office of the Chief Information Officer
Credit: Booz Allen Hamilton
Benjamin Scribner
Section Chief,
Stakeholder Engagement Division,
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Credit: CISA
Pamela Frugoli
Senior Workforce Analyst,
Employment and Training Administration (ETA),
US Department of Labor
Credit: DOL
Danielle Santos
National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE)
The NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NICE Framework), published as National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-181, in August 2017, is a national-focused resource that categorizes and describes cybersecurity work. The NICE Framework is meant to be a living document and is intended to continuously evolve to help address the growing need for cybersecurity practitioners. NIST has announced plans to update the NICE Framework and issued a Request For Comments to collect feedback from the public on how to improve the NICE Framework, understand level of awareness of the NICE Framework, and document applications and uses of the NICE Framework. This webinar will feature representatives from the NICE Framework core authoring team, including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, and NIST to provide an overview of the plans to update the NICE Framework as well as details on how to submit comments to NIST.
NICE Framework Resource Center
NICE Framework Request for Comments
DoD Cyber Workforce
Cybersecurity Competency Model
NICE Framework Mapping Tool
Information technology and Cybersecurity
Created November 26, 2019, Updated January 27, 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Last updated: 31 August 2018.
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text:
The Trial and Punishment of Social and Economic Offences
1.1. Reference to the Commission.-
This Report deals with the question of effective implementation of the material provisions of certain Acts. These offences may briefly be described as social and economic offences. The broad question which has been referred to the Commission can be thus stated1-
"The Government of India had under consideration the question of effectively dealing with certain anti-social and economic offences. There are certain special Acts intended for the benefit of general public and the offences under such Acts are anti-social in nature. There are special legislations as Essential Commodities Act, Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, Drugs (control) Act, Imports & Exports (control) Act, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, etc. These anti-social offences also extend to deliberate evasion of taxes and the question that arises for consideration is how drastically and swiftly penal action can be taken to prove a deterrent against commission of such offences.
The present trend of legislation and also the judicial approach to such offences appears to be that these offences are treated lightly and the punishments are not adequate having regard to the gravity of such offences. The Government of India would like to have a well-considered opinion of the Law Commission as regards desirability of dealing with adequately and swiftly such anti-social and economic offences."
1. Letter of the Minister of Law and Justice dated 4th October, 1971 to the Chairman, Law Commission.
1.2. Scope of the Report.-
This Report accordingly concerns itself with the question of dealing adequately and swiftly with those offences. As we point out in a later chapter1, we thought it necessary to widen the scope of our inquiry by including within its purview questions about investigation, prosecution, trial and punishment in respect of proceedings taken under these Acts. We wish to make it clear that we are not dealing with contents or structure of these Acts.
1. Para. 2.1, infra.
1.3. Previous Report.-
It may be stated here that the question whether social and economic offences should be included in the Indian Penal Code has been considered at length in a Report of one of the earlier Law Commissions3, and it is outside the scope of this Report.
1.4. Social and economic offences.-
By now, the concept of anti-social acts and economic offences has become familiar to those acquainted with the progress of the criminal law and its relationship to the achievement of social objectives. Still, it may not be out of place to draw attention to some of the salient features of these offences.
Briefly, these may be thus summarised:-
(1) Motive of the criminal is avarice or rapaciousness (not lust or hate).
(2) Background of the crime is non-emotional (unlike murder, rape, defamation etc.). There is no emotional reaction as between the victim and the offender.
(3) The victim is usually the State or a section of the public, particularly the consuming public (i.e. that portion of which consumes goods or services, buys shares or securities or other intangibles). Even where there is an individual victim, the more important element of the offence is harm to society.
(4) Mode of operation of the offender is fraud, not force.
(5) Usually, the act is deliberate and wilful.
(6) Interest protected is two-fold
(a) Social interest in the preservation of-
(i) the property or wealth or health of its individual members, and national resources, and
(ii) the general economic system as a whole, from
(i) exploitation, or
(ii) waste by individuals or groups.
(b) social interest in the augmentation of the wealth of the country by enforcing the laws relating to taxes and duties, foreign exchange, foreign commerce, industries and the like.
1.5. Offences without individual victims.-
The most important feature of these offences is the fact that ordinarily they do not involve an individual direct victim but are punished because they harm the whole society. This constitutes the primary reason why special efforts have to be made to enforce them. If a man or woman is robbed, assaulted or cheated, there is some person who is interested in getting the offender prosecuted, and because the act is a physical one, having an immediate and direct impact, both individual and social vengeance are likely to be aroused. This element is, however absent when, for example essential commodities are hoarded, or foreign exchange is illegally taken out of the country or prohibited goods are imported.
No doubt, some social offences do involve a 'victim'. For example, when adulterated food is sold, the immediate consumer is harmed. But the criminal act is potentially capable of harming a large number of persons and that is the principal object behind punishing it. It is not, of course, suggested that offences falling within the general criminal law are not to be regarded as anti-social acts; and in a sense every crime is anti¬social because the State, when it prosecutes, does so on behalf of the society. What is intended to be emphasised is, that the injury to society predominates in the case of some acts, while it may be in the case of others.
1.6. Categories of social and economic offences.-
The Law Commission had, in an earlier Report1, occasion to deal with the following categories of offences, while considering the question whether provisions as to social and economic offences should be transferred to the Penal Code:-
(1) Offences calculated to prevent or obstruct the economic development of the country and endanger its economic health.
(2) Evasion of taxes.
(3) Misuse of position by public servants.
(4) Offences in the nature of breaches of contracts, resulting in the delivery of goods not according to specifications.
(5) Hoarding and Black-marketing.
(6) Adulteration of food and drugs.
(7) Theft and Misappropriation of public property and funds.
(8) Trafficking in licences, permits etc.
For the purposes of the present Report also, it is not necessary to go beyond the above offences. In fact, some of the categories mentioned above-e.g. categories (3), (4), (7) and (8) -do not present problems of enforcement with much frequency and seriousness so as to require much attention.
1. 29th Report of the Law Commission.
1.7. Offences of strict liability.-
It is well known that while most of the offences under the Penal Code rule out absolute liability, the same is not true of many offences under the special laws. Considerations of the need of enforcement have led to the creation of absolute liability. Some of the acts punishable under special laws may be regarded as "public welfare offences", "regulatory offences" or "civil offences'', while some of the acts can be regarded as akin to traditional crimes.


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Alexander Volkanovski defeats Jeremy Kennedy via TKO (punches and elbows) at 4:57 or round 2.
Volkanovski is the real deal. I knew this fight was a really bad matchup for Kennedy. Alexander's striking is too good and powerful, and his ground and pound game is vicious. Look for him to get a title shot pretty soon.


Definitely should not be missed during your visit to Alonissos!!!
The local women have joined forces and demonstrate their cooking talents for all! Here, you can find a wide range of home made cakes and sweets – try the local "Amygdalota" and "Hamalia". A large variety of home made jams – wild herbs like thyme, oregano and dill (to name a few) which are gathered from the island itself. Make sure you take home a jar of the famous and absolutely delicious tuna – know throughout Greece!!
The cooperative can be found opposite the elementary school in Patitiri.


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WELCOME 2021 .... .... goodbye 2020 ***
Drop In Coffee
The United Church of Canada is a church with a rich, progressive, and continuing history of welcoming all in the name of Christ.
The United Church of Canada is a mainline Reformed denomination and the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada, and the largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church.
In 2011, Statistics Canada reported approximately 2 million people identifying as adherents. The United Church was founded in 1925 as a merger of four Protestant denominations with a total combined membership of about 600,000 members: the Methodist Church, Canada, the Congregational Union of Ontario and Quebec, two-thirds of the congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the Association of Local Union Churches, a movement predominantly of the Canadian Prairie provinces. The Canadian Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined the United Church of Canada on January 1, 1968.
The Kelowna townsite was laid out in 1892, and by 1898 the community growing on the shore of Okanagan Lake began to show that it would become a permanent settlement. As people came so did the travelling missionaries and students of both the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. The Presbyterian Church in the area was Bethel Presbyterian built in the Benvoulin area in 1892. The student ministers travelling from Vernon to preach also came to Kelowna and held services in the school or Lequime's store.
In 1898, land at the corner of Bernard Avenue and Richter Street was donated by A.B. Knox, an early rancher and land developer, to build a Presbyterian Church. The Rev. R. Boyle was the minister for the joint Benvoulin-Kelowna charge. A small church, seating 140 people was built and dedicated on Christmas Day, 1898. History tells us that the building was free of debt when completed. In 1903 the first Methodist church was built in Kelowna.
The cornerstone of the present brick church was laid in 1909, and this church, built of locally kilned brick, was dedicated in October 1910. The Sunday School hall was built in 1928-1929. There have been a number of other additions and renovations over the years.
Early in 1914, the congregations of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches began to talk with each other about forming a joint congregation. In August 1916, agreement for Basis of Union was made between the Kelowna Methodist and Knox Presbyterian congregations and the Union Church came into being. In January 1924, again prior to the national churches, the congregation of Kelowna adopted the Basis of Union outlined for the formation of the United Church of Canada. The women of the congregation bought the Casavant pipe organ in 1925 to commemorate the formation of the national church.
In 2002, the congregation of First United voted in favour of asking the City of Kelowna to designate the Church buildings as a Municipal Heritage site.
As a community of faith, our roots extend back much farther than the dates included in this sketch of our congregation. As people of God we trace our Christian ancestry through the Church to the apostles – even to Jesus Christ who called them and us into discipleship.
The construction of the large brick Knox Presbyterian Church began in 1909 and was completed in 1910. Donations included the new bell for the bell tower, the pulpit and some of the interior furnishings that were necessary in the new church. Sunday School rooms were added in 1919-20. The present day Casavant pipe organ was purchased with money raised by women of the congregation in 1925.
The school and hall were built in 1928-29 on the lot next to the church. The new hall and school expanded the Sunday school and provided a hall for many other community activities.
After the major addition of the hall, the church has undergone numerous renovations and alterations over the years. In 1938, a new furnace was installed in the church building, as well as some repairs were made to the brick work on the exterior of the church.
In 1941 the pews on the south and north sides of the church were rearranged to face toward the pulpit and the organ; the original brass rods and velvet screening which hid the organ console, were replaced by a wooden screen and carpet was laid in the aisles.
In 1943, the wooden first Knox church was torn down.
The next set of renovations took place in 1947-48 when the congregation made the decision that the number of activities had grown so much that it justified the need for more space. There was the addition of Sunday School rooms, a boardroom and a full basement were added to the south end of the hall behind the stage.
In 1951, installation of a new sawdust-burning furnace was necessary when the hall's wood burning furnace broke down. The conversion of the church furnace into a sawdust-burning furnace also happened at this time.
In 1957, the congregation purchased the adjoining property (known as the Balfour property) on the east side next to the hall for a parking lot.
In 1962, there was another set of renovations to the church and hall. The changes to the church's interior included the screening of the organ pipes; the choir location was changed; the sawdust furnaces were replaced with new gas furnaces; new electrical wiring was installed in the church. The two large sanctuary windows were likely removed and replaced with the existing 1960s windows at this time. By 1967, the renovations to the church hall and the upstairs Sunday School rooms were completed.
In the 1990s the kitchen was up-dated, the organ was restored including uncovering the organ pipes (removing the wood screen). The pipe organ had been gilded in 1945. The organ used to be in the centre front along with the choir. When the organ pipes were covered with a screen, the choir was moved to the northeast front corner of the sanctuary. The organ pipes have once again been uncovered (as they were originally built) and the choir once again is close to the same area as it once was.
The brickwork in the upper portion of the bell tower was restored in 2000 at a cost of about $47,000, with a $5,000 grant from the Kelowna Heritage Foundation, and $15,000 from the B.C. Heritage Foundation. The sanctuary and hall have had a new roof put on in sections over the past eight or so years, receiving financial support from a number of Kelowna Heritage Foundation grants.
In 2005-06 the administration offices and reception area were consolidated and relocated to the north end of the hall. The stage in the hall was removed and this area was turned into a meeting room. The Memorial Lounge was relocated.
In 2006, new high efficiency furnaces were installed, to replace the old and outdated ones.
The age of our church buildings will require on-going maintenance and careful attention to the needs as they arise. Beginning its work in 2017, FirstUP! is an initiative of the Board to look at how our building can meet the challenges of the next century-or-so.
721 Bernard Ave,
Kelowna, BC V1Y 6P6
January 17 Worship with Rev. Cheryl Perry and Rev. Bob Wallace and guestsJanuary 17, 2021 - 3:04 pm
BAPTISM SUNDAY with Rev. Cheryl Perry on Jan. 10 , 2021January 10, 2021 - 2:00 pm
Epiphany Worship with St. Paul's & First & Rutland United Churches Jan. 3, 2021 . Rev. Frances Kitson and Rev. Bob Wallace leading it . (FaceBook link )January 4, 2021 - 10:51 am
December 27 , Worship with Rev. Bob WallaceJanuary 1, 2021 - 1:56 pm
The church office is closed until further notice. Contact the church via email if needed.
Streaming a family style Christmas Eve worship from First United KelownaDecember 26, 2020 - 3:08 pm
Cantata and Pageant on December 20 WorshipDecember 20, 2020 - 6:19 pm
Musical Reflective service for Advent December 10 with Frances and Jessica ( Audio feed issues in spots )December 13, 2020 - 9:03 pm
© Copyright 2018 - First United Church Kelowna


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You are browsing the archive for Bad Machinery.
by Alex Hughes
After Gin Lane: Giving it all away
September 6, 2012 in Comment, General
Following From Gin Lane to the Information Superhighway we see that there are cartoonists who are positively embracing this new era of social media and sharing.
Hairy Steve © Steve Bright @ Procartoonists.org
Webcomics and viral cartoons are a couple of the ways that you can effectively give your work away to the web but get paid back by other means. Successful webcomics work on a business model based on the idea that you give away a regularly updated cartoon on your website and build a following of readers who come back day after day. British examples include John Allison's Bad Machinery or Jamie Smart's Corporate Skull.
© Peter Steiner @ Procartoonists.org
The profit comes from selling merchandise to the more loyal fans – bound compilations, prints, sketches, T-shirts, toys and so forth. Similarly, viral cartoons can drive lots of new readers to your website. How much money can be directly attributed to virals is arguable, although, for example, the well-known New Yorker cartoon "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is said to have earned its creator, Peter Steiner, more than $50,000.
The website Kickstarter has recently become one of the biggest publishers of comic books in the USA, from independent cartoonists using the crowd-funding model to raise money directly from their fan-base. Here in the UK, Procartoonists.org's very own Adrian Teal (The Gin Lane Gazette) and Steve Bright (Hairy Steve – in collaboration with Jamie Smart) have developed their own crowd-funded projects.
We'll be considering another aspect of the communication change – After Gin Lane – and what it means for cartoonists next week
Tags: Adrian Teal, Bad Machinery, Corporate Skull, crowd-funding, dog, Gin Lane, Hairy Steve, Jamie Smart, John Allison, Kickstarter, Peter Steiner, social media, Steve Bright, The Gin Lane Gazette, The New Yorker, viral, webcomics No Comments »
It's grin Up North at comics festival
November 17, 2010 in Events
Thought Bubble, the Leeds Sequential Art Festival, returns this weekend. As in previous years (2008, 2009) there will be the usual mix of workshops, talks and exhibitions, including a one-day Comic Convention.
Cartoonists exhibiting include Sarah McIntyre (Vern and Lettuce), Hugh 'Shug' Raine (Reet Comic), Gary Northfield (Derek the Sheep), John Allison (Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery) and Poot! comic.
The winner of the Northern Sequential Art competition will be announced at the convention, but you can see the entries here.
The Festival runs from Thursday 18 November to Sunday 21 November at various locations around Leeds (see here for the full programme), with the convention being held on the Saturday at Saviles Hall from 10am to 5pm, tickets £10 and the under 12s get in free.
Tags: Bad Machinery, comic, comic convention, comics, Derek the Sheep, Gary Northfield, Hugh Raine, John Allison, Leeds, Leeds Sequential Art Festival, Lettuce and Vern, Northern Sequential Art Competition, Poot, Reet, Sarah Mcintyre, Saviles Hall, Scary Go Round, Shug, Thought Bubble 1 Comment »
The Genius of Giles
PCO Cartoon Review of the Year 2019
Political Cartoon Awards 2019 – The Results
Send in the Clowns?
Bringing Animals to Life cartoon workshop
Pete Dredge on The Genius of Giles
Mary Morris on John Jensen 1930-2018
Jess on Herne Bay Cartoon Festival 2019 – Bumper bonus photo album!
Pete Dredge on Press One to Continue Nightmare
Pete Dredge on Ye Olde Whynge
Rupert Besley writes: Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies are back in the news. It's become something of a festive tradition to bemoan the lack of...
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Hughie and Freddie - Best Friends Fundraise for Children's Hospital
News provided by Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity on Tuesday 9th Mar 2021
"We're so proud of Hughie's positive attitude and resilience to everything that has been thrown at him. He's our superstar."
AN INSPIRATIONAL leukaemia patient and his fundraising best friend have captured the hearts of the nation – and raised a staggering £200,000 in the process.
Hughie Higginson and Freddie Xavi may only be 10 years old but have already been referred to as "the new Ant and Dec" and have appeared on This Morning, Sky Sports and BBC Breakfast as well as in their own local newspapers. The story of their friendship and determination has enabled them to raise more than £200,000 for Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity. And the phenomenal amount of money will be used to save lives and further improve the hospital experience for children just like Hughie.
The list of things the boys have enabled the Charity to buy include vital life-saving equipment, a supply of fresh fruit for Hughie's ward and, as Hughie saw for himself this week, new slushie pouches to soothe the throats of young cancer patients.
Hughie was excited to try a Sour Cherry flavoured slushie. He said: "It was really exciting that the first slushies have been delivered. Were really lucky because after hearing what we were doing, the Manchester Drinks Company actually decided to donate the first year's supply of slushies for free.
"I got to try the first one when they arrived and hand the first box over to the ward. I struggled a bit at first to get it out the package as they were still really cold but I really liked the flavour."
Hughie is currently an outpatient of the hospital's Ward 84 Oncology and Haematology Unit, having been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia on 23rd September 2020. He faces three and a half years of treatment at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.
His mum Katy said: "Our world was turned upside down when Hughie got his diagnosis. But ever since he has been incredibly brave and has faced it head on without any moaning.
"He's had so many blood tests, scans and trips to theatre but he is always smiling and entertaining the staff on Ward 84. He's particularly proud of his Donald Duck impression so all the staff call him Donald.
"We are so proud of his positive attitude and resilience to everything that has been thrown at him. He's our superstar."
Wanting to give back to the hospital that was treating him, Hughie and his classmates from school decided to take part in the Charity's Humphrey's Lantern Walk, a virtual walk named after their mascot green bear. Sadly, on the planned day of the walk he was too poorly to take part and instead friends and family went in his place. He still raised more than £9,000 on his own JustGiving Page and as a group his friends raised £18,000 altogether. Hughie was clearly bitten by the fundraising bug….which spread to best friend Freddie.
Freddie set himself his own fundraising challenge of running 2km every day in the 50 days leading up to Christmas – an amazing 100km in total. Word of Freddie's fundraising started to spread and soon the two boys were invited onto their local BBC radio station.
Freddie's mum Sarah Ronnan said: "At first he set himself a target of £1,000 and we thought that was a bit of a challenge but hoped he could get there. And then we were on the radio station and the presenter asked how much he'd like to raise and Freddie plucked a number out the air and said 'I think £30,000 would be good'. I remember glancing at him thinking 'oh wow….that's a LOT. How are we going to do that?'"
Sarah didn't need to be concerned – soon BBC Breakfast picked up on their story and Freddie and Hughie starred in a special piece about their fundraising. Their beloved football club Burnley FC also heard about the challenge and player James Tarkowski gifted the boys two PlayStation 5s as a congratulations for all their hard work. Later, some of their players joined Freddie on a run around their ground at Turf Moor which BBC Breakfast broadcast.
As the TV viewers started to clock up, so did their fundraising total. And on 14th December 2020 the boys had not one, but two TV appearances – on BBC Breakfast and then This Morning. While taking part in a live interview on This Morning they chatted to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford who spun the "Spin to Win" wheel. When it looked like it would land on a lower figure, Ruth grabbed the wheel to make the arrow point at £3,000 – the highest figure on the board!
Freddie said: "We couldn't believe it when Ruth cheated the wheel so we could have more money for Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity. And then after the wheel they also played a special message from Gino D'Acampo…it was amazing."
The boys have continued to share their amazing story of friendship and fundraising with the world and have been supported by the likes of Burnley FC, Accrington Stanley, Gino and Radio 1 DJ and fellow Burnley fan Jordan North. On Christmas Day Freddie completed his final run live on BBC Breakfast and Sky Sports , cheered on by his family and, of course, Hughie.
Hughie's dad Keiron said: "The boys have just had so much fun along the way and it's been a great distraction for Hughie. The medicine used to treat leukaemia can be very harsh at times, especially on such a young body, but Hughie's strength and character always comes through the tough times. All he has done has been a nice distraction and he loves doing it."
Hughie and Freddie's story has also inspired their friends and family to get in on raising vital funds for Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity.
Last month, Hughie's dance teacher Helen Cheung shaved off her long auburn hair. She also took the clippers to husband Simon and together the couple raised more than £2,700 on their JustGiving Page to add into Hughie and Freddie's total. And Hughie's friend Evan completed a Three Peaks Challenge – raising a further £480 to add to the ever-increasing total.
Georgia Sleigh, a Community Fundraising Officer at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity, said: "Freddie and Hughie are just incredible – words just don't do justice to how inspiring they both are.
"We think their story of friendship and fundraising has really resonated with people, particularly at this time. We've all found lockdown and the Covid pandemic news a real struggle to cope with but you can't help but smile when you see their beaming faces.
"I think we all need to take a leaf out of their book – we need to be as brave and courageous as Hughie and be the best friend everyone needs like Freddie!"
Hughie and Freddie's fundraising will not only ensure a supply of slushies and fruit for Hughie's friends on Ward 84, it will also fund a Belmont Infusor - a piece of equipment which rapidly warms blood ready to transfuse into critically ill patients who have sustained a life-threatening injury, such as a major car crash or a stabbing. It's important blood, and blood products, are warm when transfusing to reduce the chance of hypothermia.
And with their ever growing fundraising pot, there will no doubt be more items added to their shopping list, which the Charity will keep supporters up to date on.
To donate to Freddie's JustGiving Page visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/freddie-xavi or find out more about Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity and how you can get involved in fundraising at www.rmchcharity.org.uk
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity , on Tuesday 9 March, 2021. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/
Hughie And Freddie Hospital Leukaemia Leukemia Manchester Friendship Best Friends Happy News Fundraising Charities & non-profits Children & Teenagers Christmas Coronavirus (COVID-19) Health Lifestyle & Relationships Medical & Pharmaceutical
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity
emma.wright2@mft.nhs.uk
https://www.rmchcharity.org.uk/
Hughie Higginson holding the slushies
Hughie Higginson and Freddie Xavi in their Burnley shirts
Hughie Higginson holding a Hughies Heroes balloon
Hughie Higginson in hospital bed before losing his hair
Hughie with fellow patient Ella-Rose enjoying the new slushies
https://rmchcharity.org.uk/news/friendship-and-...
* For more information regarding media usage, ownership and rights please contact Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity .