April 2013

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Renaissance

The Voice of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts

Natchitoches, LA

Praecellemus

Volume XXX, Issue 4

April 2013

Colors Fly at LSMSA During the Celebration of Holi Brian Kim Editor in Chief

On Saturday, March 16, students of LSMSA crowded Eagle Field to participate in the celebration of Holi, an Indian festival celebrated all around the

world. Hosted by Indigo Club, Holi represents the coming of spring. To express the vibrant Nature and beautiful pigments of the season, participants in Holi celebrate by

Club officers of Holi Photo by Shelvi Shah

throwing colored water and powder at each other. Colors did fly this Saturday as students threw an assortment of colors from pink to red to blue at each other. In the process, shirts turned into tie-dye shirts, and the sidewalk looked like a painting canvas. Laughter and excitement filled the air as students enthusiastically tried to drown their friends in different colors. In addition, students also threw water ballons at each other, which only added to the excitement. “It [Holi] is the time to enjoy the colors of spring as well as to say farewell to Winter,” said Shelvi Shah (Sr.), president of Indigo

Students throw powder to initiate the start of Holi Photo by Carlie Procell

Club. Holi is primarily celebrated in India, Nepal, and their surrounding countries, but the Indian influence has spread to such a degree that festivals can be seen in all parts of the globe. Holi is often celebrated on college campuses with hundreds, even thousands, of students. “Indigo, as a club, hosts this event because we try our best

Editorial: The Renaissance Thanks the Foundation Brian Kim Editor in Chief

Since LSMSA opened its doors in 1983, little has changed. The carpet on the second floor of the HSB, the red lockers, and the beds in Prudhomme and Caddo have all withstood the test of time and remained as integral parts of LSMSA. However, this past year, change has suddenly come upon LSMSA in a big way.

What once used to be a dull, worn-out gym has become fuel for school spirit as the floor glistens under the lights. What once was a messy assortment of trees has turned into a beautiful amphitheater and walkway lined with benches and lampposts. What was once chipped paint coming off the walls in the dorms has become a fresh coat of new colors. Old, rusted shower knobs have be-

come new knobs with temperature readings. These new improvements to the school have been possible because of an often overseen benefactor, the Foundation. An assembly of alumni and parents of LSMSA students, the Foundation plays a pivotal role in funding school projects and influencing school decisions. On behalf of the student body at LSMSA,

the newspaper staff would like to thank the Foundation for all that it has done this past year. Although we, as students, do not have the opportunity to meet the members of the Foundation, we are grateful for all the money and time the organization has put into improving our school. Continued as Foundation On Page 12

to spread the culture and festivals of India throughout the school,” said Prisha Patel (Sr.), vice-president of Indigo club. Continued as Holi On Page 12 In this issue... 2

Tech Column

2

CS Competition

3

LAN Party

3

Senior Night

4

Literary Rally

5

Positivity Page

6, 7 Beier Colloquium 8

Science Quiz Bowl

8

FBLA

9

Safety & Wellness

10

Junior College Sem.

10

Prom Pictures

11

Indepen. Studies

11

BSP: Food

12

Continuations


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Technology Column: Computer Science at LSMSA Carlie Procell Layout Editor According to code. org, 90% of high schools across the nation don’t offer any computer science classes. However, LSMSA offers a variety of computer science courses ranging from beginner to advanced with teachers who are more than willing to help students in any way they can. The problem is not many students are interested in computer science. English, history, art, science, foreign language, and even physical education are all required to graduate in Louisiana, but not computer science. This is clearly a major dilemma, seeing as how the world operates on technology. Since

Louisiana doesn’t have a computer science requirement to graduate, LSMSA should. LSMSA students are known for being wellrounded individuals. After all, it’s Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, right? Students here can’t merely be just math students or just art students; their range of knowledge has to be as diverse as the student body. However, there are less than 30 students enrolled in the six computer science courses offered this semester at LSMSA. Many LSMSA students can post a tweet, share a link on Facebook, send an email, or even make a blog. But do many know how any of it works? Since computer

science is being used constantly in everyone’s daily life, it’s a wonder that most people have very little knowledge about it. Whether it’s designing a layout, managing a database, or programming a phone, everyone should know a little bit about how all of this technology we use dayto-day works, especially LSMSA students. Some might say they won’t use computer science in their daily lives (though that’s obviously not true.) By that logic—what makes art and foreign language so important? Computer science is just as important, if not more, than art and foreign language. All three can be applied to almost

Arkansas Programming Competition Carlie Procell Layout Editor

On March 8, 11 students and two chaperones from the Computer Science Club sat on the side of the road in the middle of Arkansas twiddling their thumbs after one of the back tires of the beloved short bus blew out. Though they’re able to write programs to solve complex math equations, they were unable to install a spare tire, so they sat for two hours until help finally emerged. They then continued on their eight-hour bus ride to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to participate in a programming competition. The competition took place on Saturday, March 9. LSMSA sent two

Students smile for the camera with the bus’s flat tire. Photo by Sanjeetha Peters

teams of four and one team of three to participate. The first team consisted of Everett Moser (Sr.), Alex Fontenot (Jr.), Ian Gonthier (Sr.), and Eric Dilmore (Sr.). The second included Brianna Lawson (Sr.), Caroline May (Soph.),

David Jones (Soph.), and Sean Cuff (Jr.). The third and final team was Josh Bright (Jr.), Peter Uli (Jr.), and Ronald Cossich (Jr.). The students prepared for the competition by practicing from 6:30 to 8pm two nights a week for a month before the

Computer Science teacher, Mr. Zolzer with student Peter Uli (Jr.) in the “Programming with Java” class Photo by Carlie Procell

any career choice. Plus, programming is practically an art and foreign language itself. Consequently, LSMSA should require every student to have at least one credit in computer science to graduate. Not only will it make them

more well-rounded students, but it will make them more aware of how the technology they use everyday works.

competition. They learned how to use Vim, one of the text editors used by the competition, and practiced doing sample problem sets. All three teams chose to use C++ over Java in the competition. The competition required programs to be written in one of the text editors provided, which were Vim, Emacs, and gedit. Every team was given multiple problem sets to complete in a certain amount of time and was judged on efficiency, correctness, and creativity. The Bright/Uli/Cossich team managed to win the “Most Creative” award for their program involving Magic Squares. “We had to determine whether or not an array of nine numbers could be arranged into a three by thee matrix in which

the rows, columns, and diagonals all add up to the same sum,” Uli explained. “After trying several different codes, our final solution passed all set tests that the judges used. After returning from the competition, we were sent an email that said, ‘Although your program passed all test cases, it didn’t work.’ And our test case that didn’t work was 9 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.” The competition didn’t yield any other victories to the LSMSA teams, but they plan on returning to the competition next year to do better. “Most of the teams that did well used JAVA, “ said Bright, “so I think we’ll try to get better in JAVA and use it next year.”


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Computer Science Club and Conclave Club Throw LAN Party Carlie Procell Layout Editor Two clubs joined forces to host a schoolwide LAN Party—Computer Science Club and Conclave Club bought pizza, soda, and snacks to service the 60 plus gamers that would show up at midnight on Satur-

day, March 23. The party lasted from midnight to 8 a.m. Saturday morning and featured a variety of tournaments and casual gaming areas. Multiple tables were stationed in the middle of the CPT Atrium for students who just wanted to bring their laptops/

Students Brianna Lawson (Sr.), Chrysalis Ortiz (Sr.), Sundar Pandian (Soph.), and Peter Uli (Jr.) play Just Dance Photo by Carlie Procell

desktops to game. Most of the people there participated in a Lolathon (playing League of Legends nonstop for the night.) There was a section for Guitar Hero and Just Dance in the back, along with another section for Soul Calibur and assorted WiiU games. The Recital Hall was used for tournaments and a Just Dance party towards the end of the night. There were three tournaments. The first tournament was for Soul Calibur IV. It lasted for a grueling hour while 16 players battled it out. The winner was Derian Magness (Soph.) The second tournament was the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 tournament, where 24 players competed

Some students brought their own desktops and laptops to game on. Photo by Carlie Procell

in three-player battles. The end result was a tie between Everett Moser (Sr.) and Zach Hall (Jr.) Just Dance was the crowd favorite and was played in the Recital Hall until clean-up started at 7:15 a.m. The last tournament was for the popular card game, Magic: The Gathering. There were

tables stationed around the Atrium for this tournament and 14 players contested until Scott Williams (Jr.) emerged as the champion. Everyone who went can agree that the LAN Party was a success and hope there will be another one next fall semester.

Seniors Excel In the Classroom and Out at Senior Night Jacob Foreman Staff Writer When people think of LSMSA, athletics is generally not the first thing that comes to mind. However, sports at LSMSA are an integral part of our community and provide an outlet for students to release stress, meet friends, and stay healthy. Every year, to celebrate seniors that have committed time to athletics here at LSMSA, the night of the last home basketball game is designated as Senior Night. This year, 15 seniors

played basketball, nine girls and six boys, and 10 seniors played volleyball, six girls and fourboys. “I think it’s important to find something that helps you wind down every day, especially at this school,” said Evelyn Lambeth (Sr.) about playing a sport at LSMSA. “Playing basketball for LSMSA gave me a group of friends from the beginning of the year that I could talk to and blow off steam with at the end of a long day,” Lambeth added. To commemorate this year’s season, seniors were presented with a

rose and either a volleyball or basketball signed by their teammates. “Playing basketball at LSMSA has given me some of the best friends of my life, and an opportunity to do something that I love for a team. It has also given me some valuable life lessons and great memories,” explained Lane Moberly (Sr.). “Senior night was one of the best nights of my life. I felt like everyone gave it their all and really tried to make sure that the seniors’ last game was amazing.” Both Lambeth and Moberly commented on what the coaching staff,

The new LSMSA gym glistens under lights Photo by Brian Kim

Coach Dale Clingerman, Dr. Jason Anderson, and Dr. Mark Van Rhyn, has given them. “I am so thankful to have such supportive coaches that are willing to take time out of their day to help us become the best that we can be,”

said Moberly. Win or lose, there is no doubt that playing a sport at the Louisiana School offers a variety of benefits including making friends, staying healthy, and relieving stress.


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Louisiana School Finds New Atmosphere at Louisiana Tech Kyle Welch Assistant Editor Seeking something new and unfamiliar, Dr. Mark Ward, coordinator of the Louisiana School’s Literary Rally team, took 28 competing students to Louisiana Tech in Ruston for this year’s district Literary Rally competition. Literary Rally is a statewide competition that consists of different tests in a variety of subject matters ranging from spelling to physics to journalism. Every year, students gather from around the

state at different universities and take tests for their subject. The tests are then ranked and the students with the highest scores in each subject then proceed to the State Literary Rally. Students competed in 28 subjects on a cold, moist, and foggy Saturday morning.But though the weather was cold, the people were not. The Louisiana School was warmly greeted by Louisiana Tech, whose representatives were excited to have it present for the competition.

Ward chose the location, he said, because the atmosphere was quite welcoming, the Louisiana School was unfamiliar to competing schools, and because he had rapports with some Louisiana Tech representatives. Consequentially, Louisiana School competitors experienced a day that was relaxed, without stress or pride, without territorial claim, with a single purpose: take a test. Students arrived at their respective testing locations, returned to

a “muster point” at the university bookstore, had lunch at the Chick-fil-A

on campus, and dispersed finally after arriving back at the HSB.

LSMSA Participants in 2013 District Literary Rally Name Austin McMichael Hyeyon Kim Rebecca Lopez Aaron Cao Catherine Broussard Matthew Johnson Cosette Zacarias Sneha Yadlapati Joshua Bright Ashlyn Anderson Aaron Walker Phyllis Lee Griffin Schlamp Victoria Christian Morgan Griffin Genesis Allen Madison Conlay Ravleen Kaur Kyle Welch James Rodrigue Katherine Prutz Danielle Bass Siobhan Prasad Soojin Lee Marika Buccholz Julia Landon Annalise Labatut Sean Cuff

Subject Accounting Pre-Calculus Algebra II Biology Biology II Calculus Chemistry Civics Computer Science English II English III English IV Environmental Science Financial Mathematics Fine Arts Survey French I French II French III Journalism Physical Science Physics Psychology Spanish I Spanish II Spanish III Spelling U.S. History World History

Place 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st

2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd (District Only Event) 1st


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Positivity around LSMSA: Eagle’s Wings and LSMSA Compliments Allison Smith Staff Writer Nowadays, the world seems to be flooded with negativity, but at the Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts the positivity keeps coming. Within the most recent months students, have received positive letters in mailboxes and on Facebook thanks to two phenomenal organizations: Eagle’s Wings and LSMSA Compliments. Started at the beginning of this semester, Eagle’s Wings is an organization designed to provide random acts of kindness to the student body of the Louisiana School. “I wanted to help people,” President Marissa Scott (Soph.) states. Many Louisiana School students would agree that it can get stressful. Eagle’s Wings has helped to make the burden more bearable. Fun things such as Mardi Gras beads with positive messages in mailboxes delighted plenty of students as they realized that they finally “got mail”. Along with the beads, Eagle’s Wings has also sponsored a Free Hugs campaign where all members wore ‘Free Hugs’ pins to school. Last but most definitely not least, Eagle’s Wings

has created care packages to send to people at random. “Eagle’s Wings changed my whole week with just one package. They relieved all the stress for me,” one of the more recent care package recipients, Emily Spustek (Soph.) stated. Overall, the Eagle’s Wings club has created a more positive environ-

ment for LSMSA students. A more secretive but still just as positive movement is LSMSA Compliments. If you have a Facebook and have recently attended the school, chances are you have received a friend request from a

positive eagle ready to brighten your day. Recently the Complimentor has posted to Facebook complimenting everyone from new students to alumni. The organization has recently reached its 100th compliment where the creator complimented the student body and everyone who has helped LSMSA Compliments to

become such a phenomenon. Some students have even compared it to a more positive Gossip Girl. “I heard about the idea of a compliments page earlier this year and I thought it’d be a great idea to have one here.” LSMSA Compliments responded, when asked why he/she started the project. Compliments says he/ she chose Facebook because it was the best way to get the word out, and everybody, including faculty and staff, are connected through the social

media website. Compliments does not want to reveal who he/ she is and, in a way, that is the fun for the students. As you pass down the hallways you can hear students whispering about who this Complimentor could possibly be. “I’m going to stay anonymous at least until I graduate. I’m debating whether I should even say it then. I’m definitely going to pass this ac-

count on when I graduate, though.” Compliments said, after being asked how long he/she would keep the identity a secret. Overall, the Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts became a more positive ‘living learning environment’ in the past few months.


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NSU and LSMSA Professors Share Stories about Israel and Palestine Zionist youth movement, which sought to promote intellectual development and the evocation of Northwestern University professor Dr. Sharon nationalistic identity for Jews as represented by Joy and LSMSA’s own Dr. Nahla Beier made the Israel. In the ninth grade, Joy Recital Hall a place for discussion between them- was eligible to attend a selves and their audience national camp offered by regarding the history and the movement and, as an impressionable young personal experiences of girl, was ultimately sold the relations between to the ideals of Jewish Israel and Palestine. nationalism. Enamored, The discussion was she moved to Israel for presented as part of a year after high school LSMSA’s colloquium series, in which LSMSA and again for three years after graduating college. professors present bodIn that time, she develies of their work to the oped Jewish colonies, or Natchitoches public— gar’ins in Jerusalem, as what followed was an part of the Zionist idea honest and thoughtof a Jewish birthright to provoking exchange of memories rooted in Israel the land. She stayed in Israel with her husband and Palestine and ideas concerned with nurturing until Yesser Arafat of the a peace between the two. Palestinian Liberation Organization grew more Joy, who grew up in New York City, belonged aggressive in his authorto a relatively lax Jewish ity, and terrorism became more frequent in Jerusafamily. However, when lem. she moved to Yonkers When she and her in the sixth grade, she joined her school’s Zion- husband moved back to the United States, they ist youth organization, eventually relocated to part of the nationwide

Kyle Welch Assistant Editor

Houston, TX, where Joy joined Jewish-Palestinian discussion groups and was given the opportunity to hear Palestinians tell their stories for the first time. She was shocked by what they told her; frustrated that no one of Israeli authority had told her that real people were suffering as a result of Israeli and Jewish colonialism in Jerusalem. “When I was young, Israelis were our enemies,” said Beier. “They made my family move, they made my parents become refugees, and they left us with no national identity.” Beier grew up on her family’s farm in Jericho before moving to Jerusalem, where she would stay until she went to college in Lebanon. “I had a friend who would tell me these stories about the Israelis: she would say that she saw them from her window at night building fires and dancing around them,” she said. “So

Seen & Overheard “I am the most powerful person here-- I control the temperature and the toilet paper.” -Mr. Chuck Stoker “Why would you want to go to an empty whore house?” -Dr. Delery “They were having a real bromance, y’know.” -Dr. Art “Jackson basically took the Constitution and pissed all over it. Over and over again.” -Dr. Van Rhyn “In India we didn’t call it the inflating balloon problem. We called it the rate of change until the cobra’s head expanded from being charmed.” -Sanjeetha Peters

you see that I was being given an almost demonic image of the Israelis.” “However, though my family was certainly not fond of them, my parents never wanted to demonize them.” When the 1967 SixDay War broke, Beier and her family returned to the farm in Jericho to flee the conflict and seek safety. However, the war followed them, and her father took the family to Mount Quarantania, where they asked for refuge from a Greek Orthodox monastery. Their pleas were answered, and the family stayed in a cave on the mountain for seven days until Beier’s mother insisted the family surrender to the Israelis. After surrendering, the family made its way back to Jericho in a car they camouflaged with banana leaves to avoid being seen by stalking aircraft. However, en route, the family ran into a Jeep

with Israeli soldiers, who halted their travels and insisted they stay in the car. Beier described one Israeli soldier as looking rugged and with dark hair. But the others, she said, were blond and surprisingly beautiful. With rose petals falling in their hair, Beier’s preconception of Israelis as aggressive brutes was disproved. Later, Beier decided she wanted to learn Hebrew. The Arab news, she said, was skewed and unreliable—learning Hebrew might help her understand the Israeli channels and what was actually going on in the area. So she went to a Hebrew school in Jerusalem, where she had a mixed experience. The Jewish teachers would sometimes make her read passages in Hebrew that were about Arab terrorism against Israelis, but Beier perservered.


April 2013

In one of her classes, Beier encountered a Russian immigrant who moved to Jerusalem with hardly anything, seeking a refuge, like innumerable other Jews. He had invited the class to his birthday party. Excited, Beier begged her parents to attend, but they refused because he was an Israeli. But with Beier’s persistent pleading, they ultimately gave in. The party was incredibly humble, as Beier described. The Russian man served his food with plastic utensils, which illustrated with how little he left his country. But he was “beaming,” said Beier. Proud to have made it to a safe place, the Russian man glowed throughout his party. “It was a very moving experience,” said Beier. “I was surprised that an Israeli could remind me so much of my grandfather.” Beier later went to college in Lebanon, then Michigan and Virginia.

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She and her husband briefly moved back to Jerusalem to teach but found it too hectic and moved to Natchitoches. About six years ago, when Joy moved to Natchitoches, she and Beier encountered each other at a local art gallery. Joy had asked Beier where she was from, to which Beier answered Jerusalem. In response, Joy spoke to Beier in broken high Arabic, the equivalent of Shakespearean English. Beier instinctively replied in Hebrew, and thus a rapport was formed. When Beier learned that Joy had been involved in a Zionist movement, she felt hesitant about the friendship they had formed. She was determined to keep it limited only to language instruction (she had been teaching Joy Arabic). To explain her apprehensiveness, Beier offered the situation in the Gaza Strip as a narrative from which she earned

her convictions. “Gaza is like Hell on Earth,” she said. Trapped between the sea and the hostile Israeli state, the Arabs of the Gaza Strip grow frustrated and throw rockets at the Israelis. In retaliation, the Israelis fire much more developed weapons that wreak much more havoc upon the residents of Gaza. “If my sympathies were with anyone,” said Beier,

“it was with the Palestinians. To me, there has been a clear imbalance of numbers.” But Beier admitted she had only been setting her mind on the Palestinians. With Joy as a new friend, Beier was exposed to a Jewish side of the Gaza conflict, which allowed her to share a new empathy and made her more willing to develop the friendship further.

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“I knew then that this was a friendship I wanted to make stronger,” said Beier. Having defied the odds as Jewish and Arab friends, Beier and Joy hope that their example will encourage others, regardless of differences, to listen to one another and emphasize the importance of keeping an open mind in nurturing peace.

Poll

A fire alarm goes off in the dorms. What’s the first thing you grab? “My shoes.” -Ashley Fabre (Soph.) “A blanket.” -Snigdha Thumma (Jr.) “The firemen.” -Christine Savoie (Jr.) “Phone, blanket, and Marika Buccholz” -Ravleen Kaur (Jr.) “A sledgehammer to hit the person who caused it” -Tytiana Isaac (Soph.) “My phone. Gotta be the first to post about it”- Dylan Ragsdale (Soph.)

Poll by Allison Smith Staff Wrtier


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Science Quiz Bowl Team Places 2nd in State Competition Brian Kim Editor in Chief

One area of academics that LSMSA students seem to excel in is science. The rigorous science curriculum coupled with the various science research experiences provides students with vast knowledge in the sciences. On Saturday, March 2, five LSMSA students tested their scientific minds in New Orleans during the 2013 Science and Engineering Quiz Bowl Tournament hosted by the Department of Energy. The five students that participated in the tournament included: Brian

Kim (Sr.), Louis Tao (Sr.), Raine Haskew (Sr.), Sneha Yadlapati (Sr.), and William Ganecheau (Jr.). The sponsor of Science Quiz Bowl is Dr. Chris Hynes. The tournament consisted of 26 teams from all over the State of Louisiana. In the morning, the teams were broken into four groups, and each group played a round robin competition. “When we first started to play in the morning rounds, I was extremely nervous,” said Yadlapati. “I didn’t want to lose the morning games because that would have meant that we would be going home early.” The nerves that all

five players felt are quite understandable considering that the science quiz bowl team from last year got first place in the tournament and advanced to the national competition in Washington D.C. This year’s team was determined to meet that same standard. The team did very well in the morning rounds, winning four games and losing zero. However, in the afternoon round, things started off badly. The team lost in the first round and before they knew it, they were in the loser’s bracket. “When we lost that first game, we were devastated,” said Brian Kim. “We lost to a team that

SQB Team with their trophies Photo by Sneha Yadlapati

we had beaten before in the morning. Nevertheless, we stayed positive because we were still in it.” After that loss, the team turned things around. They rolled over all their opponents and

soon found themselves in the final round against a team they all loathed, Baton Rouge Magnet High Continued as SQB On Page 12

LSMSA FBLA Team Excels in State Conference Carlie Procell Layout Editor

This year, LSMSA sent five accomplished young ladies to the 65th Annual Louisiana Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference this year in Lafayette on March 24-26. The conference spanned three days and included elections for FBLA state officers, various competitions,

and a keynote address by former olympic athlete, Hollis Conway. The five students that participated were FBLA Club President, Tori Christian (Sr.), Vice President, Darby Breaux (Jr.), Austin McMichael (Sr.), Allison Stillmaker (Sr.), and Christine Savoie (Jr.). LSMSA participated in six events. McMichael, Ms. Future Business Leader; Stillmaker,

The Current Events Team with FBLA State Officers Photo by Tori Christian

Accounting I and Business Communications; Breaux, Word Processing II; Christian, Business Calculations; and Breaux, Christian, and Savoie competed together for Current Events. The Current Events team took the stage as the finals for their event and after 18 rounds (with 6 sudden death rounds), the team came in 2nd to Beau Chene High School. McMichael came in a close 2nd for Ms. Future Business Leader after Anacoco High School. Stillmaker came in 5th for Business Communications and 10th for Accounting I. The school was also awarded the Project Award and Chapter Award. FBLA is looking to recruit members to join next year’s team, as most of the members from this year are seniors. There

Darby Breaux (Jr.) and Austin McMichael (Sr.) with an FBLA State Officer Photo by Tori Christian

are events for computer applications, digital media, business, sports management, community service, and a plethora

of other topics. If you’re interested, talk to any of the current members or FBLA sponsor, Kim Rogers.


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The LSMSA Safety and Wellness Network Serves to Benefit Students Allison Smith Staff Writer Started a little over two years ago, the Safety and Wellness Network is the behind-the-scenes crew of the Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts. The Safety and Wellness Network was created “in response to a two-fold need,” stated Network Administrator Derek Little. “The school needed to improve safety planning and training and it also needed to provide more wellness opportunities for students.” So, after many discussions, meetings, and e-mails, the Safety and Wellness Network was born. Members of the Safety and Wellness teams volunteered for their positions, and many have been dedicated for several years now. Members of the Safety Team include: Derek Little (Network Administrator), Allison Landry, Ken Olson, Ken Stevens, Chuck Stoker, and T.C. Veit. Members of the Wellness Team include Derek Little (Network Administrator), Jason Anderson, Kristy Barger, Dale Clingerman, Courtney Duda, Lisa Pierce, Nick Guidroz, Ruth Prudhomme, Emily Shumate, and Hanna Strange (Student Representative). The Safety and Wellness Network has biweekly meetings to decide what drills need to be covered, what wellness opportunities should be offered, and, most importantly, how

to positively affect the student body. They present their ideas to the faculty and staff once or twice a semester and talk to the students about their ideas once or twice a year. Over the past few years the Safety Network has helped to conduct drills related to disasters

among faculty, staff, and students has helped the LSMSA Safety Network to soar to new heights. Recently the school received a threat that put students at risk, and the Safety Network was quick to respond. Although the students had not been trained in any evacuation procedures,

The Safety and Wellness Network advertises their 3rd Annual Wellness Fair

that could happen on the campus. In order to determine which drills to enact, members sat down and talked about what was most likely to happen on campus. The team considered the possibility of a fire and planned out how to evacuate buildings when the infamous fire alarm goes off. After figuring out how to handle fires, the safety team moved on to tackling the next big issue, severe weather. As many students of LSMSA know, Natchitoches has its fair share of severe weather warnings. The safety team then went on to account for any other threats to the student body’s safety making sure to lay out plans of solutions along the way. The cooperation

they were quick to listen to Safety team members who efficiently evacuated the buildings. “The students did an excellent job of doing what was asked of them,” said Dr. Allison Landry. One of the most recent implementations of Safety Network is the “Right Door Rule”. The network decided that the school needed to create a delay to anybody entering the campus who should not. “Dr. Wildham decided that we should lock the right doors because the majority of people are right handed and are trained to ‘drive’ on the right side of the ‘road’,” explained Little. “This way it will create a little bit of a delay”. When asked about how this would affect fireman, policeman, and other safety personnel in the

event of an emergency, Little said, “We have spoken to law enforcement officers and they assured us that if they needed to get in they would find a way and it would not take much time.” While the Safety Network does a lot of work “behind the scenes,” the Wellness Network is very open to the students. Started around the same time as the Safety Network, the Wellness Network was created to help improve the physical, mental, and emotional wellness of the student body at LSMSA. The wellness network sponsors many events including yoga in the dance studio, boot camp in the gym, Nia, and Wellness on Wednesdays in the CPT. The crew of volunteers on the Wellness Network have helped to build up these activities making them available to students when they need them most. The Wellness Network recently received a donation from the Class of 1992 which will be put towards addressing mental health in the school. Activities such as Stress

Free Smoothies will be popping up in the fourth semester as finals round the corner. Other events include writing letters to faculty and staff. The Wellness Network as a whole will help to build the familial feel that the student body associates was LSMSA. When Derek Little leaves the school, Dr. Allison Landry will take over leadership of the Safety and Wellness Network. In the future the Safety and Wellness Network has plans to meet with the other six schools on campus to discuss safety within the area. The Network has recently purchased a communication system that will alert students if anything happens on campus that could endanger them. This communication system will be installed within the next year so that students can be more in tune with what is happening around campus. Even though many students do not know about the Safety and Wellness Network, volunteers throughout the school work to make the campus a little better each day.

One of the Safety and Wellness Network’s campaigns to promote healthy living at LSMSA.


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Counselors Offer Streamlined Approach to College Applications Kyle Welch Assistant Editor How do you show someone you care? With small gestures like buying him comfort food when they are languishing in dolor? With significant gestures like writing him long, cathartic notes that (you will regret afterward) detail exactly how you feel about him? Heart-tohearts, hugs, smiles, confessions, confections…? Perhaps the answer varies with who you ask, but the answer for the counselors at the Louisiana School seems to be by providing a simpler, more focused course that prepares students for college applications and admissions processes. Introduced this year

as an appendage to the similar Senior College Seminar, Junior College Seminar provides Louisiana School juniors with an earlier approach to college preparation. For the first time, juniors are being given a structured course taught by Louisiana School counselors (Ms. Laurie Richard, Ms. Leah Lentz, and Ms. Cindy Allen) that focuses on important considerations for high school juniors, like pondering the kinds of colleges that fit their personalities, fields of study they might be interested in, finding summer programs to improve their resumes, and researching colleges that they may be interested in. Seminar classes meet once per week, and

students are often given homework assignments that are designed to engage their curiosities in the college search process and to coax them closer to finding a college “fit” that they think they will enjoy. Previously in the college search process, juniors would be required to attend a program hosted by the Louisiana School called Kick-Off to College, for which college representatives and guest speakers would make appearances to educate students on the application process and to dispense helpful tips about the process that would help students be more successful in their endeavors. With the Junior College Seminar course,

Prom Pictures

guest speakers make appearances at the Louisiana School almost every week. Topics covered range from making affordable college choices, the differences applying to an honors program or college can make in a student’s graduate career, and methods a student should consider in writing successful application essays. When asked about the differences Junior College Seminar has made in the counseling process that existed previously, counselors said that they were finally given the opportunity to become acquainted with students sooner and to feel confident that they were meeting each student’s needs. “When we would do

Kick-Off to College,” said Ms. Allen, “there was always a group of students who, for some reason, were not able to make it.” In such event, students who missed the event were sought after individually so they could be given the information provided. Still, said Ms. Allen, there were always those who just could not (or would not) get the chance to see the material, so there had always been a group of students who would be left behind the others in the application process. “I feel so much better knowing that I can meet all of my students’ needs, whether they know it or Continued as Seminar On Page 12


April 2013

Renaissance

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Independent Studies Offer Unique Experiences for Students Jacob Foreman Staff Writer

What does Sarah Thomas (Jr.) do for class credit? Graffiti. Yes, Sarah Thomas designs stencils for a graffiti independent study and then spray paints them to complete her projects. The graffiti class taught by Chris King is one of many independent studies currently offered at LSMSA. Independent studies are classes organized by students that allow students to study a specific topic that is not covered in a regularly scheduled class. Independent studies can cover topics ranging from graffiti to advanced physics. Independent studies are built into the curriculum of LSMSA to allow students to prosper in certain areas of academics beyond the expansive standard curriculum at the Louisiana School. Thomas’s graffiti inde-

pendent study, instructed by Mr. King, began as an introduction to the origins of graffiti to develop an appreciation for graffiti and graffiti styles. The independent study then progressed into allowing each student to develop his or her own style and designs. “I really enjoy this independent study because graffiti is often misunderstood and stigmatized, yet it was really cool to be able to learn about the artistic basis of graffiti and its origins,” said Thomas. “I think that classes like this are very important because they allow students to learn about things that are ‘taboo’ in an educational and artistic way.” Not all independent studies are for artistic purposes. “Independent studies are great because they show that you are taking an initiative toward a

career path that you are interested in,” explained Claire Young (Soph.). Young is currently one of three students enrolled in an Introduction to Financial Accounting independent study taught by Mr. David Zolzer. The purpose of this independent study is to expose students to basic accounting principles and methods and is designed as the first part of a comprehensive accounting course. “I have always been interested in learning about accounting because it is an extremely useful topic in everyday life, yet LSMSA and most other schools do not regularly offer an accounting course,” stated Young. “Without the option of independent studies, I would have never been able to explore my interest in the field of accounting.” Independent studies

Sarah Thomas (Jr.) with one of her graffiti projects Photos by Carlie Procell

can often cover topics well above high school level. Bronson Schoen (Sr.) and other students participated in a Mathematical Tools for Physics independent study last semester. The Mathematical Tools for Physics course

covered advanced concepts in calculus and applied physics. Continued as Ind. Studies On Page 12

Boarding School Problems: Food Allison Smith Staff Writer

You know that feeling when you’re craving something? You would give anything to just have a bite of that mac and cheese or a shred of a piece of toast. Most people would walk to their pantry and put together their next meal. LSMSA students, however, go about a different way of getting their favorite foods. At the Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts, students have three options when it comes to their daily meals.

They can A) go to the cafeteria, B) order takeout, or C) brave the kitchens and concoct a meal of their own. The cafeteria tends to get the most visitors, but when a history exam is looming you will see the Dominos delivery guy making many a trip to both the dorms. Only the best of the best take on the kitchen and even when it happens it’s akin the most recent episode of Top Chef. If residing in Caddo there’s a 50/50 chance that you will wind up in the parking lot because of a

fire alarm going off; if residing in Prudhomme chances are you are heating up a bowl of ramen. Aside from ramen the students of LSMSA all have their staple foods. Elisa Murillo (Sr.) eat oreos and pickles together whereas DeJhane Lee (Jr.) prefers to stick to the frozen pizza. When the cafeteria is out of milk, TreVonne Skillern (Jr.) eats his cereal with apple juice. Many students have found ways to make new, tasty alternatives to the usual peanut butter and jelly.

1. LSMSA Cafeteria. 2. Domino’s Pizza logo 3. Blake Brunson (Jr.) in the Prudhomme kitchen Photos by Brian Kim

Overall, though, students would not change the experience because

what’s better than bonding over breadsticks and day old pizza.


Page 12 Holi

Foundation

During the event, Indian music blasted throughout Eagle field, and Indigo Club sold Mango Lasses, a common Indian beverage made with mango pulp and milk. While the event itself was filled with excitement, the real joy for Indigo Club is not the event itself, but the fact that they will donate the money they raised to the Lion’s Blind Girl’s School in India. The club raised approximately $200 during the event. “The mission of Indigo is to give back to charities in need,” said Shah. “We chose the Lions Club because it seemed like our donations could do a lot of good for the charity.” Holi is one of many examples of the influence of clubs at this school. Student-run clubs hold multiple events at LSMSA for student enjoyment. In addition, Holi exemplifies the ethnic diversity that constitutes LSMSA.

As many of the Foundation members may know, the educational experience at LSMSA is not easy. More often than not, we find ourselves overwhelmed with stress, and it is during times like these that a pristine gym floor or a scenic amphitheater can give us the motivation that we need to get through the week. We are also well aware of the future plans for new dormitories and the role that the Foundation has played in initiating this project. Unfortunately, we will not be here to witness the construction of the buildings, but we are still excited by the fact that future LSMSA students will have the opportunity to live in much better dorms than those in which we currently live. The ambition and enthusiasm of the Foundation has had an effect on us all. Through the persistent work of the Foundation, we are more

Renaissance excited to give back to the school once we graduate. We recognize the influence that the Foundation can have on this school, and we want to be future members of such an organization. Once again, we thank the Foundation for all that it has done and for future projects it plans to do.

SQB School. Sitting in a big auditorium in front of a crowd of parents, engineers, and other scientists, the LSMSA science quiz bowl team prepared for the final showdown. The championship game could not have been closer and more intense. The LSMSA team fell behind early in the game but somehow found themselves only 10 points down. However, the game ended and LSMSA lost by 10 points, which translates to the difference of one question. “Even though we lost, I am proud of the effort our students put into preparing for this competition,” said Hynes. “The final game was very intense and we only lost

by one question. We still placed second, and that is a great feat in itself.”

Seminar not,” said Ms. Lentz. Ms. Allen also offered an additional reason to initiate the Seminar course, saying essentially that the innumerable parcels of mail, notifications, and brochures that students receive via various platforms of technology seemingly render them unable to sort through and distinguish what is important, what is true, and what they need. Therefore, a more personal, face-to-face instruction—such as a seminar course—seemed to be a more efficient manner of providing vital information to students. With such intensive and thoughtful counseling programs provided to public school students,

April 2013 the Louisiana School and its counselors have set an example in the state for more organized, efficient, and personal college counseling.

Ind. Studies “Even with the advanced math and science courses offered here, this independent study allowed us to learn mathematical concepts that most people would not cover until well into college,” said Schoen. Even with the myriad of courses offered at LSMSA, independent studies are among the factors that set the Louisiana School apart from most other high schools. Independent studies allow students to personalize their academic journey through high school and explore topics that they may pursue in the future.

Renaissance 715 University Parkway Natchitoches, LA 71457

Dr. Arthur Williams Faculty Sponsor

Kyle Welch Assistant Editor

Brian Kim Editor in Chief

Carlie Procell Layout Editor

Staff Writers Allison Smith

Jacob Foreman

Students get ready for the after-party following prom Photo by Austin McMichael


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