Under the guidance of Dr. Bagwell, district staff members have put together a Professional Development Planning Document for Summer 2018 and the 2018-19 school year.  This document is a "living" document that will be updated during the year and can be used for your planning purposes. 

Users can download a copy for their own use from the document's location in Blackboard's St. Mary Parish Intranet site by following this path:  Professional Development | District Staff Development Links | Professional Development Planning Document (2018-19).  A direct link to the file's location can also be found in Announcements. 

Ms. Laine Mayon, curriculum facilitator at Berwick Elementary School, was congratulated as the recipient of the $1000 Horace Mann/LAP Aspiring Principal Scholarship at the regular meeting of the St. Mary Parish School Board on May 10, 2018. 

The scholarship is presented each year to an educator who has shown an interest in becoming a principal or who is currently working toward certification as a principal. An applicant's principal must be a member of the Louisiana Association of Principals, and the award may be used for tuition, professional growth, conferences, or textbook expenses. 

Ms. Mayon, a Nicholls State University graduate and a St. Mary Parish educator for 14 years, is a member of the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (A+PEL) and the School Building Level Committee at BES. She is a National Board Certified teacher and was named Teacher of the Year at Wyandotte Elementary School in 2011. 

At the regular meeting of the St. Mary Parish School Board on May 10, 2018, Ms. Sarah Broussard, district Program Manager for ELA, introduced the Top Word Millionaires for elementary and secondary schools. 

Special congratulations were extended to

• Elementary Top Word Millionaire: Christopher Roberson, 5th Grade (Berwick Elementary School) and Ms. Micah Kelly, school librarian.
• Secondary Top Word Millionaire: Eli Schmidt, 9th Grade (Berwick High School) and Ms. Kimberly Vasquez, school librarian.
• Most Word Millionaires:  Morgan City Junior High School (33 students and 6 adults)

The goal of the Word Millionaire program has been to encourage reading district-wide and to recognize accomplishments that were documented through the Accelerated Reader program. In total, the district boasts 221 individual word millionaires who read 331,950,225 words. 

Congratulations to the district's Principals of the Year for 2018-19, who were recognized at the May 10, 2018, meeting of the St. Mary Parish School Board: 

As part of its regular meeting on Thursday, May 10, 2018, the St. Mary Parish School Board recognized and congratulated the following individuals:

• Student of the Month: Mallory Menard, 5th Grade (Berwick Elementary School)
• Student of the Month: Riley Jackson, 5th Grade (M.E. Norman Elementary School)

• Employee of the Month: Ms. Kathryn Taylor, Bookkeeper (Berwick Elementary School)
• Employee of the Month: Ms. Becky Wiggins, Pre-K Teacher (M.E. Norman Elementary School)

Congratulations to these outstanding St. Mary Parish students and employees.

The St. Mary Parish Virtual Learning Program will once again offer its Summer Learning Institute, a program that allows students to take advantage of the summer break by enrolling in new courses or retaking courses for high school credit.

Courses offered during the Summer Learning Institute’s 6-week session are condensed versions of the same high-quality, instructor-supported courses offered by the Virtual Learning Program during the school year. Successful students will find themselves working 10 to 20 hours each week, depending on the intensity of the course selected.  They can work from home on their own computers or use portable devices to work from other locations like a hotel room or a relative’s house. The flexible nature of online courses means that students can still participate in normal summer activities if time is also allocated to keep up with the weekly course schedule. 

While traditional summer school is usually restricted to students with remediation needs, the SMPVLP Summer Learning Institute encourages students to consider enrolling in a course if

• The course is not offered at their assigned school.
• Their schedules are too full to add fun or unusual electives.
• They have failed a course and wish to retake it to avoid falling behind.
• Schedule conflicts are preventing students from taking a required course.

Enrollment in SLI is open to high school students attending public, private, or charter schools. For students in St. Mary Parish, applications can be obtained from a student's school counselor and will be accepted from May 22 through June 7, 2018. A personal check or money order made out to the St. Mary Parish School Board must accompany each application. All applications must be approved by the school principal and school counselor.

All courses begin on Monday, June 4, 2018. More information is available on the Summer Learning Institute webpage.

The Red Ribbon Committee congratulates Miss Emily Rogers (Hanson Memorial High School) as the Grand Champion Winner for the 2018 Red Ribbon Drawing Contest.  Emily’s artwork will be featured on the annual Red Ribbon T-shirt and on the cover of the annual Red Ribbon Calendar.  

Congratulations are also extended to additional winners who will have their artwork featured in the annual Red Ribbon Calendar:

• Ryann Caruso, Kindergarten (M. E. Norman Elementary) 
• Paityn Bibbins, 1st grade (St. John Elementary)
• Zoe Hepler, 2nd grade (Holy Cross Elementary)
• Astrid Sanchez, 3rd grade (J. S. Aucoin Elementary)
• Danielle Hillebrandt, 4th grade (Berwick Elementary)
• Sherley Perez-Deleon, 5th grade (J.S. Aucoin Elementary)
• Caidynce Hebert, 5th grade (Wyandotte Elementary)
• Grace Faucheux, 7th grade (Hanson Memorial) 
• Jaci Hebert, 8th grade (Berwick Junior High) 
• Carlee Sinitiere, 10th grade (Hanson Memorial) 
• Amanda Turner, 2nd grade Teacher (Berwick Elementary) 
• Allison Burgess, 3rd grade Teacher (Chitimacha Tribal School) 

All winners will be recognized at the May 10, 2018, St. Mary Parish School Board meeting, which begins at 5:00 PM.  The public is invited to attend and show support for these talented winners. 

The St. Mary Parish School Board approved the following proclamations at its regular meeting on April 12. 2018:

• School Lunch Hero (May 4, 2019): Presented by Ms. Claire Guarisco
• School Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week (May 7-11, 2018): Presented by Ms. Claire Guarisco

As part of its regular meeting on Thursday, April 12, 2018, the St. Mary Parish School Board recognized and congratulated the following individuals:

• Student of the Month: Tyler Green, 5th Grade (Centerville Elementary School)
• Student of the Month: Keaton Chaisson, 5th Grade (Patterson Junior High School)
• Student of the Month: Jamari Francis, 8th Grade (Patterson Junior High School)
• Student of the Month: Raelyn Nicole Dupre, 12th Grade (West St. Mary High School)

• Employee of the Month: Ms. Angela Brinkley, Curriculum Facilitator (Centerville Elementary School)
• Employee of the Month: Ms. Marie Matthews, Teacher (Patterson Junior High School)
• Employee of the Month: Ms. Carey Martin, School Counselor (West St. Mary High School)

Congratulations to these outstanding St. Mary Parish students and employees.

St. Mary Parish was included in a list of the ten safest districts in Louisiana for 2018, according to a report from niche.com, a website that leverages data sets to produce rankings, report cards, and profiles of schools and neighborhoods.

The results, which were also reported in the Daily Advertiser, were determined based on data including parent and student surveys, expenses per student, absenteeism, suspensions and expulsions, law enforcement referrals, and arrests for school-related incidents. 

The 10 safest districts in Louisiana, according to the report, are:

1. Central Community Public Schools
2. Zachary Community Public Schools
3. Community School for Apprenticeship Learning
4. DeSoto Parish Public Schools
5. Friends of King in New Orleans
6. Bienville Parish Public Schools
7. St. Charles Parish Public Schools
8. Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy Foundation
9. Monroe City Public Schools
10. St. Mary Parish Public Schools