Elaine Pool Archives - SB Magazine

STUDENT SECTION: Caddo Parish Students of the Year

SB Magazine — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 18:31:20 +0000

School is hard when students start out – whether entering Kindergarten, sixth grade, ninth grade, or graduating and looking towards their futures. Students have to sit at desks, pay attention, cooperate, be nice, and, oh yes – Learn Things. It’s no wonder the state-wide test scores are a concern to school and district administrators.

But sometimes, students manage all these tasks, plus many more, and make it seem and look easy. They achieve academically, are involved in extracurricular activities, have no discipline issues, and are well-regarded by their teachers. SB Magazine is proud to highlight three of these students, Caddo Parish’s Students of the Year for 2023 – 2024.

THEY ARE 5TH GRADER BHAVIK KONDALA, 8TH GRADER LUKA MIKABERIDZE, AND 12TH GRADER ANALYCE JEANE.

Bhavik is an 11-year-old student at Eden Gardens Magnet Elementary

who is in the Gifted and Talented Arts programs at school and has had straight A’s his entire life. He plays tennis and soccer, loves art, and is a serious rock collector. Introduced to rocks by his 4th-grade teacher, he has attended the area’s Gem and Mineral Show and has purchased several semi-precious stones, such as rose quartz and amethyst geodes. Bhavik is a chicken wing lover, a reader of fantasy books, a video game player, and a local Orff instrument group member. He is a member of his school’s cross-country team and Lighthouse Club, a leadership organization.

College plans for Bhavik include going to Duke University; he says that the school excels in academics and sports. He wants to be an anesthesiologist like his mom. She has shared several child-based books on the subject, which Bhavik has read and finds very interesting. He is good at soccer and tennis, is a Boy Scout, and loves giving back to his community and respecting nature. His favorite subject is Social Studies; he has had a passion for history and geography since he was young. Math is a close second to Social Studies; he believes that math teaches one “real-world skills.” He doesn’t have a least favorite – he likes all of his school subjects.

To Bhavik, the hardest thing about 5th grade is how organized one has to be: staying prepared and mentally strong. He said that 5th grade “preps you for middle and high school; you can’t have bad habits.” The best thing about 5th grade is the graduation and finale, which includes a field trip and party. He would like to advise younger students to “keep doing what you are doing to be successful. Be organized and prepared; even if you hit a brick wall, you can still achieve if you don’t give up.”

Eighth-grader Luka is a student & at Caddo Middle Magnet

Who is also in the Gifted program at school. While he currently has straight A’s, he admits that he might have gotten three B’s while in the 3rd grade. His favorite subjects are Science and Math; he wants to be an astronomer or astrophysicist. He says that “all our problems can be solved by space. I want to make a major contribution.” He sees himselfas an adult “in a room doing math and science, and figuring out the mysteries of the world and helping the world.” He likes all his other subjects equally. For fun, Luka says, “all academics are fun.” He likes working with Legos, is on the Quiz Bowl for the area, and loves to fence. He is a Boy Scout and will soon be an Eagle Scout. His fellow Scouts have been his best friends since elementary school; he loves hiking and connecting with the outside world.

Luka enjoys reading the classics “Mysterious Island,” “Kim,” and “Animal Farm,” and works by Alexandre Dumas, J. D. Salinger, and Jules Verne. In the classics, they had a different way of thinking.” He plays the French Horn, listens to classical music, and is in the Honor Band. “Music is another way to let emotions out.” The “Star Wars” franchise is his absolute favorite, plus he collects Star Wars Lego action figures.

The hardest thing about 8th grade, Luka feels, is the responsibility. “I suddenly have a lot more responsibility in this grade: becoming more independent, transitioning to High School, and moving toward complete independence.” The easiest thing for him is his friend relationships. “I’ve known them so long we can tell each other anything.” He says that he is good at board games and has even invented one of his own. He said that every night is game night or movie night at his house. He advises younger students: “Don’t just follow dreams but push toward them. If you want to become the best in your field, don’t slack off. Believe in yourself and persevere 150%. Pour your passion into your soul – that’s how you achieve things in life.”

Analyce is a 17-year-old Senior in high school

who not only has career goals firmly in place, but she also has created several local and school-based organizations and fundraisers to benefit her community. After her mother’s successful battle against cancer, Analyce founded a fundraising campaign called “Cupcakes for a Cure,” designed to raise money for access to mammography for women. In October, she baked, decorated, and sold cupcakes to help fund mammogram equipment; from 2020 to 2023, over $5000 was raised for the North Caddo Medical Center for their Mammography Center. Analyce founded the P-7 club in her sophomore year, a faith-based group designed to give students access to Bible devotionals and outreach. She is also on the Student Council, Interact Club, Beta Club, Environmental Club, Yearbook staff, Million Word Club, North Caddo Scholars, Educators Rising, and National Honor Society. She is academically in the Gifted and Talented Arts programs for Music and Drama. Analyce has been involved in Mission projects including Reach Out America, to benefit victims of the Maui fire.

Analyce is looking forward to a career in education; she plans to attend Louisiana State University in Shreveport for her undergraduate and master’s degrees. Her goal is to be an elementary school teacher at North Caddo Elementary/Middle School. A native of Vivian, she loves her community and would love the opportunity to continue serving it as an adult and making a difference in the area. She is an avid reader, loves crawfish and old musicals, and has a passion for music. She has been playing piano since she was six years old, has served as a worship leader and pianist for her church, loves to sing, and enjoys traveling on family vacations. Her favorite subject is English; she loves writing and communicating with others through writing. If she were made to choose a least favorite subject, she would pick “maybe Science?”

The best thing about being a Senior, to Analyce, is being able to be an example for her lower classmates. She is always working on growing her skills. She is not looking forward to leaving the connections she’s made in high school, nor the organizations she’s helped create and been a part of. She has a twin brother who is neck-and-neck in the race with her towards Valedictorian; she calls him her best friend. Her advice to a past self is this: “Trials will be footsteps toward your future success and involvement.” Analyce is centered, optimistic, happy, and looking forward to what the future has in store for her.

The process to become Student of the Year is rigorous. After being nominated by a teacher and selected at the school level, the students must submit essays and educational achievements, undergo interviews, and show themselves as leaders in their grades. Once selected at the district level, the students compete at the state level in hopes of becoming the state-wide Students of the Year. Our best wishes are for these students to achieve this goal in their life-long journeys toward greatness.

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STUDENT SECTION: Luke Armstrong

SB Magazine — Wed, 29 May 2024 19:10:00 +0000

By Elaine Pool

For an 8th grader, organization is key. Keeping up with all the schoolwork, sports, assigned books, and simply having fun all require a certain amount of organization. SB Magazine’s private Student of the Month has a fickle relationship with organization; while Luke Armstrong knows just how important that skill is, he sometimes tends to go to the extreme. He is a self-described perfectionist; he is very particular, needs a clean room to function, and might lean toward obsessiveness sometimes. Yet he admits that this perfectionism helps him keep his life organized. He says that he couldn’t juggle his academics and playing sports without staying organized and using good time management. Luke loves sports but said that his academic career would be much easier without the time spent on sports activities.

Regarding subjects at Calvary Baptist Academy, Luke said that he loves math; it has always come naturally to him, and he enjoys numbers. His least favorite subject is English; while he likes to read, he has a “love/hate relationship with reading.” He does enjoy writing from time to time but acknowledges that it is a lot of work. His favorite books to read include sports books, the Bible, and the Chronicles of Narnia, but sometimes he has to force himself to read. He has no problem finding things he likes to do, however. He plays baseball, basketball, football, piano, and guitar. He will look up music on YouTube for inspiration or technique assistance.

Travius is a basketball-loving student; he enjoys playing basketball video games, as well as playing live basketball. His position is small forward, which puts him in the company of basketball greats Julius Erving, LeBron James, and Larry Bird. His plan is to continue playing basketball in high school and beyond; his immediate goal is attending Huntington High School and making their team. Travius is looking forward to high school and plans to play basketball for the NBA eventually.

A quiet, shy student, Travius is the older brother of several sisters, 2 of whom live in the home with him, and one brother, who lives with their father. Travius’ favorite food is spaghetti, and he likes to work math problems; he says that Math and Social Studies are his favorite subjects in school. He gave a “shout-out” to his ELA teacher, Ms. Pruitt, and his Math teacher, Ms. Murray. While he is thinking of using his math skills for banking or other financial activities, his one true love remains basketball. Travius comes alive when asked about basketball.

Luke’s music choices are eclectic; he likes to listen to and play worship music, mellow country music, and pop music. His movie and TV choices include Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson, the Marvel Universe, and “Stranger Things.” Luke’s favorite thing about 8th grade is the freedom this grade gets. There is a lot of freedom, such as being able to access the vending machines after lunch for his favorites, Dr. Pepper and Sour Patch candies. Luke loves Subway restaurants, particularly their chocolate chip cookies. He is also a fan of hibachi grilled food. Juggling all his sports and academics is the hardest thing about being in 8th grade.

Luke began his academic career at Fairfield Magnet Elementary and moved to Providence Classical Academy for 6th and 7th grades. This is his first year at Calvary, and he really enjoys it. He says that there are more opportunities, such as sports, and more people at the school.

When asked about his career goals, Luke said his first choice would be to go professional in a sport. If not sports, he plans to become a “doctor of some kind.” He listed his strengths as being smart, athletic, and loving Jesus. He is still undecided about where he will attend high school but is leaning toward Calvary to finish his pre-college education. Luke had some specific advice to give his younger self if he could. “Stay focused on Jesus and the things you can control about yourself.” He quoted a favorite saying of his dad’s as his best advice: “Control the controllable,” which he uses throughout his life, at school, home, and church.

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THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE: BUILDING BRIDGES

SB Magazine — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 00:01:55 +0000

By Elaine Pool

“A wish is something you would like to see. A dream is something you would work hard for. A plan is the bridge between a wish and a dream. Consistent execution is the bridge between your dream and reality.” When there’s an educator who functions under philosophies like these, you know you’ve got a winner. Dr. Bill Ray is an educator (he dislikes the title teacher) at Word of God Academy and this month’s private school Educator of the Month. He works under the mindset that he is in the classroom not only to impart knowledge but also to get his high-school students ready for the “real world.” To that end, his subjects include Senior Math, also called consumer math. He wants his students to be serious about learning because they are “practicing to be adults.”

Part of Bill’s goal as an instructor is never to let his students fail so badly, they can’t recover. He wants them to have a return path to excellence. He believes that giving kids second chances can literally transform their lives. His previous experience was as an Assistant Professor at Louisiana Tech University while simultaneously achieving his Doctor of Engineering at La. Tech. He spent 28 years at La. Tech, retired from there, and moved straight to Word of God Academy. Bill teaches everything math: Algebra, Senior Math, Physics, and Computer Programming. He says, “Algebra is my hammer; I still have my math.”

Bill is most proud of his “A/B or retry” policy, allowing students to retake a test until they achieve at least a “B” on it. He says, “That way, they master the knowledge.” He related a story of one of his university students who struggled for several years but never gave up. Upon graduation, the student brought his parents to meet Bill, telling them, “This is Dr. Ray. He’s the reason I graduated college.” Bill prefers to be called a professor: “I profess knowledge.”

Bill likes to cite Dave Ramsey, author, and financial advisor, by saying, “Adults make a plan and follow the plan. Children do whatever feels good in the moment.” His best moments are when he sees his students’ faces when he has “stamped out the little fire of ignorance.” He aims to get them ready for adulthood, for total independence financially.

Bill is one who did not take the traditional path towards being a teacher. Upon receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, he worked in the private sector for eight years before beginning his journey as a college professor and doctoral student. His doctorate took him twelve years due to being a full-time Assistant Professor at La. Tech, all the while commuting from Shreveport on a daily basis. Upon retirement, he realized that it was almost impossible to be a new hire as an engineer at his age, so he came on board at Word of God Academy.

What keeps Bill showing up? It’s not the money, of course; it’s the interactions with the kids. “I teach for the opportunity to annoy children. I get to make an impact on children. You can’t make someone learn something, but you can make them memorize something.”

Bill’s words of advice to students include this: “Have fun but don’t take life seriously. Have fun but live on purpose; recognize you’re prepping for a future. You will never have such great opportunities; food, clothing, and shelter all are provided to you. All you have to do is prepare yourself for when they (parents) are not doing it for you.”

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THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE: SPECIAL NEEDS

SB Magazine — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 23:57:50 +0000

By Elaine Pool

The road to becoming a teacher is not always a straight one. Someone can head in one direction, focused on a certain major in college and graduate school, then make a U-turn into something completely different. That happened with Tonya King, SB Magazine’s public-school Educator of the Month. Tonya has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology and counseling and had planned to be a psychologist or Human Resources specialist in the business world. Then she walked into a classroom and began teaching, and her life changed totally. She fell completely in love with her students and with teaching.

Tonya started teaching at Sunset Acres Elementary School in Special Education and stayed there for five years. She moved to Desoto Parish schools for a five-year stint in regular education, then returned to Caddo Parish. She is once again a Special Education teacher at Keithville Elementary/Middle School and loves her job. She loves Caddo Parish Schools because the school system is so family-friendly. Her favorite part of teaching special needs students is being able to work more closely and individually with her students, have a deeper relationship with them, and see them blossom. She works hard to help them grow, with the goal of helping them move into classrooms with their peers. The hardest part of her job is having to say goodbye to them when they “age out” of her classroom. Wanting the best for them, however, Tonya knows they need to move on, so she makes sure they are ready.

Teaching special-needs children isn’t always a piece of cake. Instruction must be differentiated for each student because the same teaching methods don’t always work for every student. And, as Tonya’s goal is to help them move toward regular education classrooms, she often has to say goodbye to children she is in love with. Because she loves them, she wants the best for them. Tonya has had to help students transition to more specialized classrooms when her class isn’t the best fit for them and their needs. Her hardest experience was working with a student who had a significant amount of Autism. While the child was intelligent, they were very emotionally volatile, and Tonya’s classroom wasn’t meeting their needs. She had to advocate for the child with parents and school personnel to help them get the correct and needed placement.

Tonya works hard for and with her kids; she communicates with parents to ensure the lessons carry over and are reinforced at home. She must track and analyze test results to monitor progress and often creates Google slides of each lesson so the students can follow the lesson visually.

She says, “The kids are what keeps me showing up to school. I love the kids!” Tonya has a super-bubbly personality; she can be goofy and have fun with her students, which elementary children really like and respond to. She tells her students that she loves them all day long to ensure that they hear that as much as possible, even if they don’t hear it at home a lot. The love Tonya shows her students is evident when watching her interact with them. The children respect her and the rules, follow directions to the best of their abilities, and come up for hugs frequently during the day.

When asked to give advice to someone who might be considering a teaching career, Tonya suggested that they go and observe multiple public schools; not every school and grade level is the same. If Tonya could give advice to her 22-year-old self, she would tell young Tonya to major in Education from the beginning rather than Psychology and save the student loans! That’s some serious wisdom from a voice of experience.

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STUDENT SECTION: Travius Taylor.

SB Magazine — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:26:40 +0000

By Elaine Pool

Middle school can be tough. Really tough. Middle schoolers sometimes can feel stuck between being a kid and being a grownup, or at least a teenager. There are major biological changes going on, like hormones, acne, hair growing in new places, and those ever-popular mood swings. Then there are the girls, or boys, that enter the picture and make life even more complicated. But there’s one middle school student who doesn’t seem fazed by all this adolescent confusion, who’s making it look pretty easy.

SB Magazine’s Student of the Month is a middle schooler named Travius Taylor. Travius is in the eighth grade at Turner Elementary-Middle School in Shreveport. Travius’ English Language Arts (ELA) teacher, Elizabeth Pruitt, nominated him for this month’s student focus. Ms. Pruitt is quite proud of Travius, stating that he has good grades, is shy and quiet, and works hard. Ms. Pruitt said this about her student: “He has a good, strong, work ethic and good manners. He is everything you would want in a student.”

He easily names his favorite college and professional teams and has stated that he’d like to play for Alabama someday.

Travius says he is reading the Harry Potter series when asked about literary interests. The last movie he saw was the Barbie movie, due to the influence exerted by his younger sisters. He enjoys spending time with his grandmother and said that they play one-on-one basketball frequently. His grandmother often beats him in the games, in no small part because she played basketball herself.

When asked about middle school versus elementary school, Travius said that elementary school was much easier; middle school requires more work. Sometimes he will complete extra work or make-up work to help keep his grades good. ELA is the hardest for him, due to having to remember so much of what he reads. Science can also be difficult because he must remember equations for various chemicals in that class.

Travius doesn’t seem bothered by all the possible travails that accompany adolescence. He is an easygoing boy who knows what he must do to keep his grades up, does it, and moves on to the next thing. While he doesn’t currently have a girlfriend, he doesn’t seem worried about it. Basketball is his “center;” it keeps him grounded in his core, and is helping him be successful at school, much to the delight of his teachers. We should all be so fortunate!

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