RSS Feed

Paul Ortis passed away Aug. 5, 2017, at home at age 84. He was a resident of Plaquemine and a native of Bayou Chene.

Visiting will be at Wilbert Funeral Home, Plaquemine, on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. until religious services at 10:30 a.m., conducted by Pastor Tim Webb. Interment will follow at Grace Memorial Park, Plaquemine.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Loretta Devillier Ortis; children Sharon Newsham, Thomas Ortis and Jenise Ortis; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; four brothers; and three sisters.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Azema Guidry Ortis; and sisters Yvonne Balmeda and Noelie “Sug” Carlin.

Pallbearers will be Shelby Orits, Enrique Flores, Gage Dalbor, Eddie Young, Kevin Ortis and A.P. Carlin.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to you charity of choice

Two students from the Tri-City area were among 674 students who received diplomas at LSU's summer commencement Friday.

LSU alumnus and culinary entrepreneur Jay Ducote delivered the keynote address.

LSU President F. King Alexander, who presided over the ceremony, congratulated the graduates and reminded them of their responsibilities as some of the world’s most educated citizens that they should do their part to make the world a better place.

“You have the tools, you have the skills, you have the talent to do so, and the benefits you reap can impact not only your own life but may have ripple effects around this world,” Alexander said. “Every one of you joining us today know that we have great faith in all that you have accomplished.”

Alexander wished the graduates the best of luck in all their future endeavors.

“Your LSU family ... will take great pride in everything you accomplish in your lifetime no matter where you are. Remember that you are never alone in this path toward success and global impact. Your alma mater forever stands strong behind you,” he said.

LSU President F. King Alexander congratulates Baton Rouge-native Lauren McKowen, who received a University Medal for graduating with the highest undergraduate grade-point average in the class.Photo: LSU

LSU continues to set records with each commencement class. This was the largest summer graduating class of African American students ever, including tying for the highest number of doctoral degrees awarded to African American students for a summer commencement.

The graduates from local communities were:

Assumption Parish
Graduate School
(Doctorate)
Veta E Parker, Labadieville

St. Martin Parish
College of Agriculture
Leanne Paige Guidry, Sunset
College of Humanities and Social Science
Mark Reynaldo Landry, St. Martinville
Graduate School
(Master's Degree)
Jace P Courville, Breaux Bridge

St. Mary Parish
College of Agriculture
Teara Shalaneal Robinson, Franklin
Catherine Rose Russo, Morgan City
College of Art
and Design
Morgan Lee Gray, Berwick
Manship School
of Mass Communication
Gabriella Monique Darden, Charenton

Summer vacation is officially over for St. Mary Parish as every school, including the new Patterson Junior High, opened Tuesday for the first day of school.
Pre-kindergarten, elementary, and middle school students will have improvements to their curriculum to match the state targets.
Pre-kindergarten will have overall improved curriculum while elementary and middle school students will have an improved math curriculum.
The school calendar has no changes from the previous years. There are 10 emergency dates set in the event of a hurricane or tropical storm that will cause school closure.
One highlight of the year is the opening of the new $18.5 million Patterson Junior High. Construction is still underway, but the progress has been sufficient to allow for classes to begin there Tuesday.
There is no clear prediction on whether enrollment numbers for students will increase or decrease, but Leonard Armato, superintendent of the St. Mary Parish school board, said that the district doesn’t want to lose any students.
“We are hoping to maintain an even level with last year given with the economy the way it is,” said Armato
Armato said that the district lost 400 kids in the 2016-17 school year and doesn’t want to see that enrollment decrease this year. Enrollment in schools affects the Minimum Foundation Program numbers in the district which in turns affects funding.
Last year’s decrease in enrollment did not affect the budget of the district significantly but possible decreases in enrollment in the future will eventually affect the budget.
The first school board meeting for the year will be at 5p.m. Thursday at the St. Mary Parish School Board Central Office Complex in Centerville.

MILES CITY, Mont. (AP) — Anyone who walks into first-grade teacher Pam Holland’s classroom in Garfield Elementary School in Miles City will notice the bright colors on every wall, posters galore and the odd-looking furniture throughout the room.
With the help of several donors Holland was able to purchase several new pieces of classroom furniture — a pedal desk, and a sit-and-spin desk.
In Holland’s classroom, the traditional plastic straight-backed chairs have almost been completely replaced with alternative seating such as wobble seats, exercise balls, the peddle desk, and the sit-and-spin desk.
“This whole thing started because my classroom this year has some high-needs kiddos. In terms of needing to be able to move throughout the course of their day ... I have some kids who were outwardly active and off-task a fair amount. What I found when I started doing research was that kinesthetic classrooms are not just for those kids who have issues with attention and issues with activity levels,” said Holland.
According to Holland, the movement allowed by the seating in her classroom also helps with juvenile obesity.
“It’s not just those kids who have behavioral issues or attention issues or weight issues. All kids benefit from it,” she said.
Holland reached out to the community to assist with the equipment because the district didn’t have the extra funds.
According to Holland, she took it upon herself to write a grant in her own time to submit to local community organizations. Before submitting it, she ran it by Garfield Elementary School Principal Josh Patterson, who gave her the go-ahead.
“So far it’s been really great,” said Patterson. “It’s beneficial for all students.”
According to Patterson, there are several other teachers who are excited about the alternative seating options.
Holland submitted the grant to the Holy Rosary Healthcare Foundation, a donor who wanted to remain anonymous, and a couple of foundations in town, as well as to Al and Lucy Homme, Dennis Mullen, and Dr. Ed and Janet Young.
“I’ve never done something like this,” said Holland. “I kind of submitted it all over the place because I just didn’t know how people would respond.”
The Holy Rosary Healthcare Foundation was the biggest donor for the pedal desk. They donated $1,150 toward the purchase of the pedal desk while the anonymous donor purchased the sit-and-spin desk for the classroom.
According to Jackie Muri, the foundation’s executive director, for the past three years they’ve had a program that sets aside money for community projects.
What really impressed the foundation, Muri said, was that Holland had done her research on the options for her students.
“It seems expensive, but it’s a small investment to help the kids be successful,” Muri said in a phone interview.
“Ideally what you want in a kinesthetic classroom is for movement to be incorporated throughout the entire day,” said Holland. “It’s not just a one shot does it all.”
According to Holland, she found during her research that movement actually improves brain function, increases the ability for a child to stay on task, increases concentration, and helps improve memory. In addition, the children in kinesthetic classrooms have been found to be happier to be at school.
During her research, she signed up for a class called School Moves.
According to the School Moves website, it is a class that provides strategies for focus, learning, ADHD, reading challenges and sensory issues.
The research Holland did also suggests the benefits extend to older students as well, all the way up to high school students.
The only concern that Holland had was creating a schedule for her 17 students to take turns on the pedal desk and the sit-and-spin. Currently they get a turn on the peddle desk about once every three days.
“I have seen kids with behavioral issues respond very positively. I’ve seen a decrease in negative behavior in my classroom,” said Holland.
Alternative seating is not the only change Holland has made in her classroom.
Along with the seating she’s added kinesthetic stations throughout the room. Some of those stations are smiley jumps, figure eights and balance boards.
The smiley jumps have the students put their hands on their hips and jump from side-to-side over a line. According to Holland, in addition to moving they’re also tracking with their eyes from left to right just like reading. The figure eight station is where they sit on the floor with a wooden figure eight and keep the marble rolling in a figure eight pattern. That’s teaching them to cross the midline and is a focusing tool. Being able to cross the midline is an important developmental skill. It’s needed to tie shoelaces and to participate in sports.
Holland’s classroom also features balance boards. The kids take the balance board and a reading passage. They stand and balance while reading. It’s called heavy work. The idea is if your body is doing heavy work while it’s learning to do something it helps the body tie it all together. It’s easier for them to remember and retrieve the information. They usually do this with a partner.
Holland has also taught her students a breathing exercise called Heart to Home. This helps the students when they feel stressed in the classroom.
According to Holland, they start each day by going to the gym. They have a vocabulary list every week and they do wall push-ups with the list in front of them. When they go down they say the word, and they say it again when they come up. They then run four laps and walk one. In the beginning there were several students who couldn’t run all the laps but now every student can run them.
According to Holland, the students like the exercise aspect, and being able to focus. She said they also think it’s fun.
“My goal is to do more with this. Actually my kids had the peddle desk for about two weeks and they said to me if you could find a little more money we would really like another one of these,” said Holland.
Holland said she has received nothing but positive feedback about the kinesthetic classroom from parents, teachers and students.
According to Holland, a few other teachers at Garfield are now working on their own grants.
“We try as instructors to meet every kid’s needs. What I found was by meeting my highest kid’s need I could meet everybody’s,” said Holland. “I can’t say enough for the people who donated. I don’t have enough thank-yous. The changes I’ve seen in my classroom have been phenomenal.”