Advanced Building Products,

Frank McArdle, Teche Electric

Supply, Acadian Custom Installa-

tions, and Southern Plantation

Shutters. The students pre-

sented them with Brailled

thank you cards and gave the

two major vendors, Charles

E. Lamar Family Foundation

and the Capital Region Build-

ers Association, banners that

read “Chillin’ at the Gazebo,”

which contained all the

names of the students in print

and Braille. To show off the

new sound system, students

Donovan Doughty and Des-

mond Lane each performed a

solo musical number. The

cutting of the ribbon was led

by kindergarten student

Claiborne Constance.

“Chillin’ at the gazebo” is

exactly what LSVI students

will now be able to do thanks

to several generous vendors.

When director Bobby Simp-

son pitched the idea to differ-

ent companies and organiza-

tions, many people were

ready and willing to jump on

board. Money, materials, and

labor were donated to make

this idea a reality and to give

LSVI students a place to relax

and hang out. The gazebo was

crafted with cypress wood

and contains a shingled roof

and concrete floor. Fans and

an audio system were also

installed. Many students have

expressed their delight in this

new gift. To show their ap-

preciation, LSVI invited the

supporting vendors to come

and witness the ribbon-

cutting of the gazebo. The K-

1st graders opened the event

by leading the “Pledge of Alle-

giance.” The vendors were

introduced and thanked by

student body president Dylan

Faughn. They included Tommy

Hirth Builders, Cajun Cypress,

Holmes Building Materials, S.P.

Painting, Doortech, Harrison

Metal Works, Ledbetter Con-

struction, Nelson Dakmak Con-

struction, Brouillette Roofing,

Albemarle gave LSVI stu-

dents an inside look into the

science of cooking. They

talked to the students about

the five different tastes and

demonstrated experiments at

three different stations. Then,

to top it all off, they fed the

entire school a barbequed

meal that had been cooking

since the night before. The

students and staff marveled

over all of the delicious food.

There were constant declara-

tions made about how won-

derful everything tasted. This

was quite a treat for LSVI, all

thanks to the generous and

hard-working people from

the Albemarle Company and

the “L’il Taste of Texas” bar-

becue team.

CHILLIN’ AT THE GAZEBO

ALBEMARLE COMPANY SPONSORS BBQ

Trojan Talk

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1 I S S U E I I

Trojan Talk

P A G E 2

K-3rd News —Sheriff Shelbs

What’s Up with 4th-6th Grade? —Cy Moore

On Track with Alternate Track —Mariah

In October, kids in Alter-

nate Track have been in-

volved in many activities.

Mrs. Lamont’s class made

handprint trees with mar-

bleized leaves. Mrs. Alvin’s

class uses the SMART

board to sing the alphabet

song and are learning the

letter “E”. Ms. O & group

are learning about things

that go bump in the night

and Halloween. Mrs. Wells

and Mr. Hilliard’s Transition

classes (high school) work

every day in the lunchroom

cleaning tables and chairs.

Four in this group work off-

campus—two at the State

Library and two in a local

grocery store. They earn

money for the work done.

The Transition classes

also went to the WAFB-

sponsored corn maze in

Amite recently. They prac-

ticed their O & M skills

getting through the corn

maze. Alternate Track is

looking forward to Buster

Brown Day at the parish

fair the first week of No-

vember.

All of the students and

their teachers are excited

about Halloween.

garden and planting fruits.

With the mention of fruit

planting, Elijah claimed,

“That was my idea!” These

students are also participat-

ing in the music program.

Elijah talks about all of the

new equipment and states,

“It is working out very

well.” Dontay pipes in, “I

really love playing the

drums!”

Some of these students

also participated in the

LSVI’s 4th through 6th

graders have been heavily

involved in extra-curricular

activities. All of the 4th

graders are members of the

school’s Braille club. One

4th grader, Noah Mobley,

said, “The Braille doll danc-

es if I do good!”

Most of the 5th and 6th

graders have joined 4-H.

According to Dontay Penn

and Elijah Gordon, the 4-H

club has been building a

corn maze field trip, as well

as the school’s Math Day.

LSVI’s Ms. Sand has trans-

ferred from alternate track

and is now teaching the 5th

grade class!

lecting natural items such

as leaves, straw , and bark

to make wreaths for their

classroom. Third graders,

Lakeria and Nicholas both

said they were dressing up

for Halloween. Lakeria will

be Tinkerbell, and Nicholas

wants to be Spider Man.

Boooo, we hope you enjoy

tricks and treats!

Fall is in the air, leaves are

falling, ghosts are flying, and

kids are screaming. Jamia, in

2nd grade, says, “I like the

sound of leaves falling…”

This month, the K-3rd

graders went on a scaven-

ger hunt on campus, col-

T R O J A N T A L K

7 to 9 News — JC

P A G E 3 I S S U E I I

Seventh graders were asked

what they liked about White

Cane Safety Day held October

12th. Bailey liked the Krispy

Kreme doughnuts and Menchies

yogurt provided by these ven-

dors. Kelsin liked being able to

walk around Baton Rouge. Mary

said she liked the people who

were willing to walk under a

blindfold to see what it is like

being blind. When asked about

the corn maze adventure on

October 19th, Kelsin liked hav-

ing to solve math questions to

figure out which was the best

way to walk through the maze.

Mary enjoyed the tractor ride.

Ninth graders Rasheeta and

Jodi both had comments about

White Cane Day. For Rasheeta,

she liked being able to interact

with other kids . Jodi said, “ ..it

changes the way people think

about blind people. They see us

for who we are and not what

we do.”

Another recent school-wide

activity that students enjoyed

was Math Day held the day be-

fore Fall Break. Many games

were created by students and

teachers to help kids with math

skills. Rasheeta said there were

so many activities to choose

and learn from. Jodi said it was

the most fun she had ever had

working on math.

ver through two square acres

of corn. Patrick, another junior,

found himself in the stockade

mumbling, “Maybe I won’t have

to go back to school for

awhile.” Shelbi, a senior, en-

joyed the bucking cow train

ride.

October was filled with lots of

fun-filled activities. The one

that the 10th-12th graders

keep talking about is the corn

maze adventure. Dominique

and Lenron, both juniors, said

they liked “...using our mobili-

ty skills to the nth degree.”

The students had to maneu-

Top of the Line —Scotty DK

P A G E 4

SPOTLIGHT:

Space Camp 2011 —Mariah W.

Dorm Life —JC

OCTOBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Once again, students who

have been role models for

their peers as well as show-

ing responsibility in all of

their classes have been se-

lected as our Students of

the Month. Elementary:

Austin Dugas; Middle

School: Josh Young; High

School: Lenron Brown; and

Transition: Kayla Tidwell.

These students receive a

ribbon, certificate, lunch

with the school director,

and their pictures posted in

the main hallway.

Four students from LSVI

left on 09/23 for Space

Camp in Huntsville, Ala-

bama. Lenron Brown, Dyl-

an Faughn, LaPrinecia Gil-

bert, and Rasheeta Williams

took part in gravity-defying

activities, simulations, and

directed mission tasks just

as NASA astronauts do.

They bunked within space

capsule-like areas.

T R O J A N T A L K

Austin Dugas

Josh Young

Lenron Brown

Kayla Tidwell

Over the past few weeks,

several events have taken

place within the dormito-

ries. The Delta Gamma

girls came for karaoke

night. The girl scouts also

visited and helped students

make cards to send to sol-

diers. Some students even

got to go horseback riding!

Join In—Club Meetings —Sheriff Shelbs

P A G E 5 I S S U E I I

Club days are the last Friday of

the month. LSVI has the follow-

ing clubs: 4-H, Braille, Student

Government, Seniors, and

Tandem Bike Club. The largest

club is 4-H which is focusing on

working in the greenhouse by

cleaning, preparing seed beds

and pots, and putting up

shelves. When the seeds

sprout, they can be planted into

the freshly turned-over rows

of dirt in the larger garden

near the greenhouse.

2. Take study breaks for about 5 or 10 minutes when you start feeling tired.

3. Study in a calm place with no distractions.

4. Study your hardest subjects first.

By: Josh Young, Demarterion Huey, Denise Jones, and Mark Corbitt (Connections Class)

Here are some study tips that help us, and we think they will help you, too!

1. Set aside a specific amount of time to study each night.

5. Cramming the night before a test is not the best way to study! You should start studying 5 days before your test.

Happy Studying!

Staff members Mrs. Anderson,

Mr. Eller, and Mr. Gautreaux

are riding buddies.

The Trojan wrestling team,

currently a three member

squad, is preparing for its up-

coming meet in Mississippi on

November 5th. The cheerlead-

ers will be in competition as

well. This will be the first match

of the season for our Trojans.

Following football season, the

squad will increase to seven

young men. The Trojan wres-

tlers are led by Coach Jackson

and managers: Dominique Ar-

mont and Dylan Faughn. Cheer-

leaders are led by Coach

Billings and

Vanessa Martin.

The game of the year! No, not

LSU-Bama, but LSDVI vs. Ar-

kansas! The fans are lining up to

get seats to cheer our players

to victory!

The sport of tandem bike-

riding has begun. Students who

wanted to be captains had to

ride the course, solo. Then they

rode with a tandem rider.

Based on level of visibility and

accuracy, they were chosen.

Sports With Scotty —Scotty DK

Study Tips for Success

Many local vendors donat-

ed food, tables, tents, and

monetary donations for

shirts, printing, and other

necessities to make this a

success.

LSVI’s 7th through 12th grade spent

several hours in downtown Baton

Rouge for White Cane Safety Day.

Decked out in neon orange shirts,

students practiced mobility and social

skills throughout the metro area.

As students walked, they greeted

passers-by with cards with tips on

approaching and offering assistance to

blind people. They also handed out

white cane pins. Each group of stu-

dents had a gift certificate to award to

the person who would be willing to go

under the blindfold to walk with a

cane. Many citizens took the chal-

lenge, even Mayor Kip Holden! He

received assistance from Dominique

Armont, a junior at LSVI. It was awe-

some to have the mayor participate!

The water spouts helped the

kids to cool off after walking and

visiting among the busy streets.

None of the kids can wait until

next year!

WHITE CANE DAY —Cy Moore

LSU Tiger Basketball Players with Coach Trent Johnson visit LSVI ,

October 25, 2011

Co-Editors:

Brandy Lauland & Anna Gayle

Journalists:

Jodi Comeaux

Dylan Faughn

Cyquotta Moore

Shelbi Webb

Rasheeta Williams

www.lsvi.org