Ladue School District’s robotics team won a Strategy and Innovation Award for their robot, “LEGO My Chocolate.”
Hundreds of teachers, peers and members of the community watched and cheered as 24 teams competed in the first-ever Mid-Missouri FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics Qualifier tournament at Camdenton High School on November 16, 2013.
On Saturday, December 7, 2013, the Laduettes Dance Team received two first place awards at the 2013 Lindbergh Yvonne Cole International Dance Competition. In addition to earning first place in both the Hip Hop and Pom competitions, the team took home a Judge’s Award for Outstanding Showmanship in Hip Hop.
Spoede Elementary School recently participated in “Make a Difference Day,” a day intended to get people involved in community service, by creating care packages for residents at a nursing home. All of the Spoede students created cards and decorated wrapping paper for the boxes. Students were asked to do chores to earn money for purchasing items to put in the boxes.
A small group of students, who are participating in “Read, Write, and Run,” helped the cause by hosting a pretzel sale. All together, Spoede Elementary School ra
ised over $1,000 to purchase items to fill the boxes. The “Read, Write, and Run” students also sorted items, filled boxes, and delivered them to the nursing home to the delight of the residents!
The Ladue Horton Watkins High School Speech and Debate Team competed in the Greater Saint Louis Speech League’s 2013-2014 tournament which concluded the 17th and 18th of January at Ritenour High School.
Traditionally, Ladue Schools students have performed extremely well at this tournament and this year was no different.
Congratulations to the team and team members on their accomplishments:
DEBATE
- Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Shira Morosohk (12th), 2nd place
- 5th in Debate Sweepstakes
PUBLIC SPEAKING
- Extemporaneous Speaking: Rasika Sant (10th), 3rd place
- Original Oratory: Shira Morosohk, 2nd place and Tushar Raj (11th), 3rd place
- Radio Speaking: Emily Chu (12th), 4th place
- 1st place in Public Speaking Sweepstakes
ORAL INTERPRETATION
- Prose Reading: Miriam Hauptman (11th), 1st place and Shira Morosohk, 2nd place
- Poetry Reading: Elaine Zhang (10th), 3rd place
- 4th place in Oral Interpretation Sweepstakes
(Shira Morosohk pictured at left.)
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
- Simi Falako (10th) and Bobby Zitzmann (10th) qualified to Super Session
- 5th in Congressional Debate Sweepstakes
OVERALL
- MVP of GSL – Shira Morosohk, 2nd place
* This award is given to a student who participates in debate, public speaking, and oral interpretation and competes in each round of GSL competition! Getting 2nd place in such a competitive district is a true achievement!
- 3rd place in Overall Sweepstakes
Through an after school activity called Code Red Education, Reed Elementary School students are learning the basics of computer programming, while also learning how this important skill can lead to success in a multitude of career fields.
Read and listen to the story developed about this program by St. Louis Public Radio.
Read the online story written in THE Journal, a publication which supports transforming education through technology.
Two students from the Ladue School District were recognized in the 2013 Young Writers Award competition. Both competed in the 4th-5th Grade Division.
Varsha Arun is a fourth grader at Conway Elementary School and won second place for her story The Wonderers. Aneesh Batchu is a fourth grader at Old Bonhomme Elementary School and won third place for his story, Ralph and the Candy World, and a First Honorable Mention for his story Lego Hawaio.
By showing students what a concept might look like, or how it might operate in real life, 3-D printers are increasingly being used as educational tools in schools. The Ladue Education Foundation has recently approved a grant to purchase a 3-D printer for Ladue Horton Watkins High School. In this picture, students at Conway Elementary are watching a demonstration to see how these types of printers are used in business, and education to assist in refining concepts and ideas by displaying them in three dimensions.
The Ladue Middle School Science Olympiad Team for placed first in the regional competition held on February 1, 2014. The competition team placed in the top four for all 23 events, and the training team placed in the top five for 18 of the 23 events.
Competition Team
Ten students from Ladue Middle School (LMS) participated in the Regional Mathcounts Competition on February 15-16, 2014. The team of Anna Zhong, Kevin Jiang, Edward Wu, and Justin Chen placed first at Regionals and will represent LMS at the state competition in March. Moses Schindler will also represent LMS at state in the individual competition.
The following students participated in the competition:
Anna Zhong
Kevin Jiang
Justin Chen
Edward Wu
Seema Patil
Moses Schindler
Jeremy Ouyang
Albert Lui
Jacqueline Zeng
Ben Phung
News release from Pedal the Cause…
Young Olivette Resident Receives Top Honors
by Honoring His Mother & Supporting His Father’s Research
Pedal the Cause presents Clare Blase Spirit Award to Ben Linehan
ST. LOUIS (Feb. 25, 2013) — Pedal the Cause is pleased to announce that sixteen-year-old Olivette resident and Ladue High School student, Ben Linehan, is the recipient of the 2013 Pedal the Cause Clare Blase Spirit Award.
“We are extremely excited that Ben is receiving this award as he truly embodies the same incredible spirit as Clare,” said Carrie Benson Sweigart, COO of Pedal the Cause. “This award was created in 2012 to honor the memory of Clare Blase and her enthusiasm, determination and inspirational leadership in raising funds and awareness for Pedal the Cause and cancer research.”
Pedal the Cause is the premier cycling experience in the region and the pinnacle event of the year. Pedal the Cause is the only St. Louis event that gives 100% of participant donations to accelerate lifesaving cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Ben started participating in Pedal the Cause in 2012 to honor his mom, who is a two-time cancer survivor. In 2013, Ben rode 50 miles to create awareness for Pedal the Cause, and has raised more than $5,500 to accelerate lifesaving cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Ben has distinguished himself a leader in the Pedal the Cause community by ranking amongst the top fundraisers and earning a Yellow Jersey two years in a row.
Ben’s commitment and understanding of the importance of funding cancer research goes beyond his mother’s experience. Ben is part of the Pedal the Cause Pancreas Cancer Road Warriors Team, a team that was started by his father, Dr. David Linehan. Dr. Linehan is a Professor of Surgery / Chief, Section of Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic & Gastrointestinal Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and has received Pedal the Cause funding for his research exploring mechanisms of treatment resistance to improve outcomes in pancreas cancer.
For information on how to get involved in Pedal the Cause or if you would like to help Ben in his efforts to create a world without cancer, visit pedalthecause.org.
On March 10, 2014, student work on Ladue Horton Watkins High School publications received the following honors at the Sponsors of School Publications Contest held at Webster University:
As reported by KMOX on March 15, 2014…
Congratulations to the robotics team from Clayton High School
.
They were part of an alliance along with teams from Camdenton Missouri and Huntington County Indiana that captured the St Louis FIRST Robotics Regional Championship competition held this weekend at Chaifetz Arena.
They will move on to the international championships to be held in St Louis next month.
Finishing in 2nd place was an alliance of teams from Westminster Christian Academy-Ladue Horton Watkins High School-and Hazelwood Central High School.
The DECA chapter at Ladue Horton Watkins High School were recognized for their achievements this year at the District Career Development Conference and Competition in February 2014. The DECA students competed against thirteen other schools with the following students qualifying for the state competition at the Lake of the Ozarks in March: Preston Barrow, Andrew Cherrick, Malcolm Davis, Arthur Durkach, Jackson Gould, Brian Jiang, Zain Khan, Kyle McNeill, Semhar Mekonnen, and Katie O’Brien.
The Ladue Horton Watkins High School Speech and Debate Team completed their regular season with three weeks of district tournaments. After three weeks of intense competition, the team qualified four entries to the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) State Tournament and two entries to the National Forensics League (NFL) National Tournament.
MSHSAA State Qualifiers
NFL National Qualifiers
In addition to the national qualifiers, the speech and debate team won 2nd place in Congressional Debate Sweepstakes and the Eastern Missouri District Trophy Points Award. The award recognizes cumulative participation in rounds at the district tournament past preliminary rounds – after a school wins the award, their total is reset to zero. Ladue won this year’s award with over 1,000 points.
Chloe An was named the Eastern Missouri District Student of the Year. Each school may nominate one senior as a Student of the Year candidate. The award recognizes service to the school and community as well as upholding the tenets of the NFL Honor Code – integrity, humility, resect, leadership, and service. Chloe will now represent Eastern Missouri in the National Student of the Year competition!
Sid Yu (left) of Spoede Elementary School and Justin Wayne (right) of Ladue Middle School put their spelling skills to the test and made it all the way to the St. Louis Post Dispatch Spelling Bee Regional Finals. The competition was held at McKendree University on March 1st, 2014. Way to go, Sid and Justin!
The Ladue Horton Watkins High School (LHWHS) speech and debate team, the Talking Rams, were represented at the Missouri High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) State tournament by the following students:
Benjamin Collinger (11) and Rasika Sant (10) – Policy Debate
Emily Chu (12) – Radio Speaking
Miriam Hauptman (11) – Prose Reading
Shira Morosohk (12) – Original Oratory
Tushar Raj (11) was the team’s official timekeeper.
Congratulations to Benjamin and Rasika on advancing to the semifinal round of Policy Debate. Benjamin and Rasika only lost one of eight ballots during their four preliminary rounds of competition.
In addition to LHWHS’s success, the St. Louis region brought back six state championships and had finalists in all but one of the speech events. MSHSAA State was truly a remarkable weekend for St. Louis speech and debate!
The team will next compete in the National Catholic Forensic League tournament in Chicago, IL over Memorial Day Weekend followed by the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament in Overland Park, KS in June.
Ting Ding, a 2014-15 senior at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, and student of Sra. Maritza Sloan’s Spanish 4 class, received first place in the digital category from the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP).
The poster contest is a demonstration of students’ understanding of the importance and uses for new languages. The theme for this year’s contest was, “Enriquece tu vida aprediendo otras lenguas” (Enrich your life by learning other languages).
Congratulations to Ting for an extraordinary and artistic job with her poster. To view the other winners in the other categories please visit the link below.
http://www.aatsp.org/?page=PosterWinners_2014
The Ladue Middle School (LMS) Science Olympiad team placed first in the April 12, 2014 state competition, qualifying the team for the national tournament. The national tournament will be held this year at the University of Central Florida and this is the twentieth time in LMS’ 25-year club history to qualify.
The Team:
Ladue News story by Brittany Nay
When school’s out for summer, these local students have big plans for their vacation. Join in the fun as they tell LN the sports, camps, trips and more they’ll be enjoying in their free time.
Barretts Elementary, Ballwin
Kate Jones’ third-grade class
“I am doing summer swim team, and I’m going to play with my friends, and I’m going to the lake and jump of cliffs.” – Alison
“I like to skateboard and play baseball.” – Jack
“I am going to swim. And be on my bike all day!” – Lily
“I am learning to ride a bike.” – Luke
“I’m going to Tennessee to see the Smokys. Then, I’m going to swim everyday for swim team.” – Kyle
“I’m going to gymnastics and swim summer school and my cheerleader class.” – Oreana
“I am going to Texas this summer.” – Katie
“I am going to a summer school. I am also doing dive team for the Missouri Athletic Club. Go Penguins!” – Amy
“I am going to play my Xbox 360, and go to the park and play.” – Jerrion
“I am going to camps and summer school. I am also going on vacation.” – Emily
“I am going on a vacation to Mexico or Tennessee.” – Henry
“I am going to play with my friends and play on my Xbox.” – Will
“I am going to Cancun, and I am going to go to a hip-hop class, and I am going to open my pool!”- Ryan
“Me, my two sisters, and my Mom are going to Texas to see my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, and my grandpa. My sister plays softball, and so we might go to Tennessee for a softball tournament. We are also going to Grant’s Farm, the zoo, and The Lodge.” – Ashley
“I am going to Louisiana on the beach in the summer.” – Tyre
“I am going to many camps and maybe going to St. Simons Island.” – Maddie
“This summer, I am going to Atlantis the resort.” – Ethan
“I am going to Chicago and Arkansas.” – Alex
“I am going to Florida this summer, and I’m going to summer school.” – Ian
Chesterfield Day School
Alissa White’s and Christina Berwin’s third-grade class
“I am playing softball and going to a sleep-away camp.” – Elizabeth
“I am going to watch a lot of TV and also take a trip to Guatemala.” -Kyle
“I am going to play baseball in my driveway and play video games.” – Jackson
“I hope to enjoy the sun and spend time with my family.” – Aiden
“I am going to Barcelona to see the famous Gaudi cathedral. “ – Gianfranco
“I am going on a Disney Cruise and probably also going to the Lake of the Ozarks.” – Aiden
“I am going camping and fishing with my family at the Boundary Waters National Park.” – Katy
“I hope to have a lot of time with my family, I also want to go to lots of sports camps.” – Samuel
“I have no idea what I will be doing this summer. Maybe go to Florida on a business trip.” – Zack
“My grandma is coming to visit and I want to play a lot of baseball and basketball.” – Ammar
“I am going to a sleep-away camp for the first time. I also want to spend a lot of time with my grandparents.” – Kate
“I am going to play baseball and also visit Mexico.” – Dawson
“I hope to practice my school work, spend time with friends and family and read.” – Noor
“I am going to a soccer tournament that is at Disney World.” – Jane
“I will be playing baseball and tennis.” – Simon
“I am going to Lake Michigan and hope to see Coast Guard boats. I also want to eat a lot of ice cream.” – Cooper
“I am going to eat pizza and go to Michigan this summer.” – Harrison
“I am going to a lot of camps this summer and want to visit Universal Studios in Orlando.” – Grayson
“This summer, I will be playing a lot of Xbox and watch cartoons.” – Bryce
“I am going to Torch Lake, Michigan, and will play at the beach and swim.” – Hannah
“I am going to sleep-away camp with one of my CDS classmates. It will be our first time being away from home.” – Kylie
“I would like to do a lot of outdoor activities this summer and I am also thinking about getting a goldfish.” – Jack
“I am going to baseball and basketball camp.” – Michael
“I am going to four camps this summer and will also spend time in Florida.” – Connor
Spoede Elementary, Creve Coeur
Tracy Ward’s fourth-grade class
“During the summer, I will be going to the Greek island Paros with my family. I will also teach my puppy Ollie to swim.” – Argini
“This summer, I am going across the country for a national BMX racing tournament. I will compete in places such as Arkansas, Kansas City and Florida, etc.” – Buddy
“I’m going to camp; then I’m going to New Jersey for a while to see my grandparents, then to Greece to visit my other grandparents.” – Julia
“This summer, I am going to Virginia without my parents, then coming back to St. Louis and going to Florida to see my uncle and aunt.” – A’Maune
“This summer, I am going to play baseball, basketball and soccer, and go to camp with my friends; I’ll also be going to Canada with my family.” – Alex
“What I’m going to do this summer is go to India and go to the park. Also get ice cream.” – Tanuja
“I am going to summer camp, and I’m going to play my PS4 and throw my football a little bit.” – Samson
“I am going to a one week of soccer sleep-away camp. I also plan to go to Iowa to see both of my grandparents.” – Kacy
“I’m going to Michigan and the beach” – Connor
“Over my summer, I am doing many things: First, I’m going to visit many places like the Great Wall of China, and I am going to learn about my Chinese history!” – Michael
“I’m going to Boston to visit my family. I’m also going to a sleep-away camp for a week.” – Colin
“I’m going to Israel and going to see my grandparents who live there. Then I’m going to a Ladue camp and a basketball camp.” – Alon
“I’m going to Oregon for a family reunion, Kansas with my sister, and Michigan with my family.” – Marin
“I’m going to India to see my relatives and going to famous places in India. I’m going to even celebrate my sister’s birthday while we are there.” – Suparna
“This summer, I’m going to Ladue summer camp. it lasts for six weeks. Then I’m going to Florida for three weeks.” – Anthony
“This summer, I’m going to camp and going on vacation to Florida.” – Domenic
“I’m going to Southampton in summer. I will go to the beach. I will also walk in the village and go to the park.” – Elise
“I’m going to go to Camp Nageela this summer. I will also be going to Chicago.” – Samuel
“My summer plans are to have a great time at camp, and also to play GAGA in the GAGA pit.” – Gary
“This summer, I am going to Florida to go to the beach and swim with my family. We are going to Busch Gardens because my granny and poppy are planning to take us there.” – Charli
“I am going to Florida this summer, and spending 10 weeks at camp.” – Dilmeet
“I’m going swimming with my family, playing golf with my dad, and going to tennis camp.” – William
“I am going to camp.” – Erica
“Over the summer, we are going to stay in Missouri. I’m going to Vacation Bible School where my cousins work. We are also going to spend time swimming.” – Alexandra
Freshman Elizabeth Collinger and Junior Ariel Groener have been selected, along with 30 other students from the St. Louis area, to participate in the Cultural Leadership program during the summer of 2014.
Cultural Leadership is modeled after a similar program in Washington, D.C., Operation Understanding DC (founded by Karen Kalish in 1993), which was inspired by a similar program, Operation Understanding, begun in Philadelphia in 1985 by former Congressman William H. Gray III and George Ross, former President of the American Jewish Committee in Philadelphia. Both programs were designed to rekindle the historical alliance between Jews and African Americans. (Click here to learn more.) Historically, these two groups have worked side by side to fight for social justice. Cultural Leadership expanded on this mission.
Cultural Leadership students meet monthly throughout the summer to visit sites of historical significance and meet with, and learn from, leaders, change agents and activists.