In order to appreciate where we are now, you must go back to the days after August 29, 2005.  Here we offer a glimpse of what we faced and how, with our own hard work and with the help and generosity of others, we are rebuilding and moving forward.

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Consolidated School Resolution

WHEREAS, the Plaquemines Parish School Board has been toiling with the permanent location of South Plaquemines High,

 

AND WHEREAS, of the 3 options for location, renovation appears to be the most economical,

 

AND WHEREAS, the former Buras High School campus is currently deemed as repairable,

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Plaquemines Parish School Board will re-build the old Buras High Campus and the school shall be named South Plaquemines High with the mascot of the Hurricanes.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in the event that the old Buras High building is deemed un-repairable, the Plaquemines Parish School Board will build a new school on the Buras Middle School site, keeping the Hurricanes the Hurricanes as the mascot.

 

AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Plaquemines Parish School Board may need to seek additional funding for either of these projects.

 

AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,  that this is in keeping with the promises that the Plaquemines Parish School Board has made in returning a school to the Buras area.

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South Plaquemines High School Receives $60,000 Grant from the Laura Bush Foundation

(Pictured Left to Right:  SPHS Principal Stanley Gaudet, Librarian, Cindy O'Brien, President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, SPHS Junior Lauren Voiron)

South Plaquemines High School librarian Cindy O'Brien was invited to meet with First Lady Laura Bush after receiving the $60,000 Laura Bush Foundation Grant for SPHS.  The presentation took place at Warren Easton High School.  Lauren Voiron, a junior at South Plaquemines High was selected to sit at the round table to have a discussion with President Bush and the First Lady!

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South Plaquemines Elementary Receives $60,000 Laura Bush Grant

Marsha Kay Hammond, South Plaquemines Elementary librarian, was awarded $60,000 for the Laura Bush Grant.  Hammond, principal Theresita Ancar, and student Danielle Barthelemy attended awards ceremony was held at St. Rosalie school.  Congratulations Ms. Hammond!
(posted February 13, 2007)

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Phoenix High Receives $75,000 Laura Bush Grant

Hannah Trufant, Phoenix High School librarian, was awarded $75,000 for the Laura Bush Grant and has received a total of $125,000 in grants for Phoenix High School's library.  Congratulations Ms. Trufant!

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LaFarge Donates $60,000 to Schools

LaFarge North American and LaFarge Concrete have donated $20,000 to each of three recovery schools in Plaquemines:  Phoenix High School, South Plaquemines Elementary and South Plaquemines High School  A presentation of the checks was made December 20th at the School Board Office.

Pictured are Keith Odinet, General Manager of LaFarge; Theresita Ancar, Principal of South Plaquemines Elementary; Stanley Gaudet, Principal of South Plaquemines High; Superintendent Eva G. Jones; and J.T. Roche, Jr., Vice President of Salesa nd Marketing at LaFarge

Pictured are Keith Odinet of LaFarge, Debra Lee, PPSB Donation Coordinator, Superintendent Eva G. Jones, and J.T. Roche, Jr. of LaFarge

Pictured are Keith Odinet of LaFarge, Stanley Gaudet, Superintendent Eva Jones, and J.T. Roche, Jr. of LaFarge

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South Plaquemines Foundation

Pictured left to right:  Attorney Charles Ballay and John Estess, CPA

At the November School Board meeting, Attorney Charles Ballay and John Estess, CPA, presented the plans to form a foundation for South Plaquemines High School.  The purpose of the foundation is to draw together all of the combined alumni and alumnae of the three former high schools that now make up South Plaquemines: Boothville-Venice High, Buras High and Port Sulphur High.  The foundation would serve as a focal point for fund-raising efforts and support of the new school by all those who graduated from the former three high schools.  The foundation would also serve to better the relationships of all graduates who were formerly competitors.  It’s a great idea that deserves to be copied by all of the parish schools.

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ConocoPhillips Alliance Refinery Presents $1 Million to PPSB

Pictured l to r:  Carol Roberts, Assistant Superintendent; Eva Jones, Superintendent; Betsy Brien, ConocoPhillips Public Affairs Director; Peter Batey, Alliance Refinery Manager

ConocoPhillips Alliance Refinery officials presented a $1 million dollar check to the Plaquemines Parish School System to aid in the rebuilding of the parish school system following Hurricane Katrina.

The School Board will use the $1 million donation to restore and upgrade the Belle Chasse High School's (BCHS) aging science department.  The high school was chosen by school leaders and ConocoPhillips because the parish's other high schools are being rebuilt and will be stocked with the latest equipment.

"We are all in this rebuilding effort together in Plaquemines Parish," said Alliance Refinery Manager Peter Batey.  "We are pleased to be able to direct this donation to education, a top priority with ConocoPhillips.  We hope that our donation will give tomorrow's students a stronger interest and a more solid background in the sciences, which are important today."

Batey, and Public Affairs Director Besty Brien made the check presentation to Plaquemines Parish Superintendent Eva Jones and Assistant Superintendent Carol Roberts.

BCHS Assistant Principal Maria Prout says the money will mean a better future for the approximately 980 students who attend BCHS.  "Society today is more science-based, so we need to better train our students in the sciences," she said.  The high school lab uses 15 year-old equipment, and many resources were depleted when the high shcool was the only one open in the parish following the storm.

With the $1 million donation, the school can build a much needed physics/physical science lab for up to 30 students; update technology for the three existing labs; purchase 120 computers, state-of-the-art microscopes, dissecting kits and other equipment; restock chemical suppllies for experiments, as well as hire a lab assistant, Prout said.

ConocoPhillips has donated a total of $15 million for hurrican-related rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast region following last year's storms.

ConocoPhillips is an integrated petroleum company with interests around the world.  The Alliance Refinery refines 255,000 barrels of crude oil per day into diesel and jet fuel, as well as gasoline, to meet the country's transportation fuel needs.  For more information, go to www.conocophillips.com.

 

Teachers Awarded Grants for Libraries

Congratulations to Hannah Trufant and Cindy O'Brien!  Together they were awarded $140,000  in grants for libraries at Phoenix, South Plaquemines Elementary and South Plaquemines High from the National Education Association and Beyond Words Dollar General Grants.

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Artwork for South Plaquemines

Gina Fitch, art teacher from Belle Chasse High School, presented an inspired piece of artwork to South Plaquemines principals Theresita Ancar and Stan Gaudet at the September 13, 2006, school board meeting on the campus of South Plaquemines.  A former teacher at Port Sulphur High, Mrs. Fitch received a vision of unity and harmony for students from Boothville, Buras, and Port Sulphur that have blended into the new South Plaquemines Schools and produced the oil painting as a symbol of the new school.

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Governor Blanco Visits South Plaquemines Schools

Standing l to r:  Governor Kathleen Blanco, Parish President Benny Rousselle, Superintendent of Schools Eva Jones, BESE Member Glenny Lee Buquet, SPHS Principal Stanley Gaudet.

Governor Blanco and BESE Member Glenny Lee Buquet visited on August 23 to see how we were doing a year after Katrina.  They were amazed and impressed with our progress!

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Post-Katrina Rebuilding Considerations

Humanity First

Plaquemines Parish Schools would like to thank Humanity First, who recently donated $10,000 to our system.  Through this kind and generous donation, 300 students affected by the hurricane were able to receive warm winter jackets.  Humanity First provides humanitarian services in the United States and around the world working on the premise Restoring Communities, Building a Future.  For more information on this wonderful group and their gift, you can go to www.humanityfirst.org.  Click on Photo Gallery on the left hand column.  Then click on US Chapters.

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A TRUE FEMA FRIEND

Superintendent Eva Jones presents a plaque of appreciation to Jim Dedes, Project Officer for FEMA, for his committed service to the School System's recovery.  Also pictued is Joyce Green, Recovery Coordinator for the School Board, who worked tirelessly with Mr. Dedes and other FEMA representatives.

The Plaquemines Parish School Board honored Jim Dedes, a Project Officer for FEMA, at the School Board Meeting on August 7th.  Mr. Dedes has worked for months preparing over a hundred worksheets for the School Board recovery projects.  His commitment has facilitated the opening of the three schools in Belle Chasse as well as the three additional schools in the lower part of parish for this year.  He is finally leaving Plaquemines to return to his own family after serving FEMA for nearly a year.

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A Difficult Road to Victory

	A year after Katrina, the towns in Plaquemines Parish are finding inspiration from a special group of teenagers:  the South Plaquemines High School football team. Click here for the video from the New York Times.
Articles, Slideshows and Videos from the New York Times: Life is Complicated at Louisiana School The South Plaquemines Hurricanes A Difficult Road to Victory

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Florida Donations

A friendly competition between two Florida school systems has ended up as a win-win situation for Plaquemines Parish Schools.  (full story...)

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$70,000 DONATION

Kenneth E. McGinn, Offshore District Production Manager for Apache Corporation, receives an appreciation plaque from Carol Roberts, Director of Secondary Education for the Plaquemines Parish School Board.  At the School Board Meeting on March 6th, Apache Corporation donated a check for $70,000.00 to cover the cost of two teacher salaries in response to Katrina's impact on the School District.  Also pictured are Ron Christ and Kenneth Neveaux, both Area Production Foremen with Apache Corporation which operates in the Plaquemines area.  The School Board honored the men and Apache Corporation with a standing ovation at the Meeting.

Technology Partners Team Up With Plaquemines Public Schools

Pictured left to right:  James C. Hoyle, Superintendent; Melvina Sias, Personnel Director; Carol Roberts, Instructional Technology Director; Terry Smithson, Marketing Director of Intel; Lucien Cusimano, Information Technology Director; Sharon Branan, School Board President

Five Plaquemines educators were invited to Atlanta on December 13, 2005, to give a presentation to a group of educational technology organizations who intend to help our district recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  Superintendent James Hoyle presented a State-of-Plaquemines PowerPoint and spoke to representatives of Intel, Apple, EdWeek Magazine, Ignite Learning, National Education Association, Software Information Industry Association, Funds for Learning, Smart Technology, vSKOOL, Scrantron, Trillion Partners, Future Kids, CCR Pyramid, eSchool News, IBM, Schools and Learning Magazine, Dell, Princeton Review, Riverdeep, Scholastic, State Educational Technology Directors, Georgia Department of Education, Nation and a sundry of other technology entities.  School Board President Sharon Branan, Information Technology Director Lucien Cusimano, Instructional Technology Director Carol Roberts, and Personnel Director Melvina Sias answered questions from the educational partners and explained first-hand how life in Plaquemines schools has changed since August 29.  “I am supercharged to think of the possibilities that will come from this meeting that will enhance our school system in the future.  When these talented people say that they want to make Plaquemines technology the envy of the United States after Katrina, I can't wait to see what it will be like,” explained Hoyle.  The meeting, held at the Georgia Public Broadcasting Center, was organized by Terry Smithson, Marketing Director of Intel.  Donna Duhe’, tourism director for Plaquemines Parish Government, had previous contacts with Smithson, and suggested that he choose Plaquemines Schools as a target district, making this entire process possible.  Smithson and other partner members want to have a consolidated, coordinated effort to help public entities after a disaster, both now and in the future.  Terry and other ed tech partners from the meeting plan to visit south Louisiana in January to see the destruction with their own eyes and begin working with Plaquemines to create a vision for the future.

Pictured left to right:  Sharon Branan, School Board President; James C. Hoyle, Superintendent; Neil Bush, the president's brother, CEO of Ignite Software; Lucien Cusimano, Information Technology Director; Melvina Sias, Personnel Director; Carol Roberts, Instructional Technology Director

 

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Technology Partners Team Up With Plaquemines Public Schools

Five Plaquemines educators were invited to Atlanta on December 13, 2005, to give a presentation to a group of educational technology organizations who intend to help our district recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  (more)

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Buras Middle School Librarian Interviewed by NBC Weekend Today Show

Cindy O'Brien, Buras Middle School librarian, was interviewed by Lester Holt, anchor interviewer with the NBC Weekend Today Show. The interview focused mainly on the libraries that were destroyed. The interview was conducted at Buras Middle. It aired Sunday, June 25 at 7 a.m. on The Weekend Today Show channel 6. NBC is teaming up with Scholastic to organize a book drive for our school system. For more information on this story, click here! To help rebuild school libraries of the Gulf Coast, click here.

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SPHS Class of 2007

South Plaquemines High School held its first ever Commencement Exercise on Friday, May 18, 2007, at the Boothville-Venice gymnasium.  Thirty nine students received their diplomas.  The school opened in August 2006, less that one year after Hurricane Katrina ravaged lower Plaquemines Parish.

(posted May 21, 2007)

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Phoenix Rises for 2007 Graduation

Despite the losses of Hurricane Katrina, Phoenix High School Class of 2007 held their Graduation ceremony at the Phoenix High School site on May 14th, 2007.  Families, staff  and honored guests gathered in beautifully decorated surroundings under a festive tent on the school grounds.

(posted May 15, 2007)

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