Gulf Pine Catholic

16 Gulf Pine Catholic • December 13, 2019 Spotlight on Schools Dan ‟Warrior Spirit” Romano, pictured with principal Jennifer Broadus and pastor Father Charles Nutter, visited St. James to celebrate and honor his mother, Ginny ‟Running Water” Romano (in photograph) who founded the Mohegan Outreach Program. Warrior Spirit also visited each classroom with a Thanksgiving blessing in Mohegan. Photos/Juliana Skelton St. James Elementary School, Gulfport Sindy Holder and TorieWilliamsʼ sixth grade classes pray the rosary every Monday morning to start the week. All students and teachers in the school are invited to attend. Our Lady Academy Science teacher Randi Tolar was selected to spearhead a pilot test on the Sea-Level Rise (SLR) by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center, and the Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative. Through the specific designed-in-class curriculum, Tolar will explain the causes of sea-level rise, flooding basics, natural solutions, and community planning to her ninth grade students. The objective is to help devel- op an understanding of the causes of sea level rise; to recognize elements affected; and to assist in developing possible solutions to mitigate the causes and effects. In addition, through programs supported by NOAA (Naval Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET), Mean- ingful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) and University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Tolar was chosen to implement a recent piloted program that focuses on promoting community resilience to coastal hazards, particularly flooding. This course will be added to the 8th grade science curriculum in January 2020. The program’s objective is to create an awareness and understanding of processes that cause change in watersheds, with an emphasis on flooding linked to tropical storms, extreme rainfall events, and the ongo- ing rising sea level. Students will learn how rising sea levels and coastal hazards have affected and may con- tinue to affect their communities in the future. Using the area’s historical flooding data and the Coastal Resilience Index, students will have the opportunity to develop potential resilience solutions to several Coastal hazards that are faced by the communities today. The classroom pilot-testing will begin in January 2020 and will continue through May 2020. Tolar Our Lady Academy, Bay St. Louis Senior Paige Palazzo signed her National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play goalkeeper for the University of West Florida Argonauts. Paige is a five-year starter for the Our Lady Academy Crescents. She was selected to the 2A Region 8 MHSAAAll Region Team and select- ed to play in the Mississippi Coast All Star Game for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. She began her high school soccer career in eighth grade as a midfielder leading the Crescents in scoring and assists. She converted to goal- keeper as a sophomore in 2017 and has since helped OLA earn 23 shutouts with a save percentage of 87%. In addition to Paige’s soccer success, she has been a two-sport athlete at OLA, bringing home the Tennis 4A Mixed Doubles State Championship for the 2019 sea- son, as well as earning team MVP three years in a row. Paige is an honors student achieving Principal’s Honor Roll every semester of her high school career. She is the president of the National Honor Society, an OLAAmbassador Representative, and a member of the Spanish Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society. Marilyn Pigott, principal, stated, “We are proud of Paige and wish her the very best in her college career. She is an outstanding student and athlete. TheArgonauts are very fortunate to have her on their team.” Back row: (l-r) OLA head coach Nick Middleton, principal Marilyn Pigott, coach Cherie Griffith and athletic director Emily Corley; front row: Paige Palazzo with her parents Steve and Christina Palazzo Our Lady Academy (OLA) Youth Legislature dele- gation represented by Karli Dunn, Alyssa Fayard, Emily Greene, Avery Kearney, Gabbie Mikhail, Cali Reinhart, and Gracie Saucier attended the conference held at the State Capital to experience the political pro- cess of signing a bill into law. OLA delegates were recognized for their outstand- ing performance at the conference. Gabbie Mikhail was awarded outstanding representative. Appointed by the Youth Governor, Gracie Saucier will serve as next year’s conference’s First Lady. Gracie Saucier stood as the House Reading Clerk, Emily Greene’s served as Clerk of the House, and Avery Kearney presided as Speaker of the House. The Mississippi Youth Legislature conducts a mock legislative session wherein the students present their bills in hopes of having it signed into law. As in the official Legislature process, the bill must be passed by both chambers of congress, before making it to the Youth Governor’s desk. The team of Karli Dunn and Alyssa Fayard submit- ted a bill to require every individual under the age of 18 to complete a Driver’s Education Program including a road skills test. Gabbie Mikhail proposed bill was to prohibit teach- ers from giving homework over the weekends. OLA delegates (l-r) Emily Greene, Karli Dunn, Alyssa Fayard, Cali Reinhart, Gabbie Mikhail, Grace Saucier, and Avery Kearney