Latest / On the Record with Bossier Schools / On the Record with Bossier Schools | Season Four | Episode Eleven

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On the Record with Bossier Schools | Season Four | Episode Eleven · On the Record with Bossier Schools

• 0:00
  It's Tea Time at Bossier Schools, where every 6th grader is hitting the greens and chasing
• 0:11
  aces.
• 0:12
  Talk about a hole-in-one opportunity for these boys and girls.
• 0:16
  And who knows, we may have a student here in Bossier Parish who one day may wear the
• 0:20
  green jacket.
• 0:21
  Hi everyone, welcome to On the Record with Bossier Schools, our first episode for 2026.
• 0:28
  I am Jason Rowland.
• 0:29
  And even year.
• 0:31
  Even years are lucky, right?
• 0:32
  I love even years.
• 0:33
  I'm Sonja Bales.
• 0:34
  We sure do thank you for joining us.
• 0:36
  Hey, we are kicking off 2026 with more ways than ever for you to connect with us.
• 0:41
  Whether you are listening in your car or you're watching us on your iPad, we have got you
• 0:46
  covered because now we are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Podbean, and of course
• 0:53
  YouTube where you can both listen and watch.
• 0:55
  So do us a favor, make a New Year's resolution that you can keep.
• 1:00
  Subscribe right now to On the Record with Bossier Schools if you haven't already.
• 1:05
  Speaking of the New Year, can you believe we are halfway through the school year?
• 1:09
  It is flown.
• 1:10
  We dropped in on Stockwell Place Elementary's Honor Roll Assembly where kindergarten students
• 1:15
  were the stars of the show.
• 1:17
  Yeah, those who learned their sight words, letters and numbers, and those that mastered
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  math walked the red carpet in full Hollywood style.
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  Principal Brooke Nolte encouraged the stallions to continue shooting for the stars, which
• 1:31
  is a good reminder for all of our students because there is still a whole lot of learning
• 1:36
  to do over the next 18 weeks.
• 1:37
  You know, the second semester is going to fly by.
• 1:39
  It always does.
• 1:40
  There's so many activities in the spring semester and of course we're always excited to bring
• 1:46
  that to you on our podcast.
• 1:48
  With that said, we want to share some tips and some ways for our parents to make sure
• 1:52
  we get off to a good start, but more importantly that we maintain a good start throughout the
• 1:56
  school year and that is with attendance.
• 1:59
  I know our audience gets tired of hearing me harp on the fact about attendance, but
• 2:04
  you cannot learn if you are not in school and we have so many opportunities and things
• 2:09
  that we're trying to get done this spring and attendance is paramount for us to be a
• 2:14
  part of that.
• 2:15
  Remember, I've said this to you and I tell people all the time, the easiest thing you'll
• 2:18
  do every day is get up.
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  Get up, come to school, be in attendance, be ready to learn and we're excited about
• 2:24
  what we've got for you.
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  We want to thank our parents for helping us get students at school.
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  In fact, over the first semester we had a 92% attendance rate, which was markedly better
• 2:35
  than this time last year.
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  We want to be able to even improve upon that.
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  We would like to see 100% the second semester because if your student is not in the seat,
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  they are not learning.
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  We had a great, great, we had a lot of momentum in a great first semester.
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  In December we took a dip, so in January let's regain the momentum, get everyone back in
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  school and let's create those attendance habits that are critical for our success.
• 3:02
  That's right and you know, speaking of attendance, obviously you're not learning if you're not
• 3:06
  in class, but not only that, you're also missing out on a lot of fun because we offer a lot
• 3:11
  of great experiences when you come to school.
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  We're at Chasing Aces in Bossier City, one of the new premier event places for our community
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  to have a good time and to go out and enjoy.
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  Our sixth graders, every sixth grader in Bossier Parish is having the opportunity to take their
• 3:28
  field trip, their school field trip to Chasing Aces and learn about something that they may
• 3:33
  otherwise not have the opportunity to do.
• 3:36
  In fact, we have a tea time right about now, so let's go sink a few putts with the Green
• 3:43
  Acres Mustangs as we go Rollin' with Roland.
• 4:13
  Hey, what did you all think about being at Chasing Aces today?
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  It was truly fun.
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  What did you like about it?
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  I liked using the driver.
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  Using the driver.
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  Did you hit some straights?
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  Yes.
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  Okay.
• 4:46
  Not helpful?
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  My top score was around 94 yards.
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  Have you all been out to the putting room?
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  Yes, sir.
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  What did you think about that?
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  It was fun.
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  Did you make a hole-in-one?
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  No, sir.
• 4:54
  What was your favorite part about today?
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  So, my favorite part was when we were playing this and we were playing like the destroyer
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  and a competitor, and like I said, it was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
• 5:08
  So, it was fun.
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  It was fun.
• 5:10
  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  It was fun.
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  Good job.
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  Now, do you think you'd ever do this while you're at school?
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  Yes, I do.
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  How cool is that?
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  Very cool.
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  Man, we need to thank Chase and Aces for allowing us to come out be a part of this.
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  All of our 6th graders across the district are getting an opportunity to come out, hit
• 5:39
  some drives, take some putts on the putt and green.
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  Hey, you never know.
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  We may have a Tiger Woods somewhere in one of your schools that's right now in the 6th
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  grade.
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  Maybe you.
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  You never know.
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  We just have to wait and see.
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  But thank you.
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  Glad you had a good time.
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  So, John, first of all, on behalf of both schools, thank you so much for what you guys
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  have done for our schools, for our middle schools, for our 6th graders, and for the
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  opportunities that you are providing here.
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  We can't tell you how much we appreciate the fact that you guys reached out to us and said,
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  hey, let's get some kids in here.
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  And we just thought that was one of the greatest things and one of the coolest ideas.
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  So what have you seen so far over the first semester where we've had some kids in and
• 6:20
  out?
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  It's been good working with the kids.
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  You know, when we started this process, I promised the Bossier City administration that
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  we were going to be a community-based facility and that we were going to get every student
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  into our facility at no charge.
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  And we're trying to live up to that promise.
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  We wanted to start with the middle schools.
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  And it's been really good to see these kids who've never held a club before or don't have
• 6:49
  never experienced golf at all just to come in and be able to see a light in their eyes.
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  It's been great working with them.
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  We've worked with hundreds of the kids so far, and we look forward to working with more
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  in the future.
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  So tell me about Plain Daler.
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  Yeah, so Plain Daler was one of our first schools, and they didn't really know what
• 7:16
  to do.
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  But there was a couple of kids that had never held a club before, and they were out there
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  really banging it by the time we were done.
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  And we get to see a hole-in-one.
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  So when you hit a hole-in-one, it's on putting, but when you hit a hole-in-one, there's this
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  feeling that you get.
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  And these kids have this feeling now.
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  And we're sending them home with a little gift and giving them some pizza.
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  So it's been a great experience.
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  We can't thank Chase and Aces enough for having our kids here on site, going through all the
• 7:45
  different developmental techniques, introducing kids to opportunities and experiences that
• 7:51
  they may otherwise never get to see or do.
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  So we thank you, John, for all you do.
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  Thank you, bro.
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  Appreciate it.
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  Thanks for coming out.
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  We can't wait to see this group.
• 8:00
  All right.
• 8:01
  You want to hit one?
• 8:02
  Yeah, let me see if I can hit one.
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  Look at that slice.
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  I still carry that baseball sweat shirt.
• 8:14
  Man, that was smart.
• 8:16
  That was good.
• 8:17
  That was good.
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  Give me one more ball.
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  I know I'm going over here, so I aim this way, so everything just plays to the right
• 8:41
  direction.
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  Right?
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  We'll just say that.
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  We'll make sure.
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  That's my excuse.
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  Right?
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  To the left here.
• 8:54
  Look here.
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  We've got a pro.
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  Right here.
• 9:00
  So we have Sonya Baines lining up here for a big shot.
• 9:05
  And vice versa.
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  Not wearing a green coat for a reason.
• 9:12
  That's what I'm talking about.
• 9:15
  Okay, so she hit it.
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  This is shot number two on the par three.
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  She's lining it up.
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  How about that slice?
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  I have a horrible slice.
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  I mean, I wish I could hook the ball, but I have used it to my advantage.
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  If I know that I want to hit it there, I just start out, aim over here.
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  Hey, you have a long drive.
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  I give you credit, because as you saw, I could barely make contact with the ball.
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  It didn't get very far.
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  I did hit the ball.
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  But at least you could go get your ball and bring it back real quick.
• 10:06
  Well, that's true.
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  That's true.
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  That was a good thing.
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  I was expedient.
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  You were using one ball.
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  I was efficient.
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  You were.
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  As you mentioned, every grade gets to take a field trip each year.
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  And our pre-K students take one to the Parent Center, where they engage in a day of interactive
• 10:23
  play and hands-on learning.
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  It's fun.
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  It's educational.
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  And it's for parents, but not just so much for them.
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  There's so many things they can do.
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  There's a wealth of resources at the Parent Center.
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  And we encourage our community, all of our students, to take advantage of what we have
• 10:39
  there available right behind the BIC there for our students.
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  And here's the best thing.
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  It's all free.
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  It's all free.
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  So go by and take a peek at the Parent Center and see what all is there for you.
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  In fact, here's Erin May, our facilitator of the Parent Center, to tell you more.
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  So we're just hoping once they come on the pre-K field trip and we show them all the
• 11:00
  things that we have available here to help support them, we're hoping that they will
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  be able to come here and access and use, check out a lot of the board games, the books, and
• 11:11
  the different resources that we provide for them.
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  We also show them some different games and activities that they can actually make at
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  home and things to help them reinforce what their children are learning at school.
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  It's not just pre-K, you know, Sonia.
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  There's a lot of things for all grade bands.
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  And as we get into the testing season, and the Pre-K Center is a great place for resources
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  and for help where you can sharpen those skills and you are ready to attack the testing
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  season that is upon us, whether it be LEAP, ACT, whether it be even some of our AP testing.
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  There's things for kids there to take advantage of.
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  We hope that parents will drop by.
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  The Parent Center, by the way, is open throughout the school year from 730 to 330, Monday
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  through Friday.
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  As you mentioned, it's located directly behind Bossier Instructional Center.
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  That's at 2719 Airline Drive.
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  Go by, check it out.
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  There's also a great computer lab there to help, you know, with those skills as well.
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  So, lots and lots of great resources and information.
• 12:07
  There's still a lot more to discuss and for us to go on the record about.
• 12:11
  How about two of our Student of the Year advancing to the regional levels?
• 12:15
  I mean, this is really outstanding.
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  So proud of them and super excited to see what happens next.
• 12:20
  Absolutely.
• 12:21
  So, we're going to tell you more about that in just a moment.
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  Right now, we pause for a word from our sponsor.
• 12:26
  Hi, I'm Kim McGirt with Bonvenue Bank.
• 12:28
  We are proud partners with Benton High School.
• 12:30
  Win the day.
• 12:31
  Go Tigers!
• 12:32
  Hi, I'm Ed Wilson with Bonvenue Bank.
• 12:35
  Proud partner of Planned Dealing High School.
• 12:37
  Win the day and go Lions!
• 12:39
  Hi, I'm Jason Smith with Bonvenue Bank.
• 12:42
  We've been partners with the Bossier School System for over four decades to win the day.
• 12:46
  Go Violets!
• 12:52
  Welcome back to On the Record with Bossier Schools.
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  We have several superintendent shout-outs to make,
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  beginning with Cope 8th grader Hadley Fulgham and airline senior Kong Ngo.
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  You know, they're already the Bossier Parish Middle and High School Students of the Year.
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  Now, they are advancing as regional honorees in the Louisiana Student of the Year competition.
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  One honoree per Bessie region will be named a finalist and go on to the state level of competition.
• 13:18
  We are so proud of Hadley and Kong and are cheering them on all the way.
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  Just two outstanding students and really, really can't wait to see what happens next.
• 13:29
  Congratulations to them.
• 13:30
  We are also thrilled to shine the spotlight on Houghton Middle School 7th grade teacher April Miles.
• 13:36
  She has been chosen as the Middle School Teacher of the Year
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  by the Louisiana Association of Computer-Using Educators or LACUE.
• 13:44
  You know, LACUE honors trailblazing educators who are leveraging technology
• 13:48
  to transform the classroom experience.
• 13:51
  We're so proud that Ms. Miles is being recognized for leading the way
• 13:55
  through her forward-thinking and innovative teaching.
• 13:58
  Bossier Parish Sheriff's Deputy Colton Hunter already wears one gold star on his uniform.
• 14:03
  Now, he has two.
• 14:05
  Deputy Hunter has been the School Resource Officer at Stockwell Place Elementary
• 14:09
  for just over a year now and what an impact he has made in such a short amount of time.
• 14:14
  You know, the staff at Stockwell calls SRO Hunter a ray of sunshine
• 14:18
  and they sing his praises for the way he builds relationships with students
• 14:22
  and makes them feel seen and valued.
• 14:25
  You know, he isn't afraid either to get on the floor and play with students,
• 14:29
  climb the rock wall in the gym, all the while keeping the campus safe.
• 14:33
  Deputy Hunter is also said to be a good sport when the staff plays pranks on him.
• 14:39
  Apparently, this is how they show their love at Stockwell.
• 14:41
  I guess so.
• 14:42
  In fact, they pulled a fast one on him recently at Deere graduation
• 14:45
  when at the end of the ceremony, Deputy Hunter was thrust in the spotlight
• 14:50
  and surprised as Bossier School's Gold Star recipient.
• 14:54
  So, congratulations to him and also a special thanks to our Gold Star Sponsor,
• 14:58
  Bossier Federal Credit Union.
• 15:00
  You know, there are 12 other people we want to thank for their service.
• 15:03
  Our Bossier Parish School Board members,
• 15:05
  January is Louisiana School Board Recognition Month
• 15:08
  and a time set aside to thank our representatives for everything they do
• 15:12
  to support the students and staff that make up our school system.
• 15:16
  They serve on various sundry committees.
• 15:20
  There's just so many things that's outside of the policy manual
• 15:25
  that they do for us to support us.
• 15:27
  They are the policy makers for our system.
• 15:29
  They act as the fiscal stewards for our system
• 15:32
  to make sure our taxpayer dollars are being used in the best possible way.
• 15:37
  Their job is not an easy one, but our board is committed
• 15:41
  and I would say we have one of the best boards in the state.
• 15:43
  Yes, totally agree.
• 15:45
  Their leadership, their hard work truly shine through
• 15:48
  and we certainly appreciate their dedication.
• 15:51
  We also want to take the opportunity to thank our outgoing President,
• 15:55
  Eric Newman, who led the board with great vision and resolve
• 15:59
  and also congratulate our 2026 officers.
• 16:02
  In fact, a passing of the gavel ceremony was held
• 16:04
  where Sherry Poole took the reins as President
• 16:07
  and Logan McConathy will step up as Vice President for 2026.
• 16:11
  You know, President Newman's just done a fantastic job for us
• 16:14
  and we've been through a lot of heavy issues
• 16:20
  throughout the second half of the school year
• 16:22
  and he was always a phone call away
• 16:25
  and was Johnny on the spot.
• 16:27
  He's very professional in how he goes about his business
• 16:31
  and I am really excited about longtime Bossier Parish employee,
• 16:37
  former Human Resources Director,
• 16:40
  now School Board President,
• 16:42
  Sherry Poole taking over to lead us through 2026
• 16:45
  and also our new Vice President, Logan McConathy,
• 16:48
  excited about what he's going to bring to the table as well.
• 16:51
  Yes, and Ms. Poole definitely brings a lot of institutional knowledge
• 16:54
  to the board for sure, so we're excited for both of them.
• 16:57
  We want to thank you for joining us today.
• 16:59
  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel
• 17:01
  and then access all the other platforms that Sonya mentioned earlier
• 17:04
  wherever you like to get your podcast information
• 17:07
  so you don't miss the next episode
• 17:09
  when we go On the Record with Bossier Schools.
• 17:11
  Until then, you're up to date.
• 17:16
  This has been a Bossier Schools production.
• 17:19
  Join us next time when we go On the Record with Bossier Schools.