PFTSTA
Awards, Honors & Publications
2012-2013
PFTSTA:
Patrick F. Taylor Academy has been recognized by the National Center for
Educational Achievement (NCEA) as a higher performing school for 2012 for the state
of Louisiana. Read about the school: http://bit.ly/11yTsJz.
Patrick F. Taylor Academy received a score of 185 when school performance scores
(SPS) were announced in October. This demonstrated a growth of 26.1 points. These
scores showed the highest growth of any in the district and achieved a growth record
for Patrick Taylor. This SPS makes Patrick Taylor one of the top ten schools in the
state of Louisiana.
In 2012, Patrick F. Taylor Academy along with nearly one-third of schools in Louisiana
(440) earned the designation of Top Gains. These schools attained school
performance score gains that met or exceeded predetermined growth targets ranging
from 2 to 10 points.
Patrick F. Taylor Academy was one of 25 high schools in Louisiana to receive the
2012 College Readiness Award from the Louisiana ACT Council.
Patrick Taylor Academy was awarded a silver medal and is ranked at 826 in US News
and World Report’s Best High Schools rankings for 2013 and fourth in the state of
Louisiana.
Patrick Taylor Academy is ranked 193 in Daily Beast/Newsweek’s America’s Best
High Schools and second in the state of Louisiana.
Faculty:
Jaime Zapico (principal) was selected as the Jefferson Parish Public Schools Middle
School Principal of the Year. She was also named the principal of the year for
Jefferson Parish Public Schools.
Christina Johnson (English language arts) was selected as the Teacher of the Year by
the Patrick Taylor faculty. She was also named the high school teacher of the year for
Jefferson Parish Public Schools.
Lisa Valence (ELA and math) and Elizabeth Kahn (librarian) were awarded the SIGMS
Technology Innovation award by the International Society for Technology in Education
(ISTE) for their collaborative project Traveling to the Ninth Ward.
Elizabeth Kahn (librarian) received an EBSCO scholarship award to attend the
American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago in June, 2013.
Janell Simpson (science) has been named the winner of the George Drake Award for
Outstanding High School Chemistry Teaching by the Louisiana Section of the
American Chemical Society.
Janell Simpson (science) won a Louisiana Environmental Education Commission
grant totaling $2000 in April 2013 for the project, Project Clean Runway. to support
the LSU Coastal Roots Program, a partnership between LSU and Louisiana students
grades 3 through high school to establish wetland plant nurseries at their schools.
The following teachers received an award from the Louisiana Quality Science and
Mathematics(QSM) Grant Program:
Angela Giffin (math) $750 for “Experiencing the Wonders of Math through Literature”
Janell Simpson (science) $748 for "Gaming in the Wetlands" program
Lisa Valence (math) $639 for math manipulatives to promote hands on learning
Students:
Academic Games Leagues of America Nationals, Charlotte, NC, April 2013
The following students attended nationals as part of the team from the Jefferson
Parish School System: Keanu Bartolome, Kayla Tarr, Edward Johnson, Alexandra
Miserendino, and Abdullah Syed.
Edward Johnson won a medal for a perfect score in Equations and for being in the
top ten for Propaganda.
Keanu Bartolome won a medal for being in the top ten for Presidents and also won
trophies for being on the 3rd place On-Sets team and the 3rd place Presidents team.
Louisiana High School Rally Association
Carson Chauvin
Advanced Math –Functions & Statistics
Abrania Marrero
Advanced Math - Pre Calculus
Alexandra Miserendino
Biology
Allie Baldassaro
Calculus
Sarah Rogers
English 2
Tyler Libert
Geometry
3rd Place
1st Place
4th place
2nd place
3rd place
2nd place
Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) 7th Grade Talent Search
Dominic Scheurer and Holly Wilkinson qualified for State Recognition for their
performance on the ACT.
Sydney Monix was 1 of only 16 students in the State of Louisiana selected for the
2013 Star Scholar Summer Program at Ochsner Medical Center. Ochsner's highly
competitive Star Program provides students a head start in the fields of medicine,
science, and research.
Alexandra Baldassaro has been named a finalist in the 2013 National Merit
Scholarship Program by demonstrating through distinguished performance high
potential for future academic accomplishment.
Jake LeBlanc, 7th grade 4-H member, received 1st place in the parish-wide 4-H
Commodity Cookery/Ambassador Contest.
Verizon Innovative App Challenge
A team consisting of Stefan Suazo, Mark Parfait, Kiara Horton, Ariel Walker, Michael
Pham, and Jason Hall worked with teacher, Lisa Valence and won Best in State,
Middle School, 2013 for their app, Taylor Tech Tutor.
Greater New Orleans Literary Rally
Carson Chauvin
Advanced Math –Functions & Statistics
Abrania Marrero
Advanced Math - Pre Calculus
Henry Hazlett
Algebra I
Alexandra Miserendino
Biology
Allie Baldassaro
Calculus
Warren Abadie
Chemistry
Quentin Andrus
Civics
Stefan Suazo
English 1
Sarah Rogers
English 2
Louis Messina
English 3
Nick Dang
English 4
Paris Evans
Environmental Science
Tyler Libert
Geometry
Julia Rosato
Physical Science
Celia Zaeringer
Physics
Vy Mai
Spanish 1
Gavin Stevens
Spanish 2
Kiara Horton
Spanish 3
Lauren Tran
US History
Madison Pierce
World Geography
Tiffany Lou
World History
1st Place
1st Place
1st Place
1st Place
1st Place
2nd Place
1st Place
2nd Place
1st Place
4th Place
2nd Place
1st Place
1st Place
3rd Place
3rd Place
4th Place
4th Place
2nd Place
1st Place
2nd Place
1st Place
Greater New Orleans Science & Engineering Fair (GNOSEF)
1st place:
Kiara Horton, What is the effect of temperature on the index of refraction?
Nick Dang, What is the effect of acids and bases on the amount of atmospheric CO2?
Nuri Melancon, What are the effects of varying concentrations of Indole-3-Butyric acid
on the radicle growth of Acer rubrum seeds?
2nd place:
Team project – Linda Tran and Tiffany Lou, What is the effect of surroundings on the
intensity of sound produced?
3rd place:
Paris Evans, What is the effect of nanospray coating on the stain resistance of
natural and synthetic fabrics?
David Burns, What is the effect of relative humidity on the levels of UVA and UVB
measured at ground level?
Stephen Torry, What is the effect of heat treatment on different types of steel?
4th place:
Micquel Downs, What is the effect of temperature on the luminosity of luminol?
Arielle Laurent, What is the effect of the amount of salinity in water on the growth
and chlorophyll content of Spartina alterniflora?
In addition, these Science students received special awards:
Kiara Horton received a 2nd place award from the New Orleans Geological Society for
her project titled, What is the effect of temperature on the index of refraction?
Team project – AJ McGee and Sara Adoue received a 1st place award from the US
Army for their project titled, How does temperature affect the speed of soun
During the local Academic Games Linguishtiks Tournament the Junior Division team
including Kayla Tarr, Abdullah Syed, Alexandra Miserendino, Edward Johnson andTy
Dugas won 2nd place. During the local Academic Games Presidents Tournament the
Junior Division Team won 2nd place. Kayla Tarr won 3rd place for the Individual Award.
Chris Otero won the trophy as the top team scorer at the Math Counts competition at
UNO.
Chaise Sevin, 7th grade, received an honorable mention in the Jefferson Parish
Department of Environmental Affairs Nonpoint Source Pollution Essay Contest.
During the local Academic Games Equations tournament the Junior Division including
Kayla Tarr, Dylan Vasquez, Alexandra Miserendino, Edward Johnson, and Ty Dugas
placed 3rd. The middle division including Keanu Bartolome, Zoey Prado, Rachel
Indest, Bailey Andras and Hannah Porta placed 5th. Keanu Bartolome was
undefeated in Equations.
During the local Academic Games On-Sets tournament the Junior Division including
Kayla Tarr, Dylan Vasquez, Alexandra Miserendino, Edward Johnson, and Abdullah
Syed placed 3rd.
Baton Rouge Magnet High Mu Alpha Theta Math tournament:
The team consisting of Krishna Allam, Allie Baldassaro, Ben Gothard, and Tiffany Lou
placed 2nd in the Calculus Math bowl. The team consisting of Carson Chauvin, Louie
Messina, and Kaylynn Tran placed 1st in the Buzz Game.
The AP Environmental Students (APES) with their teacher Janell Simpson won
$10,000 for New Orleans City Park from the Drew Brees Super Service Challenge.
For their service learning project associated with Coastal Roots of LSU, the students
planted over 300 bald cypress and Nuttall oaks in Couturie Forest on December 6,
2012.
Brother Martin Mu Alpha Theta Math Tournament:
Allie Baldassaro was given an Honorable Mention Award in Division 2 in the
Individual Calculus Test.
The team consisting of Allie Baldassaro, Ben Gothard, Danny Gutierrez, and Linda
Tran earned first place in Division 2 in the Calculus Team Competition.
Catholic High Mu Alpha Theta Math Tournament:
Allie Baldassaro placed 4th in Division 3 in the Individual Calculus Test.
The team, consisting of Krishna Allam, Allie Baldassaro, Ben Gothard and Tiffany Lou,
earned first place in Division 3 in the Calculus Team Competition.
Gavin Morrow was selected by the teachers as the 8th Grade Student of the Year.
Alexandra Baldassaro was selected by the teachers as the 12th grade Student of the
Year.
During the local Academic Games Propaganda tournament the Junior Division team
including Kayla Tarr, Dylan Vasquez, Alexandra Miserendino, Edward Johnson, and
Abdullah Syed placed 1st Kayla Tarr placed 3rd overall and Dylan Vasquez placed 4th
overall in the Junior Division.
Many members of the Patrick Taylor Model United Nation’s Team (MUN) received
commendations at the annual convention held in Baton Rouge, LA in early
December. Krishna Allam, Ben Gothard, Logan Leslie, Celia Zaeringer represented
Japan and received the Outstanding Country Data Sheet. AJ McGee and Louis
Messina represented Congo and received the Outstanding Position Statement on
poverty, combating HIV/AIDS, political corruption and the clean water crisis. Krishna
Allam, Ben Gothard, Tiffany Lou and Kashif Mustahsan representing Japan and
Greece received Outstanding Resolution on the water crisis. Sara Adoue, Krishna
Allam, Ben Gothard, Tiffany Lou, AJ McGee and Kashif Mustahsan representing
Japan, Greece and Congo received Outstanding Resolution on the energy crisis. Ben
Gothard representing Japan received Outstanding Delegate in the Economic and
Social Issues Council. AJ McgGee, Louis Messina, Justin Lightsey, Fred Turner, Sara
Adoue and Danny Gutierrez representing Congo received Outstanding Country. The
2012 state convention passed 7 resolutions addressing a wide-range of global
issues, and of those 7 resolutions, 6 were either authored or coauthored by members
of the Patrick Taylor team.
Quint Adkins was selected for two District 6 honor bands: Junior High Concert Honor
Band and Junior High Jazz Honor Band.
Kayla Tarr has been selected to write monthly entries to The Hub which is a blog from
the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American
Library Association (ALA).
Bookmarked, the high school library book group was selected to write reviews for the
bi-monthly online newsletter, SLJTeen, published by School Library Journal. These
reviews will be published from June 2012 until December 2014. Read the reviews
here: http://sqworl.com/thwdxz. The following students are members of
Bookmarked: Abrania Marrero, Alex Miserandino, Alicia Tran, Carson Chauvin. Claire
Commagere, Courtney Beamer (president), Darla Nguyen, Destiny Burnett, Dylan
Vasquez. Emmalyn Buquoi. Fred Turner, Jazmine Wells, Kathleen McShane. Kayla
Tarr. Kaylynn Tran, Lauren Tran, Paris Evans, Sarah Allred, Seth Schauble, Tameka
Aych, Thomas Sostarics, Vy Mai.