Buzz_May__2008 - Martin Behrman Charter School Academy of ...

Volume 3 Issue 10 May, 2008
Calendar of Events
Friday, May 2
Promotional Exercises
Tuesday, May 13
Last Day of School
Monday, May 26 -
Friday, June 27
LEAP Remediation
Monday, June 2 -
Friday, June 27
Young Audience
Summer Program
Monday, August 11
First Day of School!
Hats off to Mrs. Carter and
Mrs. Goins for all their support
in making this a great school
year.
Martin Behrman Charter School
Behrman Buzz
Home of the Stingers!
Located in Historic Algiers Point
Behrman Charter
School Information
715 Opelousas Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70114
504.324.7030
504.309.8174 Facsimile
Mrs. Rene Lewis-Carter,
Principal
Mrs. Cherie Haydel Goins,
Assn’t. Principal
Ms. Gwen Sonnier,
Secretary
Ms. Sheila Alexander,
Secretary
Mrs. Kimberly Chiles,
Counselor
Mr. Ken Mitchell
Social Worker
Mrs. Rosalind Brown, R.N.
Nurse
Mrs. Faydra Alexander
Mr. Brian Young
Master Teachers
Looking For LEAP
Results ??
LEAP scores for the 4 th and 8 th grades are expected to
be in the office on May 15 th . Parents should call the
office after that date for the results and for more information.
Nerve Center of the School
Always there with a correct answer and a ready smile
is the office staff at Martin Behrman Charter School.
No matter what chaos is surrounding us, we can be
assured of a calm, pleasant atmosphere in the office.
We are all grateful to
Mrs. Sonnier, Mrs.
Alexander, and Ms.
Ross for all the things
they do to make our
lives and the school
run smoothly.
TOP SCHOLARS
Martin Behrman Charter School is sending on to other schools some
very bright and talented students. The top students from the 2007-
2008 8 th grade class will be moving on to a variety of schools. They
are: Ciara Evans, who will be going to Warren Easton High School
next year where she will be trying out for the softball team, James
White, who will be attending Isidore Newman School, where he
hopes to play basketball and football and run track, and Bidney Davis
and Moneisha Lemon, who will be going to O. Perry Walker where
they hope to continue playing volleyball. Brandon Battle will also be
going to O. Perry Walker, where he will play football and basketball.
Heading for Edna Karr are Orion Williams, Davonte Griffith and
Jamesmon Jenkins. Orion hopes
to make the volleyball team.
Melanie Briones will be heading
uptown to the High School of
Math and Science. Ladwanna
Lewis is not sure where she will
go next year, but whichever
school she chooses will be very
glad to have her. Not pictured, but
included in the top scholars are
Robin Moses ,who will be heading for Edna Karr, along with Colby
Antoine and Courtnee Antoine.
Band Trophy Winner
The 2008 Drum Extravaganza was held at McDonogh 35 High School
and Martin Behrman Charter School walked away with the trophy for the
Best Middle School Band. Led by section leaders 6 th grader Charles
Williams, 7 th graders Tyrielle Reddix, and 8 th graders Joshua Walker,
Ryan Foy, and Kenneth Collins, the drum line include 8 th graders Darrell
Collins, Darnell Wesley, and Rashad Ray, 7 th grader Desmond
Henry, 6 th grader Paul
Lewis and 5 th grader
Devin Glenn. The
drum line and the entire
band are fortunate
to be led by the talented
and energetic
Mr. B. Mitchell and
Mr. Jyron
Gautreaux.

PAGE 2 BEHRMAN BUZZ VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10
House for a Child Essay
Do your parents or guardian own a house that was severely
damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina? Are you between
the ages of 8 and 18? If so, you may be eligible to participate
in the “$100,000.00 House for a Child” essay contest sponsored
by EPCO Construction. See Mr. Kenneth Mitchell or
go to www.EPCOConstruction.com for details.
Trip to Lyn Haven Park
The 8 th graders began summer a little early, coming to school
in flip flops, shorts and tee shirts. Instead of books, their book
bags carried towels and swim wear. They were definitely out
of uniform! They did not stay at school long, but boarded
buses for a field trip to Lyn Haven Park. At the park they were
able to do many activities, such as play ping pong, miniature
golf, and basketball, ride on paddle boats, swing and, of
course, swim. They had a picnic lunch of bar-b-qued and fried
chicken, jambalaya, sausages, popcorn, and ice cream with lots
of toppings. Darnell
Wesley said everyone had a
lot of fun. The 8 th graders
are grateful to their teachers,
Ms. Gardner, Mrs.
Gray and Mrs. Jackson
for planning such a fun
end-of-the-year outing.
The United States Presidents
By Bria Balancier
The entire 4 th grade class selected a president to research. Everyone
had interesting information on their president and was
excited to share it. I enjoyed the research on my president because
I learned that he did a lot of positive things to help mankind.
I especially enjoyed decorating the poster board. If you
want to see our projects, come to the 4 th grade hallway and enjoy
what you see. Hats off to Mrs. Blackwell, Ms. George and
Mrs. Videau for always making learning challenging and exciting.
PreKindergarten Family Day
All of the pre-kindergarteners and their families went to Mel Ott
Park for Family Day. Everyone had a special green tee shirt bought
just for this occasion. The children played games, climbed on the
gym set, threw balls, did the hula hoop, and enjoyed the bubbles
from the bubble machine. There was even music so they could
dance. A delicious picnic lunch
was served that included fried
chicken, watermelon and seafood.
An ice cream truck came with
dessert. Mrs. Ragas, Mrs. Robinson,
Mrs. Brown and Mrs.
Davis always make these experiences
fun and educational.
Loyola Orchestra
The Loyola Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Jean Montes,
performed in the Martin Behrman auditorium for students from
Behrman, McDonogh #32 and William J. Fischer Elementary
Schools. Examples of the different types of instruments played
in an orchestra were demonstrated for the students. The program
featured the works of Barber, Mozart and Jeanty. Fabiola
Porras Montes, 07-08 Loyola Concert/Aria Competition winner
performed a clarinet
solo. The program
closed with Symphony
No. 4 in F
Minor, Op 36 by
Tchaikovsky. Everyone
left the auditorium
uplifted by
the beautiful classical
music and grateful
to have been
included in the
Greater New Orleans Community Service Tour.
Our Science Projects
By Timothy Perry
The Fourth Grade Science Projects were awesome! We had to
investigate and use the scientific method to find out how things
work and affect other things.
All of the projects were colorful
and creative because of
our great imaginations. The
projects were inquiry-based,
challenging and easy to accomplish.
It was the best
project I have ever done and
we celebrated our finish. The
projects are on display in the
library and everyone is invited
to view them. We want
Ms. Singleton & her class enjoy the exhibits
to say thanks to our parents and Mrs. Blackwell for their support
in making learning fun and exciting.
Young Audiences Summer Program
The Young Audiences/Arts for Learning Summer
S.M.A.R.T. Program will be held for students from Behrman
Charter School from June 2 nd until June 27 th . Because of
renovations being done at Behrman this summer, the program
will be held on the campus at McDonogh 32, 800 DeArmas
Street. The hours will be Monday through Friday; from 9 a.m.
until 3 p.m. Lunch will be provided. The theme is Creative
Connections and will include activities such as arts, music,
sports, academic enrichment, field trips, special performances,
and water day. Because of limited enrollment, immediate
registration is necessary. Forms can be obtained from Ms.
Mason, Mr. B. Mitchell or the Behrman Charter School office.

Cox Inspirational Hero
7 th grader Tori Estem has been selected as
one of Cox Communications Inspirational
Heroes. Tori was nominated because of his
helpfulness to others and his increasingly mature
attitude and behavior. Everyone at Behrman
is very proud to have Tori as a student in
our school.
Jeepers, Creepers
Dr. Jeffrey Silbernagel, an optometrist from Covington, LA has
developed a mobile eye clinic. He visits schools on Wednesdays and
Thursdays to do eye exams on the students. If the students need eyeglasses,
Dr. Silbernagel will provide the eyeglasses at no cost to the
parents. Our wonderful nurse, Mrs. Brown, made arrangements for
Dr. Silbernagel’s visit
to Behrman Charter
School and several
students went home
seeing the world a
little better than
before.
7 th & 8 th Grade Prom
By Hennessy Brown
A little rain, actually a lot of rain, did not stop the merriment when
the 7 th and 8 th Grade Prom was held at Pizazz.. Everyone came
dressed up and looking wonderful. The DJ-provided music was perfect
and we danced all night long. A sumptuous buffet was provided
and everyone dined on chicken, sandwiches, deviled eggs, potato
salad, chips, cookies, cake and punch. In spite of the rain, the prom
was well attended and a professional photographer was there recording
this memorable occasion for posterity. Chaperoning to make
sure things went smoothly and all was as it should be were Mrs.
Gray, Mrs. Jackson, Ms. Gardner, Mrs. Hampton, Mrs. Lewis,
Mrs. Bentley and Mrs. Carter
Cultural Activities
Charmaine Neville entertained the lower and upper grades in two
concerts one morning. She was accompanied by her backup band.
Ms. Neville invited some of the students on stage to sing and dance
with her. Soon everyone in the audience was dancing.
The next week the hip hop dance team of Rhythm and Soul performed
for the students, showing them some fancy footwork. Both of
these activities were made possible by Young Audiences.
Career Day
The Annual Career Day was an all-day event this year.
Eleven presenters participated. These eleven individuals
took time away from their busy schedules to talk to our 7 th
and 8 th graders. The presenters were greeted by the Crescent
City Brotherhood, a group of young men being
guided and mentored by Mr. Brian Young, one of our
Master Teachers. They were escorted to the newly renovated
library where Mrs. Prader, our Parent Liaison, had
prepared refreshments.
Students were exposed to a variety of careers. Guest speakers
included an airline pilot, a graphic designer, an attorney,
a sports anchor, a medical doctor, an entrepreneur, a pastor
and a radio personality. After a 20 minute presentation, the
speakers fielded questions from their audience. 8 th grader
Brandon McCaleb asked Mr. O’ Shields, a news photographer
with ABC Channel 26 News, “Are you part of the
paparazzi?” “Can you get me a buddy pass?”, asked 7 th
grader Ladwanna Lewis, of the airline pilot. When one
presenter cancelled, our very own Ms. Hawkins stepped in
to talk about her job as a Security Counselor. Each year
career Day gets better and better thanks to the incredible
efforts of our Social Worker, Mr. Mitchell and our School
Counselor, Ms. Chiles.
Earth Day
Wearing green was the order of the day at Martin Behrman
Charter School when everyone celebrated Earth
Day. The students decorated brown paper bags, donated
by Whole Foods, with
ecological and recycling
themes. Behrman students
want to do their
part to make this earth
clean and green.
More Books
The Behrman Charter School library has received a 2008
National Endowment For the Humanities We the People
Bookshelf on Created Equal grant. The grant includes
books at various levels with the theme “On Created
Equal.” Four books in Spanish were included. Look for
the special bookplate that denotes these books.

Puppet Performance
By Imari Red & Eriol King
“Wow! Who would ever have thought learning historical events
would be this much fun?” shouted Mrs. Hand D. Puppet. Who
is Mrs. Hand D. Puppet? Well, let us take you back to the beginning.
We were studying historic events in our Social Studies
class. We were given an assignment to retell the events using
story elements. Next, we had to create a hand puppet, along
with the props and the scenery. We had to make clothing for
the puppet representing the
time period of or event.
That was so much fun.
After making the puppets,
we staged a performance to
make the historical events
come to life. We actually
felt like movie directors and
actors on a movie set. We
then decided to name the
puppet that our inspiring teacher, Mrs. Washington, had made.
We decided on Mrs. Hand D. Puppet. Wasn’t that a clever
idea?
It’s Electrifying!
By Darius Hays, Clayshod Johnson & Damica Johnson
What is electricity? How do we use electricity? Did you know
that lightning is a spectacular discharge of static electricity?
These are just a few of the interesting topics that we have been
studying in our Science class. “It was fun learning about electric
charges and how they are involved in electricity,” said Eriol
King. “It was hard for me to construct my electrical model, but
I was finally successful and it was a wonderful feeling to have
completed it,” said Imari Red. Kevin mentioned that learning
about parallel and series circuits
was so interesting. “There was a
lot that I did not know about. It
was exciting to see that if one
bulb went out, the others did,
too,” he said.
Star Visit
Actor Delroy Lindo paid a visit to
Behrman Charter School and spoke to
the 4 th , 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grade students.
The students asked Mr. Lindo how he
had decided to become an actor and
what awards he had won. Mr. Lindo
graciously answered all questions,
and then posed for pictures with the
students and faculty. He also signed
personal autographs for everyone.
Thanks to the Rev. Earl Blackwell,
our own Mrs. Blackwell’s husband
and the Rev. Willie Walker for making
this
wonderful
event
possible.
Memphis
The 4 th , 5 th and 6 th graders at Martin Behrman Charter School recently too a trip
to Memphis, TN. to tour The National Civil Rights Museum. This was a culminating
activity for a study of African American History that began in February.
Many of the students and teachers were moved to tears as they heard excerpts of
speeches and reenactments as they moved along through the museum. Fifth
grade students Symone Norris and Destiny Ragas could not believe it was
really the place where Dr. King stayed before he was killed. The group also
took in some sightseeing as they toured through the city’s downtown area and
saw The Peabody Hotel, where a group of ducks parade through the hotel at
certain hours, AutoZone Park and Beale Street. This trip was made possible
through the hard work, planning and chaperoning of Mrs. Williams, Mrs.
Perry, Mrs. Bradley, Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Oliver, Mrs. Ragas and Ms. Singleton.
Curious George
Curious George came to school to see the students
in Pre-K and Kindergarten. Before he arrived, Ms.
Vera Warren Williams, Ali Williams’ mother
read the story of Curious George and the Pizza by
H. A. Rey to the assembled students. Every child
was able to greet Curious George and class pictures were taken with him.
They were curious about this curious little monkey.
Cheerleading Explosion
The ACSA sponsored a one day cheerleading camp at Behrman Charter School
on Saturday April 19. Routines, positions and stunts were taught by Glenn
Caston and other members of Tulane University’s cheerleading squad. Students
from all of the ACSA schools participated, as well as many of Behrman’s
cheerleaders and students who want to be a Behrman cheerleader.
MEMORIES