On Tuesday February 2^nd, Tyler Conn, Kenny Coleman and Chris Grammer from LyondellBasell Chemical Company spent their day talking to the La Porte Junior High Career Connections students. The 7^th and 8^th grade students saw what they learn in their science and math classes applied to actual careers through hands on experiments. They also had the opportunity to win some cool prizes by asking good questions and volunteering to participate.

During the week of March 1, the 8th graders will be completing their Four Year Plan in preparation for high school registration later in the month. This is an important step in the planning their futures.

For more information, click here.

La Porte Junior High held its Spelling Bee on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Ossie Torres took 1st Place, and Andrea Rojas and Krystal Alaniz were runners-up. All three students will participate in the LPISD Spelling Bee on February 19 at the Administration Building.

On November 19, 2009, La Porte Junior High held its district science fair with 220 contestants competing for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in the categories of biology, physics, chemistry, general science, and behavioral science.  The winners below will have the opportunity to advance to the Houston Science Fair at the Brown Convention Center in March 2010. We are very proud of all our contestants. Many positive comments were made by the judges on the quality of the projects and interviewing skills of our students.  They made LPJH shine!

The winners of each category are:

Physics

1st - Bryce Taylor, 2nd - Haleigh Wilson, 3rd - Abby Northcutt

Chemistry

1st - Henry Garcia, 2nd - Sabrina Silos, 3rd - Allison Saenz

Biology

1st - Ozzie Torres, 2nd - Markel Perry, 3rd - Ethan Oliphant

Behavioral

1st - Sarah Pilkinton, 2nd - Samantha Sanchez, 3rd - Kimberly Cross

General Science

1st - Tony Munoz, 2nd - Tori Vidales, 3rd - Kelsey Halverson

La Porte Jr. High students, faculty and staff send out a big "Thank you!" to the companies, and community members below for graciously giving their time to judge our student projects. We absolutely appreciate every one of the volunteers for their time!

DOW, Kaneka, Southern Ionics Inc., Baker Hughes, Sunoco Inc.,  FMC Corporation, INVISTA, Kuraray America, INEOS O&P, DuPont, Sun Products Corporation, Comcast ,K & K Tractor Service and Demolition, LyondellBassell, Dianal America Inc.,  BASF Corporation, City of Shoreacres, Rohm Haas, BLO, Air Products, AKZO Nobel, Commissioner Precinct 2, Former and Present LPISD Board Members, LPISD administration and teachers, and all other individual volunteers.

A very special "Thank you!"  goes out to Margaret Cox for helping with student projects and last minute details, Larry Cox for putting  together an awesome science fair video, Paige Mige her patience and time with our many purchase requests, and Officer Larkey  and Patisu Plott for  helping with the breakfast and lunch and jumping in at the last minute to help where needed!

Cheryl Mundy and Katy Jernigan from Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union spent the day with La Porte Junior High's Career Connection classes.  Students had fun learning about careers in Accounting and Compliance while playing bingo and winning gift cards to Sonic and Target.

We will be performing Ed Opus (Rex) on December 8, 2009, at 6:00 pm in the cafeteria.

Based roughly on the intricate plot of Oedipus Rex, this comedy/farce relates the adventures of Ed Opus, beloved and loving student body president of West Thebes High School. See Ed Opus track down the unknown stranger who did away with Teen Angel. Empathize with Ty Reesias, president of the Soothsayer Club, as he tells Ed Opus who the culprit really is. Let your heart soar with Ed's girlfriend, Yo Yo Costa, as she solves the riddle of the matching birthmarks that resemble a Maltese Falcon straddling Detroit. The set is minimal, the fun maximal!

Michael Bohac, a mechanical engineer who works for United Space Alliance (USA), was a guest speaker for La Porte Junior High Career Connection classes on Monday, December 7th. The students enjoyed learning about his exciting career working with astronauts and in Mission Control at NASA.

Pictured in the 1^st row:  Avery Blanchard, Kenneth Pfeiffer, Carlos Hernandez, Adrian Cerda, Jonathan Blanchard

2^nd row:  Joshua Braughton, Nazim Villa, Kayli Perry, Mr. Michael Bohac, Dalton Adams, Bianca Araza, Ashley Mongiello

This year La Porte Junior High has partnered with Armand Bayou Nature Center thanks to a grant from Environ. This partnership allows for two outreach visits by the center's staff, and included a field trip for our 8th grade students taken during the week of December 4th.  The classroom visits and the field trip broadened our student's awareness of the characteristics of local ecosystems, and how human activity impacts the quality of our community waters for plant and animal life.

La Porte Junior High's TOP DOGS for the Second Six Weeks are:

Johnathan L., Haley H., Lauren T., Kyle J., Tori V., Jaron D., Lane P., and Valaree C. 

Also pictured are Principal Vicki Defee, Associate Principal Jason McConnell, and Assistant Principal Kristi Peterson.

The La Porte Junior High Social Studies Department hosted a special event honoring our local veterans. Many veterans joined us for refreshments and a ceremony that included the LPJ Band, the LPJ Choir, the La Porte JROTC, NJHS President Thomas Hootman, and Student Council President Alexis Wells. Students Stephanie Castillo, Adriana Nava, and Tori Vidales shared their original poems.

In addition to the veterans who attended, other honored guests were Carson Jones, who gave the invocation, and guest speaker Mr. Lloyd Wells, Army Air Corps (retired).

Student Ambassadors at LPJ are truly 'leaders' on campus.  These students were nominated by previous teachers, interviewed by LPJ staff, and strategically assigned according to strengths and student interest.  Ambassadors are teamed with personnel assigned to either the assistant principal or front office.  Primary duties include proper greeting of parents and guests, assisting staff members with their work, delivering materials to staff, and role modeling appropriate behavior for LPJ students.  This student-leader group is always eager and willing to provide service with a smile!!!

LPJ is lucky to have such a talented Student Ambassador team.

Pictured are (front to back): Kelsey Kokes, Hoan Nguyen, Alesandra Gonzalez, Rocio Torrez, Hunter Rankin, Rocki Rae, Paige Vasquez, Kimberly Waugh, Savannah Vawter, Logan Garcia, Bianca Arevalo, Hailee Moser,  Autumn Holloway, Briana Harris, faculty adviser Patisu Plott, Cody Fox, Lyndi Price, Barbara Saltsman, Heaven Dominguez, Karina Ortiz, and Samantha Sanchez.

LPJ teachers and students are using exciting new technology to make learning fun and productive. Mobi's are wireless tablets that teachers and students can use to make learning interactive and engaging. The CPS Clickers allow the students to answer questions informally and formally to be discussed individually or in groups. The photos below show Mrs. Mille's and Mr. Bagley's students in action!

Sylvia Peña with Perspectiva, Landon Duncan with Tellepsen, and Chris Green with PBK Architects spent an entire day at La Porte Junior High on November 6th, 2009 with Mrs. Blanchard's five Career Connection classes. Not only did the speakers talk about their individual careers, but they also stressed the great amount of interdependence among the three careers.

Additionally, the students learned about the importance and relevance of education, teamwork, effective communication strategies, and the significance of creating a realistic roadmap 'right now' for high school and beyond.

Students actively participated, asked excellent questions, and were very interested in these careers.

The La Porte Education Foundation presented some well-deserved grant awards to four La Porte Junior High teachers on Friday, November 6. Karan Lee, Katie Breaux, and Jaclyn Scott were each awarded one grant, while Sharon Kamas, Science specialist, received two grants. Congratulations!

On October 10^th some of the Pre AP students in Karan Lee's classes at La Porte Junior High attended the play, Our Town, at the Alley Theatre.  The students will be studying this American classic this semester.

Pictured Left to Right:  Andrea Rojas, Bryce Taylor, Matthew Sanchez, Sierra Chittenden, Mason Buck, La Porte Junior High Teacher Karan Lee, Haley Humes, Ian Small, Dallas Burton, Brandon Trejo, Stefan Burkhardt, Josh Mazariegos, Rachel Tempel.

On November 4th the LPJ choir attended the opera " The Elixir of Love" at Wortham Theatre. We also enjoyed lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse. We were not allowed to take photos at the opera, so we took every other opportunity to snap a few photos! 

Jake Evans, a Paramedic with the City of La Porte EMS, visited the Career Connections classes yesterday at La Porte Junior High to talk about his career and give the students a hands-on experience of what he does on a daily basis.

On October 28, 2009, Linda Lukaszewski, President & CEO of Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union, visited with the Career Connections classes and teacher Kay Blanchard at La Porte Junior High.

On Friday, October 23, two Chemical Engineers, Kaylin Harper and Tyler Conn, both from LyondellBassel -Bayport, volunteered to speak to the La Porte Junior High Career Connections students.  Students learned about the educational requirements they would need for a career in engineering and the income they could expect to earn if they choose this career.  They also had the opportunity to perform some fun chemistry experiments!

Mrs. Mille's Math classes take advantage of the gorgeous La Porte weather to get creative with math and chalk.

La Porte Junior High's TOP DOGS for the First Six Weeks grading period are:

Barbara S., Hunter R., Ashley M., Kaitlyn F., Sabrina S., Arsdale F., Henry B., and Thomas H.

Also pictured are Principal Vicki Defee, Associate Principal Jason McConnell, and Assistant Principal Kristi Peterson.

Tyler Conn, Brian Rollins, and Chris Grammer spent an entire day at La Porte Junior High with Mrs. Blanchard's five Career Connection classes. The students learned about the importance and relevance of education, effective communication strategies, significance of creating a realistic roadmap for high school and beyond, along with career opportunities at Lyondell Basell. They had fun interacting with the three Lyondell employees through ongoing discussion and observation of science experiments.

Click Here to read the latest La Porte Junior High news.

The following Student Council Officers were elected by the La Porte Junior High student body. Congratulations!

President - Alexis Wells

Vice President - Mikayla Larkin

Treasurer - Josh Martinez

Secretary - Andrea Rojas

Sgt. At Arms - Tamara Trim 

Historian - Elizabeth Deleon and Jehzel McHamons

Michael Barry, who works for GCEFCU as the Vice President of Operations, along with Travis Reed, GCEFCU Membership Office, spent an entire day at La Porte Junior High with Mrs. Blanchard's five Career Connection classes. The students learned about the importance of developing and maintaining good credit, the 'ins and outs' of applying for and obtaining loans, and the training and education required to obtain a lending position at the credit union. They had a ton of fun interacting with Mr. Barry and Mr. Reed as students participated through ongoing discussion and role modeling strategies.  Students were constantly on their toes in hopes of winning fun incentives through active participation!   

Click Here to read the latest La Porte Junior High news.

Please click here to view important information regarding your student's health.

Cristal Gehrke, who works for Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union as the Member Relations Coordinator, spent an entire day at La Porte Junior High with Mrs. Blanchard's five Career Connection classes. The students learned about Communications, Public Relations and Marketing. They had a lot of fun working and learning as they created their own press release and also had the opportunity to win gift cards from local businesses.

ATTENTION: Parents of LPJ 8th Grade students

Beginning February 9, your students will be creating their Four-Year Plan for high school. This activity will assist the student in better understanding the requirements for high school graduation.

Your student has been given information to take home. Please help your student by reading the letter and going over the information with them.

To view the information, please click here.

To view the LPHS Course Catalog, please click here.

Also, click here to check out the LPHS Course Fair on February 12.