LaSalle Parish’s Students of the Year were recently selected with Harper Townsend chosen as Elementary Division Student of the Year, Shelby Norris chosen as Junior High Division Student of the Year and Hayleigh Boyd chosen as High School Division Student of the Year.
Each parish school selected a student of the year for their school/division and those competed at the district level to earn the district honors. LaSalle’s three winners will now prepare at the regional competition set to take place in February 2024. Winners at regionals will compete for the Louisiana Students of the Year.
The nine students from across the parish competing at the district level included: Lillie “Birdie” Lasiter, Olla Elementary; Shelby Norris, Fellowship Elementary; Cooper L. Sanders, Nebo Elementary; Emma D. Stringer, Fellowship Elementary; Harper Townsend, Good Pine Middle; Carson Hughart, Jena Junior High; Ava Hodges, LaSalle Junior High; Lucas G. Dotson, Jena High; and Hayleigh Boyd, LaSalle High.
Harper Camille Townsend
Harper Camille Townsend, LaSalle’s Elementary Division Student of the Year, is the daughter of Seth and Faith Townsend. She is a fourth grader at Good Pine Middle School.
The following is her essay that was submitted as part of the competition: My name is Harper Camille Townsend. I am 10 years old and was born in Alexandria, Louisiana on December 17th, 2012. My parents are Seth and Faith Townsend. I have a little brother named Nolan, who is a First-Grade student at Jena Elementary. People tell me that I have a caring and generous heart. I am a diligent worker, and I often help my family with household chores.
School work is important to me, so I take it very seriously. I try hard to encourage others and be a loyal friend. I am athletic and enjoy playing Upward Soccer, Dixie Youth Softball, and being a cheerleader for my school. My hobbies include all forms of art, singing in my church’s childrens choir, reading books, and baking. I also enjoy spending time with my friends, family and my Schnauzer Dolly.
I have many important accomplishments. First, I have maintained a 4.0 G.P.A. throughout my school career. In the fourth grade I had the highest overall scores on the I-ready Diagnostic Test in Math and Reading. I have also received the Citizenship Award in the second and third grades. The last two years I have attended the Red Truck Barn’s Art Camp. I have enjoyed meeting new people and learning new types of art techniques.
My most prized accomplishment is when I accepted Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior when I was seven, I was later baptized at Trinity Baptist Church.
I have many personal, academic, and extra- curricular goals set for this year. As personal goals this year I hope to get along with my brother better. Also, as a personal goal, I hope to grow closer to God.
My academic goal for this year is to receive all Advanced scores on the Leap Test and to maintain a 4.0 G.P.A. Finally, as extracurricular goals I hope to improve my art, baking, and cheerleading skills.
I love school, I look forward to it most days. I enjoy learning and spending time with my friends. A great education comes from great teachers. These teachers have influenced me to take a path to become a teacher one day. I think all kids should be able to experience these teachers.
Secondly, the issue of bulling concerns me. I feel that everyone should be treated the way they would want to be treated. I have witnessed other kids being bullied and I was disappointed. I always try to help the victim because I would want someone to be kind to me if I was bullied.
Lastly, I think it’s important for all children to learn to have a good work ethic. Learning the value of hard work is important for children and a good life skill. I have had several jobs, in which I have had to learn responsibility as well as money management and hard work.
A few examples include babysitting a twoyear-old this past summer while her parents worked from home. I have also been asked to feed my neighbor’s cat while they were on vacation. Occasionally I help my grandmother with her home staging business; when I am not in school of course! I recently set up my very first lemonade stand and made thirty dollars! I bought myself a new throw blanket for my bed with my earnings.
Thank you very much for nominating me to be a candidate for Student of the Year 2024.
Shelby Raye Norris
Shelby Raye Norris, LaSalle’s Junior High Division Student of the Year, is the daughter of Justin and Casey Norris. She is an eighth grader at Fellowship Elementary School.
The following is her essay that was submitted as part of the competition: My name is Shelby Raye Norris. I am 13 years old, and in eighth grade at Fellowship Elementary School. I am the daughter of Justin and Casey Norris. I have two siblings, a brother Lucas who is fourteen, and a sister Leslie who is ten. Lucas attends Jena High School and Leslie attends Fellowship Elementary.
When at my house, I enjoy singing, riding my four-wheeler, and watching shows like “The Rookie “. Some songs that I enjoy singing include “My Jesus” by Anne Wilson and “Heart like a Truck” by Lainey Wilson.
Riding my four-wheeler on our trails, lets me escape from the world and it is just fun. “The Rookie” is a show that I enjoy, because each episode has a different story line and you never know what is going to happen. These are some of my favorite things to do at my house.
When I graduate high school, the job that I would like to pursue is teaching. Teaching is what I would like to do in the future, because I enjoy caring for small children. I can work well with other people and in teaching, you have to be creative, which I am.
Another interest I have is becoming an interior designer. During my summers off as a teacher I will be able to work in the field of design. Becoming an interior designer is important to me, because I love decorating and organizing.
One issue I would like to address is the shootings in my area. Specifically in Alexandria, the rise of crime has caused my family and me to not be able to do certain activities like going to the movies, going shopping, going to certain restaurants, etc. Another issue that has affected me is the drought in my area. This has affected my life because we have had to be very cautious and careful when we did anything outdoors. I live in the country so being able to build a fire in our fire pit has been on hold.
Finally, the third issue that has affected me is the poor roads in our parish. This affects me daily because the roads are in such poor condition that everyone has to drive very slow to keep from damaging their cars. The rural roads in our area are so dangerous from pot holes and that could cause an accident. Hopefully in the near future this issue will be addressed by our local governing body.
In conclusion, I look forward to the rest of the school year and the future. I am honored to have been chosen as a Student of the Year Candidate. I hope that all of you have a fabulous day, week, and year.
Hayleigh Nichole Boyd
Hayleigh Nichole Boyd, La-Salle’s High Division Student of the Year, is the daughter of Heath and Heather Boyd. She is a senior at LaSalle High School and has two younger siblings, Hadley, a freshman at LaSalle High and Hunter, a seventh grader at LaSalle Junior High.
The following is her essay that was submitted as part of the competition: What Class Should They Pass? As we are approaching the end of our high school years, we must have all passed each class we have taken in order to get here. These classes vary between every student. They began to vary once we approached our junior year. This was a turning point for our class and would separate us all. Some choose TOPS, and others choose to start their path with JumpStart. These pathways should be considered equal to each other because we have to get through them to reach our final destination, graduation. Although our pathways may vary, I believe that we all must pass one certain class.
What is this certain class, you may wonder? In my opinion, I believe that students should be required to pass a speaking class. Although this may send some students into a panic, I do believe this would be completely beneficial to us as students. As many of us are approaching college or work, we will meet many new people. These people will include those who have power over us, such as a professor or even a new boss. These are the types of people you would want to impress and be able to properly communicate with. If you speak with too much slang or improper sentences or phrases, they may not see you as a professional. I believe making a good first impression is crucial!
To provide an example, when I was a sophomore, I decided to try public speaking. I wrote a four-page speech relating to agriculture since it was for my FFA class. In the beginning I would tend to get very nervous and want to completely shut down. After practice, I began to feel extremely confident in myself. I went on to compete in district and area competitions. This was a very substantial accomplishment for me. I had tried something new and began to enjoy it. Further, I believe this played a great role with how I am today. Now I can gladly do a presentation or give a speech. It also helped me come out of my shell and become more vocal with friends and family.
Another good reason I believe we should take a speaking class is so that we can be prepared once we make it to college. There are public speaking classes in college that we should be prepared for. Many people have mentioned that they dropped the class because they were too afraid to speak in front of many people. Personally, I believe that if they had more practice speaking in front of their class, with people they are comfortable with, that they could have excelled in their college class. We will also have presentations and much more in college. Who wouldn’t want to prepare themselves to succeed and impress people? Encouragement is also key. We should be vocal and encourage people to speak and try new things. It’s a world of opportunities.
To conclude, I believe this would be a great addition to graduation requirements. Many people could blossom from this experience. It would help some grow as students and as people. It could be a life-changing experience for some and an amazing thing to see come to life!
