Knightly News

Episcopal students and faculty are accomplishing great things! Join us in congratulating everyone on their recent success. Look for additional success stories in future issues of Knightly News.

MATHCOUNTS State Champs!

The Episcopal Middle School MATHCOUNTS team earned the Louisiana State MATHCOUNTS State Championship title! Congratulations to Nate McLean, Meg Kantrow, James Gawronski, Eli Gray Bennett and Coach James Moroney! McLean was the state individual champion, placing first out of 97 competitors, Kantrow was 12th overall and Gawronski finished in the top 20. The top four students, including McLean, will compete at the National MATHCOUNTS  competition this summer. Moroney will serve as the Louisiana team coach.

The MATHCOUNTS mission states that “MATHCOUNTS provides engaging math programs to U.S. middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving.” The organization accomplishes this mission by offering a national competition series. Students compete on the local, regional and state level for the opportunity to move on to the national round where the ultimate prize is a $20,000 scholarship. The competition includes sprint, target, team and countdown rounds which measure a student’s speed, accuracy, problem-solving and math reasoning skills. 

2023 State Championship Quiz Bowl Team

Episcopal Quiz Bowl team members are celebrating a Division II state championship title in the recently won at the Louisiana Quiz Bowl Association state tournament! With the win, the team qualifies for the national competition this summer. Congratulations to the following Quiz Bowl team members: Rainier deGravelles, Ahebwa Muhumuza, Scott McAdams, Carter McLean, Joey Roth and Hayden Willett. In addition, senior Carter McLean was the top scorer in the division.

Ten teams competed in the recent competition held at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge. Team advisor Dr. Billy Pritchard says the Episcopal squad competed in three tournaments this year in addition to juggling their commitments to other activities.

Recently, Episcopal has had a strong quiz bowl team with several alumni, including Charlie Roth, Alex Nelson and Justin Dynes, going on to compete collegiately at Princeton, Yale and Northwestern. Congratulations to this year’s team!

Mock Trial Teams Compete at Regionals

On Friday, March 5, Episcopal fielded a strong team at the regional Mock Trial competition at the 19th Judicial District Court House in Baton Rouge.  The case problem, Rodriguez v. State of Louisiana Levee Board, was a case based on the book Rising Tide by John M. Barry which chronicled the decision to blow a hole in the Mississippi River levee at the Poydras Plantation on April 26, 1927.  In Mock Trial, participants act as lawyers and witnesses for the prosecution/plaintiff and defense/defendant while learning about the procedures for trying cases.  They increase their knowledge of the law in general, skills in critical thinking, and confidence in public speaking. The team was coached by attorneys Barbara Irwin, Jason Melancon, and Paolo Messina. Social studies teacher Anita Gilmore joined me in sponsoring the team. Congratulations on a great showing!

By Dr. Rebecca Kuhn

Congratulations to the Model United Nations Team

Ayush Patel, representing Panama, had two resolutions pass from his council, and one resolution be debated at the plenary session Saturday morning. All three of his resolutions passed.

Julia Brinker and Miniya Malone, representing Indonesia drafted two solo resolutions that were debated by their council but did not pass.

Hayden Willett and Wylie Schexnayder, who were representing Belarus, had a resolution pass their General Assembly chamber.

Hayden Singh and Ethan Ott, representing Russia, authored a resolution that passed their chamber and was selected as "Outstanding Resolution". 

An all-Episcopal coalition of Belarus (George Forgey, Cole Brown), Sweden (Riley Posey, Grace Ciesielski) and Russia (Maggie King and Mia Pulliam) were also recognized with "Outstanding Resolution" for their council.

Mia Pulliam and Maggie King authored three resolutions that were passed by the Economic and Social Council, while Grace Ciesielski and Riley authored two passed resolutions, and Cole Brown and George Forgey authored one resolution passed by their council.

Ramsey Claire Greene and Carter McLean, representing Russia, had three resolutions that were debated in the Security Council. A resolution they co-authored with Jack Ezell and Rainier deGravelles, who represented Poland in the Security Council, was passed by the council. Green and McLean had a crisis resolution passed by the Security Council as well. 

Ramsey Claire Greene was elected to serve as Presiding Officer for next year's Security Council.  Thomas O'Connor deserves kudos for serving as Presiding Officer in the Security Council at this year's conference. Hayden Singh ran for Secretary General and was the nominee from the Baton Rouge area, but unfortunately did not win the general election.

By Dr. Edwin Way

Student Entrepreneur Earns Funding

Junior Ahebwa Muhumuza recently earned seed funding for his business idea through the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge. Ahebwa pitched Safe Knife, a utensil safe enough for adults and children to use in the kitchen. Ahebwa enjoyed the YEABR experience and says “all the work that you do is worth it.”

Superior Success

The Episcopal Select Choir received Sweepstakes at the recent Louisiana Music Educators Association District Festival. This is the first Sweepstakes the choir has received since 2002! To earn Sweepstakes students must score “Superior,” the highest score possible, in both performance and Sight-Reading. Congratulations to our Select Choir members!

Powerlifting

Congratulations to the Episcopal boys powerlifting team for finishing as the Div IV State Runner Up! 

Individual congratulations to the following:
Reid Chauvin - State Champion and Outstanding Lifter of the D4 meet
Carson Furniss - State Champion
Lewis Ward - State Runner Up
Katherine Fivgas - State Champion
Jaela Purnell - State Champion
Look for more sports updates in a future Knightly News.

Technology Leadership Summit

Academic Technology Coordinator Brandi Bergeron was invited to participate in this year’s Tech & Learning Regional Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual event brings together academic technology leaders with a focus on maximizing student creativity through technology. Participants discussed technology as it relates to STEM, Esports and ensuring that students are ready for the workforce of tomorrow. Inspired by the summit, Bergeron will continue helping Episcopal educators enhance classroom lessons and learning processes through technological innovations.

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.