ZCSD Warns of Possible Scammers in the Area

Zachary Community Schools officials have received information that misleading and possibly deceptive door-to-door magazine and educational book sales crews have approached residents in the Zachary area selling educational materials.

These salespersons have said or implied they are representing the Zachary Community Schools when making their sales pitch to parents with children. Zachary Community Schools is not associated with, nor do they endorse or recommend their products.

Kindergarten Testing

Calling All Future Kindergarten Students!
If you have a child who will be entering Kindergarten for the 2009-2010 school year, please call the school. Each child entering Kindergarten will need to be tested, and we are currently scheduling testing sessions

Zachary Students Participate in Recycling Program

Stop, Think, Drink and Sink! That’s what students in Zachary schools were doing this semester as they began Drink It Then Sink It, the district-wide plastic recycling program. Students recycle plastic in the form of milk bottles and other approved drink containers, including water bottles. They are the first district in the state to recycle the plastic bottles.

This school year Zachary School District switched from serving milk in paper cartons which are not recycled to recyclable, kid-friendly 8 ounce plastic bottles. “Our students love the plastic bottles and as a result, they are drinking more milk,” said Kathy Valentine, Child Nutrition Supervisor..

Recycling plastic milk bottles at school benefits schools and the community. It teaches students to be environmentally responsible, it significantly decreases trash and diverts it from the landfill, and it saves natural resources as recycled bottles are made into new products.

The recycling project was planned and implemented by a partnership including Zachary School Nutrition Program, Recycling Foundation and Southeast Dairy Association,

Zachary High Hosts Career Day

Zachary High School will host their annual Career Day Friday, April 24. Students will have the opportunity to hear from speakers representing a variety of professions. The current list of speakers includes Kelly Bennett of the Art Institute of Houston, District Judge Chip Moore, Interior Designer Ashley Hawthorne, Author Brett Funk, La Speaker of the House Joe Salter, Shane Bourgeois cyber cop, and many others. Careers such as dentist, chemical, mechanical and civil engineers, firefighters, pharmacist, certified public accountants and the medical professionals from Lane Regional Medical Center will be on hand to expose students to the wealth of opportunities in today's job market. More than 70 speakers will be present for this special event. For more information, contact Adonica Duggan at 658-4969.

Elementary School Art Shows

Zachary Community School District's elementary school art programs have upcoming showcases of student work. Copper Mill Elementary's event will feature young aspiring artists and Talented Art Students Thursday, April 23. The 4th grade viewing will be held from 6:00-6:45 p.m. while the 5th grade viewing will be from 6:45-7:30 p.m. Zachary Elementary will host their event Wednesday, May 6 from 5:30-7 p.m. and Northwestern Elementary will be Tuesday, May 12 5:30-6:30 p.m. Come see the amazing pieces these students have created.

Zachary Students Shine at Digital Technologies and Creative Processes Spring Intensive

A group of Zachary Community Schools students and their teacher Margret Atkinson have had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Digital Technologies and Creative Processes Initiative Spring Intensive this past week.

3D Squared, Inc., is sponsoring a digital workforce intensive for students, parents and teachers at the LITE Center in Lafayette. Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) is a $27 million, 70,000-square-foot facility located at the Research Park of the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

The event will culminate with a capstone stakeholder conference for leaders in business and government on April 17-18. The conference will include panel discussions with industry insiders and presentations on the digital technologies and creative processes initiative, which is funded by a grant from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development.

Of the 40 students participating in this unique experience 12 are students at Northwestern Middle or Zachary High School. The students are using Metaplace platform to create games that address real Louisiana problems. They have committed to long hours and extra research and have been engaged by this unique project.

After they had an in-service about the platform Metaplace, they began to build their virtual worlds. The students are working to solve one of Louisiana's four core problems: health care, education, brain drain, and coastal erosion. The students broke into groups, and the team leaders, presented their issue, possible solutions, and the game genre they planned on using.

According to Teacher Margret Atkinson, the students are learning skills other than virtual world building. “Working on a team, they have to communicate with each other. I teach most of the students, and I have been interested to hear how they would communicate with each other outside of a classroom setting. The students certainly felt some creative tension early in the process, but they have completely worked it out, through their own means and under the guidance of the lab leader. The students are learning how to organize their thoughts and research the relevant points to support their arguments. The students are also learning how to manage time and pace themselves, as they have daily tasks they have to complete.”

The students' presentation of their work from the Digital Workforce Intensive to industry experts will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday. This will be followed with discussions with experts on a variety of topics including a presentation on The Impact of Games & Digital Media on Louisiana’s Social & Economic Future.

Saturday’s activities include more discussions with the experts and panels culminating in a keynote by Education Futurist James Brazell.

Zachary Students Shine at Digital Workforce Intensive

A group of Zachary Community Schools students and their teacher Margret Atkinson have had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Digital Technologies and Creative Processes Initiative Spring Intensive this past week.

3D Squared, Inc., is sponsoring a digital workforce intensive for students, parents and teachers at the LITE Center in Lafayette. Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) is a $27 million, 70,000-square-foot facility located at the Research Park of the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

The event will culminate with a capstone stakeholder conference for leaders in business and government on April 17-18. The conference will include panel discussions with industry insiders and presentations on the digital technologies and creative processes initiative, which is funded by a grant from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development.

Of the 40 students participating in this unique experience 12 are students at Northwestern Middle or Zachary High School. The students are using Metaplace platform to create games that address real Louisiana problems. They have committed to long hours and extra research and have been engaged by this unique project.

After they had an in-service about the platform Metaplace, they began to build their virtual worlds. The students are working to solve one of Louisiana's four core problems: health care, education, brain drain, and coastal erosion. The students broke into groups, and the team leaders, presented their issue, possible solutions, and the game genre they planned on using.

According to Teacher Margret Atkinson, the students are learning skills other than virtual world building. “Working on a team, they have to communicate with each other. I teach most of the students, and I have been interested to hear how they would communicate with each other outside of a classroom setting. The students certainly felt some creative tension early in the process, but they have completely worked it out, through their own means and under the guidance of the lab leader. The students are learning how to organize their thoughts and research the relevant points to support their arguments. The students are also learning how to manage time and pace themselves, as they have daily tasks they have to complete.”

The students' presentation of their work from the Digital Workforce Intensive to industry experts will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday. This will be followed with discussions with experts on a variety of topics including a presentation on The Impact of Games & Digital Media on Louisiana’s Social & Economic Future.

Saturday’s activities include more discussions with the experts and panels culminating in a keynote by Education Futurist James Brazell.