LAPLACE —A fifth grader at John L. Ory Communication Arts Magnet School manages to keep up his grades, earn CAM points and score a 500 on different sections of state wide testing all while helping his fellow students.

“Every time I pass a class that he is in, he’s always very helpful to his peers and the people who are around him,” principal Christal Sylvain said.

The “he” Sylvain is referring to is Javier Dantin, a 10-year-old with a 4.0 grade point average.

“I study every night and I also listen really well when the teacher is speaking,” Javier said. “My mom and dad usually help me if I need help on anything, and they’re really proud of me.”

Out of all the classes he takes, Javier says his favorites are math and science.

“Math is sometimes hard and sometimes easy, and I like that,” Javier said. “And science is really fun, because I get to learn new things.”

Javier said he isn’t a fan of English Language Arts.

“He currently has a 100 A in that class,” Sylvain said.

Along with keeping up his own grades, Javier doesn’t mind helping others.

“I want to be nice and kind to others,” Javier said. “I feel it’s important to help others because if they have trouble with something, they might not get a good grade. If you help them, they may understand things better.”

Sylvain says Javier doesn’t do things to get praise but helps because he knows it the right thing to do.

“He is very intrinsically motivated,” she said. “Some kids, you have to give them rewards, but with him it’s internal.”

Each student at John L. Ory is part of the school wide effort requirement called CAM, or communication art magnet.

“Students are given five points a day,” Sylvain said. “It’s tracked in a grade book. The five points they get every day are for being prepared, doing their class work, doing their home work, following school rules and honoring the code of student discipline. If they don’t meet one of these, they lose a point.”

As of Wednesday, Javier’s CAM average was 100.

“That says a lot about the amount of effort he puts into his school work and the overall schooling process,” Sylvain said.

Javier said he does his homework everyday.

“I usually don’t have a problem with it,” he said. “If you don’t do your homework, you lose a CAM point.”

Along with having all As, Javier has also performed well on recent state testing.

In the third grade, according to Sylvain, Javier scored in the advanced category in math and science with perfect scores.

“In fourth grade, he scored in advanced in science, and in social studies he scored mastery,” Sylvain said. “Advanced is the highest you can score, he made a perfect 500 in math.”

Sylvain feels Javier is a student who flies under the radar because he doesn’t get in trouble, doesn’t need a lot of extra help and always does the right thing.

“He is very selfless,” Sylvain said.

“It’s just how he is. Javier is a really nice kid. The interaction between him and the other students is very positive. He isn’t overbearing or a know-it-all. He is very easy to approach. If someone asks for help, he will help.”

Javier is part of the school choir, which will perform during Christmas and at the end of the school year.

He also participates in the Oratorical, a poem reading contest where students memorize a poem, read it out loud and hopefully move on to the school wide competition. In third grade, Javier won fist place. Javier is the son of LaPlace’s Jerry and Maria Dantin.

— By Raquel Derganz Baker