DANIEL TYLER GOODEN

PAULINA – A flurry of balloons, excited children and out-of-style outfits celebrated the end of Catholic Schools Week at Chanel Interparochial School in Paulina. Students celebrated through the decades Friday, as each grade dressed up and learned about the decade their grade lined up with. Hobos hobnobbed with socialites in Debbie Rouillier and Anna Joe Montz’s third-grade class. Swing kids in poodle skirts and bad boys in leather jackets roamed Debbie Webb’s fifth-grade class. Jeff Holley was the icon of the 70s in his science class. His Mr. Kotter-esque leather outfit and afro thoroughly entertained his student hippies and disco dancers. The idea behind the theme days was to show the celebration of Catholic schools is not just the idea of the week, but the understanding of years of tradition. “This has been a good culture experience since Catholic schools have been around for years,” said Terrie Hymel, school secretary and bookkeeper. Earlier in the week St. James Parish President Dale Hymel, Lutcher Mayor Troas Poche and a representative of the Gramercy mayor’s office participated in a celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Students received awards and recognition for accomplishments throughout the week. The teacher of the year, Cathy Dufresne, and the two students of the year, Ashley Keller and Lori Waguespack, were also named and honored. On Friday 10 students attended the Catholic schools mass in Baton Rouge. In the classroom music played from each of the different celebrated eras, said Cassie Bourgeois, principal. By 2 p.m. the whole student body was outside in the parking lot, each with a balloon in hand. All at once the group let go, sending up a collage of colors into the sky. The students cheered and watched as long as they could, but the chilly afternoon sent them back to their studies of Catholic schools down through history.