On May 1, St. John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom sponsored over 60 8th grade students from parish public and private schools to learn about state government and the legislative process through St. John Day at the Capitol.    

“St. John Day at the Capitol is a unique opportunity for our students to get a first-hand view of the Louisiana legislative process at work,” Robottom said. “This event is a lesson in democracy and the process of passing laws for the governance of the state in hopes of encouraging our youth to become active participants in the process.”  

St. Charles Catholic educator Courtney Millet added the group “experienced first-hand Louisiana’s rich history and witnessed the lawmaking process in action.”

Although all schools with junior high students were invited, the following schools participated this year: Ascension of Our Lord, Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet School, John L. Ory Magnet School, Lake Pontchartrain Elementary, LaPlace Elementary, Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, Riverside Academy, St. Charles Catholic High School, St. John Alternative School and West St. John High School.

Erica Merrick, educator at West St. John High School, weighed in on the benefits of St. John Day for her students. 

“St. John Day at the Capitol enabled the students to have the opportunity to actually see some of the things that they hear about within the classroom,” Merrick said. “Reading and hearing about how laws are made and passed does not amount to actually seeing the senators in action and seeing the actual place where a lot of decisions are made.” 

Keila Joseph, educator at LaPlace Elementary, added that “St. John Day directly aligns with our mission, which is to create leaders who make strides toward academic excellence daily. This experience provided our students the opportunity to go beyond envisioning to experiencing and we would like to thank St. John Parish government for a wonderful experience.”