By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — For a lot of high school students, the last few weeks of summer are spent sleeping in, being lazy and trying their hardest to not think about anything school-year related as the new academic years looms closer and closer.

And then there’s Matthew Templet.

Currently getting ready to start his sophomore year at St. Charles Catholic High School, Templet has busied himself this week at school with completing one project and gearing up for another one.

An active Boys Scout, Templet has decided to donate his time and talent to SCC, where he has plans to complete several beautification projects at the school as part of his Eagle Scout project.

Templet started scouts in first grade at St. Joan of Arc as a Tiger Cub, and later crossed over into Boy Scouts in sixth grade. Now, at just 15 years old, he is a Life Scout and working on his Eagle Scout rank. He said his goal is to achieve the rank of Eagle before turning 16 in November.  

His project will involve building picnic benches for the school’s outside lunch area and beautification of the prayer garden.

“A project like this gives me the opportunity to take charge and put all my scouting skills together,” Templet said. “The project not only benefits the school but helps out the students.”

The picnic bench area and prayer garden was completed in 2003 by Robert Edwards, an SCC student who designed the area as part of his Eagle Scout project.

Templet said he plans to repair some of the existing benches, as well as construct two or three more benches, each which cost around $100 to build.

On Tuesday morning Templet and some of his soccer team colleagues, friends and Scouting peers completed a smaller project of trimming trees, adding mulch and planting flowers at the school’s front-entrance sign.

“Matthew has demonstrated a commitment to the total school program,” SCC Director of Institutional and Instructional Advancement Dr. Courtney Millet said. “He excels both academically and athletically, and he is very active in community service.”

Millet said Templet has maintained over a 3.6 GPA while at SCC.

As a part of the SCC soccer team, Templet was named district and parish goalkeeper of the year by the L’OBSERVATEUR and the Advocate. He is a member of the SCC drum line, Beta Club, French Club and is in his eighth year as altar server at SJA.

Matthew is the son of Dwayne and Emerin Templet of LaPlace.