Northport kindergartners celebrate being 100 days smarter

Northport K-8 School kindergartners in Shana Cicio, Kara McNair, Nancy Yost, Melody Nieves and Tiffany Tredor’s classes celebrated being 100 days smarter recently by giving a big “Hip Hip Hooray!” to a “One Hundred Days” celebration. Students and teachers collaborated by reading the book “100 Day Worries” by Margery Cuyler. Students also made “100 Day trail mix” with 100 ingredients, counting by tens. Students practiced counting to one hundred and reading and writing one hundred words. Kindergarten teacher Tiffany Tredor thrilled the students by dressing up as a 100-year-old woman. By the end of the day, every kindergartner was absolutely … Read More

Employees honored as inaugural STAR recognition program recipients

Fort Pierce Central High School (FPCHS) culinary arts teacher Margaret (Peggy) Ash and school plant manager Barbara Hisey were honored at the January 28, 2014, St. Lucie School Board meeting for the inaugural presentation of the S.T.A.R. (Special Thanks and Recognition) employee recognition program. The two long-time school district employees were honored for doing “whatever it takes” to get the job done, as evidenced in their vital contribution to the success of the district’s Early Childhood Discoveries conference held on January 11, 2014 at the school. Ms. Hisey and her team stayed late and their responsiveness to the needs of … Read More

Northport media center promotes American initiative

Northport K-8 Media Center is busy promoting books, programs and initiatives, but the one most special to media specialist Lynne Gruszka and principal Glenn Rustay is the “Building American Pride, One Flag At A Time” program. The program was kick started immediately following the Northport annual 9/11 Remembrance program in September. Guest speaker, retired New York City Detective and 9/11 First Responder Albert Hickey, spoke to the students about his experiences and noted that few homes had American flags waving on his drive to the school. Many students expressed that they would like an American flag flying from their homes … Read More

Mariposa Elementary students study geometry

At Mariposa Elementary, Cynthia Deal in Maria Nunez’s fourth grade class was engaged in finding 12 different types of angles. The activity included having a great deal of fun during the learning process. Cynthia used mini-marshmallows and wooden toothpicks to create these various angles.

Northport abuzz with super spellers

Northport K-8 School has been buzzing with super spellers recently as 35 students in grades four through eight practiced using flashcards, spelling buddies and parent support to help make the annual Northport Spelling Bee a phenomenal success. Parents, fellow students and staff cheered as the school based winner was announced on the afternoon announcements. The spelling bee went eight intense, very professional rounds. The winner of the bee is Ashley Quijada, a seventh grade Northstar student. Ashley will participate in the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee held at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center on Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 9:00 … Read More

Palm Pointe families enjoy linguini and literacy

Students and staff at Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition celebrated literacy recently by participating in a Literacy and Linguini evening event.  Families were invited to come and enjoy a free spaghetti dinner and watch students and staff members act out skits from books. Over 600 people came out for the event. Students all received a free book and bookmark and adults were also able to participate in a free book exchange. Several staff members dressed up as storybook characters and took pictures with students. Pictured, from left, are staff members Matthew Kovach, Summer Kuba, Emily Bokhart, Debbie Iseman, Dana Schang, Tina Ruybulid, … Read More

Savanna Ridge Elementary celebrates Literacy Week with special events

Savanna Ridge Elementary had an exciting week of activities for this year’s Literacy Week. Students participated in buddy reading, where they were paired up with other students and read together. They also had engaging conversations about books while enjoying a snack during “chew and chat.” Families were invited to the school for “Books and Baked Ziti Night,” where parents participated in literacy stations where they learned how to incorporate reading at home, valuable online resources, and how to utilize our print rich environment. Parents enjoyed baked ziti, a book exchange, and were even able to sign up for a public … Read More

Local cheer teams earn spots for state competition

Lincoln Park Academy and St. Lucie West Centennial High School cheerleading squads recently competed in the regional cheerleading competition held in Tampa. Under the direction of coaches Traci Krencik at Lincoln Park Academy, and Sara Connell at St. Lucie West Centennial, both squads practiced very hard for the regional competition and the upcoming state competition to be held soon in Kissimmee. In the regional competition, the Lincoln Park squad came in third place out of five teams in their category, and the Centennial squad placed fifth out of the eight teams in their division. Good luck to both teams at … Read More

Lakewood Park students get tasty STEM science lesson

Students in Edward Albert’s fifth grade class at Lakewood Park Elementary recently performed a tasty science lesson. They were doing a lab where they made a model (out of chocolate) learning how the three different types of rocks are formed. Pictured are Adonay Ayala-Garcia, left, and Nick Rowse.

Oak Hammock kindergartners use technology to enjoy literature

Kindergartners in Molly Hartley’s class at Oak Hammock K8 School recently jumped into a story in the media center! Using an iPad app and an amazing book, students got to see the pages of “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” by William Joyce come alive on the SmartBoard! Pictured, from left, are Amarion Johnson, Benjamin Spencer Taylor, Presley Spencer, Ethan Riggs, Clifford Pierre, Deanna Romero, Brianna Monroig, Isaiah Ocasio, Richard Lucas III, Zachary Kaes, and Chloe Caldwell.

Oak Hammock K8 holds spelling bee

The 2014 Oak Hammock Spelling Bee was held recently, with 18 students representing grades 4 through 8 participating. Congratulations to all contestants! Eighth grade student Emily Fortin, left, is the Oak Hammock Spelling Bee Champion, while fifth grade student Kyle Kierst is the winner for grades K-5.

Fort Pierce Central cadets enjoy annual ball

The Fort Pierce Central High School (FPCHS) JROTC recently celebrated its 29th Anniversary Military Ball, which was a culmination of all the hard work the cadets have put into the program over the past semester. The event was nearly totally planned and executed by the cadet staff, headed by the Cadet Battalion Commander Nicole Geldmaker and Cadet Executive officer Leandro Troncoso. The event consisted of a formal diner and ceremony as well as a dance. The guest speaker was FPCHS Assistant Principal Mimi Hoffman. The cadets enjoyed themselves while still remaining respectful of the organization and the venue of their … Read More

Retired Navy officer thrills students with tales of submarines

Northport K-8 School was delighted to host retired United States Navy Lt. Commander Jerry Padrta recently as a guest speaker for students in Nick Carey, Georgia Stone, Carla Caldwell, Mindi Slater and Tracey Healy’s fifth and middle grades classes. LCDR Padrta spoke to the students about his upbringing as a child in Northern Minnesota, the hardships and the driving cold weather. He spoke about his school and college experience and perhaps most intriguing to the students and teachers, his naval career spent in a submarine. Padrta gave an eye opening talk about the history of the submarine. The first sub … Read More

Floresta Elementary families enjoy Math Night

Floresta Elementary School recently hosted Family Math Nights. Kindergarten through second grade and third grade through fifth grade students and parents attended two special presentations explaining the new Common Core State Standards along with an overview of what students are expected to become fluent in with regards to mathematics. Parents and students participated in math tutorials that included double-digit multiplication using partial product and long division using partial quotient. Parents learned math games to use at home with their students as well as tricks and tips on how to talk with their children about math. Family Math Night at Floresta … Read More

Lawnwood Elementary students study life cycles up close

Students in Shannon Dolan’s multi-age gifted class at Lawnwood Elementary are studying the life cycle of a butterfly by catching specimens. Pictured is second grader John Donnelly as he explains to the class how he captured both a caterpillar and a butterfly in his own yard. The students then watched how he fed his new family member with a stick of sugar water. First grade teacher Carolyn Bates’s classroom has butterflies that freely fly while the children do their lessons. One child exclaimed, “It’s like a butterfly garden, only inside!”

Teacher of the Year finalists announced

Three teachers were surprised at their school sites the morning of January 24 when an entourage led by Superintendent Genelle Yost, school board members, district administrators and representatives of the St. Lucie County Education Foundation visited their classrooms to announce their selection as finalists for the 2015 St. Lucie County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. Pictured is Superintendent Yost, right, with finalist Heather Bolitho of Oak Hammock K-8 School. The finalists are: Heather Bolitho, media specialist at Oak Hammock K-8 School in Port St. Lucie; Matthew Boswell, Fort Pierce Central High School band and choral director; and Kelly Ridle, … Read More

Honorees from Gaines Academy join in parade

Staff and faculty from Samuel S. Gaines Academy participated in the recent Grand Parade to celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day festivities. Representing the school, from left, are district employee award nominees, Teacher of the Year nominee Christen McCray, Distinguished Minority Educator nominee Robert Plowden, and and School Related Employee of the Year nominee Cequila Terry.

Northport K8 School celebrates literacy

Northport K-8 students, parents, teachers and staff joined hundreds of other Florida schools to celebrate literacy this year during “Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida!” The week of January 13 through 17, 2014 was themed “Reading Accelerates Success!” The week long celebration at Northport K-8 School included fun and intriguing activities that helped students connect with all kinds of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The activities helped celebrate the success that Northport has accomplished. Some of the activities included “Get Caught Reading” tickets for prize drawings, Title Mash boards where students decorated their favorite book title, “Chew and Read” activities, … Read More