Ft. Pierce Westwood Army JROTC Panther Battalion led their school in honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the annual MLK parade in Ft Pierce. The 74 Cadets of the battalion were led by Cadet Battalion Commander Maynali Gamez and were accompanied by the color guard, company guidon bearers and an Army High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) from the 1218th Transportation Company of the Florida National Guard. The Panthers also featured a seven-cadet step team led by Cadet Tamiya McClain who pumped up the crowd throughout the march with their unique step routine. Cadet Keundra Durham kept the Panthers in step and … Read More

Fourth grade students in Kim Yoder’s class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School celebrated mathematical success with ice cream sundaes. Fourth graders have been completing multiplication quick quizzes and post tests throughout the year demonstrating skill, accuracy, and speed. Those students who possess those qualities were rewarded with an ice cream sundae buffet.  With over 20 different toppings, bowls were piled high with sweet rewards for sweet success. Pictured, from left, are Justin Adrian, Stoney Braynen, Cody Harris, and Allen Lin.

St Lucie West Centennial High school Navy Junior ROTC cadets presented the colors at the recent Treasure Coast Navy League Dinner honoring 95 year old Rear Admiral William Jenkins. Admiral Robert J. Papp, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, lauded Admiral Jenkins for his many years of outstanding service to the nation. Pictured, from left, are Cadets Lucas Glykas, Bailey Lake, Admiral Papp, Kelsey Daly, and Luis Still. The cadets were honored to meet both admirals, as well as Michael P. Leavitt, the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.

Northport K-8 students in Pam Mishler’s first grade class and Lisa Cash’s sixth grade class made new friends all in the name of literacy recently when the students paired up to prepare for the school’s vocabulary parade.  Students used words from their reading text for the year to make vocabulary costumes and  hand made signs to wear in the parade to celebrate words. Teachers and students used the book “Miss Alaineus” by Debra Frasier to hone ideas and to prepare to model their costumes in the vocabulary parade.  The vocabulary parade is just one of the activities made available to … Read More

Northport K-8 School kindergarteners in Melody Nieves’ class shared with a room full of parents the many reading and writing skills that they have acquired throughout the school year. Students shared Gingerbread books that illustrated an excellent use of beginning, middle and ending for a story plot, good use of punctuation and started each sentence with a capital letter. Students also demonstrated a working knowledge of shapes by reading a sentence that each wrote using shapes such as circle, square, rectangle, triangle and rhombus. Parents and friends oohed and aahed over each student’s data books that were explained by the children demonstrating … Read More

Students in Colleen Wilson’s sixth grade science class at Forest Grove Middle worked on a class science project, “Can you protect a falling egg?” Students created “protectors” for their eggs out of different materials with the goal of dropping an egg from the second story balcony and ensuring that the egg arrived on the ground unharmed. Pictured are Guadaloupe Rubio, left, and Marissa Garcia.

Northport K-8 School students in June Wilson’s seventh grade math class exercised their creativity by reproducing scale models of furniture in their classroom.  Students learned proportion, similarity, scale drawing, perimeter and area of similar figures. Students utilized bridge maps for clarification of similarities.  At the completion of the project, students were able to compute the perimeter and areas of their models to the actual objects by using the scale factor. Mrs. Wilson stated that students were thrilled to be learning math skills with a hands-on approach and social interactions were a positive influence on student output.

Students in Shirley Helton’s fifth grade class at Fairlawn Elementary took top honors in the VFW (Veteran’s of Foreign Wars) essay contest promoting citizenship and patriotism. Jillian Markle, left, placed first in the district and Sariah Strunk came in second. They won for the district and will go on to the state competition. Congratulations!

Northport K-8 lower school students proved their domination over hundreds of words by participating in a vocabulary parade recently. Students poured over lists of words from their texts and chose words that appealed to each, then made posters, signs, decorations and costumes declaring the definitions, the synonyms, antonyms, correct spelling and use of the words in sentences. All students used the book “Miss Alaineus” by Debra Frasier as a road map to comprehension. Northport K-8 School reading coach Deb Mock led the parade with an excellent costume of “Miss Alanieus” herself! Northport K-8 particpated fully in the Just Read, Florida initiative, “Celebrate Literacy!” … Read More

Eighth grade Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition student Drew Maciel won second place in the  middle school category for the Martin Luther King, Jr., oratorical contest which was recently held at Lincoln Park Academy. Drew, pictured, was allowed up to three minutes to capture the audience with his speech and he did. Congratulations Drew! 

Northport K-8 School teachers, reading coach Deb Mock, and media specialist Lynne Gruszka utilized a variety of means and modes to get students involved in the Just Read, Florida initiative “Celebrate Literacy!” Students from grades K-8 appeared on the morning announcements to talk about their love of reading and to recommend good books. Students worked on posters for a display themed, “Take the Lead and Read” and buddied up with students in other classes to hone reading skills and encourage the joy of reading. Students also were offered the opportunity to show off their writing skills by penning an essay titled, “What … Read More

At Southport Middle School, students in Adrianne Mendoza’s seventh grade math class from the Panthers team made rice krispie treats by using math to determine half a portion. Pictured is Hannah Spurr, who had the opportunity to use a variety of measuring tools to determine how much was needed for a single portion. Students also worked in pairs and divided the recipe in half. With their knowledge of how to divide fractions and measurement, the students were able to create a delicious treat that was fun to eat.

Retired St. Lucie Schools princpal Charles Cuomo made a special visit to second graders at St. Lucie Elementary School recently for literacy week. Mr. Cuomo stopped in to read to the students. Every student’s full attention was on Mr. Cuomo as he shared many great books with the class!

After much preparation and studying, Northport K-8 School declared Northstar eighth grade student Jordan Gray as spelling bee champion of the school.  Also, Northport will send fifth grade student Matthew Zoll from Valerie Niewieroski’s class as first place student in grades four and five.  Students asked for definitions, words to be used in  correct sentences, parts of speech and language of origin.  After seven grueling rounds with 29 students participating, the winners were declared and prizes awarded.  Participating students were: Sabrina Kim, Brian Chamizo, Alex Peraza, James Crowhorn, Jason Derilus, Christina Lambert, Radravious Williams, Mayra Solarte, Shawn Outer-Johnson, Matthew Zoll, … Read More

Students in Janet Balletta’s first grade class at Mariposa Elementary recently hosted a Gingerbread Man Celebration. The first grade students read several versions of the Gingerbread Man, performed a Gingerbread Man readers’ theater, and created their own Gingerbread Houses. Several parents participated in the festivities by donating treats, helping students build Gingerbread houses, and engaging students in a special read aloud of the Gingerbread Man. Special thanks go to Carl Nimal, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Caldwell, and Mrs. Baksh for joining in the holiday cheer! Pictured is Mike Caldwell reading to the students.

Students Allison Pozo’s class at Mariposa Elementary created timelines comparing and contrasting the past, present, and future of their own lives. The students used words and phrases related to chronology while making personal connections to the social studies content. Pictured, back row, Nicole Cifuentes, left, and Lina Rodriguez. Middle row, from left, Julona Garber, Natalie Pineda, David Lemus and Kevin Ferdinand, and in front, Riley O’Dowd.