Month: May 2012

Allapattah Flats kindergartners are becoming super sleuths using Secret Stories.  The students learned about what happens when the letters t and h are side by side in a word.  Then, they practiced sticking out their tongues to make the “thhhhhh!” sound.  Lastly, the students used letter Legos to build words that begin or end with th. Pictured, Jolaine Austin works with, back to front,  Timothy Smith, Arieana Mitchell, Jeffrey Sebastian-Agustin, and Tyler Garren.

Southport Middle School promoted the love of reading with an incentive to win an Amazon Kindle.  During April, School Library Month, students were registered to win a Kindle when they checked out a book.  Pictured, from left, are Anita Mattia, winning student Ryan Zelaya and media specialist Angela Mas as he picked up his prize!

Southport Middle School’s Young Authors celebration included a video conference with author Douglas Quinn.  With the help of grandson, Southport Middle sixth grade student Quinn Coleson,  Quinn has written four adventure series novels featuring his grandson as the main character.  St. Lucie County’s ITS department supported  Southport’s media center to set up the video conference with Mr. Quinn, who resides in North Carolina with his wife.  Also presenting at the celebration was Scripps newspaper contributor Hillary Copsey, who spoke to students and parents about the wonderful books that the sixth through eighth grade students submitted.  Winning submissions will go on to a district level competition. … Read More

Students Myron Varn’s eighth grade American History classes just completed a Student Teaching Module (STM) which divided the class into five groups, each responsible for  part of a chapter covering the inventions and early industry from 1740-1790.  They planned lessons to include learning goals and assessments.  Some lessons were as intricate as PowerPoint slide shows with a Jeopardy quiz. Others were as simple as choral reading and questioning.  When asked to reflect, the groups that had the more complex lessons said that they learned more about their subject, but that it took a lot more time to put together.  Groups that had the simplest … Read More

The annual Family Reading Night Celebration at F.K. Sweet Elementary was another huge success with over 100 students, parents, and community members in attendance. Children were allowed to rotate from reader to reader and listen to teachers and community members reading lots of their favorite stories. Students filled goodie bags with pencils, pens, bookmarks, and books. Concessions, face painting, and balloons were also available. Pictured are the fifth grade teachers Christy Nuccio, Jodie Steele, Donald Logue, and Cindy Young entertaining a packed room with the book Jolly Mon, by Jimmy Buffet.

Fourth grade students at Mariposa Elementary School are preparing for the school’s annual wax museum.  The students are excited and eager to teach other students and visitors about their famous person in history and how that person made a positive impact in our society and the world. Pictured is Estefano Livi poses as Benjamin Franklin.  

Elia McDonald, in Laura Glennon’s third grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary, is the class winner for his prize cabbage. His information and cabbage picture will be submitted to Bonnie Plants, in Union Springs, Alabama. Elia’s cabbage will be judged on the cabbage head size, overall appearance, and weight.  There will be a $1,000 scholarship awarded to each state winner. The contest is sponsored by Bonnie Plants and the Department of Agriculture. Gook luck, Elia with your four pound cabbage.

How many kids does it take to read 20,979,863 words and rack up 8,490 points since the beginning of school in August? Well, it only took 17 third graders in Barbara Whellams’ class at F.K. Sweet Elementary School to accomplish such a task! To reward the students for reaching and surpassing their goal of 300 points each, the students will be treated to a movie matinee and concessions before the end of the school year. Reading Counts is a district wide program that encourages children to read and provides the classroom teacher with an array of information that can target  individual strengths … Read More

Members of the Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion conducted a color guard for the Young Floridians Scholarship Award Ceremony at the McAlpin Fine Arts Center on the IRSC campus recently. The cadets presenting the colors were, pictured, from left, cadet First Lieutenant Andrew Miller, cadet First Sergeant Timothy Kroell, cadet Master Sergeant William Benagh, and cadet Corporal Chaz Pollino. Many of our community’s leaders such as President of Indian River State College, Dr. Edwin Massey, Superintendent Mike Lannon, Port St. Lucie High School principal Dr. Mark Rendell, and several Chamber of Commerce members were present for the color … Read More

The F.K.Sweet Elementary School annual kindergarten circus, The Greatest Show on Earth, was a recent crowd pleaser. The audience was highly entertained by clowns, magic tricks, prancing ponies, acrobats, and wild animal acts. The climax of the evening  and a spell binding experience was someone surviving being shot from a cannon. A huge thanks to teachers Morgan Haupt, Kristin Griffin, Kathy Offerdahl, Michelle O’Keefe, Melanie Francisco, and Sandy Picano for their hard work and countless hours of practice. Pictured are some of the stars of the show!

Northport K-8 School proudly accepted a commendation by 14 Medal of Honor recipients held recently in Texas.  The Medal of Honor recipients signed a plaque with the date and signatures of each national hero.  The plaque reads in part, “For the students, faculty and staff of Northport K-8 School located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, for their exceptional support of active duty military personnel and the veterans community of St. Lucie County, Florida.”  The Medal of Honor is the highest award offered to U.S. military.  Most awards are given posthumously for going far above and beyond the call of duty in the … Read More

Northport K-8 students are participating in the Young Authors program and are setting examples of effective writing for display in the school Media Center.  Students from kindergarten through eighth grade have been preparing, thinking, writing, revising, editing, illustrating and demonstrating a commitment to great writing through a year long process of effective learning and teaching.  The crown jewel in Northport’s commitment to effective writing and communicating ideas and information effectively is the Young Authors program.  Each year, students display their books in a Media Center showcase with a theme as a backdrop.  This year the theme is “Wild, Wild West … Read More

“Fly Guy” is a favorite read of third grade students at F.K. Sweet Elementary. Fly Guy is a character created by Tedd Arnold, author of more than 50 children’s books. Fly Guy can be found hanging out in garbage cans and eating his favorite foods, anything brown, oozy and smelly. These books are bound to make you smile and students Kayla Jungjohan, Justin Adrian, and Stoney Braynen are proof!

Congratulations to Floresta Elementary School fourth grade teacher Veronica Allende, who was selected by the Transatlantic Outreach Program to participate in a two week group travel study tour of Germany. The group will travel on various dates this summer from late June through August. Study will focus on the German governmental system, federal system, school system, history of Germany including the Holocaust, and German business and economy, culture, current events, and the German approach to issues regarding earth stewardship. This is a very competitive program and candidates must produce essays expressing how they will use the knowledge gained to enhance … Read More

Captain Citrus visited F.K. Sweet Elementary to inform second graders about the importance of the citrus industry and the healthful benefits of Florida’s orange juice and other citrus products. Students Mya Baptiste, pictured right, and Trevor Gill  won gift cards for correctly answering questions asked by Captain Citrus.

Kindergarten and second grade students at F.K.Sweet Elementary School were excited to be a part of a ladybug release program conducted by the University of Florida’s agriculture department. Preston Zinter, left, and William Geraghty from Traci Lott’s second grade class are just getting ready to release hundreds of ladybugs onto neighboring plants. Students were able to learn about good and bad bugs for our environment and learned ways that ladybugs actually help the plants around us.    

After reading “Curious George Makes Pancakes” by Margret and H.A. Rey, students in Morgan Haupt’s kindergarten class at F.K. Sweet Elementary School made pancakes for themselves. The students loved learning and seeing first-hand how pancakes are made. From left, Skylar Monroe, Jacire Johnson-Bell, and Kalia Alexander helped measure the ingredients for the pancakes.

First grade students at Gaines Academy enjoyed a recent field trip to Ric’s Garden World.  The students explored the garden and learned about plants and insects after studying plants in the classroom.  Pictured from Margot Williams’ class, from left, are Guadalupe Acosta-Carrasco, Karla Castro, Andrew Reeves, and Jerry Dexpreux.

The Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently held its fourth Outstanding Cadet Board of the year. The board is a competition between cadets in which they answer many questions on various subjects ranging from the JROTC curriculum and uniform wear to drill and ceremonies. The top cadets from each company are selected compete with two winners overall — one winner from the junior cadets and one from the senior cadets. Every cadet gave it their all in an attempt to win, and the two that came out on top were cadet Corporal Taylor Moore (left) and cadet Corporal Allison … Read More