Month: October 2012

Culinary students from St. Lucie West Centennial, Treasure Coast, Fort Pierce Westwood and Fort Pierce Central high schools recently attended a restaurant industry state trade show. Students were accomapnied by culinary arts instructors Calvin Lewis and Jesse Strell from Centennial, Janette Champagne from Treasure Coast, Maureen Greenberg from Fort Pierce Westwood, and Margaret Ash from Fort Pierce Central, along with Centennial principal Dr. Kim Stephanic, and resource officers Deputy Shirley Lindstadt, Christy Wood from Fort Pierce Westwood and Cheryl Fredericks of Allapattah Flats K8. Students sampled new food items vendors, viewed the newest technology in pizza delivery vehicles, point of … Read More

Eight grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 are learning about various kinds of matter. They were extraordinarily excited to learn about physical and chemical changes with hands-on activities in the science lab. Students were able to test a variety of chemicals and determine whether the reactions they saw were physical or chemical. They learned about suspensions, mixtures, and more through smell, sight and touch. Pictured, from left, are Autumn Washington, Sharon Charite, Sandy Simon and Jayda Hill as they dive right in to their next test tube waiting to see the reaction.

Students in Andrea Levin’s anti-bullying class at Southport Middle School have been creating posters with an anti-bullying message. Pictured are Sabrina Bertrand, left, and Kelly Nguyen.

Northport K-8 students in Susan Matteson’s eighth grade reading class and Lorri Lamm’s second grade class collaborated on a great lesson in building literacy skills and forging friendships recently in the school’s courtyard. The eighth grade students selected beautiful picture books and beginning reading books from the school’s media center, then shared the books with their second grade reading buddies.  The eighth graders read the books using expression and a lively pace, demonstrating fluency and enthusiasm. The second graders then read the books back to the older students using the same model of reading skills demonstrated by the eighth graders. The lesson was … Read More

The Senior and Adult Volunteer of the Year for the 2012-2013 school year have been selected at Northport K8 School. Suzi Scott, pictured on the left, Adult Volunteer of the Year, has served Northport for four years and has volunteered in a variety of available categories. Mrs. Scott served as PTO president for two years, chairwoman for the Adequate Yearly Progress committee, and a member of the School Advisory Council and Title 1 committee. Kay Egan, Senior Volunteer of the Year, at right, has served Northport students and teachers for five years as media assistant and assistant to several teachers in the lower school … Read More

After listening to informational books about bats, Morgan Haupt’s kindergarten class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School enjoyed drawing and labeling the parts of a bat. Pictured, from left, are Jordan Dunn, Adryan Mills, Chase Wu and Madeline Chiong.

Northport K-8 School sixth grade science teacher Amanda Sartain has won the FAST Award of Promise. The Florida Association of Science Teachers each year selects a science teacher from the state of Florida who has three to five years of experience and has demonstrated an interest and aptitude for teaching science. Some of the qualifications include participation in professional organizations showing leadership at the local, state and national level, maintaining an innovative and exciting classroom/labratory environment, uses innovative materials and new approaches to teaching science, effectively uses community resources and guest speakers and continuously practices professional development through workshops and conferences. Mrs. … Read More

The Department of Quality Instruction of St. Lucie Public Schools was recognized at the October 9, 2012, St. Lucie County School Board meeting for being honored by the Florida Association of Staff Development for its implementation and facilitation of the St. Lucie County Framework. Pictured, from left, are Allison Barajas, Superintendent Michael Lannon, Director of Quality Instruction Carla Moore, St. Lucie School Board chairman Carol Hilson, and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Kerry Padrick.

Jacqueline Cruz, daughter of Maria Cruz-Zavala and Arturo Cruz of Fort Pierce and sixth grade student at Samuel S. Gaines Academy K-8, was recognized at the October 9, 2012, St. Lucie County School Board meeting. Jacqueline won first place in her age category in the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs’ (AFOP) 2012 Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Children Essay Contest. The contest, open to students nationwide ages 10-18 and children of migrant workers, asked students to write about the challenges faced by farmworker families, the typical day of a farmworker, and what motivates the student. Essays were judged on style, content, … Read More

Students at Treasure Coast High School recently participated in AT&T’s public awareness campaign about the dangers of texting while driving. Students were able to engage a simulated driving experience of distracted driving and the potential disastrous consequences. Brief videos and print materials were also on hand to provide information to the students. The event was part of AT&T’s nationwide push to save lives and make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving. Students also had the opportunity to sign a pledge not to text while driving, and to encourage others to do the same. Pictured is a student … Read More

Students in Lorrie Rudzinski’s second grade class  at Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition are on target with story structure skills. Pictured, from left, are Lia Mihajlovski, Kieren Brown and Kayla Harr as they created thinking maps, tree map style. Writing on the desks with dry erase markers sure increased the lesson’s engagement!

A group of students from the St.Lucie Schools’ youth golf program competed in the Martin County junior tournament recently. The tournament was held at the Martin County Golf and Country Club in Stuart. Taking first place in their divisions are, from left, Gina Carvelli from Palm Pointe K-8 in the girls 10-12 year old, Cameron Beach from Morningside Elementary in the boys 7-9 year old, and Savannah Hawthorne from Palm Pointe K-8 in the girls 7-9 year old division. Students are shown with their first place medals from the tournament.

Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition held its third annual Music Open House recently. Parents, grandparents and other family members of kindergarten through fourth grade students were invited to attend music class. Participants experienced what a typical music class is like at Palm Pointe. Parents participated in “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, played rhythm sticks, played drums and the Orff instruments. It was a great experience for all! Pictured are students and parents from Millerlandy Palomino’s third grade class learning to play a song directed by music teacher Christine Hill.

Grip and rip again on November 3 at Gator Trace Golf and Country Club in Fort Pierce for the St. Lucie County School District Facilities & Maintenance 2012 Intern Program golf outing. The day of fun includes 18 holes of challenging golf, a wonderful lunch, awesome door prizes, a terrific hole-in-one prize and much more at the awards banquet. The proceeds raised through your contributions fund the department’s High School Summer Internship Program, providing for paid internships during the summer. Pictured is a student who worked in grounds/turf management last summer. Each student is also given an opportunity to apply … Read More

The cadets of Fort Pierce Westwood High School Panther Battalion recently held a highly successful fundraiser at a local restaurant. The cadets served customers their beverages, re-stocked the serving plates, cleaned tables and helped in any way they could. The cadets enjoyed the event, and earned compliments for their behavior, attitude and most of all their smiles. Pictured are several cadets during the event.

The cadets of Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently helped sponsors of a triathlon event at Club Med in Port St. Lucie. The cadets arrived at 5 AM to prepare for the day’s event, and helped guide and motivate the participants throughout the course. The triathlon was divided into two competitions, the Olympic and the Sprint. Thierry Rouillard, a Certified Race Director who organizes races all over the state of Florida, in particular was very impressed with the performance and professionalism demonstrated by the cadets. He requested Port St. Lucie High School’s Jaguar Battalion to support the next … Read More

The cadets of Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion showed their support and paid their respects to missing and captured veterans at the annual POW/MIA ceremony hosted by the Chapter 556 of the Vietnam Veterans of America recently. The cadets formed an Honor Cordon at the entrance to the ceremony. Cadet Captain Devynn Rhodes, Cadet First Sergeant Arlene Mabry, and Cadet Corporal Ryan Culbreth participated in the ceremony by lighting the candles for the missing men and women from Desert Storm and Afghanistan. They lit the candles as the names of the missing from Florida were announced. The Jaguar … Read More

The Fort Pierce Westwood High School JROTC cadets recently participated in the Treasure Coast Raiders competition hosted by Port St Lucie High School. The Panther Battalion participated in a one-mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, litter carry, rope bridge and obstacle course, and placed third overall on the rope bridge. One cadet remarked it was the most fun he had ever had, and many were surprised at how well they performed. Pictured is the Panther Battalion team.

Floresta Elementary recently hosted a Family Learning Night, “100 Book Challenge Evening.” The school’s literacy council worked together to plan this very worthwhile family event. Several teachers performed in a skit, modeling the importance of 100 Book Challenge, highlighting how fun and easy it is to incorporate this routine into one’s daily schedule. Each grade group of teachers created a booth promoting the love of reading, through providing useful facts about reading, and engaging students and families in interactive activities connecting reading, writing, and drawing. Third grade teachers designed a beach theme for their booth, complete with buckets, shovels, blankets, … Read More

Students in Myron Varn’s eighth grade American History class at Allapattah Flats (APF) K8 School have finished writing their first document based question (DBQ). Students read and analyzed five different primary source documents to determine the cause of death for almost 80 percent of the first colony’s settlers. They have proven in their thesis that poor water caused disease, poor relations with Powhatan caused violent death, and lack of appropriate skills led to starvation and sickness. This lesson helped the students understand population decline during the time period. When using the DBQ, students are able to brainstorm and come up with … Read More