Year: 2012

Northport K-8 students were celebrated for Excellence in Education in math recently at a Mathlete Award ceremony.  Students were given certificates and special recognition at the program which celebrated their dedication and hard work this school year in math.  The third through fifth grade students won first place at the Northport K-8 Math Bowl competition and went on to represent Northport at the district first annual Math Bowl competition held at Fort Pierce Central High School.  The middle school students represented Northport at the regional MathCounts competition at Indian River State College in February.  Students are to be congratulated for … Read More

Middle grades Northport K-8 students in the culinary arts program, under the direction of Caren Boyd,  participated in a cupcake war recently.  Students worked in cooperative teams and devised plans and recipes to produce the best cupcake.  Students in six groups used   Oreos, confetti, gum drops, Hershey kisses, marshmallows, caramel, cherries, peaches, strawberries and different types of icing to concoct the best cupcake.  Judges used a rubric which included taste, appearance, moistness and ingenuity.  Pictured are the winners, from left, Nailen Hernandez, Jaquinton Price, Joel Diaz and Kara Turpin.  The winning cupcake was Oreo flavored with a fudge center, vanilla … Read More

Northport K-8 physical education instructors Linda Walker, Kim Kanada Graff, Ryan Carpenter, Kevin Fess, James Hebb and Daryn Ploeckelman promoted the joy of vigorous activity as well as building teamwork, cooperative learning skills and fine tuning locomotor activity.  Students in grades kindergarten through fifth were treated to Field Days Northport style!  A variety of activities were offered including parachute ball, obstacle courses, hula hoops, basketball throws, bouncy ball races, sidewalk chalk races, jump ropes, bubble blowing contests and lots more great events.  The classroom teachers are to be thanked for their participation right along with their students and many parents … Read More

Teamwork and physical fitness are two of the fundamentals of JROTC training. A year’s worth of training is put the test annually at Field Day hosted by the Jaguar Battalion at Port St. Lucie High School. During Field Day, the three companies battled each other in several different sports and athletic activities to determine the best unit.  Battalion Field day is about saying goodbye to departing seniors. The Booster Club’s parting gift to the year’s seniors was a challenge coin commemorating their years spent with the Jaguar Battalion. Many seniors had several words to say about their experiences in the … Read More

In order to teach the students how to write in a variety of informational forms related to real world situations, the fourth grade students at Floresta Elementary created “How-to” manuals and recipe books. The recipe books included student made recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. As a culminating project, several classes used the recipes to make different items including French toast, pizza, and vanilla Oreo parfaits! Pictured, from left, are Kendra Basiliere, Hailey Shad, Cindy Reynolds (pouring the milk), Valerie Chaparro, Hannah Amaral, and Katelyn Thompson.

Students at two Village Green Environmental Studies Schools classes buddy up with each other in a variety of ways. Pictured are students from Christine Duane’s first grade class and Mark Casper’s second grade class “blasting away” at the  SAT 10 standardized test.

These faces can tell just how much fun was had by all at the recent Family Fun Night at F.K. Sweet Elementary. The annual event is sponsored by the PTO, with many members of the faculty and staff assisting with ticket and food sales.  A few of the available activities were dunking teachers in the huge water tank, sports, music, face painting, the bounce house, and everyone’s favorite, the giant slide. Camryn Gardner and Kayla Jungjohan both agree that the slide was the most exciting.

Twenty one F.K .Sweet Elementary third graders students participated in the recent spelling bee. After 18 rounds of challenging words, the winners were finally declared. Pictured is Principal Juanita Wright applauding, from left, Shellanda Pierre, third place, De’ Jaunte Timothy, second place, and Caleb Cobb, first place.  Congratulations on a job well done.

F.K. Sweet Elementary students enjoyed participating in a wide variety of games during their recent annual Field Day event. Activities ranging from jump rope to bowling captured the young spirits of second graders, from left, James Ewing, Cole Newbern and Zach Gosnell.  

St. Lucie Mets baseball team pitchers Adam Kolareck and Chase Huchingson and team mascot Slider recently visited WestGate K8 to read to students in first and second grade classes.  The Mets program “Slide Into Reading” rewards students who read a required number of books by giving them two free passes to a summer ball game.  This year at WestGate students scored a grand slam home run!  WestGate is grateful to the Mets for their support of literacy in St. Lucie County.

Northport K-8 middle grades science instructors Amanda Sartain and Kalyn Nova have been selected to receive a 2012 Toolbox for Education Grant for a vegetable garden for the middle school next year.  A school garden allows students to apply curriculum based education in innovative, unique and engaging ways.  Instructors will be using the Gardening For Grades curriculum by Florida Agriculture for planning and creating lesson plans for the garden.  Students will discover the components of a garden that correlates with curriculum from observing plants grown from seeds, measuring growth and designing experiments.  Students at the middle school level will be … Read More

Jackie Foster, the school nurse at F.K. Sweet Elementary, is a very popular person on campus with every student. Sometimes children have been known to fake an illness so they can go hang out with her for a visit. To show their appreciation and gratitude for doing such an outstanding job all year, third grade students made thank you cards and posted them outside the clinic so everyone could read and enjoy them during Nurses’ Appreciation Week.  Olivia Sperber and Will Nelson are pictured with Ms. Foster saying thanks after putting up their cards.

Students in Barbara Whellams third grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary recently rolled coins and counted bills totaling over $300.00. The money will be awarded to the St. Lucie County Humane Society to help defray costs of feeding homeless animals currently in their shelter. “Pennies for Pets” is a yearly tradition and children begin in August bringing in loose change, allowance money, and many times part of their birthday and holiday monies, to fill the two large pink piggy banks. Pictured, from left, Justin Adrian, Morgan Busby, and Kayla Ceaser are having fun during a math lesson counting and rolling money.

Students in Lisa McGuire’s third grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary have been learning about the Earth and its layers.  They made a book that included a diagram of the inside of the earth and then created edible earths.  Caleb Militello, left, and Brett Adelman are enjoying their tasty treat.

Third grade students at F.K. Sweet Elementary recently enjoyed making volcanoes, naming them, and then watching them erupt.  This was a culminating activity for their story of the week, “Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves.”  Bradyn Moxley, left, and Harry Guerrier watch as “Mount Smurf” erupts.

Brett Adams, owner and veterinarian of Midway Veterinary Hospital, visited Kasey Ascani’s second grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary to speak with students about Pet Awareness Week. Students learned about the basics of taking care of their pets and what types of animals are good pets to have. Featured in the photograph are Brett Adams and his daughter, Brooke Adams, acting as his assistant.    

Students in Karen Madalena’s class at Samuel Gaines Academy enjoy their time spent with Mr. Dan Galloway and Abigail. Mr. Dan and Abigail travel to several schools in St Lucie County teaching students with special needs a unique “Art/Abigail” curriculum. One of the many commands that students are taught in order to interact with Abigail is to say the word “visit” and Abigail will lay her head in the student’s lap. Pictured with Abigail “visiting” with second grade student Sevaan Wright with Dan Galloway helping.

Mariposa Elementary School recently held its annual Reading Night Sleep-Over. It was a literacy-filled night as 32 qualified students watched a stage play (performed by middle-school volunteers), made puppets, and rotated through various story-based activities. The school held monthly literacy sessions for parents and students. Families that attended at least three events throughout the year were invited to the sleep-over. Parents took the night off as students and staff enjoyed Friday night in school. Pictured, from left, are students Talon Bareford, Daniel Lara-Mijares, Heiberto Lara-Mijares, Justin Locklar, Sean Higgins, and Monica Kalina creating puppets for the stage play “Little Red Riding Hood.”

The Spine & Sport Rehab Institute provided St. Lucie Elementary teachers and staff with a relaxing massage during Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week.  The institute was also named St. Lucie Elementary’s “Business Partner of the Year.”  Pictured, from left, are Principal Bernadette Floyd, Marketing Manager El Fuenmayor, Assistant Principal Nicole Ortega, and St. Lucie County School Board Vice Chairman Deborah Hawley.

Students at Windmill Point Elementary decorated surprise Mother’s Day cakes as part of  the school’s PBS fundraiser. Students enjoyed making their own special cakes with the help of cafeteria staff to honor the  significant person in their lives.  Many, many thanks to Publix for always supporting students!