Month: February 2013

Northport K-8 students spent an hour in the media center learning hands on lessons about our American flag and what the many folds symbolize. Students in Mala Woessner and Mary Ellsworth’s eighth grade classes as well as Amanda Sartain’s sixth grade classes participated in flag folding lessons instructed by the honor guard of the Port St. Lucie High School JROTC Jaguar Batallion. Also present was Rita Woodburn, representative of the Women’s Auxillary of the local American Legion Post 318.  Students participated in an essay writing lesson titled, “What Freedom Do I Enjoy the Most?” Every students was engaged in the lesson and each … Read More

Students in Jeannine Lockart’s fourth grade class at Windmill Point Elementary are eager to learn new writing strategies and improve their writing. Pictured, from left, are Lauren Bishop, Jazmym Figueroa, Madison Koza, and Sadie Richmond who are working cooperatively to peer edit and practice writing strategies as they strengthen their skills.

The students at Savanna Ridge Elementary participated in many exciting events during literacy week. One of the special events that took place was visitors from Fort Pierce Central coming to the school. The student leaders from Central read to the third through fifth grade students, talked to them about academics, sportmanship, and the importance of being a responsible student. The day ended with the high school students eating lunch with the students. The children loved talking with the older students and really looked up to them as their role models.

Mariposa’s first grade students studied marine biology on a recent field trip to the Manatee Center in Fort Pierce. The students were engaged in a presentation on Florida’s manatees hosted by the center’s educational coordinator. Students learned fascinating facts about manatees and other marine animals like sea turtles, tropical fish, and eels. After the presentation, the students got to walk around the observatory deck to search for manatees, take photographs, and purchase souvenirs in the gift shop. Students, parents, and teachers had a wonderful time in spite of the rainy conditions that prevailed. Pictured, from left, are A. J. Cummings, Remington Jones, Tatiana Negron, Nicholas … Read More

Families learned about chemical reactions, density and Newtonian and Non-Newtonian liquids at a recent family activity day at Garden City Early Learning Academy sponsored by The Parent Academy. Everyone left with snow, slime, and a lava lamp. Pictured, from left, are kindergartner Kari’sma Buchanon and pre-kindergartner Gabriella Mele.

Windmill Point Elementary kindergartners enjoyed their 100th day of school with special learning activities!  Emili Jones, pictured, left, and Zavant Scott McEwan, students from Carmela Innamorato’s class, are using their mathematical skills — and Fruit Loops — to complete their 100th day of school assignment.  All of the students thoroughly enjoyed this special day!

Port Saint Lucie High School’s JROTC took first place in four out of five events, and placed second in the fifth, at the recent annual Treasure Coast Drill Meet hosted at their school. Participating were Okeechobee High, Fort Pierce Westwood High, Treasure Coast High, Fort Pierce Central High, and Port Saint Lucie High schools. The competition consisted of five events: Male Unarmed Squad, Female Unarmed Squad, Male Color Guard, Female Color Guard, and Mixed Unarmed Platoon. The Jaguar battalion took first place in each event except for the Female Color Guard, in which they placed second. Pictured is the team.

Students in culinary arts programs in St. Lucie County high schools had an exciting experience recently. Renowned Johnson and Wales University in Miami presented a Culinary Skills Day for junior and senior students from four local high schools, hosted by St. Lucie West Centennial High School. Students from St. Lucie West Centennial, Fort Pierce Westwood, Port St Lucie and Fort Pierce Central high schools culinary programs participated. Each student worked with four professional chefs, each conducting a workshop highlighting their area of expertise, and over 100 teenagers had the opportunity for hands-on culinary activities with the professional chefs. The hands-on … Read More

Students enrolled in the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Aerospace Institute at Fort Pierce Central High School, a joint partnership between ERAU and the St. Lucie County School District, designed and constructed a 12-foot wind tunnel during the Fall 2012 term under the guidance of Professor Kevin Adkins. The wind tunnel was designed to assess aerodynamic forces on objects such as wings, aircraft, ships, and other blunt and streamlined bodies. Fort Pierce Central senior Michael Alexander, pictured, left, and junior Jose Forero brought the wind tunnel to Lisa Friend’s advanced eighth grade science classroom at Manatee Academy recently. Following a lesson on … Read More

Over the next couple of months, Southern Oaks Middle School teachers Jose Rivero and Lauren Kappler are planning to take students on an exciting virtual journey to the moon and Mars. Students will be doing project based STEM activities twice a week that will lead up to learning about how one day life can possibly be sustained on Mars. Mr. Rivero states that students will be learning and talking about everthing from different thrust structures, manned space flight vehicles, what it’s like to live in space, robotics and will learn how to produce food in order to survive long periods … Read More

The Kids at Hope committee at Garden City Early Learning Academy is sponsoring an Acts of Random Kindness activity for the month of February. All teachers, staff, and students are asked to leave their “heartprints” on the halls of the school. A heartprint is defined as the impression left behind by a deliberate act of kindness. How wonderful it will be to create connecting chains of heartprints displaying appreciation for one another throughout the school. To kick off the event, principal Traci Wilke, pictured, read the book “Heartprints” to the entire school.

St. Lucie Elementary School students have been collecting spare change to help cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. The school is donating all collected money to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The school’s goal was set at a total of $500.00. Within the first three days of the fundraiser, students reached and exceeded the goal, raising a total amount of $1200.00!!! With still another week to go, the school hopes to double collections and change the lives of all patients fighting blood cancers! Pictured, from left, are Savana Dimenna, Jeanette Cendejas, … Read More

Students in Melanie Francisco and Michelle O’Keefe’s kindergarten classes at F. K. Sweet Elementary recently enjoyed throwing a Florida snowball. After studying a unit on snow and winter, the students went outside and engaged in a snowball fight using white yarn pom poms.

Students at Allapattah Flats were recently visited by two members of a BMX group as part of a PBS reward. All kindergarten through eighth grade studnets could use their Gator bucs to attend the show and watch the extreme stunts performed by the BMX bikers. Ten lucky students who were top sellers in a school fundraiser recieved VIP tickets to the show where they got to sit in the front row and have a meet and greet with the riders after the show. Students watched in awe as the riders did jumps, flips, and even jumped over the head of their administrator. Pictured … Read More

Allapattah students have taken on a new challenge this year with the implementation of the 100 Book Challenge.  Students are asked to earn ‘steps’ which are each equivalent to 15 minutes of sustained independent reading.  Just this week, a group of third grade students were recognized as the first to reach 100 steps. They were recognized by administration, given a medal and a speech of encouragement to continue down the path of regular reading. Students were excited to be awarded and they can be seen all around campus proudly wearing their medals to show off their hard work. Pictured are the students … Read More

Windmill Point students in Dan Butts’ and Sherri Neri’s classes were treated to a visit from Mr. Neri and his dog, Princess. Fifth grade students have been studying plant and animal adaptations. Princess is a Siberian Huskie and Malmute mix. Mr. Neri explained how Princess has adapted to life in Florida. She has less thickness of hair because it doesn’t get as cold here. She loses hair but not as much as if she was up north. One of the children asked how she dealt with the heat, and Mr. Neri laughed and said the same as we do — she … Read More

Second grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 School celebrated Florida Literacy Week! Guest readers came in to classrooms to read aloud to students. Former teacher Donna Dorio shared some of her favorite books with students, including several from one of her favorite authors, Robert Munsch. Pictured, from left, are students Nailah Auguste, Asher Alberts, Zaniya Scott, Emilie Middlebrooke and Lillian Wagenman with Ms. Dorio seated in front.

The cadets of St. Lucie West Centennial High School Navy Junior ROTC, recently held their annual Military Ball at the Port Saint Lucie Community Center. The evening included dinner, awards, promotions, and dancing to great music. Pictured is he Military Ball court, from left, sophomore Duchess and Duke Jenna Merrill and Billy Lents, junior Prince and Princess Ro’aine Graham and Johanna Moody, senior King and Queen Lucas Glykas and Bailey Lake, and freshman Baron and Baroness Anthony Stabile and Emily Daigle. Cadets and guests enjoyed the evening.

Mariposa Elementary School fourth grade students were enthralled with a Hobe Sound Nature Center presentation about raptors, also known as birds of prey. Staff from the Center brought in a rescued owl and hawk.  After learning about these amazing creatures, students role-played being scientists. They needed to find out what owls had eaten from an owl pellet. They broke the owl pellet in half, then used tools such as tweezers to pull apart the fur, and find the bones that could not be digested by the owl. Students took home the bones and fur and were asked to re-create what the animal looked like … Read More

Samuel S. Gaines Academy proudly inducted its first class of students into the National Junior and Elementary Honor Societies. Twelve middle school students and 14 elementary students met the national criteria for membership in the areas of scholarship, citizenship and volunteerism. Teachers April Jones and Katie Ludwig will serve as faculty sponsors for these students as they accept their new leadership roles. Congratulations to these student leaders. Pictured, from left are Ms. Ludwig, Ebony Young, Nicole Thomas, Edgar Carrasco, Cristian Hernandez, Michaela Kelly, Adriana Claderon, Daniela Hernandez, Hailey Griggs, Edith Raya, and Julia Barrett.