Year: 2013

Northport K-8 School sixth grader Tatiana Hamilton from Ellen Weiss’ class spent some very engaging and quality time on her homework recently. Tatiana baked a homeade cake depicting a cell study using edible items. The cake was an excellent portrayal of the cell demonstating ribosomes, lysosomes, mitochondria, cell membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus and cytoplasm. Weiss’ students processed new information and literally “digested” the information into interesting and easily visualized little bites. Students celebrated the finale of their science FCAT by bringing in their cell cakes to share with the rest of their class. Pictured is Tatiana Hamilton with her “cell cake.”

Recently, 44 cadets from St. Lucie West Centennial High School Navy Junior ROTC took an Orientation Field Trip to the Key West Naval Air Station. The cadets stayed in the same barracks the sailors stay in. On the first day, after a long bus ride, the cadets met up with 25 other cadets from Key West High School at the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor. All of the cadets had a great time as they shared their NJROTC experiences. On the second day, the cadets toured the flight line and watched F18 Super Hornet fighter jets take off. Then they … Read More

Twelve students, two from each of St. Lucie County’s six public high schools, were selected by their teachers for their aptitude and interest in science, to participate in a job shadowing experience at Vaccine Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) in Port St. Lucie. VGTI is recognized as a world class research institute that uses cutting edge technology and is on the frontier of science in the development of vaccines and immunotherapies that will improve human health around the globe. VGTI research focuses on treating and preventing AIDS, cancer, tuberculosis and the diseases associated with emerging viral infections. The VGTI job-shadowing experience … Read More

Students from St. Lucie West Centennial High School’s Health Occupations Students Association (HOSA) earned top honors at a recent State Leadership Conference. Centennial High HOSA members Dru’ Curtis, Lisa Pressendo, Mary Hartley, Natassha Pena-Morales, Alejandra Perez-Mercado, Michael Riley, Alexia Stewart, Kedisha Christie, Jennifer Rodriguez, Danilo Perdomo, and Tony-Ann Walker had high hopes for the competition, and were not disappointed! Lisa Pressendo won first place and Mary Hartley took fourth in Massage Therapy, Dru’ Curtis took third in Medical Terminology, and Jennifer Rodriguez won a Recognition Award for her HOSA Happenings Newsletter. Dru’ Curtis and Jennifer Rodriguez will go on to … Read More

Third through fifth grade students at Savanna Ridge Elementary participated in a recent school spirited pep rally. Third grade students lead the 4th and 5th graders in a remix song about taking on the challenge of the FCAT and passing it with no problem! Each grade level came in their designated class T-shirt and showed their spirit through a friendly competition on the song they learned. Principal LaTanya Greene led the students in a motivational speech that gave the students the boost they needed for the upcoming testing. Teachers and students had a great time showing their spirit and enthusiasm … Read More

The students in Celeste Hartsfield’s second grade class at F.K. Sweet Magnet School are learning about different shapes and their attributes, as well as how to make patterns with the shapes. Students had a great time making their own hats by using shapes and making them into patterns. Pictured, from left, are Aamar Black and Alexander Ramos.

Awards for school displays at the 2013 St. Lucie County Fair were presented at the April 9, 2013, St. Lucie County School Board meeting, and the Kiwanis Sunrise Club also presented annual monetary awards to schools. The theme of the 2013 fair was, “500 Years of Florida Heritage.” For the elementary division, first place went to Lawnwood Elementary, $500; second place went to Windmill Pointe Elementary, $250; and third place to Village Green Environmental Science School, $100. Honorable mention and $50 went to F. K. Sweet and Weatherbee elementary schools. In the middle school division, first place and $500 went … Read More

Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition recently held its second CSI Night. The case was to solve the mystery of the missing goldfish. The school had purchased a goldfish and had just named it “Rocky” in a contest when the goldfish was found missing from the front office. Students were asked to come to a special CSI Night to run forensic type tests to figure out who took the fish. There were five suspects from the Palm Pointe staff: bookkeeper Dana Schang, instructional coach Kathleen Melrose, fourth grade teacher Jada Jolie, fifth grade teacher Juliet Murray, and second grade teacher Lorri Rudzinski. After … Read More

The kindergarten students at F.K. Sweet Elementary School were surprised with a visit from Kauff’s Towing while studying about Community Helpers. Teachers and students learned all of the responsibilities that the drivers have. Quiana Lundy, from left, Shanyla Osby, Jeffery Stephens, Josiah Fullwood, and Dennis Scott from Melanie Francisco’s class loved listening to kindergarten parent Dennis Scott explain the tools on the huge “wrecker” truck.

The kindergarten students at F.K. Sweet Elementary School have been studying plants and seeds during the season of Spring.  Trenton Hogan, pictured left, was so excited to gather the soil for his cup while Harmony Davis held the bag open to help him as each student prepared to plant sunflower seeds. The students have loved watching the cups each day and oh the excitement when some of them sprouted!  We can’t wait to see how they change into beautiful sunflowers.

Northport K-8 School Media Center is always alive with students, teachers, staff and community members buzzing in and out completing tasks that require information, information technology or conversation, but the week of April 14 – 20 is extra special. Northport K-8 School is celebrating with the theme ” Communities Matter @ your library!”  Fully funded libraries will continue to be valuable resources in our communities far into the future. Only fully funded libraries will be able to teach and collaborate with teachers to enhance dynamic 21st century skills and nuture the love of reading in young people that will serve them … Read More

At Southport Middle School, students in Adrianne Mendoza’s seventh grade math class from the Panthers team review for the upcoming math FCAT by playing math Jeopardy. Students had the opportunity to “buzz” in using the eggspert game buzzers to test their knowledge and skill level. Students worked as a team in order to earn points as they competed with the other groups within the classroom.

Bayshore Elementary School’s third, fourth and fifth grade students were surprised with a Tunnel of Hope in recognition of their hard word in preparation for FCAT. Students in grades pre-K through second lined the hallways, created posters and cheered for students and teachers as they paraded through the school. Pictured, from left, are fifth grader Christian Conklin from Christine Mueller’s class, fifth grade teacher Doreen McKinnie and her student Sasha Castro.

Port St. Lucie High School held a candlelight ceremony recently in honor of fellow student and ROTC cadet Hunter Henry, who tragically died earlier this month. Hundreds of Jaguars came together to share stories about Hunter and to help each other through this difficult time. Several of Hunter’s peers and friends said a few words about him to his family. It was a beautiful ceremony that touched everyone’s heart. The ceremony ended with Cole Herndon playing taps.

First grade students in Ann Hartman’s class at Allapattah Flats K8 are excited to explore their garden in the warm sun. Students are checking the progress of their peppers, cucumbers, carrots, peas, and many other plants. Each child has a “plot” to grow their plant of choice, beginning with just a seed that has resulted in beautiful plants! The students are responsible for watering and weeding the plants, too.  The garden is a huge hit at Allapattah Flats K8! Pictured, from top left, are Jacob Garcia, Marc Cohen, Henos Yonas, Caylie Harris, Jordan Fernandez, Claudia Jolivert, Chinhayi Evans, Kaleb Whitehouse, Maximo Mendoza, and … Read More

Eighth grade student Sophie Phillips, at Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition, just returned from Tallahassee, where she went to lobby legislative officials for Pulse Oximetry Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Defects.  She met with Senators Grimsley, Negron, and Ring, and Representatives Hudson and Harrell. She also met with the Governor’s Director of Deputy of Legislative Affairs, Danielle Scroggins. The session ends in the next few weeks and Senator Grimsley verbally approved to find funds in the budget to support the screening. Pictured is Sophie seated in Governor Rick Scott’s office.

Lincoln Park Academy sent three high school teams to this year’s Odyssey of the Mind state competition. Odyssey of the Mind, often referred to as OM (although the official acronym is OotM), is a creative problem-solving competition involving students from kindergarten through college. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined problem (the long term problem) and present their solution to the problem at a competition. They must also generate spontaneous solutions to a problem they have not seen before in the spontaneous competition. In an unprecedented turn of events, all three teams earned first place trophies and … Read More

Northport K-8 School is celebrating 27 years of educational growth and community connections. The doors opened to accept students on April 8, 1986 with John Townsend as the supervising principal of the school. The school began as a junior high school accepting students in grades 7 and 8, then moved into the middle school concept bringing in sixth graders. In 2005, Northport became a K-8 school with Eric Seymour as principal overseeing those dramatic changes. Currently, Glenn Rustay is the principal of the school assisting in keeping those community connections vibrant and the education of students top notch. The school held a wonderful reunion … Read More