Year: 2013

As February comes to a close and March rolls in, kindergartners at Allapattah Flats K8 reflect back on their favorite events from the month. One of their most tresured was the 100 Day Celebration that kicked off the month of February, celebrating their 100 days of school since August. The students had a great time participating in an outside celebration that included 10 fun stations that the students moved to in 10-minute increments. There was hopscotch 100, 10 minutes of hula-hoops, sack racing, counting by 10s jump rope, and many more fun activities. Everyone had lots of fun and even … Read More

As part of Northport K-8 School’s response to the Florida Department of Education’s “Celebrate Literacy” initiative, students were given the opportunity to write an essay sponsored by local American Legion Post 318 Auxiliary and the Northport media center. The topic of the essay was “What Freedom Do I Enjoy The Most?” Over 40 students from grades three through eight responded with excellent, well formulated essays. Students reviewed what freedoms really are with parents and guardians as well as grandparents and then wrote thoughtful and meaningful essays in response to the topic. Three students’ essays were chosen to be sent to the Department of American … Read More

Northport K-8 Community Book Fair promotes positive interactions with students and teachers in an atmosphere filled with resources to fit the needs of every learner. Media specialist Lynne Gruszka and clerk Pam Crum are able to offer accessibilty to great books to encourage students to want to read. The book fair gives parents and grandparents an opportunity to shop with their children to select books directly with the teacher to fit students’ literary needs and likes and offers a great outlet for development of reading skills. The book fair has materials appropriate for all learners in the K-8 school. The fair offers … Read More

A local Burger King restaurant recently helped White City Elementary fourth grade students celebrate their hard work in preparation of FCAT Writes. The store manager has donated this treat to White City Elementary for three years and the students of Karen Maxwell, Brenda Newman, Heather Ricksecker, and Adam Seal show their appreciation!

First grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 recently enjoyed had a up-close look at Florida wildlife.  Cheryl Wise of Busch Wildlife brought an opossum, turtle, corn snake, and an owl to the school. First graders learned facts about Florida wildlife and their habitats. Pictured are Tyler Garren,right, and Henos Yonas from Ann Hartman’s first grade class. They were brave first graders to touch “Sweet Potato” the corn snake. What a great visit!

Kindergartners at Mariposa Elementary enjoyed a hands-on presentation about how to care for their teeth. They were shown the importance of flossing and the correct way to floss, discussed foods that make their teeth happy and foods that make their teeth sad. They also were shown how to brush their teeth properly to make sure they removed the plaque. Every student left with a tooth brushing kit that included all the tools they needed to ensure successful brushing. Pictured, from left, are Jamarion Riggins, Sabrina Swayne, Kaitlin Taylor, Abigayle Conner, Analisa Bermudez, Maria Roman, Jade  Mayberry, Lillian Baber, and Khaleel … Read More

Students in Dannielle Cason’s eighth grade reading class at Allapattah Flats K8 School took the opportunity to view text from different character perspectives.  Using the short story “The Cat Who Thought She Was a Dog and the Dog Who Thought He Was a Cat” by Isaac Beshevis Singer, the students first identified plot structure and then chose six events from the story to retell from on of the characters’ perspective. The students rewrote the event as if they were the particular character from the story. Finally, they constructed a storyboard of events to visually illustrate how the character “saw” each event. Pictured is … Read More

Northport K-8 Principal Glenn Rustay and Media Specialist and volunteer coordinator Lynne Gruszka, and the entire school community are proud to honor Senior Volunteer of the Year Kay Egan and Adult Volunteer of the Year Suzi Scott. The two women were honored at a reception at the St. Lucie County School Board recently along with many other volunteers who work diligently to support students, teachers and schools’ staff.  Mrs. Egan and Mrs. Scott assist teachers in any way possible, including cooking, mentoring students, running copies, purchasing supplies and goodies as well as assisting the PTO and the school administration. Special thanks and accolades … Read More

Students in Jessica Allen’s seventh grade science class from Southport Middle School learned about how plants convert light energy to chemical energy and store it in the bonds of sugar (photosynthesis). Pictured are Delsin Pillay, right, and Althea Charles at a recent field trip to Savannas State Park as they conduct the experiment by creating their own version of the process that plants take by recreating the light reaction that occurs within plants.

First grade students at Windmill Point Elementary enjoyed a Black History presentation. Students participated in African American dance, listened to African folktales, and got up close and personal with artifacts brought from Africa. As students listened to a poem about famous African Americans, they got a feel for what their daily life would be like without inventions created by many of those influential people. Pictured are students in Allison Weicheck’s class as they explore the African wood artifacts.

A team of students from Ft. Pierce Westwood’s Marine Oceanographic Academy (MOA) placed second in the 15th annual Manatee Bowl, an annual, regional ocean science competition. A team from St. Lucie West Centennial High School joined in the competition against 20 teams from 14 schools from the east coast of Florida. The teams are tested through quick Jeopardy-style questions and thought-provoking team challenge questions. Questions are drawn from the scientific and technical disciplines used in studying the oceans — physics, chemistry, geology, atmospheric science, biology, national and international economics, history and culture. The regional competition alternates annually between the University … Read More

Floresta Elementary School recently hosted its first CSI night to help solve the riddle of who removed the ice cream freezer from the cafeteria. Throughout the week prior to the event, students were informed of the curious incident, and were given information each day on the morning announcements. This information allowed them to formulate a hypothesis regarding who would do such a thing, and why. The suspects were coach Adam Schwimer, music teacher Jaclyn Kraus, media specialist Gerri Wills, media clerk Cemera Clancy, and custodial services’ Doug Abbhul. Pictured, from left, are Jaclyn Kraus, Adam Schwimer, Doug Abbuhl, Cemera Clancy, … Read More

Dan McCarty families enjoyed the first athletic banquet to recognize students from fall and winter sports. All students participating in extra-curriculuar activities must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA and have good behavior. Following dinner, families watched a video of Eagle athletes talking about focusing on both academics and sports. Each student then received a certificate recognizing his or her accomplishments. Sports recognized included soccer, volleyball, bowling, and track. Each coach assisted in the presentation of certificates. The soccer team was also recognized for winning the first trophy in the school’s history in the district soccer tournament. Final awards were … Read More

Floresta’s after-school tutorial clubs are off to a great start, thanks to the organized and creative leadership of media teacher Geraldine Wills and math coach Vicki Pease. They have put together a wide variety of project-based learning opportunities that align with students’ interests and state standards, and in some cases, provide students opportunities to experience new and different interests. Since students are expected to begin making career choices as early as middle school, what better way to help them make the right choices than to introduce them to career fields and “hands on” experiences in areas not previously explored. Students … Read More

Twenty eight parents from Title I Schools have finished a Basic Computer class hosted by Ft. Pierce Magnet School of the Arts and Title I. Parents attended classes twice a week for four weeks to learn basic computer skills and learn to use Microsoft Word. The goal of the program is to help parents to have the skills to help their child with their school work and to enhance the parent’s computer skills. Basic Computer class information is sent out to all parents in Title I schools through a ConnectEd message before the classes begin. More classes are being planned … Read More

Students in Carmela Innamorato’s kindergarten class at Windmill Point are exploring 3-dimensional shapes in their math class. Pictured, from left, Maria Suarez and Brennen Rausch couldn’t wait to enhance their learning about three-dimensional shapes by using marshmallows and pretzel sticks to compose real world objects.