by | Feb 26, 2014 | District News
The St. Lucie Public Schools 2014 Outstanding Volunteers of the Year were recognized at the February 25, 2014, St. Lucie County School Board meeting, following a reception sponsored by the St. Lucie County Education Fooundation for all of the nominees and their families. Applications for nominees in the three categories of youth, adult and senior volunteers are submitted by schools to a six-member review committee, which ranks the applicants on a rubric scale. Leslie Young, Manatee Academy K8 volunteer coordinator and committee member, presented the three district winners, who received plaques and congratulations from the school board and Superintendent Genelle Yost. Pictured, from left, are Superintendent Yost, School Board member Troy Ingersoll, Outstanding Senior Volunteer of the Year Mr. Peter Popolizio from Northport K8 School, School Board member Kathryn Hensley, Outstanding Adult Volunteer of the Year Mr. Carl Andor from Mariposa Elementry School, School Board member Carol Hilson, Outstanding Youth Volunteer of the Year Ms. Callie Frizzle from Southern Oaks Middle School, School Board member Dr. Donna Mills, presenter Leslie Young, and School Board chairman Debbie Hawley.
by SARA CROLL | Feb 25, 2014 | School News
Students from Keiser University came to Savanna Ridge Elementary last week to read to students in Penny LaCorte’s classroom as part of a partnership between the school and Keiser as an ongoing support system. The 15 Keiser students had a unique assignment for their Speech/Communication class — to create a short children’s story and practice their public speaking skills by sharing their work to a group of students. The Keiser students supported the primary classrooms during the reading block. They shared their stories during read aloud time and served as “live” centers to work with students in small groups. Savanna Ridge students loved listening to the creative stories that the visitors had to share. The Keiser students were nervous at first but as they met the anxious children they felt excited and overwhelmed with love. It was hard to tell who was more appreciative, the Keiser students or the Savanna Ridge students! What an excellent way to learn and grow from each other!
by | Feb 25, 2014 | School News
A team of four students from Forest Grove Middle School, coached by science teacher Colleen Wilson, won the Title I Middle School Science Bowl held recently at the Stem Center at the Indian River State College campus in St Lucie West. Pictured, from left, are students Dustin Vanderpool, Vincent Rappa, Samantha Doohan, and Brandon Payen, with Wilson. The team will now compete at the state regional Middle School Science Bowl in Brevard County March 8.
by SARA CROLL | Feb 25, 2014 | School News
Representatives from school districts in Florida and Georgia recently visited Savanna Ridge Elementary to see enthusiastic teachers implementing Document Based Questions (DBQs). The students were engaged as teachers walked them through the process of analyzing documents and making inferences to answer the question, “Jamestown: Why did so many colonists die?” The visitors participated in a debriefing session following their classroom observations, and were impressed by the level of engagement from teachers and students. Many of the representatives are currently using DBQs within their middle and high schools, so they were excited to see elementary students actively participating in higher level thinking and questioning. Pictured are two representatives from Brevard County in Elisabeth Harvin’s fifth grade classroom.
by Angela Mas | Feb 25, 2014 | School News
Five Southport Middle students placed in the Top 10 from the seven participating St. Lucie County public schools in this year’s Sumdog.com math competition. Southport Middle finished third overall in the math competition among all participating schools. Sumdog.com is a website where the students can practice math skills while playing fun games! Pictured, from left, are Macy Nielander, first place; Faith Cook, third place; Alycia Hardie, second place; and Christian Oravec, fourth place. Moxa Raval (not pictured) placed ninth in the competition.
