Month: August 2020

CAST Kindergarten teacher and STEAM Advocate Mrs. Rebecca Benton made some special deliveries to her brand new kindergarten students. She went door-to-door delivering goodie bags filled with some treats, an all about me poster, and “jitter glitter” to make sure there were no nerves for their very first day of school.

Thank you for the beautiful gift to our Northport K-8 School media center from our art teacher, Stephanie Ramirez. A Frida Kahlo design! We can’t wait to show the piece off to our students. Frida is an expressive artist of Mexican descent. Frida believed in open self expression and so do we. It is perfect for the theme for the media center this year…”It’s All About the Kids!” Mrs. Gruszka and Mrs. Majors are so excited to see the kids and start talking about good books. ❤

Congratulations to Samuel S. Gaines Academy of Emerging Technologies for being recognized as a U.S. Showcase Incubator School! They are one of only 24 Incubator Schools across the U.S. that have committed to an education transformation journey with Microsoft Education. They join hundreds of other Microsoft Incubator and Showcase Schools across the globe actively empowering the students of today to create the world of tomorrow. Over the course of the next year, the school community will have the opportunity to learn and develop best practices, activities and participate in events while helping transform education globally. CONGRATULATIONS on this amazing accomplishment!

Apply today to become a substitute teacher!   http://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/departments/human-resources/

MySchool teachers at CAST have found some amazing ways to go above and beyond for their virtual students! Mrs. Robyn Church framed pictures of each of her wonderful fourth grade students and placed them on individual desks in her classroom to help create the same warm in-person environment she’s used to. Even though it may feel a little different to read a book to a computer screen, the students’ pictures are a constant reminder of their presence, even when their faces aren’t seen on screen. Mrs. Sheila Jones-Bell took her second grade MySchool students with her on a field trip … Read More

St. Lucie Public Schools has an easy to use tool for parents to find bus stop locations and pick up times for their students.   Please visit the school district webpage http://www.stlucieschools.org then click on the “Find my bus Route” graphic on the upper right-hand side of the page.  This link will take parents to the Transportation website, where you can register your student for bus service and find the pick up times and locations.        

All students, regardless of which school they attend, must submit a new meal application for the 20/21 school year. Students will no longer be automatically approved for meals at no cost. Now is the time to apply for the 2020/2021 free and reduce meal benefit. This must be completed prior to August 24th so that an updated meal status is on file. The application can be found at https://foodservice.stlucie.k12.fl.us/. Only one meal application needs to be completed per family. Questions about completing a meal application can be emailed to mealapplication@stlucieschools.org. Don’t wait! Act now!

Last week, St. Lucie Public Schools held a Facebook Live Event to share information with the public about the reopening of schools.  Representative Delores Hogan Johnson, School Board Member Kathryn Hensley and Superintendent E. Wayne Gent shared detailed information about the upcoming school year including the health and safety protocols that will be implemented across the District and an overview MySchool Online.  The trio also fielded numerous questions from the public. The entire recorded video can be viewed by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Quw0t9aS4&t=7s  

The featured image shows Art Teacher, Amanda MacKenzie, preparing an inspiring bulletin message in West Gate’s main corridor.       The Fifth Grade ELA team consisting of Sharon Helding, Ashlen Smith, and Lisa Hamilton organize this year’s social studies curriculum.

CAST welcomed new teachers with a “STEAM Advocate Snapshot” presentation, as well as a tour of CAST’s beautiful and historic campus. Teachers learned about arts integration and the Leader in Me program. We also took a moment to be mindful and reflect on how we can be stress-free as we return to school.  

Congratulations to Coach Sides and Coach McKenna for being awarded the American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge Grant! This grant will provide health equipment and resources for our Morningside staff and students.

The STEAM Advocates of CAST have been busy giving our Communique Cafe a makeover! This year, our cafeteria will display a LEGO brick theme entitled “Building Leaders.” Inspired by our LEGO Makerspace, we also included several posters reminding our student leaders of the 7 Habits and we can’t wait to feature some of our incredible students’ work on the walls too!  

A very special “Thank you” goes out to Carole and Doug Nichols! Carol and Doug are community members who handcrafted over 320 masks for our students. They made and donated masks in school colors for each Elementary and K8 School. The quality of the masks is unmatched and SLPS is very appreciative of their hard work. Thank you for all you are doing to keep our schools safe and healthy! #SLPSStayHealthyTogether #SLPSTogetherIsBetter

We know that parents and students have questions about the upcoming school year.  To help our families navigate the new year, St. Lucie Public Schools created a Parent and Student Guide to Reopening.  The guide provides both students and parents important information about the new safety protocols and guidelines to help alleviate any concerns.   The Parent and Student Guide to Reopening can be found at  https://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/lets-stay-healthy-together.pdf  

Florida students enrolled in school, whether attending school in-person or virtually, are required to have age-appropriate vaccines with proper documentation on file at the school. Any students without the proper immunization documentation or exemption on file will not be able to start school on August 24th. The American Academy of Pediatrics stresses the importance for children to be up to date on vaccinations by the time school starts.  Furthermore, according to the Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie, “It is critical to ensure that routine vaccination is maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to protect individuals and communities … Read More

St. Lucie Public Schools held its annual New Teacher Symposium last week.  The District welcomed 213 new teachers!  The symposium, which was held at Ft. Pierce Central High School, engaged new teachers in various small group sessions over the three day event.  A new schedule this year allowed for social distancing and increased the use of technology. The new teachers learned about digital tools such as TEAMS and Canvas alongside classroom management techniques.  Teachers also had the opportunity to get acquainted with their new classrooms on day two, as the sessions were held virtually through TEAMS from their individual schools. … Read More