Author: Barbara Whellams

Nicholas Sparkman and Mike Harris, students in Rachel Luhta’s F. K. Sweet Elementary class, take turns pumping water at the Gardner House.  The house is located on the grounds of the St. Lucie Historical Museum in Fort Pierce.  F.K.Sweet second graders recently took a field trip to the museum in order to learn more about local area history.  

Did the groundhog see his shadow?  Kathy Offerdahl’s kindergarten students at F.K. Sweet Elementary predicted whether or not Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow.  They made their own groundhogs ‘pop’ out of their ‘burrows’ to share with their families.

Recently McDonald’s on South US #1 in Fort Pierce hosted McTeacher Night for the staff of F.K. Sweet Elementary and donated 15% of the proceeds made between 5 and 7 PM to the school to help defray expenses. Teachers worked the counter, drive through, cooked, packaged, and wiped tables. Stacey Johnson and Cindy Young even tempted the diners with samples of chicken nuggets. It was not only a fun experience, but gave everyone an insight to what goes on in a fast food restaurant.  

After learning about the celebrations that take place during Chinese New Year, Kristin Griffin’s kindergarten class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary enjoyed eating traditional Chinese foods. They feasted on dumplings that symbolize togetherness in the coming year and stir-fried rice that represents harmony and happiness.  Nicole Williams and Terry McQueen show their classmates how to eat withchopsticks.

Second grade students, from left, Dylan Rizzo, Sylvava Petrozzino, and Connor Kovich-Bousley in Traci Lott’s second grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary enjoy exercising during extended physical education time by playing Twister. Twister is a game that is sure to stretch the body and exercise every muscle. The state mandated several years ago that every student receive an additional thirty minutes of exercise and active play daily.

Can you guess the beautiful babies in Room 306? Every year the students in Barbara Whellams’ third grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary bring in baby pictures for the February bulletin board. Students Stoney Braynen, Olivia Sperber, and Will Nelson are having fun trying to guess their classmates and the one with the most correct matches, receives a surprise treat. It is not as easy as it might appear, so you must look closely.

What an accomplishment for fifth grade F.K. Sweet Elementary student, Jerry Miles Johnson III, in winning first place for four years in a row at the Martin Luther King Oratorical Contest recently held at Ft. Pierce Central High School. Jerry’s strong oratory focused on this year’s theme, Remember, Celebrate, and Take Action.

Third grade students Ajeya Adams and Julian Nunez in Barbara Whellams’ class at F.K. Sweet Elementary enjoyed a yummy math lesson on fractions using M & Ms. The students had several exercises on understanding that fractions can be a part of a whole, or part of a group. Afterwards, the M & Ms mysteriouly disappeared off each student’s desk.

Students at F.K. Sweet Elementary recently held a fund raiser for the United Way. On Monday students brought in pennies, followed by nickels on Tuesday, dimes on Wednesday, and quarters on Thursday. For the grand finale on Friday students were allowed to have a No Dress Code Day for one dollar. Pictured is a group of third grade girls sporting their “weekend” clothes.

Lincoln Park Academy student Aolani Bruhn, former third grade student in Barbara Whellams’ third grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary, has returned to her old classroom to mentor students on Monday and Friday afternoons. All of the students are anxious to read and work with Aolani.

Mentor Dorothy Stuber in Barbara Whellams’ third grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary shared with the students news about her recent cruise through the Panama Canal. The children were interested in all aspects of the cruise,especially hearing that the ship, Queen Victoria, weighed 70,000 tons. Dorothy also gave each child a “lucky” coin as a remembrance of her trip.

F.K. Sweet students from grades kindergarten through fifth participated in a three day cheer camp held by Lincoln Park Academy varsity cheerleaders. The students were taught cheers, jumps, and  dances. Students ended camp with a performance at the high school varsity basketball half-time show.

Dr. Donna Devlin from FAU spoke to Nardi Routten’s fourth grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementaryabout Bio-Diversity.  Dr. Devlin is heading a mangrove restoration project where different genotypes of mangroves are planted, and  testing whether or not different genotypes grow better in a mixed group or in a similar group.  Mangrove restoration is taking place in several areas as they are vital to the ecosystem.  The fourth graders will meet Dr. Devlin at Blind Creek Park this week to assist with this project.

Kamryn Gardner and Morgan Busby show off their laurel wreaths while studying ancient Greece. Students in Stacey Johnson’s third grade RTI Enrichment group at F.K. Sweet Elementary are learning about the contributions of this ancient civilization to our modern society. Students discovered the roots of democracy and the Olympic Games. They enjoyed learning about the gods and goddesses and the myths that were told to explain the world around them, practiced writing letters of the Greek alphabet and learned where they are still in use today in our fraternal organizations.

Students have a wide choice of books to select from when using one of the five reading habits, Reading to Self. It is proven that a student will elect to read more, if they have an opportunity to make their own choices. Preston Zinter, in Traci Lott’s second grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary, is enjoying his non-fiction selection on motorcycles.

Kindergarten students in Melanie Francisco’s class at F.K. Sweet Elementary enjoy circle directed reading time instruction each day. Children are afforded an opportunity to come up and show what they have learned and Giovanna Manigeri is anxiously awaiting her turn to impress her classmates.

On the January Professional Development Day, the staff at F.K. Sweet Elementary had a Marzano training on several of the design questions featured in his book. Teachers worked in groups to share activities that could be used as part of an effective classroom. Sharing their presentation, from left, are Jody Horton, Dorain Newbern, and Deanna Scotto.

Small group instruction is a daily part of the reading routine in Morgan Haupt’s kindergarten class at F.K. Sweet Elementary. Students have access to leveled readers that compliment the new reading series. Za’Niyah Taylor, Skylar Monroe, and Shinyla Williams think that learning to read is cool, and look forward to reading with their teacher.

It’s time to Boggle again for third graders at F.K. Sweet Elementary. Approximately 20 students meet each Tuesday morning to play the popular word game Boggle with their peers, and sponsors,Barbara Whellams and Morgan Haupt.  Danielle Murray and Janyla Rolle are pictured having fun creating words.

The students in Traci Lott’s second grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary work cooperatively to create Thinking Maps with the spelling skill of the week. Students sort words into a tree map based on the weekly skill, record their words individually on paper, and then use those words as a launching point for other engaging word work activities. From left, A’myah Combs, Blake  Ooms, Shadalou Fernandez, Abbey Brosnihan, and Dylan Rizzo ejoy working together.