Author: CASANDRA FLORES

Fifth grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 School are working diligently on their natural disaster research project and brochure. Students are now accomplished scientists who can observe and experiment to gather data and draw conclusions. They have expanded their knowledge of the physical world and can apply the basic math and science skills they’ve acquired to their observations. The understanding of the scientific method and the natural world has allowed them to research and analyze each natural disaster so they are able to complete an informational brochure to present to the class. Each group of students is required to research … Read More

Joe Smith, Clerk of Circuit Court of St. Lucie County, spoke to first grade students recently at Allapattah Flats K8. Mr. Smith explained his role in the community and the upcoming election. Students were fascinated by his role in our community, and were hoping that one day they could grow up to be just like Mr. Smith. Pictured, from left, back row are Lindsey Schroeder, Ivan Liberato, Joe Smith, Jayden Tucker, and Anderson Lewellyn. Middle row, from left, Bailey Kirk, Alexis Wadlington, Ania Chandra, Matias Benitez, Robert Jones, Jamarr Richardson, and Ty Gray. Front row, from left, are Jeremiah Counterman, Erica King, … Read More

Eight grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 are learning about various kinds of matter. They were extraordinarily excited to learn about physical and chemical changes with hands-on activities in the science lab. Students were able to test a variety of chemicals and determine whether the reactions they saw were physical or chemical. They learned about suspensions, mixtures, and more through smell, sight and touch. Pictured, from left, are Autumn Washington, Sharon Charite, Sandy Simon and Jayda Hill as they dive right in to their next test tube waiting to see the reaction.

Students in Myron Varn’s eighth grade American History class at Allapattah Flats (APF) K8 School have finished writing their first document based question (DBQ). Students read and analyzed five different primary source documents to determine the cause of death for almost 80 percent of the first colony’s settlers. They have proven in their thesis that poor water caused disease, poor relations with Powhatan caused violent death, and lack of appropriate skills led to starvation and sickness. This lesson helped the students understand population decline during the time period. When using the DBQ, students are able to brainstorm and come up with … Read More

As part of their science program, students in Crystal Cade’s fourth grade Response to Intervention group at Allapattah Flats K-8 School recently learned about the scientific method. The students discussed the role of a scientist and the importance of scientific investigations. The students identified the steps necessary to complete a scientific investigation. As a culminating activity, the students completed an inquiry activity in which they used the scientific method to create lava in a cup. Students also discussed the possible implications of not following the scientific method. Pictured, from left, are Aaron Ganus, Lisbet Figueroa, and Giancarlo Gallegos.

Staff members at Allapattah Flats K-8 School recently participated in Big Brothers, Big Sisters’ annual Bowl for Kid’s Sake event at Superplay USA. With an 80’s theme, staff members enjoyed sporting their neon shirts and listening to music from that time period. With three lanes in use for Allapattah, each team member got to show off their bowling and athletic abilities. All the money raised will go to benefit Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Students in Tekia Montgomery’s first grade through fifth grade classes at Allapattah Flats K8 School have been learning how to create different animal faces using Origami, the Japanese art form of folding paper. Students read about and saw examples of things such as animals, puppets, masks and geometric shapes, then took on the challenge of creating their own. They created a variety of shapes and added their own flair by drawing on faces and detail. Students were engaged, excited, and had a lot of fun creating these animal faces and working as a team at all grade levels! Pictured are … Read More

Students in reading classes at Allapattah Flats K-8 have been working diligently on setting personal and academic goals for the school year. Students will focus on specific reading comprehension skills and track their progress towards mastering those strategies on a weekly basis.  In November, they will participate in student led conferencing where they will share their progress towards their goals with parents, guardians and teachers. Pictured, from left, are Santiago Torres, Gianni Lancaster and Victoria Joseph working together to set personal and academic goals.

First grade students in Ann Hartman’s class at Allapattah Flats K8 have been practicing the rules and expectations in learning areas, and one of the most favorite is the reading area. Jacob Garcia is pictured reading one of his favorite books, “Egad, Alligator” to the classroom alligator.  First graders are off to a fabulous start with demonstrating their love of reading on a daily basis! 

Eighth grade Allapattah Flats students practiced using the scientific method to determine which type of paper will allow a paper airplane to fly the furthest. Students used prior knowledge to generate their hypothesis and develop their procedures and will apply what they learned from this lab activity to engineer a more aerodynamic plane in their lab work. Students learned to identify the value in using the scientific method in everyday life as a guide for how to think like a scientist. They are also learning to differentiate between science and non-science.   Pictured, from left, are Vincent Iapriccio, Jesenia Casado, Caitlin Cooney as they test … Read More

The Allapattah Flats K-8 School kindergartners had a great start of the school year. Students did many activities related to school and classroom rules, took a tour of their new school and met many of the great staff. The students were also asked to bring in items in a small lunch bag that would tell their friends something special about “me”.  They were all eager to share their special story using the microphone. It was a great way to warm up to their new teacher and classmates. Pictured is Ryan Cook as he shares his love of basketball with the class.

The third grade students at Allapattah Flats K-8 celebrated Mother’s Day by decorating their own heart shaped Mother’s Day cakes. The cakes, including the frosting and sprinkles, were provided by the school’s business partners at Publix Super Market. Students enjoyed decorating their own cakes and were even able to add their own special touch with a unique Mother’s Day card. Students were excited about presenting their unique creations to their mothers on Mother’s Day. Pictured are Rhianna Sheehan, left, and Mariana Trujillo-Naranjo.

Second grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 School are reading the Caldecott Award-winning novel “Charlotte’s Web.” While studying this great piece of literature, students will be completing circle maps on the characters, acting out the vocabulary words, and writing a synopsis of the chapters. Students are enchanted with the characters in the book and are eager to learn the outcome. Pictured, from left, De’Auveon Mitchell, Tatiana Holloway, Neveah Russell, Abigail Nunez, Adam Etayem, Kenneth Castro, and Elexus Mcmillian are all enjoying the classic book.

Students at Allapattah Flats K8 School participated in the Spring “Golf In Our Schools” program through PGA. The five-week tournament wrapped up with a skills challenge at PGA. Alexis Allen, a fourth grade Allapattah Flats student, won first place in the putting skills challenge. Congratulations Alexis! 

Jaime Hillaire, a seventh grade student at Allapattah Flats K8, received state, regional, and national recognition from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for his entry in the Junior American Citizens contest. That’s quite an accomplishment for which he should be proud. Allapattah sends out a big congratulations to Jaime!

Christine King’s sixth and seventh grade math students at Allapattah Flats K-8 are looking ahead to next year by exploring Box-and-Whisker Plots.  Box-and-Whisker Plots are diagrams that summarize data by dividing it into quartiles. Students surveyed other students around school, their parents and even other teachers. Students asked questions such as “How often do you get on the internet in one week?”  They then ordered their data, found the measures of variation and graphed their data on a Box-and-Whisker Plot. Pictured showing off their hardwork are Christine King and some of her students, from left, Matthew Gustin, Daniel Lopez, Cassidy Lanier, Alexis Tabora, Pricillia Samaroo, and … Read More

Allapattah Flats middle school staff and students recently competed in Battle of the Books. Each grade group had their own battle which was conducted as a game show. Sixth grade students read Freak the Mighty.  Sixth grade students were victorious and won the battle clearly showing their superior reading efforts. Seventh and eighth grade students and teachers read “The Hunger Games”. After a heated round of bonus questions in both the seventh and eighth grade battles, the staff finally reigned as victors!  Stay tuned for next year’s battle with the most anticipated sequel, “Catching Fire.” From left, Cedric McCutchen, Markens … Read More

Selected third through fifth grade students from Danya Etter’s music class at Allapattah Flats K-8 participated in the end of the year, “An Adventure in Music,” spring concert. The program consisted of  a variety of songs from “You Raise Me Up” and Somewhere Over the Rainbow to  Boogie Woogie, and “Beethoven’s Wig”. The concert was a success. Pictured left to right, back row: Zoey Van Etten, Jai-Marcia Williams, Alyssa Hartman, Aidan Atkinson, Kaminee Edmondson, Raeanne Anderson, Jerusalen Figueroa, and Jensen Erbe. Middle Row: Alexis Allen, Riley Franklin, Melanie Lynn, Brittany Braessler, Tori Braessler, Jacqueline Sebastian, Isabella Iarriccio, and Alec Boxer. Bottom Row: … Read More

Allapattah Flats K8 recognized outstanding Business Partner Walmart Distribution Center as its Business Partner of the Year, and attended the recent recognition ceremony at the district office. The company has been instrumental in creating a truly fantastic business partner relationship for Allapattah Flats K8.  Jennie Shalala-Hartman has volunteered her time to reading to our primary classes, and has volunteered at various school functions.  She has created sight word flash cards, cut out needed materials, and is always willing to assist.  She was able to enroll our school in the VAP program,  Volunteering Always Pays, which awarded our school a check for $250.00 … Read More

First grade students at Allapattah Flats  K8  launch into the study of the sky with a visit to the Hallstrom Planetarium!  Students were able to explore Earth’s place in space by learning about gravity, the Milky Way galaxy, stars, the solar system and Earth.  The students had an engaging time seeing the real-world example of the night and day sky. They saw that the number of stars in the sky was too numerous to count.  They realized that stars are not scattered evenly in the sky and that there are great distances between Earth and other space objects.  The students are … Read More