Author: LYNNE Gruszka

Here at Northport, we celebrate and commemorate many, many things. We honor, we remember and we lift up because we are a strong, loving and powerful family ?! Nothing has been so tragic as the loss of seventeen members of our educational family in Parkland, Florida. Many of us have ties to South Florida and to that school. Not only teachers and staff, but our students and families. Many have reached out to say that they are part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school family. Eagle Pride is strong! So many thanks to those who are standing to support MSD … Read More

Northport K-8 students are celebrating literacy this entire week along with all the other schools in SLPS and throughout Florida. Students are making “Storybook Snowmen,” playing pre-k through 5 Bingo Challenge, Middle School Literacy Link Challenge, Get Caught Reading and Buddy Reading activities as well as “Chew and Read” and “Lollipop Reading!” Students are promoting reading and literacy skills throughout the school. They love to participate and it brings a focus on reading for pleasure specifically. Northport is pleased to participate in “Celebrate Literacy Week Florida!”

Northport Deans Georgia Stone and Billy Hicks recently stepped into Susan Matteson’s eighth grade class and presented a solid lesson pertaining to personal security. The lesson was a group project where students were given information from the American Security Council Foundation website about personal security and the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Each group was given an article to read. Students then created a word cloud about the main idea of their topic and the important words about each topic. Students then collaborated and shared their findings with the class about the article. All groups were engaged and … Read More

Northport seventh graders are working diligently on their very meaningful Project Citizen collaborations.  Students are following the criteria for the projects by identifying a problem, gathering information, examining alternative policies, proposing and developing their own public policy and then developing an action plan.  Northstar instructor  Thomas McDonald and Elizabeth Montilla, the critical thinking  teacher, are collaborating to make sure that efficacy is evident in the very important projects. An example of student work is exhibited by students Clarousse Alfred, Duwyen Williams, John Riordan and Jose Rodriguez.  These students are passionate about getting sidewalks on Curtis Street.  Curtis Street is the … Read More

Northport was so pleased to host SLPS School Board Chair Dr. Donna Mills at our Speakers Bureau.  The theme for the program for the month of December was peer pressure and integrity.  The program was kicked off with a skit on peer pressure and bullying by eighth grade drama students Ryan Gilbert and Elaina Ledford.  Special thanks to Northport drama instructor Alison Barajas for working with the students and instilling the love of drama.  Northport middle grades instructor Sandra Tyndale Harvey sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to help encourage the students to have hope and to trust caring adults to … Read More

Northport community is so very proud of our essay contest winners for the recent writing opportunity for our sixth graders.  The American Security Council Foundation offers a program that teaches good citizenship called “Step Up America.”  Northport has made the program an integral piece of educating students about the many aspects of being a great citizen and how to become aware of their surroundings.  We have dubbed that program “Step Up Northport.” The essay topic was titled “What Freedom Means to Me and What Protects Our Freedoms in this Country.”  The prizes for the essay contest were awarded to John … Read More

Northport Boys to Men program hosted members of the local chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity recently. Harry Williams, Roderick Johnson, Mike Greene and Jack Boatwright attended the meeting to help bring a message of integrity and respect to the boys. The men mentor a group of local boys called the “Lamp Lighters.” Each brought a message about respecting parents and teachers as well as other students. They spoke about how critical school attendance is to success and how critical a time that middle school really is for young people. The chapter members will visit the group twice a … Read More

Northport welcomed five local veterans into the school media center recently to honor Veterans Day and to teach students about words with very important meanings like service, sacrifice, integrity, grit, education and commitment. The group of veterans are an integral part of the fabric of Northport and they bring their very important message to the children of the school regularly.  Elissa Garcia’s Northstar sixth grade students, Dr. Angela Bennett and Sandra Tyndale-Harvey’s eighth grade students were engaged and asked important questions. Students at Northport are blanketed in lessons about respect, patriotism and service at an early age. Administrators, teachers, media … Read More

Northport teachers are amazing! The seventh grade Stingrays team include Tracey Lejeune, Kat Black, Tony Mancini, Jeffrey Bennett, Angela Elliott and Heath Degiovine. Tiffany Tredor, 5th grade Rising Stars teacher, Lorri Lamm, second grade teacher along with NP Media Specialist, Lynne Gruszka are enjoying a priceless friendship and an admiration for colleagues that is not often replicated. Northport is noted for high quality, reputable and fun-loving teachers who bring out the best in their students. Northport is a great place to “make the magic happen!”

Third grade Rising Star instructor, Lorena Wilson, and her students had a wonderful time celebrating Amelia Bedelia and Her Idioms Day recently. Students and teacher used the lesson as an extension of a study on figurative language. Mrs. Wilson dressed as Amelia Bedelia and students dressed as the literal meaning of idioms that they learned about in class. Students then invited other classes to come into the room and play “Guess the Idiom” game. Students decorated themselves as “like the cookie crumbles,” “it’s raining cats and dogs,” “the icing on the cake,” and “fresh as a daisy.” Every student in … Read More

Northport Deans, Billy Hicks and Georgia Stone, along with Clerk Kachina Hall, are doing a superior job of taking care of security at Northport. Not only are they working on anti-bullying efforts and focusing on positive behavior efforts, but they are also working on a good citizenship program called “Step Up Northport!” “Step Up Northport” is a student call-to-action to be good citizens, learn to “see something, say something” in all avenues of life, in the school and in the community. Students are learning about cybersecurity and the foundations of our government. Congratulations on an exemplary job to these super … Read More

This year, Northport K-8 School celebrates our 8th annual Unity Day. Students from across the VKP-8 school make posters and banners and march throughout a path pre-marked by our PE coaches. All day long, during resource time, students can be seen marching, carrying homemade decorations and singing choruses of “No More Bullies! No More Drugs!” Northport combines our message of anti-bullying and anti -drugs every single year. The students look forward to Unity Day and the teachers make the day special. We also hold Unity Day door decorating contests for elementary classes and yearly anti-bullying/anti-drug essay contests in the middle … Read More

Northport always commemorates the tragedy of 9/11. Each year, we invite local veterans, first responders, police officers and guest speakers to bring the tragedy of September 11 alive for sixth grade students in a meaningful way. This year, due to Hurricane Irma, our program needed to be rescheduled a month and a half later. However, its importance was not diminished. Students listened to testimonials from Bill Arnold (local veteran and Northport Veteran Partner in Education), John McIntosh (Director of Operations for the American Security Council), and one of our business partners; viewed a movie by Maryanne Warren educating students about … Read More

Northport is pleased to be working with SLPS Board Member Dr. Donna Mills. Dr. Mills, Northport Media Center staff, administration and teachers have formed a special collaboration to bring the best and most up-to-date information to NP students. Each program highlights a different theme. For example: October was themed Read More, Write More; November will be themed Integrity and Peer Pressure; February will celebrate Black History; and March will commemorate Women’s History. The final program to be held in April will be themed, Why the Arts Make Us Better Students! The teachers and media specialist plan student-based programming then Dr. … Read More

Northport community is thankful and grateful for the wonderful partnership with First United Methodist Church of Port St. Lucie. Not only do many members of the congregation serve in the school as volunteers and mentors and Rev. Dr. Rad Orlandi has been tapped as NP Volunteer of the Year, but the church and the Pastor, Brian Carr, offered fellowship and good will to the staff with platters of food for the Northport teachers’ Professional Development day. Many thanks to our first-rate partners from First United Methodist Church for always supporting the schools’ efforts and for “having our back!” Without community … Read More

NORTHPORT IS SO PLEASED TO PRESENT OUR 2017 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR! It is with great pleasure and admiration that Northport K-8 School present to Rev. Dr. Rad Orlandi our highest achievement award as Northport Senior Volunteer of the Year for the 2017-2018 school year. Dr. Orlandi has demonstrated a true commitment to Northport with his organizational ability, his communication skills and his real care and concern for the children who attend the Title I school. At the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, Dr. Orlandi approached the school media specialist with a plan. Since the school and the church … Read More

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” This is a quote by Dale Carnegie. Greatness in teaching is rare. To be a great teacher, a combustion of assorted qualities both inborn and learned have to occur. A teacher has to be willing to put in time. That is time over and beyond the call of duty. Great teachers must love the age group and the subject that they are teaching and have an effective management style. Great teachers also are willing to learn new techniques, take advice, be flexible and have a huge capacity for … Read More

What a wonderful morning at Northport recently. So many dads, grandpas, big brothers and families participated in the SLPS districtwide event. Northport realizes that we need family participation to help us bring the very best learning environment to the children. Many thanks to all who participated. It was just wonderful to see and greet all the dads for a terrific breakfast in the media center. Many thanks to all who participated and special thanks to the Northport Culinary department and School Secretary Louise Robinson as well as Cafeteria Manager Bev Yates. Job well done to all who attended!

#bbbsglowbowl was a great event this year! Northport is so happy to support our wonderful partners in education in this annual event. Northport has several mentors and four tutors that serve from 40 – 60 kindergarten through second grade students. Northport’s school grade went from a C to a B this year. Part of the school’s success can be attributed to the many services that are received from a plethora of community partners. Big Brothers Big Sisters is an extremely important part of Northport’s equation for success. Many thanks to all the staff from Northport who came out to make … Read More