Author: LYNNE Gruszka

The first morning of school was flawless and welcoming as community members, parents, grandparents, teachers and administrators welcomed students to a super successful new year at Northport K-8 School. The support the exceptional Title 1 school received was undeniable. SLPS Superintendent E. Wayne Gent was on hand as well as SLPS Chief Communications Officer Kerry Padrick. Also present were twenty or more veterans from the Northport Veteran Partners in Education program from local clubs including the Legion Riders, Korean War Chapter and Vietnam Veterans as well as the Marine Corps League. Northport Church Community Partners in Education, First United Methodist … Read More

Northport K-8 School continually instills in our children that we should respect all police officers. The police are part of the fabric of Northport and they are common faces at our school. They are community partners and work with our staff to instill attributes in the children of Northport to become good citizens, to enjoy a healthy respect of the police and to always honor our country and be patriotic. This week is the 36th annual Peace Officers Memorial and Police Week. We salute and thank ALL police officers on this day. All American flags will be at half staff … Read More

Many, many thanks to First United Methodist Church of Port St. Lucie on Prima Vista Blvd. from the entire Northport community. The children are in awe of all the 1,005 books, the many choices of books, and the idea of starting their summer reading. You have done a magical and wonderful thing for all the children. You REALLY made a difference! You all really have walked the walk!!!!!!!

It was a wonderful morning of real learning and listening when James English visited select students at Northport. Students from Boys to Men and Girls to Women clubs learned a lot about how to deal with the really stressful events that happen in their lives without turning to drug, alcohol and other things that cause them to bring pain to themselves. Learning how to deal with emotions is paramount to being a healthy student ready to learn. Some kids just have too many stressors for their young minds to handle and turn to unhealthy outlets. This halts the learning process. … Read More

Northport teachers are participating in an intensive book study led by Assistant Principal Meghan Drost using Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind. Teachers are learning and putting into action steps for making the teaching and learning experiences more real and authentic for our Title 1 school and for our students. “When teaching in a Title 1 school, every single weakness that a teacher has is exposed. If we don’t learn to adapt, build relationships, and bring our A-game every single day, our classes will suffer.” The book integrates all the positive attributes of Northport and all the goals that we … Read More

Northport has been so proud to play a role in the Speakers Bureau this year. The program has achieved astounding success through a series of community leaders and role models who have visited the school. With the collaboration of SLPS Board Vice Chairman Dr. Donna Mills, Northport Principal Glenn Rustay, Northport Media Specialist Lynne Gruszka, and a host of middle grades students, teachers, and parents, students have been offered the opportunity to hone leadership skills and to learn to develop and pose well thought out and provocative questions. Students have learned to research the background of the speaker, then, working … Read More

Northport students became researchers and scientists in their classrooms. Hobe Sound Nature Preserve brought live owls to enhance the science lessons learned in school. Students learned about heredity and the difference between owls and red tailed hawks. They learned what owls eat as well as their natural habitats, and they also learned that owls can’t digest foods so they form pellets similar to hairballs. The pellets are filled with bones from their prey. Students were able to dissect sterilized pellets and match bone pieces to figures on a chart. A big thumbs up to this terrific hands-on lesson. Many thanks … Read More

What a wonderful morning @Northport K-8 School. We hosted a notable group of community service members who really care about our school. We partnered with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Saint Lucie County and Americorps to bring the very best learning experience to our VPK-grade through three students. Guest readers included PSL Mayor Greg Oravec, SLPS Board Members Debbie Hawley and Troy Ingersoll, Commisioner Tod Mowery, Star Bright Reading Therapy dogs and their handlers, many members of BBBS and our wonderful volunteers from Port St. Lucie United Methodist Church. Students and community members interacted and learned that Seuss wrote more … Read More

What a first rate presentation by Lorena Wilson’s third grade Rising Stars! Students researched a famous Black American using several sources. They also made program guides and actual models of each famous American. Students then presented their oral information using note cards to visiting classes, parents, administration and other special guests. Students became teachers for the afternoon and really demonstrated authentic and intriguing information. Guest students wrote down information pertaining to each speaker station that they found enjoyable. The afternoon in the media center was energetic and vibrant as special learning took place. The learning stations provided students with the … Read More

Northport students and teachers welcomed the monthly Speakers Bureau recently, and the Northport Media Center truly did “Shine Forth As Gold!” The morning began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by sixth grader, Alicia Brown, dressed as Harriet Tubman. As the program progressed, students from Deborah Allen’s class dressed authentically as famous Black Americans such as Dr. Martin Luther King and Mary McCloud Bethune and more black heroes presented “Who Am I?” speeches. This segment of the program was first rate as the students taught the guests about important Black Americans and their contributions. Dr. Donna Mills presented the first … Read More

Northport is pleased to announce our results from the 2017 St. Lucie County Regional Science and Engineering Fair STEM competition. Students researched a problem having societal impact and then creatively designed their experiment to test their hypothesis or built a prototype device to find a solution. We are proud of the accomplishments of our young scientists and engineers. Eighth grade delegates receiving awards include: Ishe’ Toussaint…..First place in Biomedical Health and Science as well as a Broadcom Masters invitation Brianne Yates…..Second place in Chemistry Brandon Quijada…..Third place in Chemistry Evence Elissaint…..First place in Environmental Engineering, a Broadcom Masters invitation, Danae … Read More

Students across the Northport campus are working to do their part and conserve our earth. Fifth grade teacher, Melanie Polascak, spearheaded a campaign to bring recycling to the school. Students interested in the effort meet in Polascak’s classroom on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to organize and to work together to get twenty bins from Waste Pro. Every Tuesday morning before school, twelve interested students go across campus and bring the bins to the front of the school then they meet again on Thursday to bring the empty bins back to their designated spots. Northport is very proud of the efforts … Read More

Students in Sherree Madorma’s 5th grade class not only celebrated Valentine’s Day, but also paid tribute to one of the finest American poets and a Black History icon, Langston Hughes. The program entitled, “We Love Langston Hughes!” was an animated group reading of the Hughes poem, “Harlem.” Students studied what Langston Hughes’ poetry meant to people in the 1950’s. The theme of the poem, students learned, was to always follow your dreams, to never give up, and to “Just Do It!” Students learned all about segregation and the sadness that people felt during that time in history. Students paid wonderful … Read More

What an absolute pleasure to host the Speakers Bureau recently at Northport. Northport is part of a coalition of St. Lucie County schools, spearheaded by SLPS Vice Chairman Dr. Donna Mills to bring talented and inspiring guest speakers to directly impact students and their achievement. The most recent guest was a talented, refreshingly authentic and fascinating young man named Samuel McDuffie. Samuel, originally from Washington, D.C., moved to Florida nearly three years ago. He gave the story of his hard scrapping youth that many students could relate to, including his father’s murder when he was six. He intrigued the children … Read More

Great morning of learning at Northport K-8 School recently as WPTV Weatherman Steve Weagle visited and intrigued students. Children in Kate Ploeckelman, Lorri Lamm, Kristin Schrader, Denise Fields and Jennifer Lusardi’s classes learned all about weather and weather calculations from the chief meteorologist. Students learned that to be a meteorologist, you need to love math, science and computer technology. Mr. Weagle spoke to students about weather forecasting and showed students how to make a homemade anemometer and how to study weather maps from satellites. He also discussed mini weather stations for hurricanes that take measurements of wind speed, temperature and … Read More

Talk about a “Joyful Noise!” That is what Dr. Kevin Perry brought to one lucky student at Northport K-8 School recently. Northport eighth grader Zachary Davis was surprised by Dr. Kevin Perry, the SLPS Assistant Superintendent of Schools and Fine Arts. Dr. Perry is part of a delightful group of local citizens called Bluebird Educational Productions. Dr. Perry, along with group founder, Darryl Bey, love music so much that they started a group called “Recycling In the Key of Education” or RIKE for short. The group collects used musical instruments from local citizens who gladly donate and then have the … Read More

It is with pleasure that Northport announces the winners of our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Writing contest. Eighth Grade Winners First Place – Yaneisha Martinez from Susan Smith’s class Second Place – Jailaire Garcia from Susan Matteson’s class Third Place – Xochith Romo from Susan Smith’s class Eighth Grade Runners Up: Anthony Nguyen, Jonathan Cales and Daniel Ramos Fifth Grade Winners First Place – Jaden Diago from Tiffany Tredor’s class Second Place – Ranjiv Sundersingh from Mr. Madorma’s class Third Place – Breyanna Robinson from Deanna Cameron’s class Fifth Grade Runners Up: Benet Hill and Joseph Black Teachers selected … Read More

Our school is so proud of our partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the positive influence and impact that our mentors and tutors project on our students and school community. Pictured are third grader Josue Mondesir from Janine Wiecks class and his tutor, Sheila Atkins. Sheila started at Northport in August as part of a strong and comprehensive team of caring adults who train with BBBS to work with specific student needs. The positive growth is palpable at times. Josue is celebrating with Sheila because he improved one grade level in the specialized reading program called iReady. Josue also … Read More

It is with much pleasure that we inform our community that Northport has been awarded the PBIS Model School status of GOLD. After difficult and complex work for several years, our school has achieved the highest status awarded to a school. We have worked tirelessly to address the Multi-Tiered System of Support and to fully embrace Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework. What this all means is that everything we do at Northport is about the success of the students. It’s about getting ALL of our kids ready for the real world. Everything is centered around our school wide expectations. … Read More

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Northport PTO! Northport community has been blessed with a robust and dynamic Parent and Teacher organization. PTO recently honored teachers and staff with a beautifully orchestrated holiday luncheon. The ladies served teachers and staff a lovely chicken parmesan dinner that included ziti, salad, rolls, and desserts catered by Big Apple Pizza. The ladies from right to left are Denise Suarez, Kimberly Rydzewski, Stephanie Hoffman-Zuniga, Christine Hunsicker, Kathy Hoffman, and Christina Fernandez. The Northport PTO brings dedication and exemplary service and care to the children and staff at Northport. The dedicated group helps to make … Read More