Author: LYNNE Gruszka

It was the pleasure of the Northport administration, teachers, and staff to host our monthly Speakers Bureau in partnership with Dr. Donna Mills, SLPS School Board Member recently. Each month, Northport along with several other schools, hosts guest speakers who encourage and motivate students to pull themselves up by the boot straps, make good choices, use positive role models and learn to find their passion and purpose in life. Northport’s recent guest was Mr. Tony Barnes, Fort Pierce Executive Director of Purchasing. Mr. Barnes spoke very eloquently to Northport sixth grade students on the Sharks team. He gave background information … Read More

Northport welcomed twelve 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, 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. Students in Jennifer Lusardi’s and Kristin Schrader’s second grade classes, Michelle Kemp’s third grade class, and middle grades students from the seventh and eighth grade Stingray and Dolphins team were engaged and asked important questions. Students at Northport are blanketed in … Read More

Each year, the Northport community comes together to support our anti-bullying message. We all wear orange and students and parents walk with their classes on a designated route around the campus. Students carry handmade signs, banners and posters. Special thanks to all who worked so hard to make sure that bullying is not prevalent at NPK8. The coaches, resource teachers, Big Brothers Big Sisters tutors, New Horizons Student Support Specialist Mary Anne Warren, and so many others deserve thanks for making the day phenomenal. It is a GREAT day for the children who know they are empowered to step up … Read More

Northport was so proud and thrilled to host the Speakers Bureau with Dr. Donna Mills recently. The Speakers Bureau is now in seven SLC schools and the guests who are invited to speak and interact with students are meant to help inspire, motivate, encourage and teach students how to make good choices. Each guest selected by Dr. Mills is a person who is willing to stand up for what is right and one who is a model for inspiration. At Northport recently, students were engaged and inspired by several guests. Along with Dr. Mills and Dr. Kenneth Mills, guests included … Read More

What a wonderful “Northport Dads Bring Your Child to School 2016” event. The kids were thrilled to have dads walk them to classes and to introduce them to their teachers and their friends. Everyone shared a great time eating donuts and having coffee, juice and water and meeting other dads. We care about our dads and all the positive males in our kids lives because the role they play is so powerful. Having a positive male role model can transform a child into a successful student and good citizen. Dads pledged to support their children’s education, to set high expectations, … Read More

Wonderful things with literacy are happening in the K-2 section of Northport! This week is “National Dog Week!” In honor of our children building literacy skills in a fun way and dogs, Star Bright Therapy dogs have been visiting classes and titillating children to read. Reading therapy dogs have visited the classes of April Smith, Michelle Sharrah, Elaine Lawrence, Michele Kemp, Jennifer Lusardi, Deb Day, Denise Fields, Rose Rumer, Lorelle Ceville, Angela Rodriguez, Renee Immordino, Pam Mishler, Shana Cicio and Lorri Lamm. The dogs and their loving owners have brought joy and companionship to the children and that is what … Read More

With enjoyment and pride, Northport students in Kate Ploeckelman and Lorena Wilson’s second and third grade Rising Star student group, performed a rousing rendition of “The Exaggerated But True Story of the Constitution” and the “Camping Constitution!” It was so impressive to see the young students process new information and develop fluency using important and vital information. Learning about who wrote the Constitution and the meaning behind the Constitution was pride evoking. Students performed in front of a large group of parents, teachers and peers in the school media center. The program was wrapped up with a heart touching rendition … Read More

Each year, Northport K-8 School honors the heroes and victims of the 9/11 tragedy and begins the educational process of teaching our students about September 11th in the school media center. The media center has been dedicated to the eight children who perished on September 11th. This year has been especially powerful. In partnership with SLPS Board Member Dr. Donna Mills, Northport sixth graders had the opportunity to listen to Mr. Tony Ross, brother of Cee Cee Ross Lyles. Cee Cee, a flight attendant on United Airlines Flight 93, was from Fort Pierce. She was the beloved niece of Dr. … Read More

What a wonderful pleasure to welcome new students and to celebrate returning students and families with a flourish. Northport VPK-8 School and community welcomed back well over one thousand students on Monday, August 15. The morning was a culmination of planning and preparation on the part of the administration, teachers, and staff. The students and parents were heralded with the smiling, welcoming faces of so many in the community who want to wish all a great start to a fabulous school year. On hand to ring in the new year was Superintendent of SLPS, Wayne Gent, SLPS Board members, Katherine … Read More

Each year, every Northport student participates in the Young Author’s program. The program is a wonderful opportunity for students to demonstrate that each can use the complete writing process effectively. Writing and editing the books and then publishing the final, revised book is a commitment to engaged learning. The Young Author’s writing process focuses directly on student curriculum for all grade levels in English/Language Arts and reading. Standards are applied to student organization, draft, reflection, revision, correction and then finally, publication and presentation. Working on the Young Author’s is common ground for all grade levels and a terrific platform for … Read More

Northport VPK-8 School Media Center is working with the Saint Lucie County Public Library System to help students and families achieve reading success, assist in helping to promote summer reading and to make reading and public library programming easily accessible while the school is closed for summer break. The Saint Lucie County Public Library offers a variety of programming including tablet tutoring, movie matinees all summer long, family game nights, Lego learning activities, and a plethora of books that will  make a child thrilled to check out the action. The public library will be offering summer reading activities. Stay tuned … Read More

Northport participated in a wonderful community event recently to support Autism Awareness. Autism Speaks Walk was held in Tradition on a beautiful Saturday morning. Northport’s team called the Puzzlers had a wonderful turnout and several of our families took part in the event. Northport has particpated for two years and the teachers and families have stated that this will definitely become an annual event with an even bigger turnout and even more support. Many thanks to the teachers and administrators that attended and especially to our families, the House family, Keldani family, Caicedo family, McKinney family, Woolridge family and Tejada … Read More

Northport K-8 School Advanced Band, under the direction of Brian Hoce, received an overall Superior rating at the Music Performance Assessments held recently at Treasure Coast High School. Nearly all middle school bands were represented at the assessments from Saint Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Martin Counties. Parents and students were thrilled to learn of their Superior grade and realized that all their arduous work paid off with the posting of the grades. Mr. Hoce said, “I am very proud of all of these kids. They worked very hard and deserve the rating!” Many thanks to all involved. Northport community … Read More

Northport K-8 School held a spectacular morning of Community Involvement recently to celebrate not only the birthday of Dr. Seuss, but also the 30th birthday of the school. Northport is so proud of the forward progress made by the teachers and staff as well as the parents and students. The school offers a well rounded education with an excellent opportunity to become immersed in not only reading, writing and mathematics but an opportunity to interact with community members from across the county on a regular basis. Northport realizes that the children need and desire all members of the community to … Read More

Northport proudly celebrates our very diverse culture every day, and Thursday, February 25, 2016, was especially special at the school. On this day, Northport included a program that hosted pioneers from our county and also all the Northport past principals. Dr. Sam Gaines, first African American school board member, Gloria Johnson-Scott, first female African American high school principal, Dr. Donna Mills, first female African American school board member, Joseph Smith, first African American Clerk of the Court, Officer Carl Toppin, first African American PSL police officer, as well as Queen Townsend, first SLC African American Interim Superintendent. We were also … Read More

Our young scientists exemplified what Northport K-8 strives to achieve: education , practice of the basic traits of moral and ethical behavior, development of intellectual curiosity, logical thinking using problem solving and reasoning skills, and pride in achievement! At the 28th Annual Awards Ceremony of the Saint Lucie County Regional Science and Engineering Stem Competition, category award recipients included Taygen Pennella (first place in math and computational sciences), Rosette Garcia (second place in biomedical and health science), Addison Searcy (third place in animal science), and Alicia Morrow (third place in cellular/molecular biology and biochemisry). Taygen Pennella also received the prestigious … Read More

Northport K-8 history instructor, Bob Burdge, and eleven Northport middle grades students represented Northport at the SLPS District History Fair held at Indian River State College recently. Students explored and presented exciting and informative topics such as, “How Did the Women of the 1920’s Explore Their Rights and Encounter Change?” “The Significance of the California Gold Rush,” and “Amelia Earhart’s Exploration of Aircrafts: The Development of New Ideas.” Mr. Burdge is celebrating his last year as not only a colorful and unparalleled history instructor for thirty-five and a half years, but as a History Fair Coordinator for at least twenty … Read More

The Rising Stars 3rd and 4th grade Gifted and Enriched students and Northstars 7th grade Gifted and Enriched classes collaborated in a cross curricular and cross grade level project on sound energy and production. Students accepted the challenge to create an orchestra using recycled materials. Students drew sketches of proposed instruments, wrote build procedures and play procedures, and then played three notes on each instrument. The older students mentored the younger students during the entire process. The Northstars also wrote a formal research paper with three  citations on the evolution of musical instruments and sound production. It was a wonderful … Read More