Author: Patricia Sheridan-Reynolds

Through heart-warming stories and eye-opening pictures, students from Zambia were able to share their stories with Samuel Gaines Academy students. Students learned that at a particular school in Zambia, due to lack of funds, teachers have little resources to utilize. With an eagerness to serve, members of the school’s chapter of the National Elementary and Junior Honor Societies, along with students from Katie Ludwig’s seventh grade Critical Thinking class, worked relentlessly and passionately for weeks to create educational books and posters for the students in Zambia. Thanks to faculty member Chelsea Hartz, NEHS sponsor, students were also able to send a video of the … Read More

Students at Samuel Gaines Academy decorated and setup their pods with cultural information, artistic design, musical, and cuisine, for the annual Multicultural Day. This event was very successful with enthusiastic participation from teachers, parents and students alike. Students at each grade level researched a specific country to display in their pod. Pictured are sixth grade teachers Missy Lyshon, Robert Plowden, and Elisabeth Kraft with their students displaying their culminative research on Italian culture.

Members from the Samuel Gaines Academy’s National Honor Junior Society are packing food for the Elks Weekend Backpack Program, a project to provide meals on the weekends to children in need. Pictured, from left, are Edgar Carrasco, Edith Raya, Adriana Calderon, Ebony Young, and Michaela Kelly.

The Samuel S. Gaines Academy’s Lady Colts basketball team won the 2013 St. Lucie County Interamurals Girls division A basketball championship with an overall win 26-10. Thank you to Donella Crenshaw and Shauna Cobb for devoting their time and talent in leading the girls to become champions. Pictured standing, from left, are Donella Crenshaw, Beina Jerome, Michaela Kelly Leroyeisha Thomas, and Jade Murray. Sitting, from left, are Mishla Pierre, Destiny Hill, and Aleshia Johnson.

Second grade students Victoria Shiver and Gonzalo Villaltafrom in Ashley Steward’s class at Samuel Gaines Academy show off their successful contraction “surgery.” Students worked in pairs to perform “surgery” on words. The students started with two words and had to create one contraction by correctly cutting the words apart and adding a band aid (apostrophe) in the precise spot.

Seventh grade students in Nicole Maddux’s science classes at Gaines Academy are studying the different cycles different materials experience to form rocks. Pictured are Michael Cook, left, and Zykecia Thornton using crayons to demonstrate their knowledge.

It has been a fun week for students at Gaines Academy with field days and the many activities Coach Camarotti and Coach Ellinger prepared.  Students from Andrea Blackburn’s fourth grade class are pictured preparing for the beach day relay. Pictured with beach gear in hand ready to begin the race are Ledarius Sirmons and Elijah Similien.

Students and families recently visited many countries while traveling around the world at Gaines Academy. Pictured with passports in hand are second grade student Jason Jacques in Mikki Greer’s class, and his sister Jennifer, a kindergartner in Leigh Chesney’s class upon arriving in Egypt, where they encounter a camel created by eighth graders in Paul Small’s class. They also saw a pyramid with mummies inside and hieroglyphic prints.

Fourth grade Samuel S. Gaines Academy students, from left, Adrian Zarate, Jaelyn Aguilar, and Megan Kelchner practice for the school’s final musical of the year, “Freddie the Frog and the Mighty Meter Gnome,” presented by the 21st Century after school program. Thank you to all who helped make this musical a success.

Samuel S. Gaines Academy is proud to acknowledge the following students for reading all 15 Sunshine State Young Reader’s books for the year. Pictured, from left, are fourth grader Erin Buchanon, eighth grader Jennifer Teran, seventh grader Michaela Kelly, and eighth grader Terry Revange. Students were awarded with certificates, and ice cream party, pizza party, trophy, and T-Shirts.  Congratulations, students, keep reading!

Students in John Davino’s seventh grade civics class at Samuel S. Gaines Academy created their own review board games to study for their upcoming final exam. Pictured here are a handful of SGA’s AVID students, from left, Leonar Barron, Akiefe Anderson, Joshua Martin, Aleshia Johnson, and Edith Raya playing their way to being prepared for the exam.

Students in Karen Madalena’s class at Samuel Gaines Academy enjoy their time spent with Mr. Dan Galloway and Abigail. Mr. Dan and Abigail travel to several schools in St Lucie County teaching students with special needs a unique “Art/Abigail” curriculum. One of the many commands that students are taught in order to interact with Abigail is to say the word “visit” and Abigail will lay her head in the student’s lap. Pictured with Abigail “visiting” with second grade student Sevaan Wright with Dan Galloway helping.

Congratulations to third, fourth and fifth grade Math Bowl teams from Gaines Academy for their representation at the first ever St. Lucie Schools Math Bowl. The Math Bowl was a team academic competition in which four students worked collaboratively to solve math problems in less than 5 minutes. Gaines Academy’s third grade team placed third, the fourth grade team placed first, and the fifth grade team placed third. Pictured holding their trophy are Lopez Bourjolly, left, and Gabriela Armendariz, students in Kimberly Masters’ third grade class.

A special thank you to Jed Garbie from Samuel S. Gaines academy business partner Sonic restaurant for the 2011-2012 school year.  Sonic has donated a variety of coupons for free or discounted items from their menu.  The coupons were used for COLT of the month, honor roll, and perfect attendance.  They also gave free slush coupons to the class that brought in the most box tops.  The school thanks Sonic for all it does to benefit and encourage Gaines Academy students. Pictured is store manager Jed Barbie.

First grade students at Gaines Academy enjoyed a recent field trip to Ric’s Garden World.  The students explored the garden and learned about plants and insects after studying plants in the classroom.  Pictured from Margot Williams’ class, from left, are Guadalupe Acosta-Carrasco, Karla Castro, Andrew Reeves, and Jerry Dexpreux.

Carmello Williams and Dominique Thomas welcomed Letycia Holley to Cindy Hedrick’s VPK class at Samuel Gaines Academy. The three students were playing in the dramatic play center imagining the future when they came up with these unusual, but flattering outfits.

Samuel Gaines Academy recently presented the kindergarten and first grade resource showcase for the month of April. Students demonstrated activities learned in music from Merritt Tilson using different instruments and sang a melody of animal songs.  Megan Schwenger’s computer students displayed on the screens illustrations of the animals they made  using computers.  Patt Reynolds’ first grade media students presented a flannel board story and  puppet show, and kindergartners sang Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Pictured are  Coach Lynn Camarotti’s first grade students recreating the awaking of a butterfly to music using a parachute.

Pictured from left, Mary Fowler, Mikki Greer, Courtney Crooks, Beth McMillen carry the Samuel S. Gaines Academy banner at opening ceremonies for St. Lucie West’s Relay For Life event.  The team held events throughout the year to raise money to support the American Cancer Society’s research. Fund raisers included a Pie-In-The-Face contest, Caps for a Cure and Crazy Sock It To Cancer day. Not pictured but also attending the event from SGA were Megan Schwenger and Jen Bozone.

Kudos for Sam Gaines Academy AVID students for volunteering to tutor struggling students during seventh period, two days per week, for three weeks prior FCAT Writes! The awesome student tutors are, from left, Jesus Gill, David Osorio, Wayne Farmer, Allison Schiavi, Dana Bennett, Sherneice Robins, Bianca Castillo, and Shania Farmer.  Without the one-on-one tutorial ESE and ESOL student received by these outstanding and unselfish students, these struggling students would not achieve the writing scores they will achieve when test score come back.  Pictured, Sherneice Robin and Shania Farmer tutor Kenia Santizo Guerra, an ESOL student for the FCAT Writes test.