Author: REBECCA BENTON

Westwood Academy STEAM Advocates, Mr. Wilks & Mr. McIntosh, presented at the FAST conference on STEAM! They focused on the addition of the arts into STEM. Their session was lively, engaging, and purposeful for all attendants. We are so proud of you!

On Saturday, October 29, the Westwood Army JROTC Raider Team competed in the Area 3 Regional Championship Meet at the Tanah Keeta Scout Reservation in Jupiter, FL. The Team competed against 8 other schools in 5 separate events: (2-Mile Team Run, 1-Mile Cross-Country Casualty Evacuation Run, Rope Bridge (build & crossing), 440lb Tire Flip, and 35lb Kettlebell Relays). Our Raider Team placed 3rd overall out of 9 schools, with multiple top 3 finishes and a combined 14 seconds (over three other events) separating them for the next spot up from 3rd or 4th. The Cadets came together as a team … Read More

Westwood’s Reading Department collaborated on the Quarterly STEAM lesson on Invasive Species.  The classes began with a Nearpod and videos that explained which animals are not native to Florida.  Students also answered riddles about the animals.  To demonstrate the impact on our native species, each of the 6 classes was designated a specific “invading” animal and, following a script, took turns “invading” the hallway where the native animals were gathered.  Invaders included feral pigs, red headed agamas, iguanas, monk parakeets, pythons, and Cuban tree frogs.  The script followed the timeline of when the animals first came to our state.  After … Read More

Congratulations to Chef Gray, Donavin Derrico, and his teammate from IRSC Jay Shemo. They won the Sunshine Kitchen Cook-Off that was held on Tuesday, October 25th. Donavin and Jay both won a $1,500 scholarship! It was a tough competition but clear to see the hard work Donavin, Jay, and Chef Gray put into preparing for this event! We are panther proud!

Students in Mrs. Brown’s Criminal Justice classes researched and identified invasive species for various states and created UNWANTED Invasive Species posters as part of Westwood Academy’s STEAM initiative.  

The Westwood Army JROTC Raider Team competed in the Area 3 Regionals Qualifier Raider Meet at the Tanah Keeta Scout Reservation in Jupiter, FL. The team competed against 8 other schools in 5 separate events: (2-Mile Team Run, 1-Mile Cross Country Casualty Evacuation Run, Rope Bridge, Tire Flip, and Kettlebell Relays). Due to a 4th overall finish out of 9 total schools and a Top 3 win in one of the events, our Panther Battalion Cadets will be representing Westwood at the Area 3 Regionals on Saturday, 29 October 22. HUGE Praise to these Panther Warriors!

Congratulations to Dr. Noel for being recognized by the Florida Council for the Social Studies as a Florida Social Studies Teacher of the Year! Thank you for everything you do for your students!  

Students in Mr. Wilk’s English Class presented on this quarter’s STEAM topic: Invasive Species. Groups researched various invasive species such as moths, ferns, and armadillos and how these species affected our area, our economy, and the environment. Students got creative with their presentations using dramatic performances and technology.

The FPWA Key Club held its first clean up on the club’s adopted road this morning. Thank you to our students for giving up a Saturday morning to help Keep Ft. Pierce Beautiful! Also, thank you to the City of Fort Pierce for donating the safety vests. We appreciate your involvement with Key Club!

Shout out to the Commissioners Academic Challenge Westwood/MOA team! They participated at the IRSC Brain Bowl. Looking forward to the district competition in January!

The Westwood Army JROTC Raider Team competed in an Area 3 Raider Meet at Port St Lucie High School. Raider Meets are very physical competitions that the Cadets train for every week during “Raider Season” (Mon-Thurs 2 pm-4 pm). The team attends 4-6 of these meets per fall. The Westwood Cadets squared off against eight other teams from various high schools located all along the Treasure Coast. For this competition we had (1) male team of ten Cadets and (1) mixed team of ten Cadets representing the Panther Battalion. The events for this meet included: 5k Team Run: All 10 members of … Read More

Cadets from the Fort Pierce Westwood Academy’s Army JROTC program served as an Honor Guard for the Annual Wreath and Rose Laying Ceremony, sponsored by the Treasure Coast Blue Star Mothers Organization. The event is to honor local Gold Star Families who have lost family members in the line of military duty. Not only did our Cadets serve as the Processional Path Honor Guard for arriving Gold Star Families, but Cadet Command Sergeant Major Ayden Gardner was given the honor of carrying the State Flag as part of the Vietnam Veterans of America organization Color Guard, to begin the ceremony. … Read More

JROTC conducted the Uncasing of the Colors and the Principal’s Review of the Cadet Staff. We are so proud of our cadets. Thank you to Major Godfrey and First Class Lewis.

Westwood Band & Eurhythmics students performed at CAST as students arrived on campus. This collaboration encourages students to utilize Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind, as several students graduated from CAST. The connection between MSAP schools also focuses on one of the MSAP Pillars – family and community partnerships.

Westwood’s AICE Marine Science 1 classes at MOA participated in a visible light experiment in the Ocean Lab at Harbor Branch. Students were able to get a clear understanding of how visible light was affected when traveling through the different depths of oceanic water. Through this fun and hands on lab experience, students were able to explain which colors would be most effective at camouflaging oceanic organisms at different depths of the ocean. They were able to walk out from the activity explaining why most marine deep sea organisms do not have traditional color vision.

Fort Pierce Westwood’s MOA Biology students partnered with Harbor Branch and applied Mark – Recapture methods to estimate field populations of snails. The snail populations were sampled to estimate abundance with the Lincoln – Petersen method by visiting the study site twice. The students got the opportunity to be involved in a field study which involved data analysis and graphing.

Culinary Arts students prepped, cooked, and then served the Junior Varsity Football Team a delicious meal before their away game against Port Saint Lucie High School! Go Westwood Panthers! Pictures taken by Commercial Art Students.

Westwood students with zero tardies and absences were entered into a drawing for pizza! We are proud of our students who are proactive with getting to class! Congrats to our winners and thanks to our business partners Big Apple Pizza!

Students in Anatomy class listened to a Sickle Cell Anemia Presentation to recognize September as Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month. Students are applying the knowledge learned in Anatomy to real-world health issues. Thank you to our presenters!

Junior Emma Chancey competed in the St. Lucie County Farm Bureau’s Speech Contest. She spoke about agriculture and our community. She won second place. State Representative Dana Trabulsy judged the contest. Way to go Emma!