Category: School News

Over the next couple of months, Southern Oaks Middle School teachers Jose Rivero and Lauren Kappler are planning to take students on an exciting virtual journey to the moon and Mars. Students will be doing project based STEM activities twice a week that will lead up to learning about how one day life can possibly be sustained on Mars. Mr. Rivero states that students will be learning and talking about everthing from different thrust structures, manned space flight vehicles, what it’s like to live in space, robotics and will learn how to produce food in order to survive long periods … Read More

The Kids at Hope committee at Garden City Early Learning Academy is sponsoring an Acts of Random Kindness activity for the month of February. All teachers, staff, and students are asked to leave their “heartprints” on the halls of the school. A heartprint is defined as the impression left behind by a deliberate act of kindness. How wonderful it will be to create connecting chains of heartprints displaying appreciation for one another throughout the school. To kick off the event, principal Traci Wilke, pictured, read the book “Heartprints” to the entire school.

St. Lucie Elementary School students have been collecting spare change to help cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. The school is donating all collected money to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The school’s goal was set at a total of $500.00. Within the first three days of the fundraiser, students reached and exceeded the goal, raising a total amount of $1200.00!!! With still another week to go, the school hopes to double collections and change the lives of all patients fighting blood cancers! Pictured, from left, are Savana Dimenna, Jeanette Cendejas, … Read More

Students in Melanie Francisco and Michelle O’Keefe’s kindergarten classes at F. K. Sweet Elementary recently enjoyed throwing a Florida snowball. After studying a unit on snow and winter, the students went outside and engaged in a snowball fight using white yarn pom poms.

Students at Allapattah Flats were recently visited by two members of a BMX group as part of a PBS reward. All kindergarten through eighth grade studnets could use their Gator bucs to attend the show and watch the extreme stunts performed by the BMX bikers. Ten lucky students who were top sellers in a school fundraiser recieved VIP tickets to the show where they got to sit in the front row and have a meet and greet with the riders after the show. Students watched in awe as the riders did jumps, flips, and even jumped over the head of their administrator. Pictured … Read More

Allapattah students have taken on a new challenge this year with the implementation of the 100 Book Challenge.  Students are asked to earn ‘steps’ which are each equivalent to 15 minutes of sustained independent reading.  Just this week, a group of third grade students were recognized as the first to reach 100 steps. They were recognized by administration, given a medal and a speech of encouragement to continue down the path of regular reading. Students were excited to be awarded and they can be seen all around campus proudly wearing their medals to show off their hard work. Pictured are the students … Read More

Windmill Point students in Dan Butts’ and Sherri Neri’s classes were treated to a visit from Mr. Neri and his dog, Princess. Fifth grade students have been studying plant and animal adaptations. Princess is a Siberian Huskie and Malmute mix. Mr. Neri explained how Princess has adapted to life in Florida. She has less thickness of hair because it doesn’t get as cold here. She loses hair but not as much as if she was up north. One of the children asked how she dealt with the heat, and Mr. Neri laughed and said the same as we do — she … Read More

Second grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 School celebrated Florida Literacy Week! Guest readers came in to classrooms to read aloud to students. Former teacher Donna Dorio shared some of her favorite books with students, including several from one of her favorite authors, Robert Munsch. Pictured, from left, are students Nailah Auguste, Asher Alberts, Zaniya Scott, Emilie Middlebrooke and Lillian Wagenman with Ms. Dorio seated in front.

The cadets of St. Lucie West Centennial High School Navy Junior ROTC, recently held their annual Military Ball at the Port Saint Lucie Community Center. The evening included dinner, awards, promotions, and dancing to great music. Pictured is he Military Ball court, from left, sophomore Duchess and Duke Jenna Merrill and Billy Lents, junior Prince and Princess Ro’aine Graham and Johanna Moody, senior King and Queen Lucas Glykas and Bailey Lake, and freshman Baron and Baroness Anthony Stabile and Emily Daigle. Cadets and guests enjoyed the evening.

Mariposa Elementary School fourth grade students were enthralled with a Hobe Sound Nature Center presentation about raptors, also known as birds of prey. Staff from the Center brought in a rescued owl and hawk.  After learning about these amazing creatures, students role-played being scientists. They needed to find out what owls had eaten from an owl pellet. They broke the owl pellet in half, then used tools such as tweezers to pull apart the fur, and find the bones that could not be digested by the owl. Students took home the bones and fur and were asked to re-create what the animal looked like … Read More

Samuel S. Gaines Academy proudly inducted its first class of students into the National Junior and Elementary Honor Societies. Twelve middle school students and 14 elementary students met the national criteria for membership in the areas of scholarship, citizenship and volunteerism. Teachers April Jones and Katie Ludwig will serve as faculty sponsors for these students as they accept their new leadership roles. Congratulations to these student leaders. Pictured, from left are Ms. Ludwig, Ebony Young, Nicole Thomas, Edgar Carrasco, Cristian Hernandez, Michaela Kelly, Adriana Claderon, Daniela Hernandez, Hailey Griggs, Edith Raya, and Julia Barrett.

Students in Erin Cook’s second grade class at Windmill Point Elementary are working to increase their fluency with math facts. Pictured, students are playing the game Addition War. The students love to play this game as they challenge each other in addition facts.

In a great feat of reading, students in Northport K-8 second grade teacher Denise Fields’ class went above and beyond participating in the One Hundred Book Challenge program the last nine weeks of school. All students in Mrs. Fields’ class excelled and the entire class reached 100 steps in the program. Each step is a 15 minute reading increment. Students read 15 minutes in class, then another 15 minutes at home with parent partnership.  Parents must sign the reading log to verify reading time. The challenge books are leveled and specifically selected to meet the needs and interests of individual students. The … Read More

In an experience that the students will not soon forget, Northport K-8 School and Manatee Academy seventh and eighth grade students participated in the Young Adult Choices program, or YAC as it known by students, media specialists Lynne Gruszka and Debbie Remington and middle school grades teachers, using advanced technology. Students from both schools introduced themselves via the teleconference technology, gave both positive and negative book reviews on the special selections in the program, and hailed each other for taking the lead to read! The media specialists promoted positive interactions by guiding students through the teleconference and provided students with a voice … Read More

Students in Maria Ramkissoon’s kindergarten class at Lawnwood Elementary School proudly share their classroom Science Fair project on gravity, in which they worked together researching. The students incorporated fun with learning by conducting an experiment on gravity that involved dropping blocks tied to parachutes. Pictured standing, from left, are Alexander Granados, Alexandria Knight, Rodney Stevens, Emmanuella Raymond, Rupert Blackwood, Angel Acevedo, Stefany Martinez-Betancourt, Remeece Barjon, Lataurus Conley, Sierra Carswell, Armani Smith, Brandon Ramon, and Billy Ramirez-Riano. Seated, from left, are Eliana Castelan, Angelina Grimes, J’Sean Wilson, and Karen Hidalgo-Aguilar.

Three students from Frances K. Sweet Elementary were excited after participating in the Martin Luther King, Jr. spelling bee at C. A. Moore Elementary. Pictured, from left, are Ajeya Adams, Kamion Williams, and Christian Yoder. Since Ajeya is just a fourth grader, she says she’s going to come back next year and win.

Windmill Point Elementary students William and Joseph Kytoski enjoyed some mother and son quality time at a recent “Mother and Son Social” Kids at Hope event recently.  The school’s PTO and the Kids at Hope committees collaborated and hosted this event to celebrate ACES, those caring adults in a child’s life identified through the Kids at Hope initiative.  It is believed that one reason children succeed is when they have meaningful and sustainable relationships with caring adults. The boys enjoyed dancing and taking pictures with their ACES and making cards that will hold special memories in years to come! An upcoming Father-Daughter … Read More

Floresta Elementary hosted its Title I Family Night “Bingo for Books” recently in the school’s cafeteria. Parents and students who arrived early were awarded two free bingo cards and a free snack ticket, and additional bingo cards were available for purchase throughout the evening, and Floresta’s very supportive PTO provided snacks for a small fee. Distinguished guest and official caller was Superintendent Michael Lannon. Winners were awarded prizes of books and a variety of other educational materials. For a portion of the evening, fourth grade teachers Elish Mancuso and Sandy Pagliughi presented important information to families about the upcoming FCAT Writes writing … Read More

James Williams, a member of the Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion, recently took first place in the Academic A-Team district competition recently held at St. Lucie West Centennial High School. The competition was designed similar to the television game show “Jeopardy.” Six schools with a five man team competed using their knowledge on academic subjects. Williams will now go to state competition in April at Disney World in Orlando. Pictured is cadet James Williams.

Students in Susie Lewis’ classroom at Lawnwood Elementary School recently learned they had earned second prize in the Lysol Healthy Habits Story writing contest sponsored by Scholastic Parent and Child magazine. For the students’ “incredible effort, concept and execution”, the school is being awarded $5,000 and a set of 25 books for Ms. Lewis’ classroom. Pictured is the winning classroom of students.