Pictured are Carolina Ponce, left, and Gaby Almendarez were the first students at Southern Oaks Middle School this year to win a prize for participating in lunch time book buddies. Reading teacher JoAnn Conard’s fourth period class came to the media center three weeks ago and selected books to read with a partner. The students could read at home or during silent reading time at school. After the students read a chapter, they would meet at lunch time with their partner and discuss the chapter. Students are encouraged to talk about connections they have with the story, characters, likes and dislikes, etc.  … Read More

Southern Oaks Middle School recently hosted a Parent Night for sixth grade families. Parents were given a passport and traveled to six different information sessions, with topics including classroom routines, expectations, note-taking, staying organized and a preview of the tablets that sixth grade students will be receiving. Parents enjoyed the night and found the information sessions to be very helpful. Pictured speaking with parents is language arts teacher Steve Barrish.

The Southern Oaks Middle School Social Studies Department, headed by Christopher Maxon, held its annual Geography Bee recently.  Students first competed in class competitions featuring questions regarding local, city, state, country and world geographical sites until each team had a winner along with a few who were nominated by faculty.  The top 11 students were selected to compete in front of the judges in the Geography Bee.  Upon answering questions about rivers, lakes, mountain ranges, etc. all over the country and world, and allowing three incorrect answers before elimination, sixth grader Eunique Robinson took first place with only 1 missed question.  Eighth grader Kevin … Read More

Cathy Odom (media specialist) and JoAnn Aguila (media clerk) invited Ms. Anderson’s 7th grade science students into the media center for a lesson on invasive species in Florida.  The students learned about the invasive species that are causing problems in Florida.  The students discussed what they could do to solve the problem.  Then the students played a game where they were given a native species card and six blank cards.  Then a card was drawn with survival factors.  The students had to tell if the survival factor had an effect on their species.  If it did,  they lost one of the … Read More

  Southern Oaks Middle School shows a unified front against bullying on its campus. Teachers, students, and staff wore pink on Wednesday and will wear pink every Wednesday, to pledge their commitment to end bullying at their school. To further pledge his commitment against bullying, Principal Henry Sanabria has begun planning an antibullying assembly for all students. The assembly is intended to teach students about the negative effects of bullying and thus lead to a bully-free Southern Oaks campus.

Students at Southern Oaks Middle School received a welcome back to school worthy of celebrities and dignitaries. Teachers and staff rolled out a red carpet for students complete with fanfare, pom-poms, music, lights, and cameras. Yards upon yards of red carpet rolled for lengthy stretches, one from the bus loop and another stretched from the front gate as students took their first step on campus for the 2023-2024 school year. Students were cheered on by all the adults on campus dressed on one accord in newly issued school spirit shirts. Henry Sanabria, principal, and his entire staff were dressed in … Read More

Nearly 400 turned out for Southern Oaks Middle School’s second annual Family Science Night recently. Students and parents alike participated in many hands-on science activities prepared by the Southern Oaks faculty. One of the big crowd pleasers was the STEM l, where parents and students were able to see the hydroponic plants and the rockets that were built. Students from Fort Pierce Central High School’s culinary arts program provided some delicious cookies and performed a demostration, and students from Central’s automotive, biology, and HOSA programs also shared their experiences. Students from Fort Pierce Westwood High School shared information about the Marine Oceanographic … Read More

Southern Oaks Middle School student council members help with collecting food brought in by students and staff for Bill Brooks Food For Families. Pictured are: Robbie Sullivan, Vice President; McKenzie Muskett, Treasurer; Janet Delancy and Kiara Idarraga, class representatives and Grace Kukielka, President. For more information about the efforts of Food for Families go to http://www.wptv.com/about-us/community-affairs/making-a-difference/wptvs-bill-brooks-food-for-families-food-drive-starts-monday-oct-13

As part of Southern Oaks Middle Schools’ recent Holidays Around the World celebration, students in Todd Hibbard’s sixth grade Social Studies classes stepped into the holiday spirit (and the icing) by making 72 gingerbread houses to commemorate holiday traditions in Germany. Students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade all enjoyed the sample of gingerbread houses as part of the day long festivities. Other countries represented with facts and food were Italy, Africa, Mexico, Israel, Great Britian and, of course, the United States of America. Pictured are some of the gingerbread houses on display.

Sixth grade students at Southern Oaks Middle School have been coming to the media center for an orientation and a scavenger hunt using the Dewey Decimal System.  After a brief orientation, the students were instructed on how to use the Dewey Decimal System to find non-fiction books. Students were placed on teams of two and given three slips of paper with types of books written on them, such as basketball, poetry, or cooking. When media specialist Cathy Odom and clerk Kim Johnson gave the signal, the students moved through the library to find their books. When the students found a book, they … Read More

On Friday January 11, 2019, the Culinary Department at St. Lucie West Centennial High School hosted StratherDuPree II, the Director of Articulation and Partnerships at Indian River State College, and Rachel Rosiak, an IRSC Recruitment Specialist. Mr. DuPree and Ms. Rosiak received an overview of the program from the teacher, Christina Gedke-Balaschak, and interacted with students as they prepared to make five different soups. 

The beautiful voices of the F.K.Sweet Elementary School’s choral group Sweet Sounds rang loud clear during the recent Winter Holiday Concert. Pictured with the music teacher Jan Christensen are fourth and fifth graders that practice twice weekly for concerts and other vocal events.

On November 19, 2021, the Soroptimist of St. Lucie provided school supplies, gift cards and other incentives to 12 Chester A. Moore teachers and their classrooms. The local Soroptimists are a part of a global network of volunteers collaborating to provide economic empowerment to women and girls by providing access to education and training. The organization believes education is the key and selected CAM for their community project. The Soroptimists recognize that teachers work tirelessly and frequently spend their own money on supplies and incentives, so they wanted to pay it forward by ensuring both students and teachers receive nurturing … Read More

WestGate K8 School “Autism Speaks” walking team co-captains Jessica McLaughlin, right, and Valentina Whyte were recently presented with a $500 check from Nate Rivaldo representing the Port St. Lucie chapter of The Sons of Italy. Whyte, who is a behavior tech in one of WestGate’s autism units, said the donation will help reach the $2000 goal set for the year. The generosity of the members of The Sons of Italy is greatly appreciated.

The Southern Oaks Middle School’s Tri-M Music Honor Society has been busy with a road clean-up and sponsoring the band’s “Coin Wars.” Tri-M students walked 1/4 mile on St. James picking up trash, then carefully crossing the street and cleaning up our campus. We collected 7 bags of trash, everything from old broken pens and pencils, used batteries, to pieces of cars, broken bottles and unmentionables. It is a very rewarding, yet safe, experience for the students.   As for the “Coin Wars,” as of this writing, 3rd hour band is in the lead with negative $1.23. This will change. … Read More

  On July 30th, Southern Oaks Middle School held an annual 6th-grade orientation and parent training. Parents and new incoming 6th-grade students attended either a morning orientation or an evening orientation. The orientation began with an introduction by the principal, Henry Sanabria, followed by a training session by the school counselors. Parents were educated on the role of middle school counselors, grading requirements, and the many mental health supports offered by the school and districts. The attendees were then separated into three tour groups. Each group had roughly twelve to thirty families in either the day or evening sessions. Then, … Read More

Southern Oaks Middle School faculty and staff kicked off with a “Rock the Test” celebration to encourage our students as they begin the testing season. The SOMS family wore rock attire, wrote inspiring messages for our students located at the entrance of each building, and cheered our students throughout the entire day. We also had our SOMS band play the “HAWK chant” as students entered campus. It is a great day to be a HAWK! HAWKS SOAR!  

  Ribbon Week, the nation’s largest and longest-running drug-use prevention campaign ran the week of October 23rd to October 31st. Southern Oaks Middle School participated in the drug-free campaign activities every day of the week. Students were glad to leave the school’s dress code behind to don baseball caps, t-shirts, team jerseys, sunglasses, and just about anything neon. Each day had a different dress theme, and posters around campus reminded students of the purpose of Red Ribbon Week. Everyone had fun as a reminder that drug-free is the most fun way to be.