St. Lucie West K-8 School’s third, fourth and fifth grade students learned all about potential energy, transfer of energy and kinetic energy during P.E. using balls and movement. JAWSOME JOB AND SUPER ENGAGING SHARKS!

St. Lucie West K-8 students in Dr. Wardwell’s 8th grade Science classes had a “hair-raising” experience by learning all about electrostatic energy! They used the Van de Graaff generator which is an electrostatic generator that uses a moving belt to accumulate an electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column, creating very high electric potentials. It produces a high voltage direct current (DC) electricity at low current levels. SUPER JAWSOME, SHARKS!

St. Lucie West K-8 Middle School students in Mrs. Eldridge’s Art classes learned all about Medieval Inspired Illuminated Letters. This art form uses different kinds of illuminated letters, including ornamented letters, historiated letters, and inhabited letters and were commonplace in Medieval manuscripts in Europe between the 4th and 16th centuries. Students captured the technique perfectly. BEAUTIFUL ART SHARKS!

SLWK8 third grade students investigate their very own community of St. Lucie County! Students from Mrs. D’Andrea’s Gifted Class had a chance to deep dive into the history of our community. Students picked a historical place in St. Lucie County to research ranging from the stunning Sunrise Theatre to the Roosvelt Bridge. Students then displayed information in a shoebox model. Students wrote their information along the outside on the box. Inside the box is a display of the historical place. Students were thoroughly excited and engaged to complete their investigative project. Students worked with their teachers, classmates, and families to … Read More

Middle school students explored the Allied Health Certificate offered at many high schools. Students learned about different certificates and related careers and practiced related skills such as how to answer an office phone professionally, file reports, schedule appointments, take blood pressure, clean teeth as a dental hygienist, fill prescriptions like a pharmacy technician, and complete an evaluation as a physical therapist.  

Dana Brightwell and Matthew Glotzer coached a brilliant group of students through this year’s Odyssey of the Mind competition at Suncoast High School. The SLWK8 Team chose to compete in Problem #5, “A Stellar Hangout”. Team members were Lilliana Boham, Nora Calnan, Jasmine Gabriel, Hannah Gaffney, Samantha Leonard, Jayden Nargen and Ivan Sheehan.  They all worked diligently on the creative and technical portions of the problem, and demonstrated fortitude and perseverance throughout the many months of preparation.

Our JAWSOME third-grade students and teachers at St. Lucie West K-8 School participated in a drive-through wax museum where they depicted influential Americans. Students have been learning all about Americans that have made a significant impact in our country. Students then picked their own important American to research, wrote a biography, created a poster, and presented their chosen American to their classmates. The wax museum was a way to celebrate all of our fantastic learning!!! WAY TO GO, SHARKS!

Mrs. Boham’s STEM students used their creativity, math, art, entrepreneurship, and cooperation skills to design sweet new candy bars! Middle school STEM students in Mrs. Boham’s class showed off their sweet tooth design skills to create innovative candy bars. Working as cooperative groups they used pros & cons to pick the groups best idea to develop into a new product on the market. They sourced nutrition facts for ingredients, researched the market for eye catching wrapper designs, flavors, and prices. They found their audience demographic, tagline, and name through discussion and collaboration. Culminating in group presentations of their new sweet … Read More

SKWK8 STEAM Sharks shook hands mechanically with the hands they built. Students learned about the design challenge and terminology to flex their construction muscles. They analyzed their hands, joints, and fingers and designed prototypes to accomplish two tasks. First, they had to grab an object and move it to a target, next they had to flex and extend the fingers to push an object to the target. Students timed each other rolling the object and then compared results to find the fastest and slowest times. Students walked through the design process, anticipating potential cons of their design so they could … Read More

Shark STEAM students used Lego bricks to build better communication. Students were grouped to be writers who made a small Lego build, and then wrote directions for the builders to follow. After evaluating that method of communication, they could then speak directions, but with no gestures or touching the bricks. This was deemed much better than writing and following directions! Finally, all students could build together. Everyone could talk, touch, gesture, and speak to build a figure together. Students learned how valuable clarifying questions and feedback are to understanding each other as well as having fun building bricks!

Third graders in Ms. Hernandez’s classes had a spook-tacular time during our Interactive Whiteboard Spooky Scoot. Students worked in teams to complete 10 task cards that challenged their understanding of place value using vertical whiteboards and collaborative problem-solving. Throughout the activity, students practiced skills from: MA.3.NSO.1 – Understanding the place value of four-digit numbers MA.3.NSO.1.2 – Composing and decomposing numbers in multiple ways using thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones (with drawings, models, and equations!) MA.3.NSO.1.3 – Plotting, ordering, and comparing whole numbers up to 10,000 Students moved from one “station” to the next, solving problems, checking their work, and discussing … Read More

Mrs. Boham’s SLWK8 STEAM SHARKS added a touch of mint to sweeten the end of their semester and year.  Previously, students designed candy bars and then voted to pick the favorite from each class, then an overall favorite for all classes. The winning bar was “Snowy Days” which was created by 7th graders.  Students layered in the fun when they proved themselves as chocolatiers and made a batch of the bars for themselves. While not ready to go into full production, the candy bar was a yummy treat to enjoy before winter break. Students truly enjoyed and loved their delicious designs!

Third-grade students in Mrs. D’Andrea’s gifted class were exposed to a step-by-step hands-on tutorial for the functions of PowerPoint. Students are able to use these skills in current and future project-based learnings!

Third graders in Ms. Pepe’s class solved real-world problems using liquid volume by completing a scoot around the room! Students were given a multi-step word problem involving liquid volume. They had to fill a 140-liter fish tank using the liter amounts of 9,5, and 2. Each group elected one spokesperson to explain their thinking to the class, then they were challenged to solve the same problem using a different method!

Students in Mrs. Saget’s 5th grade ELA classes are focused on PIE (Persuade, Inform, Entertain)! They collaboratively worked together on Author’s Purpose and Perspective. Once the purpose of the text was identified they highlighted different phrases and words to determine the author’s perspective (mood/feelings) about the text.

Students in St. Lucie West K-8 School’s grade 4-6 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) class had fun while learning during their Math block! By using task boxes, students were able to practice their Math skills independently. Teachers Ms. Davis and Ms. McIntosh designed the task boxes which contain all the materials required for a specific activity.  Activities in the task boxes are planned by the teachers according to each students’ goals and Individual Education Plans. JAWSOME JOB SHARKS! (Students pictured are Mason Torres, Joshua Cranston, Chase Rondeau, and Andrew Mendez, )

Homework just got a lot more fun in Mrs. Quiles’s 3rd-grade class! Say goodbye to boring routines—our students are getting engaged and staying accountable with Homework Monopoly! Students truly look forward to each week to share their completed assignments and to take their turn to roll the dice. Each assignment completed moves them closer to exciting rewards and friendly competition, turning responsibility into a game they can’t wait to play. From Chance cards to Bonus spaces, students are learning that hard work really does pay off. In Mrs. Quiles’s class, accountability is fun, motivation is high, and learning never stops!

St. Lucie West K-8’s First Grade teacher, Ms. Torres, arranged a Teams call for all First Graders to interview one of her students’ dads who is serving in the United States Navy. As students took turns asking questions, he answered and then spoke about his job and what it is like to live on a Navy base in Guam. What a JAWSOME opportunity! Way to go, Sharks!    

St. Lucie West K-8 Sharks were stoked to connect mathematics to their everyday technology, recreational, and social media interests. Students in Mrs. Portee’s 5th-grade math classes had to determine the mean, median, mode, and range of various data sets. To further pique their interest and engagement, each data set was intentionally created based on what our students enjoy, such as TikTok videos, Pokémon cards, and Roblox gift cards. The students were truly engaged and thoroughly enjoyed collaborating to share their results and add even more meaning to their data sets! Mrs. Portee motivates students every day with her innovative and … Read More

St. Lucie West K8 students in Mrs. Howard’s 6th-grade ELA classes dove into plot structure by color-coding key elements within a text. This hands-on activity challenged them to identify and label exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. By visually mapping these components, students gained a deeper understanding of how narrative arcs develop and create engaging stories. Their dedication to dissecting the plot diagram was evident, showcasing excellent reading comprehension and analytical skills. The 6th-grade Sharks truly excelled in this engaging lesson while strengthening their critical thinking skills. At Shark Nation, we encourage students to keep reading and thriving! … Read More