Students in Jeanie Alves first grade class at Mariposa Elementary have been learning about different foods and where they come from, and Ms. Alves’ class selected oranges and picked several from the school garden.  Students learned how to squeeze the oranges to get the juice, which they love!

Maria Nunez’s fourth grade class at Mariposa Elementary is working on a science experiment to see how much water an organism can hold. The students in the picture demonstrate how to use a balance and a ruler to determine growth. The students were amazed on how much growth took place in one day.  The experiment will continue for another 7 days to allow for collection of data. Pictured, from left, are Anijah Shuford-Moore and Nazeer Dunn.

Students Allison Pozo’s class at Mariposa Elementary created timelines comparing and contrasting the past, present, and future of their own lives. The students used words and phrases related to chronology while making personal connections to the social studies content. Pictured, back row, Nicole Cifuentes, left, and Lina Rodriguez. Middle row, from left, Julona Garber, Natalie Pineda, David Lemus and Kevin Ferdinand, and in front, Riley O’Dowd.

Fourth grade students in the After School Tutoring Program at Mariposa Elementary are enthralled making paper mache characters or scenes from books they have read. The project is to connect reading, writing, and art. Students are learning characterization, setting, plot and finding facts from text. Not only are they learning but having a ball constructing their projects. Pictured, from left, are Kailey Oullette, Aivi Lang, Kanson Paul, Adriana Perez, and Arianna White.

Students in Janet Balletta’s first grade class at Mariposa Elementary recently hosted a Gingerbread Man Celebration. The first grade students read several versions of the Gingerbread Man, performed a Gingerbread Man readers’ theater, and created their own Gingerbread Houses. Several parents participated in the festivities by donating treats, helping students build Gingerbread houses, and engaging students in a special read aloud of the Gingerbread Man. Special thanks go to Carl Nimal, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Caldwell, and Mrs. Baksh for joining in the holiday cheer! Pictured is Mike Caldwell reading to the students.

Students in Toni Baptiste’s first grade class at Mariposa Elementary School are studying bugs this week in Journeys. To build off of prior knowledge, the class enjoyed a quiet nature walk around the school grounds to complete a circle map on bugs. Students were very excited to write about their findings on their maps.

Students Michelle Graci’s language arts classes at Mariposa Elementary have been reading and learning how to write poetry. They all wrote poems to enter the Young Writers of America Contest. The students had a choice of three different topics from which they could choose: WWhat My Family Means to Me”, “The World as I See It”, or “My Wish for the World”. The students read a variety of different poems to develop ideas.  Several students received letters stating that their poems will be published. The students whose poems were chosen were Faith Eizenman from Jennifer Skurnick’s class, Amira Castillo, Tnanazia Young, and … Read More

On Unity Day, Mariposa Elementary students and staff wore orange to show that they are together against bullying, and united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. Mrs. Theresa Delancy’s students, Jackson Plantier, Jared Commander, Danica Jonas, Bailey Paylor, Paetynn Brayboy, Malia Johnson, and Tanner Feick are standing up for unity! It was a great day to celebrate Unity!    

Three Mariposa Elementary staff members recently ran the Torrey Pines Race for Research half marathon. The staff members participating in the race were, pictured, from left, Sue New, Christina Bondi and Michelle Graci.  Sue and Michelle ran their first half marathon and Christina ran her sixth half marathon. After running 13.1 miles, the ladies earned a Torrey Pines Half Marathon medal.

Ms. Erica Morales’ fourth grade students at Mariposa Elementary have been enjoying partnering with one another to complete their Math Scoot center. The Math Scoot center encourages students to deepen their knowledge with place value. Evan Lamb is discussing his findings at the center with his partner. Also in Ms. Erica Morales’ class, students created Identity Boxes. Jeffrey Campion enjoyed creating his identity box which showcased how he feels he is as a person. The students were very excited to share their personalities and projects with their classmates.

Students in Patricia Dale’s second grade class at Mariposa Elementary School practice spelling skills by playing a game of Bunny Bingo. The game encourages students to memorize their new vocabulary words in a fun and innovative way. Students use bunnies and ducks on a game board instead of chips while a student calls the words for the student players. Pictured, from left, are Mya Bent, Jessie Balderas and Genevieve Bone.

  Lisa Green’s second grade class at Mariposa Elementary enjoyed a popcorn party while watching a Magic School Bus video on energy.  All 17 students memorized their sight words for the quarter and were able to enjoy this special treat!

Second grade students at Mariposa Elementary School have been working since September with students from the Port St. Lucie High School drama department, playing drama games and learning about performing in front of an audience. Each class recently presented a Reader’s Theater for parents and families. Pictured are students from Leslie Reddinger’s class, from left, Kiki Hayward, Arrielle Jocelyn, and Kiarrah Jean-Baptiste, performing “The Tale of the Lazy People: A South-African Fable.”

During our recent early release day, Mariposa Elementary participated in a schoolwide STEM Tower Challenge. Students enjoyed the hands-on activities while using their STEM skills. Mariposa K-2 students were challenged to build a tower with cups and index cards tall enough for them to help save Rapunzel, who needed help because the evil stepmother had cut her hair so she couldn’t escape. At the same time, the 3-5 graders were challenged to engineer the tallest balloon tower possible. During the process, the students had many unforeseen economic situations arise. First, there was the loss of resources due to company loss … Read More

Since we are the Mariposa Monarchs, what better way to learn about our mascot than in person? Assistant Principal Ms. Patton was awarded a grant for our school from the Educational Foundation. This grant has helped us to buy new books about butterflies and their life cycle. We were also able to build a beautiful garden that has already attracted Monarch, Zebra Longwings, and white butterflies. Some of the Monarch butterflies laid eggs on our milkweed, and before long our plants were covered in caterpillars! Our students have been able to observe the caterpillars, the beautiful green chrysalis, and each … Read More

At Mariposa Elementary, our very own first grade teacher, Ms. Toni Baptiste, recently received a grant from PetCo for their Pets in the Classroom program! Her class now has a special addition, Sebastian, a hermit crab, that will help the students learn about animals and their environment. Students will understand that living things have needs to help them grow. This will also provide students a great experience for careful observation to better understand the natural world. Congratulations Ms. Baptiste!

The students of Mariposa have worked very hard this year to raise money for the American Heart Association in their quest to prevent heart disease.  As a motivation to the students, Principal Craig Logue promised to spend the day on the school’s roof if the school met or exceeded the target for the year.  True to his word, Mr. Logue spent time on the roof greeting students on April 13th. Thanks go to all who donated to the American Heart Association, for Barbara Monaghan and Adriana Roberts for coordinating the event and for Mr. Logue for spending time up on the roof. 

Mariposa Kindergarten Students celebrated Dental Health Month with Dr. Cook’s Dental office’s amazing Hygienists. They gave the students a fun interactive experience to help them overcome their fears of the dentist office and instructed them on correct brushing and flossing methods. In the this picture Abigail Baptiste is the Hygienist and Troy Bradley Jr is the patient as they role-play a visit with the Hygienist. Also, Dylan Claesgens and Mya Daniels played the happy tooth and sad tooth holders. The hygienists showed foods and the students had to decide if it was a food that made their teeth happy or … Read More

Mariposa Elementary first graders Jackson Smith, Trinity Andrews, Delsin Geliga, Tyler Rubenstein, and Alejandro Delatorre worked as a team to utilize their problem solving skills to create an amazing “moving” model using gears! They were able to figure out how to get a ball from one end to the other without having to touch it! The gears did all the work!