Morningside Elementary students Vyanna Prendergast, Ethan
Hernandez, Lisette Peralta, Skyler Crocker-Hanna, and Jessica Moore from
Katherine Robinson’s fourth grade class show off their new books they purchased at the school’s book fair.
The Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion held its second quarter Outstanding Cadet Board recently. The Outstanding Cadet Board is a competition between cadets on two different levels. One level contains junior cadets, and the other is comprised of the program’s NCO corps. Throughout the competition, the cadets are asked various questions pertaining to JROTC, the Army, the JROTC curriculum, and current events. The winners of the board were cadet Private First Class Zhane Simmonds, pictured right, and cadet Sergeant Arlene Mabry. Congratulations to the two cadets, and good luck to cadets during the third Outstanding Cadet Board!
Morningside Elementary fifth grade students Grace Kukielka,
Kaylyn Redway, Emily Walker, and Janelys Ojeda show off their musical talents
while performing during the “Around the World at Christmas Time” program.
Thanks to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8058, students had the opportunity to enter an essay contest and win cash prizes. Students who enter can win at various levels, excel to the national competition, and possibly win $30,000 and a free trip to Washington D.C. Voice of Democracy is the theme of these essays. This year, the prompt asked, “Is there pride in serving in our military?” Cadet Sergeant Kayla Figueroa, left, and cadet PFC Courtney Neve, both from Port St. Lucie High JROTC, placed first and second respectively. Sergeant Figueroa earned $250.00 and a gold medal, and PFC Neve won $150.00 and a silver medal. The cadets greatly appreciate the opportunity to participate in this contest hosted by VFW Post 8058. Pict
The annual Giving Tree program at Rivers Edge Elementary made the season a little brighter for six local organizations. Each grade group decorates a tree and collects gifts and much needed items for a chosen organization. Represented this year were the Humane Society, Castle, Care-Net, Quantum House, Sarah’s Kitchen and the U.S. Military. Pictured is Lt.Col. Cavallaro from the Air Force and Johann Robey from Melinda White’s fifth grade class presenting their gifts. Each organization had a representative that explained their organization and what it meant to them to receive such an outpouring from our students and families. Music teacher Amy Martinkovic lead the students in Christmas Carols and Levear Andrews read The Giving Tree. Lessons about giving were cheerfully learned by all.
Fort Pierce Central JROTC Cobra Battalion hosted its annual Angel Tree project which reaches out to the community and gives assistance to many families in the area who are struggling in today’s economy. Annually the Cobra Battalion help put smiles on children’s faces for Christmas and gives them something positive to remember. Mr. Todd Smith the school Principal and Mr. Arthur Jamison one of FPC’s Assistant Principal’s attended the special event. The Angel Tree Project consists of Cadets and School Staff and several organizations such as Cheyne Family Chiropractic which helped make this event a great success with their contributions to the angel tree. Cadets, Faculty and local families volunteered to buy the gifts for the children, and gifts were giving to Children’s home society and to local children, who don’t have a home or who has not yet been adopted. This Article was written by the FPC Battalion Public Affairs Officer, Cadet Captain Gene Moore Jr.
Fort Pierce Magnet School of the Arts’ new VPK students prepare for their first performance as part of the annual Holiday Spectacular. The students danced the “Penguin Dance” while the junior band played “I’m a Little Penguin”, written by sixth grade student Jessica Lopez.
The teachers of Ft. Pierce Magnet School of the Arts took time to work at the McDonalds Restaurant on Delaware Avenue as a fundraiser for the school. Teachers worked from 4 to 7 PM, with all proceeds going to the school. Pictured, from left, are third grade teacher Kelly Gersh, and guidance counselor Angela Flynn learning to take customer orders. A special thanks to the management and staff of this McDonalds for making this an enjoyable and profitable experience for the school.
The Windmill Point Elementary School Relay for Life Committee organized a cancer walk to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. Shown walking are fifth grade students, from left, Savannah Morlock, Isabella Castillo, and Kiara Santos.
Morningside Elementary fourth grade students Kimmika
Calixte, Brooke Murray and Anastasia Wilson from Allison Hargroves’ class
proudly show off their newly created multi-media project game board they
created on “Moon Phases” in their technology resource class with technology
instructor Kelli Putz.
The third graders of Allapattah Flats K8 School could not imagine being any busier! A large group of third graders has been participating in a novel study of “Because of Winn Dixie”. As they are reading the novel, students are involved in a wide range of activities, incluidng completing thinking maps, participating in small group discussions, and creating a character scrapbook. The novel study group is anxious to complete this book and see what they will be reading next! Pictured are DrewAnn Parks, Alyssa Hartman, Lauren Bishop, Hannah Taylor, and Nicholas Kennedy hard at work on the pages of their character scrapbooks.
First graders at Allapattah Flats K-8 School are hard at work making observations of living things. They are really enjoying learning about plants. First graders are learning about the needs of a plant as well as the parts of a plant. They planted grass in cups and transformed the cups into their very own stylish Plant Pals. They are enjoying watching their grass grow and they are looking forward to giving their Plant Pals a haircut! Pictured are Bailey Lobrutto, left, and Dylan Cravey from Haley Lenarcic’s class showing off their Plant Pals.
The Allapattah Flats school familycongratulates the top two students in the Middle School Spelling Bee. The competition was strenuous as the students were extraordinary spellers, full of the competitive spirit. Gabrielle Bather and Jaime Hilaire were the top two middle school competitors with Jaime Hilaire staking his claim as first place winner. Congratulations to all students who participated, you did a fantastic job! Good luck to Jaime who will go on to participate in the district spelling bee. Pictured are Jaime, right, and Gabrielle.
Stacey Mulder’s sixth grade students at Allapattah Flats are sending out New Year’s letters to friends and family members across the states and many different countries. Students used the correct form to write a friendly letter. Students included words of cheer, encouragement and even expressed holiday wishes. Letters were mailed in hopes of sharing the holiday spirit. Pictured are students Christian Hicks, Kyle Cornett,Tavaress Smith, Valaree Harper, Kista Leonardo, Jason Schales, Shelby Abdella, Lauren Martocchio, Rolphe St. Hilaire, Chandler McCaskill, Alexandra Belline, Jillian McDonald, asia Higgs, Taylor Brennan, Antonio Veloz, Gregory Smith, and Erik Sheley.
Nine Floresta Elementary School students recently participated in the Rotary Club Children’s Christmas Party. This is the Port St Lucie Rotary Club’s most important annual charitable event. Contributors to this worthwhile event include Big Apple Pizza, Wal-Mart, PSL Police Department, PSL Athletic League, PSL Parks and Recreation Department, and the Blue Angels. Students enjoyed a delicious lunch of baked ziti, salad, and breadsticks, provided by Olive Garden. Desserts and beverages were provided by Publix. After the meal, each student received a lovely gift provided by public donations, as well as from the above supporters. Each toy was individually wrapped by student members of the Treasure Coast High School Interact Club. Children look forward to this worthwhile event each year, and this year was no different. For the last 21 years, the Rotary Club has played an important and supportive role in providing for children in need in our area. Toys that were left over from this event were donated to CASTLE, another organization which advocates for children. While the needs are most obvious at this time of year, many families struggle throughout the year. Anyone wishing to learn more about the Rotary Club or how you can help can contact Gary Robinson, Past President, or Dr. Jeanne Evans, Past President and Coordinator of the Children’s Christmas Party at P.O. Box 7474, Port St Lucie, FL 34985. 
The Allapattah Flats school family congratulates the top two students in the elementary school spelling bee. The competition was fierce as the students were phenomenal spellers and they were each very determined to do their best. Diego Teran and Bryant Melton were the top two in elementary with Bryant Melton as the first place winner. Congratulations to all students who participated, you did a fantastic job! Good luck to Bryant who will go on to participate in the district spelling bee.
Allapattah Flats middle grades students are very excited as they celebrated their paperback library’s reopening this school year. It is now home to over 1,300 books with multiple copies of most titles. New additions also include comfortable furniture and rugs so that students can relish in this comfortable, inviting setting while we stay committed to fostering and instilling a love for reading as shown with this group of eighth grade students, Francisco Andrade, Niva Guerrier, Omari Cobb, Corey Lewis, Precious Joseph and Chris Cliff.
Allapattah fifth graders have been learning and identifying different natural disasters. Students were recently visited by fire-medic Josh O’Brien from Martin County Fire Rescue. Students learned about fire extinguishers, how to plan for an emergency at home, how to exit a smoke filled room safely, and the special equipment needed for a firefighter to stay safe during a fire. They were also given the opportunity to solve mock emergency situations. Fire-Medic O’Brien spoke to the students about the importance of fire safety and the dangers of not taking the issue seriously. Pictured from left are Felix Valentin Jr., Adam Iacisfoli, Fire-Medic Josh O’Brien, Cuis Flores, Felix Roberts, Jordan Jones, and Tyrec Thompson.
The Jaguar Battalion Color Guard presented the colors at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) ceremony recently. The team that presented the colors consisted of cadet Captain Amanda Mabry, cadet Colonel Diamond Salazar, cadet First Lieutenant Devynn Rhodes, cadet Sergeant First Class Sebrina Saladeen, and cadet Private First Class Austin Conkling. The four cadets demonstrated perfection with an outstanding presentation of the flags. Being a member of DAR, cadet Private First Class Austin Conkling was elated to be part of the team presenting the colors for the ceremony. The cadets all had a great time and felt honored to be a part of this event.
Reading Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer inspired Nanette Serrano’s kindergarten class to put on their thinking caps and write about Rudolph. Students were excited to write about a reindeer that was different but broke down barriers to become a hero. The students did a great job of expressing their feelings about what they liked best. They shared their writings with their classroom peers and displayed them on the bulletin board for everyone to see. Pictured is inspired writer, Tyronique Johnson.