Floresta Elementary School teachers and staff engaged in a CHAMPS training recenetly.  This professional development was interesting, relevant, and practical for teachers and anyone who works with children, especially in an educational setting.  At the core of the program’s success, is the philosophy that when teachers are clear in their expectations, students can and will make appropriate academic and behavior choices.  The CHAMPS program offers teachers the ability to create a thoughtful, clear set of expectations, tailored to each individual teacher’s classroom routines and expectations.  The program aligns with the Positive Behavior Support program already implemented, and Rti requirements.  The result … Read More

Congratulations to Floresta Elementary School fourth grade teacher Veronica Allende, who was selected by the Transatlantic Outreach Program to participate in a two week group travel study tour of Germany. The group will travel on various dates this summer from late June through August. Study will focus on the German governmental system, federal system, school system, history of Germany including the Holocaust, and German business and economy, culture, current events, and the German approach to issues regarding earth stewardship. This is a very competitive program and candidates must produce essays expressing how they will use the knowledge gained to enhance … Read More

Floresta celebrated October’s early release with our theme of Ohana by welcoming families to our first round of conferences. Teachers discussed student performance and taught families the impact of attendance.  More than 200 families leveraged this opportunity to engage.

Thanks to a generous grant from FPL in conjunction with N.E.E.D., students in Mary McCartney’s music class have been learning about recycling, conservation, and renewable energy sources through the fine arts of music and dance. To deepen and extend their own learning, and to enlighten others about this topic, students shared their knowledge through a musical performance at Floresta Elementary’s Spring Concert.

As a motivational kick-off to this year’s FCAT testing, students at Floresta Elementary School participated in the second annual “Tunnel of Encouragement.” Kindergarten through second grade students lined the main hallway, holding up colorful pom poms and creative signs and posters, while heartily chanting “Do your best on the test!” Students in third through fifth grade filed past this positive and energizing tribute from the younger students, to the cafetorium where they were provided inspiring words of encouragement from Principal Iseman, Assistant Principal Menikheim, and a very special video guest from the Miami Heat. It was an exciting event especially … Read More

Students at Floresta Elementary participated in a mock election in their technology class. They voted on President and Senator. They were very pleased with themselves and were proud to display their “I Voted” stickers!

Students at Floresta Elementary School recently participated in a 45 minute character education assembly. The NED show, a motivational program, promotes building a positive attitude and encourages students to support others and to never give up as they strive to always do their best. The show was presented in an engaging storytelling format where the guest speaker used a variety of skills and tricks with the yo-yo as a storytelling prop. Students and teachers enjoyed the presentation and students were able to purchase their own yo-yo from a variety of yo-yos for sale after the show. Pictured, left, is student Yerel Alejo … Read More

The entire school at Floresta Elementary took part in the first monthly STEAM activity. K-2 discovered how to blow a piece of popcorn into a bottle. 3-5 designed and built a container that would hold 293 pieces of popcorn using 10 pieces to estimate by. Fun was had by all!

Floresta Elementary School second grade students were visited by Captain Citrus, the mascot from the OJ4NRG tour, a program put together by the Florida Department of Citrus to enlighten students about the many benefits of Florida citrus.  Students learned that oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits are special kinds of berries, and that most of the world’s citrus comes from our own state of Florida.  Orange juice provides vitamin C, potassium, folate, calcium, and vitamin D, and is free of fat and contains no sodium or cholesterol.  Students learned that the citrus industry employees nearly 76,000 workers and positively impacts the economy … Read More

Floresta Elementary School students, from left, Olivia Saurel, Victoria Nunez, and Joshua Perez share their kindergarten writing in the front of Floresta Elementary School. Victoria and Joshua, from Syliva Johnson’s class, wrote about what they want to be when they grow up, and Olivia, from Mary Moore’s class, wrote about why she likes school. The students are making great progress in their writing.

Floresta Elementary students participated in a Math Literacy Night at Publix Supermarket. The students completed a scavenger hunt using real world money problems. The students had a great time going “shopping” and learned a lot about real money problems.

Kindergarten through fifth grade students at Floresta Elementary School supported one another with a school-wide “Tunnel of Encouragement” Rally the Friday before FCAT testing began. Kindergarten through second grade students and teachers lined the hallways armed with posters and pompoms, chanting heartfelt words of encouragement as third through fifth grade students made their way to the cafeteria for some motivational activities and words of wisdom. Each third through fifth grade student was provided a t-shirt with the slogan “Floresta Dolphins Destroy the FCAT” across the front. Thank you to Mary McCartney, Gerri Wills, Elish Mancuso, Ken York, Kathy Capas, Sharon … Read More

In order to teach the students how to write in a variety of informational forms related to real world situations, the fourth grade students at Floresta Elementary created “How-to” manuals and recipe books. The recipe books included student made recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. As a culminating project, several classes used the recipes to make different items including French toast, pizza, and vanilla Oreo parfaits! Pictured, from left, are Kendra Basiliere, Hailey Shad, Cindy Reynolds (pouring the milk), Valerie Chaparro, Hannah Amaral, and Katelyn Thompson.

Fourth grade students at Floresta Elementary recently celebrated their FCAT writing success with a dance. Students were served popcorn and popsicles and danced their feet off to music provided by Traxx Entertainment. Pictured, from left, are Daniela Camac, Alexis Weachter, and Ilse Moreno Gutierrez.

Congratulations to Floresta Elementary fourth grade student Dominic Kelly in Suzanne Diaz’s class, who was selected as the state of Florida winner in Bonnie’s Plants’ cabbage growing contest program. In a surprise assembly to recognize Dominic for his mammoth 38 lb cabbage, Erica Der, the Education Liaison from the Department of Agriculture presented Dominic with a certificate from the State of Florida. Jonathan Shepherd, representative for Bonnie’s Plants, presented Dominic with a $1,000 savings bond, which could double by maturity to be worth nearly $2,000. Bonnie’s Plants has sponsored the contest for the last 15 years for any third grade teacher who … Read More

Luke Sutherland was recently called to the office at Floresta Elementary School to receive a very special birthday surprise. Luke’s mother, Megan Sutherland currently serves in the military, and is stationed in Afghanistan. In spite of the miles, and numerous procedural and technological barriers, she managed to telephone the school to personally wish her son a very special “Happy Birthday!” After the initial shock and excitement, Luke assured her that he was getting over his recent cold, and that she need not worry. It was a heart-warming moment for everyone.

Floresta Elementary School teachers kicked off the New Year by participating in a full day of Professional Development. Teachers worked together in grade group teams to develop and map out engaging and focused plans designed to further support student achievement on upcoming assessments. Fourth grade teachers created a specific plan to individualize their writing instruction, targeting specific student needs with creative activities and real world writing opportunities. All grade levels, K-5, worked together in the core subject areas of reading, writing, math, and science. As we enter the second half of the school year with renewed enthusiasm and collaborative spirit, we are … Read More