Kindergarten and 1st grade Challenge students at Frances K Sweet enjoyed a science experiment testing Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion. Students loved doing the investigation and seeing the science in action. Pictured from left, Travis Walker, Charlotte Sellers, and Samantha Leonard.

Fourth grade students at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School are working hard writing explanatory/informative essays.  Students examined parts of an essay, then worked with their shoulder partner to put an essay together in the correct order.  Each part was color coded for students to see the different parts.  After practicing the parts and reading about melting ice in the North and South Poles, the students wrote a response using all of their newly acquired knowledge. Pictured from the left are: Danaye Gibson and William Auriemma.

Frances K. Sweet fourth graders learn about the characteristics of flowering plants by dissecting them and classifying the parts.  Pictured here is Ansel Espinal viewing the tiny parts of the plant using a magnifying glass.

Students in Elish Mancuso’s fourth grade class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School explore the mass of the edible portion of a banana after reading interesting and intriguing information about bananas, and making predictions. The students used balance scales to measure the whole banana, the banana peel, and then determined the percentage that was edible. As a conclusion to their experiment, they enjoyed banana smoothies! Pictured, from left, are Elijha McArthur, Ava McGoorty, and Garion Miller.

Mrs. Alice Parks’ first grade students had fun working in a Kagan Line Up activity.  The students unscrambled sentences and once the team came to a consensus they wrote their sentences in their word work journals. Teammate, left to right, Teequavious Mills, Chyanne Creel, Naomi Lane, Melaydee Munoz, Lennon Paquette, and Madison Licausi  

Autumn Walk Mrs. Glenda Taylor’s first grade class took an autumn walk around the field behind our school.  Students used their five senses as tools to make careful observations. The students made records about the investigation.  Each child wrote the name of things he or she could see, hear, smell and touch.  Later, everyone tasted grapes and apple slices in our classroom. Pictured left to right are: Asheline Syril, Holly Howard, Uriah Morris, Jamael Gardner and Rihana Salel.

Students in Mrs. Christy Nuccio’s fifth grade class work diligently comparing and contrasting characters from a realistic fiction story. Pictured from the left are: Zoey Zurita, Savana McKenzie, and Jenna Simmons.

Five fifth graders from Frances K. Sweet had their Highwaymen-inspired art on display at the Highwaymen Heritage Festival. Alexis McEwen took the first place prize, winning a medal and money for art supplies for the school.

Fathers at Frances K. Sweet had the opportunity to come out for our Second Annual Father Daughter Ball. All of the girls and dads were dressed in their fanciest clothes and danced the night away. Pictured are many of the girls showing their dads how it should be done.

Frances K. Sweet Elementary School hosted its fifth annual Sunrise Stampede 5K recently to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Racers ranged in age from the youngest at four years old, to the eldest at 72. Families and the community came out and had a great time raising money for a cure. Pictured is a racing family, clockwise from top left, Robin Williams, Sarai Major (second in her age division), Ariel Major, and Elijah Major (first in his age division). Complete race results are available at www.itsperfecttiming.net  

Students at F. K. Sweet Elementary School can take part in an after-school group that uses STEM lessons to increase their critical thinking skills. Pictured are fourth grade student Nestor Damian, left, and third grade student Briana Guerrier show off their space landers. For this activity, the students designed a space lander that would keep an egg safe when landing. They were both happy to report that their eggs survived the landing.

Third grade students in Barbara Whellams’ class at F.K. Sweet Elementary were highly entertained by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kevin Perry’s reading of “Follow the Drinking Gourd”, an actual song used by the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape north to Canada. Although February is Black History Month, students learn about the contributions of African Americans throughout the entire year. 

Students in Cindy Langel’s and Dorian Newbern’s first grade classes have been learning about the different attributes of shapes. In one of their lessons, the students were able to make a shape caterpillar identifying  some of the defining and non-defining attributes of the shapes. Pictured, top row from left, are La Teya Weatters, Drew Sperber, and Jenna Franklin. Bottom row, from left, are Addison Kim, Omar Andrade, and Myron Pratt.

Students in Donald Logue’s fifth grade class have investigated chemical changes. They performed investigations using chemicals in test tubes to observe color changes, a release of thermal energy, and an absorption of thermal energy.  They discussed their observations and wrote down evidence from each investigation on their lab record sheet.  Pictured are Ni’Derria Cobb, left, and Bradyn Moxley.

Kindergarten and second grade students at F.K.Sweet Elementary School were excited to be a part of a ladybug release program conducted by the University of Florida’s agriculture department. Preston Zinter, left, and William Geraghty from Traci Lott’s second grade class are just getting ready to release hundreds of ladybugs onto neighboring plants. Students were able to learn about good and bad bugs for our environment and learned ways that ladybugs actually help the plants around us.    

Glitter, glue, and giggles, oh my!  Kindergartners in Melanie Francisco’s class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School had a great time during a recent Craft Day.  Parents were invited to volunteer with crafts, lunch, and ice cream sundaes.