The faculty and staff of F.K. Sweet Elementary recently recognized their honored employees, including School Related Employee of the Year David Morales, Teacher of the Year Michelle O’Keefe, and Distinguished Minority Educator of the Year Belinda Buckley at a before school ceremony recently. All of the “stars” also received gifts and plaques.

The F.K. Sweet Elementary Drama Club recently presented “A Fairy Tale Christmas” for parents and students. Fairy tale characters from all of the favorite classics try to prevent the evil stepmother from ruining Christmas by spreading good cheer with a little help from the Fairy Godmother! Pictured is the play cast.

The drama club at F.K. Sweet Elementary is busy practicing for its upcoming musical comedy, The Kids of Camelot, which will be presented in late May. The club for fourth and fifth graders is under the direction of teachers Jodie Steele and Gary Bushby.

Cora Stickney Harper Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution was proud to announce the winners of the DAR American History Essay Contest. The contest was open to all public and private schools 5-8th grade.  Frances K Sweet Magnet School was proud that all three place holders for fifth grade were from our school. The title for this year’s contest was:  “A Child’s Journey Through Ellis Island”. First Place  Adriana Varn, Second Place Brooke Adams, and Third Place Mackenzie Kenney. Pictured left to right, Mackenzie, Brooke, and Adriana.

The students in Mrs. Johnson’s Challenge class get serious about learning how to find area. How many square inches are in a square foot? 144 — they made a model! Pictured are: Mesfah Mustakim, Charlotte Sellers, Camryn Monroe, Josiah Edmond, Sophia Alarcon, and Anthony Green.

March is National Nutrition Month and Janette Champagne, cafeteria manager at F.K. Sweet Elementary School works hard every day to ensure that students are eating a healthy balanced diet at breakfast and lunch. She also initiated a Walking Club for students. They meet every Tuesday and Thursday before school and walk a mile on the school track. Yoga is also a part of the club’s morning workout. Pictured is Ms. Champagne with students after their morning walk.

Frances K. Sweet’s student council hosted their annual Breakfast with Santa for the students and their families. More than 50 families ate breakfast, made crafts, and met Santa. Pictured are the student council representatives, Mr. Gary Bushby, and of course Santa.

F K Sweet’s annual art fair to raise money for the art program was a huge success. Students had more than 10 crafts to chose from and some did them all. Families enjoyed the night out together supporting the school. Pictured, from left, are Emma Rizzo, Giovanna Mangeri, and Lani Chambers, they are working on making scratch art masterpieces.

The students in Mrs. Langel’s and Mrs. McGuire’s 1st grade class at F.K. Sweet had an awesome time learning about fire safety from the St. Lucie County Fire District!  

First grade students at F. K. Sweet Elementary School have been learning about colors. They started with a black piece of paper and created the center of a sunflower with the neutral brown. Next, they used warm colors to create the petals. Last, they used cool colors to create a dot pattern in the background. The students noticed how the warm colors come forward and cool colors recede. Pictured in Cary Schott’s art resource class, top row from left, are Fayth Coley, Brandon Padilla Costilla, and Kanosha Hartwell. Bottom row, from left, Iris Vargas, and Nathan Downey.

Fort Pierce Central High School’s Cobra Battalion is soaring to new heights with its new competitive JROTC Drone Program. Cadets are gaining hands-on experience in drone operations, aviation safety, teamwork, and emerging technology—skills that align directly with high-demand careers in aviation, engineering, public safety, and the military. Through structured training and real-world applications, cadets learn precision flying, aerial awareness, mission planning, and responsible drone use, all while building leadership and confidence. This program doesn’t just teach cadets how to fly—it prepares them for the future. The Cobra Battalion continues to lead the way in blending leadership development with modern technology, proving … Read More

We are honored to acknowledge and celebrate our Employees of the Year. Your dedication, passion, and expertise are truly inspirational! Congratulations to our Stars at CAST! Teacher of the Year: Mrs. Lillian Athill Distinguished Minority Educator: Ms. Melissa Phillips-Hill Outstanding First Year Teacher: Ms. Dalia Munoz School Related Employee of the Year: Mrs. Deborah St. Jacques

Mark your calendar for the 2019 Back-to-School Non-profit Expo at Grace Way Village. When: Thursday, August 1, from 11 am to 3 pm. Grace Way Village is one of many non-profits looking forward to supporting teachers in their efforts to care for our community’s children! There are many non-profit organizations in the area that can help with the needs of your students.

Fifth grade students, Heather Heath, Tuan Tran, Levi Gonzalez, and Sophia Lopez in Carla Bargeron’s Science resource class at Mariposa Elementary recently completed an exciting science unit.  Students first learned about landforms and volcanoes and then worked in teams to design and construct paper mache’ volcanos.  Students also learned about the steps in the scientific process and physical and chemical changes in matter.  Mrs. Sandra Bushby and the fifth grade students were thrilled as they conducted “explosive” experiments with their hand-made volcanoes and gooey “lava”. Aka jello chemical changes can be fun!

Students in Mr. Sparacio’s 7th Grade Civics class took an interactive approach to learn about the Declaration of Independence.   Students watched a parody music video, “It’s Too Late to Apologize Declaration” as they created the Ultimate Break Up Letter to King George the III annotated to the song’s lyrics.  The students were engaged in their learning while analyzing the ideas and complaints set forth in the Declaration of Independence.  They were challenged to work collaboratively to describe how English policies and responses to colonial concerns led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

Ms. Alexis’ students on the 7th grade Raptors team at Oak Hammock K-8, created a poem about the fall season. The students were to write their poems and work with their shoulder partner to analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem. This was not an easy task (though they thought it would be initially). It was, however, very fun to do. Students had a great time creating their poetry and the top poems were selected to create a ‘Poetry Corner’ for the 7th-grade hallway bulletin board.

Spring is here! Students in Kindergarten through Sixth Grade at Oak Hammock K-8 are learning about the life cycle of plants, water use, and most importantly, where food comes from, by growing herbs in the school’s infamous butterfly garden. Ms. Campbell’s 6th Grade ELA students learned dill and parsley are not only great herbs for cooking, but they are also favorite host plants for the Black Swallowtail Butterflies. The class planted dill and parsley seeds in the garden and are anxiously waiting for Black Swallowtails Butterfly to search these herbs out by smell. As students in all grade levels wait … Read More

At Oak Hammock K-8, students are actively engaged in a wide range of enriching experiences through their elective and resource classes. These opportunities go far beyond the traditional classroom—they empower students to explore new interests, develop essential life skills, and express themselves in creative and meaningful ways. Whether they’re building teamwork and coordination in P.E., experimenting with color and symbolism in Middle School Art, or discovering new talents in other resource areas, our Ospreys are growing into well-rounded learners. These hands-on experiences not only support academic growth but also foster confidence, curiosity, and a love for learning—helping every student soar … Read More

At Treasure Coast High School, Ms. De Leon’s class recently completed a fun and engaging science lesson that had everyone excited about learning! The lesson began with a discussion on how materials undergo changes, sparking curiosity among the students. Ms. De Leon introduced the concept of how baking soda can be altered by different liquids, leading to an intriguing question: Which liquid will cause the most significant change in baking soda? To find the answer, the students conducted an experiment where they added various liquids—water, lemon juice, and vinegar—along with red food coloring to baking soda. They carefully observed and recorded … Read More