Ronald McDonald visited Weatherbee Elementary School recently to ignite the Fall Reading Challenge to all students at the school. This program entitled “Bookin’ with Ronald McDonald” helps motivate students to read more often and with excitement, because reading is fun and will help them to succeed in the future. There was a commitment of all students to read over 2,500 books collectively before December 11. When students meet and exceed this goal, the school’s administrators and staff have vowed to happily work at a local restaurant cooking and serving the McDonald’s menu to all who attend.

Throughout the month of October, students at Weatherbee Elementary School participated in a food drive to assist the Salvation Army. This was another shining example of the Kids at Hope philosophy (Community and Service) at work at Weatherbee Elementary. This event was coordinated by Roberta Weil with the help of the Weatherbee Elementary Safety Patrol officers. Classrooms participated in creating decorated boxes to collect the food and over 320 pounds of food was collected.  Way to go, Mariners! Pictured, from left, are Hailee Belcher, Ludj Simon, Veslu Edwards and Matthew Wilkinson with some of the items collected.

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.

Students in Stacey Johnson’s third grade gifted class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School proudly display their mummy and sarcophagus projects created during a study of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. Pictured, from left, are Jacob Andreacchio, Alexis McEwen, and Quinn Stephenson.

The students in Betty Mayberry’s fifth grade science class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School performed an exciting inquiry lab to determine ways to separate mixtures by magnetic force, filtration, and boiling. Pictured are Allen Lin, left, and Taina Chery examining one of their mixtures.

Members of the faculty and staff at Southport Middle School regularly meet with students to mentor and support the students in their academic and extra-curricular goals and activities. Pictured, student Charnesia Willis, left, and teacher Mary Kurtz-Seiden enjoy morning tea time together as they discuss active reading strategies and various literature.

Northport K-8 School students are enjoying the Fall Book Fair immensely this year! Students, as well as parents and grandparents, are offered the opportunity to shop and make selections together at the media center supported fair. The book fair was open in the evening recently to accommodate families during the third grade parent night and will also be open to community members to congregate and shop for a balanced literacy plan for their children during the Title 1 Family Science Night. The fair is always an exciting time for students because they realize that the book fair is especially for … Read More

Students in the Northport K-8 fifth grade classroom of Melanie Polascak have reaped the rewards of a very generous benefactor recently. Mrs. Polascak’s class was adopted through the website Adoptaclassroom.org by Katie Gilliam from Virginia. Katie, better known as “Aunt Katie” visited the fifth grade class on Halloween. She and her friends dressed as characters from the children’s classic, “The Wizard of Oz!” Ms. Gilliam donated the money specifically for school and classroom supplies and books for students. The children made an acrostic poem to be put into book format and will send to Aunt Katie when it is completed. … Read More

During October, students and staff at Dan McCarty School celebrated Hispanic Heritage month with music, food, cultural displays and more. On October 30, Dan McCarty School parents and students participated in a special Hispanic Heritage celebration. Visitors were entertained with Latin music, dance, and customs, as well as a special performance by the St. Lucie Ballet Company and their production of the “Nutcracker” with a Hispanic flair. Pictured during the Quinceanera Showcase are students Gabriella Lascanos, from left, Jennifer Guerrero, Noemi Diaz, and Antonio Farfan.

As part of Fire Safety Month, kindergarten students at Fairlawn Elementary School recently traveled to the central Fire Station near Lawnwood Regional Medical Center. Students learned about what to do if there is a fire and what equipment the firefighter may use. Students also got to see a firefighter in full gear to show not to be afraid of them if they see them in a fire. Students had already read about community workers and jobs as part of the Journeys curriculum. Students also wrote about their experience using a circle map. Their writing was an opinion piece about their … Read More

Fairlawn Elementary School raised over $1,200 during a recent Pink Heals event to benefit local organizations that support cancer education, prevention, detection, treatment and research. Recently, a day was designated for students to wear “pink items” to school such as a pink shirt, pink pants/skirts, pink socks etc. The adults also participated and it was a fun way to help an important cause. Jennifer Ingersoll’s class raised the most money in the entire school and they will receive a pizza party provided by the Firefighters Benevolent. In addition, the school PTO has graciously agreed to provide pizza to the class … Read More

The kindergarten students learn science through a hands-on experience making a pizza. The students were able to see matter change its shape and property through the process. Christina Silva-Mejias from Loutina’s Pizza  helped the students make pizza. The students applied their sequence skills that they learned from reading “Pizza at Sally’s”  a book about the steps someone takes to make pizza. After making pizza, the students used a flow map to write about the sequences to make a pizza. Pictured are William Kicklighter, left, and Kielan Holland.

Delegates from the African nation of Liberia visited Samuel S. Gaines Academy recently. The school visit was part of an extended tour of St. Lucie County by the developing nation’s leaders in an effort to find successful governmental infrastructure to emulate in their country. Eighth grade AVID students provided an informative tour of the campus. The visitors were interested in the school’s facility, programs and resources available. Pictured are members of the delegation with Principal Tracie Wilke and other Gaines Academy staff.

The third graders from Lela Studivan’s class at Lawnwood Elementary School have finished their unit on recycling, and as a capstone project, they are  making compost from last year’s garden. This compost consisted of rocks, egg shells, apple and orange peels, which the students mixed and prepared for the 2013-14 growing season. They are ready to plant this year’s crop of vegetables and flowers and are eager to harvest this year’s bounty. Pictured is Ms. Studivan with students working with their garden.

Eighth grade students at Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition recently showed off their skills in building atoms using a Bohr model when they created an atom of one of the first 13 elements on the periodic table.  Throughout the past two weeks, students have worked hard to understand atomic structure, the periodic table and the behavior of matter. Students then created edible atoms using M and Ms as subatomic particles and cookies as the nucleus to show they are understood how an atom was structured. Pictured, from left, are Jordi Munoz, Raphael Alexis, and Leo Fernandez.

Northport K-8 celebrated its third annual Unity Day recently with a loud and clear message about the effects of bullying, especially cyberbullying. Students wore orange to signify unity and made posters, signs and banners to send their powerful messages that bullying will not be tolerated on the school campus. Joe Wojcik, better known as Joe the Biker, spoke to students on the morning announcements to kick off the day-long event, and students walked a mile-long trail marked out by school custodians. The school has been designated as a nature preserve by the National Wildlife Federation. Students walked the trail with … Read More

Students in Catie Smith’s science resource class at Samuel S. Gaines Academy have been exploring energy while learning about conductivity and electricity! Students learned content with the use of interactive notebooks, and then explored energy through this inquiry lab. Pictured, from left, are Shawn Vega, Grayvon Compere, Shanell Sullivan, and Keishon Polycarpe.

A dual purpose ceremony was enjoyed at Mariposa Elementary School recently to honor Carl Andor, the St. Lucie County School District Adult Volunteer of the Year nominated by mariposa Elementary, as well as formally dedicate the school’s new outdoor amphitheater which Andor and his son, Logan, built during the summer with materials from Lowe’s purchased with a grant from the school’s music teacher Mary McCartney. During the ceremony, students sang a song written by Ms. McCartney for Mr. Andor’s efforts. Pictured are the celebrants.

Students in Samantha Jackson’s health occupations classes at Fort Pierce Central High School enjoyed a healthy apple slice and peanut butter snack in observance of National Apple Crunch Day recently. Students discussed the nutritional value of apples, including added fiber, vitamin C and potassium, and that when combined with peanut butter, which is full of protein and multiple vitamins, they are a healthy filling low calorie snack! Pictured is Brianna Jennings as she participates in the activity, part of Food Day 2013, a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food. Employees and students alike in St. … Read More