Students in Christine King’s and Felicia Cobb’s fifth grade classes at Allapattah Flats K8 have been working hard during their after school tutoring program. They have been working with the Art in History curriculum where they interact with text that explains the historical significance of an important artifact in history. The students shown in the photo were assigned the Terra Cotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty (pronounced “chin”). They read about the history of the Qin Dynasty and the significance of the warriors. After about two weeks of research, they designed their own unique Terra Cotta Warriors shown above. Pictured, from left … Read More

The cadets of the Jaguar Battalion from Port St. Lucie High School presented the Colors for the Senior Awards Ceremony recently at Indian River State College from three programs — Educational Talent Search, St. Lucie Upward Bound, and Upward Bound Math and science. The ceremony began with the presentation of the Colors, by the Jaguar Battalion, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The cadets that participated were cadet Staff Sergeant Robert Hopkins as commander holding the National flag, cadet Corporal Lily Durst holding the State flag, cadet Staff Sergeant Cole Herndon and cadet Sergeant Tyrone Salazar as the guards. Pictured, … Read More

Fourth grade students at Allapattah Flats K-8 School have spent the school year learning about Florida’s history as part of their Social Studies curriculum. As a culminating activity, the fourth graders recently took a field trip to St. Augustine. The students were able to visit the Old Jail, Florida Heritage museum, Fort Castillo de San Marcos, Historic St. George Street, and ride on a narrated trolley tour. The students were able to see the pages of their textbooks come alive and learned many interesting facts about our state’s history from the many tour guides and landmarks. This was a memorable … Read More

Students in Marta Almiron’s kindergarten class at WestGate K8 School recently got a presidential-sized surprise recently when they received a response letter from the White House. The students had written letters to President Barack Obama in November, 2012, congratulating him on his victory, and Ms. Almiron sent the letters to the White House. I thought the letters were just too cute to keep them for my self, so I mailed them to the White House. President Obama sent a response, along with his autographed photograph, and a picture of First Dog Bo. Pictured are the kindergartners with their prized letter … Read More

Northport K-8 School’s youngest authors share their secrets to publishing a well planned, revised, edited and  well written, illustrated book as they meet in the Media Center with their classes. Kindergarten student Isaac Muniz, from Melody Nieves’ class, and Fabian Allen from Lorri Lamm’s second grade class, sit together to share their stories. Isaac’s book, titled “SpongeBob” and Fabian’s book, titled “The Day I Was A Super Hero,” were instant success stories with students as they moved from buddy to buddy sharing their stories and their secrets to effective writing! The promotion of positive interactions can be attributed to a school culture … Read More

Second grade students at Savanna Ridge Elementary School in Kristi Collins’ classroom who reach their reading goals earned dog tags to show how many points they earned on Scholastic Reading Counts. The students are given the opportunity to read and take assessments online to show their progress. Each time students take the assessment, they earn more points and are awarded the next level dog tag. The points start at 25 and go up to 250. Many students are at the 100 point level and some have even reached the max of 250! The students look forward to getting the dog … Read More

The Port Saint Lucie High School JROTC Jaguar Battalion conducted a Color Guard at Sportsman’s Park for the annual Caribbean-American Festival. The festival is a friendly competition between Caribbean-American residents in Port St. Lucie. The Color Guard, led by cadet Second Lieutenant Tyler Lynn holding the National flag, followed by cadet Corporal Travis Moberly carrying the State flag, and cadet Corporal Brandon Shriver and cadet Staff Sergeant Jaffery Murankus posted as the guards. The Caribbean-American participants greatly appreciated the excellent performance by the Jaguar Battalion Color Guard. Pictured, from left, are cadet Corporal Brandon Shriver, cadet Corporal Travis Moberly, cadet … Read More

Northport K-8 School is kicking off Young Author season this year in a big way! Each year, the Northport K-8 media center is decorated to showcase the terrific Young Author books at the school. This year, the theme is “Take Me Out To The Ballgame!” Teachers selected a table or counter space and decorated with items that incorporate the theme. Tables this year are decorated with themes of the Miami Heat from Juliette Thelusma’s fourth grade class, Chicago Cubs from Jennifer Gomez’s fourth class, kindergarten has a Mets theme and many, many other teams and sports are represented as a backdrop for … Read More

Northport K-8 School Media Services program, under the direction of Lynne Gruszka, along with students, faculty, administration and staff are assisting Northport alumnus Sgt. Xiovani Guanill of the U. S. Army. Sgt. Guanill, who administers Morale, Welfare and Recreation at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, requested  assistance for the 80 men and women in his company. His request included shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shaving cream, magazines and other items. Not only did Northport students and families assist as a school community that filled 20 boxes, but many teachers offered  with a generosity of spirit that included mailing all 20 boxes to Afghanistan. Special thanks to Dr. … Read More

The Fort Pierce Central High School Fishing Club held its monthly Bass Club Tournament at Lake Okeechobee recently with 10 student anglers entered on five boats. It was a picture postcard morning that proved to be a great day on the lake for the competitors. Eight of the 10 student anglers weighed in, and the total for the day was 20 bass weighing in at 34 lbs 12 oz! the largest catch by a 5.77 pound fish caught by Will McKee, pictured. Thanks to the East Coast Bass Anglers Fishing Club out of Fort Pierce, which provided boat captains for … Read More

Students in Kelita Singleton’s third grade class at Windmill Point Elementary created their own comic strip “storyboard” to help them sequence and summarize information for their Young Author’s book. In addition, the students utilize the comic strips to determine appropriate transitional words to enhance their stories. Pictured, from left, are Adrian Colon Coss, Meraaz Mahmud and Marlee Wells.

Recently, 31 cadets from St. Lucie West Centennial High School Navy Junior ROTC unit toured the national Navy UDT-SEAL Museum located in Fort Pierce. Upon arrival, cadets viewed multiple Navy patrol craft, two underwater SEAL delivery vehicles, and two Apollo Spacecraft training capsules. After entering the building, the cadets were guided through a World War I exhibit by a tour guide and then toured the rest of the exhibits on their own. They saw the actual 10,000 pound, fiberglass lifeboat where Captain Richard Phillips, of the Maersk Alabama, was taken hostage by Somalia pirates and saw how the SEALs rescued … Read More

West Gate K-8 sponsored the first Autism Walk on the Treasure Coast, Saturday April 27th in Tradition Square. The walk was held to increase public awareness of the needs of autistic children and to raise money for autism research. It was a huge sucess, with over 450 people attending the walk. Over 40 community agencies and local businesses supported and contributed to the walk. Thanks to all the walkers and sponsers, $31,000 dollars was raised for Autism Speaks.

Fort Pierce Central High School ROTC cadets presented the National Colors at the St. Lucie County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner recently in Port St. Lucie, where U.S. Senator Marco Rubio was the keynote speaker. Pictured with Rubio are, from left, Senior Army Instructor Lt. Colonel Nevarez, Veronica Acevedo, Gabriella Hernandez, Rubio, James Lowery and Devin Morris.

Members of the Northport K-8 School student council, under the direction of Christine Persick, promoted school spirit recently during a week long series of community building activities. Students and faculty, as well as administration and staff, participated in “Professional Dress Day,” “Hippie Day,” “Jersey Day” and several other activities to build school spirit and to add to the continuous rapport and “love your school” feeling that teachers and students address on a daily basis! Pictured, from left, are teachers in the groove John Fallon, Laura Poveromo, Michelle McCloskey, Melanie Polascak and Diana Lankow.

The Port St. Lucie High School JROTC Air Rifle team wong first place at the American Legion Post 318 Invitational Air Rifle Match. Six four-person teams from three schools, including Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce Central, and Fort Pierce Westwood high schools competed for medals in each of the three positions: prone, standing, and kneeling. Port St. Lucie High’s Michael Hutchison scored the highest in the competition. Pictured, kneeling, Oscar Caceres, and standing, from left, Caitlin Landers, Ahmad Strong, Jeremy Dardon, David Oagles, Michael Hutchison, and Glynn Auger.

Students and parents from Northport K-8 School participated in the Family Reading Festival held recently at Mets stadium, sponsored by the St. Lucie County Reading Council. The event was a wonderful and authentic testament to the entire school community, and the sharing of literary ideas, and reading and writing possibilities. Some of the events available for families were “Read To A VIP,” Reader’s Theater stage, many authors to visit, Mother Goose Storytime, Scholastic Book Fair, Gently Used book exchange and a Manga drawing contest. Pictured is Northport student Canon LeJeune, who entered a piece of his artwork in the contest.

Officers with the St. Lucie County Fire Department displayed and explained the use of the department’s Air Rescue helicopter to students in Mary Higgins’ First Responder class in the Medical Academy at St. Lucie West Centennial High School during a recent visit to the fire department’s headquarters. In addition to the presentation, students also experienced a one hour practical component with the aircraft. Pictured, front row from left, are Matthew Leo, Karen Diaz, Megan DePaola, Talia Billue, Charles Pereny, and Monica Bush. Back row, from left, are Cody Trahan, Alejandro Saez, and Dominic Martin.