After listening to informational books about bats, Morgan Haupt’s kindergarten class at Frances K. Sweet Elementary School enjoyed drawing and labeling the parts of a bat. Pictured, from left, are Jordan Dunn, Adryan Mills, Chase Wu and Madeline Chiong.

Northport K-8 School sixth grade science teacher Amanda Sartain has won the FAST Award of Promise. The Florida Association of Science Teachers each year selects a science teacher from the state of Florida who has three to five years of experience and has demonstrated an interest and aptitude for teaching science. Some of the qualifications include participation in professional organizations showing leadership at the local, state and national level, maintaining an innovative and exciting classroom/labratory environment, uses innovative materials and new approaches to teaching science, effectively uses community resources and guest speakers and continuously practices professional development through workshops and conferences. Mrs. … Read More

The Department of Quality Instruction of St. Lucie Public Schools was recognized at the October 9, 2012, St. Lucie County School Board meeting for being honored by the Florida Association of Staff Development for its implementation and facilitation of the St. Lucie County Framework. Pictured, from left, are Allison Barajas, Superintendent Michael Lannon, Director of Quality Instruction Carla Moore, St. Lucie School Board chairman Carol Hilson, and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Kerry Padrick.

Jacqueline Cruz, daughter of Maria Cruz-Zavala and Arturo Cruz of Fort Pierce and sixth grade student at Samuel S. Gaines Academy K-8, was recognized at the October 9, 2012, St. Lucie County School Board meeting. Jacqueline won first place in her age category in the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs’ (AFOP) 2012 Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Children Essay Contest. The contest, open to students nationwide ages 10-18 and children of migrant workers, asked students to write about the challenges faced by farmworker families, the typical day of a farmworker, and what motivates the student. Essays were judged on style, content, … Read More

Students at Treasure Coast High School recently participated in AT&T’s public awareness campaign about the dangers of texting while driving. Students were able to engage a simulated driving experience of distracted driving and the potential disastrous consequences. Brief videos and print materials were also on hand to provide information to the students. The event was part of AT&T’s nationwide push to save lives and make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving. Students also had the opportunity to sign a pledge not to text while driving, and to encourage others to do the same. Pictured is a student … Read More

Students in Lorrie Rudzinski’s second grade class  at Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition are on target with story structure skills. Pictured, from left, are Lia Mihajlovski, Kieren Brown and Kayla Harr as they created thinking maps, tree map style. Writing on the desks with dry erase markers sure increased the lesson’s engagement!

A group of students from the St.Lucie Schools’ youth golf program competed in the Martin County junior tournament recently. The tournament was held at the Martin County Golf and Country Club in Stuart. Taking first place in their divisions are, from left, Gina Carvelli from Palm Pointe K-8 in the girls 10-12 year old, Cameron Beach from Morningside Elementary in the boys 7-9 year old, and Savannah Hawthorne from Palm Pointe K-8 in the girls 7-9 year old division. Students are shown with their first place medals from the tournament.

Palm Pointe Educational Research School @ Tradition held its third annual Music Open House recently. Parents, grandparents and other family members of kindergarten through fourth grade students were invited to attend music class. Participants experienced what a typical music class is like at Palm Pointe. Parents participated in “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, played rhythm sticks, played drums and the Orff instruments. It was a great experience for all! Pictured are students and parents from Millerlandy Palomino’s third grade class learning to play a song directed by music teacher Christine Hill.

Grip and rip again on November 3 at Gator Trace Golf and Country Club in Fort Pierce for the St. Lucie County School District Facilities & Maintenance 2012 Intern Program golf outing. The day of fun includes 18 holes of challenging golf, a wonderful lunch, awesome door prizes, a terrific hole-in-one prize and much more at the awards banquet. The proceeds raised through your contributions fund the department’s High School Summer Internship Program, providing for paid internships during the summer. Pictured is a student who worked in grounds/turf management last summer. Each student is also given an opportunity to apply … Read More

The cadets of Fort Pierce Westwood High School Panther Battalion recently held a highly successful fundraiser at a local restaurant. The cadets served customers their beverages, re-stocked the serving plates, cleaned tables and helped in any way they could. The cadets enjoyed the event, and earned compliments for their behavior, attitude and most of all their smiles. Pictured are several cadets during the event.

The cadets of Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion recently helped sponsors of a triathlon event at Club Med in Port St. Lucie. The cadets arrived at 5 AM to prepare for the day’s event, and helped guide and motivate the participants throughout the course. The triathlon was divided into two competitions, the Olympic and the Sprint. Thierry Rouillard, a Certified Race Director who organizes races all over the state of Florida, in particular was very impressed with the performance and professionalism demonstrated by the cadets. He requested Port St. Lucie High School’s Jaguar Battalion to support the next … Read More

The cadets of Port Saint Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion showed their support and paid their respects to missing and captured veterans at the annual POW/MIA ceremony hosted by the Chapter 556 of the Vietnam Veterans of America recently. The cadets formed an Honor Cordon at the entrance to the ceremony. Cadet Captain Devynn Rhodes, Cadet First Sergeant Arlene Mabry, and Cadet Corporal Ryan Culbreth participated in the ceremony by lighting the candles for the missing men and women from Desert Storm and Afghanistan. They lit the candles as the names of the missing from Florida were announced. The Jaguar … Read More

The Fort Pierce Westwood High School JROTC cadets recently participated in the Treasure Coast Raiders competition hosted by Port St Lucie High School. The Panther Battalion participated in a one-mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, litter carry, rope bridge and obstacle course, and placed third overall on the rope bridge. One cadet remarked it was the most fun he had ever had, and many were surprised at how well they performed. Pictured is the Panther Battalion team.

Floresta Elementary recently hosted a Family Learning Night, “100 Book Challenge Evening.” The school’s literacy council worked together to plan this very worthwhile family event. Several teachers performed in a skit, modeling the importance of 100 Book Challenge, highlighting how fun and easy it is to incorporate this routine into one’s daily schedule. Each grade group of teachers created a booth promoting the love of reading, through providing useful facts about reading, and engaging students and families in interactive activities connecting reading, writing, and drawing. Third grade teachers designed a beach theme for their booth, complete with buckets, shovels, blankets, … Read More

Students in Myron Varn’s eighth grade American History class at Allapattah Flats (APF) K8 School have finished writing their first document based question (DBQ). Students read and analyzed five different primary source documents to determine the cause of death for almost 80 percent of the first colony’s settlers. They have proven in their thesis that poor water caused disease, poor relations with Powhatan caused violent death, and lack of appropriate skills led to starvation and sickness. This lesson helped the students understand population decline during the time period. When using the DBQ, students are able to brainstorm and come up with … Read More

As part of their science program, students in Crystal Cade’s fourth grade Response to Intervention group at Allapattah Flats K-8 School recently learned about the scientific method. The students discussed the role of a scientist and the importance of scientific investigations. The students identified the steps necessary to complete a scientific investigation. As a culminating activity, the students completed an inquiry activity in which they used the scientific method to create lava in a cup. Students also discussed the possible implications of not following the scientific method. Pictured, from left, are Aaron Ganus, Lisbet Figueroa, and Giancarlo Gallegos.

Staff members at Allapattah Flats K-8 School recently participated in Big Brothers, Big Sisters’ annual Bowl for Kid’s Sake event at Superplay USA. With an 80’s theme, staff members enjoyed sporting their neon shirts and listening to music from that time period. With three lanes in use for Allapattah, each team member got to show off their bowling and athletic abilities. All the money raised will go to benefit Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Office Max store manager Katrina Dannon, pictured left, and her team surprised fifth grade teacher Vincent Scotto, right, at Manatee Academy recently. Scotto was the recipient of the 2012 “A Day Made Better,” an award comprised of generous donations of school supplies! Principal Lillian Beauchamp nominated Mr. Scotto for maintaining high expectations in all students, modeling the belief that all children are capable of success, using his own money to buy student supplies, and his willingness to go beyond his classroom to help his colleagues.

A loaded school bus of Title One teachers and STEM Science Support members headed to the Brevard Zoo’s Open House recently. The event had many displays from local and state science-related agencies. Teachers learned about the many field trip and educational opportunities available to them. They were also able to collect items for their classrooms and many won items in the free drawings! Pictured getting on the bus to return are, from left, Jennifer Czajak, Julia Woertz, Omay Frixione-Coto, Ciara Trabal and Erikka Trabal.

Scientist Dr. Susan Sennett from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution assists third grade students at F. K. Sweet Elementary School with a buoyancy experiment during a presentation on the scientific method. Pictured hard at work, from left, are Terry Boles, Armani Richardson, and Sylnia McMillan with Dr. Sennett.