Students in Maria Nunez’s fourth grade class at Mariposa Elementary are studying magnetism by exploring the properties of various materials that respond to a magnetic field.  As part of their experiment, students were given magnets, a compass, string and paper clips to investigate magnetism. The activity included magnetizing a paperclip by scratching the surface of a magnet, exploring the earth’s magnetic pull by using a compass and watching it point towards the North Pole, then disrupting the needle of the compass by placing a magnet near the device. Students gained insight into what is a magnet and how it works. Pictured are Sasami Bagnall, left, and … Read More

Fourth grades students at Mariposa Elementary school held their yearly Wax Museum for parents and students recently.  The event was held in the fourth grade classrooms. To prepare for this activity, each student researched a famous person and created a costume to portray their character. Students stand as wax figures until a guest comes up to their booth.  Once the visitor is present, the wax figure comes to life and tells a short biography about their life. Pictured in their costumes, from left, are Estefano Livi, Isik Billingslea, Daniel Lincoln, Jacob Mc Crory, Sadia Kouns and Hannah Murphy.    

Congratulations to third, fourth and fifth grade Math Bowl teams from Gaines Academy for their representation at the first ever St. Lucie Schools Math Bowl. The Math Bowl was a team academic competition in which four students worked collaboratively to solve math problems in less than 5 minutes. Gaines Academy’s third grade team placed third, the fourth grade team placed first, and the fifth grade team placed third. Pictured holding their trophy are Lopez Bourjolly, left, and Gabriela Armendariz, students in Kimberly Masters’ third grade class.

Northport K-8 third graders celebrated Cinco de Mayo and integrated Positive Behavior Support into their day by giving students who earned SAIL Notes a choice of activities as a reward.  Students chose between viewing The Three Caballeros, eating chips and salsa, dancing to fiesta music or making confetti pinatas.  Students worked together using tissue paper and glue then filled the pinatas with goodies to share.  Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on the fifth of May each year and commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.  This is a celebration of … Read More

St. Lucie Schools held its first Math Bowl for students in grades three through five recently at Fort Pierce Central High School. Students from C. A. Moore Elementary, Weatherbee Elementary, Northport K8, Samuel S. Gaines Academy K8, and Dan McCarty School participated in this inaugural yet successful event. Several parents, teachers, math coaches, and principals also attended to join in the fun. Students competed at their schools to create the teams to compete in the math bowl. Coordinators included host Gina Renna, and math coaches Teresa Longar, Josie Bailey, Tari Sexton, Cecilia Martin, Victoria Pease and Robert Suggs helped coordinate the … Read More

A special thank you to Jed Garbie from Samuel S. Gaines academy business partner Sonic restaurant for the 2011-2012 school year.  Sonic has donated a variety of coupons for free or discounted items from their menu.  The coupons were used for COLT of the month, honor roll, and perfect attendance.  They also gave free slush coupons to the class that brought in the most box tops.  The school thanks Sonic for all it does to benefit and encourage Gaines Academy students. Pictured is store manager Jed Barbie.

Bayshore Elementary students are demonstrating their skills as scientists by investigating scientific problems.  Students in Nancy Fallon’s third grade class were investigating if the number of coils on an electromagnet affected its strength.  Pictured, from left, are Kyla Higgins, Michael Bresch, and Sam Vicente.

Every year, the  Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion conducts service learning event designed to serve the community and teach the cadets valuable life skills. This year’s Service Learning Project supported the Relay for Life, which is an organization that supports the American Cancer Society in the fight against all cancers. Cadets set up luminaries around the track, which are bags of sand with a single, lit candle inside, recognizing those fighting or those who have fought cancer. Four cadets, pictured from left, cadet First Sergeant Timothy Kroell, cadet Captain Devynn Rhodes, cadet Corporal Chaz Pollino, and cadet Master Sergeant William … Read More

Students in Edward Strivelli’s first grade classroom at White City Elementary have been writing class poems throughout the year as part of their word families study.  In each ‘silly’ poem, the  students used words containing a target sound.  At the end of the week, the children read to an audience filled with students from Lois Peith’s second grade class. After their poems were presented, the students joined together and read more class poems from the first graders’ class poem journal.

Allapattah Flats kindergartners are becoming super sleuths using Secret Stories.  The students learned about what happens when the letters t and h are side by side in a word.  Then, they practiced sticking out their tongues to make the “thhhhhh!” sound.  Lastly, the students used letter Legos to build words that begin or end with th. Pictured, Jolaine Austin works with, back to front,  Timothy Smith, Arieana Mitchell, Jeffrey Sebastian-Agustin, and Tyler Garren.

Southport Middle School promoted the love of reading with an incentive to win an Amazon Kindle.  During April, School Library Month, students were registered to win a Kindle when they checked out a book.  Pictured, from left, are Anita Mattia, winning student Ryan Zelaya and media specialist Angela Mas as he picked up his prize!

Southport Middle School’s Young Authors celebration included a video conference with author Douglas Quinn.  With the help of grandson, Southport Middle sixth grade student Quinn Coleson,  Quinn has written four adventure series novels featuring his grandson as the main character.  St. Lucie County’s ITS department supported  Southport’s media center to set up the video conference with Mr. Quinn, who resides in North Carolina with his wife.  Also presenting at the celebration was Scripps newspaper contributor Hillary Copsey, who spoke to students and parents about the wonderful books that the sixth through eighth grade students submitted.  Winning submissions will go on to a district level competition. … Read More

Students Myron Varn’s eighth grade American History classes just completed a Student Teaching Module (STM) which divided the class into five groups, each responsible for  part of a chapter covering the inventions and early industry from 1740-1790.  They planned lessons to include learning goals and assessments.  Some lessons were as intricate as PowerPoint slide shows with a Jeopardy quiz. Others were as simple as choral reading and questioning.  When asked to reflect, the groups that had the more complex lessons said that they learned more about their subject, but that it took a lot more time to put together.  Groups that had the simplest … Read More

The annual Family Reading Night Celebration at F.K. Sweet Elementary was another huge success with over 100 students, parents, and community members in attendance. Children were allowed to rotate from reader to reader and listen to teachers and community members reading lots of their favorite stories. Students filled goodie bags with pencils, pens, bookmarks, and books. Concessions, face painting, and balloons were also available. Pictured are the fifth grade teachers Christy Nuccio, Jodie Steele, Donald Logue, and Cindy Young entertaining a packed room with the book Jolly Mon, by Jimmy Buffet.

Fourth grade students at Mariposa Elementary School are preparing for the school’s annual wax museum.  The students are excited and eager to teach other students and visitors about their famous person in history and how that person made a positive impact in our society and the world. Pictured is Estefano Livi poses as Benjamin Franklin.  

Elia McDonald, in Laura Glennon’s third grade class at F.K. Sweet Elementary, is the class winner for his prize cabbage. His information and cabbage picture will be submitted to Bonnie Plants, in Union Springs, Alabama. Elia’s cabbage will be judged on the cabbage head size, overall appearance, and weight.  There will be a $1,000 scholarship awarded to each state winner. The contest is sponsored by Bonnie Plants and the Department of Agriculture. Gook luck, Elia with your four pound cabbage.

How many kids does it take to read 20,979,863 words and rack up 8,490 points since the beginning of school in August? Well, it only took 17 third graders in Barbara Whellams’ class at F.K. Sweet Elementary School to accomplish such a task! To reward the students for reaching and surpassing their goal of 300 points each, the students will be treated to a movie matinee and concessions before the end of the school year. Reading Counts is a district wide program that encourages children to read and provides the classroom teacher with an array of information that can target  individual strengths … Read More

Members of the Port St. Lucie High School Jaguar Battalion conducted a color guard for the Young Floridians Scholarship Award Ceremony at the McAlpin Fine Arts Center on the IRSC campus recently. The cadets presenting the colors were, pictured, from left, cadet First Lieutenant Andrew Miller, cadet First Sergeant Timothy Kroell, cadet Master Sergeant William Benagh, and cadet Corporal Chaz Pollino. Many of our community’s leaders such as President of Indian River State College, Dr. Edwin Massey, Superintendent Mike Lannon, Port St. Lucie High School principal Dr. Mark Rendell, and several Chamber of Commerce members were present for the color … Read More

The F.K.Sweet Elementary School annual kindergarten circus, The Greatest Show on Earth, was a recent crowd pleaser. The audience was highly entertained by clowns, magic tricks, prancing ponies, acrobats, and wild animal acts. The climax of the evening  and a spell binding experience was someone surviving being shot from a cannon. A huge thanks to teachers Morgan Haupt, Kristin Griffin, Kathy Offerdahl, Michelle O’Keefe, Melanie Francisco, and Sandy Picano for their hard work and countless hours of practice. Pictured are some of the stars of the show!

Northport K-8 School proudly accepted a commendation by 14 Medal of Honor recipients held recently in Texas.  The Medal of Honor recipients signed a plaque with the date and signatures of each national hero.  The plaque reads in part, “For the students, faculty and staff of Northport K-8 School located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, for their exceptional support of active duty military personnel and the veterans community of St. Lucie County, Florida.”  The Medal of Honor is the highest award offered to U.S. military.  Most awards are given posthumously for going far above and beyond the call of duty in the … Read More