LucieLink – News and Communications for St. Lucie Public Schools
Port St Lucie High’s Culinary Program students and Chef Foerster took lunch to Paris! Students in the Jazzy Jags Café prepped, cooked, and served delicious lunches Parisienne Style; Croque Monsieur with baked ham, Gruyere cheese and dijon on brioche slices browned until the cheese melted served with Salad Orientale, and Pommes Frites (French Fries!). Delicious! Level Up CTE!
Port St. Lucie High’s Building Construction Technologies students hosted a virtual field trip for Mr. Kevin Fess’s students at Northport K-8. The high school students highlighted the skills learned and equipment used in their program. The 8th graders asked great questions while sitting in their middle school classroom! Big thanks to Mr. Bruce Gardner, Instructor and his Building Construction Technologies students at Port St Lucie High.
The Veterinary Assisting students and instructor Ms. Brittany Shoun at Fort Pierce Westwood Academy, the WEST Prep Magnet, scrub in to assist Dr. Wynne during surgeries! In the photos, the dog on the operating table is being spayed at WEST Prep! Level up CTE!
Treasure Coast High’s JROTC US Airforce and Criminal Justice programs hosted the Port St Lucie Police Department’s drone team! Port St. Lucie Police Officers discussed drone usage in Port St Lucie and demonstrated drone skills for students, Mr. Diego Rios, Mr. Roger Allcroft, Chief Jeffrey Barnes, and Colonel James Golden.
The 2021 Ready to Work Boot Camp Informational session hosted by Jill Marasa with the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie and St. Lucie Public School’s Career and Technical Education department was a virtual event. This session included interested graduating high school seniors within St. Lucie Public Schools desiring employment immediately upon graduation in manufacturing and engineering industry sectors.
Mary Murphy from CareerSource Research Coast in conjunction with Career & Technical Education department hosted a career exploration session for medical academy seniors. This session was to follow-up to the EDC’s Virtual Healthcare Tour for guidance counselors and teachers that occurred in Fall 2020. Participating students learned about available resources and employment opportunities within our county and on the Treasure Coast.
Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital (Brenda Byk and Stacey Rhodewalt) in collaboration with SLPS’ Career & Technical Education (CTE) Department hosted a virtual employment informational session for our medical students. This session provided entry-level employment information for our graduating seniors and steps to turn their career and educational goals into reality!
Brittany Shoun, Fort Pierce Westwood Veterinary Assisting Instructor is very proud to announce that the FFA Vet Assisting Team placed THIRD in the State on the FFA Veterinary Science Career Development Event! The Team won first place in the pre-lim to secure a spot at the State contest and will be recognized at the State Convention for their 3rd in State WIN! Congratulations Allison Kohler, Jayden Weil, Zoey Thomaselli, Mia Wheeler, and Ms. Shoun ! Go Panthers! Level Up CTE!
St. Lucie Public Schools has five pre-apprenticeship programs preparing students for careers. The pre-apprenticeship Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school programs are located across the District: Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering at Treasure Coast High Building Construction Technologies at Port St Lucie High Outboard Marine Service Technology at St Lucie West Centennial High Pharmacy Technician at Fort Pierce Westwood Academy – The W.E.S.T. Prep Magnet Technical Design at Port St Lucie High The pre-apprenticeships offered in CTE at St. Lucie Public Schools lead into registered apprenticeship trades of Carpenter, Industrial Manufacturing Technician, Truss Design Technician, Pharmacy Technician, and Yacht Service Technician.
CTE Medical teachers and students from St. Lucie Public Schools participated in a virtual forum with Dr. Thomas Matese, Dr. Josephin Mathai, Dr. Ashkahn Zomorrodi, Dr. Nguyen, and Dr. McNamara from St. Lucie Medical Center. Over 200 SLPS Medical students learned about the process to become a Physician from the St. Lucie Medical Center’s Emergency Medicine Residency DEI group. This presentation also included Resident students currently in the Emergency Medicine program sharing their personal experiences and pathway to achieve their medical career goals.
Tina Ankeny, representing St. Lucie Medical and Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute met with with St. Lucie Public School (SLPS) medical students on various topics related to employment and career opportunities within the local hospitals. The medical teachers joined in via Teams to allow their graduating seniors an opportunity to network with HCA hospital representatives and learn how their earned industry certification will get them entry-level positions after graduation. This session is a follow-up to the SLPS and EDC Counselor’s Healthcare Bus Tour session held in February 2021.
Congratulations to all St Lucie Fair exhibitors and winners! What a year for Ft. Pierce Westwood-West Prep FFA who’s final tally is impressive: 5- Grand Champion Titles, 2- Reserve Grand Champion Titles, 9- First in Class, 3- 2nd in Class, 3- 3rd in Class, 1st place Senior II Swine Record Book, 1st place Senior II Steer Record Book, 2nd Place Senior II Swine Record Book and more! Mrs. Jenna Blankenbaker, FPW Agriscience Instructor shared, “If you see these kids, please congratulate them, they have worked hard for a year on their projects and it was apparent … I had a … Read More
Fort Pierce Westwood students from Ms. Mildred Brown’s Criminal Justice program, Mrs. Ursula Johnson’s Digital Media program, and Mrs. M.E. Musgrave’s Medical program joined the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Drone Team for a live presentation. Students learned about the significance of the drone team to our law enforcement agencies and community, sUAS Part 107 industry certification, and career opportunities after high school. Sergeant Wes Harbrin organized this event for SLPS students enrolled in these various programs. Additionally, students preparing for their 911 Telecommunications industry certification exam were able to connect with our local law enforcement business and community partners! … Read More
Representatives from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Drone team hosted a live demonstration for Criminal Justice and Law Academy students from St. Lucie West Centennial High School. Special thanks to SLPS Criminal Justice Advisory Board member, Sergeant Wes Harbrin from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office for setting up this event! Mrs. Angela Baumgarten’s students were engaged and learned about skills, training, and career options for sUAS industry certification and the connection of drones to the field of law enforcement.
Congratulations Fort Pierce Westwood FFA and Mrs. Jenna Blanenbaker on the outstanding West Prep FFA Beef Breeding Winners! This weekend at the St Lucie County Fair at the Beef Breeding Night, three FFA students were awarded top winners: Grand Champion Sr II Grooming – Nayeli Fernandez Grand Champion Cow/Calf – Reed Blankenbaker First in class Heifer – Lena Shingledecker Congratulations Panthers! Level Up CTE!
School and district administrators, counselors, educators, and graduation coaches from St. Lucie Public Schools (SLPS) participated in a virtual tour focused on the local marine industry. Representatives from Maverick Boat Group, Freedom Boat Club, Shearwater Marine, and Derecktor Shipyard centered their discussion on employment opportunities and talent recruitment for their respective company. This information will be shared with SLPS graduating seniors interested in this career pathway. This ties directly to the Outboard Marine Service Technology program at St. Lucie West Centennial High School led by CTE Educator, Chadd Fleming. This engaging event was made possible through the collaboration between St. … Read More
Phil Depuy, Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Instructor at Treasure Coast High and his students virtually visited Professors Natalia Chekhovskaya and Paul Godfrey at the IRSC Kight Center for Emerging Technology. Discussions centered on mechanical, electrical and programming fields specifically Robotics, Photonics, Manufacturing, local employers, and student projects. Big thanks to Jerry Jacques, President at TCMA and Advanced Machine and Tool for setting up the visit. Level Up CTE!
Emma Chancey was awarded 2021 St. Lucie County Fair Queen! Jenna Blankenbaker, Fort Pierce Westwood Agriscience Instructor proudly commented, ” She answered all her questions with grace and eloquence. I am so proud and impressed.” Congratulations Emma! Go Panthers! Level Up CTE!
Bruce Gardner, Building Construction Technology Instructor and John Picchiarini, Technical Design Instructor visited Professor Dean Zirwas’ lab at the IRSC Kight Center for Emerging Technology. Discussions centered on the CNC machine setup, troubleshooting, software applications, procedures, projects, and materials. Mr Gardner’s Port St Lucie High Building Construction Trades Preapprenticeship Program recently purchased their own CNC machine giving students access and practice to these real-world job skills.
Port St Lucie High School’s Technical Design and Building Construction Trades Programs virtually attended a field trip to Apex Engineering in Jacksonville, Florida. Business Partner, Dan Morris at Apex Engineering virtually hosted John Picchiarini and Bruce Gardner’s classes. Dan used interactive technology to demonstrate creating trusses, floor joists and discussed details of the apprenticeship and preapprenticeship opportunities available to students in St Lucie County! Level up CTE!