Pine Ridge Elementary earns MPO’s Innovation Award

 

Pine Ridge Elementary School in Clermont was honored this week with the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) first Innovation Award. The recognition highlights the efforts of third- and fourth-grade students at the school, whose six-week research project addressed safety issues at their school for bike-riders and walkers. The project, which incorporated science, technology, engineering and math, produced persuasive evidence to support the need for more sidewalks, crosswalks, crossing guards and reduced speed limits.

The students presented their findings to county officials, who now are planning to construct a sidewalk near the school in 2017.

 

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Eustis Heights principal and assistant principal are finalists for state’s top leadership awards

EUSTIS — Eustis Heights Elementary School Principal Rhonda Hunt is a finalist for Florida’s 2016 Principal Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership (Principal of the Year), and Assistant Principal Chad Frazier, also of Eustis Heights, is a finalist for Florida’s 2016 Outstanding Assistant Principal Achievement Award (Assistant Principal of the Year).

“Principals and assistant principals set the tone for their schools and I am pleased to acknowledge these finalists who embody qualities that inspire educators and students to work hard and do their best,’’ said state Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart, who announced the finalists today. “Our school leaders deserve to be recognized for their commitment to Florida’s students, and I look forward to announcing the winners at the Commissioner’s Summit for Principals.”

Rhonda Hunt has been a principal for 10 years, during which time she has been involved in a new school opening, establishing parent-teacher organizations, building mentoring programs and drafting grant applications that have benefited her students. She is described as an exemplary instructional leader and has been commended for empowering her teachers to be leaders. Under her leadership, Eustis Heights has improved its school grade from an F to a C (based on 2014-15 simulated school grades).

The other finalists in the Principal category are Tamie Stewart of Parkside Elementary in Collier County and Steven Royce of Tara Elementary in Manatee County.

Chad Frazier’s colleagues expressed an appreciation for his passion for learning and willingness to take on challenges toward an identified goal, as well as his dedication to creating innovative solutions. In just one year, he has already made an impact on Eustis Heights. With the support of his principal and through collaboration with school faculty, Frazier was able to reduce truancy by 50 percent during the 2014-15 school year. 

The other finalists in the Assistant Principal category are Anne Bieber of Vero Beach High School in Indian River County and Kahlil Ortiz of Dommerich Elementary School in Orange County. 

The state’s top administrators will be named in a ceremony at the Commissioner’s Summit for Principals on Feb. 8. The recipient of the 2016 Principal of the Year award will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and $1,000 for his or her school. The 2016 Assistant Principal of the Year will receive a cash prize of $2,500 and $500 for the school.

 

 

 

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Administrators get lively lesson from ‘America’s Educator’

Ron Clark, an educator widely known for his creative and successful work with low-income and troubled students, was the guest speaker for the Lake County Schools Leadership Mini Conference on Monday, Jan. 25, at Mount Dora High School.

With animated facial expressions and lively, high-energy movements– sometimes bringing him to stand on the armrests of the auditorium chairs – Clark spoke to district administrators about the importance of keeping creativity in and boredom out of the classroom. He urged the audience of mostly principals and assistant principals to smile more, keep feet pointed forward so their backs aren’t to the students, look students in the eye, maintain a sense of urgency and reward the best teachers with more freedom, opportunities, supplies, praise, respect and trust when budgets won’t allow for large pay increases.

Clark, the founder of The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta and often dubbed “America’s Educator,” was the focus of a 2006 television movie, “The Ron Clark Story,” which starred Matthew Perry and highlighted Clark’s first year teaching in East Harlem. There, Clark encountered neglected, abused and difficult students. He used rap music, Double Dutch, and other creative means to reach them.

“Although his class of misfits had been last in test scores for the entire city, by year’s end they led the school, besting even the honors pupils,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Clark’s 2003 book, “The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator’s Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child,” became a New York Times bestseller. More than 1 million copies have been sold, and it has been published in 25 countries.

He signed copies of his books, including his newest one “Move Your Bus,” after the event.

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Students prepare for STEM Week

Lake County Schools is gearing up for STEM Week, Feb. 1 – 5, 2016. This week will include the fifth annual STEM Bowl and Lake County’s Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Both events have added more student participation with the STEM Bowl extending to middle school and the Regional Science and Engineering Fair including fifth grade students for the first time.

The STEM Bowl is a competition that tests students’ knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Students from each team will work collaboratively to answer higher-order thinking questions and complete an engineering design challenge that will require the use of several twenty-first century skills.

During the Regional Science and Engineering Fair, students will demonstrate their expertise in STEM through student designed science and engineering projects. Such projects provide authentic opportunities for students to learn and apply the Next Generation Science Standards and Florida Standards while experiencing real world applications of STEM. Additionally, participating in the science and engineering fair assists students with the development of interviewing techniques, confidence, and other 21st-century skills needed for the work place.

About 800 selected students from around the county will participate in STEM Week 2016. Third-graders compete Feb. 1, fourth-graders on Feb. 2, fifth-graders on Feb. 3, sixth- through eighth-grade teams on Feb. 4, and the fifth-grade through 12th-grade Regional Science and Engineering Fair is on Feb. 5.

All events will be held at the Wesley Center located at 715 West Juniata Street, Clermont, FL 34711.

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Mascotte Elementary third-grader wins $1,000 scholarship in gardening program

Kylie Rider, a third grade student from Mascotte Elementary Charter School, won a $1,000 scholarship from Bonnie Plants as the state winner of the company’s 3rd Grade Cabbage Program!

She was selected out of 56,380 third grade students in the state. A representative from Bonnie Plants will present the $1,000 scholarship check to Kylie at the school on Friday, Jan. 22, at 9:15 a.m.

The cabbage program, started in 2002, is designed to inspire a love of vegetable gardening in young people. Each year the company distributes more than 1 million free cabbage plants to third-grade classrooms across the country. Each student gets his or her own cabbage to grow at home or in the school’s garden. Teachers incorporate the project into class activities throughout the year. At the end of the session, students submit a photo of themselves and their cabbage and teachers select a class winner. One class winner from each state is awarded a $1,000 scholarship through a random drawing by each states Director of Agriculture.

“The joy of gardening and the satisfaction of growing healthy food are gifts that kids never outgrow,’’ Stan Copy, President and CEO of Bonnie Plants, has said. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to share these gifts with the next generation of gardeners.”

The cabbages distributed to schools are the O.S. Cross variety, which is known for producing giant, oversized heads. Some students have grown cabbages weighing more than 50 pounds! Kylie’s cabbage weighed in at 21.7 pounds.

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Umatilla Middle and Eustis Heights Elementary receive STEM grants

The STEM Alliance of Central Florida presented grants to two Lake County schools to support science, technology, engineering and math instruction.

Umatilla Middle School was granted 12 LEGO EV3 core sets, a LEGO EV3 software site license, a Design Engineering Projects teaching guide to provide additional activities, up to 12 computers for the lab on an as-needed bases, and training through LEGO Education.

Eustis Heights Elementary in Lake County was granted five unites of course materials for the 2015-16 school year. These units will be chosen through a collaboration between the school and the experts at the Orlando Science Center from the 20 available topics in Life Science, Earth & Space Science and Physical Science. Each unit comes with 24 student books, a teachers’ guide, four material kits, teacher training for up to five teachers coordinated through the Orlando Science Center, and 10 hours of post-implementation analysis, reflection and communication.

Committed to collaboration between the business community and public school systems, the STEM Alliance of Central Florida works in partnership with the Central Florida School Boards Coalition to assemble and provide resource in support of a mutual goal: excellence in science, technology, engineering and math education.

Lake County Schools thanks the STEM Alliance for its support!

 

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Kohl’s associates volunteer with literacy project at Eustis Heights Elementary

Fifteen associates from Kohl’s department store visited Eustis Heights Elementary School on Wednesday, Jan. 13, to work with 18 students and several staff members to develop a kid-friendly brochure about the school. Their assistance with the literacy project aligns with the company’s stated corporate commitment to service. The brochures will be given to new students as they enroll to help ensure a smooth transition. Eustis Heights served lunch to the associates to say thank you. We appreciate your service, Kohl’s!

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Enter Black History Month art and essay contests through Jan. 25

Gov. Rick Scott and First Lady Ann Scott invite all Florida students to participate in the 2016 Black History Month art and essay contests. Students in grades K-3 have a chance to win a cash prize by submitting artwork, and students in grades 4-12 can earn a four-year Florida College Plan scholarship through the essay contest.

This year’s theme, “Honoring African-American Heroes: Veterans, Military, Law Enforcement and First Responders,” focuses on the brave men and women who have and continue to protect our state and country.

This is not only a great chance to broaden our students’ understanding of Florida’s vast history; these prizes could transform the lives of three students and their families by ensuring their in-state college tuition will be fully funded.

All entries must be received no later than 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, Jan. 25.

For more information and contest rules, please visit www.FloridaBlackHistory.com.

 

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Umatilla Elementary celebrates Career Exploration Day

Umatilla Elementary School experienced its first annual CAREER EXPLORATION DAY Friday, January 8, 2016! They celebrated career opportunities and awareness by asking all students PK-5 to wear their favorite career outfit to school. Additionally, 21 career businesses from our community and surrounding cities participated by displaying their work vehicles on the playground from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for students to explore following their lunch time.

Connecting academics to real world careers was the goal. Fire truck, police car, hearse, barbecue truck, utility truck, electrical truck, grove fertilizer truck, tractor, and a host of other vehicles were part of the parade!

We appreciate all the community workers who volunteered their time and expertise to bring a variety of vehicles for the Career Vehicle Parade. We will never know how many students were inspired to set goals and realize their dreams and aspirations by hands on activities such as this. CAREER DREAMS BEGIN AT UMATILLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!!!

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Eustis schools win state literacy award

Four schools in Eustis were notified this week that they, as a team, have won either 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd place in a statewide literacy-civic service contest. The formal announcement will be made later this month in Tallahassee.

A group of 20 student ambassadors from Eustis Heights and Eustis elementary schools, Eustis Middle School and Eustis High School teamed up for literacy last month and began writing an alphabet book with members of the community. They will come back together on Friday, Jan. 15, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Eustis Heights to complete the narrative, add pictures and put the final touches on the book which, when finished, will highlight strategic points of interest in Eustis.

The project was submitted as an entry to the statewide Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! Literacy-Civics Service contest, and the schools learned this week that they are a winner of either a $25, $500 or $1,000 prize.

The Eustis schools plan to use the money they win to get their book published so they can present copies to local day care centers and pre-schools.

Florida First Lady Ann Scott will present the awards at a ceremony on Jan. 28 at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee. In addition, Eustis Mayor Michael Holland will read a proclamation on Jan. 21, when the student ambassadors will present the book to the city commissioners. Mayor Holland will declare Jan. 27, 2016, as “Read Across Eustis Day,” part of the statewide designation of January as “Read Across Florida Month.” The students will travel throughout Eustis to read the book they created, helping to instill a love of reading and an appreciation for the Eustis community.

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