Westglades Middle
Matthew Bianchi, Principal
Westglades Middle School is participating in the Harvest Drive to assist families with meals during Thanksgiving. This a great way for our students to experience community service and community outreach.
This year’s Westglades Harvest Drive began on Oct. 25 and runs through Nov. 15. We will be helping to feed 200 local families this year for the holidays! Our Harvest Drive Club involves approximately 75 students who work tirelessly throughout the months of October and November to market this event and to collect food. Schools simultaneously run their harvest drives and transport their items to Westglades to be sorted, counted, and distributed.
To help our mission to feed 200 local families, please send in any canned or dry goods with your child to be dropped off in their first-period class. To make it easier to donate some of the larger items, we will collect items in the morning and afternoon car lines during the week of November 1–5 on Monday through Friday. This year we are bringing back the Community Night Drop-Off Event on Nov. 15 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Pull up in our car line during that time and we will be happy to help you unload your donations!
Our school-wide fundraiser, “5 Minutes of Dough,” was held on Oct. 27. All money collected during this fundraiser is used to secure a gift card for each Harvest Drive family to be able to purchase nonperishable items to round out their holiday meal.
Please also feel free to drop off your donations at our Westglades Harvest Drive tent at the Farmers Market on Nov. 7. For more information on the Harvest Drive organization or how you can get involved, visit harvestdriveflorida.com.
Riverglades Elementary
Christina Chioda and Kimberly Mann
Riverglades students and staff enjoyed participating in our “No Brainer FUNdraiser” where students had the opportunity to take part in fun dress-up days as they worked to collect donations. We are so proud to announce that not only did we meet our goal, but we exceeded it! The donations collected will go toward technology, reading intervention programs, and other instructional resources. A big thank you to all who donated. Great job, Gators!
We are eager to kick off our Fall Harvest Drive where students will be able to provide families with groceries and toiletries this Thanksgiving. The Harvest Drive will run until Nov. 8.
Calling all Bingo fans! Bingo Night is back on Nov. 17. Come out for a night of fun games as you try to become a Bingo champion! More information about this can’t miss event will be coming soon.
Calling all Riverglades shoppers … the holiday shop is almost ready to open its doors! Students can shop for family and friends this holiday season as they look through a variety of cool and unique products. From jewelry to pet toys, this shop has it all! The holiday shop will run from late November through early December.
Coral Springs Charter
Sophia Kaklias, Social Media Editor, “Paw Print”
After a year online, raising school spirit is important. Student involvement during Spirit Week was thrilling, and so was seeing everyone’s outfits during the dress-up days. Fun senior pranks and activities led up to our Homecoming game, which we won 28-17. Following the Homecoming game was, of course, the Homecoming dance. After being at home for a year, it was a refreshing time to socialize.
From Oct. 11 to 15, DECA Week was held. This DECA Week was similar to Spirit Week, including a dream job dress-up day on Oct. 11.
Mental health is a priority here at Coral Springs Charter. During October 4–8, a Mental Health Week was practiced, including activities such as yoga, breathing exercises, and acts of kindness.
Something that goes hand in hand with mental health is peace. A pole that reads “May Peace Prevail” recently was installed in front of the school. This pole, which was given to 47 schools in Broward County, was gifted after two former students won the Peace Pole contest, and it was installed on International Peace Day. Student poems and essays were read in front of the pole on the day it made its debut.
Upcoming events include the College Tour for the junior class, which will be a great opportunity to plan futures. The sophomore College Tour will be in February. Also, the DECA Power Trip to Chicago will be held this month, which will be great for our aspiring entrepreneurs.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
We are so excited to have all of our students back on campus, learning face-to-face again. As always, our Eagles are soaring higher than ever!
Our Culinary students, under the direction of Chef Kurth, had an opportunity to visit Keiser University in Sarasota to attend one of six Regional Workshops hosted by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation. The students rotated through cooking labs to experience a day in the life of a culinary college student. The sessions centered around Latin American tastes, textures, and flavors including Mojo Pork, Shrimp Vera Cruz, Mexican Street Corn, and more. Our Culinary students are in for a treat as they continue exploring various foods throughout the remainder of the year.
To add to our excitement, the Eagle Regiment continues to shine. They competed at the Flanagan Falcon Sound Invitational on Oct. 2 where they were named Grand Champion of the entire competition. Several additional competitions are upcoming — John I. Leonard High School in Greenacres and the Bands of America Regional Competition. We can’t wait to see (and hear) what they have in store for us!
Our Guidance Department was honored to host our parent nights in October. We welcomed all grade-level families to help ease the transition. In addition, we discussed what to expect, GPAs, graduation requirements, studying for success, college applications, and financial aid. We had a great turnout, and parents and guardians left very informed and ready for a wonderful start to the school year.
SGA and Drama students had a wonderful time hosting FALLO’WEEN, our annual event on Oct. 28. We welcomed students from the community, and as always, the costumes, decorated trunks, and activities were a success!
On the academic end, we are easing back into face-to-face learning and students are acclimating quickly. For students who need a little boost or assistance, we are offering tutoring on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 2:50 to 3:50 p.m. in the Media Center. These sessions are led by our peer tutors from our Mu Alpha Theta and National Honor Societies. Students can receive tutoring in all subjects on Tuesdays and mathematics on Wednesdays and Thursdays, free of charge.
Somerset Parkland Academy
Jennifer Knight, VIPP President
Beyond the STEM lessons, in-class group project learning, and the Cambridge Program curriculum, Somerset Parkland Academy (SPA) has had some recent successes in some of its extracurricular activities.
The SPA soccer team led by Coach Saeger won their first-ever game against Somerset Riverside. The speech and debate team led by Ms. Erhardt competed in their first debate competition at Dillard High School. Students Layla Moho, Karina Palskoi, and Emma Yaegar placed first in Original Oratory, and the team of Stella Luna and Brianna Alvarez finished first in Duo Interpretation.
The SPA Drama Academy led by Mr. Ramsarran has 51 members already and is eligible to be a part of the International Thespian Society. They put their acting skills to the test making an appearance at the SPA Halloween Spooktacular, and they will perform a Holiday Extravaganza in December.
The school has also started its Looping Program this year, allowing looping students the opportunity to be with the same teacher and classmates for kindergarten and first grade with Ms. Ferlazzo and then continue together for second and third grade with Mr. Sage. The Looping Program allows teachers to discover the students’ learning styles and motivators while building a level of trust over those four years.
Coming up in December, SPA will host its second annual winter event with stilt walkers, jugglers, costumed characters, Hannukah and Christmas decorations, games and activities like throwing pies at the teachers, and, of course, the photo with Santa. Don’t miss it!
Heron Heights Elementary
Lauren Generoso, PTO President
Our biggest event of the school year is back on Nov. 17 with the Heron Heights Elementary (HHE) Fitness FUNdraiser! We are so excited to have CrossFit Vice Gym of Coral Springs sponsor our event. Our amazing volunteers are working hard to plan an awesome event filled with lots of exciting surprises, prizes, and fun fitness for our Hawks as they fundraise in the weeks prior. Follow us on Instagram (@hhe_pto) and Facebook (facebook.com/hhepto.hawks) for the latest updates and how you can support HHE.
Congratulations to HHE’s teacher of the year, Mrs. Kurzenberger, and school-related employee of the year, Mrs. Diaz!
The holiday shopping season is here! Please support the HHE PTO while you shop on Amazon by adding Amazon Smile to your account. It’s free and easy! Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/47-4567225. Thank you for your support.
Picture caption: Our principal, Mrs. Weiss-Schnur, with the teacher of the year and school-related employee of the year.
Park Trails Elementary
Principal Arlene Manville
Park Trails is excited to be planning for our 20th Anniversary Celebration to take place in January. Students will be creating a time capsule, and we will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 11 to rededicate our school.
We are trying to reach out to all the fifth-grade students who graduated during the 2001-02 school year. Please have individuals contact our staff at (754) 322-7800.
Our STEAM program is well underway, and we are hoping to become a district STEAM magnet school for the 2022-23 school year. Students in grades K–5 are busy coding, learning about the engineering process, building, and designing robots and other objects in our design lab.
Our STEAM team teachers are looking for engineers to help us start a robotics club. If interested in assisting, please email Kristin.meis@browardschools.com.