Category: Community

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It’s the Year of the Tiger

In the 12-year Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Tiger starts on Feb. 1, 2022, and ends on Jan. 21, 2023. Based on the lunar calendar, the date for the Chinese New Year varies compared to the solar calendar we normally use.

As the Chinese New Year kicks off across many Asian communities, traditionally the celebration starts a week before and ends 15 days after the Chinese New Year, with a Lantern Festival on Feb. 15. The food served typically varies, depending on the region, but steamed fish, noodles, and dumplings are common.

It is believed that those born in the Year of the Tiger are competitive and like to do things “their way.” Some famous examples are Queen Elizabeth II, Bon Jovi, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Lady Gaga, to name a few.

While Tigers tend to be extremely competitive, they are also generous in helping others. If you are born in a Year of the Tiger, you are advised to wear red, as it will bring good luck in a birth-sign year.

The downside associated with the Tiger zodiac is that they tend to be stubborn, and prone to be irritable and overindulgent. So if you are lucky to be living with someone born under the sign, remember, they tend to not back down, so subtlety is required to convince them of their oversights.

The spirit of the Year of the Tiger is strength and courage, and it usually portends a year full of active energy. Hopefully, that energy will rub off on the world, as the world shakes off the effects of the last two years and looks forward to a prosperous year.

 

 

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Resolve to keep learning in the New Year

New Year 2022 brings the promise of new hopes, new beginnings, and a chance for life to return to normality. With 2020 and 2021 in the rearview mirror, having left their indelible mark on all of us, 2022 is a time to regroup, refresh, and reenergize.

Make those New Year resolutions — lose weight, go back to the gym, stop smoking, and vow to be kinder. Take an art class, learn a new language, or visit a museum or library.

Here are a few ideas to start your New Year on a note of inspiration.

Temple Beth Am

While the Jewish New Year is in the fall, Jews and others can still take advantage of the current New Year and sign up for classes at Temple Beth Am in Margate.

Beginning Dec. 21 and running for eight weeks through January, Temple Beth Am in Margate is offering the interactive class “Ten Paths to G-d: Ten Ways Judaism Enhances Our Lives,” taught by Senior Rabbi Michelle Goldsmith. Cost: $36 for members, $72 for non-members.

In February, Temple Beth Am offers “Esther, Song of Songs and Ruth — Love, Bravery and Loyalty as the Key to G-d and Salvation.” This class is also taught by Rabbi Goldsmith and will run on Tuesday evenings beginning Feb. 22. Cost: $18 members, $36 non-members.

For more information, go to Beth-am.org.

 

Parkland Library

Are you ready for fun, intellectual stimulation, and/or children’s events? The Parkland Library has something for everyone.

Kids can take part in a friendly game of chess, try coloring and card-making, come for storytime, or participate in “Mr. Roy’s Family Music,” a 30-minute class in which children up to age 4 can dance and sing familiar melodies, play instruments, and take advantage of a fun, interactive class.

Adults can come for Bingo; Sahaja meditation; an arts, books, and conversation group; and even rock painting led by Dr. Halle Solomon, assistant program director at Eagles’ Haven Wellness Center. The finished product will be donated to community memorial gardens. Along with Sarah Lerner, the yearbook advisor at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School, Solomon will speak about resilience, hosting a conversation on resilience and grit in a community affected by the MSD tragedy.

The library also offers several Holocaust educational programs, including the “No Child’s Play” exhibit, which shares a window into the world of children during the Holocaust. It examines images of toys, games, artwork, diaries, and poems of children and their personal stories, providing a glimpse into their lives during the Holocaust. The exhibit looks at the struggle of those kids to hold on to life and their attempts to maintain their childhood.

Holocaust survivor and Holocaust educator Eric Lipetz will lead a discussion for both teens and adults after screening the 2004 documentary film “Paper Clips.” Based on the true story of a school in Tennessee, the film tells about a class project. Middle school students in a rural, heavily Christian community began collecting the paper clips to represent the lives of Jews who perished in concentration camps during World War II. After millions of paper clips were collected, the last step was to place them inside a German railcar, a poignant echo of the Final Solution and a reminder to “never forget.”

On Jan. 27, to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection and Resource Center at Nova Southeastern University offers a chance to learn about and contemplate the horrendous acts that result from intolerance and hate. The session will conclude with the lighting of a Yahrzeit (memorial) candle.

For more information, go to CityofParkland.org/library.

 

Coral Springs Museum of Art

The Coral Springs Museum of Art offers classes in ceramics, drawing, painting, mixed media, comic design, printmaking, sewing, photography, and more. New additions include classes in interior design, fashion illustration, still life, and portrait and figure drawing.

The classes, which run from Jan. 24 to March 5, are available for all age groups (preschool, youth, teen, and adult), skill levels, and interests.

To register, call (954) 340-5000 or go to CoralSpringsMuseum.org.

 

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

Interested in Japanese language and culture? Since 1977, Boca Raton’s Morikami Museum has been a center for Japanese arts and culture in South Florida. The museum offers classes such as The Art of Bonsai, Introduction to Japanese Language, Ikebana Flower Arrangement, Performing Tea Ceremonies, and Japanese Sumi-e Ink Painting.

For more information, go to Morikami.org.

 

Adolph & Rose Levis JCC Sandler Center

When the COVID pandemic hit in March 2020, the Levis JCC Sandler Center launched into action, putting many of its classes, lectures, literary events, and films on Zoom at no charge. From April 2020 to June 2021, the JCC hosted 29,738 virtual attendees and 3,101 more in-person.

Now, in 2022, the JCC is offering a hybrid Arts, Culture, and Learning season including hundreds of in-person and virtual events. Virtual programs will be streamed via Zoom, and in-person programs will be at the Levis JCC Sandler Center with masks required and socially distant protocols.

As part of its Literary Afternoons, on Jan. 11, the JCC hosts Mitchell James Kaplan, author of “Rhapsody,” an inspired-by-a-true-story novel about the love affair between George Gershwin and Kay Swift, two musical icons of the 1920s-30s.

On Jan. 18, author Zibby Owens is featured as part of its Cocktails and Conversation with the Authors series. Owens will discuss her latest book, “Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology,” a humorous look at working out, eating, reading, and even sex during quarantine.

In the Book and Author series, author Anne Sebba discusses her book via Zoom on Jan. 20, titled “Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy,” which posits that Ethel Rosenberg was likely innocent, murdered by the state, and did not deserve death by electric chair.

On Jan. 25, author Lisa Scottoline will discuss her latest historical fiction novel, “Eternal.” The book takes place during World War II in Rome, the “Eternal City,” and tells the story of three families whose intersecting worlds are torn apart.

Other events include the Jan. 10 Zoom lecture with author and journalist Claudia Kalb, titled “Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers.” “Spark” unravels the relationship between brains, talent, passion, creativity, willpower, and imagination.

In-person at the Sandler Center, on Jan. 31, “60 Minutes” Peabody and Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Ira Rosen will speak about his book “Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes,” revealing the intimate, untold stories of his decades at America’s most iconic news show.

For more information, go to levisjcc.org.

 

Boca Museum Art School

Do you want to improve brain function and enhance your creativity? Try taking a class in painting, jewelry-making, or sharpening your skills at photography.

The Boca Museum Art School offers classes in ceramics, pottery, and the fundamentals of digital photography. Learn to paint in watercolor, gouache, oil, or acrylic, or try your hand at jewelry-making or silversmithing.

For more information, go to BocaMuseum.org/art-school.

 

Boca Museum of Art

What’s more cultural than a trip to a world-class museum? Learn about the ancient Andean cultures at the Boca Museum of Art’s exhibit, “Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru,” running through March 6.

On Saturday, Jan. 22, immerse yourself in a tour and a lecture series, in combination with Florida Atlantic University, on these ancient civilizations. Experts will speak on topics such as the “Great Inka Road:  Engineering an Empire,” musical traditions, the ancient Mateño civilizations of coastal Ecuador, and Ecuador’s contemporary Manabi culture. There will be live music and a dance performance by the Peruvian dance group Kuyayky.

Tickets are $10/members; $20 non-members. For more information, go to Bocamuseum.org.

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Fighting back against human trafficking through education, empowerment

This year, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival brought together KidSafe Foundation, a local South Florida organization dedicated to educating and empowering children to make them harder targets for trafficking and sexual abuse, and “The New Abolitionists,” a documentary that follows four nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Thailand and Cambodia fighting to end human sex trafficking. Together, this partnership is raising awareness about the growing problem of human trafficking in this country and abroad.

It was a crisp November evening when I sat down at the Savor Cinema in downtown Fort Lauderdale for a screening of “The New Abolitionists.” Originally built as a church in 1926, its theater still feels like a place of prayer, and that’s exactly what this harrowing film made me want to do, pray.

The film begins in Cambodia, where troves of girls are stationed at karaoke bars looking to pick up men. Many of these young women were victims of trafficking, some sold or deceived by their own families, and are now on their own and lack the education, skills, and self-worth to get out of the sex industry.

“A lot of people want to think human sex trafficking is prostitution. It’s not. Human trafficking is, by definition, when somebody has been forced, coerced, or frauded into these sexual acts,” explains Christina Zorich, director of the film.

In Thailand, a hotbed for sex tourism, the film estimates that there are 35,000 prostitutes in the city of Pattaya alone, where it is not uncommon to see adult men taking children on dates in public. As disturbing as it was to watch, it helps to demonstrate both the pervasiveness of the problem and, even worse, the complicitness of the government, which is why Zorich had to geoblock the film to prevent it from being seen in Southeast Asia.

“It’s pretty well agreed on in the anti-trafficking community that Asia is probably the most trafficked region of the globe,” says Zorich.

Just as jarring as the film itself were the number of empty seats in the theater, especially given that, according to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Florida is one of the top three states in the country with the most human trafficking. “It’s happening here. It just looks different than it does over there,” explains Zorich. “It’s overt there; here it’s hidden. Because it’s hidden, there’s a lot of denial and lack of understanding.”

“Denial is one of the top hurdles we need to jump over,” agrees Cherie Benjoseph, cofounder and chief program officer at KidSafe. “Sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and sex trafficking all fall under the radar. In the movie, it’s horrifically blatant, but here it’s done in a way that you don’t see it. Child trafficking can happen out of a child’s home, and it happens in all types of communities. Right here in Florida, there are people more than willing to buy children for sex, and if we don’t accept that as a truth, we will never be able to see and/or prevent child trafficking and abuse.”

Thankfully, there are organizations here and abroad confronting the issue. And while the problem may present itself differently in both continents, the answer to combating the issue is the same — empowerment through education.

In “The New Abolitionists,” the NGOs discreetly approach the women at bars, sometimes posing as sex tourists, offering them a chance at a different life. The girls who choose to go with the NGO are provided trauma counseling, education, skill development, and employment opportunities. Those who are able eventually build a new life outside the NGO. “I found it inspiring that these women could build beautiful lives after having gone through so much,” says Zorich.

While the NGOs in the film were helping victims who had been trafficked, here in Florida, KidSafe has been working to get ahead of the problem by teaching children personal safety, starting at age 4.

“We teach personal safety skills from a place of empowerment, not fear. We are not teaching kindergarten through fifth-grade students scary stories, we’re empowering them with protective skills, just like you empower kids with swimming skills to protect them from drowning. We empower them with skills of safety to protect them from unhealthy relationships,” explains Benjoseph.

“Ninety percent of the time, child sexual abuse and child trafficking are perpetrated by someone they know and have been groomed by,” emphasizes Benjoseph in discussing the importance of educating children from a young age, as well as adults. “We can’t prevent child sexual abuse if we’re not raising awareness about it.”

KidSafe has online programs for professionals working with children and resource pages for parents that educate them on opening up the lines of communication with their children. “As parents, we assume that our kids know we’re available and they will come to us about anything. It is something we need to remind them about, early and often,” urges Benjoseph. “Making yourself an approachable parent plays a major role in keeping our children safe. The more we talk about relationships, and reinforce personal safety in our everyday parenting, the more we can prevent.”

In 2019, Florida became the first state to require child trafficking prevention education for grades K-12. To help meet this mandate, the foundation created “Stay KidSafe!” This is a program designed for counselors and teachers to use in their classrooms and includes a platform with 3D teaching animations, along with lesson guides that include questions, answers, activities, and role-play exercises. “Stay KidSafe!” teaches age-appropriate skills, including safety voice, circle of safe adults, safe touch/unsafe touch, good secrets/bad secrets, and accessing help. Students do not learn about human trafficking until sixth grade. After each lesson, a newsletter is sent home to parents advising them of what their children have learned and how to reinforce those skills at home.

The “Stay KidSafe!” program is free for all Florida schools, as well as schools across the country, and is funded through donations.

For more information about “The New Abolitionists,” visit thenewabolitionistsdoc.com. For information or to get involved with KidSafe, visit kidsafefoundation.org.

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New year’s resolutions? Keep them attainable

This is the time of year when people have made their lists of goals that they hope to accomplish in the new year. New year’s resolutions tend to be glorified in today’s society, and they are usually unattainable and unrealistic goals that people set for themselves.

New year’s resolutions have become goals that people believe will dramatically change their lives for the better, although these resolutions usually do not last.

The resolutions people come up with can be life-altering changes that they give up on after a week into the new year. People look in the mirror, point out their flaws, and think that once the new year begins, those flaws will magically be resolved.

The ability to change habits and routines does not happen overnight. People set unrealistic standards for themselves that they should be a totally different person once it is the new year. This is unattainable, and people can be self-deprecating if they do not achieve their goals.

Many try to improve their lives for the better by having new year’s resolutions such as eating healthier, going to the gym, and getting straight A’s. Although these goals may be something to aspire to, they are not realistic.

I believe that new year’s resolutions should be small changes and goals that people can realistically meet. Resolutions are goals that one can achieve and be proud of. If I do not achieve my goal, I am usually disappointed. The right way to start a new year is to have resolutions that are within reach while also challenging.

I also believe that waiting until the new year to make goals for yourself is not the right way to improve yourself. If you are so determined to make changes to your life, waiting until a specific day would not make a difference. Setting goals that don’t depend on the calendar can have a better outcome.

People set the bar too high for themselves. The most realistic goals to set are ones that can be divided into small, doable tasks. It is crucial to make small, tangible goals that will lead you toward your overarching goal.

If the resolutions are realistic, there is a greater chance that one will keep them throughout the year. It is important to take time to reflect on the change one wants and what one can realistically do to achieve that change.

New year’s resolutions can have a positive impact on people’s lives if they set reachable goals for themselves and do not give up. Being harsh on yourself will only make it worse; it is possible that you may slip up on your goal, but that does not mean you give up.

Instead of making resolutions that cause stress and anxiety, make resolutions this year that will encourage self-improvement.

It is also important to congratulate yourself for what you have accomplished thus far. Each step you take to achieve your goal is something to be proud of.

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School News – Jan 2022

Coral Springs Charter

As we headed into the close of an exciting semester, a school-wide day of service was hosted by the Interact Club, a sign language and service club, where high school students participated in service activities and workshops in 30-minute intervals throughout the school day. There were opportunities to learn about mental health, CPR, meditation, and yoga, and to participate in putting together donations to help various organizations, like lunches for those with food insecurities and toys for shelter dogs. The day culminated in a visit with a keynote speaker who spoke to students about how they can put “service above self.”

On Dec. 1, the SGA held a Wii Sports Tournament, and the competition was fierce. Students from every grade competed in small groups for combat in Wii baseball, tennis, and boxing. The winning team included senior Conner Cox, senior Avril Rosano, freshman Cameron Khouri, and freshman David Rodriguez. The SGA also hosted its “Giving Tree” program to collect toys for children in need for the holiday season.

The Senior Thespians showcased their skills at their district competition on Dec. 11. Students competed in various theater talents such as acting, musical performance, pantomime, and set design. “I love spending time with my troupe and getting the results of all of our hard work at the end of the day,” said senior Shira Smolar.

Photos by Madalen Erez

 

Heron Heights Elementary

By Lauren Generoso, HHE PTO President

Our green yearbooks are going on sale this month! For the second year in a row, we are using the environmentally friendly company TreeRing. Its yearbooks are high-end, well-crafted books printed on recycled paper. For every yearbook purchased, a tree is planted through Trees for the Future. For more than 30 years, Trees for the Future has been planting trees across the world that not only help to end deforestation but help with poverty and hunger, providing families with food and income through the Forest Garden Approach.

Last year, we were able to plant 347 trees, and this year we look forward to surpassing that number greatly! To eliminate unnecessary waste and resources, only the exact number of books purchased are produced. Not only do we feel good about providing students and parents with a yearbook that captures their memories in a beautifully produced book from our yearbook committee, but they can also have confidence in the sustainable, environmentally conscious approach we take in producing them.

 

To learn more about Trees for the Future, please visit https://trees.org. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. ♻️ #hhecares

 

Park Trails Elementary

By Principal Arlene Manville

Park Trails Elementary is planning our rededication ceremony to commemorate 20 years of serving the Parkland community. The ceremony will include a ribbon-cutting and the unveiling of a 20th-anniversary mural, and students will be writing letters and collecting items to put in a time capsule. Representatives from the city, district officials, and the original staff will all be at the event.

Park Trails looks forward to proving another 20 years of excellence for the children in our community.

 

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

We can’t believe the first semester is coming to an end. Where has the time gone? Students were busy preparing for midterm exams and testing season, and they never lost sight of staying motivated along the way. To assist with this, our Guidance Department recognized all of our students with straight A’s by awarding them with cookies made by our very own culinary department. There were 550 students who were reminded, “You’re such a smart cookie!”

Our After-School Academic Academy, daily tutoring, has been going strong. In addition to U.S. history, algebra, geometry, writing, reading, and biology, we have added Spanish. Students are benefiting from the academic tune-up.

If you were able to join us for our annual multicultural show, you know why there wasn’t an open seat in the house. What an amazing opportunity for students to showcase their talents while embracing their cultures. It was incredible to celebrate our diversity while taking a journey around the world. Senior Hailey Jacobsen served as the emcee and also wrote the script for the event. She summed it up best: “We live in a world where something as trivial as the color of your skin or the language you speak determines whether or not you’re hated, and this needs to change. If only everyone could experience the beauty of world culture, this problem could be solved.”

The multicultural show is very special to many of our students. Sra. Garcia, the teacher who sponsored the event, was thrilled to have Andrea and Rebeca Benarroch in attendance, students from 2014 who helped make the show for the community come to fruition.

As always, our Eagle Regiment doesn’t dare disappoint, as they brought home the Class 4A 2021 State Championship with a score of 92.20. To earn this victory, especially after a pandemic where most of our freshmen and sophomores had never even marched before, is nothing short of amazing. “It was an incredible weekend capped off by an incredible season,” said band director Steve Rivero.

Congratulations to the MSD wrestling Eagles for winning the Coral Springs Wrestling Tournament! The Eagles beat out Saint Thomas Aquinas by 34 points in the 13-team field for first place. Thirteen out of 15 Eagles placed in the top 6.

If you needed some holiday spirit, hopefully you stopped by to see us during our winter festivities. Our theme was “Who has more holiday spirit than we do? No one!” You may have noticed our holiday hats and socks, ugly holiday sweaters, Grinch PJ’s, snow in our courtyard, and holiday movie gear. Keep up the great work, Eagles!

Correction: Last month, we inadvertently left out that “Puffs,” a fast-moving comedy about a certain school of magic, was student-directed by Lexi Schwartzberg.

 

Riverglades Elementary

By Christina Chioda and Kimberly Mann

Riverglades would like to welcome everyone to 2022! We hope that everyone had a wonderful winter break, and we are excited to begin the second half of the school year.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated to our Holiday Toy Drive. We really appreciate your generosity. We are happy to say it was a very successful event!

Riverglades students can get ready to run, hop, and compete as our annual Field Day kicks off this month. This is a great opportunity for the kids to enjoy exercising outdoors as they work with their classmates through a variety of fun obstacles. Students can demonstrate teamwork as they build memories during this fun event!

 

Eagle Ridge Elementary

By Principal Lyndsey Sierra

Congratulations to Seema Naik on being selected as one of the top five District finalists for Teacher of the Year 2022. Mrs. Naik will be honored at the upcoming Caliber Awards in February.

Mrs. Naik is an amazing educator and is passionate about science, technology, and engineering, as she is our VEX Robotics sponsor and fourth-grade teacher. We are so proud of her and all her accomplishments!

 

Westglades Middle School

By Principal Matthew Bianchi

 

Westglades finished the end of the calendar year with a lot of success. Our girls basketball team completed their undefeated regular season at 10-0. This makes back-to-back undefeated regular season records!

Our Fine Arts department continues to shine, and at the Florida Thespian Festival, several students received Superior ratings! Also, our Band program had 14 students make All-County and three make All-State, and we had a fantastic Winter Concert and amazing marching band performance in the Coral Springs Winter Parade.

We have several matriculation events coming soon to welcome our incoming fifth graders and to transition our students to high school. Our feeder elementary school students will take field trips to our campus this month, and we are looking forward to our Showcase Night on Feb. 10.

Social media and the news often focus on the negatives that go on, and with so many positive things happening at Westglades, we want to give parents and students the ability to share positive messages with each other and with our staff. Westglades now has a Pawsitivity Padlet for the community to post information about our staff and students.

Please share some of the great things that you have experienced at Westglades and spread the pawsitivity! Go to https://padlet.com/WestgladesMiddle/Pawsitivity.

 

Somerset Parkland Academy

By Jennifer Knight, VIPP President

Congratulations to the Somerset Parkland Academy middle school soccer team for winning the league championship in their inaugural season. The championship game was played on a wet and rainy day, but the team persevered. Way to go, Cowboys!

In the week leading up to Thanksgiving, the Somerset kindergarten classes wrote letters of gratitude and drew pictures for the wonderful BSO officers who protect our school and ensure that the kids are safe entering and leaving the school. The school then invited several officers who have worked at the school for coffee and doughnuts while the kids gave them their letters.

Various extracurricular groups at SPA held numerous practices as they prepared to perform at the SPA Winter Caravan. The Color Guard, Dance Team, Drama Academy, singers, and music classes really honed their craft in the final weeks leading up to the big event.

SPA partnered with the Parkland International Music Academy, and the kids performed at various spots around the school grounds in December, as vehicles with SPA families slowly moved through the event.

Coral Springs Middle School

Coral Springs Middle School (CSMS) will hold its annual Stallion Round-Up sixth-grade orientation event on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m. The event is an awesome way for students and parents to tour the school and hear about the amazing opportunities students will have for their middle school experience. This event is open to all parents and students from our community.

The School Choice window is open. If you are not currently zoned to attend CSMS, you will need to complete a reassignment application. Visit www.browardschools.com/schoolchoice.

Congratulations to our teacher of the year, Vanessa Lopez-Delalla. As the school’s ESE specialist, Ms. Lopez-Delalla works exceptionally hard to ensure the success of all her students at CSMS. Congratulations also to our school-related employee of the year, Joanne Alonzo. Mrs. Alonzo is the school’s ESE secretary, and she goes above and beyond her job and is always there to help others.

 

 

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Uncle David and the perfect dog

I am sure that everyone has that uncle or relative who either chose his career or his career chose him. I have friends and relatives who are either accountants or engineers who make every decision according to a logic that I just don’t understand. My uncle is an accountant; thus, he bought his house because it was the perfect size, it had the perfect number of rooms, and it was for less than market value. His car fits four to accommodate his family, but no one else can fit in it. So, to summarize, my uncle’s life and finances can be put into a spreadsheet and perfectly reconciled every month. The world according to David.

His two twin daughters were the cinnamon and spice to his vanilla. They tested the limits and like any freshmen in college would do, they bought a dog because they could. They snuck the puppy out the back door of the dorm like every other freshman, without a hitch. The resident advisor also had a dog and didn’t care as long as the puppy didn’t bark and get her in trouble.

The girls sent me a picture of the puppy. They were told that the puppy was a mixed breed, but based on what I saw from his head and paws, Milo the puppy had some Great Dane in him. Over the next month, Milo gained 12 pounds, and it was becoming harder and harder to hide him. In month 3 of puppy hiding, Milo was so tall that he could look out the window; the RA got nervous, and Milo was expelled from college. Luckily the girls only had one month left in school and were allowed to stay.

Uncle David didn’t like dogs. They were an unexpected cost that he could not justify. He never had a dog or any pet. David is the definition of consistency, so any change from the norm was unacceptable. He also had no idea about Milo. The girls and my aunt never discussed it with him, but now Milo was going to live in his house until the girls moved into their apartment in August. The girls came home and set up the cage and spent the weekend teaching my uncle and aunt about living with a six-month-old puppy who was now over 60 pounds. A lot of words were exchanged, and there was some crying, but by the end of the weekend, it was agreed on by everyone that my aunt would be the caregiver.

Fast forward three months. I was driving from Florida to Colorado and decided to stop off in the Midwest to visit my relatives. It was a surprise visit, and my aunt greeted me at the door. I just wanted to see how my uncle was doing with Milo. I was told that David was out walking Milo. I asked where the girls were, and my aunt told me that they had gone back to school. Without the dog. David didn’t want Milo to be in a small apartment without a fenced backyard.

My aunt was smiling and brought me into David’s office, and there was a giant bed next to his desk. There was a picture of Milo on the computer as a screen saver along with a giant tub of dog treats on the desk. She took me to her bedroom and showed me a second giant dog bed. I was shocked. She said the best is yet to come. She brought me to the garage where a Honda Odyssey minivan was parked. David had bought it because in his sedan, Milo couldn’t sit without bumping his head. I couldn’t believe it. Then the garage door opened and there was Milo pulling my uncle into the garage.

The first thing my uncle said was, “Have you ever seen such a great-looking dog?” I told him that in all my years as a veterinarian, he had the perfect dog.

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’Tis the season to give back

With the holiday season in full swing, many of us are feeling extra grateful for all that we have, and the ability to spend time with the ones we love — a luxury we will never again take for granted. Some Parkland residents are sharing both this good cheer and generosity with those in need of some extra love this year.

Cancer Kids First South Florida

At just 15 years old, Joshua Grynbaum decided that he wanted to give back. Inspired by his family, Grynbaum decided to lead his own initiative, establishing a local South Florida division of a teen-led nonprofit, Cancer Kids First.

Cancer Kids First South Florida partners with children’s hospitals in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties to lift the spirits of children with cancer by providing get-well cards, bracelets, toys, craft kits, and other fun items.

This holiday season, Grynbaum has organized the Spread the Joy Toy Drive for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami and is also doing a toy drive for Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. Cancer Kids First South Florida is accepting toy donations for children of all ages until Dec. 5.

To get involved, check out their Instagram page @cancerkidsfirstsouthFL or email them directly at cancerkidsfirstsouthfl@gmail.com. Student volunteers can receive community service hours.

The Christmas Eve PJs Project

Every Christmas, Heather Khalil organizes the Christmas Eve PJs Project, which provides Christmas-themed pajamas for children in need — an idea that stems from Khalil’s own family tradition of gifting new holiday pajamas every Christmas eve.

Participating volunteers are assigned a specific child and tasked with being their personal elf — providing a stuffed animal, blanket, and book along with the pajamas. They are welcome to include hot chocolate, board games, a personal note, and anything else that reminds them of cozy family traditions.

The packages collected benefit Kids in Distress, Hope South Florida, God’s Little Lambs Preschool, and SOS Children’s Village.

The Christmas PJs Project is already well underway, but for those interested in getting involved, Khalil will be recruiting volunteers in January for her next project, Boxes of Love, a Valentine’s Day–inspired drive benefiting homeless families and veterans. Created by Khalil’s son in honor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas victims, volunteers provide wrapped shoeboxes full of toiletries, books, and crossword puzzles.

All boxes collected benefit Hope South Florida, Broward County Task Force for Homelessness, and Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen.

For more information, visit their Facebook page @Heather’s Volunteer Opportunities.

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Discovering December sky delights

The longest nights of the year, cooler weather, clearer skies, and a dearth of mosquitoes — what more can a South Florida stargazer ask for?

This month’s constellation challenge for beginners:  Taurus. Taurus is one of the most ancient constellations and one of the most easily recognizable. A V-shaped star cluster called the Hyades forms the face of the bull and a ruddy-hued star called Aldebaran represents his reddish eye. Two long, straight horns complete the picture.

There is a plethora of celestial highlights this month:

  • 4 — New Moon. It’s the best time of the month to look for Deep Sky Objects. There will also be a Total Solar Eclipse … if you happen to be visiting Antarctica, the only place on Earth where it will be visible!
  • 6. A thin crescent Moon and Venus should make a gorgeous pair low in the western sky after sunset. This is the first of a triplet of “conjunctions” just a few days apart.
  • 7. The crescent Moon will be seen near Saturn in the early evening sky (though not as close as it was to Venus the previous evening).
  • 8/9. The final conjunction of the set will feature a wider crescent Moon appearing near Jupiter for a couple of nights in a row.
  • 13/14 — Geminid Meteor Shower. This is always one of the most consistent and beautiful meteor showers on the calendar (my personal favorite). The best time to catch it this year will be in the predawn skies. A bright Gibbous Moon won’t set until 3 a.m., hampering observations earlier in the evening. But the brightest meteors may be visible all night long. As always, dark skies are far preferable.
  • 18. The James Webb Space Telescope will be launched from French Guiana onboard an Ariane 5 rocket. This mammoth infrared space telescope has been dubbed the “successor to the Hubble” for its importance to astronomy. The launch may not be visible from Florida, but astronomy enthusiasts everywhere will be watching the 7:10 a.m. EST liftoff with great anticipation!
  • 19 — Full Moon. Some early Native American tribes referred to this as the “Cold Moon.”
  • 21 — Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere (and the first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere).
  • 21. This is the date of the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to resupply the International Space Station.
  • 21/22 — Ursid Meteor Shower. This isn’t one of the better meteor showers of the year, but it still might be worth a look under dark skies. The meteors will seem to originate from Ursa Minor (which includes the Little Dipper) but can be seen anywhere in the sky.

Enjoy the long nights of December, stargazers!

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Dec 2021 School News

SCHOOL NEWS

Coral Springs Charter 

November opened with the high school theater production of “Almost, Maine,” a story about love and loss in a remote, mythical almost-town. Also from our Fine Arts department, under the direction of Mr. Cardona and Mrs. Cole, the band earned a superior rating at MPA for the second time in school history.

On Nov. 15, the Interact Club, a sign language and service club, hosted a “Day of Service” event where high school students participated in service activities and workshops in 30-minute intervals throughout the school day.

Now that field trips have returned, the emerging business leaders of DECA will be attending their annual Power Trip, this year to Chicago. “We tour the headquarters of a business and retain some insight on it,” said senior class vice president Maliha Mahmud. They will also visit a university, watch an athletic event, and visit local attractions.

The band will be headed to the Tri-State Festival at Florida State University from December 2 to 5. The Art Club and classes will have the opportunity to visit Art Basel, an international art festival in Miami, and the middle school drama program will be hosting its Winter Wonderland fundraiser on Dec. 16 and 17, which boasts a drive-through performance that’s sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

 

Coral Springs Middle School

We have so many wonderful things happening at Coral Springs Middle. The clubs and sports are back in full swing and the kids could not be happier to be involved. Our cross-country team performed in the finals, and Gage Heller placed second for the district. Our Coding and Robotics teachers have started a Girls That Code club and are selling Takis and snow cones after school on Tuesdays to fund their competitions. New this year is an UNO club, an amazing way for any kid to stay after school and be involved.

On Oct. 27, the school participated in a charitable “Five Minutes of Dough” to quickly collect money to benefit the Harvest Drive and supply families with grocery gift cards. Stallion Star Camp will be offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. after school, and every other Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. This camp will be for any student seeking academic assistance. We encourage our families to join the PTA and attend our monthly SAC and PTA meetings; for more information, please contact us at (754) 322-3000.

Lastly, if you have not dropped off your child on a Friday morning, you are missing our “FAN” Fridays. Ask your kids about our amazing drumline!

Park Trails Elementary

Principal Arlene Manville

Park Trails celebrated National STEAM Day during the week of Nov. 8. Striving to expand our STEAM program, we are enhancing our study of the arts with our Meet the Master program, as children learn about and create art in the style of famous artists. We will be showcasing our STEAM projects for parents later in the year at a family event.

Our chorus students are eagerly preparing for our Winter Concert, and students will be performing on various band instruments as well.

We are looking forward to our Re-Dedication Ceremony in January as we celebrate 20 years serving the Parkland community. We are trying to locate students who were in our first fifth-grade class for the 2001-2002 school year. If you know of someone who was part of that class, please have them call Park Trails at (754) 322-7800.

Riverglades Elementary

Christina Chioda and Kimberly Mann

As we get ready to head into the new year, we can’t believe how fast 2021 has gone by! Riverglades students have enjoyed raising money during our No Brainer FUNraiser; they loved getting spooky at our first-ever Boo Bash; and they participated in various class projects and celebrations. It has been a fantastic fall!

We were glad to see so many shoppers at our recent book fair. Riverglades students enjoyed looking through the wide variety of books that our book fair had to offer this year! It was an incredible event filled with books, shopping, and endless smiles.

In December, Riverglades students have the opportunity to bring in toys as we kick off our annual Toy Drive. Students can give back to others by bringing in toys and other items this holiday season. More information is coming soon.

Riverglades would like to wish everyone a happy and safe winter break. We hope that you enjoy this time off with your family and friends. We wish you the happiest of holidays and look forward to seeing you in 2022!

Westglades Middle School

Matthew Bianchi, Principal

Westglades has had an amazing first half of the school year! The school always emphasizes student achievement and academics, but it also fosters many extracurricular activities to ensure our students grow socially and emotionally.

Our band and orchestra are ready to perform their second concerts of the year and will be marching in the Coral Springs Holiday Parade on Dec. 15. Our cross county, golf, and soccer teams finished their seasons, and the girls golf team and girls soccer team both won the District Championships! This is an amazing accomplishment for our athletes, the school, and our athletic program.

Our Harvest Drive program has done an outstanding job this year supporting families with an amazing Thanksgiving dinner; thanks, everyone. The Westglades Wolves are looking forward to having their first school dance of the year, themed “Wolves in Toyland,” which will be held on Dec. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. There will be music, dancing, food, and games. We will also be collecting toys for Toys for Tots to help those less fortunate in the community for the holidays.

 

We wish everyone an amazing holiday season and a happy New Year.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

On the academic front, we are continuing our college visits, our monthly debate tournaments, and our Saturday SAT/ACT preparation. We also recently began our AAA: After-School Academic Academy, which is daily, after-school tutoring for assistance with topics covered on the EOC and FSA. Mondays include U.S. history; Tuesdays, algebra and geometry; Wednesdays, writing and reading, and Thursdays, biology. Students are eager for the opportunity to receive the academic tune-up.

As usual, our clubs and activities have also been busy. Our SGA and drama students hosted “Fall-O-Ween,” our annual Trunk-or-Treat, and had more than 400 people in attendance. Students of all ages were able to play games, visit the petting zoo, and, of course, trick-or-treat from trunks decorated in everything from sports to movie themes, to ghosts and goblins. Our drama students also performed “Puffs,” a fast-moving comedy about a certain school of magic, student directed by Lexi Schwartzberg, and Theater Director Mrs. Herzfeld.

Our JROTC Raiders came in second place at their District Meet. Our athletic teams are proving that we shine both in and out of the classroom.

There are so many perks to returning face-to-face, and Mrs. Kefford was excited to resume a few traditions of her own. She hosts monthly events with the staff and students that everyone looks forward to. Mid-week Muffins with Michelle is an opportunity for the staff to reconnect with one another. She also hosts Kefford’s Kitchen, an opportunity for students to enjoy a catered lunch and discuss concerns and feedback. We love food and feedback!

The Eagles are staying busy with academics at the forefront while keeping everyone entertained with amazing extracurricular activities. Keep soaring, Eagles!

Somerset Parkland Academy

Jennifer Knight, VIPP President 

The first annual Somerset Halloween Spooktacular was held on Oct. 29 with 1,000 students and parents attending the inside/outside event. In the backfield area, the elementary school kids took pictures in the Charlie Brown–themed Great Pumpkin Patch, rode ponies, and interacted with goats, chickens, pigs, and ducks in the petting zoo. The kids also sauntered through the trick-or-treat and games area with themed tents.

Inside the school, middle-schoolers (and any brave elementary kids) had a chance to experience an elaborate and scary Haunted School with nine rooms where giant spiders had taken over school administration; there was graveyard recess and skeleton detention, a spooky FSA testing area, a cafeteria of disgusting treats, the Teacher’s Lounge Asylum, a mad scientist STEM lab, the Drama Academy’s Killer Klowns production, and the SPA locker room with a crazed coach. Scary stuff!

Coming up on Dec. 14, the SPA Winter Caravan is going to expand for year two by adding live performances of SPA kids throughout the caravan. The theme will be “Lights, Camera, Snow … It’s Time for the Show!” The VIPP plans on creating a show with the kids, not just for the kids.

 

Heron Heights Elementary

Lauren Generoso, PTO President 

With the giving season upon us, many people are looking to give back to their local community. Our PTO is teaming up with each class at Heron Heights Elementary to sponsor holiday gifts for every child and their home at SOS Children’s Villages Florida in Coconut Creek.

SOS Children’s Villages Florida opened in 1993 to care for abused children or those suffering from forms of neglect in South Florida. SOS is home to up to 72 foster children from birth to age 18. At SOS, special emphasis is placed on keeping biological siblings together to lessen their trauma while separated from their families.

We are very excited to help spread some cheer as the holidays come near!  #hhecares

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Look to November for fishing mutton snapper

After a cold front sweeps across South Florida in November, Capt. Abie Raymond knows that it’s time to fish for mutton snapper.

Now is when the tasty snappers gather on reefs in shallow water to take advantage of the reduced water clarity caused by the wind and waves. The limited visibility allows the sharp-eyed muttons to aggressively feed on ballyhoo, a baitfish that is plentiful this time of year.

“When you get a northwest wind, a little cold-front wind, and you get that north swell that creeps down and splits the gap between the coast of Florida and the Bahamas and agitates the bottom, all the way into the first reef especially, you’ll get this milky water in there,” Raymond says. “It’s just sediment in the water, and it makes the ballyhoo so much easier for the muttons to catch. Once that water gets dirty, they can ambush them way easier.

“You can catch muttons decent on the clear days, but when you’re sitting in a boat that’s anchored, it’s so much better when the water’s a little bit dirtier.”

The first step in catching mutton snapper for Raymond, whose Go Hard Fishing (gohardfishing.com and @abie_raymond) runs out of Bill Bird Marina in Miami Beach, is to catch ballyhoo. As he drives his 28-foot C-Hawk center console south from Haulover Inlet to Key Biscayne, he looks for the baitfish jumping out of the water.

When he spots “showering” ballyhoo, he anchors near a patch reef in 20 feet or ties up to a mooring ball on a reef and puts a block of frozen menhaden chum in a fine-mesh chum bag. That way he doesn’t “over-feed” the ballyhoo.

His preferred way to catch ballyhoo is with an 8-pound Shakespeare Ugly Stik rod with a 2500 Penn Spinfisher reel. To the end of the 8-pound monofilament line, he ties a tiny No. 20 gold hook baited with an even tinier piece of frozen shrimp, then he floats it back to the baitfish, which pick the offering off the surface. He uses a de-hooker to drop the ballyhoo into the livewell without touching the baitfish.

With plenty of bait, Raymond anchors near patch reefs in 10 to 30 feet of water from Cape Florida in Key Biscayne to North Key Largo. Then he puts the same ground menhaden he used for the ballyhoo in a chum bag with larger mesh and puts out two ballyhoo, one on each side of the boat.

The baits are hooked on ½- or ¾-ounce jigs. Raymond prefers Hookup Lures jigs — chartreuse is his favorite color, but pink and white also are effective — and says Troll Rite jigs work well. He breaks off the ballyhoo’s bill with an upward snap and runs the jig hook through both of the bait’s lips and through the front of its skull to keep the hook in place.

The ballyhoo are fished on 7-foot, 20-pound Ugly Stik rods with 7500 Penn Spinfisher reels spooled with 20-pound monofilament line and four-foot, 30-pound fluorocarbon leaders. (The dirty water and light mono allow Raymond to use shorter leaders compared with anglers who use 30-foot leaders for wary muttons.) He ties a four-wrap spider hitch in the main line and attaches that to the leader with an eight-wrap no-name or Yucatan knot. He attaches the jigs with an improved clinch knot.

Unless he has patient anglers, Raymond leaves the mutton outfits in the rod-holders.

“The reason I have them sit in the rod-holder is because they need to be real still,” he explains. “Customers have a tendency to want to wind and wind and wind. The rod-holder doesn’t have that tendency.”

Patience also is essential for letting the chum attract the snapper, as long as there is some current. As Raymond notes, “The longer you can sit on one of those patch reefs and wait to get a quality fish or two, the better. If you can allocate about two hours at one patch reef and let that chum really get established and let those fish really settle in and come running from all the other patch reefs, a lot of times you’ll do better. If you don’t have current, you give it half an hour, 40 minutes and you move on to the next one.”

While waiting for the muttons to show up, Raymond has his anglers fish some lighter spinning rods with strips of ballyhoo and drift the baits back in the chum slick for yellowtail snappers. Or he’ll have his anglers fish fresh dead shrimp on the bottom to catch porgies, hogfish, groupers, and yellowtails.

As good as the fishing can be this time of year, Raymond typically has the patch reefs to himself because so few anglers realize that mutton snapper can be caught in such shallow water.

“Most people just run right past that stuff,” says Raymond of when schools of ballyhoo jump out of the water as they’re being chased by the snapper, along with hungry sailfish and dolphin. “It’s usually happening in 20 to 60 feet of water and most people think that’s probably bonitos in there, that’s probably mackerel in there. Not this time of year. Most of the big muttons I caught last year were in less than 70 feet of water.”

So instead of going deep for mutton snappers, follow Raymond’s game plan and you’ll come home with enough fish for several delicious dinners.

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Different isn’t a disability – Helping young adults on the spectrum live authentic, independent lives

“We’re people who have goals and feelings and dreams. We can do anything.”—Haley Moss, neurodiversity expert

She was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old, and doctors told Haley Moss’s parents they would be lucky if she were to be able to hold a minimum-wage job or obtain her driver’s license. Not one to accept any limitations placed on her by others, she not only defied but obliterated those expectations.

At 27 years old, Moss has already reached a number of milestones that many people would be grateful to accomplish in a single lifetime. She graduated from the University of Miami School of Law and passed the Florida bar, becoming the first openly autistic attorney in Florida. A published author, Moss has written four books, her latest debuting this month. She’s also an advocate, public speaker, artist, adjunct professor, and leader on disability inclusion, autism, and neurodiversity in the workplace. Her op-eds have been published by NBC News, Fast Company, Insider, Teen Vogue, and The Washington Post.

Oh, and she did also manage to get her driver’s license.

Living on her own, Moss is busy loving life her way. And with her latest book, “The Young Autistic Adult’s Independence Handbook,” she is determined to empower others on the neurodiversity spectrum to do the same — to live fulfilling, independent lives their way.

“I really wanted to make the book as inclusive as possible, realizing that everyone on the spectrum is different,” explains Moss. “It’s not just autism. The neurodiversity spectrum includes people with learning disabilities, ADHD, mental health disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and even acquired differences like dementia, Alzheimer’s, or traumatic brain injuries.”

The inspiration for the book stemmed from the lack of available resources for young adults on the spectrum on transitioning to adulthood. “A lot of us are expected to be perpetual children, or we’re just expected to know how to be adults.”

Moss’s book provides advice and a framework for navigating situations many young adults struggle with that may present unique challenges for those on the spectrum — from relationships to maintaining a household, managing finances, and creating healthy habits.

The book is also a resource that can aid parents in preparing their children for adulthood. “There are all sorts of little things that you may not realize are stressful,” advises Moss, who uses grocery shopping as an example. “You’re not thinking maybe this is hard for them because there are so many options, or the lights are overwhelming, or it’s really crowded, or the carts are clattering. You’re not thinking like that because it’s not your experience. But it might be your child’s experience.”

Complete with advice from experts, personal experience, and practical ways to handle these challenges, the book emphasizes — as does Moss herself — the ability of people on the spectrum to make their own decisions and create their own lives.

“We might need more support in reaching those goals and dreams, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. We all want to be happy. We all want to feel fulfilled. We all want to feel loved. That goes for anybody.”

“The Young Autistic Adult’s Independence Handbook” releases on Nov. 18 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

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Stargazing in the November sky

This month, be sure to check out the bright and beautiful Pleiades Cluster, easily seen with the naked eye and gorgeous through binoculars or small scopes. For newbies to stargazing, try to find the “W” of Cassiopeia or the Great Square of Pegasus — two very easily recognizable “asterisms” in the fall sky. Jupiter and Saturn will still be visible in the evening sky as well. It’s also a great time to view the Andromeda Galaxy through a telescope, which will be highly placed in the evening sky and is the closest large galaxy to our own Milky Way.

Here are some more highlights:

  • 4 — New Moon. This will be the best time of the month to look for Deep Sky Objects.
  • 4/5 — Taurid Meteor Shower. A minor shower, but it coincides with the New Moon, so it might be worth a look, especially late.
  • 5 — Uranus at Opposition. In most backyard telescopes, this distant planet will appear as just a tiny blue dot, but this is the closest approach it will have to Earth this year.
  • 17 — Leonid Meteor Shower. A bright, waxing Gibbous Moon will spoil this popular meteor shower through most of the night, except for a short time in the early morning hours before dawn.
  • 19 — Full Moon. This month’s Full Moon is nicknamed the “Beaver Moon.”
  • 19 — Partial Lunar Eclipse. The Moon will pass into the Earth’s shadow in the early hours of the morning, reaching maximum coverage around 4 a.m.

Possible rocket launches for the month include the launch of the Boeing Starliner capsule on an Atlas V rocket and NASA’s Space Launch System for Artemis I, but no firm dates have been set.

Enjoy your autumn stargazing, friends!

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