AWARDS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, RECOGNITIONS |
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| May 2008 | The Wellington High School Band’s Majorette Squad, coached by Adrienne Brady, had a busy but successful spring competition season that ended in two state championships and qualifying for two national tournaments. The team won state championships in seven out of eight categories, and have now qualified for the USTA National Competition to be held in Daytona Beach July 17, 2008. |
| May 2008 |  H.
L. Johnson 5th Graders Learn Civics Lesson From Mr. Dan Galo, Assistant
State Attorney - Mr. Dan Galo, Assistant State Attorney recently
visited H. L. Johnson Elementary School to talk to 5th grade students
about how the legal system works and other topics related to the branches
of government and the legal process. His example of leadership and integrity
has earned him great respect among teachers and students. Through discussion
groups he leads students to analyze situations that can help them understand
on the importance of making good choices as citizens in order to improve
the community. Students also conducted a mock trial in the case of the
stolen "Sponge Bob" backpack. |
| May 2008 | Film and graphic art students from the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts won top honors at the recent Palm Beach International Film Festival Student Showcase. Dreyfoos students honored at the awards ceremony at Palm Beach Community College’s Watson B. Duncan Theatre included: Nicole Groton, who won first place in the High School Feature Shorts and Documentaries category for her film, The Chosen One; Joseph Gerbino and Alison Schwartz, who won first place in the Film Festival Poster Design Contest for the second year in a row; Houston Jones, Joseph Gerbino, Joseph Poach, Daniel Satinoff and Errol Sabinano, who won the Audience Choice Award for their film, Satori; and Grant Yansura, who won first place in the Viral Video Award competition sponsored by the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Two Dreyfoos seniors, Emily Dyess and Daniel Satinoff, were each winners of the $5,000 Burt Reynolds Scholarships. |
| April 2008 | H. L. Johnson 2008 Elementary Science and Math Fair Winners
Students from H.L. Johnson K-5 grades received awards and honorable mentions
for participating in the annual Science and Math Fair held on April 21
through the 24 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. The awarded students
are: Science division- First Place Mohammed Saleh 2nd grade Gabby Foursa Kindergarten Mathematics - First Place Second Place Harrison Dean 1st grade Savannah Marino 3rd grade Madeline Gaugler 2nd grade Third Place Jakob Billane 1st grade Honorable Mentioned Andrew Gonzalez 3rd grade Reilly Dean 3rd grade Christopher Rice 3rd grade Dominique Tyson 4th grade |
| 4/21/08 |
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| April 2008 | The Boca Raton High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) Unit had an undefeated dual meet season and took 1st Place in Florida. The battalion also competed at Nationals and finished 1st in the Academic Team competition, 1st in the running relays and placed 2nd overall beating out 650 programs from across the country. |
| April 2008 | Karen Clawson, a teacher at Wellington High School, is the Florida winner of the 2007-2008 Florida Siemens Award for Advanced Placement (AP). Teachers with a minimum of five years of teaching experience in math, science or technology AP courses are selected for their exemplary teaching and enthusiastic dedication to students and the AP program. The Siemens Foundation honors winning high school math and science teachers with a $1,000 award. |
| April 2008 | Boca Raton High School junior Karolina Bazua, won the 3-point state basketball championship for 6A schools. Karolina also took on the 3-point champions for divisions 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, and 5A and was triumphant, being labeled the “3-Point Queen of Florida” at the state basketball championships in Lakeland. |
| April 2008 | Seminole Ridge High School senior Julie Bollinger was the statewide winner of The Director's Chair, a contest that required students to write, shoot and edit a 30 second commercial for Ask A Librarian.org. Ask A Librarian is a website that allows Floridians to chat live with a librarian for immediate homework and research help. A TV production student, Julie is also her school’s Pathfinder nominee in Communications. |
| April 2008 | Boca Raton High School won the 6A Florida Swimming championship. In 2005, Boca Raton High’s girls swim team finished second in Florida, two points out of first place. In 2006, the team finished second again, this time by just one point. In 2007, Coach Eric Hill and the team finished 47 points ahead of all others in Florida, becoming the first team from Palm Beach County to win a state swimming title in 20 years. |
| April 2008 |  Michael
Horgan of William T. Dwyer Community High School is the Palm Beach County
Teacher of the Year. Mr. Horgan, a biology and marine science
teacher, has taught in Florida for 21 years and has been at Dwyer for
the last 5 years. He’s National Board Certified in Science Education
and mentors beginning teachers. In 1997, the Westinghouse Talent Search
discovered Mr. Horgan and honored him as their Outstanding Motivator.
He became the Dade County Science Teacher of the Year in 2001, followed
by the Radio Shack 2002 National Science Teacher of the Year, and in 2007,
he was honored as the Palm Beach County Science Teacher of the Year. As
our nominee to the Florida Department of Education Macy’s Teacher
of the Year event, Mr. Horgan will participate in the Department of Education
Roundtable and State Awards Ceremony this summer. |
| April 2008 | Marcus DiLallo, a Wellington High School senior, was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Adidas High School Scholar All-America Soccer Team. The only high school soccer player in Florida to be named to the team, Marcus is third in his graduating class and a National Merit Scholar Finalists. |
| April 2008 | Outstanding School District business partners are recognized as state winners. The Florida Commissioner of Education, Eric J. Smith, honored three Palm Beach County organizations at the annual Commissioner's Business Recognition Awards dinner held in Jacksonville, Florida. The Anne & Sam Klein Jewish Coalition for Literacy, The City of Delray Beach and Palm Healthcare Foundation were recognized for partnering with our schools and teachers to ensure the highest levels of academic excellence for our students. The Commissioner's Business Recognition Awards are sponsored by the Florida Education Foundation and are administered by the Florida Department of Education to encourage and promote successful partnerships and induce others to engage in similar alliances for the benefit of Florida's students. |
| April 2008 | David Dickerson, a teacher at U. B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School of the Arts has been given the Excellence in Education Award by Governor Charlie Crist. The Governor honored three outstanding African-American educators from across the state with the inaugural Excellence in Education Award for their contributions to education in Florida. |
| April 2008 | Ashley Brasovan, a junior at Wellington High School has been named the Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and character, distinguishes Ashley as the nation’s best high school girls cross country runner. |
| April 2008 | Wellington High School won the 6A State Soccer Championship. Wellington High School won their first state girls soccer championship with a 2-1 win over Oviedo High School. The team had a season record of 24 wins, 3 losses and one tie. The Wellington Wolverines are coached by Michael Kozlowski. |
| April 2008 | Ten seniors have been named candidates in the 2008 Presidential
Scholars Program. These students were selected on the basis
of superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities,
strong character and involvement in community and school activities: |
| April 2008 | Dr. Janice Cover, Assistant Superintendent of Quality Assurance, has been recognized by Success South Florida magazine, as one of the 25 Most Influential and Prominent Black Women of 2007. Success magazine wrote, "These outstanding individuals are recognized not only for their professional excellence but also for their commitment to their community." Dr. Cover began her teaching career in her native island of Jamaica. She is also an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University as well as President and Founder of the Caribbean Educators' Association. The Association awards scholarships to high school seniors. |
| April 2008 | Bak Middle School of the Arts and U.B. Kinsey/PalmView Elementary School of the Arts received the Arts Achieve! award from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education. The schools were two of just eleven schools in the state to receive this honor at the alliance summit. |
| April 2008 | Janell Leatherman, a school counselor from Emerald Cove Elementary School, is one of the top ten school counselors in the U.S. The award, presented by the American School Counselor Association honors the “best of the best” school counselors nationwide. At Freedom Shores Elementary in 2006, Ms. Leathermann was named Florida Elementary School Counselor of the Year. She is a National Board Certified School counselor and serves as the President of the Palm Beach Counseling Association. |
| March 2008 |
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| March 2008 |  Melissa
Posner, a fifth grader at Panther Run Elementary School, recently won
first place honors in the “Reach for the Stars” 2008 Commemorative
Art Contest. The contest was sponsored by the Young Friends of
the Kravis Center and Melissa’s artwork was chosen from the hundreds
of county submissions. Melissa is pictured with her work which depicts
two stars ballroom dancing in front of three judges and an enthusiastic
audience similar to the television show “Dancing with the Stars”. |
| March 2008 | Palm Beach Central High School Students are awarded at the “Youth
Poetry Competition” of the Florida State Poets Associations, Inc.
Schools throughout Florida participated in the annual competition of which
21 poems were selected to receive place awards.
The awarded students were: (Student Name, Poem,
Grade, Place, Teacher) |
| 2/2/08 |  Students
at the Young Ringers Festival - Handbell student ensembles from
Crestwood, Palm Springs, Polo Park and Wellington Landings middle schools
participated on Saturday, February 2nd in the Young Ringers Festival.
The ensembles formed of Sixty-five ringers honed their ringing skills
with music such as "Rock Around the Clock" and "Spanish
Dance while working under the direction of Michele Sharik, a guest clinician
from California. The Young Ringers Festival is the kick-off event for
this group as they prepare their repertoire for the Spotlight on Young
Musicians performance on May 1st at the Kravis Center. |
| Feb. 2008 |  Acreage
Pines Community Elementary School recently held its annual Science
Fair, which was a tremendous success. Congratulations to all
the first and second place winners whose projects will be going to the
PB County Science Fair in April. From Left to Right
(Front Row): Kelsie Heckman, Jack McDonald, Justina Garland, Tyler Morgan,
Amanda Wyman, William Ruback, Justo Alvarez, Chad Bonincontri, Andy Batres,
Zachary Viola and Corey Munoz; (Second Row): Mr. James Campbell, Principal;
Not Pictured: Michael Beardslee. |
| Jan. 2008 | Shelby Mann-State Science Teacher of the Year Shelby Mann, a teacher at Lake Worth Middle School has been named 2007 Middle School Science Teacher of the Year by the Florida Association of Science Teachers (FAST). Ms. Mann has taught science for 29 years, with 21 of those being at Lake Worth Middle School. A 7th and 8th grade science teacher with a Masters in Science Education, she has been presenting science workshops at the Florida State Science Teachers conferences and the National Association for Science Teachers conventions for the last 12 years. |
| Jan. 2008 | EPA Indoor Air Quality Award The School District of Palm Beach County has been honored with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Model of Sustained Excellence Award for its exemplary efforts to improve indoor air quality for students, teachers, and staff. The Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Model of Sustained Excellence Award recognizes U.S. school districts that show ongoing exceptional commitment and achievement in maintaining healthy educational facilities while institutionalizing comprehensive practices for Indoor Air Quality management. The School District of PB County previously received the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Excellence Award in 2003. |
| Jan. 2008 | National Board Certified Teachers The School Distinct of Palm Beach County has 72 teachers who achieved National Board Certification this year. The School District has a total of 569 National Board Certified Teachers. Florida ranks first in the nation in the number of new National Board Certified Teachers with 1,675 teachers. Nearly 8,500 teachers across the country achieved National Board Certification in 2007. The state’s top five school districts in terms of the cumulative total of National Board Certified Teachers are: Broward County (1,283), Miami-Dade County (1,134), Hillsborough County (637), Orange County (620) and Palm Beach County (569). The 2007 National Board Certified Teachers are: Tiffany Acquaviva, Lynette Amador, Catherine Angione, Liza Asch, Marcia Bedasse, Elizabeth Burger, Heather Burritt, Kristin Butterworth, William Castillo, Leasa Codner, Margaret Cohen, Jill Cole, Pamela Combs, Merri Day, Pamela Dehays-Malone, Rachel Demonaco, Adrienne Dowling, Jeffrey Fessler, Janice Funicelli, Lauren Gardner, Lisa Gilbert, Rebecca Hays, William Heckman, Jamey Hill, Diane Jasinski, Debra Jiran, Patricia Klammer, Deborah Knowles, James Krumenacker, Anne Lajoie, Carly Littles Correna Littles, Ernesto Lontoc, Nieves Lopez, Lisa Lorenz, Catherine Martinez, Suzanne Mawhinney, Katherine Mckee, Deborah Miller, Genay Mitchell, Michele Monahan, Rachel Morris, Donna Murphy, Valerie Newcomer, Anthonette Pena, Elizabeth Phillips, Karen Pierce, Jennifer Popp, Nathalie Powell, Jamie Quevedo, Marguerite Reid, Kerry Rennie, Melissa Rifkin, Adrienne Romberger, Debbie Rosser, Stephanie Russo, Randi Sanders, Ann Seban, John Slattery, Trisha Stenhouse, Stephen Stoieff, Rochelle Swartz, Elizabeth Thomas, Loretta Topsey, Daleen Torres, Michelle Toth, David Traill, Heather Trapani, Vanessa Vatier, Connie Weese, Debra Wilhelm and Jo Ziegenfuss. |
| Jan. 2008 | West Boca Raton Culinary Academy Wins National Award West Boca Raton High School received "The National Standards of Practice Career Academy of Distinction Award" at the National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC) Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The Culinary Academy at West Boca Raton High School offers students an opportunity to train in all areas of food preparation and service. This program gives the students an opportunity to work in actual food service situations. West Boca Raton High School has a state of the art kitchen and facility, an award winning culinary team and the support of the Community Academy Advisory Board (CAAB). The curriculum is designed so that at the end of four years in the academy, students will have a base knowledge of culinary arts and food service management. Students can be certified by national organizations such as The National Restaurant Association, with a "Pro Start" certificate, ServSafe certified, membership in the American Culinary Federation and the National Technical Honor Society. |
| Jan. 2008 | Bak & U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Receive Arts Awards Bak Middle School of the Arts and U.B. Kinsey/PalmView Elementary School of the Arts received the Arts Achieve! award from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education. The schools were two of just eleven schools in the state to receive the honor. Arts Achieve! is an extensive awards program to recognize exemplary school-based programs of arts education and to honor Floridians who have made outstanding contributions to improve and enhance arts education. |
| Jan. 2008 | Dr. Janice Cover Success Magazine Honoree Dr. Janice Cover has been recognized by Success South Florida magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential and Prominent Black Women of 2007. Dr. Cover is Assistant Superintendent of Quality Assurance. In recognizing this year's honorees Success magazine wrote, "These outstanding individuals are recognized not only for their professional excellence but also for their commitment to their community." Dr. Cover began her teaching career in her native island of Jamaica. She is also an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University as well as President and Founder of the Caribbean Educators' Association. The Association awards scholarships to high school seniors. |
| Jan. 2008 | Janell Leatherman National Finalist School Counselor of the
Year Janell Leatherman, from Emerald Cove Middle School has been selected as one of the ten national finalists for the 2008 American School Counselor Association School Counselor of the Year. In 2006, as a guidance counselor at Freedom Shores Elementary, she was named Elementary School Counselor of the Year by the Florida School Counselor Association. Ms. Leatherman is a National Board Certified school counselor and served as the President of the Palm Beach Counseling Association. She joined the School District in 1993. |
| Jan. 2008 | Leading Light Award-Delray Beach |
| Jan. 2008 | Pahokee Middle/Senior High-Class 2B State Football Champions |
| 1/25/08 | Wellington High School student, Ashley Brasovan has been named the First-Ever Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year among 180,000 high school girls runners. The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Brasovan as the nation’s best high school girls cross country runner. |
| 12/10/07 |  Winter
Holiday Music Program “Reach For The Rainbow” - During
the week of December 10 to the 14, H. L. Johnson Elementary celebrated
and dedicated the Winter Holiday Music Program to students from the Exceptional
Education classes, kindergarten, first and second grades. Third grade
concert is scheduled for early January, 2008. With tunes from Autumn Leaves
and Whacky Gobblers, students performed before an attentive audience of
parents and grandparents celebrating Hannukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa.
The concerts were conducted by Frank Peynado, Music Director, and highlighted
the School district’s Music Education Curriculum which goal is to
integrate music theory with math, reading and history. For more information,
please contact Frank Pynado, at 561.795.4955. |
| 11/14/07 | Seminole Trails Elementary Students Surpassed Reading Challenge At the beginning of the school year, Ms. Judith Garrard and Mr. Robert Paschall, Principal and Assistant Principal at Seminole Trails Elementary School, challenged their Pre-K through 5th grade students to read 50,000 books. Students have not only met the goal but they surpassed it by more than 20,000 books. The final number will be celebrated at the assembly on Monday, November 19, 2007 with the visits of special guests Billy the Marlin from the Florida Marlins, Robby the Redbird from the Palm Beach Cardinals and other surprise guests who will be joining the celebration for a special book reading and some wonderful prizes for the top readers and classes. |
| 11/13/07 | H. L. Johnson Elementary Student Council Food For Families Drive H. L. Johnson Elementary School is once again reaching out to families in need by collecting food items for the Food for Families annual drive event. The drive began on October 25 and will end on November 16, 2007. The School’s Student Council under the direction of teachers, Liz Torres, Peggy Hether and Jennifer Davison are sponsoring the food collection that will be generously donated to local families in need. |
| 11/13/07 | Book It! Begins Third Year of Success at Seminole Ridge High “Good golly, we are a reading machine at Seminole Ridge!” exclaims media specialist Mrs. Carole Koester. Following the first quarter of the year, the reading ‘stats’ continue to be impressive, indicating that SRHS enjoys a culture of reading campuswide—a culture which translates into academic success. “Keep up the good work,” she continues. “We’re making a difference with our students!” |
| 11/13/07 | Seminole Ridge High School Teacher-First In the County Dennis Kavanaugh, a History and Reading teacher at Seminole Ridge High School is the first teacher in the county to offer students “The Civil War and Reconstruction” elective course. When noticing that the course was not being offered in Palm Beach County, Mr. Kavanaugh decided to seek support from Principal Lynne McGee and Sally Rozanski a district program planner to get the course approved. Although, the course is new this year Mr. Kavanaugh hopes to see it grow in the years to come. The course has an online component and covers topics in detail that cannot be covered in a survey course due to time constraints. “In a survey class you might brush over the gradual grind to end slavery and win the war. You might mention the Emancipation Proclamation. In our class we cover the slow death of slavery from the early Conscription Acts, to the D.C. Emancipation Act, and finally the Constitutional Amendments. We really see the connection between slavery and the war effort” said Kavanaugh |
| 11/9/07 | Seminole Ridge High School Girls’ B-ball Team Triumphs
Over Berean The Lady Hawks varsity basketball team played their first game Tuesday night in a pre-season tournament at Berean Christian. Berean had the height advantage but our team had more heart, defeating their opponents 63-53. The girls played a fantastic game—head coach Mr. Scott O'Hara did an amazing job calling plays, and every member of the team had an opportunity to contribute to the final score. |
| 2007 | $300,000 In Career Academy Grants Career Academy grants totaling $300,000 have been awarded to three area high schools. The SUCCEED Florida Career Paths Competitive Grant Awards will provide funding to offset start up costs for the implementation of three new Career Academies at Glades Central High School’s Academy of Health Sciences, Olympic Heights High School’s Academy of Culinary & Restaurant Management, and Forest Hill High School’s Academy of Information Technology. |
| 2007 | West Boca Raton Culinary Academy Wins National Award |
8/2/07 |
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| 2007 | Blue Ribbon Schools-Dreyfoos and Suncoast Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts and Suncoast High School have been named 2007 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools. The schools were two of only sixteen schools in the state of Florida to receive this distinguished award. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. |
| 2007 | Facilities Masters Award Maintenance & Plant Operations, working closely with the Environmental Control Office, earned national and international recognition by winning the Facilities Masters Award from the Association of School Board Officials International. This award recognizes school districts that implement best practices in facilities maintenance which contributes to student achievement. The winning application demonstrated the District has an outstanding facilities management program. |
| 2007 | Building Department-Accreditation The School District Building Department earned national accreditation by International Accreditation Service. It is the first building department to become accredited by the International Accreditation Service in the state of Florida and the first school district building department any where in the world to earn accreditation. This recognition by an international accreditation agency assures the public that our Building Department utilizes the highest professional and technical standards. |
| 2007 | Safe Schools' FACE IT Wins State Award FACE IT (Families Acting Collaboratively to Educate and Involve Teens) received a Substance Abuse Best Practices Award from the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association. "Best Practices" means those efforts that measurably improve service outcomes and the quality of life for Florida's residents who face the challenges that result from the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. FACE IT was named the Most Innovative Program in the state. |
| 2007 | School District Receives Prestigious Magnet Schools Grant The School District's Department of Choice Programs and School Choice was selected to receive federal funding under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). The MSAP is a competitive three year grant, and the first year of funding netted The School District of Palm Beach County $3,467,721. The schools funded under this grant are Plumosa Elementary School, Forest Park Elementary School, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary, Pahokee Elementary School and Conniston Middle School. |
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2008
William T. Dwyer Awards Recipients -
Wellington
HS Majorettes are National Champions - Ten members of the Wellington
High School Band’s Majorette Squad, under the direction of Coach
Adrienne Brady, have won the Drum Majorettes of America National Championship.