Around the District

Nine Broward High Schools Compete in State Math Competition
Nine Broward high schools math teams were among sixty-six from all over the state to travel to Orlando to take part in the state math competition held at the Florida Association of Mu Alpha Theta Convention. Along with numerous individual awards, Broward teams took 1st (Stoneman Douglas), 2nd (Taravella) and 3rd place (Cypress Bay) in the Calculus competition. Other team honors included: Overall Teams, 2nd Stoneman Douglas, 8th Cypress Bay, 9th Taravella; Alpha Teams (Precalculus), 3rd Stoneman Douglas, 10th Coral Springs; Theta teams (Algebra 2), 5th Stoneman Douglas; Relay Teams (Calculus, Precalculus, Algebra 2 & Geometry), 8th Taravella; and School wide Test, 4th Flanagan and 10th Stoneman Douglas.

Black Stallion Literacy Project

Fred Cox (left) and Matt Stermer introduce Duke the horse to Davie Elementary student Carol Patino.

Davie Elementary School first-grade students participated in "The Black Stallion Literacy Project," a program to inspire students to read, sponsored locally by the school's partner - the Davie-Cooper City Rotary Club - and the Arabian Knights dinner attraction in Orlando. As part of the project, two horses paid a visit the school. The students learned about horses and each had an opportunity to pet a horse. The Davie-Cooper City Rotary Club gave each child their own copy of the hardcover book Little Black, A Pony. After learning to read the book, the students traveled to the Bergeron Rodeo Arena to see a horse show and have a picnic lunch. One highlight of that field trip was having an opportunity to read their books to the horses. The students are proud of their literary accomplishment!

Teacher's Class Wins Jiminy Cricket's Environmentality Challenge - Again!

Jiminy Cricket surprises Jill Putney and her class.

For the second time in four years, Jill Putney's fifth-grade class at Tradewinds Elementary School has won Jiminy Cricket's Environmentality Challenge for its commitment to recycling. The class kicked off a school-wide recycling program and piloted an Adopt-a-Street program that other schools will implement by next year. They made the road outside their school cleaner and safer and saved 112,320 trees as well as 7,000 pounds of paper so far as a result of their recycling efforts. Jiminy Cricket himself from the Walt Disney World Resort made a surprise visit to the class to announce their winning effort. The class and their teacher were invited to be guests at a Disney resort and were then honored at a ceremony held at Animal Kingdom.

HRD, Physical Plant Operations Develop Staff Development Program
Human Resource Development is developing a quality staff development program for the 1,100+ employees of the Physical Plant Operations Division. A complete review of job descriptions was followed by the formation of focus groups to clarify daily duties and identify needed training. In-house trainers are addressing needs such as training in CPR and defensive driving. Future trainings will focus on customer service skills, frontline supervision and leadership and ongoing trades standards updates. Those training will stress the importance of creating the right physical environment - one that is safe and secure - in order to maximize student achievement.

Sunflowers and Veggies Abound in Driftwood Elementary's Garden

Students work among the sunflowers in Driftwood Elementary's garden.

For the past few years, Driftwood Elementary's Aftercare Program students have helped plant and maintain a garden. Charlotte Moon (the Aftercare Coordinator) and Cindy Griffin (a resource teacher for the Career, Technical Community Education Department of the Broward County Public Schools) have supervised the project in cooperation with the Broward County Farm Bureau. The students have enjoyed eating fried green tomatoes and trying radishes for the first time along with a few other vegetables they would never have dreamed of trying without having watched them grow. This year, they're eagerly awaiting the opportunity to pick their first crop of corn. Students, staff and parents have also enjoyed the sunflowers that seem to grow bigger every year.

BECON Distance-Learning Teacher Wins International Scholarship
Evelyn Nelson, a distance-learning teacher at BECON, recently received the Lois and Marguerite Morse Scholarship from the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, which promotes excellence in education and professional growth of women educators internationally. This scholarship is an international award presented to a teacher who impacts numerous elementary schools within a district. Ms. Nelson will use the $5,000 scholarship toward obtaining her doctorate degree at Nova Southeastern University. An educator for 30 years, Ms. Nelson has worked at BECON for the past five years where she teaches more than 1,500 students each week through videoconferencing.