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SCHOOL NEWS
Drucker To Retire After 30 Years At CMS After more than 30 years teaching at Crestwood Middle School, math teacher Havela Drucker will retire this year. The Crestwood community invites former students, friends and colleagues to join them on Friday, May 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Crestwood media center as they
bid Drucker a fond farewell. Drucker, known affectionately as “Mother D” to students, has been a pillar of the Crestwood and Royal Palm Beach communities since she and her family arrived in 1979. Drucker began teaching in 1983 and has touched the lives of
Crestwood Middle School math teacher Havela Drucker, shown here with students, will retire af ter this school year.
countless students, teaching them math and important life lessons. She has even taught the children of her former students. In 1989, Drucker was awarded the William T. Dwyer Award for teaching excellence. After graduating from the University of Buffalo in 1968 with a degree in “pure math,” and no real intention to teach, Drucker thought she might become an actuary or join the Peace Corps. She soon discovered two life-altering themes: accounting bored her, and the love of her life, husband Joel Drucker, wanted to marry her. They married, and in 1969 moved to Connecticut, where Drucker went into the Teacher Corps making $50 a week, with the promise of a master’s degree in urban education. In 1970, she earned her master’s and was teaching children with “domestic issues.” Drucker was known for her dedication to students, taking under her wing teens who no one else wanted. They were the soul of her
life. To this day, she maintains a strong bond to Donna, one such student. In 1979, after the birth of their children, the Drucker family came to Florida in hopes of finding suitable education for their son, Matthew, who is disabled. Their daughter, Mierka, grew up in the Palm Beach County School System and is now an English teacher at Seminole Ridge High School. Drucker lives and teaches by several important principles. The first is to love what you do. This makes going to work easy, even when it isn’t. She shares her love of this job with her students. Crestwood is truly her home away from home. Second, she employs the wisdom of her grandmother who told her to “make the worst kid in the class your monitor and everyone else will fall in line.” For more information about the May 24 gathering, call (561) 7535000.
Sem Ridge Hawk Battalion Honors Cadets The Seminole Ridge High School Hawk Battalion celebrated the promotion of several of its cadets Tuesday, April 16 in the school auditorium. To be promoted, the cadets had to sit before a promotion board for an interview. The board then decided to promote them to a higher rank for the coming school year. The promotions are as follows: John Christian, colonel; Jamie Marchand, lieutenant colonel and battalion commander; Timothy Ruback, lieutenant colonel; Desiree Galavan and Christopher Mitton, major; Charlie Green, captain and executive officer; and David Evans, sergeant major and command position. Leadership staff are as follows: Jose Ruiz, second lieutenant; Michael Garrity, second lieutenant; Brogan Zelinka, captain; Cody Papula, sergeant first class; Heather Riley, captain; Elania Reyes, sergeant first class; Brooke Gaster, second lieutenant; and Devon Breen, second lieutenant. Team Commanders are as follows: • Color Guard — Morgan Wilson, second lieutenant; • Drill Team — Hunter Grabbe, captain; • Marksman Team — James Aspenwall, master sergeant;
• Raider Team — Andrew Harre, first lieutenant. JROTC Military Ball — The fourth annual SRHS Army JROTC Military Ball for the Hawk Battalion was held Saturday, April 20 at the Binks Forest Golf Club. More than 150 cadets and guests, and hundreds of years of military tradition, gathered in one room. The ball, a celebration for all JROTC members of the accomplishments done throughout the year, is the big event to close out the school year. The theme of this year’s ball was “The Founding of Our Great Nation,” with 13 tables to represent the 13 American colonies. Cadets and their dates took their seats as the honor guard, dressed as Revolutionary War soldiers posted the colors. The saber guard formed an archway for the seniors, who walked through it to receive a certificate from program instructor Lt. Colonel Hans Hunt. Next came the grog bowl ceremony. Many years of tradition have gone into the grog bowl — mostly alcoholic traditions. But, because the cadets are minors, they improvised, filling the punch bowl with liquids ranging from jalapeño juice to vinegar, stirred with Hunt’s riot baton for the battalion’s seniors to drink.
Each item put into the bowl has some type of symbolism to the members present — it can represent the hardships they went through or a special experience they had while serving. Cadets proposed toasts, and some — with teary eyes and shaky voices — offered one to America’s fallen comrades throughout all conflicts. After dinner, guest speaker David Mitchell shared his extensive knowledge of the Revolution-
ary War, followed by Brigadier General (Ret.) Alban Irzyk, who shared his experiences from a halfcentury of military balls. The final event of the night saw the dance floor erupt with cadets having a great time. Many rated this ball their most successful so far. “It was a great experience, to learn more about JROTC and to see how they’re honored,” guest Cara Engh said.
Hawk Battalion — Shown here, cadets are promoted during a ceremony held Tuesday, April 16.
May 3 - May 9, 2013 Page 15
NEW HORIZONS HONORS STUDENT CITIZENSHIP
During guidance lessons, New Horizons Elementary School students focused on how they show “citizenship” by working together to make their community a better place to live. Several fifth-grade students were honored in an assembly for showing citizenship. The student honorees included: Andrea Cano, Alexis Margiotta, Isaac Girgis, Giana Cherico, Desirae Hernandez, Karalissa Ramsey, Jenna Ratledge, Juan Rodos, Jesse Blecher and Caitlin Ocasio. Shown here are fifth-grade “Character Counts” recipients, family members, Mayor Bob Margolis and his wife Linda, Debbie Evans, and Guidance Counselor Lynne Bray.
BEREAN HOSTS NINTH ANNUAL ‘FLOETRY NIGHT’
Students, parents and faculty gathered together at Berean Christian School on Thursday, March 28 for the ninth annual Floetry Night. Included in the performances are original poems, songs, dance and studentcreated video productions. Original artwork by the art students was also on display for all to enjoy. Under the leadership of Adrianna Paneque, English teacher at BCS, this year’s theme was “Floetry in the Park.” For more information about this event or any other program at Berean Christian School, visit www.bcsbulldogs.org. (Above) Student participants gather on stage. (Right) Table settings.