The Town-Crier
www.gotowncrier.com
April 22 - April 28, 2016
Page 17
NEWS
OKEEHEELEE NATURE CENTER HONORS EARTH DAY WITH A DAY OF ACTIVITIES The Okeeheelee Nature Center held its annual Earth Day event Saturday, April 16 with face painting, craft projects, animal releases, animal shows, a trail with multiple stops, vendors and more. For more information about the Okeeheelee Nature Center, visit www. PHOTOS BY JULIE UNGER/TOWN-CRIER pbcparks.com/nature or call (561) 233-1400.
Shelby Proie of the South Florida Wildlife Center releases a white ibis.
Sarah Jerauld helps Emilie use binoculars to find the bird.
Volunteer Ashlee Quyle with Alex, a great horned owl.
Daanish and Umair Kazi plant beach sunflowers.
Jacen Sharkey enjoys a bird’s nest cupcake.
Ed and Nathaly Noon help Sophia and Brodie make bird houses.
Jason and Emily Teck introduce Talya to peacock feathers.
Jenny and Alexis Silveira meet the Muck Monster.
School Spanish Academies To Highlight Top Eaters To Compete For Sweet Corn Student Achievement At Symposium Championship At Fairgrounds April 24
Students will showcase their skills while sharing their stories and their successes with the International Spanish Academy (ISA) programs during the first International Spanish Academy Student Symposium, presented by the School District of Palm Beach County’s five ISA schools. The symposium, scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 at John I. Leonard High School, will feature students from each of the district’s five ISA schools: Berkshire Elementary School, Greenacres Elementary School, New Horizons Elementary School, Okeeheelee Middle School and John I. Leonard High School. The five ISA
schools offer two-way immersion in English and Spanish, with 50 percent of each day’s coursework taught in both languages. During the symposium, six students will give a three-minute presentation on their experiences as dual-language students. Three presentations will be in English, and three will be in Spanish. Before and after the presentations, there will be performances by musicians, dancers and singers from each of the schools. The ISA schools are members of a worldwide family of dual language immersion schools that are officially sanctioned by the Ministry of Education, Sports & Culture in Madrid, Spain, and go
through an intensive screening process before becoming an International Spanish Academy. Students in Palm Beach County’s five ISA programs begin the study of the Spanish language and cultures in kindergarten and continue through grade 12. Children are introduced to vocabulary and basic grammar to communicate about their school, home, clothes and food. Students must apply and be selected to attend an ISA school. To learn more about International Spanish Academies and how to apply for the 2017-18 school year, visit the Choice and Career Options page at www.palmbeachschools.org.
Top-ranked competitive eaters from around the nation will gather at the National Sweet Corn-Eating Championship on Sunday, April 24 at 3 P.M. at the South Florida Sweet Corn Fiesta in Yesteryear Village at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Reigning Sweet Corn-Eating Champion, Seattle’s Erik “The Red” Denmark, will return to defend his title in this year’s championship. His 2015 achievement marked the furthest any Major League Eating (MLE) competitor had traveled within the continental United States to secure victory. Crazy Legs Conti finished second, while then-rookie Gideon Oji gave a crushing performance for third.
MLE participants will vie for $6,100 in prize money and the title of Sweet Corn-Eating Champion. The Sweet Corn discipline is among the toughest on the competitive eating circuit. Success depends on the relentless and rigorous application of technique. “Sweet corn eating is extraordinarily demanding on the jaw muscles, and requires an eater with superior fitness to complete the 12-minute event,” MLE Chair George Shea said. “This is an endurance event.” The annual South Florida Sweet Corn Fiesta, presented by the Sunshine Sweet Corn Farmers of Florida, also includes a family
festival of children’s games and music, along with mouth-watering, locally grown sweet corn. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 11, and free to kids 5 years old and younger. A $5 unlimited rides wristband is available for kids. Major League Eating, governing body of all stomach-centric sports, conducts more than 80 events annually, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y. The competitive eating community, which numbers more than 8,000, travels the world in search of top titles. For more information, visit www.majorleagueeating.com.