Buzz
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CLASSACTS
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS AND DISTRICT NEWS THAT SHAPE MARION COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
BY KEVIN CHRISTIAN
”BANKING” ON A BRIGHT FUTURE
WINNING ARTISTS ON
FIRE
Hundreds of elementary art students submitted hand-created posters promoting fire safety to MARION COUNTY FIRE RESCUE, which handed out awards to first-place finishers in various age groups. Students received their honors from county commissioners and fire officials during a televised meeting several weeks ago. Congratulations to NICOLE TRUJILLO (Romeo Elementary), RISHIT SHAQUIB, ANGELINA KOVALCHUK and VIVEK SANDRAPATY (all Dr. NH Jones), ANGELA BISHOP (Reddick-Collier) and SARA PIERCE (McIntosh Area Charter School, not pictured) for their winning efforts.
Students at Osceola Middle School now have a bank on campus to learn financial literacy and the importance of saving. That’s because GATEWAY BANK set up a branch inside the school with students serving as tellers, greeters and managers of the entire operation. Once students reach $10 in their savings account, Gateway doubles it and opens up a real-life savings account at its main office. On opening day, some students even deposited $10, immediately asking for their return on investment!
DUKE ENERGIZES
MTI STUDENTS Computer programming, micro controllers, technology development—it’s all happening at MTI thanks in part to a $5,000 grant from DUKE ENERGY. With these dollars, students are now learning more about how power, circuit boards and hardware can be manipulated with computer code. Students Joey Mancil and Zackary Terrell created an automated hot chocolate stirrer and selfie photo device while Jamie Gribble used her knowledge to create a computerized Etch-a-Sketch.
TOP SCHOLAR IN MARION SARAH PERKINS, a junior at Belleview High School, is Marion
County’s Sunshine State Scholar for 2014-15. This 16 year old was chosen over all other juniors as the top math and science student in the district. She represents Marion County at a special Orlando event this month honoring top students from all over Florida. Sarah was selected based on her academic achievement, advanced coursework, community service, activities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and a written essay. Congratulations, Sarah!
A DOSE OF PREVENTION Students all over Marion County taught flu a lesson by receiving the Flu-Mist nasal spray, an alternative to needles and shots. Although this is the first year the school district and FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH in Marion County teamed up for the project, no doubt the efforts paid off with better
health and school attendance. The goal was to convince 5 percent of students to participate. When the program ended, 3,266 students took part, surpassing the original goal by 1,137 students. The nasal spray was offered to all without regard to income or insurance coverage.
GOING RED = GREEN
RED RIBBON WEEK may be over, but three schools are seeing green—as in dollars—thanks to their efforts. To inspire students and schools, the Marion County Children’s Alliance awarded $1,500 to three schools showing the highest amount of Red Ribbon spirit. Top-place finishers included Eighth Street Elementary, Dunnellon Middle and Marion Technical Institute. Each school received a $500 check and championship trophy, along with bragging rights.
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VANGUARD’S GIVING SPIRIT Vanguard High’s spirit is high—including its giving spirit from the PINK LADIES/T-BIRDS AND HONOR SOCIETY service clubs. The groups provided
over $1,500 in gifts to make the holidays a bit brighter for local foster kids. Members also stopped by the children’s department at a local hospital, the children’s emergency room and the spouse abuse center with the same giving spirit.