Molino Park Third Grade Performs Christmas Musical
December 13, 2007
The third grade classes at Molino Park Elementary School presented “Around the World at Christmas Time” Thursday.
The students performed Christmas favorites from around the world, including “Para pedir posada” from Mexico, “Pat a Pan” from France, “Dormi, Dormi” from Italy and “Christmas is Coming” from Poland.
Marie Godwin’s class, Cindy Crowell’s class, Florence Cutler’s class, Karon Fletcher’s class and Pam Barnes’ class all participated in the program.
Parents Notified If Their Student Is Overweight
December 11, 2007
North Escambia area parents of first, third, sixth and ninth grade students received letters Monday notifying them if their student’s weight is under, at, or above the healthy range for their child’s age.
For the first time in four years, the overall number of overweight students decreased in Escambia County in all measured grades except third.
BMI is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight and is used to screen for ealth problems resulting from an unhealthy body weight. The BMI for 19 percent of Escambia County students came in as “overweight”, with another 16% “at risk for overweight”.
The total percentage of students in Escambia County whose BMI places them as at risk for becoming overweight or overweight are:
The total percentage of students for the 2006-2007 school year in each weight category
are:
To read the “at risk” and “overweight” letter received by parents Monday, click here.
A total of 11,981 students were measured this fall in Escambia. Data of students’ Body Mass Index is required by the State of Florida.
Northview Chiefs Pay Tribute To Veterans on Pearl Harbor Day
December 7, 2007
Northview High School paid tribute to area veterans with “Letters from Home”, a special service held Friday morning at the school.
The program featured dramatic reading and interpretation of actual letters written by real people during American wars, taken from Andrew Carroll’s book Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War. It also featured letters written by Northview students to our fighting men and women.
“Without the time you put in, we would not be able to enjoy our freedom,” NHS student Scott Herrington wrote to former soldiers.
“The many sacrifices you made and continue to make encourage those at home,” NHS student Andrea Byars said in her letter to current American soldiers.
A special tribute was also made to Retired Marine Corp Major James Ross, a Northview NJROTC instructor that was killed in an motorcycle accident in late August.
The Northview Chorus, Guitar Ensemble, Tribal Beat Band. theatre program and the school’s ROTC program all participated in the service. Students would read the letters while others acted out scenes from the letters from home.
The service was originally scheduled as a Veteran’s Day service on November 6, but it was postponed due to a lighting problem in the school’s theater. Instead, it was held Friday morning, which was Pearl Harbor Day.
For a complete photo gallery from the program click here.
Bratt First Graders Construct Gingerbread Houses
December 7, 2007
Sticky fingers were everywhere as first grade students at Bratt Elementary School got into the Christmas spirit Friday afternoon by building gingerbread houses with their parents and other relatives.
The smell of sugar and the sounds of Christmas carols filled the first grade area of the main hallway as moms and dads arrived at the classrooms of Mrs. Gilmore, Mrs. Rolin and Mrs. Trice.
Students used icing, more icing and a little more icing to attach graham crackers to milk cartons to begin their houses. Then some added a little more icing just to make sure the crackers did not fall off.
“How do I do this?” one mom asked.
“This should be easy,” one father said. “I work construction. This can’t be too hard to figure out.”
M&M candies, pretzels, candy canes, peppermints, gumdrops marshmallows, chocolate Kisses, Fruit Loop cereal, teddy bear cookies and candy sprinkles rounded out the decor in Mrs. Rolin’s room.
“This is really fun,” one mom said. “I’ve never, ever done this before in my life. This is really cool.”
Click any picture on this page to enlarge, or click here for a complete photo gallery from Mrs. Rolin’s class.
Molino Park Holds Grandparents Breakfast
November 30, 2007
The third graders at Molino Park Elementary School treated their grandparents to breakfast Friday morning at the school during the school’s Grandparent’s Breakfast.
The grandparents and students enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes, sausage and orange juice. The grandparents were also served coffee.
About 125 students and grandparents attended the event, which is sponsored by the Molino Park Elementary School PTA.
For a complete photo album from the event, click here.
Students Bring Home Progress Reports, Letter on Staph Infections
November 28, 2007
Escambia County public school students will brought home their second nine weeks Progress Reports on Wednesday.
By Thursday, students should have also brought home a letter from the Florida Department of Public Health titled “Preventing Staph Infections”. The school district used its Connect-ED phone notification system Tuesday night to alert parents to be on the lookout for the letter.
The letter highlights ways to avoid a staph infection, and stresses the importance of frequent handwashing.
To view the letter in pdf format, click here or on the picture of the letter.
The letter also addresses MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus), which is a type of staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics.
“The Florida Department of Public Health does not recommend closing schools for cleaning when children have skin infections caused by staph because it is not an effective means of protecting children,” the letter states.
No staph outbreak has been reported at any North Escambia school. Two cases of staph, one of which was reported to be MRSA, were acknowledged about a month ago at Bellview Middle School in Pensacola.
Molino Park Presents Play; Makes Donation to Manna
November 9, 2007
Molino Park Elementary School wrapped up its successful food drive for Manna Food Bank with the first grade classes presenting the play “Stone Soup” Thursday night.
The school collected 1,952 cans of food for the food bank, according to principal Alice Woodward. Jennifer Garrett’s fourth grade class collected the most cans and will receive a pizza and dessert party. Second place went to Elaine Barrow’s second grade class which will receive a popcorn party. Katherine Kimball’s second grade glass came in third and will receive a Tootsie Pop party.
Click here for a complete photo gallery from the Molino Park first grade play.
Local Veterans Honored At Ernest Ward Middle
November 8, 2007
Over 40 local veterans were honored Thursday morning at the eleventh annual Veterans Ceremony at Ernest Ward Middle School.
“The lesson of the day is that freedom is not free,” EWMS history teacher Janna Dickey told the students. She said the program was dedicated to five area servicemen that have lost their lives during the past five years in Iraq:
- Marine Corps Cpl. Jonathan Spears, 21, of Molino, died Oct. 23, 2005. He was a 2002 Tate High School graduate.
- Army Pfc. Kevin Ellenburg, 20, died Nov. 1, 2006. He was a 2004 Pace High School graduate.
- Army Spc. Joseph Landry III, 23, died Sept. 18, 2007. Landry was a 2002 Pine Forest High School graduate.
- Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Clay, 27, died Dec. 3, 2005. He was a 1996 graduate of Washington High School.
- Army Sgt. Daniel McCall, 24, died Oct. 30, 2007. He was a 2001 graduate of Pace High School.
Upon reading the list, Dickey paused after reading the name of Sgt. Daniel McCall. “His funeral is today,” she said.
“The price that is being paid by these young people is very painful,” she said. “Especially since they are from this community.”
The students gave the veterans a long standing ovation. Many of the veterans were noticeably moved by the standing ovation, some fighting back tears.
“It was very touching,” said Mike Hanks, Veterans Service Officer for Escambia County, Alabama. “I really appreciate the school and effort they put into the service.” Hanks served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
Click here for a photo gallery from the event.
Major James G. Ross, 51, was also honored at the service. He was killed in a motorcycle accident in late August in north Santa Rosa County. He was Northview’s Naval sciences and ROTC instructor at Northview since 2002. He was present at last year’s Ernest Ward Veterans Ceremony with the NHS Color Guard.
Northview Names Teacher of the Year
November 7, 2007
Mrs. Natalie Nelson-Nall has been named the Northview High School teacher of the year. She was selected by her peers, and will be recognized at the school’s annual banquet on February 28, 2008.
Nall is currently the Reading Coach for Northview. She attended the University of Central Florida where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education in 1992. She has been teaching for 14 years. She is also the head coach for the girls and the boys Cross Country teams.
Major Ross Memoral Fund Established at Northview High School
November 5, 2007
Retired Admiral Joan Engel presented checks totaling $725 Monday morning to Northview High School Principal Gayle Weaver to establish the Major Ross Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Major James G. Ross (pictured left), 51, was killed in a motorcycle accident in late August in north Santa Rosa County. He was Northview’s Naval sciences and ROTC instructor at Northview since 2002.
“When we heard of the tragic loss of Major Ross,” Engel said, “we knew we had to do something in his memory.”
“Those of us who knew Major Ross know he was a man of integrity, honor, love, commitment and man of God,” she said. “We knew what a tremendous loss this was to his cadets.”
“We will establish this scholarship fund in memory of Major Ross”, Weaver said. “Through this fund, the memory of Major Ross will live on.”
Picture below, front row left to right, are Senior Chief Lee Coleman, NHS Principal Gayle Weaver, Admiral Joan Engel and Captain Charlie Code as the checks are presented. Senior Chief Coleman and Captain Code are Naval Science instructors at Northview. Looking on are the cadets of Northview’s NJROTC. Click the photo to enlarge.
Click here for more photos from Monday’s presentation at Northview High School.
