Student Spotlights – May 2024

C.A. Weis Elementary School Health Ambassador program allows 20 selected 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students a preview of the medical field. Our Weis Health Ambassadors come into the Community Health Northwest Florida Pediatric clinic weekly, during their special area time. The staff, doctors, PA’s and nurses teach the ambassadors medication safety, vision care, first aid kits, germ prevention, Athletic training, and CPR/First Aid. The 5thgrade ambassadors have the opportunity to become CPR certified. The Ambassadors are all able to completely triage patients, which includes taking blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and perform hearing, and vision screens. They also are able to use these skills when they are participating in school events like literacy night. At the literacy night the Health Ambassadors were able to provide free Height, weight, and Blood Pressure checks to their teachers, friends, family, and classmates. The health ambassadors also deliver the weekly Wednesday Health Announcement during the morning announcements, like “Say yes to sunscreen”. These health ambassadors are an amazing group of students. The program has helped the students start thinking about the future and what they want to be when they grow up. Some want to be doctors, including two who want to be ER doctors, one who wants to be a pediatrician, another an orthodontist, and yet another a high school nurse. Some ambassadors are thinking of other careers like the student who wants to be a teacher; she says it’s because she has the best teacher, so she wants to be just like her. And finally, one student wants nothing more than to be the BOSS! “These Health Ambassadors are simply amazing, and I am so honored to be a part of such an amazing program”, says Barbara Hayes who heads up the program at C.A. Weis Elementary.

Global Learning Academy was honored to have United States Navy Sailors on campus to train our 2024-25 flag detail. These sailors regularly do colors at NAS Pensacola, and we appreciate their service and dedication and giving their time to work with our students. The fourth-grade students who trained were chosen for their work ethic, responsibility, and dedication to our school.
Thank you:
SN Womack, Aubrey
ABH3 Hobbs, Andrew
OS2 Blades, Alexander
BM2 Beyner, Anjellica
These sailors regularly do colors at NAS Pensacola. We appreciate their service and dedication and giving their time to work with our students. Also, thank you to Ms. Sheater, GLA Remedial Science Teacher and Purple Star School Coordinator, for arranging this opportunity for our students.

Tate High School FFA, along with several other clubs and organizations, athletic teams and volunteers, worked to package 54,000 meals for the community through Meals of Hope. Volunteers included current students in Tate FFA, Tate Softball, Tate Baseball, Tate Student Council, Tate Yearbook, and Tate FFA Alumni.
“Food insecurity is real within Escambia County,” said Austin Courson, Agricultural Educator and FFA Advisor. “It’s important to FFA and other local organizations to partner together and help fight food insecurity for many within the Pensacola region. This gives our students hands-on experience while encouraging them to work together to meet the needs of our community.”
They exceeded their goal of feeding 50,000 with the Meals of Hope project by packaging these meals in under three hours. All of the packaged meals will be distributed to families in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Sponsors include the Florida Farm Bureau, Feeding the Gulf Coast, Big John’s Heating and Air, Step One Pensacola, Moore Mechanical Consulting, Richard and Marie Gibbs, Pensacola Energy, Marcus Pointe Baptist Church, Satterwhite Roofing, and Little Caesars of Cantonment.
“Thank you to our sponsors and student body for coming together to support our local community,” said Principal Laura Touchstone. “It’s gratifying to see our students giving back to the community that’s contributed to Tate High School throughout the years.”
Meals of Hope is a nonprofit organization that is committed to bringing people together to fight the hunger epidemic.
Photo provided by Tate High School Yearbook.

Congratulations to Pensacola Catholic High School Senior Mariana Contreras who has been named a National Merit Scholar for the 2023-2024 academic year! Mariana was notified in the Fall of 2023 that she was a Semifinalist and worked closely with the Catholic High Guidance Office to submit a detailed scholarship application which included information about her academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstration of leadership abilities, employment, and honors/awards received. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists is determined each year by the scores received by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the Fall of their Junior year, represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Each year only 7,250 students are designated a National Merit Scholar. Nathaniel Flores and Grant Robertson were named Commended Scholars, and Sophia Dosev, Rex Rogers, and Mariana Contreras also received National Hispanic Recognition. Congratulations, Crusaders!

Twenty ECPS Elementary Schools participated in the 2024 Annual Sunshine Math Competition on Saturday, April 13, 2024, co-sponsored by Escambia County Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Almost 400 third, fourth, and fifth-grade students competed in both individual and team round math competitions. The top ten individual scores for third, fourth, and fifth grade students were honored, as well as the top five teams for third, fourth, and fifth grades.
The top ten individual scores for third grade are 10th place: Max Stephani from Molino Park Elementary, 9th place: Geovanny Sanchez from Scenic Heights Elementary, 8th place: Bryson Windham from Beulah Elementary, 7th place: William Montgomery from Lipscomb Elementary, 6th place: Jace Johnson from Kingsfield Elementary, 5th place: Salvatore Garguilo from Blue Angels Elementary, 4th place: John O’Connor from AK Suter Elementary, 3rd place: Easton Bellinger from Kingsfield Elementary, 2nd place: Daniel Ryan from Pine Meadow Elementary and 1st place: Butler Dowling from Pine Meadow Elementary.
The top five team winners for third grade are 5th place: Kingsfield Team 2: Easton Bellinger, Ariel Calloway, Zac Gardner, Asher Winn 4th place: Jim Allen Team 2: Sophia Yang, Jace Bonner, Lyric McHenry, Lydia Cowart 3rd place: Pine Meadow Team 1: Dowling Butler, Jackson Rodriguez, Jonah Vann, Carolena Barragan 2nd place: Blue Angels Team 2: Salvatore Gargiulo, Griffin Solis, Aarya Patel, Jairus Buensuceso 1st place: Jim Allen Team 1: Thea Helms, Easton Cobb, Breanne Browning, Autumn Mack
The top ten individual scores for fourth grade are 10th place: Landyn Toop from Jim Allen Elementary, 9th place: Nathalia Ramos from A.K. Suter Elementary, 8th place: Skylar Dupree from Molino Park Elementary, 7th place: Micah Nester from McArthur Elementary, 6th place: Liam Mason from Pine Meadow Elementary, 5th place: Skylar Gibbons from Pine Meadow Elementary, 4th place: Grayson Pettit from Scenic Heights Elementary, 3rd place: Travis Eggleston from Pine Meadow Elementary, 2nd place: Reagan Hillis from McArthur Elementary and 1st place: Jaxon Abano from Pine Meadow Elementary.
The top five team winners for fourth grade are 5th place: McArthur Team 1: Ruby MacWhinnie, Reagan Hillis, Trent Fowler, Buddy Busbee 4th place: Pine Meadow Team 1: Skylar Gibbons, Liam Olson, Deleia Marshall, Alex Harr 3rd place: Ferry Pass Team 2: Isaiah Ray, Lochlan Orand, Loi Phung, Avery Andrews 2nd place: Jim Allen Team 1: Landon Toop, Drew Haney, Micahel Stafanko, Jansen Rocafort 1st place: Pine Meadow Team 2: Jaxon Albano, Pax Fisher, Connor Stewart, Travis Eggleston
The top ten individual scores for fifth grade are 10th place: Carter Jarman from Pine Meadow Elementary, 9th place: Luke Wiggins from Beulah Elementary, 8th place: Malcolm Thorson from Hellen Caro Elementary, 7th place: William Doyle III from Molino Park Elementary, 6th place: Aaliyah Keeney from AK Suter Elementary, 5th place: Sawyer Jernigan from Scenic Heights Elementary, 4th place: Derek Zheng from Pine Meadow Elementary, 3rd place: Leonardo Barbosa from Blue Angels Elementary, 2nd place: Quinn Taylor from Pine Meadow Elementary and 1st place: Cutter Rhodes from AK Suter Elementary.
The top five team winners for fifth grade are 5th place: Beulah Team 2: Duncan Woelke, Olivia Nunn, London Farrier, Emma Nguyen 4th place: Blue Angels Team 1: Leo Barbosa, Ki’Mya Jordan, Olivia Flynn, Ivan Swarek 3rd place: Pine Meadow Team 1: Derek Zheng, Quinn Taylor, Patrick Givens, Mabel Kauzlarich 2nd place: AK Suter Team 1: Cutter Rhodes, Emma Mosbat, Khali Liddell, Aaliyah Keeney 1st place: Scenic Heights Team 1: Eli Dalbom, Adam El Shaltony, Sawyer Jernigan, Dan Pham

Congratulations, Reinhardt Holm Elementary School. Burlington Stores, a national major off-price discount retailer with everyday low prices on brand name merchandise, and AdoptAClassroom.org, a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting teachers and their students, recently adopted Holm’s classrooms.
To celebrate Burlington’s new store opening in our community, they are providing a $5,000 AdoptAClassroom.org donation to Holm School, which will be divided among the school’s classroom teachers so that they can order the classroom supplies and resources they need for their students through AdoptAClassroom.org’s online marketplace.
Since Burlington began partnering with AdoptAClassroom.org in 2017, they have provided more than one million students with the tools and supplies they need to succeed now and in the future.
AdoptAClassroom.org provides educators with an online marketplace of more than 20 school and office supply vendors where they can purchase the materials and tools they need to better engage with their students.
To celebrate this donation to Holm’s classroom teachers, the local Burlington store leadership team welcomed representatives from your school, district, and school community to be our guests at the store’s Grand Opening Ribbon-Cutting Event, where they presented the school with an oversized check for $5000!

Florida State Chancellor of Education Paul Burns announced 783 Florida schools have achieved the designation of Schools of Excellence for the 2022-2023 school year. Seven Escambia County schools were awarded this prestigious designation:
N.B. Cook Elementary School
Cordova Park Elementary School
A.K. Suter Elementary School
Molino Park Elementary School
Pensacola Beach Elementary School
Brown Barge Middle School
West Florida High School of Advanced Technology
“We are excited to celebrate these schools’ outstanding success,” said ECPS Superintendent of Schools Keith Leonard. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, students, parents, and community stakeholders. Our district is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of our students, their families, and this community.”
Florida statute requires the State Board of Education to designate a school as a School of Excellence if the school’s percentage of possible points earned in its school grade calculation is in the 80th percentile or higher for schools comprised of the same grade groupings (elementary, middle, high and combination) for at least two of the last three school years.

Escambia County Public Schools is partnering with Tutor Me, an online service that provides one-on-one, on-demand, live tutoring and writing support in certain subject areas, at no cost to ECPS students. Tutoring will be available every day of the week 3-10 p.m. and is accessible through the Core App Dashboard on the ECPS website. In addition to live tutoring sessions, students will also have access to paper and essay review services through the TutorMe Writing Lab.

Players from the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Sultanes de Monterrey, a Mexican team in town for exhibition games with the Wahoos, made an appearance at Oakcrest Elementary School in April to read to students in both English and Spanish.

Riley Perantoni (Pensacola State Charter Academy) and Tristan Martinez (Pensacola High School) excelled at 2024 Incubate Debate Championship. Riley and Tristan advanced to the semifinal round where they debated whether the U.S. should defend Taiwan militarily.
They were judged by an incredible judging panel, consisting of:
Bill de Blasio (109th Mayor of New York City)
Stephen Asoli (University of Austin, Director of Admissions)
Dr. Peter Boghossian (National Progress Alliance, Founder)
Simon Hankinson (Heritage Foundation, Senior Fellow
Clea Conner (Open to Debate, CEO)
Tristan’s coach, Krysta Wilcox (Pensacola HS), worked hard this season to coach her incredible young students. She deserves enormous credit. Congratulations again as Escambia County continues its spirit of academic excellence.

Bailey Middle School seventh-grader Crystal Zhang is the 2024 Escambia County winner of the Art in the Capitol Competition. Her work is currently on display in Tallahassee at the capitol building, representing our fine county. Her work is titled ‘Sunshine Of My Eye’. It is a mixed-media collage that she created in Mrs. Tracey Burnette’s art class. Congratulations to Crystal and Jim Bailey Middle School.

Middle School students from the Montessori School of Pensacola spent a week in Arkansas at Ferncliff Center. The class travels by bus to Ferncliff every other year. Part of their experience there was putting together hygiene kits to be sent to different shelters. They prepared 157 menstrual kits for a women’s shelter in Texas and 411 hygiene kits. While at the center, they also took part in ropes course activities and worked on the farm. They get time in nature, time strengthening the bonds between classmates, and time doing hands-on work.

Cassi McGee, a fourth-grade teacher at Pine Meadow Elementary, has been named Escambia County Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year. She was honored at the 39th Annual Golden Apple Awards. McGee will now become a nominee for Florida’s Teacher of the Year.

Mr. Moss and a group of his students from Pensacola High School’s Dual Enrollment Welding Program visited the School Board during a recent workshop. They shared about their experiences and opportunities in the program and regaled the board with stories about their skills and certifications. The future is certainly bright for the workforce in Escambia County and beyond!

Students from Pensacola Catholic High School performed The Living Stations, directed by Campus Minister, Mrs. Rebecca Carter during Holy Week. The performance was repeated seven times throughout the day so that all students could attend during their Religion Class. The performance included members of the Catholic High School student body reenacting the Stations of the Cross that commemorate Jesus Christ’s last day on Earth as a man beginning with His condemnation and ending with Him being laid in the tomb. Eighty Crusaders took part in the performance including members of the Campus Music Ministry group who provided music during the presentation.

The students of East Hill got to enjoy the Solar Eclipse of 2024! On April 8th, all of our students were given the opportunity to step away from the classroom and see science, and history, play out in real time! We cherish these opportunities and memories with our students.

In a fusion of education and practical experience, eighth-grade students from Creative Learning Academy stepped into the shoes of neurosurgeons under the guidance of Dr. Brett Reichwage and medical equipment representative Brent Bush from Globus Medical. Following their anatomy unit, students dove into the intricacies of spinal surgery during a spine lab session and practiced the technique of inserting pedicle screws into the spine, a pivotal skill in surgical procedures. Our eighth graders were able to navigate the complexities of anatomical structures, ensuring precise placement of screws to align the “spine” of their simulated patients.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Reichwage, our students gained insight into the realm of neurosurgery. This immersive experience not only honed their technical skills but also cultivated critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Through initiatives like the spine lab, Creative Learning Academy exemplifies its commitment to providing students with enriching educational opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. By fostering partnerships with medical professionals and facilitating hands-on experiences, CLA empowers students to explore diverse and unique career paths. As these emerging “neurosurgeons for a day” reflect on their time in our classrooms, we hope that these experiences foster newfound inspiration for students to make meaningful contributions to the ever-evolving field of medicine.

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse moved across North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. Students at Montessori School of Pensacola (MSP) were thrilled that clouds did not obscure their view, and they were able to witness the eclipse. The next solar eclipse viewable in the United States will not be until August 23, 2044. MSP will be sending eclipse glasses to Latin America for an eclipse that will be visible there in August of this year.
Photos: Upper Elementary and Middle School students view the eclipse safely w
Primary class students view the eclipse together online

Two of Catholic High Schools Core Values are Commitment to Service and Selfless Love. Each year, members of the CHS National Honor Society demonstrate these values through their Spring service project through which they collect and fill Easter baskets with toys, candy, games, and stuffed animals. This year over 75 baskets were delivered to the Gulf Coast Kid’s House, and distributed to children in various foster homes, hospitals, and treatment facilities. We know the Easter Bunny appreciated the extra help!

In a fusion of education and practical experience, eighth-grade students from Creative Learning Academy stepped into the shoes of neurosurgeons under the guidance of Dr. Brett Reichwage and medical equipment representative Brent Bush from Globus Medical. Following their anatomy unit, students dove into the intricacies of spinal surgery during a spine lab session and practiced the technique of inserting pedicle screws into the spine, a pivotal skill in surgical procedures. Our eighth graders were able to navigate the complexities of anatomical structures, ensuring precise placement of screws to align the “spine” of their simulated patients.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Reichwage, our students gained insight into the realm of neurosurgery. This immersive experience not only honed their technical skills but also cultivated critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Through initiatives like the spine lab, Creative Learning Academy exemplifies its commitment to providing students with enriching educational opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. By fostering partnerships with medical professionals and facilitating hands-on experiences, CLA empowers students to explore diverse and unique career paths. As these emerging “neurosurgeons for a day” reflect on their time in our classrooms, we hope that these experiences foster newfound inspiration for students to make meaningful contributions to the ever-evolving field of medicine.