Sarasota County Schools News

Student artists whose work was judged Best of the Best

SARASOTA – Original works of art by 22 students from seven Sarasota County high schools captured Best of the Best honors Wednesday night as their teachers, families, fans and other competitors cheered. The Education Foundation of Sarasota County kicked off festivities for the 15^th Evening of Excellence with its U.S. Trust Reception, announcing Bank of America’s Best of Show and Best of School prizes for the annual competition.

A panel of six art and design professionals selected the top 25 of 310 entries submitted by students representing every public high school in Sarasota County. All entries were on display for public viewing at Ringling College’s Ulla Searing Student Center Exhibition Hall, site of last night’s announcements.

The student artists are donating the 25 winning pieces – paintings, photographs, mixed media, sculpture and more – to the Education Foundation. Both the students and their art will be photographed by Gene Pollux, Pollux Photography and Digital Imaging. Then each piece will be professionally framed by local galleries donating their services. Finally, the students will be honored at the Evening of Excellence gala dinner and auction on February 26, when they will see their work auctioned off to the highest bidder. Last year’s event raised over $260,000 in cash and in-kind support, including a live auction total of $50,500.  Proceeds benefit the 41,500 students in the public schools through the work of the Education Foundation.

Winning students receive monetary awards as well as other gifts and recognition for their talent and generosity. An estimated $40,000 in merit awards, scholarships and art department grants are presented as part of the 2010 event. W. G. Mills, Inc. sponsors Evening of Excellence Art Department Awards given to each participating high school. The Ringling College of Art and Design presents a Heart of Art Award, including free supplies and tuition for summer art classes, to an exemplary student from each participating high school.

The Juried Art Show panel of judges included James H. Dean, Barbara Banks, Dr. Virginia Brilliant, Frank A. Colson, Bill Farnsworth and Diane Rosenbarger. 

Evening of Excellence is both an innovative art program and a well-established Sarasota social event. This year's theme is IMAGINE, taking inspiration from the student whose award-winning work was adapted for the gala invitation. Meg Mahoney chairs the event committee. Honorary Chair is Allan H. Weis/Advanced Network & Services, philanthropists and longtime Education Foundation supporters. 

Sponsorships are available starting at $2,500. Patron Pairs at $1,000 include two premium gala seats and a $500 Student Art Award, which may carry the donor’s name or honor a loved one. Individual tickets are $200, $250 for patrons. The date for this year’s dinner and auction is Friday, February 26. Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. at Michael’s On East. Dress is “color-inspired” or cocktail attire. To request an invitation or for more information, call the Education Foundation at 941-927-0965 or see the web site at www.EdFoundation.net.

Masterpiece Sponsors are Bank of America, W.G. Mills, Inc., Advanced Network & Services – Allan & Sandy Weis, and Herald-Tribune Media Group. Connoisseur Sponsors are Fawley Bryant Architects, Inc., Harvard Jolly Architecture, Jon F. Swift, Inc., Tandem Construction, and Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc.

Virtuoso Sponsors include Comcast, Jeff and Cindy Kaiser, Norton, Hammersley, Lopez & Skokos P.A., Ringling College of Art and Design, Rob Robinson and Lisa Carlton, SchenkelSchultz Architecture and Sutter Roofing.

Artiste Sponsors to date are Engineering Matrix, Florida Power & Light Co., Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, Hill, Barth & King LLC + LaGasse Utilities, Inc., Kraft Construction Company, Inc., Matthews, Eastmoore, Hardy, Crauwels & Garcia, McIntyre Elwell & Strammer General Contractors, Robert W. Baird & Company, SunTrust, and Verizon.

About the Education Foundation

Dedicated to quality education for all children, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County is an independent, not-for-profit organization that works in partnership with the community and Sarasota County public schools.  With the support of  individuals, families, companies and foundations, the Education Foundation awards more than $1,200,000 each year to initiatives including the TeXcellence Computer Donation program, the Regional Science, Engineering and Technology Fair, Teacher of the Year, Academic Olympics, classroom grants, fine arts programs, and literacy initiatives.

Author David Oliver Relin 

SARASOTA – David Oliver Relin, author of the New York Times bestseller “Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time,” spoke in the Venice High School auditorium at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 28, after meeting with Venice High students earlier in the day.

The event was part of the sixth annual Literacy Celebration, organized each year by students, teachers and other members of the Venice High School Literacy Council. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice helps fund writer's visit as part of each annual celebration.

"Mr. Relin's evening lecture was a great intergenerational experience," said Candace Millington, VHS principal. "Our students, their parents and people of all ages shared the author's message of global peace, understanding and interdependence."

“Three Cups of Tea” tells the story of Greg Mortenson, who in 1993 tried to climb K2, the world's second-highest mountain. Severely ill and disoriented, Mortenson was nursed back to health by impoverished Pakistani villagers. He promised to return someday to build them a school. The book is the story of his fulfillment of that promise. It was named nonfiction winner of the 2007 Kiriyama Prize, the 2007 Pacific Northwest Booksellers' Book of the Year and the Time Magazine Asia Book of the Year, among other awards.

Relin is a graduate of Vassar and was awarded the prestigious Teaching/Writing Fellowship at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. He received a Michener Fellowship to support his groundbreaking 1992 bicycle trip the length of Vietnam. He spent two additional years reporting about Vietnam opening to the world. In addition to Vietnam and Pakistan, he has traveled to, and/or reported from, much of East Asia.

For two decades, Relin has focused on reporting about social issues and their effect on children, both in the U.S. and around the world. He is currently a contributing editor for Parade. For his work as both an editor and investigative reporter, he has won several national awards.

SARASOTA – Middle schools throughout Sarasota County will hold events Jan. 21-28 that are designed to bring families together to celebrate the love of reading. The family literacy nights are part of the Starbooks reading program, now in its second year.

Starbooks is part of a multi-year goal to promote and improve literacy among children of all ages. The idea behind the program is to encourage reading for enjoyment through the involvement of peers, parents, teachers, media specialists and literacy coaches.

As part of the program, middle school students throughout the county have read young-adult fiction, including books by Gordon Korman, Roland Smith and Jordan Sonnenblick. The authors have visited area middle schools to talk about their writing.

Other components of the Starbooks program include ongoing teacher training, reading corners in school media centers and family literacy nights. Starbooks is being funded this year by a $267,150 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. It is the middle-school component of the foundation’s commitment to improving literacy and promoting reading among children and adults.     

The scheduled family literacy nights and related events include:

Thursday, Jan. 21, 6-8 p.m., Venice Middle School/Oak Park South

Literacy Night will be the centerpiece of the VMS/OPS Showcase. Students, families and community members are welcome to attend. The event will feature a modestly priced dinner and various interactive activities, including a Make and Take table where students can make character T-shirts and bookmarks, a Media Scavenger Hunt, a family Word Game Challenge, samples of literacy letters and an interactive station showcasing language websites. Stoney the Charlotte Stone Crabs baseball team mascot will be on hand to meet and greet students and families.

Tuesday, Jan. 26, 6-7 p.m., Brookside Middle School

Brookside Literacy Land will welcome the school’s sixth and seventh-grade families. Literacy ideas, information, activities, games, student work and giveaways will be featured, including a giant game board called Literacy Land. 

Tuesday, Jan. 26, 6:30-8 p.m., Heron Creek Middle School

The school will “Light Up the Night with Literacy,” a fun family event filled with exciting activities, food and door prizes. 

Thursday, Jan. 28, 6-8 p.m., Booker Middle School 

Students and their families are invited to explore reading and a variety of activities. The night will feature food, interactive family fun, performances by the school’s Visual and Performing Arts Team, reading sessions and tips for parents. 

Thursday, Jan. 28, 6-7 p.m., Laurel Nokomis School

Parents will have a chance to hear about “Schooled” and “Swindle,” the Gordon Korman books that their sixth- and seventh-grade students have been reading as part of the Starbooks grant. Students will participate in a readers’ theater presentation and have the opportunity to swap books and trade baseball cards. A session will provide parents with information about the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, the FCAT. The school’s jazz band will also perform and refreshments will be served. 

Thursday, Jan. 28, 5-6:30 p.m., McIntosh Middle School

The evening will celebrate the literacy achievements of McIntosh students, including readers’ theatre presentation, displays of student work and read-aloud activities. Hot dogs and drinks will be served, the MMS band and chorus will entertain diners, the Scholastic book fair will be open, and second-quarter report cards will be distributed. Stoney, the Charlotte Stone Crabs mascot, will be on hand to help the school kick off the Charlotte Stone Crabs and MMS Reading Club. 

Thursday, Jan. 28, 6-8 p.m., Sarasota Middle School

Families are invited to share in food, music, door-prizes and literacy-based activities.

Thursday, Jan. 28, 6-7 p.m., Woodland Middle School

On display will be student writing from all classes, including Literacy Letters written as part of the Starbooks literacy grant. The school’s business partners will celebrate with students, families and staff. The Scholastic Book Fair will be open. Students, dressed as their favorite characters, will read stories to younger children.

Kaitlyn Terpstra, High School Idol 6 winner

SARASOTA – With her renditions of the songs “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend” and “Top of the World,” Pine View School junior Kaitlyn Terpstra captured the title of High School Idol in the Jan. 18 finals of the sixth annual competition, which will be televised in January and February by The Education Channel. Terpstra won second place in High School Idol 5 in 2009.

The final round of High School Idol 6 was held at the Players Theatre in Sarasota. Emily Mounce, a junior at Venice High School, won second place singing "Over Me" and "Astonishing." Josie Fleming, a sophomore at Booker High School, took third place with her interpretations of "My Immortal" and "Caught a Touch of Your Love."

The competition was sponsored by the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, which provided $400 and $200 scholarships, respectively, to the second and third-place winners; and philanthropist Omar Cooper, who funded a $2,000 scholarship to Terpstra as the first-place winner. The first prize also includes a year of professional mentoring with Players Theatre artistic director Jeffery Kin, who also served as a judge for High School Idol 6.

Gift cards were provided to the contestants by a number of local merchants, including New Balance Sarasota/University Park, Oaks Open Pit BBQ, Double Edge Media, West Coast Interiors of Siesta Key, Inc and Bryn-Alan Photography.        

High School Idol is The Education Channel’s most popular series. More than 300 students from across Sarasota County have sought the High School Idol title in the past six years. Through several rounds of competition, the event culminates in a live production as the finalists sing to an audience.

The final competition airs beginning Monday, Jan. 25 through Saturday, Feb. 21 on The Education Channel (Comcast 20, Verizon 33), a service of Sarasota County Schools. The complete schedule for the High School Idol 6 finals and other station programming is available at the station’s Web site at www.TheEdChannel.net.

SARASOTA – Parents who would like their children to attend a Sarasota County public school in 2010-11 other than their districted school are invited to submit a school choice application from Monday, Feb. 1 through Friday, Feb. 19.

Since space is always limited and demand may be high at some schools, it is typically not possible to accommodate all school choice requests. As in previous years, school choice approvals will be determined by a random lottery process, rather than on a first-come, first-served basis. Students will be assigned automatically to their districted school (based on the location of their residence) or their current school, unless a school choice application is received.

School choice application forms will be available beginning Monday, Feb. 1 at all public schools, at selected daycare facilities, or by calling 927-9000, ext. 32255. Parents will be notified of choice assignments in early April. 

The ability for parents to choose a school outside of their district began 13 years ago in the Sarasota County School District and has been well received by both parents and school administrators. Options for school choice are limited at some schools for the 2010-11 year if those schools are near their enrollment capacity. The complete list of schools open to choice is available at www.SarasotaCountySchools.net/departments/schoolchoice.

Other district options, such as charter schools, magnet schools or magnet programs, do not require the completion of a school choice application. Students interested in attending these schools or programs (including Bay Haven School of Basics Plus, Suncoast Polytechnical High School, the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Riverview High School and the Visual & Performing Arts (VPA) programs at Booker High School and Booker Middle School) should contact these schools directly.

While school bus transportation for regular school choice will not be available this year, an opportunity of Early Notification for School Choice with Transportation (AYP Choice) is available at several of the district’s Title 1 schools this year. A Title 1 school is a school that receives special funding through the U.S. Department of Education No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to assist students in improving their academic performance. If the school did not meet the required benchmarks for Adequate Yearly Progress, parents of students attending these schools will receive a letter and a special Choice with Transportation application form in the mail. Information about a school’s Adequate Yearly Progress and Choice with Transportation availability is available at www.SarasotaCountySchools.net or by calling the School Choice Office at 927-9000, ext. 32258.

Click on the following link for a list of schools open and closed to school choice for 2010-11: School Choice-open and closed 2010-11 

SARASOTA: Fresh on the heels of a successful experience with President Bill Clinton, Ringling College Library Association is partnering with the Sarasota County School District and two private high schools in honoring academic achievement and community service by awarding lecture tickets to the five Town Hall lectures in the 2010 series. The 2010 series celebrates the 30^th year of the Ringling College Library Association Town Hall Lecture Series and the 35^th anniversary of the Ringling College Library Association. 
  

The distinguished list of speakers includes Fareed Zakaria, Peggy Noonan, Condoleezza Rice, Pervez Musharraf and Philippe de Montebello. The lectures will be held at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota.

"We are very excited to extend this opportunity to young scholars in our community," said Town Hall chair Olivia Thomas. "We received such positive response from the students who were selected to meet and hear President Clinton that the RCLA decided to make Town Hall available throughout this year's series. It is an important part of our civic and cultural discourse in Sarasota and we want to include as many young people as possible."  

Steve Cantees, executive director of high schools for the Sarasota County School District, said, “We are pleased that students in public and private high schools throughout the county will be recognized for their academic achievement, extracurricular activities and community service and will have the chance to hear the accomplished speakers featured in this year's Town Hall series."