Sarasota County Schools News

Chaslee Isterling’s poster places third in state competition, will advance to national level

SARASOTA – Chaslee Isterling, a fifth-grade student at Fruitville Elementary School in Sarasota, has created a winning poster as part of a contest for National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 19-23. Her artwork, illustrating the 2009 national poster contest theme “Cross in view, it’s the right thing to do,” was selected as the third-place winner in Florida among students in grades three through five.

Chaslee will receive $25 for winning at the state level; her design now goes to the national competition for a chance at a $100 U.S. savings bond. A special presentation acknowledging Chaslee’s accomplishment will take during the regular meeting of the School Board of Sarasota County at 3 p.m., Tuesday (Oct. 20), in School Board chambers, 1960 Landings Boulevard, Sarasota.

Fruitville Elementary art teacher Alma Vega said, “I used this contest as a way for students to learn safe school bus practices and express them through strong design elements and art principles, using a layout of their own. Chaslee created a colorful original design with great visual impact that clearly impressed the judges. I’m very proud of her.”

Laura Kingsley, Fruitville principal, said Vega is a great art teacher because, “she emphasizes the importance of students doing research before the work begins. The students incorporate that information into their artwork, and it shows in the final product.”  

The school surprised Chaslee last week with the news that she had won third place statewide in her division. She and her schoolmates learned of the honor during the school-wide morning video announcements. Her parents and grandparents were in on the secret and were there to share the moment with her. She received balloons and a special gift from the principal and was greeted with cheers when she returned to class.

“Chaslee is a quiet, humble young lady,” said Kingsley, “but that morning she basked in the pride of her family and her school family at Fruitville.”

National School Bus Safety Week is sponsored by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, the National School Transportation Association and the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute.

SUPER SERVICE: Superintendent Lori White helps schools celebrate National School Lunch Week by serving meals to students at Fruitville Elementary School in Sarasota. Parent Mary Ellen Isaacson, left, with daughter Rowan and fellow student Thea Craven, get a smile and lunch from White. Photo courtesy Ric Miracle and the Pelican Press.    

SARASOTA – Sarasota County Schools celebrated National School Lunch Week (Oct. 12-16) by with appearances by guest lunch servers at various school cafeterias around the district, including Sen. Nancy Detert. The state senator served lunch Tuesday to students at Venice High. School Board members, Superintendent Lori White and several district administrators also took shifts at various schools, offering students diverse selections such as pizza, salad and tater tots.

On an average day, Sarasota County Schools serve 30,000 to 35,000 meals to students. The cost is $2 at elementary schools and $2.25 at middle and high schools. Cafeterias also provide breakfast ($1.50) and lunch ($3) to school visitors and faculty. Beverly Girard, director of Food & Nutrition Services for the school district, reports that the percentage of students receiving free and reduced-price lunches (40 cents) in Sarasota County Schools has risen from a ten-year average of about 33 percent to an average this year of about 45 percent.

“In these challenging economic times, we urge eligible families to take advantage of the opportunity for their children to receive free or reduced-price meals if it will help them,” said Girard. “Even if they are only in this situation temporarily, we encourage parents and guardians to apply for this benefit.”

 
The National School Lunch Program began in 1946 when President Truman signed the National School Lunch Act into law. Since then public schools throughout the nation have served nutritious meals to billions of students. Ninety-five percent of schools participate in the program; 30 million children are served daily. The meals are offered to students at a low cost (and in some cases at no cost to parents), thanks to a bounteous food supply, dedicated staff members and help from federal funding. President Kennedy proclaimed the first National School Lunch Week in 1963.

Nationally, school lunches must include protein, fruits and vegetables, grains and low-fat milk, served in age-appropriate portions. Menus in Sarasota County Schools’ cafeterias reflect the national goal of providing wholesome, healthy food that students like to eat. More information about the free and reduced-price lunch program, school lunch menus, costs and nutritional information is available at www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/fns.

In this 2007 photo, Sarasota High teacher Jim Mathews guides students Andrew Loss, left, and Tim Konzel, right, as they test the aerodynamic properties of various shapes in a wind tunnel in the school’s Engineering Technology Lab.

SARASOTA – Sarasota High School teacher Jim Mathews has been named the Manufacturing Secondary Educator of the Year by the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE). The award recognizes a high school educator for outstanding contributions to manufacturing and/or engineering technology education and for training students in the skills to become part of the manufacturing workforce. It will be presented to Mathews on Friday, Nov. 5, at the annual Manufacturers Association of Florida (MAF) Summit in Orlando.

Mathews says he was excited to get the news about the award, but wants to make it clear that “there are unsung heroes of the classroom that I work with every day, my fellow teachers who are working hard and getting excellent results with their students, but who didn't happen to win an award this year. Those results are the real payoff we all get from doing a good job.”

As an instructor in the Engineering Technology program at SHS, Mathews gives his students hands-on experience with scientific principles. When they study aerodynamics, for example, they test the underlying principles in a wind tunnel. When they design cars, airplanes or boats, they use software to create three-dimensional models with moving parts they can watch on a computer screen. They learn about the tolerance capabilities of internal combustion engines by measuring the effects of wear on various engine parts.

Engineering design, material research, industrial hydraulics and mechanical systems are far from abstract concepts to the students in this program, because the methods and equipment they use to learn about them are as real-world as they can be. Mathews comes from that real world. As a former chemical engineer and equipment design consultant, he knows that engineers need more than knowledge to succeed. He says they also need experience and the ability to multitask.

“Many students enroll in college engineering programs armed with information from books alone,” said Mathews. “They are bright and willing to work hard, but they get discouraged when they need to apply what they’ve learned to practical problems in college engineering labs. That’s why so many of them leave the field.

“In this program we’re creating what I call ‘buoyant’ leaders. They’re getting the hands-on experience that will allow them to rise to the top and help their fellow students and future colleagues avoid getting discouraged by tough engineering challenges.”

The Engineering Technology programs at Sarasota and Venice high schools are part of the Sarasota County School District’s continuing focus on Career and Technical Education (CTE), which lets students apply what they learn in classes to situations that are as close as possible to what they will find in various careers.

FLATE, based in Tampa, is a National Science Foundation center. The organization is committed to ensuring that Florida has a well prepared workforce for manufacturing and related technologies. Created in 2004, it is one of 36 centers in the United States focused on improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to meet the needs of advanced-technology industries. More information is available at www.FL-ATE.org.

 
HISTORIC MOMENT: Twenty-one Sarasota County high school students meet President Bill Clinton backstage at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall before his Town Hall Lecture Series appearance, Sept. 30, 2009. Front row (left to right): Ellie Koval, Suncoast Polytechnical High; Kaitlin Griffith, Venice High; Samantha Doll, Phoenix Academy; Kerly Avila Sanchez, North Port High; Lauren McKinnon, Cardinal Mooney High; Shanice Bane, Riverview High; Laurabeth Goldsmith, Pine View School; Scott Guzman, NPHS. Back/middle rows (left to right): Maureik Robison, Booker High; John Villotti, Sarasota Military Academy; Celeste Lyon, Sarasota High; Dustin Morris, BHS; Ariston Carter, SHS; Alex Aberle, Out of Door Academy; Ashley Drury, VHS; Zachary Morrison, PVS; Jack O’Reilly, SMA; Stephen Wazny, CMHS; Julia Rich; ODA; Darius Chestnut; SPHS; Danny Sheasley, RHS. Photo courtesy Ringling College Library Association and Barbara Banks Photography.

SARASOTA – Twenty-one students from Sarasota County public and private high schools had a rare opportunity to meet a U.S. President on Sept. 30. The students were selected by their principals to attend President Bill Clinton’s lecture because of their dedication to community service.

The appearance by the 42nd president marked the beginning of the 30th year of the Ringling College Library Association’s Town Hall Lecture Series, which benefits the library at the Ringling College of Art and Design. The tickets were provided free of charge to the students through the generosity of the RCLA.

The students had their photo taken with the president and had a few minutes to talk to him before the lecture. The students were recognized as a group in the introductory comments and were applauded by the audience as they stood to be acknowledged. Their commitment was noted by the president; the importance of service to others was a theme throughout his lecture. “We are all interconnected, now more than ever before,” said Clinton.

When asked if he had a message for young people, the president said they should realize that they are in a unique position of choosing what they do with their lives. “Throughout history, and even today, most people have not had the kind of choices these students have now.

“It’s a gift,” he said, adding that if young men and women can do something they love doing that also helps other people, they will be making the most of that gift.