School Zone
Points of Pride
May "Just Read It" Stars of the Month to Receive Exclusive Tour of Stadium
The Mike Peterson Foundation and Duval County Public Schools announced the May Star of the Month for the Mike Peterson Foundation's "Just Read It" Program. The stars were invited to a meet and greet at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on Thursday, May 7. The event includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium and a special visit with Jacksonville Jaguars Linebacker Mike Peterson.
Students were selected based on their outstanding achievements in reading. These students worked very hard following directions in the classroom, as well as continuing to improve their reading skills.
Congratulations to the following students for being selected as the May Star of the Month for the Mike Peterson Foundation’s "Just Read It" Program:
Elementary School Category:
Kristina W. - 3rd grade - Enterprise Elementary
Tamela A. - 3rd grade - Crystal Springs Elementary
Samuel A. - 4th grade - Hyde Grove Elementary
Kesean H. - 4th grade - St. Clair Evans Elementary
Michael M. - 5th grade - Atlantic Beach Elementary
Dominic W. - 5th grade - Timucuan Elementary
Middle School Category:
Michael J. - 6th grade - duPont Middle
Francisco M. - 6th grade - Kirby Smith Middle
Vitaly A. - 7th grade - Twin Lakes Middle
Amber V. - 7th grade - Fort Caroline Middle
Olaf B. - 8th grade - J.E.B. Stuart Middle
Sean R. - 8th grade - Mayport Middle
Landon Students Take an Active Role in the Fight Against Poverty
The mission of Julia Landon College Preparatory and Leadership Development School is to help create students who have a deep commitment to public service and a true understanding of their leadership skills within the global community.
During their third-quarter studies, the school’s seventh-graders learned about the causes of poverty. For their quarterly service learning project, they learned what some of the solutions to poverty by volunteering at the Clara White Mission and Second Harvest Food Bank.
"This service project is an opportunity for our students to see how Jacksonville poverty differs from world poverty," said seventh-grade world geography teacher Bonnie England. "They can see first-hand how the local community is offering solutions to poverty, and what roles they can play in contributing to these efforts."
Every student had the opportunity to volunteer at both the Clara White Mission and Second Harvest, spending a few hours at each location.
The Clara White Mission prepares individuals to re-enter the work force with careers in food preparation and management, and each weekday, volunteers serve more than 400 hot meals to Jacksonville’s homeless population. While at the mission, the Landon students served and distributed food during the center’s daily soup kitchen.
Student Tybee W. said this project helps her and her fellow students "learn to be leaders by taking a lead role in helping the community."
England agreed, saying that her students' participation in activities like this help to instill a sense of service and volunteerism.
At the Second Harvest Food Bank, which collects and distributes food to those in need, students stocked shelves and prepared bags of food. To help the food bank in their efforts, every Landon student also donated a bag of rice.
"Today was a great opportunity for me to learn more about what I can do to take an active role in helping the community," said student Brynn H. "Finding a way to serve the community is important in the fight against poverty."
Jacksonville Public Library Launches its 2009 Jax Reads Campaign at Ribault High School
On April 9, City of Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, Florida Senator Tony Hill, Jean Ribault High School Principal Royce Turner and many others kicked off the 2009 Jax Reads Campaign at Jean Ribault High School.
Jax Reads is a program designed for everyone in the community to read the same book at the same time, and participate in discussions with family, friends and neighbors. The program is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of “The Big Read” initiative.
The Jacksonville Public Library (JPL) is one of Ribault High School’s educational partners. In addition to assisting with various events and initiatives throughout the year, JPL donated more than 1,100 copies of the book, The Call of the Wild, for students to read and join in the 2009 reading campaign. Written by Jack London, the book explores the lives and experiences of animals so that humans may understand that all creatures experience both victory and defeat.
Students enjoyed listening to excerpts of the book from guest speakers including Betsy Lovett, Chair of the JPL Foundation, Jacksonville City Councilman and Ribault alumnus Dr. Johnny Gaffney, and many others including Carolyn Williams, JPL’s Deputy Director and Action News anchor, Dawn Lopez.
Lopez, like many of the speakers, congratulated the school on its recent FCAT success and explained the importance of reading. She gave a brief testimony on how her five-year-old son is able to travel to places like Africa for a safari through his reading. “Reading takes you to places you never believed you’d travel to,” said Lopez.
During the celebration, students with winning raffle tickets were awarded prizes, including gift cards, gift certificates to Ashanti Hair Boutique, MP3 players and iPod Nanos & Shuffles.
“The Call of the Wild” essay contest was also unveiled during the program. All Ribault students are eligible to participate. Winners will receive a laptop computer and will be announced at the Jax Reads Celebration on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 6:30 pm, at the JPL Main Branch Downtown.
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