School Zone
Points of Pride
DCPS' High School Students Selected for Jacksonville Exchange Club ACE Awards
Two Duval County Public Schools’ (DCPS) high school seniors, John Sears from Paxon School for Advanced Studies and Alex Fay Holt from Terry Parker High School, have placed first and second, respectively, for the Jacksonville Exchange Club ACE Awards.
ACE stands for Accepting the Challenge of Excellence, and it is an annual award to recognize students who have overcome obstacles, yet continue to excel. To be eligible for selection, students had to be nominated by their schools.
The students and their parents were recognized at a luncheon on April 9 at the University Club. During the luncheon, they received a plaque, as well as a check in the amounts of $400 for first place and $100 for second place.
“The ACE Awards are a powerful example that hard work and perseverance really do pay, and I applaud these students for their commitment to achieving academic success,” said DCPS’ Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. “We thank the Jacksonville Exchange Club for recognizing outstanding student performance.”
The Exchange Club of Jacksonville is an all-volunteer organization of men and women working together to make our communities better places to live.
Darnell-Cookman Student Presents Research During Medical Education Week
Ninth-grade Darnell-Cookman student Tony Hansberry presented his research alongside experienced MDs and PhDs during Medical Education Week on April 20-24, hosted by the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville.
University of Florida physicians have partnered with Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts, which is located across the street from Shands Jacksonville, to add special events to the medical education curriculum and serve as guest speakers. It is believed the program at Darnell-Cookman will be the first medical magnet in the country to develop an integrated medical curriculum for grades 6-12.
“Tony’s presentation is an indication of the positive relationships and collaborative efforts involving our program, the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville and Shands Hospital,” said Principal Mark Ertel.
Because of the relationship between UF and Darnell Cookman, Hansberry spent his summer break last year inside UF’s Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research (CSESaR) at Shands Jacksonville. The Director of CSESaR, Bruce Nappi, took Hansberry under his wing allowing him to tinker with the same equipment and high fidelity mannequins that physicians and nurses use in training.
Hansberry became quite interested in minimally invasive surgery during his time at CSESaR. Over the summer he developed a technique that reduces surgical time for minimally invasive hysterectomies. Hansberry presented the project at the regional science fair and came in second place in the senior grade 9-12 division, allowing him to compete in the state finals. Hansberry’s project got the attention of UF faculty who deemed it worthy of being presented alongside physicians at their medical education week.
Students Perform Multicultural Festival at Andrew Robinson Elementary
Andrew Robinson Elementary School recently hosted a Multicultural Festival, providing students from each grade level the opportunity to study a continent and then represent it to their peers.
Students wore cultural clothing and performed dances from various cultures from the continent they selected. For the event, the following continents were studied: PreK and Kindergarten (North and Central America), first grade (Europe), second grade (Asia), third grade (Australia), fourth grade (South America), and fifth grade (Africa).
The festival, organized by a school committee, was an activity to help teach students to have open minds and hearts to people from different cultures.
“The Multicultural Festival is an opportunity to open our students’ eyes to the wonders of other cultures, and empower their minds to accept and embrace people who are different culturally,” said teacher William Jackson.
In addition to their class activities, students performed African dances, ballet and several cultural dances. Their dance instructor, Monique Cistrunk from the Cathedral Arts Project, who conducts dance classes at the school, trained students in the intricacies and grace of African and ballet dances.
Second-grade teacher Mrs. Ann Giesen also served as a dance teacher and choreographer. Her students performed dances that included colorful costumes, and demonstrated their musical talents. The outfits that the students wore, as Mrs. Giesen explained, “were East Indian from India, not American Indian.”
Also joining the students was African American storyteller Baba Ajamu Mutima, who performed musical, lyrical and spoken word presentations in storytelling and cultural dialogue. Mr. Mutima demonstrated many African musical instruments and provided relevant instruction on how instruments have histories extending to musical instruments from African cultures.
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