Learn and Serve Youth Council

St. Johns County School District has established a Youth Council of representatives from each of the projects doing a Learn and Serve project during 2010-11.  The Youth Council representatives will keep us all appraised of the progress of their projects during the year through updates to this blog.  Look at the categories to the right to see each project’s progress.

If you have questions or want to know more about our Learn and Serve projects, contact Ms. Kathy Mignerey at mignerk@stjohns.k12.fl.us or call her at (904) 547-7681, or contact Mrs. Libby Jones at kenandlibby@comcast.net or (904) 502-7472.

Our next meeting will be Wed., April 2 from 3:30 – 4:30 pm at Mill Creek Elementary School.

On the days of February 11th, 14th, and 15th, 2011, Creekside High School Environmental Academy students went to Fruit Cove Middle School to teach the eighth grade science classes about water quality testing. Between lab groups (of a ratio of 2 Academy students to 4 or 5 FCMS students) and small presentations with new technology, the students were exposed to what its like to be in Creeksides Environmental Academy and have a chance to see whats really going on with the earth’s environment…even in their own back yards! Along with the lab groups, the students performed individual pre and post tests, took notes on a powerpoint and played games. The students really seemed to get into the activities and, when asked, said they’d like to do this again. Several even said that they were going to apply for the academy later this spring. Creekside studentswere happy to share some of what they’ve learned over these past few years and had an interesting time of their own, delving into the responsibilities of a teacher.

Nease’s Communications Academy is kicking into high gear when it comes to our WreckLess campaign.  A team of four Academy students, Marcus Cuevas, Bri MacNaught, Brandon Pruitt, and Danny Schramm, have created a 5 minute news story, as an entry into Allstate’s “Keep the Drive Alive” broadcast journalism competition.  The winning story will win a $2,000 grand prize in May.  The students worked hard to get to the heart of how dangerous it is to text and drive.  To see the final video, just log onto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HlpTWOR3HE

Nease academy students are also taking part in the Mothers Against Brain Injuries PSA competition.  Their overall goal is warn teenagers about the dangers of distracted driving.  Students attended an assembly led by the leader of the MABII, who explained how her son’s traffic crash could have been prevented if the teenager who was driving was being safe.  She also introduced the PSA competition to the students, who are all invited to submit entries in April.  The top three 20 second PSA’s will be competing against entries from other St. Johns County, Duval County, and Clay County schools.  The top PSA, as voted on by viewers of First Coast News, will win $4,000.

Students in the Creekside Environmental Academy have recently started creating the lesson plans they intend to take to Fruit Cove Middle School and teach the eighth graders on February 11, 14, & 15. The class of 2nd and 3rd years have divided into groups to target certain areas of the lesson plans like powerpoints, pre and post tests, labs, and wrap up activities. The academy class looks forward to teaching the eighth graders about water quality in the near future.

Do you have your own checking account yet? Are you making the most of your money? There’s a lot we all need to know about personal finance, as students are discovering in Ponte Vedra High School’s Academy of International Business & Marketing. Accounting students are learning all about savings, banks, bank accounts and interest rates. Then they’ll share their knowledge with others who can use help managing their money.

Students in the Communications Academy @ Nease are rolling out a new safe-driving campaign called WreckLess, targeting the dangers of texting while driving. The district-wide campaign will feature fun, interactive events as well as a pledge designed to empower drivers of all ages to “X the Txt”. The project is supported by our business partners at SafeDriver.com, and will compete for a $10,000 prize provided by the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and the Allstate Foundation.

In this picture, Brittany and Chris practice taking each others blood pressure.  We learn these skills in a classroom setting at Pedro Menendez’ Flagler Hospital Academy of Medical and Health Careers before going out to multiple elementary and middle schools to help the local school nurses do basic screenings on the students.

During the week of November 29, students in the Creekside High School Academy for Environmental and Urban Planning visited retention ponds on the school’s campus performing water quality tests with new equipment we just received. Utilizing Spark Technology, students were able to conduct tests to determine nitrate, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, and a variety of other things that are in our ponds.  Later in the spring, we are going to teach these skills to eighth graders at Fruit Cove Middle School.  Along with  the field work, the academy students are about to start learning more on why the test results are as they appear and how they can make the bodies of water healthier.

Students testing the pH in a pond on campus.

On Tuesday, November 2, 2010, Pedro Menendez High School Flagler Hospital Academy of Medical and Health careers students went to Mill Creek Elementary School and did health assessments of the K-3 grade students. Our Learn and Serve Project Coordinator, Samantha Goodson, is shown in this picture asking what we call the “core questions”, which are to help us to recognize the reason for some health problems in this elementary school.

The following article about the 2009-10 Learn and Serve project of the SAHS Academy of Future Teachers was printed in the November 2010 issue of Florida Future Teachers of America Apple Slices newsletter.  www.fldoe.org/profdev/pdf/apple-slices.pdf.

St. Augustine High School Teaching AcademyDebbie O’Steen (Advisor) St. Augustine, FL – St. Johns County

The St. Augustine Highs School (SAHS) Teaching Academy is truly “growing” our own teachers! We are thrilled to say we have sixty-six freshmen students enrolled in the SAHS Teaching Academy for the 2010 – 2011 school year. These future educators are eager to mentor younger students and learn what it takes to potentially become one of St. Johns County’s best teachers!

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St. Augustine High School Teaching Academy

On the same evening the Florida Matanzas Chapter and the SAHS Teaching Academy extended the “Read for the Record Campaign” to the community by hosting a “Snowy Day” event from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the St. Johns County Southeast Branch Public Library. The first fifty arriving students will received a free copy ofThe Snowy Day book! The event agenda included a variety of activities, snacks and a presentation by a local celebrity who read excerpts from the book. The goal of the evening was to promote literacy awareness throughout the county by uniting the school district through the “Read for the Record Campaign”.

Mrs. Melissa Lime, president of the Florida Matanzas’ Phi Delta Kappa Chapter, wrote a grant for the Academy called “Read for the Record Campaign”. This grant allowed Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) and the SAHS Teaching Academy to team up with, Crookshank Elementary and Ketterlinus Elementary, two feeder schools. The purpose of this grant is to bring the schools and the community together to celebrate the joys of reading and promote the importance of early literacy skills.

As part of this grant on October 7, 2010, the SAHS Teaching Academy freshmen classes read The Snowy Day to students at the two participating elementary schools. The Teaching Academy students also developed lesson plans, used a variety of reading strategies, and created an activity relevant to the book. This opportunity awarded the Academy students with “hands on” field experience.

Students of the Pedro Menendez High School Flagler Hospital Academy of Health and Medical Careers have found a special way to put their skills to use at local middle and elementary schools. The high school has been awarded a Learn & Serve grant which entails students learning how to assist school district nurses with basic health screenings for vision, hearing, height, weight and scoliosis. After they learn how to conduct the screenings, they work with the school district’s free health screening program actually conducting the tests. Under the direction of teachers Jan Noseworthy, Dawn Fullerton and District Coordinator Leslie Shugart, the high school students have assisted with over 1,200 student health assessments so far this school year!  High school student and coordinator, Samantha Goodson from PMHS, has proven to be a true leader assigning roles, orienting students with procedures and recording summary statements from the students at the end of their experience. After the screening program is concluded, the students will evaluate data and make recommendations to each school about healthy lifestyle changes that could be incorporated to help the overall health of the younger students.