summer 2015 edition A LOOK BACK! SECOND SEMESTER OF THE 2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS Academic Competitions, Art Displays, and Music Showcases SHINING STARS Teachers, Staff, and Volunteers PHOTO GALLERY Second Semester Flashback COMMUNITY Partnerships in Action MESSAGE FROM YOUR SUPERINTENDENT It is with great pride that I present to you an overview of one of the best school districts in the country, Collier County Public Schools (CCPS). We serve nearly 45,000 students from Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. We truly believe education is not only the shared responsibility of the school and the home, but the community as well. This is why we want to share the many successes of the past year with you, in hopes that you will continue to support our mission of providing quality educational programs for our students. One exciting event we most recently celebrated was our second annual iSTEM Competition which brought together students from across the district for a day filled with science, technology, engineering, and math activities. It was great to see the students showcasing their critical thinking skills and having fun at the same time. This year we witnessed our students take home top honors in many other academic programs, including the Laws of Life Essay Contest and our Scholar Bowls. Also, who can forget all of the talented students who participated in our many fine arts programs? It was a joy to see the students perform so passionately in our middle and high school honors chorus, orchestra, and band concerts. I am extremely proud of our high schools when it comes to school grades and graduation rates. The majority of our high schools maintained an “A” and our overall graduation rate climbed nearly one percentage point last year to 82.1 percent. Additionally, three of our high schools were recognized in the top 1,000 public high schools in the country and our high school students earned approximately $28.8 million in scholarships this school year. This year we have also worked hard to improve the way we communicate. We debuted a new look to our website and introduced a new mobile application. Both of these tools have proven to be an effective way to reach students, parents, guardians, educators, and the community. Finally, I would like to congratulate the Class of 2015 on achieving a great milestone in your life: Graduation Day. We celebrate your success and I know everyone is looking forward to your future accomplishments. In closing, thank you to everyone for being an important part of the Collier County Public Schools family! Kamela Patton, Ph.D. Superintendent Congratulations to the CLASS OF 2015 CCPS wishes our more than 2,700 graduates the very best as they start the next chapter of their lives. Graduation day marks a new beginning; a fresh start. Graduates, whatever your plans are now, CCPS is confident that you will succeed. Believe in your dreams! AT-A-GLANCE FAST FACTS ABOUT COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Adult & Community Dr. Kamela Patton Education Superintendent 56 50 Adult Post-Secondary Programs Schools 695 Community Education Classes District School Board of Collier County 5000 Students in Adult & Community Kathy Curatolo, Chair Education Program 29 Elementary Schools Julie Sprague, Vice Chair 10 Middle Schools Erika Donalds, Member 8 High Schools Kelly Lichter, Member 1 K12 School 2,700 Roy Terry, Member 1 Alternative Center Graduates 2 Technical Colleges 5 Charter Schools Career www.collierschools.com 45,000 Academies Students 31 High School Career Academies 5,200 Students in Career Academies 36% White 52% Male 12% Black 48% Female 5775 Osceola Trail | Naples, Florida 34109 48% Hispanic 4% Other 29,000 Networked 50% From Non-English Homes Computers 64% Economically Needy p: 239.377.0001 f: 239.377.0181 2-to-1 Ratio Computers to Students | 3,200 Teachers [email protected] 354 Buses 49% Teachers with 9,246 Bus Stops advanced degrees 4,900,000 Miles Driven Yearly 5,250,000 The Education Channel, cable 99 5,500 Meals Yearly Active Volunteers 14,000 Breakfasts Daily 429,000 Hours Contributed 26,000 Lunch Meals Daily Follow @collierschools Patients have been absolutely tickled with our pediatrics department! Our community’s children don’t have to travel hours from home to get great medical care for a chronic or life-threatening illness...it’s here at the Robert & Mariann MacDonald SeaCAREium at NCH North Naples Hospital. For information, call 239-552-8360 www.NCHmd.org SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENT STARS Due to space constraints, not all competitions and student events can be listed in this insert. Visit collierschools.com for more photos and videos! ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS 19th Annual Laws of Life High School Scholar Bowl Middle School Debate Collier County Spelling Bee Laws of Life Essay Contest winners: Barron Collier High School took first East Naples Middle School won 1st place - Jonathon Schafer (Royal Sophia-Bella Carrasquillo (elementary) place in the 26th Annual High School first place in the 2015 Middle School Palm Academy); 2nd place - Anna Faith Hundley (middle) Scholar Bowl. Team members: Debate Tournament. Team members Vedder (Pine Ridge Middle School); Spencer Gauta (high school 9-10) Brandon Badantchian, Enxhi from the championship debate: 3rd place - Joashilia Jeanmarie Elizabeth Roux (high school 11-12) Buxheli, Daniel Gursoy, Francis Taylor Brewer, Logan Szittai, (Immokalee Middle School) Lord, Nick Rowe, Harrison Vollmer and Anna Treloar Entrepreneurship Business Plan Fair Congratulations to participants MUSIC AND ART DISPLAYS SENIOR COMPETITION and winners from ALL academic 1st place - Barron Collier High School competitions/events including: Congratulations to students who participated in 2nd place - Lely High School music showcases and art displays throughout Discovery Education STEM Awards 3rd place - Lorenzo Walker Technical High School the 2014-2015 school year. Middle School Scholar Bowl All-State Music Ensembles Mock Trial CollierAll-State County Music Marching Ensembles Band Show JUNIOR COMPETITION Model United Nations DiscoveryCollier County Education Marching STEM Band Awards Show 1st place - Gulf Coast High School Mu Alpha Theta HonorsFlorida StateBand Thespianand Orchestra Competition Concerts 2nd place - Lorenzo Walker Technical High School Odyssey of the Mind K-12Honors Student Band ArtConcert Show 3rd place - Golden Gate High School State Science and Engineering Fair MiddleHonors SchoolChorus Scholar Concert Bowl Youth in Government MockHonors Trial Orchestra Competitions Concert ModelK-12 Student United ArtNations Show Music Performance Assessments Student Exhibit at The Naples Museum of Art LAUREATE PROGRAM The Advanced Studies Laureate Program is in place to recognize, challenge, and reward some of our most capable students, all while preparing them for college. The 2014-2015 Laureate Candidates are listed alphabetically below. Madison Smith Cameron Absher Sarah Carroll Pablo Golac Emily Lang Timothy Meinert Diego Rocha Matthew Stowell Melissa Alamo Johann Charelus Yanet Gomez Jamie Lebhar Madison Meyer Natalie Ronty Caroline Strohmeyer Alex Alas Emily Clark John Govern Kelly Lewis Jessica Morales Tristan Rosal Michael Summer Diana Alas Jack Clarke Krista Grajo Justin Liberman Neida Moreno Alexander Rosenbluth Grant Taleck Aydelis Aleman Chloee Collins Bridget Grasso Mitchel Lindheim Hunter Nelson Elizabeth Roux Karina Tamayo Alexa Amaris Samantha Crisanti Caly Griffin Kye Lindholm Leslie Nuñez Maya Roux Christy Thorstenson Hunter Angersbach Jean Custodio Daniel Gutierrez Brenda Lopez Claudia O’Flaherty Christian Ruff Allison Toledo Parker Arnold Jamie Daniels Zena Hamilton Kevin Lopez Gomez Preston Olinger Eleanor Rushing Jenny Trang Geraldo Atiles Anatalie Dantes Kelsie Heaslip Isha Lugo Gabrielle Orphali Emma Sabbaghzadeh Marion Truax Caroline Baldwin Arthur Devine Ulises Hernandez Michael Luthringer Kaylee Owens Erin Sadowski Zachary Ussery Kevin Bauer Dillon Diaz Kara Herrlich Lyndsay Mahoney Paula Patarroyo-Avila Haley Sanborn Michael Vandermark Diana Becerril Eavan Donovan Aubrey Howard Carley Mambuca Bensey Pierre-Louis Liditze Sanchez Frances Vasquez Maryjo Bekhash Lourbiane Duberseau Mary Beth Howard Maria Marrugo James Poliard Isaac Jilian Sansone Isabelle Vincent Brittany Bernetich John Figueroa Braiden Howell Brianna Marshel Thomas Popoli Nicolle Sayers Anahi Vivar Alexander Beyrent Drew Fordon Kenny Igarza Adam Martinez Christopher Poteet Stephanie Schaedel Ryan Walz Erika Bishop Zoe Fregozo Margaret Jerulle Alexis Mattarella Sadie Prior Kathryn Schiller Kyra Warren Tad Boyette Austin Fuller Devon Johnston Isabella May Jake Rabani Ashley Schneller Vayda Wasem Kassandra Brieva Alexis Garcia Austin Kalmans West McCann Nicole Relics Monica Schul Summer Weaver James Buonavolonta Alexandria Garcia Alexander Kanora Lauren McCoy Sarah Renfroe Cidnya Silva Daniel Zamora Sam Camp Isabel Gareau Aliana Kellerhouse Hunter McDaniel Jessica Ricciardelli Cody Simmons Kaitlyn Ziegelmaier Elizabeth Carrington Jordan Giles Connor Kipp Jamie McVicker Shayanne Rivera Cami Simonelli Patricia Zielinski Suncoast Credit Union and Collier County Public Schools The district held its 2nd Annual iSTEM Competition at Florida SouthWestern State College on Saturday, May 16, 2015. Over 200 students from 50 schools participated in their Science . Technology . Engineering . Math elementary, middle, and high school divisions. Students used their problem-solving and analytical skills. A big thank you to Suncoast Credit Union for generously sponsoring the iSTEM Competition and sincere